Akitsu Shouga found himself back inside the mansion, standing beneath the staircase where everything had begun. The air hung heavier than before, thick with an almost tangible tension. Shadows pooled in the corners, stretching unnaturally under the dim ceiling lights. He slowly turned his head, scanning the space under the stairs—the walls, the shadows, the spot where the hidden rift had swallowed him whole moments ago. His heartbeat echoed in his ears.

  Before he could gather his thoughts, a familiar presence shot toward him. Seraphine Orion floated into view, her tails bristling with mana, eyes blazing with fury.

  “Oi!! Where did you go?!” she snapped, voice sharp as a whip. “I’ve been searching for you all around the place?!”

  Akitsu flinched slightly. “U-Uuuhhh…?”

  “Well… I don’t really know how to explain this?”

  she continued, circling him in agitation. “Where could you possibly bee—”

  Her words died in her throat. Her eyes widened, pupils narrowing. Her entire body stiffened, mana crackling around her as instinctive fear rippled through her being.

  Behind Akitsu stood the girl. Long black hair draped over her face. No eyes. No mouth. White rags clinging loosely to her thin frame. Chains rattled faintly around her limbs, echoing in the tense air.

  Seraphine Orion recoiled, floating backward. “What the hell is that?!” she shouted. “Why do you have a vengeful spirit behind you?!”

  Akitsu spun, startled. “O-Oh—right…!”

  “Don’t worry, she won’t attack… right?” he added cautiously. The girl gave a slight, silent nod.

  Seraphine Orion’s voice trembled with disbelief. “What have you been doing all this time?! And why did you bring a spirit here?!”

  “I agreed to help her if she helped me,” Akitsu replied quickly. “That’s why she’s here.”

  “…What did she help you with?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I was somehow trapped inside a dark room full of sand, and she helped me escape.”

  He hesitated, then asked cautiously, “So… are you okay with her being here?”

  Seraphine Orion folded her arms, glaring at the spirit, mana flickering around her like storm clouds. “…Fine. I guess. But if she does any funny business, I’m definitely going to kill her.”

  The girl tilted her head slightly. “…Friend?” she asked softly.

  Seraphine Orion yelped and floated backward. “That’s creepy!”

  “I think you’re overreacting,” Akitsu said calmly. “She’s harmless.”

  “I’m not overreacting!!” Seraphine Orion shouted, tails bristling. “Do you have any idea what she’s capable of?! She’s as strong as I am—and I’m a guardian angel!”

  “…Come on,” Akitsu muttered. “She’s harmless… for now?”

  Seraphine Orion opened her mouth to argue—but froze.

  Her gaze snapped upward. A figure stood atop the staircase railing above them.

  A man.

  He wore a blue hoodie, the hood pulled low over his head. His face was entirely wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, crimson seeping through the cloth in irregular patterns. His presence radiated a silent menace.

  “…Who are you?” Seraphine Orion demanded, voice tight.

  Akitsu Shouga followed her gaze. His blood ran cold.

  Before either of them could react, the man leaped down with inhuman speed. In his hands, two blue, glowing semicircle blades ignited, spinning faintly with an ominous hum.

  Akitsu turned and ran—but the man was faster.

  “Stop!” Seraphine Orion shouted, summoning her mana. The ground erupted violently. Tree roots burst upward, wrapping around the attacker’s limbs and torso like living restraints.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Akitsu spun around instinctively, fists raised. His body settled into a natural fighting stance, muscles tense, senses sharp.

  The man snarled, teeth flashing. “What the hell is this?!”

  “This kid has powers?!”

  “Yeah,” Akitsu replied calmly, voice steady. “What about it? You can’t do anything.”

  The man sliced through the roots effortlessly, blue blades flashing. “So you’re going to punch me with your hands?”

  “I’ve got blades, you know that, right?” Akitsu shot back. “Orion!”

  “Alright!” Seraphine Orion answered, floating rapidly. Wooden spikes shot up from the floor like spears, slamming toward the attacker. The man dodged with terrifying agility, blue blades cutting arcs through the air.

  Akitsu didn’t retreat. Steel met flesh in rapid succession—dodges, deflections, redirections, each movement precise and deadly.

  “You’re not bad!” Akitsu called out as he grabbed the man’s arm, twisting sharply. Crack. The shoulder dislocated. The man staggered back, grinning as he forced it back into place. “I guess you’re tougher than you look.”

  Footsteps echoed behind them. Renjiro and Rikuya had come downstairs, eyes wide in horror.

  The man turned, eyes gleaming beneath the bloodied bandages. “Well, well… looks like the prey has come to me!”

  “OI! Look above you!” Seraphine Orion yelled. Vines dropped two wooden swords into Akitsu’s hands. He caught them mid-air and charged, muscles coiled like springs.

  “Run away!” Akitsu shouted. “Go back upstairs!”

  Renjiro and Rikuya didn’t hesitate. They sprinted for the stairs, leaving the battle to Akitsu.

  The man laughed wildly, blue blades spinning in the dim light. “It’s hopeless! I’ll kill every one of you and cash out on the goods!”

  Poisonous vines snapped and burned as he cut through them, clashing relentlessly with Akitsu.

  “Too bad,” Akitsu growled, “I won’t let that happen!”

  The wooden swords cracked under the force of the blows, splinters flying like tiny missiles.

  In the corner, the girl watched silently, her black hair obscuring her face. “…Need… help?” she asked softly.

  “Help me!” Akitsu shouted.

  “There’s no one to help you!” the man sneered. “It’s hopeless!”

  Akitsu stepped back, nearly broken blades trembling in his hands. “Have you decided to give up?!” the man laughed.

  “…Father. Needs. Help.”

  The girl stepped forward. The man blinked. “…Who is she?”

  “I haven’t seen her before.”

  He laughed again. “Oh well! The more the merrier!”

  Her form began to change—rapidly, violently. The man’s smile vanished. “Shit!” He released poisonous gas and leaped backward. “…It’s a spirit!” he hissed, vaulting to the second floor using the wall as leverage.

  Akitsu sprinted after him, wooden swords in hand. “Where are you going?!”

  “Our battle has just started!” the man shouted. “I only need to kill my targets! You’re useless to me!”

  Seraphine Orion chased closely behind, summoning twisting vines that erupted through the halls. Walls of green plants blocked the man’s escape route.

  He turned—and ran straight toward Akitsu.

  “Got you!” Akitsu yelled.

  At the last second, the man veered sharply to the right—only to stop. Standing at the end of the hallway, blocking his escape, was the girl in white rags. Her chains clinked faintly, hair draped over her face, silent and unyielding.

  The hallway fell into tense stillness, the air vibrating with anticipation.