"WHAT!?" "White Reaper!? What kind of name is that!?" shouted one of the officials, his face red with anger.
The emergency meeting room instantly heated up. Nobles, generals, and important figures gathered with an unease they couldn't hide.
"Calm down... Don't panic."
An advisor tried to settle the room.
"Maybe he's just someone overconfident in his power. No need to blow this out of..."
"NO!!"
That voice echoed, silencing every conversation.
A hero, the only one who survived the massacre that night stood. His body wrapped in bandages, his face pale, and his eyes... filled with terror.
"You don't understand… I saw it with my own eyes."
"The power of that man… White Reaper… it's not human…"
"NOT EVEN THE DEMON KING COULD DEFEAT HIM!!"
Silence enveloped the room.
Fear began to creep silently into the hearts of everyone present.
They realized one terrifying truth…
The world had awakened something it could never control.
Suddenly, the door to the meeting room flung wide open.
Several figures in white and golden robes entered. Calm, arrogant...yet each step they took brought an invisible pressure. They were the Holy Organization, a mysterious group known for their power… and their arrogance.
At the front, their leader stepped forward confidently.
His gaze cold, belittling the wounded hero who stood before him.
"Heh... So this is the hero you're all relying on?"
His tone mocking, as if laughing at a limping dog.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"
The hero gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing.
"TRY FACING HIM YOURSELF THEN!! YOU ARROGANT BRAT!!"
But the leader only chuckled coldly, full of ridicule.
"No, no… If it were me fighting him, he'd already be down. That White Reaper is just a shadow… desperate to be seen."
"YOU BASTARD!!" the hero roared in anger.
The leader of the Holy Organization then turned to address everyone in the room.
"Listen well!" he declared, his firm voice echoing through the hall.
"We, the Holy Organization, will defeat the White Reaper. So all of you... relax. There's no need to panic."
The tension in the room eased.
Worried faces turned relieved, as if his words were a guarantee of salvation.
But far beneath the earth...
In a hidden place only accessible through shadows, the secret base of Nocturne Eclipse stood tall.
A dark underground kingdom… yet alive.
In the main chamber, Neera, one of the oldest leaders, sat calmly at a long table full of classified documents.
Her gaze was sharp, cold. She slowly closed the report in front of her.
"Hmph… So our Lord is being hunted by several nations, huh?" she muttered, but her voice echoed clearly across the room.
She stood slowly, facing all the gathered members.
"But that changes nothing."
"We are the shadow behind the legend. We will continue to follow our Lord's will... until the very end."
Then her voice sharpened.
"And you all know… what must be said, don't you?"
One hundred… two hundred… up to five hundred women of Nocturne Eclipse stood in unison.
Their eyes burned with blazing determination.
And in a single voice that shook the depths of their base:
"WE WILL EMERGE FROM SHADOW AND LIGHT...
BUT WE ONLY PLAY OUR OWN ROLE!!"
It was no mere chant.
It was a spell. An oath.
And a warning… to the world.
Back to Kazuki…
The sky that day was clear, not a single cloud.
On the road to the city center, three teens walked casually, Kazuki, Reno, and Lucien. The academy was still on break, and the day felt peaceful… for now.
"Hahahaha! So… you really got tricked by that guy!?"
Reno burst out laughing, slapping Kazuki's shoulder.
Kazuki just shrugged casually.
"Not really. He just gave me a bag of gold to hold… so I took it. Money's still money."
"Oh my god… why are you so in love with money?" Lucien asked, shaking his head.
"Yeah, bro. You should fall in love with a girl instead of money all the time!" Reno added, teasing.
But Kazuki suddenly stopped.
He stared at the sky with a blank expression, deep in thought, as if he were a shadow philosopher the world could never understand.
"Heh… You think I'm just some ordinary guy? Living for love and teenage romance? No..."
He clenched his fist, his expression serious…
Then...
"I'M OUTTA HEREEEEEE!!"
Kazuki dashed away as if being chased by a flying dragon.
"HEY!! KAZUKI!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Reno panicked.
Kazuki waved from a distance.
"I'VE GOT A STOMACH ACHE!!"
The wind blew gently.
Lucien sighed.
"...Well, good luck with that."
Kazuki strolled through a quiet alley, his steps relaxed.
The shadow of the wall merged with the evening light.
"Whew… lucky they believed the stomach excuse," he muttered with a small grin.
He stopped in a narrow passage.
"Now… come out."
Suddenly, a mysterious figure lunged from the darkness and attacked. But Kazuki picked up a stick from the ground and casually blocked the strike.
"Heh… Not bad," he said lightly.
"Oh? So you're not as weak as I thought… But still, your face pisses me off. I think... killing you would be fun!"
A crazed smile twisted on the attacker's face.
Kazuki sighed, one eyebrow raised.
"That's your reason? My face? Huh… then go ahead and try…"
"Can you even keep up with my power?"
"Huh?" The attacker looked confused.
But before he could move...
Kazuki vanished.
And in an instant, he reappeared behind him.
A swift and precise thrust pierced through the enemy's body from the side.
No time to scream.
Dead in silence.
Kazuki stood over the corpse, his eyes hollow.
"That's it? Boring."
The twilight wind began to darken.
Kazuki's shadow stretched, merging… with the darkness.
Night fell.
In the underground base, all members of Nocturne Eclipse stood in perfect formation.
Hundreds of women in black uniforms stood silently, heads bowed in respect.
Before them... sat someone upon a dark throne, like a king of the shadow world.
White Reaper.
A mysterious aura surrounded him.
No one dared to speak… until one member stepped forward, her voice filled with reverence.
"Lord… will we move again tonight?"
Silence.
White Reaper closed his eyes, as if weighing something invisible to ordinary men.
Then slowly… he opened his sharp and cold eyes.
"Yes."
"Tonight… we will rise again. As always."
The members' eyes instantly ignited with passion.
Yet they remained quiet, awaiting his command.
Kazuki, in the form of the White Reaper, rose from the throne.
He raised one hand, and the entire room held its breath.
"The world may hunt me."
"All the nations may target me."
"But… they still don't know..."
His smile emerged, sharp and theatrical.
"That tonight… we will show them our true power."
No one spoke.
But that silence… wasn't fear.
It was reverence.
All members of Nocturne Eclipse kneeled in unison.
"We are ready, My Lord."
That night became the silent witness…
To the return of a shadow that cannot be contained.