I never thought my life would end in front of a vending machine.
One second, I was fishing out spare yen for a can of melon soda. The next—bam—electrocuted by the damn thing like a bug zapper. I'd laugh at the irony if my corpse wasn't probably still twitching.
I expected death to be a blank void, maybe a long tunnel with celestial elevator music. What I didn't expect was to wake up on cold obsidian stone, beneath a sky that bled violet fire.
"Subject: Kazuki Ren. Species: Human. Male. Age: Seventeen. Condition: Surprisingly fragile."
Hovering above me was a floating sphere, pulsating with crimson runes. Around me stretched a campus that looked like it had been carved from nightmares: spiked towers, floating candles, and gargoyle statues watching from every roof.
"Where… am I?" I croaked, sitting up.
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, curvaceous, wrapped in a black lace academic robe that clung like temptation incarnate. Silver hair flowed down her back, horns curling elegantly from her temples.
"My name is Lilith Elzevara. I am your Homeroom Instructor," she said, voice like velvet wrapped around poison. "Welcome to the Academy of Ruin."
I blinked. "Academy… of what now?"
Her crimson eyes narrowed, amused. "Oh, don't worry. You'll catch up. You are the first male student we've ever accepted. I do hope you survive."
And with that ominous note, she snapped her fingers—and the ground swallowed me whole.
---
The next thing I knew, I was standing in a lecture hall with two dozen girls staring at me like I was a zoo exhibit. Gorgeous, inhumanly perfect girls—horns, wings, tails. One even had feathers growing from her arms.
"New pet?" one snickered.
"He looks… squishy," said another.
Lilith clapped her hands. "Ladies, behave. This is Kazuki Ren. He is… special. And fragile. Treat him well—or don't. Let's see if he adapts."
From that moment, I knew I wasn't in Tokyo anymore.
And I definitely wasn't safe.