"What scorching weather we're having."
Arisuin Nagi walked along the mountain path, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead.
It was noon, the sun blazing directly overhead, its scorching heat almost unbearable.
"Such a stark contrast to the weather back then..."
The deadline was fast approaching.
Tomorrow night was the night to strike.
Yet Arisuin Nagi couldn't help but sink into memories.
He had been born in Northern Europe, a land perpetually frozen, where warmth was a rarity.
Back then, he and several other orphans had been taken in by a kindhearted nun and housed in a monastery. As a Blazer with decent strength, he acted like an elder brother, protecting everyone and earning their deep affection.
Though their lives were impoverished and they were just children, he had used his Blazer skills to work for the local mafia, earning a considerable sum each day. This ensured they never went hungry and could even enjoy meat broth once a week.
Despite their lack of wealth, looking back, those were undoubtedly the happiest days of his life.
But such idyllic times never last.
The country was later confirmed to host the Olympics.
It was a massive global event, one that would draw tourists and world leaders from every corner of the globe. Naturally, the country had to be cleaned up.
And so, the homeless children became a thorn in the side of the elite.
But the authorities couldn't be seen directly clearing out the homeless children themselves, so they commissioned local gangs to purge the city of its street children, using any means necessary.
One night, when Arisuin Nagi returned home, he found the corpses of several of his younger siblings and Little Sisters.
The gang that had hired him, eager to curry favor with the elite, had sent assassins to murder his siblings and Little Sisters.
Arisuin Nagi went berserk.
When he came to his senses, he was covered head to toe in blood, the ground littered with dismembered limbs and viscera.
He had mercilessly slaughtered dozens of gang members, leaving none alive.
"Don't come any closer!"
Yet the remaining younger siblings and Little Sisters, horrified by his blood-soaked figure and the carnage around him, screamed in terror, begging him to leave.
Arisuin Nagi didn't blame them.
It's only natural for people to fear blood.
Having killed so many, it was understandable that his younger siblings and the Little Sisters would despise him.
Then...
"Ho, you've stolen all my prey?"
One of the Twelve Apostles of 〈[ Rebellion ]〉, the One-Armed Sword Saint, happened to pass by.
"Passing by" wasn't quite accurate.
In truth, he had accepted a commission from the upper classes to purge the city's gangs.
That's right.
In the eyes of the elite, not only were the street urchins considered unsightly dregs, but so were the gangs.
They were masters of using and discarding people like worn-out millstones.
The One-Armed Sword Saint recognized Arisuin Nagi's talent, believing he possessed a powerful innate assassin's skill, and sought to take him away.
"One hundred million."
Amidst the icy snow, Arisuin Nagi stated his condition.
"Give me one hundred million, and I'll go with you."
The One-Armed Sword Saint agreed.
Arisuin Nagi left the one hundred million with the Monastery, entrusting the nuns to care for his younger siblings and the Little Sisters.
Then, he stepped into the world of darkness.
...
"What's the point in thinking about this now?"
Arisuin Nagi snapped out of his reverie with a bitter laugh.
Since joining 〈[ Rebellion ]〉, his hands had long been stained with blood. As the Black Shadow Killer, he had slaughtered hundreds, if not thousands, of people, some good, some evil, all to further 〈[ Rebellion ]〉's interests. His name echoed ominously throughout the underworld.
At this point, there was no way for him to wash away his sins.
"Shizuku, I'm back."
Arisuin Nagi opened the dorm room door and stepped inside.
"Welcome back, Eris," Kurogane Shizuku greeted him, clad in luxurious silk pajamas. She had been about to take an afternoon nap.
Even at the joint training camp, he and Kurogane Shizuku remained roommates.
Come to think of it, all three pairs of Hagun Academy's representative contestants were roommates.
"Shizuku, if someone were to ever do something to wrong you, what would you do?"
Arisuin Nagi found himself feeling unusually sentimental today.
As he looked at Kurogane Shizuku, he couldn't help but see his younger brother and Little Sister, far away in their homeland.
If they had grown up healthy, they'd probably be about Shizuku's age now.
If that incident hadn't happened, would they have clung to him as tightly as Shizuku clings to Ikki?
"That's a rather sudden question," Kurogane Shizuku mused, stroking her smooth chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm... if Eris were to do something like that, it must have been under extreme circumstances. I wouldn't say anything, but I'd beat Eris to a pulp, bring them back, and treat them the same as before."
Ah.
She really is different.
Arisuin Nagi was momentarily stunned.
Shizuku and his younger sister, Little Sister, were completely different. She possessed an exceptionally strong sense of self.
"Heh, typical Shizuku," he chuckled.
"I'm not exactly thrilled to hear that 'typical' remark," Shizuku Kurogane retorted, pursing her lips.
She didn't dwell on it.
Though they had only known each other for three months, she trusted Eris implicitly, genuinely regarding her as an elder sister.
"Excuse me, I need to take this call."
As they were chatting and laughing, Arisuin Nagi's phone suddenly rang from his pocket.
He opened it, his expression remaining unchanged, though his eyes darkened for a fleeting moment.
After apologizing to Shizuku, he stepped out of the room to answer the call.
"Hehe, Black Shadow Killer, take care of someone for me..."
...
Night fell.
Kagami sat at her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard in a flurry of clicks and clatters.
On the screen before her, a detailed list of intelligence about the seven candidates Ryoji had given her was displayed, several times more comprehensive than the intel she'd had just days ago.
Today was the sixth day of the joint training camp.
According to Ryoji's line of thinking, the opponents' primary goal was the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, so there was no need to rush. They likely had at least ten days of leeway.
But Kagami, sensing a major scoop, couldn't suppress her journalistic instincts. She had been investigating around the clock, contacting numerous friends at other schools to gather a vast amount of intelligence.
"Hiraga Reisen is the Puppet Warlock!"
"Kazamatsuri Rinna has a pet lion, possibly a special individual!"
"There's nothing wrong with these people's backgrounds, but they're too perfect, all following the exact same template! It's like they were mass-produced on an assembly line! My journalist's intuition tells me there's definitely something fishy going on here!"
"But the most important thing is this!"
Kagami picked up a document.
After days and nights of tireless investigation, comparing and cross-referencing data, she had finally uncovered an extremely classified piece of intelligence!
It was a list of all the sponsors for the Seven Stars Academies.
And after analyzing the data, she discovered that the eighth sponsor, the mysterious also, was hidden among them.
Moreover, this also turned out to be an incredibly dangerous figure!
It was he who had secretly funded these seven individuals and arranged for their enrollment in the Seven Stars Academies!
"This is absolutely the kind of earth-shattering news that will rock Japan, no, the entire world! Wuoooh! I'm fired up!"
Kagami was brimming with energy.
Even after going without sleep for a day and a night, her excitement remained undiminished.
Until the very next moment…
Puchi!
A dark purple dagger struck from behind, piercing her chest.
(End of Chapter)
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