Kurogami Ryumen had always known there was something inside him.
Since the day The Fall began.
Since the first time lightning answered his anger.
Since the first time his body moved faster than it should have been able to.
He had never considered it a gift.
Gifts were things people were happy to receive.
This was something else.
A responsibility.
A burden.
A question he could never answer.
What exactly was he?
A human who had gained power?
Or something powerful that was pretending to be human?
For years, he avoided thinking about it.
Because every time he got close to the answer...
He felt the other presence.
The beast.
The city was quiet that night.
Too quiet.
Kurogami stood on top of an abandoned building, looking over the lights below.
People moved through the streets without knowing anything.
They laughed.
They talked.
They lived normal lives.
A normal life.
Something Kurogami had never truly had.
His fingers moved slightly.
A small spark appeared.
ZZZT.
Then disappeared.
He looked at his hand.
"The creature from yesterday..."
The words left his mouth quietly.
"It knew."
For years, he had hidden his abilities.
He had hidden his strength.
He had hidden the transformation.
But somehow...
A Devourer had looked at him and understood.
Not his power.
Him.
A cold feeling entered his chest.
"Kurogami."
He froze.
That voice.
Not outside.
Inside.
The beast.
He hadn't heard it clearly in years.
Not since he was a child.
Not since the first battle.
His eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?"
A low silence followed.
Then:
"Warn you."
Kurogami's expression changed slightly.
The beast had never warned him before.
It only reacted.
It only appeared when he was in danger.
"What are you?"
Another silence.
Then the answer came.
"Part of you."
He hated that answer.
Because it explained nothing.
"That's not enough."
The presence inside him shifted.
"You ask questions you are not ready to know."
Kurogami looked away.
"Convenient."
"You think I hide because I want control."
The voice sounded different.
Not angry.
Almost tired.
"But I hide because you would fear the truth."
The wind moved around him.
For a moment, Kurogami said nothing.
Then:
"What truth?"
No answer came.
Only one sentence.
"The Devourers are not searching for humanity."
A pause.
"They are searching for what you are."
The next day, the UNDF was not calm.
The discovery from the previous night had created a division among the commanders.
Some believed Kurogami was a miracle.
Others believed he was an unknown threat.
The argument had continued for hours.
Until Yuuji entered.
The room immediately became silent.
He didn't need to raise his voice.
His presence was enough.
"Continue."
Nobody spoke.
Yuuji looked at the screen displaying Kurogami's data.
"You wanted this meeting."
One commander stood.
"Director-General, we need answers."
"About?"
"The boy."
Yuuji's expression remained unchanged.
"He has a name."
The commander ignored that.
"His abilities are abnormal."
"Yes."
"He possesses a transformation similar to a Devourer."
"Yes."
"And you still believe he should be allowed to walk freely?"
Yuuji stared at him.
The room became colder.
"I believe he has earned that right."
The commander frowned.
"Earned?"
Yuuji's voice lowered.
"When the world collapsed, where were you?"
The commander became quiet.
Yuuji continued.
"Where were any of us?"
Nobody answered.
"That child was ten years old."
The room was silent.
"He fought when trained soldiers couldn't."
His eyes hardened.
"He saved people."
The commander looked away.
"But what happens when he stops controlling it?"
That question remained.
Because everyone knew the answer.
Even Yuuji.
At Seiran Academy, Kurogami tried to act normal.
It was becoming harder.
Especially with Kiromi.
She noticed everything.
"You didn't sleep."
Kurogami looked at her.
"I did."
"How long?"
He paused.
"...Three hours."
She stared.
"That is not sleeping."
"It is enough."
"It isn't."
He didn't argue.
Because arguing with Kiromi was surprisingly difficult.
She placed a drink on his desk.
"Here."
He looked at it.
"What is this?"
"A drink."
"I can see that."
"Then why ask?"
He had no answer.
Kiromi smiled.
"You're getting better."
"At what?"
"Being normal."
He looked genuinely confused.
"I'm not normal."
She became quiet.
Then she smiled.
"Maybe."
A pause.
"But you're you."
For some reason...
Those words mattered.
That evening, the UNDF received an emergency signal.
A Devourer attack.
Not a major one.
A small outbreak.
But something was wrong.
The creatures weren't attacking randomly.
They were moving.
Following something.
The soldiers noticed immediately.
"They're heading somewhere."
The commander watched the map.
"Where?"
The answer appeared.
Everyone froze.
Seiran Academy.
Kurogami felt it before anyone else.
The moment he stepped outside the school gates.
The air changed.
The same feeling.
The same pressure.
A Devourer.
But not one.
Several.
Students began panicking as the alarms sounded.
Teachers shouted for evacuation.
The sky darkened.
Kiromi looked upward.
"Kurogami..."
He didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the approaching creatures.
Because this wasn't random.
They weren't here for the school.
They weren't here for the city.
They were here for him.
A low growl escaped one of the creatures.
Then another.
And another.
The crowd ran.
Kurogami stayed.
Kiromi grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?"
He looked at her.
For a second, he wanted to lie.
To tell her everything was fine.
But he couldn't.
Not this time.
"I need to stop them."
Her grip tightened.
"Alone?"
He looked away.
Because that was always his answer.
Until now.
Then another voice interrupted.
"Not this time."
Kurogami turned.
A figure landed between them and the Devourers.
A familiar coat.
A familiar weapon.
Yuuji Kiroyu.
The Director-General looked at the monsters ahead.
Then at Kurogami.
"You have two options."
Kurogami waited.
"Fight alone..."
Yuuji raised the Graviton Lance.
"Or learn how to fight with people."
The Devourers roared.
The ground shook.
For the first time...
Kurogami was not standing alone against the darkness.
And for the first time...
The UNDF was about to see what he truly was.