Sakura and Tanaka arrived at school together.
All around them, whispers spread among their classmates—words that seemed comprehensible, yet made no sense even to them. There were also glances exchanged that neither of the two could quite catch.
"Is everything okay? Do you understand what's going on?", Sakura asked Tanaka with concern, noticing how their classmates no longer looked at her with the admiration she was used to as the most beautiful and popular girl in school.
"I don't know. I'm just as surprised as you…", Tanaka lied, though deep down, he was already beginning to suspect what might have happened.
"They're here!" Suzuki suddenly shouted in terror from within the crowd of students, appearing out of nowhere. "It's him! He's the damn demon who ruined my eyesight and stole my powers! Because of him, I'll never be a hero prospect again!"
Tanaka froze in shock and stopped walking.
The swarm of students pointed at him, whispering as if none of them dared to speak to his face. To make matters worse, Sakura's eyes mirrored the same fear—as though she had just seen a ghost standing before her.
"What the hell did you do, Suzuki?", Tanaka roared, unleashing all the fury burning inside him.
Once again, that same sensation from dawn rushed through his body. Tanaka could feel and hear the pounding of his own heart with overwhelming force. Black, ash-like veins surfaced beneath his skin. His classmates bore witness to his transformation—including Sakura, who had always been kind but now recoiled, retreating step by step after hearing Suzuki's words.
A red-and-black light erupted, nearly blinding everyone. Some managed to escape in time before disaster struck, but for others, their lives were ruined forever.
That was the moment Tanaka Itsuki became Erevos.
Erevos was nothing like Tanaka.
Their personalities were completely different, yet both would now be forced to coexist for the rest of their lives. Once powers awakened, there was no turning back.
Many of the affected students collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain, clutching their eyes as they convulsed in ways impossible to explain. Fortunately, Sakura Okamoto was spared. She had reacted just in time—when she noticed something strange happening to Tanaka, she hid behind the door of a nearby classroom, narrowly escaping his wrath.
Soon after, the school principal, Yuto Takahashi, came running to the scene. His face twisted in horror as he took in the nightmare unfolding in the hallways of his cherished academy. Seeing that Tanaka had turned from a normal boy into something closer to a demon—not a hero, not even a villain—the eighty-year-old principal did the only thing he believed he could: rally the teachers and the remaining students who still had their powers, calling them to fight Tanaka and prove that no one could ever surpass their strength.
But not everyone agreed. Most students fled in terror, while others stayed—consumed by rage and driven by a thirst for vengeance against Tanaka for the chaos he had unleashed.
"Do you really think you can defeat me? Go on, attack me, and I'll show you who rules this place," Tanaka growled, his voice now deeper and darker than the first time he had transformed.
Neither his classmates nor the teachers, nor even the principal, were willing to surrender.
They were determined to fight, even if it meant Tanaka's death—and for them, that would be their ultimate victory. Tanaka continued to battle, fists flying, his magic surging at full force. His power manifested as violent winds lashing out against his opponents, painted in crimson light, intertwined with shadows that stretched across the floor as though it were midnight itself.
At last, just as Tanaka prepared to strike the principal with a devastating blow, Sakura—watching from her hiding place—made a choice. If no one stopped him now, the day would end in a massacre. She stepped out, placing herself directly in front of Tanaka, moments before his final wave of power burst from his hands. The sight of her made him pause.
"What are you doing, Okamoto? Don't get in my way—move!", Itsuki snapped.
But Sakura refused to let that day be remembered as the Hoshizora Gakuen massacre.
With her legs planted firmly and her arms outstretched, she summoned the purest sunlight of that morning, shaping it into a radiant field of energy that shielded both herself and Tanaka from Principal Takahashi's gravitational assault.
The principal's powers were formidable—capable of seizing any nearby object, even people, and hurling them through the air with deadly precision. A single flick of his hand could send his victims crashing into their target, crushing them in the most brutal ways imaginable.
But Sakura's shield was stronger than anyone expected. She redirected the incoming barrage straight back at the principal, who barely managed to defend himself in time to avoid being struck down.
When the chance came, Tanaka and Sakura fled the school.
They ran and ran until they reached the safety of a deserted public park. At that hour of the morning, the park was empty and far enough from campus that the principal would struggle to find them, even if he had chosen to pursue them for revenge.
The drawback of Sakura's powers, however, was the toll they took on her body. Unless she found a place to rest quickly, her strength would collapse entirely. Tanaka had reverted to normal, panting heavily after the sprint. He wasn't used to such intense exertion and struggled to catch his breath.
Then, noticing Sakura's legs giving way as exhaustion overcame her, he rushed forward to catch her before she hit the ground. He held her in his arms, hoping she would wake soon.
Minutes later, Sakura stirred—weak, but able to stand. Together, they managed to hail a taxi, which carried them straight to her home.
Once there, Sakura invited Tanaka inside. And within those walls, he realized that his bond with her—and with her family—was about to grow far more serious than he had ever imagined.