[Through the Kagami Clan, a special cursed technique is passed down through bloodlines. Those who inherit this technique may manifest different variations, but they all connect to one fundamental principle:
The ability to manipulate probability.
In other words—luck.]
"Kazuki, go!"
Ren's voice cut through the chaos, despite the blood still dripping from his side.
"I'll handle this myself. It's a family matter." He didn't take his eyes off the red-haired assassin. "Get the teachers. Now."
Kazuki hesitated.
"You better not die," he said dead serious.
Then he was gone.
The assassin twirled her blade casually, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "You seem confident you'll win."
Ren simply grinned.
"Bold words for a corpse."
DING.
The wheel stopped, locked onto a single symbol .
[SWORD OF BONES ACQUIRED]
A katana materialized in the air beside Ren, a skeletal handle wrapped in black cloth, the blade itself gleaming.
He didn't waste a second.
"Spin."
The wheel behind him blurred into motion again even as Ren launched forward, sword raised.
The assassin's eyes widened..just for a moment..before she moved.
SLASH!
Her blade came up to meet his.
CLANG!
The impact sent shockwaves through the courtyard, slightly cracking the stone beneath their feet.
She twisted, her counter-strike aimed at his exposed side—
However, Ren was already there, the Sword of Bones met her attack.
"If you're serious about beating me," Ren snarled, their blades locked together, faces inches apart, "then you must be stupid!"
He kicked out hard.
His boot connected with her stomach, using cursed energy to reinforce the blow. She flew backwards, her body hurtling across the courtyard.
The assassin flipped mid-air, driving her sword into the ground. The stone ground split as she skidded to a halt.
She looked up.
Ren stood in the center of the courtyard, Sword of Bones resting on his shoulder, Fortune's Wheel still spinning slowly behind him.
Blood dripped from his wound, but his smile never wavered.
"What's wrong?" he called out, tilting his head mockingly. "I thought you said this would be easy."
"You talk too much!"
The assassin launched herself forward.
"That's what I've always hated about you Kagami brats!"
DING.
[WORDS OF THE WICKED - ACTIVATED][DURATION: 10 SECONDS]
Ren's eyes widened as the wheel's outcome flooded his senses.
Predictions whispered directly into his mind.
[YOU WILL DIE]
The assassin's blade was already mid-swing, aiming for his throat, a killing blow disguised as a feint.
Ren threw himself to the right.
The sword whistled past where his neck had been a second ago, it was so close he felt the displaced air against his skin.
If I'd tried to counter or just stood there—
He didn't even want to finish the thought.
BA-DUMP.
His heart!
BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.
His vision swam at the edges.
"C-crap..." Ren gasped, stumbling back a step. "Spin!"
The wheel lurched into motion, sluggish and reluctant.
I need to end this fast. At this rate, Fortune's Wheel will kill me before she does.
The assassin circled him like a predator, her smile widening as she watched him struggle.
"You know..." She tilted her head. "We already know where she is."
Ren's blood ran cold.
"H-huh?"
"Your fiancée." The word was like poison on her tongue. "She's being taken care of by Ken-san as we speak."
Ken…Ren's older cousin
His grip tightened on the Sword of Bones.
"You're lying—"
"Am I?"
Her grin was all teeth.
Ren's cursed energy exploded outward but then—
"Domain Expansion."
A voice cut through .
Both Ren and the assassin froze mid-movement, their eyes going wide.
Kazuki Gojo stood at the edge of the courtyard, one hand raised, his blindfold hanging loose around his neck.
His eyes were open.
Blue. Impossibly, inhumanly blue. The Six Eyes blazed like twin stars.
"Unlimited Void."
Reality shattered.
The courtyard disappeared.
In its place: infinity.
A domain of endless space stretched in all directions, black void dotted with streams of incomprehensible information flowing like rivers of light. Mathematical equations. Probabilities. Futures. Pasts. Everything and nothing happening all at once.
The assassin's scream caught in her throat.
Her body locked up, muscles seizing as her brain was flooded with infinite sensory input. Her eyes rolled back, mouth opening in a silent wail as Unlimited Void forced every piece of information in existence into her mind simultaneously.
Ren felt it too, just a fraction of it, the edges of Kazuki's domain brushing against his consciousness. It was like staring into the sun.
But Kazuki moved through it like it was nothing
He crossed the distance between himself and the assassin in three steps, reaching down almost lazily to pluck the sword from her frozen fingers.
"Sorry," he said, though he didn't sound sorry at all. "But I really can't have you killing my student on his first day."
He drove the blade through her thigh .
The assassin's mouth opened wider, but still no sound came out.
SNAP.
The domain collapsed.
Reality slammed back into place like a door slamming shut.
The assassin crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath her leg where her own sword pinned her to the stone pathway.
Kazuki let out a long breath. He glanced back at Ren, blindfold still hanging around his neck, those glowing Six Eyes fixing on him.
"You okay?"
Ren stood frozen..
His voice came out hoarse.
"Ken... she said Ken has Yumi."
"Then we need to move. Now."
A girl with long pink hair sat on the wooden steps outside her house, face tilted toward the afternoon sun.
Beautiful didn't quite cover it. Delicate features, fair skin, the kind of presence that made people stop and stare. But there was something else in her expression, something sharp beneath the serenity.
Her eyes opened.
"Someone's here."
Her voice was soft, almost conversational, like she was commenting on the weather.
She looked straight ahead at the empty street. There was no one
But she could feel it.
Cursed energy. Faint, suppressed…
"!?!"
A blade materialized inches from her throat.
"Ooh, you're a pretty one."
Her hand shot up.
CATCH.
Her bare palm closed around the sword's edge, stopping it . Blood welled between her fingers, dripping down her wrist in thin red lines.
A figure materialized in front of her, a young man, maybe a year or two older than her, with sharp features and a smile that didn't reach his eyes. His cursed energy signature finally became visible, no longer suppressed.
He'd been invisible.
"Who are you?" Her tone was ice.
"Ah, Yumi-san..." The boy tilted his head, smile widening. "You don't know me? Aren't we meant to be family soon?"
He pushed down on the blade.
The edge cut deeper into her palm, splitting skin, scraping bone. More blood flowed, staining the wooden steps beneath her feet.
Yumi didn't flinch.
Instead, she smiled back.
"I don't know any boys as horrible-looking as yourself." Her voice was sweet yet mixed with a slight tone of cockiness. "If you wish not to die, I suggest you leave. Right now."
The boy's grin faltered for just a second before returning twice as wide. His eyes raked over her with open disgust .
"Heh... now I'm certain." He leaned in closer. "A bitch like you shouldn't be with Ren."
His free hand reached toward her cheek.
"I'll add you to my collection, honey."
He winked.
"You shouldn't have said that."
Her bloodied hand tightened around his blade.
CRACK.
In an instant, The sword shattered.