Raizen moved like a bolt of black lightning, his boots barely grazing the jagged edges of rooftops and the swaying crowns of ancient trees. He didn't slow for obstacles; he simply shattered them or soared over them, his focus locked on the horizon. In his arms, Zen was a broken weight. Every time Raizen leaped, a fresh spray of blood was whipped away by the biting wind, painting a crimson trail behind them. Zen's breathing was no longer a rhythm—it was a desperate, jagged struggle for air that rattled deep in his shattered chest.
On the ground, the world was a blur of asphalt and dust. The examination supervisor gripped the steering wheel of the SHIELD minivan, his knuckles white as he pushed the engine to its absolute limit. Beside him, Aiko was pressed against the window, her eyes darting upward, trying to track the dark blur that was Raizen.
"We're losing him!" Aiko cried, her voice trembling with a mix of fury and terror. "Can't this Car go any faster?"
The supervisor slammed his foot onto the accelerator, the floorboards vibrating under the strain. "This is the top speed, Aiko! It only feels slow because Raizen is moving Fast. Trust me, I know exactly where the Elite quarters are. I'm just keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get 'distracted' and take a detour. You know how he is."
Aiko slumped back into her seat, her breath hitching. She tried to force her muscles to relax, but her heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The supervisor glanced at her, noticing the way her hands were shaking in her lap.
"Listen to me," the supervisor said, his voice softening just a fraction. "Jiro is there. If anyone in this district can stitch and fix a body like that, it's him. Zen will be fine. Besides, that kid isn't the type to quit. I'd bet my license that if you cut his head off, he wouldn't go down."
Aiko managed a weak, watery smile at the dark joke. "Yeah... I know. It's just... with Ren away, everything feels like it's falling apart. If anything happens to Zen, Ren will never forgive me. I feel like it's my job to keep this group together, and right now, I'm failing."
The supervisor went quiet, the hum of the engine filling the silence. He didn't have the words to comfort a girl who was carrying the weight of her friends' lives on her shoulders. Instead, he swung the steering wheel hard to the left, tires Screeching as they rounded the final corner.
"We're here," he announced.
The minivan screeched to a halt in front of a monolithic structure. It was a fortress of glass and reinforced steel—the private base provided by the exam hosts for the Elites. Before the car had even fully stopped, Raizen dropped from the sky, landing on the ledge of the third floor. He pressed himself against the side of the building, peering cautiously through the glass with Zen still cradled in his arms.
Watching from below, Aiko looked up in pure confusion. "What is he doing? Why doesn't he just go in?" she asked, stepping out of the van.
The supervisor stepped out beside her and let out a heavy, knowing sigh. "I get it now. This is why he didn't want Zen to meet Jiro in the first place."
"What? I don't get it," Aiko pressed.
"If Ayumu catches Raizen holding a lifeless body in his arms while walking through the hallway—especially after Raizen disobeyed orders to stay inside—he's going to have a serious one-on-one with him. Raizen is trying to avoid a scolding," the supervisor explained.
Aiko narrowed her eyes, watching Raizen attempt to be sneaky on the third-story ledge. "Hiding from Ayumu... is that even possible?"
High above, Raizen watched through the glass, his eyes scanning for Jiro's quarters. (Okay, Jiro should be in his locker room by now,) Raizen thought. (Assuming he woke up from the floor one sleepover and moved here, which is likely. I can hear footsteps inside... yeah, that's definitely Jiro.) As he focused on the sound, his eyes suddenly darted to the hallway. Ayumu and Kuro were walking together; Kuro was talking animatedly while Ayumu walked in silence, listening. Raizen immediately pulled his frame away from the window, flattening himself against the wall to hide his silhouette. He tightened his grip on Zen.
(Okay, Ayumu spotted. I'll just wait until they leave and then make a run for it. I have to be careful so they don't pick up on my presence,) he thought. He watched through the corner of the pane until Ayumu and Kuro made a left turn, disappearing from view.
(Now!!!) Raizen slid the window glass up and dropped silently into the building. On the ground, Aiko saw the movement. "He made it in!" she shouted, sprinting toward the main entrance.
Inside, Raizen sprinted toward Jiro's room, his feet making absolutely no sound against the floor. He was almost there when a voice rang out from behind him, stopping him cold.
"Raizen? Where have you been?" Kuro asked.
Raizen froze. He shifted Zen's body slightly, keeping his back turned so they couldn't see the boy in his arms. But before he could even invent an excuse, Ayumu's head tilted. He sniffed the air briefly.
"Is that blood?" Ayumu's voice was cold, a direct command. "Raizen, turn around."
Raizen slowly turned, a forced, trembling grin plastered across his face. Ayumu and Kuro's gazes dropped instantly to the unconscious, bloody body of Zen.
Kuro pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice a low hiss of disbelief. "Fuck."
(At Tsubasa's Room):
Tsubasa lay back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling fan as it rotated in rhythmic silence. The low hum filled the room until a sudden knock broke his trance. On the third sharp rap against the wood, his eyes shifted toward the door. He sat upright with a heavy sigh, resting his head in his hand.
"What is it?" he asked.
The door swung open to reveal a cadet from the Guild Analysis Squad, who snapped into a crisp salute. "Sir—"
Before he could continue, Tsubasa cut him off. "Not today. It's bad enough I'm stuck at these exams; now you want to increase my workload? Hell no. Go bother someone else."
The cadet blinked in confusion, slowly raising a finger. "Actually, sir, it's a message from the Head of Guild Analysis."
Tsubasa pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it? Out with it."
"There are spawn portals opening in the north, about a three-drive radius from here," the cadet explained. "The exact locations aren't clear yet, but the details will be sent shortly. There are ten portals in total, ranging from B-rank down. Mr. Nakamori thinks it's a good opportunity for you to teach the rookies how to evaluate, assign, and track entrance data within the portals."
Tsubasa frowned at him. "We have plenty of people in the Analysis Center who can do that. Go bother them instead."
"Mr. Nakamori insisted that only you can do it," the cadet added quickly. "He said you're the best for the job, and since they're rookies, they need to understand the basics perfectly."
Tsubasa's expression shifted into a mix of emotionless annoyance. "Of course he said that."
"He also mentioned he would have done it himself, but he's busy with something important," the cadet finished.
Tsubasa's frown deepened. (Important, my ass,) he thought. (He's probably off with a girl at the beach.) "Fine. Get out. Let me get ready to leave," Tsubasa muttered. The cadet smiled, saluted, and marched dramatically out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.
Tsubasa waited for the click of the latch before standing up with a sigh. He walked to his desk to gather his documents, but his eyes caught the machine used to evaluate the candidates' performance. He walked over, checking the green status lights on the side.
(The amount of wasted Orvex team 42 burned through...) he thought. (Back then, Ayumu gave the order to stop scanning for wasted Orvex and only check the amount channeled to save time. But Team 42 was the first group up that day. I guess I finished their analysis anyway.)
He picked up a report. (Zen leaked 20 percent. Not surprising; that boy is something else. The level of mental discipline required to waste so little without even knowing what Orvex is... it's crazy. He had 73 percent remaining before the waste returned to him.)
He dropped Zen's report and picked up Hoshizaki's. "Waste was 60 percent. Not bad for an average candidate, I guess." He moved to Aiko's file next. "18 percent leakage. Can't expect anything less from the Number 1 Sister," he said, unimpressed.
He laid the reading down and moved to Tsukiko's. "No way that's huge orvex and it's only 40 percent waste?. These kids these days," he muttered, slightly shocked.
Finally, his eyes landed on the next name: REN KUROGANE.
(This is the guy who couldn't channel anything into his weapon. That was pretty embarrassing,) Tsubasa thought. He began to read the report in silence, but as he processed the data, his eyes widened in disbelief.
(This can't be true. He leaked one hundred percent of his Orvex? That's physically impossible—you need Orvex inside you to function. And these numbers... one hundred percent of his Orvex reached levels I've never seen. If this is true, his Orvex signature covered the planet and beyond. This could possibly be beyond the universe.)
Tsubasa stared at the report, stunned. "Yeah, no. There's no way. Right?" He paused, a chill running down his spine. (But then again, I'm never wrong.)
Before he could dive deeper into the data, another knock sounded at the door. "Sir, your ride is here," the cadet called out.
Tsubasa sighed, shoved Ren's report into his bag, and headed for the door. "Yeah, I'm coming," he said, leaving the room behind.
(At the Cafeteria):