Author's Message:
I am deeply sorry for not updating last weekend due to an incredibly busy schedule with school activities that had to be completed after the weekend. But here I am again, updating! I hope you, my dear readers, enjoy this chapter—it's packed with tension and gives a little glimpse of what's coming in the next chapters.
Thank you for patiently waiting, especially to my dear silent readers, my Viviiess. Your support means so much! I hope this chapter keeps your hearts racing and your eyes glued to the page.
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"Silence is not absence. It is presence."
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We headed back inside together. This time, no one spoke, but the silence had changed. It wasn't empty anymore. It carried something new, something forming.
It followed us. Not footsteps. Not sound. Something quieter... something waiting.
The stairwell door clicked shut behind us. Soft. Final.
Seraphine exhaled lightly. "Okay… that rooftop moment? Very intense. I feel like I need snacks after that."
No one responded. The air didn't allow it.
Evangeline's gaze swept the hallway—sharp, deliberate. Leigh walked beside us, posture relaxed, but her balance told a different story. Ready. Always ready.
I noticed. Of course I did. The overhead lights hummed faintly. Steady. Too steady.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each footfall measured and even spacing. Controlled rhythm.
Then—
The hum shifted.
Subtle.
Wrong.
I slowed. Leigh matched instantly. Evangeline followed.
Seraphine glanced between us. "…Okay, I don't like that everyone just went quiet at the same time."
"Listen," Evangeline said, low and precise. "Something's off."
"I am—"
The lights flickered.
Once.
A pause.
Twice.
Then—
Darkness.
Complete. Immediate.
Seraphine froze. "Wait—what? It's only—"
9:26 PM.
Too early.
Lights-out wasn't until later. Which meant— This wasn't routine.This was controlled.
"Stay close," I said. She moved without hesitation.
The hallway disappeared. No edges. No distance. Just shadow pressing in.
Then—
"…Found you."
The voice slipped through the dark. Soft. Distorted.
Close.
Leigh shifted beside me. "Kyrren."
Not a question.
A signal.
I understood.
I slowed my breathing.
Inhale.
Hold.
Release.
Behind us—presence.
No sound. No movement I could hear.
But it was there.
In front—another.
Still.
Watching.
Evangeline spoke, sharper now. "This isn't random. Someone allowed this."
Gold Dormitory.
Restricted access. Monitored.
So how—
'Who let them in?'
Or worse—
'Who made it possible?'
The air tightened.
Then—
Movement. Not sound. Pressure.
A shift in weight behind me. I moved before it completed. A blade cut through the dark—low, precise—aimed past me.
Seraphine.
I stepped in. Intercepted.
Steel met steel. A sharp crack. The hairpin caught the edge of the blade, sliding along it with a high metallic scrape. The vibration traveled up my fingers.
Too close.
I adjusted my grip instantly. Front foot pivot. Heel turned. Weight forward.
Closed space. Leigh moved.
Gone.
A blur in the dark.
She dropped low—center of gravity collapsing into a sweep that clipped the attacker's footing. Not enough to drop them. Just enough to break balance. That was all she needed.
She rose into it—blade snapping into position.
Metal struck.
Twist.
The wrist gave.
The knife slipped free.
Hit the floor.
Dull.
Final.
Silence.
Another figure stepped forward.
Closer.
Controlled.
I tracked the movement.
Not the blade—
The shoulders.
The hips.
Intent always comes before motion.
The strike came down diagonally.
Clean.
Trained.
I stepped in.
Not back.
Hairpin angled up.
Steel scraped. Sparks flickered.
I rotated my wrist.
Redirect.
The blade slid past my shoulder.
Too close.
My back foot shifted inward. Half-step.
Closed distance.
They adjusted instantly.
Good.
A feint—left.
I didn't follow.
My gaze stayed centerline.
The real strike came right.
Already expected.
I pivoted.
My hand snapped forward—the hairpin striking their wrist.
Not to pierce.
To disrupt.
Impact.
Their grip weakened.
Not gone.
But enough.
Behind me—
A sharp exhale.
Leigh again.
Elbow.
Step in.
Turn.
Her blade locked against theirs at the hilt.
Half a second.
That was all.
Twist.
Force.
Disarm.
"…One down," she said quietly.
The second attacker paused.
Then—
A faint chuckle.
"Continue."
No more testing.
The next attack came fast.
Direct. Committed.
A forward lunge—center mass.
I stepped in to meet it.
Not back. Forward.
The blade passed my side. Close enough to feel the air shift against my sleeve.
My pulse spiked.
Fast.
Heavy.
But my hands stayed steady.
My breathing didn't break. Calm outside. Calculated inside.
I adjusted my grip. Hairpin aligned along my palm.
One step. Forward.
The tip stopped just beneath their throat.
Stillness.
Everything stopped.
Not silence but control.
"…Confirmed," the voice said.
Flat. Detached.
"Target retains capability."
'Target?'
Not just a word, it is an assessment.
Every movement I made... is recorded.
Leigh stilled and Evangeline noticed it.
Seraphine whispered, "…Yeah. That's definitely not normal."
The figures lowered their weapon.
"You've been quiet," they said. "We were beginning to question the reports."
'Reports.' Plural.
How many were watching?
"You'll be contacted," he said, for a moment a pause. "Soon."
The word lingered in me. It is not a threat, not a promise, but a certainty.
My breathing stayed even, but my thoughts sharpened.
'Too early.' I whispered through my ears. They weren't supposed to move yet.
'Which meant... they were ahead.'
The lights snapped back. Blinding.
In an instant, they were gone. No sound. No trace. Nothing.
Seraphine slowly stood. "…Okay. I just need to confirm something."
She looked at me, then Leigh, then back to me.
"…Isn't this your second day?" I didn't answer. "And someone just broke into the dorm, shut off the lights—which shouldn't even be possible—and attacked you?" She paused, then a quiet, disbelieving laugh. "And you two fought like that? What is this? Did I accidentally enroll in an action movie?"
No one answered. I don't have a word to uttered because there wasn't a simple answer.
"Also—how did they even get in?" she added. "This place has security, right?"
"Yes," Evangeline said, in a harp and certain way. "Which means someone allowed it."
"…That's worse." Leigh didn't look away. "They didn't break in."
A beat.
"They had access." That settled it. Inside. I exhaled slowly, too precise, too clean.
Too familiar.
Evangeline's gaze fixed on me. "You're not just hiding." she said with her usual serious face like she seems looking at my soul.
A brief of moment pause.
"You're being watched."
Leigh added, quieter— "…Tracked."
I didn't deny it.
"Yeah."
The hallway didn't feel empty anymore, it felt occupied, claimed, stillness wasn't silence, it was presence.
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Across the academy, far from the Gold Dormitory—one dark window remained untouched.
Inside the room beyond, two figures were present.
One reclined casually on a leather couch, a microscope before them, fingers drumming lightly on its edge as if the observations could wait. A subtle smirk played across their face, a glass of red wine held loosely in the other hand.
The other stood in front of the tall glass window, watching the dormitory with intense focus. Fingers curled around the stem of another wine glass, swirling the liquid, eyes sharp, calculating. A faint shadow stretched across the floor as the last light reflected off the glass.
The figure by the window spoke first, voice low, almost a whisper, deliberate:
"Koko demo nao, kanojo ga 'Ookami' ni nayamasarete iru koto o shitta ima, kanojo wa dou suru darou ka?" ("Now that we know she is being troubled by the 'Wolf,' what will she do?")
The one on the couch laughed softly, amused. "She will make a move. And I commend your Japanese accent—it's improved."
No turning. No reaction from the figure at the window. Cold, precise words cut through the light amusement.
"This is not the time for that comment. For now, let's watch how the Tora devours its fierce kind, the Ookami. And we, as the Karasu, will simply watch. Observe. Learn."
The figure on the couch tilted the wine glass, swirling the liquid with slow deliberation. "This… this will be truly exciting."
Silence returned. Only the faint hum of the building, the soft clink of glass, and the shadowed reflections of two predators observing their target.
Because the moment Kyrren entered the school, she was no longer just a student. She was the game.