Hina's Perspective
I was still shaking when I remembered the moment the monster burst into our classroom.
The sound of the door exploding inward.
The terrified screams of my classmates.
The way Razorblade's red eyes locked onto Lilie.
I had been frozen in place when it happened.
I was frightened when I saw the Razorblade monster breaking through the door. Luckily, it was only Lilie he grabbed before smashing his way out the window.
The sound of glass shattering still echoed in my head.
Ms. Temi quickly dismissed us afterward, telling everyone to go home immediately until the situation was dealt with.
But even as the class began to panic, something else caught my attention.
Yuki.
She was sitting at her desk with a very suspicious smirk on her face.
And she was holding her phone.
That was never a good sign.
I walked over to her slowly.
"What are you planning?" I asked, already worried.
Yuki looked up at me like a kid who had just found treasure.
"I'm going to video this whole incident and put it on my page."
I blinked.
"Are you serious? That's dangerous!"
Yuki crossed her arms confidently.
"You've already forgotten the history report I made back in middle school?"
I groaned and immediately facepalmed.
Of course.
That report.
Back in middle school, Yuki had written an entire history report claiming that monsters used to terrorize humans and that a group called Guardians protected the world from them.
Our teacher had called it "fantasy nonsense."
She gave Yuki zero points for the research.
But she did give her a perfect score for presentation.
Yuki stood up from her chair dramatically.
"If there's a monster," she declared proudly, "there will always be a superhero or a guardian who stops them."
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
Then she turned to me.
"Are you coming with me?"
Before I could answer, loud arguing started behind us.
Some of the boys were shouting.
"This is Reno's fault!"
"No it isn't!"
"If he didn't cause trouble none of this would've happened!"
Others defended him.
"Reno didn't deserve what Lilie said!"
I sighed.
Honestly…
Boys can be really stupid sometimes.
That was when I noticed Hanato.
He casually grabbed his bag and stood up like nothing had happened.
Hands behind his head, he walked toward the door.
Shouji called after him.
"Where are you going, Hanato?"
"I'm going home," he said lazily. "This isn't my business anyway. Why should I get myself involved?"
That immediately annoyed several students.
Konan Amira—the tall sports guy—stood up.
"How is this not your business? One of our classmates just got kidnapped!"
Hanato didn't even turn around.
"It's not my business because I didn't do anything to get involved," he said.
Then he shrugged.
"Besides, it's Lilie's fault for ruining Reno's confession."
The entire class gasped.
Even I was surprised.
Yuki immediately leaned forward with a mischievous grin.
"Reno's confession? Who's the lucky girl?"
Hanato glanced back with a smirk.
"You can ask her yourself, Yuki."
He paused.
"I'm sure Ouna would be happy to answer."
Then he walked out of the classroom.
Yuki's grin somehow got even wider.
But she quickly snapped back to the earlier topic.
"So… are you coming with me?"
Before I could answer, Shouji walked over.
"Going somewhere?"
"I'm going to film the monster situation," Yuki said proudly.
Then she looked at me again.
Waiting.
I shook my head slowly.
"I'm sorry, Yuki… I can't."
"You know my mom would kill me if I got involved."
Yuki stared at me for a moment.
Then she suddenly hugged me.
"It's okay!"
"I hope you get home safe."
She pulled away with bright excitement in her eyes.
"Now excuse me, Hina!"
"I'm going."
Before I could stop her, she ran out of the classroom.
"Yuki wait!" Shouji shouted as he ran after her.
I sighed.
Those two really were destined to chase each other forever.
After grabbing my bag, I slowly left the school.
At Home
When I arrived home, the house was quiet.
Mom had already warned me she would be working late.
I locked the door behind me and walked upstairs.
Just as I entered my room—
My phone rang.
It was Mom.
"Hina, are you safe?"
"Yes," I said quickly. "I'm already home."
She sighed with relief.
"Good. Stay inside. The police are handling the monster situation."
She paused.
"And heat something from the fridge if you're hungry."
After the call ended, I went downstairs.
Cooking wasn't exactly one of my talents.
So I grabbed cold lasagna from the fridge and heated it in the microwave.
Once it was ready, I carried the plate upstairs and turned on the TV.
Every news channel was covering the same thing.
The Razorblade monster.
Police were trying to stop it.
But the bullets couldn't even scratch its metal scales.
Worse—
When the spikes on its back hit some officers…
They transformed.
Into smaller versions of the same monster.
My stomach twisted.
Then something caught my eye.
On my desk…
There was a white box with a blue crest on top.
I froze.
I didn't remember putting that there.
Slowly, I approached the desk and opened the box.
Inside was a white glowing stone, resting on a black cushion.
It shimmered softly.
Almost…
Like it was calling to me.
Before I realized it, my hand reached toward it.
The moment my finger touched the stone—
A brilliant white light exploded across the room.
I couldn't see anything.
Hanato's Perspective
I went home after the classroom incident.
Honestly, I wanted to help.
But what could I do?
Lilie had crossed the line earlier.
She didn't have to humiliate Reno like that.
And I knew something else.
Selena actually liked him.
When I arrived home, I went straight to the kitchen.
Cooking dinner was the one thing I was actually good at.
After eating, I grabbed a slice of dark chocolate cake and headed to my room.
The TV was already showing the Razorblade situation.
Then I noticed something strange.
On my bed sat a black box with a red crest.
I opened it.
Inside was a black stone resting on a white cushion.
Curious, I picked it up.
The moment I touched it—
Darkness flooded the room.
A swirling black light consumed everything.
When the light faded…
The stone was gone.
Instead, a tiny black dragon floated in front of me.
Red eyes.
About the size of a toy RC car.
I blinked.
"What are you?"
The dragon bowed slightly.
"Hello there, Master."
"My name is Ryuhou, Spirit of the Essence of Shadow."
I frowned.
"Master? Don't call me that."
"My name is Hanato Hamagi."
"Nice to meet you."
The dragon nodded respectfully.
Hanato crossed his arms.
"So what happened to the black stone?"
"It merged with you," Ryuhou said calmly.
"You are now the vessel of the Essence of Shadow."
Then he began explaining everything.
The Order of Guardians.
The twelve Essences.
And the Great Disaster long ago.
When he finished, I asked the obvious question.
"Why me?"
Ryuhou looked toward the television where Razorblade was rampaging.
"Because you have the power to stop the Vessel of Chaos."
My eyes narrowed.
"Vessel of Chaos?"
The dragon pointed at the screen.
"The one who turned that boy into a monster."
Anger flickered in my chest.
"You mean someone did that to him?"
Ryuhou nodded.
"They prey on negative emotions."
My fists clenched.
"We have to stop them."
Ryuhou smiled slightly.
"And that is why you were chosen."
Hina's Perspective
When the white light faded—
The stone was gone.
Instead…
A tiny white dragon floated in front of me.
Blue eyes.
About the size of a toy RC car.
I screamed and jumped back against the wall.
"Please don't eat me!"
Panicking, I grabbed the lasagna plate and held it out.
"The lasagna is tastier than me, I swear!"
The little dragon blinked.
Then burst into laughter.
"I'm not going to eat you."
She floated closer.
"My name is Ryuna."
"I'm the Spirit of the Essence of Light."
I slowly lowered the lasagna.
"You… aren't going to eat me?"
She shook her head.
I took a deep breath.
"I'm Hina Hanzaki."
"So… what's going on?"
Ryuna explained everything.
The Guardians.
The Twelve Essences.
The Great Disaster.
And the Vessel of Chaos who had created Razorblade.
My mind spun.
Which meant…
Yuki had been right all along.
Monsters were real.
Guardians were real.
And now—
Ryuna looked at me seriously.
"You are the chosen vessel of the Essence of Light."
My heart nearly stopped.
"You are the one who must restore balance."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Why me?"
My voice trembled.
"Why did it have to be me?"
Outside the window…
The distant roar of Razorblade echoed across the city.
And somewhere else…
Hanato was asking the exact same question.