Yuki takes out a piece of paper and pen from his bag and places it on the table.
"Would you guys mind writing your names and your levels on the power scale here?" Yuki asked politely with a bright smile on his face.
"Why though?" Seri asked tilted her head in confusion.
"I'd like to know more about you, Seri-chan." Yuki's voice sounded relaxing when he said her name. He moved closer to her placing the pen in her hands.
Seri quickly wrote her name and rank in the piece of paper without any hesitation.
Yuki was aware of Seri's attraction to him, but he didn't know she was in love with him. He just thought it was lust.
Derek wrote his and then Mika, everyone looked at Sophia who slowly took the pen and paper and unwilling wrote her name and level.
Academy Power Ranking List:
Aethelgard (The Peak)
Archon
Luminary (Sophia Uzushi, Derek Raiko)
Paragon (Seri Kyorin, Mika Mizushi)
Adept
Acolyte (Yuki Kinatarou)
Yuki looked over the list, his eyes lingering on the titles next to the names. He was an Acolyte, the very bottom of the ladder, sitting at a table surrounded by Paragons and Luminaries. Any one of them could theoretically crush him if they wanted.
Instead of looking discouraged, Yuki let out a soft chuckle and folded the paper carefully. "I'm surrounded by monsters," he said, offering them a bright, genuine smile. "But don't get too comfortable at the top. I'll catch up to you all soon."
The table fell into a brief, warm silence—until a sharp, jagged sound pierced Yuki's mind. It wasn't a physical noise; it was Kira, chirping with a frantic, metallic edge in his ear.
"Yuki! We have a problem. The ... the apartment. Someone broke in. Luna is gone."
Yuki's smile vanished instantly. His face went pale, his blue eyes turning cold and vacant. He stood up so abruptly his chair screeched against the marble floor, drawing the attention of the entire cafeteria.
"Yuki? What's wrong?" Seri asked, reaching for his arm.
He didn't answer. He didn't even see her. Yuki turned and bolted toward the double doors. By the time Seri stood up to follow, he was already a blur. His speed, fueled by a sudden surge of desperate adrenaline, was no longer human—it was comparable to a car accelerating on a highway.
"Yuki, wait!" Seri screamed, but he was gone. She turned to the others, her royal composure replaced by sheer panic. "My limo is out front. Move!"
Derek and Mika didn't hesitate, fueled by the bond they had just begun to form. Only Sophia remained at the table, her golden eyes shadowed with a dark, complicated calm. She continued eating like nothing else mattered.
The ride to the slums was suffocating. Inside the plush interior of the Kyorin limo, no one spoke. The only sound was the rhythmic thrum of the engine and the frantic heartbeat Yuki couldn't seem to quiet. He stared out the window, but he wasn't seeing the passing city lights; he was seeing Luna's small, trusting face. Beside him, Seri gripped her knees so hard her knuckles turned white, her green Ki flickering like a dying candle. She wanted to offer words of comfort, but looking at Yuki's hollow expression, she realized there was nothing left to say.
As the limo swerved into the narrow, rain-slicked alleys of the slums, the luxury of the vehicle felt like an insult to the poverty surrounding it. The gray sky had finally broken, pouring a cold, relentless drizzle over the cracked pavement. Yuki was out of the door before the car had even fully stopped, his shoes splashing through oily puddles as he raced toward the scent of ozone and copper that hung heavy in the damp air.
He could hear the distant sirens, the drip of the rain, and the panicked whispers of neighbors. It was as if his mind was preparing him for a war his body wasn't yet ready to fight. By the time he reached the threshold of his door, the world felt like it was moving in slow motion, every splinter of wood under his feet a testament to his failure to protect her.
He stood in the doorway of his home—the home he had just finished furnishing with such pride. The door hung off its hinges, splintered and useless.
Inside, the new TV they had watched together was smashed. The pine table was overturned. But the worst part was the walls. Dark, crimson stains smeared the peeling wallpaper and pooled on the floor.
Luna..." Yuki whispered. The anger didn't come this time. There was only a hollow, freezing void.
Hana ran up to Kyorin-san, her voice shaking. "We just got here... we saw a black van speeding away, but the door... Seri, there's so much blood. He's going to lose it."
Yuki didn't move toward the blood. He didn't scream. Instead, his eyes locked onto a crisp, white envelope lying untouched amidst the debris of his shattered life. He picked it up with a trembling hand.
The note inside was brief, written in elegant, mocking calligraphy:
"A gift for the Kinatarou who forgot his place. Come to the abandoned North Port at midnight for your surprise. Come alone, or the girl becomes a memory."
Yuki stared at the paper until the edges began to crinkle under his grip.
"Yuki, let me see that," Seri said, her voice frantic. She read the note over his shoulder, her face paling. "We have to call my father. The Kyorin security forces can blockade the entire port in twenty minutes."
Seri pulled out her phone, her fingers flying, but after a few seconds, she let out a frustrated cry. "He's off-grid. He's on a diplomatic trip to the Western Isles. I can't reach him, and the deputy commanders won't move without his direct seal for a 'Zero's' sake."
Yuki took the letter back, before walking in the direction of the port.
"Are you insane?" Seri barked, her green hair practically vibrating with Ki. "It's a trap, Yuki! They want you there!"
He didn't look back at the wreckage of his home. He had no weapons, no armor, and—according to the school—no power.
"You aren't going alone," a voice called out.
Derek and Mika stood behind him. Derek's orange eyes were clouded with uncertainty; he was a student of light and logic, and a midnight raid on a dark port went against every rule he lived by. Mika looked terrified, her pigtails shaking, but she didn't move away.
"We shouldn't do this," Derek admitted, his voice low. "It's tactical suicide."
"I don't care," Yuki replied, not stopping. "Luna needs me, my sister needs me." Yuki now saw her as a sister that needed protection.
Seri fell into step beside him. Her expression was no longer worried—it was purely, regally furious. She didn't try to stop him anymore; she simply walked with him, a silent, furious guardian. The memory of Luna, a tiny child with curious eyes flashed in her mind.
Behind them, Derek and Mika shared a look of hesitation, but they followed. They were a group of Paragons and Luminaries led by an Acolyte, walking straight into the mouth of a shark.