Season 1 Last Chapter: The Beginning of the End

  Signs of Lumen Dei’s Collapse

  “Did you hear? That new religious cult—they raped women and buried them in the ground!”

  “Crazy, right? They literally used female believers as offerings, to cozy up to politicians and the entertainment industry.”

  “My homeroom teacher back in middle school was a member there. I heard he assaulted a lot of girls behind the scenes.”

  Not a single day passed without this topic dominating conversation.

  Ethan, using his Exceed “Veritas Chain”, exposed the headmaster’s true feelings. He edited out the parts related to Returners, turning it into both an animated video and an audio version.

  Elisabeth, with her Exceed “Cybersprawl”, created a channel whose source could not be traced and began distributing the video and audio.

  “One of Lumen Dei’s purposes is to maximize and affirm the male urge to dominate and harm. No matter what they say about justice or morality, men are nothing more than lumps of violent lust, and women are nothing more than reusable holes for that lust. That is the truth of this world—and the reason humanity has survived until now.”

  “No matter what anyone says, this is the normal world. Our doctrine, my role, is to make it easier for you to live in that world. It’s only natural to thank me for it. Those followers who couldn’t keep up with that are sleeping forever in the cathedral’s basement. Dig, and you’ll see.”

  Behind the headmaster’s voice, countless human bones in the cathedral basement appeared on the screen. The image spread across the world in an instant.

  At first, the upper echelons of the police intended to treat the case as mere harassment toward Lumen Dei Academy and not investigate. However, former members of Lumen Dei began making requests for investigation one after another: “I’m a victim too. Please look into it.”

  The remaining Lumen Dei special forces attempted to destroy the evidence, but they were all killed without ever getting a chance to act, at the hands of the Luna Nordics’ elite.

  Fed false information by Luna Nordics—that “there’s no problem in raiding the academy”—the police instead became the first discoverers of a massive number of corpses.

  After a month, the female followers who had been “offered” to the powerful seemed to have shaken off the effect of the headmaster’s Exceed, and began making anonymous accusations. Overseas media picked up these reports, further fueling the scandal.

  A string of sexual assault incidents committed by Lumen Dei believers were exposed.

  Victims came forward, declaring, “We were convenient slaves!”

  Reports showed victims breaking down in tears at press conferences, and these scenes were broadcast worldwide.

  Anonymous social media channels continued to multiply.

  (Even so, there will still be those who cannot abandon their faith. We will need to keep watching Lumen Dei.)

  Beatrice let out a sigh as she sipped her coffee, eyes on the domestic and international reports streaming across her room’s display.

  (Maya’s Exceed—there will be those who want it. This incident has certainly made us step on the tiger’s tail. From here on, it’s a test of which side will survive.)

  Setting her empty cup down, Beatrice gave a faint smile.

  (In any case, we’ve been living in a false peace. The real fight begins now. Interesting, isn’t it? And to think my disciples have grown so much without me even realizing it.)

  Beatrice’s mind drifted back to the time of the raid on Lumen Dei.

  Clara and Maya

  “Hi! Hi!”

  Clara threw a punch, and Maya—holding the mitts—caught it.

  “Your breathing’s stopping! Breathe in properly before you shout!”

  Maya’s clear voice rang out.

  The location was the underground training room of Luna Nordics.

  Clara, too, had joined Luna Nordics.

  She herself had been listed as missing, but Ethan’s investigation had revealed that, behind their kindness to her, Clara’s parents had in fact been cooperating with Lumen Dei to corrupt its believers—and that they still believed in Lumen Dei even now.

  Because of this, Clara had permanently given up on returning home.

  And so, Clara had joined Luna Nordics.

  “Let’s take a short break.”

  “Yes!”

  The two drank water and rested.

  Maya looked at Clara steadily and opened her mouth to speak—

  “In Duality Martial Arts practice, you’ll follow my instructions—but since we’re the same age, you can be more casual with me outside of training.”

  “Thank you.”

  Clara smiled brightly.

  “Do you regret joining Luna?”

  Maya gave a slight smile as she asked.

  “I was so shocked about my parents that I don’t regret it at all. Even if I’d forced myself to go back home, it wouldn’t have worked out. Besides, it’s only because you and the others fought for your lives that I’m here now. You killed that snake-man—so there’s no regret, only gratitude.”

  Tears welled slightly in Clara’s eyes as if the memories had resurfaced.

  “That’s right. It was really tough, but from now on, I’m counting on you too, Clara.”

  Recalling the past, Maya lowered her gaze for a moment before smiling at Clara.

  To Maya, Clara was the first Returner she had been able to save—and the one who had reminded her of the reason she fought. Clara had been a victim of Ezekiel just like her, and they had taken revenge together.

  (I wonder… how much stronger can I become from here?)

  Looking into Clara’s eyes, Maya steeled herself for the battles yet to come.

  Just then, the training room door opened.

  Stepping in gracefully, wearing a karate gi, was Victoria.

  Maya and Clara instinctively tensed up.

  “You two can relax. Director Beatrice told me to give you some special training. Let’s begin after your break is over, shall we?”

  Victoria smiled warmly.

  But behind that smile lay the hellish training that was about to begin.

  Maya and Clara fought to suppress the urge to run away.

  Ethan

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s generally against the rules for me to message you first. But there’s something I really need to confirm. If you can reply, could you please do so?”

  From his wristphone, Ethan sent a message to Ria using a regular app.

  While doing push-ups in his room at home, he waited for her reply.

  There was something that had been weighing on his mind.

  As he wondered if perhaps no reply would come, a message from Ria arrived.

  “What’s wrong? Thanks for the other day—it was really delicious. Did something happen?”

  It was such a completely normal message that Ethan reflexively typed back.

  “Well, actually… it was in a dream, but I saw you coming out of a hotel with another man. You’re not… doing anything like that, right?”

  Ethan knew that what he had seen was the headmaster’s Exceed, “False Memory.”

  But because the hallucination of Ria had been so vivid, he still sometimes saw it as a nightmare—and he wanted her to deny it directly, even if she might think he was being ridiculous.

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  “Idiot. You’re just having too many bad dreams.”

  “Sorry. It was just so real…”

  “I don’t understand why it would feel so real.”

  “Well, there are… complicated reasons for that.”

  “I don’t know what kind of reasons, but… it’s fine. Thanks for worrying about me. Actually, there’s something I wanted to tell you too, Ethan.”

  “Oh? What is it?”

  “Yeah… My counselor told me this. There’s a condition that I should stop if I start feeling burdened or in pain, but…”

  “Burdened?”

  “She said it’s okay for me to talk to you on the phone.”

  For Ethan, it was like a bolt from the blue.

  Because the headmaster’s illusion had been so real, he’d had a feeling Ria might drift away from him entirely.

  “She said it could help my recovery—talking to a man I like.”

  “I see… well, that’s a great idea.”

  “What’s with that? You sound like it’s someone else’s problem.”

  “…Sorry. I’m just so happy that I can’t think of anything clever to say…”

  “I’ve wanted to hear your voice for so long, Ethan.”

  A call came in from Ria.

  What should he talk about?

  No—he didn’t need to overthink it.

  He wanted to hear all about Ria’s life and what was on her mind.

  No matter how much she had suffered, he wanted to know what she still felt, what she thought, what she worried about—anything at all.

  That night, for both Ethan and Ria, became a very long one—speaking in their own voices over the phone for the first time in seven years.

  Emma and Maya

  After Victoria’s hellish special training ended, Maya invited Emma up to the rooftop of the Luna Nordics building.

  “Seriously, Vic, I wish she’d go a little easier on us…”

  Still feeling the aches in her body, Maya stretched lightly.

  “Hehe. If you can keep up with Vic’s training, that means you’ve improved a lot,” Emma said with a happy smile.

  It was still winter, so the air wasn’t warm, but the sky was clear.

  While gazing at the sky together, Maya gently took Emma’s left hand.

  Now, her wrist was smooth and unscarred—but it hadn’t always been that way.

  Maya remembered the time of the raid on Lumen Dei.

  It was when they were about to continue the fight with only the remaining members, leaving Emma behind in the locker room.

  “If an hour passes and we haven’t come back from the 12th floor, Emma, you are to leave,”

  said Director Beatrice, turning back just before stepping out of the locker room.

  Emma opened her mouth.

  “Director Beatrice.”

  “What is it?”

  “In that case, I have a request.”

  Her eyes held a look of resolve—that was what Emma’s expression conveyed.

  “Please cut off my left hand and attach it to Maya’s back.”

  Even Beatrice was at a loss for words for a moment.

  “If it’s just the left hand, I can manage to stop the bleeding for a short time. And… your Exceed, Director Beatrice—it probably has the power to dull pain, right? When you touched my leg earlier, it felt so much better. So… please. I can’t go with you, but I still want to fight alongside Maya.”

  “oh”

  “I won’t let Maya die. I want to keep my promise.”

  “It’s true, my Exceed is [Pain Shift]. I can ease your pain. But there’s the bleeding from the arm itself, and from the cut surface of your leg. If it takes too long, you’ll die from blood loss, Emma.”

  Beatrice wore an expression of anguish—one that neither Emma nor Maya had ever seen before.

  “I want you to rest, Emma. Your feelings alone are enough. I’ll fight and win for the both of us.”

  Maya couldn’t bring herself to look Emma straight in the face.

  “Maya, Director Beatrice—you’re both so kind. I love you.”

  With a sigh of resignation, Emma smiled.

  That, in itself, was the act of exploiting an opening.

  With the edge of her right hand, Emma severed her own left hand.

  She clenched her teeth, enduring the pain without letting out a scream.

  Beatrice said nothing, quickly using [Pain Shift] to dull the pain from Emma’s severed wrist, then tied her left arm with what looked like invisible threads to stop the bleeding.

  “Maya, pick up the fallen left hand and place it on your right hand.”

  Doing as Emma said, Maya found that the bleeding from the severed wrist of the hand had lessened, allowing it to be staunched. Beatrice taped it to Maya’s waist.

  “Emma. I’ve left one-tenth of the pain so you don’t lose awareness—it would be dangerous to remove it completely. The rest is up to trusting us. Keep treating yourself with your Healing Palm in your right hand while you wait.”

  “Understood… truly, thank you.”

  “Emma. We’ll defeat Ezekiel quickly and come back to save you. So just wait a little while.”

  Tears welled up in Maya’s eyes at Emma’s—no, at Emma’s—feelings and actions.

  And in the end, Ezekiel’s paralytic poison was expelled, and Maya was able to win. Without Emma’s decision and action, she surely would have lost.

  “A gentle hand,” Maya murmured, gently holding Emma’s left hand, and Emma in turn gently held hers.

  (Such a warm hand…) Maya thought anew.

  “Thanks to you, Emma, I’m alive… really, thank you.”

  “You’ve already said that like a hundred times,” Emma replied, looking a little exasperated but clearly happy.

  As the two stood there, a light drizzle began to fall.

  “Oh, it’s a sunshower. Beautiful”

  Maya whispered. The sky, with sunlight and light rain together, painted a strange pattern of shadows.

  “Can I give you a hug?” Maya asked.

  Before Emma could answer “Sure,” Maya hugged her.

  “I love you, Emma.”

  “I love you too, Maya.”

  From here on, there would surely be more life-or-death battles and hardships awaiting them.

  Some might even be harsher than the fights they had faced before.

  The loneliness of being a Returner would not change.

  And that was why gaining a friend they could truly feel safe with was such a huge turning point in life for both Maya and Emma.

  The passing shower lifted.

  In the distance, a rainbow appeared, the scent of rain still lingering in the air.

  The gradient of sunlight and water droplets seemed to bless Maya and Emma.

  Underground Organization

  Platinum-blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and ice-blue eyes.

  If Maya were human, aged naturally, and reached thirty, she might look like this—a beautiful woman in her prime, seated upon a throne, watching a display.

  The surroundings, though underground, were vast, with a massive flag displayed—clear evidence that this was some sort of organization.

  “With that power, we might be able to destroy Myrkrsvalinn. The God-Slaying Power is wasted on Beatrice. Don’t you agree, Cain?”

  She sipped wine and posed the question to the man standing beside her.

  Tall and slender, clad in a tactical suit, with gray hair and gray eyes, the handsome man who looked about twenty-five answered:

  “As you say, Lady Nox. This world should be ruled by the superior. We should claim it for us Returners—no matter how many humans must be sacrificed.”

  Cain wore an expression of utter cold-blooded cruelty, and the woman called Nox nodded in satisfaction.

  Guardians of Humanity

  “Daniel Vance. Your seat is over there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Ria’s older brother, Daniel Vance, had been recognized for his excellent record as a police officer and was assigned to the newly established, top-secret special unit known as the Guardians of Humanity.

  He sat down in what appeared to be a cybernetics-equipped operations command room, the kind that must have cost an enormous sum to construct.

  Looking around, he saw battle-hardened soldiers and men who appeared to be from police organizations—fierce-eyed veterans sitting in their seats.

  Daniel straightened his back so as not to be intimidated.

  A man in a black suit slowly entered the room.

  His back was perfectly straight, his strides even. His footsteps were low and resonant, like the heavy beat of a drum.

  His name—Victor Halloway.

  Director of the Guardians of Humanity, and a man known as “the Hunter.”

  “Sit down, gentlemen.”

  His low, dry voice made the air itself tremble.

  Daniel reflexively sat, feeling a bead of cold sweat run down his back.

  His heartbeat quickened slightly, and his fingertips grew damp.

  The man’s eyes seemed to pierce right into the depths of everyone’s soul.

  “Our enemies are—monsters in wolves’ clothing.”

  “They laugh, shake hands, and sometimes whisper words of love. But their fangs are always thirsting for blood.”

  Victor pressed a button on a remote.

  On the screen appeared images: bloodstained corridors, strange figures caught on surveillance cameras, beautiful men and women posing shoulder-to-shoulder with politicians.

  With each page that flipped, the air in the room grew heavier.

  “The moment you show them mercy, you are already dead. Do not let personal feelings interfere with the mission. That is the only way to survive.”

  The slides changed again.

  [Gray Archives], [Nocturnal Circle]—organization names flashed on the screen in cold, lifeless text before disappearing.

  And then, finally—

  [Luna Nordics – Threat Level S]

  The red letters glowed under the room’s lights like fresh blood.

  Daniel’s throat swallowed involuntarily.

  In the depths of his chest, something cold began to take shape.

  And with this, Season 1 comes to an end.

  Season 2 will resume in February 2026.

  Substack — written in between study sessions — to further enrich the world and characters of this story.

  ◆ Questions for You:

  ? In this chapter — or in the season as a whole — which moment struck you the most?

  ? Who is your favorite character, and who is your least favorite?

  ?? Special Thanks

  Lemongirl — You made it possible for me to finish writing Season 1. I can’t thank you enough for your encouragement every single time.

  You are officially my First Core Fan, and I will be sending you a special bonus via DM soon.

  Assa131 — Your review became a source of strength for me, helping me bring Season 1 to its conclusion.

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  Your support helps this tale reach new readers—those who resonate with its light and darkness alike.

  check out my Substack article here:

  https://open.substack.com/pub/knishi2050/p/why-i-wrote-hells-returners?r=5wfkgu&utm_medium=ios)

  All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, translation, or AI training use is prohibited.

  See you in Season 2.

  — K_Nishi