𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝘼𝙧𝙘 1: 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 3: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙎𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣
Akira tightened his grip on the flaming katana and stared at the man standing at the temple entrance.
The stranger wore a 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙩 with a 𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 pulled low over his face.
Only the lower half of his expression could be seen—calm, almost bored.
Akira raised the sword slightly.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦?” he asked.
The man did not react.
Slowly, he reached under his coat and drew out a katana.
The blade gleamed faintly in the dim light of the temple.
“𝘔𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳” the man said quietly.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
He lifted the sword toward Akira.
“𝘭 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴.”
The air around his blade darkened.
“𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘢,” he continued calmly, “𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.”
Akira narrowed his eyes.
Then he stepped forward and raised his weapon.
“𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥,” he said with a faint smirk.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺.”
He adjusted his stance.
“𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴.”
The hooded man sighed.
It sounded like the entire conversation had been nothing more than an inconvenience.
He slowly pointed his katana at Akira.
Dark energy wrapped around the blade like smoke.
“𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩.”
Then—
He vanished.
Before Akira could react, the man appeared in front of him.
A flash of steel.
The blade pierced straight through Akira’s chest and out through his back.
Akira’s eyes widened.
The pain arrived a moment later.
“…Bu𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, ” the man whispered near his ear,
“𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.”
Akira collapsed to the floor, blood spreading beneath him.
The hooded swordsman stepped past him and reached down toward the flaming katana.
The moment his hand touched it—
The blade erupted with 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚.
The flames burned his hand instantly.
The man pulled back with a quiet hiss.
“𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦,” he murmured.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the sword again and snapped the flaming blade away from the handle.
The fire blade vanished.
He tossed the handle aside.
Then he turned and began walking toward the exit.
Akira struggled to breathe.
With shaking hands, he formed a small seal and whispered a spell.
Mana flickered briefly.
A signal.
His location had been sent to the Master’s organization.
As his vision blurred, he looked toward the man walking away.
“𝘏𝘰𝘸…” he coughed weakly.
“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘵…?”
The man stopped briefly and looked back over his shoulder.
“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, ” he said calmly,
“𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.”
Then he disappeared into the darkness outside.
A short time later, several members of the Master’s group arrived at the temple.
Mages and healers rushed to Akira’s side.
Mana light filled the chamber as they sealed the wound in his chest.
“𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭,” one healer said.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱.”
“𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵,” another replied.
As they lifted Akira to carry him away, one of the younger mages looked around the ruined chamber.
Her eyes landed on the pedestal near the wall.
“The 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠… 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”
She walked over and picked it up.
Ancient writing covered the pages.
The symbols were written in the language of the old Wizards.
Very few people in the modern mage clans could read it.
Even fewer could truly understand it.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵,” she murmured.
She slipped the book into her pouch and followed the others out of the temple.
𝙎𝙞𝙭 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧.
In an apartment in Tokyo.
A doorbell rang.
Akira slowly walked toward the entrance of his small home.
His wound had healed, though faint burn marks remained across his chest and arms—the lingering effect of the Flame Fragment’s mana.
“𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨,” he muttered.
“𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵?”
He opened the door.
Standing outside was a 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 his age wearing a high school uniform: white shirt, red tie, and blue skirt.
She held a convenience store bag filled with vegetables.
Akira blinked.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝙃𝙞𝙣𝙖-𝙨𝙖𝙣?”
The girl sighed as if she had expected that response.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?” she said.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰 practic𝘦.”
Then her eyes narrowed.
She grabbed his wrist and pointed at the burn marks on his hands.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴, 𝘼𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙤-𝙠𝙪𝙣!?”
She was only a 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨.
Despite the school bag still hanging from her shoulder, she marched inside the apartment like she owned the place.
“𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦,” she ordered.
“𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴.”
Akira—known 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝘼𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙤—sighed.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦,” he said.
“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.”
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴?”
“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦,” she replied instantly.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺.”
She dropped her bag onto the couch and walked straight to the kitchen.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥” she continued.
“𝘐 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴!”
Ayato blinked slowly.
“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩?”
Hina looked over her shoulder while cutting carrots.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵.”
“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵,” he protested.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
“𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵!” she snapped.
“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴!”
“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”
Later, she forced him to sit at the table while she cooked.
Ayato sulked while eating.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭.”
Hina crossed her arms.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.”
Ayato looked away.
His mind raced for an excuse.
“𝘐… 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Hina raised an eyebrow.
Then she shrugged.
“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.”
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.”
She grabbed her bag and walked to the door.
“𝘉𝘺𝘦 𝘣𝘺𝘦, 𝘈𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘰-𝘬𝘶𝘯! 𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭!”
Ayato didn’t reply.
Hina pouted and slammed the door behind her.
Silence filled the room.
Then—
Knock.
Ayato groaned.
“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵…”
He opened the door again.
“𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵! 𝘉𝘺𝘦 𝘣𝘺𝘦! 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘢—”
His voice stopped instantly.
Standing in front of him was 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧.
Master glanced briefly down the street where Hina was walking away.
Then his gaze returned to Ayato.
His eyes were 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺,” Master said quietly.
He lifted a cloth bag he had been holding.
Inside it was the handle of the Flame Fragment.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮…”
His voice lowered.
“𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 flam𝘦.”
Ayato stood frozen in the doorway