๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ โ ๐ก๐๐ข-๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ข
๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ง๐จ๐ง๐
โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
A sharp bang of a palm slamming against the polished mahogany table echoed through the sleek office like a judge's gavel.
"๐๐ข๐ช ๐๐๐ก ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ง?!!"
Miss Hayami's voice cracked with fury, her usual refined composure completely shattered. The slender, elegant woman with long, silky black hair cascading past her waist stood trembling with rage.
Her fitted white button-up blouse, tucked neatly into a high-waisted black pencil skirt, accentuated her graceful figure, while her glossy black high heels with striking red soles clicked sharply against the floor as she paced.
Nothing about her was soft or calm right now.
One of the five students standing before her โ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ โ opened her mouth to speak, but before a single word could escape, the heavy award trophy beside Miss Hayami flew across the room with vicious force.
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐!!!
It smashed directly into Yua's forehead. The girl staggered, barely keeping her balance. Blood trickled down her temple, yet she refused to fall. Falling would only prove weakness โ and weakness was a sin at Kurogane Institute.
"You were raised for this!" Miss Hayami shouted, her voice rising with each word.
"We gave you everything โ resources, training, power! And this is what I get in return?! Failure after failure! What made you five think you had the right to disappoint me?!"
Her chest heaved. She bit her lower lip nervously โ a rare, unconscious habit that surfaced only when she was truly unsettled. Her dark, manicured nails dug into her palms as her gaze darted around the room.
"What do I tell Masterโฆ?" she muttered, voice dropping to a haunted whisper as she paced back and forth.
"How am I supposed to explain thisโฆ?"
The five students stood with heads bowed, unable to meet her eyes. Shame burned in their silence. They knew she had every right to be furious.
Kurogane Institute was no ordinary school. Tucked away in the remote, cutting-edge metropolis of Neo-Akatsuki City in Hokkaido, the academy loomed like a futuristic fortress of glass and steel.
Floating training platforms hovered between towering buildings, and state-of-the-art magical research labs hummed with dangerous energy. Only the most gifted mages, sorcerers, and supernatural talents in Japan โ fewer than two hundred students โ were permitted within its walls.
Its motto was carved into every student's soul:
"Power is everything. Weakness is a sin."
Here, students clawed their way forward with ruthless ambition. Some even died chasing strength. And yet, none could ever betray the Institute. The moment a new student was accepted, an unbreakable oath was sworn, followed by the placement of cursed poisonous chains coiled tightly around their hearts. Any act of treason would trigger the poison โ a slow, agonizing death from within.
It was into this merciless world that several of these students had been brought.
One of them was Aikyo Yua.
She had lost her father young. Her mother โ a woman who sold her body for survival โ eventually abandoned her completely, leaving five-year-old Aiko to fend for herself on the cold streets. It was during a brutal bullying incident that her blood curse power first awakened. A man dressed entirely in black had witnessed the violent display and saw raw potential. Without a word, he took her away to Kurogane Institute. Since that day, the academy had been her entire world.
Then there was Kiryu Renji.
His peaceful family dinner had ended in flames one tragic night. While he survived, his relatives snatched his younger sister away and abandoned him. Powerless to stop them, Renji had no choice but to enter Kurogane Institute with a single burning vow in his heart: he would grow strong enough to take his sister backโฆ and make those responsible pay.
The next was Cassian Vale.
Cassian came from wealth most could only dream of and a family that was obsessed with looks more than anything. Once his mother had gone crazy just from having a light scar on her arm. Yet his own family had cast him aside for the freckles that marred his once-perfect face. He hadn't cared โ until the day his uncontrolled dark magic caused his pregnant older sister to miscarry. Branded a dangerous dark mage, he was shipped off to Kurogane. Years had passed. His family never once inquired about him. Their faces had already begun to fade from his memory.
And Seth?
Seth had been born under strange circumstances โ pulled from the water as an infant by a kind woman who ignored the fearful whispers of those around her. She raised him until she suddenly died of food poisoning, and the blame fell squarely on the boy. Forced onto the streets, Seth survived by stealing and scavenging. His powers awakened in a moment of desperate hunger when he tore into a raw octopus with his bare hands. The same man in black had found him and brought him to the Institute.
The last was Yukari Nakamura.
After their parents' death, her six older sisters treated her like a lowly servant. She cooked, cleaned, and endured endless cruelty while they partied and entertained men. One night, when scalding hot water was thrown at her in a fit of rage, her latent powers instinctively protected her. Terrified and broken, she ran away from home. The man in black found her soon after and delivered her to Kurogane Institute โ her new prison and only home.
All five of them had been given a second chance at life within these cold, extravagant walls.
And now, they had failed their most important mission.
Miss Hayami stopped pacing. She turned slowly toward the students, her long black hair swaying like a dark curtain. Her eyes, usually elegant and composed, burned with a dangerous mix of anger and fear.
"Master will not be pleasedโฆ" she whispered, voice trembling slightly.
The air in the office grew heavier, thick with unspoken dread.
In Kurogane Institute, failure wasn't just punished.
It could be fatal.
The Kurogane Institute was built as a world of its own. Students had no reason to go back home. Luxurious dormitories, advanced training facilities, and constant missions kept them inside. Their days were filled with assignments, harsh experiments, or pushing themselves harder to grow stronger. Everything they did was to earn even a small bit of recognition from Master โ the sole owner and absolute ruler of the academy.
Being noticed by him meant being feared and respected by everyone else. But the man was cold and cruel. He saw humans as nothing more than tools โ objects to be used and thrown away. He never smiled. No one had ever seen his real face either. Even the four elite teachers and three high authorities who ran the school's daily affairs could not reach him.
The students worshipped him not out of love, but out of deep fear. Disappointing their Master meant facing exileโฆ or death.
Miss Hayami knew this better than anyone.
She had been the very first person he took in many years ago.
Yet even she trembled at the thought of facing him.
Her long black hair swayed wildly as she paced around the office. Her red-soled high heels clicked sharply on the polished floor. In her anger, she grabbed anything her slender fingers could reach โ vases, decorations, documents โ and smashed them against the walls.
๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐!
๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐!
Glass shattered everywhere. Papers flew through the air like dead leaves.
"Everythingโฆ everything is so annoying!!"
Her voice broke as she slammed both hands down on the heavy office table.
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐โ๐๐ข๐ข๐ !
The strong mahogany table split cleanly in two and collapsed with a loud crash that shook the room. The five students flinched but stayed frozen in place, heads bowed in shame.
Miss Hayami's chest rose and fell rapidly. Her manicured nails dug into her palms until they drew blood. Her usual elegant calm had completely broken.
It had all started with the witch seer's prophecy.
"Two powerful students from the Eclipse Unit should be enough," the old woman had whispered. "The one with the Wish Manifestation ability lives in Hakua no Sato. He takes the afternoon train. He probably doesn't even know about his power yet. Capture him early โ it will be much easier to control him while his ability is still new. If you succeed, Master will surely be pleased."
They had followed every word.
But they still failed.
Not only did the target escapeโฆ the boy had turned back time itself, changing reality so the same danger could never happen again.
If she had known it would be this difficult, she would have sent the top teachers or the highest mage authorities right from the start. All her years of hard work to please the man who had saved her โ the man who had given her purpose โ had turned to dust in one day.
She had stayed by his side for decades.
She had never once seen him smile.
She had never seen real satisfaction in those cold, empty eyes.
He always lookedโฆ lost. And cruel.
After living for 400 years, the only thing that mattered to him was finding the person who could make any wish come true.
If the boy hasn't even realized he has this powerโฆ then how did he defeat two Eclipse operatives?
The question ate away at her like a curse.
Miss Hayami's breathing became rough. Her dark eyes, usually sharp and elegant, burned with a mix of anger and fear.
"๐๐๐ง ๐ข๐จ๐ง!!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the ruined office.
"๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ!! ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐!!"
The five students didn't wait. They bowed deeply โ a respectful keirei โ knowing their lives were on the line, and quietly left the room. The heavy door slid shut behind them with a soft hiss.
Left alone in the mess, Miss Hayami stared at the broken table. Her long black hair fell over her face like a dark curtain.
Her lips trembled the more.
"โฆMaster will surely not forgive this failure."
A cold sweat ran down her back.