The evening sun still lingered above the horizon, casting long shadows across the stone paths of Fiester Academy. Warm light spilled over rooftops, while strong winds swept through the open grounds—cool, refreshing, and restless, as though carrying a warning.

  Akitsu Shouga rose from the bench near the academy’s statue, brushing dust from his uniform.

  “Orion,” he said quietly, “where’s Kaoru?”

  Seraphine Orion hovered nearby, her white tails swaying gently in the breeze.

  “You told her to go home by herself, remember?”

  “…Yeah,” Akitsu replied after a pause. “I do remember saying that.” He stared ahead, eyes narrowing slightly.

  “Hmmm. I feel like going on a walk.”

  Seraphine blinked at him in disbelief. “That’s what you feel like doing right now? Why are you so narrow-minded?”

  Akitsu chuckled softly, a faint smile crossing his face. “I do things my way. And right now, we’re going on a walk.”

  Without waiting for a response, he headed toward the academy gates.

  The market district was alive. Lanterns flickered to life as the sun dipped lower, illuminating crowded streets filled with merchants, travelers, and locals weaving through one another. Voices overlapped—laughter, bargaining, footsteps echoing over stone.

  Akitsu glanced around. “This place is more packed than I thought it would be.”

  Seraphine floated beside him, unimpressed. “Why are we at the market?”

  “I’ve never been here during this time,” Akitsu replied. “I just wanted to check it out.”

  Seraphine’s gaze wandered lazily from stall to stall. “There are some nice items. Like those jewels over there.”

  “Yeah,” Akitsu said casually. “You can leave if you want. I’m only here to check on one thing.”

  Seraphine blinked. “And what is that?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Akitsu turned into a narrow, shadow-filled alleyway. The sounds of the market faded behind them like distant echoes, swallowed by the walls. He stepped through—and emerged on the other side into an empty space.

  Nothing stood there. No structure. No stone rim. No presence.

  Seraphine’s ears twitched. “Oh! The well really is gone! I thought you were joking around!”

  “I came here to see if it would appear once more,” Akitsu said quietly.

  “So it’s gone forever?”

  “…I think so,” he replied. “I’m not sure.”

  With no reason to linger, they turned back toward home.

  Halfway through the return, Seraphine suddenly froze midair. Her expression sharpened, alert and alarmed.

  “OI!” she shouted. “Kaoru is in danger! Hurry up—go back home!”

  Akitsu spun around—but Seraphine was already gone, leaving a faint trail of white light in her wake.

  “Kaoru in danger?!” he shouted, panic flashing across his face. He bolted forward, sprinting through the streets with reckless speed.

  Seraphine reappeared in a flash beside him.

  Kaoru stood in a narrow street near her home, surrounded. Eight masked men closed in, blades glinting beneath the flickering lantern light.

  Seraphine didn’t hesitate. “Bird cage.”

  The ground trembled violently. Vines and thick branches erupted from the earth, twisting upward and interlocking to form a protective cage around Kaoru. The thrum of raw energy vibrated through the air.

  Kaoru gasped. “What is this? Shouga-kun? Where are you?”

  The masked men staggered back, knives raised defensively.

  “Huh?” the first man snarled. “Who’s using powers? Who the hell did this? This isn’t going to work on us!”

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  My defenses are among the strongest, Seraphine thought. They won’t break through easily. But… I can’t directly harm them unless they violate the wish-maker’s rule. Her ears flattened.

  “You better hurry up, Akitsu Shouga,” she whispered.

  The masked men slashed at the vines with knives, sparks of metal striking bark—but the branches didn’t even splinter.

  After a tense pause, one of them looked up.

  “Hey!” the second man shouted. “Isn’t that a spirit up there?”

  Some squinted into the air. “I don’t see anything!” a third yelled.

  “That is a spirit!” a fourth man insisted. “That’s probably what made the barrier!”

  “Get that spirit!” the first man roared. “Or we’re all dead!”

  Four of them scrambled to pursue Seraphine, climbing along rooftops and leaping between them.

  Then—Akitsu emerged from a side alley near the remaining men.

  Without hesitation, he surged forward and drove his fist into the back of one masked man’s head. The man crumpled instantly, a muted grunt escaping his lips.

  “Who the hell are you?!” the first man shouted. “Why did you hit one of our guys?!”

  Akitsu dropped into a boxing stance, calm and steady.

  The first man yanked a knife free from the vines, lunging toward him.

  “Do you think you’ll survive if we three attack you simultaneously?”

  Akitsu smirked faintly. “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

  The fifth man charged, sword swinging wildly. Akitsu dodged each strike, stepping backward under pressure. Then—he grabbed a wooden crate from the street and smashed it into the attacker’s face.

  The man fell. Akitsu planted his foot on the hand still gripping the sword, crouched, and wrenched the weapon free. One clean kick to the face, and the man went limp.

  “I thought you said you’d attack me simultaneously,” Akitsu said calmly. “Now I know that was a lie.”

  He pointed at another masked man trembling nearby. “But my guess is… that guy is scared of me.”

  “What are you doing?!” the first man screamed. “Go after him!”

  The sixth man hesitated. “Why do I have to do this?! I was forced into this! And you’re telling me to go get myself killed?! I’d rather die than do this!”

  The first man snapped. He plunged his knife into the sixth man’s chest. Blood spilled as the body hit the ground.

  “Oh,” Akitsu said flatly. “Wow. I didn’t know you’d go that far just to kill one person.”

  The first man charged. Akitsu sidestepped, slammed his knee into the man’s stomach, and disarmed him in one fluid motion. He grabbed the man by the hair and lifted him effortlessly with one arm.

  “Have you learned your lesson?” Akitsu asked calmly. “If you don’t know how to fight, just don’t do it. Alright?”

  The man spat weakly. “Fuck you.”

  Akitsu dropped him.

  A knife came down from above—he dodged instinctively. Two masked men stood on a nearby rooftop.

  “Hey you!” the fourth man shouted. “You’re pretty strong. So here’s a deal. Let us take the girl, and we’ll give you half the reward.”

  Akitsu didn’t answer. He threw a sword. It pierced straight through the man beside him. The body crumpled lifelessly.

  “Do you understand my response,” Akitsu asked coldly, “or do I need to say it out loud for your puny mind to understand what I just said?”

  The fourth man laughed. “I’m starting to feel affection toward you.”

  “No thanks,” Akitsu replied. “I don’t swing that way.”

  The masked man jumped down.

  Inside the vine cage, Kaoru’s voice trembled. “Shouga-kun…?”

  The wind howled, and the night was just beginning.