It was the second day after the contract was signed.
Hyuuga Sakikawa's trainer's office wasn't so much an office as it was a repurposed waste disposal room.
A thick layer of dust covered everything. The air, heavy with the cloying smell of disinfectant, stung the nostrils and made one's eyes water. Yorozuya Eiyuu stood nervously in the doorway, afraid to even sit on the dusty chairs. Instead, she used her sleeve to wipe off a small section of a desk and perched there carefully.
She stared at the man who had shattered her worldview yesterday. Now, he seemed like a complete stranger, and his presence made her skin crawl.
Was he really not going to break her legs? She couldn't be sure.
Yesterday's threat still echoed in her ears: "Be here at 9 AM tomorrow. One minute late and I'll break your legs. Not kidding."
"Are you here?" Sakikawa's cold voice cut through the silence.
Eiyuu jumped. She looked up and saw him emerge from behind a pile of junk, his head covered in cobwebs. The so-called office was cluttered with what looked like props from a low-budget sci-fi movie—machines with exposed wires and blinking lights, all humming with a low, unsettling frequency. It was a pile of e-waste with an antique vibe.
"Get up. Go over there," he ordered.
Sakikawa didn't even bother to look at her, his chin gesturing towards a strange, coffin-like machine.
"...Huh?"
"Do I need to ask you personally?" His voice was cold enough to freeze her heart. Eiyuu felt a chill run down her spine and quickly did as she was told.
She stepped onto a platform that was surprisingly clean. As soon as her feet touched the surface, the machine hummed to life. A panel of green light slid from top to bottom, scanning her entire body.
The monitor flickered on, displaying rows of green text. Sakikawa stared at the screen, his expressionless face making it impossible to read his thoughts.
"Muscle Endurance, 18%."
His deadpan voice made Eiyuu flinch. She knew her physique was terrible, but she didn't realize it was that bad.
"Bone Density, 7.6% below the average value. Are you made of cotton candy?"
"Left-Right Muscle Balance, 8.3%. Are you trying to become a dragon? With that imbalance, your name should be Crooked Neck Dragon."
Yorozuya Eiyuu's face was beet red. She buried her head in the fluffy collar of her jacket, wishing the ground would swallow her whole. But Sakikawa wasn't finished.
"Your lumbar disc is already showing signs of protrusion. Your force application is so off, you're practically begging for an injury. If you keep pushing yourself, you'll be paralyzed before you even get on the track."
"...I... I'm sorry!"
"Don't apologize to me."
He continued his brutal assessment, then finally turned away from the screen. He glanced at Eiyuu, then at a silver, dust-covered case on the floor. He picked it up and casually tossed it onto the desk.
"Physical conditioning and supplemental nutrition."
Inside the case sat a clear plastic box containing nineteen brightly colored pills and a flask filled with a viscous, green liquid. They gave off a sharp, clinical odor. That green liquid bubbled lazily, looking like something straight out of a witch's cauldron.
Eiyuu recoiled, a wave of dread washing over her.
"What... is this..." she stammered.
"Bone-strengthening pills," Sakikawa said, pointing to the pills. Then he pointed to the flask. "And a neurotrophic supplement."
Eiyuu was speechless. She had no idea what he was talking about, but one thing was certain: this was not normal medicine. In her eyes, these were biochemical weapons.
"Eat it."
Sakikawa's single command sent a chill through her. He sounded so casual, as if he were asking her to pass the salt. Eiyuu froze, her mind screaming. He's a murderer! He's really going to kill me!
A faint smirk touched Sakikawa's lips. His deadpan face finally showed a hint of expression—one that looked like he was enjoying a good joke.
"Having second thoughts?"
He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. "You can quit now," he said. "But your dream of being a hero, of running in races where no one even knows your name, and then retiring in obscurity with the pity and regret of everyone... is that what you want?"
Every word was a poisoned needle, piercing her heart.
She looked down, her face a maelstrom of emotions. The stinging taste of shame filled her mouth.
Sakikawa pushed the flask of green liquid towards her. "This is the taste of getting stronger," he said. "The pain you felt yesterday? That was nothing compared to this. Now, choose."
The office was quiet. Eiyuu stared at the poison—no, the "miracle drug"—in front of her, then at Sakikawa's empty eyes. She saw her own desperate reflection in them.
She took a deep breath. With trembling hands, she picked up the pills, tossed them into her mouth, and swallowed them down with the thick, green liquid.
A bitter, fishy taste exploded on her tongue. It was followed by a burning sensation, a hellish concoction of seaweed, soil, and molten iron that ripped through her throat and into her stomach.
She choked back the urge to vomit.
Her stomach felt like it was on fire. The pain was immediate and absolute. She doubled over, a strangled cry escaping her lips as her vision blurred. She collapsed to the floor, her body convulsing as if being torn apart from the inside. Her organs felt like they were being shredded and rearranged. A wave of nausea washed over her, and her skin took on a sickly pale-green hue.
"Oof—"
Suddenly, the door was pushed open.
"Excuse me, is Hyuuga-san here? Trainer Niimi asked us to..."
A girl with a boyish haircut, Kitahara, trailed off as she took in the scene. Her companion, a girl named Saki, stood beside her, her eyes wide with shock.
Before them, a silver-haired girl was writhing on the floor, foaming at the mouth and convulsing violently. Standing over her was Sakikawa, his expression as blank as ever.
"Yorozuya-kun!" Kitahara screamed, recognizing her classmate.
The next second, she saw the scene for what it was: a poisoning.
"What did you do to her?!" Kitahara shrieked and lunged forward.
Saki grabbed her arm, her face grim but her voice sharp. "Brother, we can't mess around like this, can we?"
Sakikawa shot them a look that could kill. "Let go of her," he said, his voice dangerously low. "If you interrupt the process of eliminating the toxins from her body, who's going to be responsible?"
Kitahara and Saki froze. Toxins?
They looked from Sakikawa's deadpan face to the pile of humming, sparking "equipment," and a terrible understanding dawned on them.
"Uh... that... sorry... we were just passing by..." Kitahara stammered, grabbing Saki and backing away slowly.
"You... you guys continue..."
The door was gently pulled shut.
Sakikawa clicked his tongue in annoyance and looked down at Eiyuu, who was now semi-conscious and trying to curse him, though only a weak, gurgling sound came out.
This man was a demon. A complete and utter monster.
"Go back," Sakikawa waved his hand, his patience clearly worn thin.
"The real hell starts tomorrow."
Yorozuya Eiyuu stumbled out of the office, every muscle in her body screaming.
Sakikawa walked back to his desk and sat down. Several keyboards were embedded in the old, dusty console. On the screen, an icon representing a complex gene sequence was highlighted.
The name below it read: [Phantom Dragon].
-------
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