Chapter 2 :The Red Corridorr
The academy did not announce Kurogane Ryuusei's death. It didn't need to.Everyone felt it.
The corridors were quieter the next morning. Not because people whispered, but because no one spoke at all. Even the automated announcement system seemed to lower its voice.
"Training Block A will begin in ten minutes. Attendance is mandatory."
Jin Kanzaki stood in the dorm hallway, adjusting the strap of his bag. His hands would not stop trembling .It wasn't fear. It was absence.
The voices had not returned since the night Ryuusei died, and that silence pressed harder than any sound.
Kai Moriyama leaned against the wall, chewing nervously on a protein bar. "So… they really just… moved on."
Joe Takahara checked the corridor before answering. "This place doesn't have funerals. It has schedules."
Aira Kurosawa said nothing. She never did when something mattered.
They walked together, their boots echoing against the concrete floors.
The training yard was already lit. Rain continued to fall, thin and sharp, needling the ground. Six figures stood beneath the floodlights now.Not seven.Tsukino Nyx rested a blade against her shoulder.
Akabane Kaito paced like a caged animal.
Shidou Vire leaned casually against a weapons rack.
Hoshikawa Sora stood perfectly still.
Kuroda Grimm cracked his neck slowly.
Tachibana Kade stretched, movements light.
An instructor stepped forward.
"From this moment, all training will be integrated. Elites and juniors."Murmurs rippled through the yard.Kaito laughed sharply. "You're joking."The instructor did not blink. "The Vein Seven is now the Vein Six. Performance thresholds will not change."Nyx's gaze slid toward Jin. Cold. Measuring.The drill was called Red Corridor.A controlled death zone.Narrow halls. Automated turrets. Shifting walls. Live ammunition. No teams. No rankings. Only survival.The siren screamed.Steel doors rose.They were released.The corridor swallowed sound. Gunfire became distant thunder. Light flickered. The air smelled of metal and oil.Jin moved carefully, hugging the wall.
Too carefully.
A burst of rounds tore into the concrete beside him. He dropped, rolled, felt heat graze his sleeve.Kai screamed.
Joe dragged him into cover.
Aira's blade flashed twice, severing a turret cable.Jin's breath shortened.The world sharpened.Lines. Angles. Timing.Left.
He obeyed without knowing why.
A turret fired where he had been.Faster.
His legs moved.Let me.
The voice brushed his thoughts.
Jin slammed his back against the wall, heart hammering. "Not now."
The turret rotated.He lunged.Steel met steel.
The machine went dark.Silence followed.Jin stared at his hands.
They were steady.When the siren ended, three students did not exit.
No names were read. No explanations given.
Only numbers removed from the roster.
The weapon hall smelled of disinfectant and iron.
Shidou Vire whistled softly as he cleaned his knives. "Did you see the juniors? They almost looked alive."
Grimm snorted. "One of them will break soon."
Kaito's eyes stayed on Jin. "Already think one has."
Jin met his gaze. "Then stop watching me."
For a moment, something shifted behindKaito's eyes.Interest.Not fear.
That night, Jin could not sleep.
Rain returned. The ceiling light buzzed.
The voices were still gone.He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the wall."What are you waiting for?" he whispered.Nothing answered.The following day, Shidou Vire failed to report.Instructors searched.Security footage glitched.The weapon vault was sealed.When the door finally opened, they found him sitting against the wall, eyes open, smile gone. No wounds. No blood.Only terror.The academy locked down.Contracts were suspended.Training did not stop.Fear became part of the lesson.Nyx stood beside Jin in the corridor. "You're different."Jin didn't respond."You move like something is guiding you."He looked at her. "Isn't that the point?"Her lips tightened.That night, the voices returned.Soft.Careful.Six is unstable.The system is imperfect.Jin gripped the sink.His reflectio wavered."Leave me alone."You were not recruited.You were selected.The mirror cracked.Not from impact.From pressure. No one died that night.Which made the silence worse.