The school bells echoed through the sky like a funeral chime.
Cain walked alone down the obsidian corridor of Hell Class, his eyes heavy from the sleepless night. His ID still glowed with that red symbol — a triangle enclosing a single eye.
"Anomaly."
The word haunted him.
No matter where he turned, he felt eyes. Watching. Judging. Waiting.
---
Above, deep within the Academy's secure control sector, a council gathered — unseen, unnamed, and dangerous.
"Cain Vale," one of the masked figures murmured, watching the footage of his last battle again. "Unranked. No background. Power outside classification."
"Behavioral irregularities suggest fusion-type adaptability. Possibly unstable."
"Threat potential: exponential."
A final voice, cold and decisive, concluded:
> "Mark him. Monitor him. And if he resists… erase him."
A terminal screen blinked.
[ERASURE PROTOCOL: LEVEL 1 — INITIATED]
---
Meanwhile, Cain entered the cafeteria.
It was silent.
Every student turned. No one sat near him. Whispers trailed behind his every step.
> "That's him."
"He's the freak."
"Marked red by the system…"
"He shouldn't be here."
He sat at an empty table, clenched fists on the steel tray. No appetite. No answers.
Until a shadow fell across him.
Iris.
She slid into the seat across from him without a word.
Cain blinked. "Aren't you afraid?"
She leaned forward. "Of you? A little. But of what the school will do to you? Much more."
Cain's throat tightened.
"They're calling you an anomaly," she continued. "That's not just a nickname. It's a code. It means they don't trust you. And in this academy... when the system doesn't trust you…"
She trailed off. She didn't need to finish.
---
Later that night, Cain returned to his dorm, only to find it ransacked.
Drawers open. Mattress torn. Even the floorboards pried loose.
In the center of the room, someone had carved three letters into the wall.
> D.I.E.
His ID flashed again.
[Surveillance Breach. Presence Confirmed: Unknown Agent Nearby.]
Cain backed up slowly, pulse hammering.
Then—
Click.
Behind him, the window shattered.
A dart flew past his cheek and embedded in the wall. It fizzed — burning through metal like acid.
Cain turned instantly — a masked figure lunged at him.
Training kicked in. He ducked, pivoted, and drove his knee into the attacker's ribs. But the man recovered fast — faster than any normal student.
They weren't here to fight.
They were here to delete.
Cain dodged again, breathing heavy. For the first time, it wasn't a student he was facing. This was a professional. Sent by someone powerful.
---
The fight spilled into the hallway, lights flashing red.
Cain channeled everything — speed, memory, instinct.
He began to sync again — like with Ryke.
This time it was different. His body moved before his mind. He copied the attacker's strikes… improved them… warped them.
Within seconds, the assassin hit the ground, unconscious.
Cain stood panting, drenched in sweat, the triangle glowing red on his ID.
---
In a hidden lab, far from the academy, a new report was filed:
[Subject 016 survived termination attempt.]
[Sync ability accelerating.]
[Recommend escalation to Erasure Protocol: LEVEL 2.]
---
Cain stared out at the night sky from the broken window.
"Whatever I am… whatever they think I am… I'm not going down that easy."
Behind him, the red triangle blinked brighter.
He was no longer a student.
He was an anomaly.
And now… he was officially hunted.