Arc 2: The Assignment Path - Now an official member of the Archives, Levi takes on the role of a Harbinger—handling client cases entangled with supernatural elements. He begins working alongside both Rin and Rina, gradually uncovering more about them as they face each case together.
The sun had already set. The sky remained a gentle blue, the atmosphere soft and timid—comforting, neither too warm nor too cool. A breeze swept through, rustling the trees as their leaves danced boldly along its path.
At the entrance of the Grim Archives, the clear plastic door bore a sign. It had once read "Closed", but now it was flipped to "Open."
The door creaked open, triggering the soft chime of the bell above it.
"Good afternoon," a calm voice greeted upon entering.
"Afternoon, Rin," Evangeline replied casually. She sat comfortably behind the counter, her foot propped up on the table and a book resting over her face as if attempting to nap.
Rin Shiraharan—eighteen years old and a part of the Archives since he was fourteen. His presence carried a strange quietness, a gentle gravity.
"Where's Lady Anastasia?" he asked in a soft, composed tone. "I can sense her Life Essence... but it feels distant."
"She left a while ago," Evangeline answered without moving, still in her relaxed position. "She's bringing in our new employee for their first day."
Rin raised an eyebrow slightly.
"We... have a new member? Are they going to be a regular employee, or a Harbinger like us?"
"You'll see," Evangeline said simply.
Rin fell silent after that, his gaze drifting as he slipped into thought.
"A new member, huh..." he echoed inwardly. No smile. No curiosity in his expression. Just calm.
Grim Archives, Chapter 7: The new Archive member
The afternoon carried on quietly. The Grim Archives remained open and free to enter—though no visitors had come yet. Evangeline and Rin went about their usual routines: Evangeline, still half-napping behind the counter, and Rin browsing through the towering library shelves in search of a specific book.
Time passed like this for a while, until—
"Good afternoon, everyone," came a gentle voice, just as the door creaked open and the bell overhead chimed once again.
It was Rina Fumio, Levi's classmate.
Her hair was tied neatly, and she wore casual attire. A faint smile played on her lips—relieved and content to finally be back at the Archives.
Evangeline simply raised a hand in greeting, a lazy "yo." Rin glanced at her sideways and spoke.
"Afternoon. Today's the start of your school break, right?"
"Oh yeah," Rina said, her tone initially cheerful but soon turning a bit frustrated. "I'm really glad. I've barely had time to come here these past few days…"
"Good for you, then," Rin replied, eyes still scanning the bookshelf.
Rina perked up. "Where's Lady Anastasia?"
Without turning, Rin answered, "Miss Evangeline said she went out earlier to bring our new employee in. They should be back soon."
"Whoa, we have a new employee?" Rina's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "That's actually really interesting. I wonder what they'll be like…"
But then—it happened.
All three of them noticed it at the same time.
Rin's gaze shifted sharply to the door. Evangeline opened one eye. Rina's own widened slightly in realization.
"She's here," Rin said quietly.
"Her Life Essence has always been so strong… You can feel it from kilometers away, even when she's not suppressing it much," Rina thought to herself, eyes fixed on the door.
"And when she's near—there's no mistaking it. It's unmistakably… Lady Anastasia."
The door creaked open slowly. The bell above rang again. Rin stood still, eyes locked onto the entryway, expecting someone to walk through.
But no one did.
An eerie stillness followed—like an illusion had just passed through the threshold.
Then, with a slight shift in instinct, Rin turned his head—only slightly—just behind him.
There she was.
"Peekaboo," Anastasia said playfully, her voice as graceful as ever.
"You're back," Rin replied calmly, as if he had been waiting for her all along.
"Impressive," Anastasia grinned, gently patting his head. "You sensed my concealment. Your senses are getting sharper. Keep it up, Rin."
Rina stood off to the side, visibly surprised. A small bead of sweat formed beside her face as she looked at Anastasia. Or at least, that's what she thought she was doing. Only then did she realize—She hadn't even really been looking at Anastasia at all.
Her gaze had been locked on Rin the whole time.
Snapping out of it, she quickly turned her eyes to the side—
and finally laid eyes on Lady Anastasia herself.
"Nice! You noticed me too," Anastasia said, her voice dramatic and poetic, almost theatrical in tone.
"Though I have been standing here for over thirty seconds already… Keep training your will, and your senses shall rise to meet it!"
Her exaggerated formality earned a flustered smile from Rina.
"Y-Y-Yeah! I've just been really busy with school, hehe…" she stammered at first, cheeks slightly red.
"But I'll start training better from now on!"
"That's the spirit, Rina," Anastasia replied warmly, patting her gently on the head as well.
Meanwhile, Evangeline remained in her usual laid-back pose, still resting with the book covering her face.
Snap.
A sharp sound cut through the quiet air—Anastasia had snapped her fingers.
With that, Evangeline lazily lifted the book off her face and glanced over properly, finally acknowledging her presence.
"And you," Anastasia began, arms crossed with slight sass, "has anyone come by yet?"
Evangeline raised her hand and formed a circle with her thumb and index finger—
Zero. A clear, silent answer.
"Aw man!" Anastasia groaned dramatically, slouching as if her body had just given up at the news.
Despite all the power I've accumulated, Evangeline mused silently, she still manages to cloak herself this perfectly… even from me.
She half-zoned out as Anastasia began a lighthearted rant about how no one ever comes to the Grim Archives lately.
Then, Rin spoke up.
"There's a new member, right?"
"Oh right!" Anastasia said, perking up as if she'd completely forgotten. She strode over behind the counter and gently opened the front door. The bell chimed softly once more.
"You can come in now, Levi," she called out tothe person waiting just outside. The door remained slightly ajar, but just enough for someone to enter.
"Levi…?" Rina blinked, the name caught in her throat.
"Excuse me, then," Levi said politely as he stepped inside. His shoes tapped softly against the floor. He took one glance around.
"Nice to meet all of you," he greeted with quiet confidence.
Rin gave a curt nod.
Evangeline, now sitting straight behind the counter, lifted a lazy hand.
"Yo," she echoed with a lopsided grin.
But Rina, she froze. Eyes wide, lips parted, her breath caught in her chest. She stared straight at him, stunned. Levi Kurose? Her close friend is actually here? At the Archives? Her thoughts.
"L-Levi Kurose?!" she shouted across the room.
Levi turned, eyes locking with hers. His jaw dropped slightly. "Rina...? Wait—Rina Fumio?!"
"Levi! What the hell?! How—why are you even here? How'd you even get into a shady place like this?!" she fired, her voice panicked.
"Bit harsh," Evangeline muttered under her breath.
"Definitely harsh," Anastashia added with a playful pout.
Levi chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, uh… it's kind of a long story."
"Do you even realize where you are?! This place—this place isn't normal! You're diving headfirst into things you can't possibly comprehend!"
"And you're kind of slowly leaking our entire identity," Rin said flatly, eyeing her sideways.
Rina exhaled sharply, frustration giving way to worry. "Levi, I'm serious. You're not just walking into a job. This place—it changes people. This world eats the unprepared alive. You don't know what it's like."
Levi paused.
The room fell still—expectant silence hanging in the air. Everyone waited. Then—
! ! !
A pressure hit the room like a silent quake.
Evangeline, Rin, and Rina's eyes shot wide open. No words—only instinct. Something had just shifted.
A wave of Life Essence burst forth from Levi, followed by a leak of his Spiritual Essence—raw, untamed, overwhelming. It wasn't violent, but it was deep. Heavy. It pressed down on their senses like a presence far larger than the body it came from.
Rin broke into a light sweat, his lips parting slightly. Rina stumbled a step back, her pupils trembling. Even Evangeline, who was rarely caught off guard, was surprised, her usual demeanor vanishing in quiet alarm.
They didn't just see Levi anymore. They saw something else—something layered over him.
A dark silhouette, shrouded in deep black and white tendrils of aura, rose around him like waves crashing silently against reality itself. Trails of essence twisted and pulsed in slow motion, warping the very atmosphere in subtle but undeniable ways.
And through it all—Anastasia smiled. Faintly. Calmly. Genuinely impressed.
But just as quickly as it came—It vanished.
Levi reined it all in, his body exhaling faintly as he suppressed the energy. He scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin, eyes closed in mild embarrassment.
"Ah—haha... Miss Anastasia taught me that. Still haven't mastered it, so it gets a little... unstable sometimes." He stood straighter then. The awkwardness faded. His voice shifted—serious now, clear and honest.
"She didn't teach me that to show off. She taught me to remind myself that I'm ready."
His gaze passed across each of them—Rina, Rin, Evangeline.
"To show that I know the world I'm entering. That I've accepted it. Not just to face it... but to grow into it. And to work with all of you."
Hearing Levi's words, Anastasia maintained her faint smirk—subtle, knowing.
A silent message behind her expression: "Tell them."
She didn't need to say it aloud. The pride was evident in her eyes.
The rest of the room, however, had fallen completely still.
Rin, Rina, and Evangeline were caught off guard—
Not just by the display, but by the conviction in Levi's voice. No one expected that from him. Not like this.