"Haruki-san... actually, I..."

  The Seitenshi looked at Haruki, a flood of unspoken emotions swirling in her eyes. It seemed she wanted to pour her heart out, to say something that went far beyond the contract between a ruler and a bodyguard.

  But in the end, she took a deep breath and pushed those feelings back down, repcing them with a calm, certain smile.

  "I know you'll come back, Haruki. When you do, I’ll show you a Tokyo that has truly changed. I promise to take care of every Cursed Child as if they were my own."

  "Good."

  Hearing her resolve, Haruki nodded. At that exact moment, the System’s countdown reached zero.

  He didn't wait for a polite exit. He shattered the gss of the Sacred Residence’s window and vanished into the night sky, disappearing before her very eyes.

  Grizzly Pastry Shop.

  Miko Yotsuya and her best friend, Hana Yurikawa, were browsing the dispys.

  "Look, look! This cake! Isn't it just the cutest thing?" Hana chirped, pointing excitedly.

  "Uh... sure," Miko replied, her expression twitching.

  The cake Hana was pointing at was modeled after a "Bloody Mary"—complete with realistic red syrup and a macabre design that looked far too much like an actual horror prop.

  The clerk, sensing a sale, added fuel to the fire. "Excellent taste! This is our most popur item. We only have one left for today!"

  "Really?" Hana blinked, then looked at Miko. "What do you think, Miko? If you want it, I can share!"

  "N-No thanks! I’ll just take the pin one next to it!" Miko waved her hands frantically. Seeing ghosts every day was enough; she didn't need her dessert to remind her of the afterlife too.

  They bought their sweets and left the shop. Hana was still buzzing with energy. "Where to next? Mister Donut? Or maybe the mochi shop?"

  "Let's go for mochi..."

  Miko suddenly stopped. Her entire body turned rigid.

  Hana, who had kept walking, noticed the silence and turned back. "Miko? What’s wrong?"

  "I... I think I want a donut after all. Let's go the other way!"

  "Oh, okay!" Hana shrugged and followed her.

  Miko forced herself not to look back, but the image was burned into her mind. Her heart was hammering against her ribs so hard it felt like it would burst.

  Back there, on the path they were supposed to take, a spirit in Heian-era robes was wandering. It was covered in dozens of extra eyes and mouths, all twitching and whispering. It was, without a doubt, the most malicious entity she had ever seen. The fact that it was wandering openly in broad daylight, surrounded by a crowd that couldn't see it, made it a thousand times more terrifying.

  Miko was done being "cautious." She needed a professional. She reached into her bag and dialed the number of the one man who made her feel safe—despite the complicated feelings she had for him.

  But Haruki Aizawa didn't pick up.

  "Did something happen to him?" she whispered, staring at her phone in confusion. It was impossible to imagine a monster like Haruki being in trouble, but the fact that he was unreachable felt like a bad omen.

  Haruki’s mind felt like it was submerged in a lightless ocean.

  A relentless, white-hot desire to kill was searing every nerve in his body. The hunger to bring death to everything in his sight was a roar that threatened to consume his physical form.

  "The side effects... are worse than I thought..."

  The moment Haruki returned to his apartment, his mental world had been ignited by the hellish fmes of the Darkin.

  It was the price of the World Ender form. The Darkin power wasn't a normal energy source; it was a corruptive essence. Even though Haruki’s iron will had held during the fight, the "withdrawal" was hitting him like a freight train. He wasn't the World Ender anymore, but his body was still vibrating with the frequency of an immortal demon.

  Haruki was powerful, but he was still human. Using the power of a god-killer was bound to have consequences.

  He spent an entire night locked in his room, wrestling with his own consciousness. The urge to rend flesh and watch blood spill was almost physical. By dawn, he had managed to regain control, but the irritation remained. He felt like a live wire, sparking at the slightest touch.

  "I can't go to school like this," he muttered, taking a ragged breath.

  He didn't trust himself around people. He was afraid that a stray comment or a bump in the hallway would trigger a massacre before he could stop himself. It would be a disaster for his social life—and his conscience.

  He ignored Miko’s calls. He barely spoke to Sakiko. He stayed in his room for two days, effectively on a self-imposed lockdown.

  But the world wouldn't let him hide. On the morning of the third day, his phone rang. It was a number he couldn't ignore.

  "Haruki! What the hell is going on with you? You’ve missed two days of school!"

  The sharp, authoritative voice of Shizuka Hiratsuka barked through the speaker.

  "I... I haven't been feeling well," Haruki replied, his voice strained as he suppressed a sudden surge of annoyance.

  "Not feeling well? That’s the joke of the century. A monster like you doesn't get a cold. Give me a better excuse, or I’ll assume you’re taking maternity leave."

  Sensei didn't buy it for a second. She demanded he show up to Sobu High immediately.

  Haruki hesitated, but he figured he had stabilized enough to try. He headed to school.

  In the cssroom, he tried to fall back on his usual routine: closing his eyes and meditating. But it was impossible. The moment he closed his eyes, the voices of the Darkin began to hiss. He saw visions of battle, of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. The peace he usually found in his Sense of Fluctuation was gone, repced by a violent, static noise.

  He stayed quiet until PE css.

  Usually, people avoided Haruki during sports, so he was content to stand in a corner of the field alone. Nearby, a group of boys were pying soccer, their cheers and shouts grating on Haruki’s raw nerves.

  "Whoa! Did you see that shot? It was a rocket!"

  "Unstoppable! You're a beast, man!"

  In the middle of the game, a stray kick sent the ball flying toward the sidelines. It bounced along the grass and stopped right at Haruki’s feet.

  The boys froze. None of them dared to come over to retrieve it.

  Finally, Hayato Hayama, the css golden boy, stepped forward with a polite smile. "Aizawa-kun, sorry about that. Could you pass the ball back?"

  In any other state, Haruki would have simply kicked it back. But today, the simple request felt like a needle to his brain. A nameless, uncontrolble rage boiled up in his chest.

  Instead of passing the ball, he raised his foot and smmed it down.

  BOOM!

  The soccer ball didn't just defte; it exploded into a shower of bck and white leather scraps. The sound was like a gunshot.

  "Sorry. There is no ball," Haruki said, his voice ft and terrifyingly cold.

  Hayama and the rest of the css stood in stunned silence, staring at the shredded remains of the ball and the man who looked like he wanted to do the same to them.

  Realizing the Darkin energy was spiking again, Haruki turned and walked away from the field. He sought out a deserted corner of the school grounds to cool down.

  The world looked wrong. Through the red tint of his internal struggle, the people around him looked like moving lumps of meat—fragile, pulsing, and annoyingly loud. The Darkin’s will was a constant whisper in his ear: Kill them. The weak have no right to breathe. Give them the gift of death...

  He did his best to ignore it, but the "Blood Mist" was clouding his vision. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the proximity of life like a target.

  "Oh? Is that Haruki Aizawa?"

  A familiar voice broke through the static. Haruki opened his eyes and saw a blurry silhouette that eventually resolved into Yui Yuigahama. She was carrying a box of school supplies, likely running an errand for the student council.

  "What do you want?" Haruki’s voice was icy. He wanted her to run.

  Yui, however, was oblivious—or perhaps she was the only one brave enough to ignore his aura. She walked closer. "Nothing really. It’s just... you’re always alone. Don't you ever get lonely?"

  "No."

  "Really? I can't even imagine having no one to talk to. Doesn't it get... dark?"

  "Are you under the impression that I’m some kind of superhero?" Haruki asked, his gaze piercing.

  "Well... aren't you?" she asked, tilting her head.

  To her, and to most of the school, Haruki was a monster in human skin—an invincible "overman." But Haruki knew the truth. He wasn't a hero or a gifted being. He was just a man who was more obsessed and more stubborn than anyone else. He had worked for every ounce of his power, and now he was paying the price for it.

  He wasn't going to expin that to Yui. He preferred people thinking he was a god rather than seeing how close he was to snapping.

  Yui went silent for a moment, then looked at him with a soft, curious expression. "You know, Haruki-kun... I still remember that day at the opening ceremony..."

  "Did something happen?"

  Before she could answer, Haruki felt a new "vibration" entering the area. It was different from a student or a spirit. It was sharp, sophisticated, and smelled faintly of expensive tobacco.

  He turned his head to see a woman standing near the gate. She had short, stylish hair, wore a professional suit, and held a cigarette between her fingers despite the school's "No Smoking" policy. Her eyes were sharp, analytical, and completely unafraid of the "Sword Ghost."

  She was Touko Aozaki. And she was looking right at him.

  ***********************************************

  For advanced chapters up to 20 chapter ahead is on my

  My name : M7md_sol

  Current amount of chapters on : 102

  If your having trouble reaching my

  Just write M7md_sol on Google search and I'll probably be the first page that shows up and thanks for any support you guys give

  Discord :

  https://discord.gg/Vvhcb4RRS