The Next Day—Azura Station.

  The train doors swished open, releasing a bellow of steam that spilled across the platform. Passengers poured out in a rush, their boots striking the concrete in loud resonance, voices colliding, metal clattering as the train let out its last breath.

  The station stood vast and iron-framed, its glass ceiling filtering the sun's pale light onto signboards and crowded platforms. Little children ran around and squealed in delight. The air smelled of oil and smoke.

  "Ugh, it was so hot in there," Ryūma groaned, shoving a hand over his face as he stepped off the train.

  "Blame the weather," Hina replied, pulling out a sweet stick that jutted from her mouth. A sheathed katana-length sword hung at her waist.

  "Aww," Van yawned lazily while Code followed beside him.

  Code’s eyes darted about awkwardly as he raised a finger to adjust his collar. He wore the guild’s uniform: a black high-collared tunic that hung past his waist over loose black pants gathered at the ankles, the same as Ryūma’s.

  "Hehe." Ryūma chuckled, slinging an arm over Code’s shoulder. "We match, bro. That’s what I call looking sharp."

  "Meh," Code muttered, trying to free himself.

  "You don’t like it?" Hina asked, noticing the sour expression on his face.

  "Nah, it’s not that," Code muttered, finally slipping free. "It just feels like we’re college students in school uniforms."

  "What the..?!" Ryūma blurted, shocked.

  "Arrgh, you know who to blame," Hina said with a shrug. "Van’s fashion sense is a whole lot of nothing."

  "Oi, I heard that!" Van snapped.

  Hina rolled her eyes. "Anyway, where’s Ken? Shouldn’t he be here already?"

  "Hmm, yeah," Van replied, brows furrowing. "Look around. Do you see anything strange?"

  "Eh..." Hina spun, scanning the street. "There’s nothing strange—" She stopped mid-sentence. "There’s someone smoking next to a no-smoking stand, and Finn’s next to him."

  "Yeah, that’s Ken," Van said, already walking away.

  "Huh?!" Code blurted in surprise. "Why would anyone smoke next to a no-smoking stand?!"

  "Ken’s pretty unhinged, y’know," Ryūma replied.

  "Um, excuse me, sir, you’re not allowed to smoke in this area!" a waiter cautioned.

  "Uh... why? I’ll smoke wherever I want," Ken replied flatly, puffing a cloud of smoke into the man’s face.

  "But you’re disturbing our customers," the waiter pleaded, waving the smoke away.

  "Really, Ken, there are plenty of other places to smoke. Why next to a no-smoking stand?" Finn exclaimed.

  "Simple. Rules are made for breaking," Ken said bluntly, puffing another cloud into Finn’s face.

  "Ugh!" Finn grunted, shoving his hands to clear the smoke.

  "Woah," Code muttered as they reached the pair.

  "Believe me now?" Ryūma replied.

  "Oi, Ken, over here," Van boomed.

  "Van Ackerman," Finn exclaimed, eyes widening as he straightened.

  "Arrgh, looks like the only thing you gained in the months we haven’t seen each other are more scars," Van teased.

  "Uh?" Ken’s eyes rolled left, locking onto him. "At least I gained something," he replied, bumping fists with him.

  "Aw, Ken, it’s been a while," Hina said, stepping forward, her tone filled with mock anticipation.

  "Yo," Nara waved.

  "You guys aren’t dead yet? Tuff!" Ken chuckled.

  "Tch, asshole, you asking for it?!" Hina snapped.

  "Blegh." Ken stuck out his tongue in mockery.

  "Tsk," Hina clicked her tongue. "Must be really tough traveling with him," she said, turning to Finn.

  "Argh," Finn exhaled grimly.

  "Anyway, who’s the new kid?" Ken asked, turning back to Van. "Lemme guess, his heart would fetch a crazy price." His lips curled into a creepy grin.

  "We could buy a mansion in Centralis if we threw in his spleen."

  "What the fuck!" Code exclaimed, eyes wide.

  "Please, kindly lower your voice, sir," the waiter pleaded.

  "Haha, just kidding," Ken chuckled, stretching out a hand. "Name’s Ken. Don’t forget."

  Code grabbed it hesitantly. "Code Weber."

  "Code?" Ken repeated.

  "What’s with it?" Code asked.

  "Nothing. Just sounds weird," Ken replied.

  "Yeah, it’s weird," Code shrugged.

  "So, where are we going after this? A beer parlor to celebrate my arrival wouldn’t hurt," Ken asked.

  "You know we’re minors, right?!" Hina shouted.

  "Please, lower your voice, ma’am," the waiter begged.

  "Nah, it’s not time for celebration yet," Van said. "Demonic signals have been concentrating around the town outskirts. I get the feeling it’s mid-class."

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Oh?" Ryūma's eyes brightened. "I haven’t fought a demon in weeks," he said, cracking his knuckles.

  "Hmm, I haven’t grasped my powers well yet, so maybe I can learn more after beating a demon to pulp," Code muttered.

  "Arr... c-calm down, guys. We just got back. I think we need to rest," Finn cut in.

  "What are you talking about?" Hina replied. "It’s not like you’re going to do anything. Navigators have it easy."

  "Yeah, that still doesn’t mean I don’t deserve rest," Finn shot back.

  "Navigators?" Code asked, brows knitting.

  "Yeah, they’re sorcerers who don’t fight. They just help find and classify demons," Ryūma explained.

  "Arrgh, since you guys are so enthusiastic," Van cut in, and everyone turned to him. "Why don’t you take the mission while Ken and I discuss some important matters?"

  "Yeah, very important matters," Ken nodded.

  "Tch, lazy bastards! You’re trying to run, aren’t you?" Hina shouted, but the two men had already disappeared.

  "Arrgh," Hina sighed, turning back to the group. "Guess it’s down to us."

  "I really need to rest for real!!!" Finn screamed, his voice echoing everywhere.

  "Please, you’re disturbing our customers, sir," the waiter cautioned again.

  ...

  MARROWFEN DISTRICT.

  The street stretched on in a long line, its asphalt road worn by years of footsteps and tires. Shops and low buildings flanked both sides, power lines crisscrossed overhead, humming faintly, while the scent of dust, fuel, and street food lingered in the air.

  At the far end of the street was a building which stood apart.

  "So this is the house?" Hina said, her gaze rising to the three-storey building standing metres away from her.

  The brownish yellow building stood tall, with cracks running along its walls. Narrow windows were deep in the fa?ade, their glass clouded and framed by rusted metals. Vines crept along the lower walls, as if trying to hold the building together.

  "Damn, it’s pretty huge," Code marvelled. "But it looks kinda old," he added.

  "So, Finn, what’s with this place?" Ryūma asked.

  "Arrgh, guess I can’t get out of this," Finn shook his head grimly and lowered himself to the ground.

  He placed a hand on the floor, shut his eyes, and focused.

  "What’s he doing?" Code asked.

  "Shh!" Hina whispered, gesturing to Code to keep quiet by placing a finger on her lips. "He’s scanning the area for demonic signals," she said.

  "Oh," Code nodded.

  From across the road, two men chatted in voices that were meant to be whispers but carried easily in the quiet evening air. They stared at the group with the kind of fascination reserved for people about to do something irreversibly stupid.

  “Are they planning on entering that haunted building?” the first man hissed to his friend, eyes wide.

  “Looks like it. They might be sorcerers,” the second replied, scratching his chin.

  “Still…” The first man leaned closer. “You know the story. Plenty of sorcerers have been sent in there, none ever came out again.”

  His friend snorted. “Well, what do you wanna do about it? Talk them out of going in?”

  “Nah.” The first man waved the idea away like it was smoke. “They should find out for themselves.” He shrugged, and the two turned and ambled off down the sidewalk, disappearing around the corner.

  Code and Hina, who had been openly eavesdropping, exchanged a glance before turning back to face the house. Its windows stared back like dark, empty sockets.

  “I wouldn’t believe it if someone told me this building wasn’t haunted,” Hina muttered, arms folded tightly across her chest.

  “No cap,” Code agreed. But the hard glint in his eyes made it clear he had no intention of turning around. After all, he'd seen worse and survived.

  “I like horror films,” Ryūma announced cheerfully, flashing a wide grin that showed all his teeth. “This is basically live-action. Bet there’s gonna be a jump scare the second we enter."

  Hina shot him a flat look. “You’re not helping.”

  Finn's eyes opened, and he rose to his feet. "I'm done," he announced.

  "So, what’s the result?" Hina asked.

  "Low-class demons, maximum A.T.R minus twelve point one, and one mid-class with A.T.R minus twenty-four point two," Finn recited.

  "Hehe, sounds like fun," Ryūma said, stretching.

  Hina grabbed her sword’s hilt, gaze narrowing. "Let’s get this over with."

  "Yeah," Code rolled his sleeves in preparation for whatever was coming.

  ...

  Inside, the building smelled of age, dust, damp wood, rusted metal, and decay all at once. The floorboards creaked under their own weight, while cracks ran like veins along the walls. Faded paint peeled in thin curls, revealing older layers beneath.

  Light slipped in through the narrow windows, catching on cobwebs in the corners and floating motes of dust.

  "Sometimes I feel like demons like me," Ryūma said as the group stepped into the house, closing the door behind them with a soft thud.

  "Cool! But why would they?" Code muttered.

  "What kind of feeling is that?!" Finn exclaimed, eyes darting around in fear while he pressed close to Code’s side.

  "I don’t know. It’s just a feeling," Ryūma replied with a shrug.

  Hina lunged forward, sliding her fingers along the wall until she found it—an old electric switch. She flicked it on, and to everyone’s surprise, the room lit up.

  "Hmm, electricity still works? Might not be as old as I was thinking," Code remarked, tilting his head toward the source of the light.

  A single filament bulb hung from the ceiling, casting a pale yellow glow across the space. It fell on worn leather chairs and shelves lined with tattered books, their spines cracked and faded.

  "Wh-what’s that?" Finn stammered, pointing forward with a trembling finger.

  Everyone followed the direction of his hand.

  "Oooh, damn," Ryūma muttered as he saw what Finn had spotted.

  Bodies. Heaps of bodies; twisted, mangled, brutalized. Blood splattered the walls and floor in dark, drying arcs; gouged-out eyeballs and scattered teeth littered the path like grisly confetti. Mice squealed and scattered into burrows as the group’s footsteps disturbed them.

  Finn clapped a hand over his mouth; sweat poured down his face.

  "Is this what those men meant when they said the sorcerers never came back?" Code asked quietly.

  "Most likely," Hina replied, stepping back to escape the pungent stench. "But thanks to that, we know it’s a demon, not a ghost, that’s haunting this house."

  She looked ahead, eyes narrowing at the long, dark hallway that stretched before them like an open throat.

  "Whew… this is giving me the chills," Ryūma chuckled, though he visibly shivered.

  "M-me too," Finn whispered, grabbing Code’s arm and clutching it tightly.

  "Oi, it’s near!" Hina announced suddenly, straightening.

  "Huh?" Code tensed, eyes narrowing as he scanned the shadows.

  A creepy silence settled over the room.

  Then, without warning, Finn felt a cold touch on his back. His eyes widened; he swallowed hard. The hand crept slowly upward until icy fingers hooked into his collar. Finn’s breath hitched, chest rising and falling like war drums.

  His mouth flew open. "Ahhh!!"

  A loud splursh followed immediately afterward as red liquid sprayed everywhere.

  "Eh?" Finn breathed, eyes shifting from the pulverized mass of flesh on the floor to Code’s bloodied fist that had just destroyed the demon.

  "Don’t cling to me," Code said coolly.

  "Woah," Ryūma said, eyes widening. "Totally cool, man." He flashed a thumbs-up.

  "No time to marvel, guys. There’s more," Hina said, locking onto the horde of demons thudding toward them.

  "Hehe, here they come," Ryūma grinned, his pupils reddening as he bent low.

  The demons were identical creatures with bodies split into proportions. Some had their heads far larger than other parts of their bodies, some—their arms, some—legs, and others—stomachs.

  "Let’s go!" Hina announced, and the trio burst ahead, leaving Finn and a cloud of dust behind.

  "Might as well watch from here," Finn whispered.

  A sickening metallic sound rang out as Hina unsheathed her sword.

  "Arrgh..." She exhaled, releasing a gust of compressed air.

  "Sword Art..." she whispered, dark tenzen emanating from her body and engulfing her sword.

  "...Air Splitter!!"

  All the demons saw were silver gleams until their heads erupted into the air in a bloody spray. They all had the same "huh?" expression on their faces.

  She connected with the next demon, tearing her sword into its neck and unleashing a surge of dark tenzen that reduced it to nothing.

  A trail of flames lined the air as Ryūma burst forward. He landed, cratering the floor in radial spirals.

  "Uh... lemme see, one, two, three..." he whispered, counting the demons lunging toward him.

  "Nine!" He finished, locking into stance.

  Sparks flared on his hand, and then a gust of flames boomed out, quickly covering his arms.

  "Arrgh," he exhaled, stretching one foot backward.

  "Fire Sorcery: Explosive Fist!"

  His fist connected with a demon’s jaw, dislocating it before exploding.

  Another demon hissed as it leapt toward him.

  Ryūma spun rapidly, raising his arm to the demon’s forehead and flicking his finger.

  As it connected, an overwhelming force erupted, sending the demon crashing into a wall where its remains burned to crisp. Then he spun and unleashed a circular blade of flames that slit the remaining demons clean through their stomachs.

  "I can’t lose either," Code muttered, gaze shifting from to the two onto the approaching horde.

  'Let’s see how strong I’ll get after defeating these ones.'