The next morning…
Tok tok tok!
DUG DUG DUG!
"WOAH, KAZUKI!!!"
"ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?"
The voices of Kazuki's two sidekick friends echoed down the dorm corridor. They stood panicked outside his door.
"He's sleeping like a corpse, bro!"
"Well yeah, he's late! Class already started—we're gonna be left hanging at the gate!"
Click.
The door creaked open slowly, revealing Kazuki with slightly disheveled hair and an untidy uniform. His eyes were barely open, but their gaze remained sharp.
"…Why are you guys noisier than a magical spell barrage?"
"HEY! WE'RE LATE, THAT'S THE PROBLEM!!"
Kazuki said nothing. His expression went blank for a moment… then he spoke as he stepped out of his room.
"Relax. In this world, being late is just an illusion of time… for those who don't know the rhythm of darkness."
"What does that even mean?" one of them whispered to the other.
Kazuki stretched lazily, then sighed.
"Sometimes… the world moves too slowly for me."
"What's that supposed to mean? So dramatic."
The three dashed off toward the academy.
"Hey Kazuki, where did you go last night? You missed dinner and everything. We thought you got kidnapped by fairies or aliens."
Kazuki glanced over with a calm expression… but his eyes concealed unspoken thoughts.
"Last night… I was simply performing my role as a side character."
"…Huh?"
Kazuki looked at the bright morning sky. A cool breeze blew around them.
"But sometimes, even side characters must step in… when the stage is tainted with rot."
"WHAT THE--? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"
Kazuki smiled faintly, didn't explain further, and walked on ahead of them.
"He's more weird than usual."
"Yeah, but… kinda cool too… even if we have no idea what he's saying."
While they muttered among themselves, Kazuki strode forward into the sunrise.
No one knew what he did last night. No applause. No praise.
And that… was exactly how he wanted it.
"White Reaper doesn't need a stage," he murmured quietly.
"Because shadows… are the perfect place to bloom."
---
At the Academy…
The corridors of the Imperial Magic Academy buzzed with students walking to class, chatting, or reviewing spellbooks. Kazuki and his two sidekicks walked aimlessly.
Kazuki walked at the back, shoulders slightly slumped, radiating the burden of eternal side character.
One friend glanced at them as he stuffed his hand in his pocket.
"Oh, yeah… are you free tonight?"
The other shrugged.
"Nothing planned. Why? Want to pull a heist or something?"
Kazuki gazed at the ceiling with a blank expression, his voice low and heavy as usual.
"I'm… not interested. Nighttime is for sleeping, not pointless wandering."
"Dude, don't be like that!" His friend smirked. "You'll love tonight—there's a hot girl coming. Hehe."
Kazuki stopped walking. Instantly, time around them… froze.
Footsteps paused. Dust hovered. Absolute silence.
He tilted his head and exhaled softly:
"…Words like that deserve punishment in a… efficient manner."
With one swift but calm motion, Kazuki punched his friend in the gut—just barely enough to punish, without causing permanent social death.
DUK!
Time resumed.
"ARGH!! Why's my stomach hurting all of a sudden?!"
His friend doubled over holding his gut.
"What's wrong with you?" asked the other.
"No idea… felt like I got punched by a ghost!"
Kazuki merely glanced and walked soundlessly toward the classroom, expression unchanged. One hand in his pocket, the other clutching a spellbook he hadn't even opened.
"Sometimes, the world needs to be taught… what 'silence' means."
His two friends looked at each other, bewildered.
"What's he talking about?"
"Dunno, but… he's getting more like a villain every day."
As they whispered, Kazuki reached the classroom door and slipped in quietly.
---
Inside the main hall of the Magic Academy, students sat in neat rows. Desks were organized, spellbooks open, and the teacher's steps echoed as he approached.
"Today we will discuss enhancing magic through mana intonation," the teacher proclaimed in his dull, commanding tone.
Some students eagerly took notes; others struggled to stay awake.
In the back row by the window sat Kazuki Altherion, lazily propping his chin on his hand. He stared out the sunlit window.
But Kazuki… was not listening.
Under his breath—almost like a whisper of wind—he muttered:
"My power… transcends reason."
His words went unheard. Perfectly intended.
Suddenly…
WEEOO!! WEEOO!!
A blaring emergency alarm shattered the classroom calm. Red lights flashed overhead. Panic swept through the students.
"Attack in the northern zone of the academy!"
"Magical guards, prepare now!"
Chaos erupted. Teachers issued orders and students scrambled to safety zones.
But Kazuki rose slowly. His eyes were as calm as the ocean's depths.
Through the window, shadowy figures entered the academy grounds—dark, malevolent, alien.
Kazuki smiled faintly.
"Heh… interesting…"
He stood and walked toward the classroom's side corridor. But just before stepping out, he whispered:
"But… White Reaper must not appear in the daylight."
His hand moved swiftly through the air…
In an instant, his body vanished without a sound—as if swallowed by a shadow unfit for daytime.
No one noticed his absence. Even the student beside him merely blinked to discover the seat empty.
Kazuki had moved.
Not as a student.
But as a shadow.
As a legend dancing just beyond the light.
And with that, this chapter ended.