The gates of the Guild loomed tall and cold, etched with runes that pulsed faintly against the night sky.
Haruki's boots dragged as he stepped across the threshold, the weight of the Crimson Core's whisper still gnawing at his skull.
The others didn't look much better. Kana's cloak was torn, her bowstring frayed.
Rai's bandages were soaked dark where his side wound hadn't closed properly. Even Kuro, smug as ever, had dust streaking his hair and armor.
Inside the hall, the usual roar of laughter and clashing mugs fell to silence as the Hunters noticed them. Dozens of eyes turned their way. Haruki felt the stares before he saw them sharp, curious, suspicious.
"Is that… the F-Rank kid?" someone muttered.
"No way he survived that dungeon."
"Look at his hands."
Haruki glanced down. Too late. His claws had left faint scorch marks on his gloves where the crimson glow had lingered. He curled his fists, shoving them into his cloak, but the whispers had already begun to ripple.
"Monster."
The word wasn't shouted. It was breathed. But it stuck like a knife.
Kana bristled beside him, snapping, "He's no monster! We wouldn't be alive without him."
The room quieted for a heartbeat, but the damage was done. Hunters leaned close to one another, whispering behind hands, eyes never leaving Haruki.
At the far end of the hall, the Guildmaster's assistant approached, stiff-backed. "Team Oda," he said, voice flat. "Report. Now."
Haruki's stomach tightened. The last thing he wanted was more eyes on him, more questions. But there was no escaping it. The Guild had seen the marks of the Crimson Core on him even if they didn't yet know its name.
As they followed the assistant toward the Guildmaster's chamber, Haruki felt the weight of the hall's stares pressing into his back. He could hear the whispers echoing in his head louder than the actual voices.
Monster. Monster. Monster.
And deep beneath those voices, the Crimson Core's whisper pulsed once more, smug and certain:
They will never accept you. But I will.
The Guildmaster's chamber was a cavern of bookshelves, weapon racks, and glowing crystals that served as both light and surveillance tools. Maps of Driath sprawled across the table at the center, pins marking battlefronts and lost territories.
Guildmaster Hoshino sat behind the table, a towering man with streaks of gray in his hair and scars that seemed carved into his skin by history itself. His one good eye scanned the team like a hawk appraising prey.
"You survived," he rumbled. "But survival is not victory. Report."
Kana straightened, bowing respectfully. "The Rift dungeon collapsed while we were inside. Bantings stronger than their rank appeared. Haruki's claws were the only thing that cut them down."
Hoshino's eye flicked to Haruki. The silence that followed was heavier than stone.
Haruki swallowed, forcing his voice steady. "It wasn't just me. Kana, Rai, even Kuro without them, I'd be dead."
Kuro leaned lazily against a pillar, smirk sharp. "True enough. But let's not ignore the highlight of the show, Master. Our little F-Rank sprouted crimson fire and shredded a creature twice our size. Quite the… surprise, wouldn't you say?"
Rai's jaw tightened. "Kuro"
But Hoshino lifted a hand. His eye narrowed at Haruki. "Crimson fire, you say? Claws that cut beyond their measure?" He leaned forward, voice dropping to a near growl. "What rank are you, boy?"
"F," Haruki answered quickly, too quickly.
"Then why," Hoshino pressed, "did witnesses in the hall just report that your claws glowed red? That you looked less like a Hunter… and more like the things we hunt?"
The words struck like a hammer. Haruki froze, heart pounding. His claws itched beneath his gloves, desperate to flare, to prove themselves.
"I don't know," he said, forcing calm. "The System… glitched. It's never happened before."
Silence stretched. The Guildmaster's gaze was a blade pressing against his throat. Then, at last, Hoshino leaned back.
"You'll be tested." His tone was final, absolute. "If your power is human, we'll know. If it isn't…"
He didn't finish. He didn't have to.
Kana flinched. Rai's eyes darkened. Kuro smirked like he'd just won a bet.
Haruki lowered his head, fists trembling inside his cloak. The whispers in the room were silent now, but in his skull, the Crimson Core purred.
See? Even your Guild doubts you. Only I will never question you.
The heavy doors of the Guildmaster's chamber shut behind them with a dull thud that echoed down the corridor. For a moment, no one spoke. The silence was thicker than fog.
Then Rai broke it. "You should've told us." His voice was low, but sharp, like a blade hidden in cloth.
Haruki stiffened. "Told you what? That my System's broken? That I don't understand it myself?" He spun on Rai, frustration burning through his fear. "I didn't ask for this!"
Kana quickly stepped between them, hands raised. "Stop. Both of you. We've all seen strange things in this world Systems that evolve, Hunters with powers they can't explain. Haruki isn't the enemy."
Her words were firm, but her eyes betrayed hesitation. She wanted to believe them. Haruki saw it. The doubt creeping in.
Kuro leaned against the wall, slow clapping. "Touching. Very touching. But Kana, Rai has a point. How long until his little glitch stops saving us and starts tearing us apart?"
"Shut up, Kuro," Kana snapped.
But he only grinned wider. "What? I'm just asking the questions you're too scared to voice. If his claws glow like a Banting's, if his eyes burn red maybe he's not our comrade at all. Maybe he's… evolving into one of them."
Haruki's stomach knotted. He wanted to shout, to deny it. But the memory of the Core's visions blood, ruin, claws tearing worlds apart flashed behind his eyes. What if Kuro wasn't entirely wrong?
Rai stepped closer, gaze hard on Haruki. "Until we know the truth, you need to control yourself. No more surprises. If you lose control again…" He didn't finish, but his hand hovered near the hilt of his blade.
Kana's voice broke the tension. "Enough. We'll face the test, together. Until then we stick as a team."
But as they walked down the corridor, Haruki felt it the unspoken divide opening between them. Trust was cracking. And the Crimson Core's whisper coiled around his heart like smoke.
Let them doubt. You only need me.
The corridor led them back into the main hall, where the Guild bustled with activity. The noise of clinking armor, shouted orders, and the clatter of boots on stone nearly drowned out the tension between them. Nearly.
"Haruki Aoi!"
The booming voice silenced the hall. Guildmaster Renshiro, broad-shouldered and clad in ceremonial armor polished to a gleam, stood on the dais. His single eye hard as steel locked onto Haruki.
Whispers rippled through the gathered Hunters.
"That's the boy who survived the Crimson Core."
"F-Rank? No way. Did you see the glow in his hands?"
"Maybe he's cheating. Or cursed."
Haruki's throat tightened. Hundreds of eyes pressed down on him. He wanted to shrink into the shadows, but Renshiro's gaze pinned him in place like a spear.
"You have attracted too much attention," the Guildmaster thundered. "Questions are rising among the Hunters. Doubt. Fear. And fear in this Guild is poison."
He raised his hand, and a golden scroll unfurled, shimmering with System script. "Thus, by ancient decree, you will undergo the Trial of Binding."
Gasps swept the crowd. Kana's hand shot to her mouth. Rai's eyes narrowed. Even Kuro, who usually smirked at everything, looked momentarily startled.
"The Trial?" Kana whispered. "That's… brutal."
Renshiro continued, his voice carrying authority that brooked no argument. "In three days, Haruki Aoi will enter the Binding Chamber. There, his System shall be revealed for all to see. If it is stable he will be accepted. If it is a danger…"
His pause was deliberate, the silence heavy. "Then the Guild will act accordingly."
Haruki's blood ran cold. He didn't need to ask what "accordingly" meant.
System Zero flickered awake inside him, its voice dripping sarcasm to cover its unease.
Oh great, a public trial. Nothing says "fun" like being poked, prodded, and possibly executed in front of a live audience.
Haruki forced a steady voice. "Guildmaster… is there no other way?"
Renshiro's single eye gleamed. "There is only truth. And the truth will decide if you stand with us or against us."
The hall erupted in murmurs again, Hunters debating, gossiping, doubting. Haruki clenched his fists. He wasn't afraid of the trial itself. He was afraid of what the truth might reveal.
The Guildhall slowly returned to its noisy rhythm, but around Haruki, the air stayed heavy. Hunters gave him sidelong glances, some curious, some openly suspicious.
A few even stepped back when he passed, as if he carried a disease.
Kana walked close beside him, arms folded tightly across her chest. "The Trial of Binding…" she muttered, voice grim. "It's supposed to expose cheats and spies, not… people like you."
"People like me?" Haruki echoed, bitterness creeping into his tone.
She stopped, biting her lip. "I didn't mean it that way. I just"
"Save it." His words came sharper than he intended.
Rai finally spoke, his tone cold but controlled. "She's right. This isn't a test for recruits. It's a spectacle. The Guild wants answers, and they don't care what it costs you."
Haruki turned on him. "And what about you? You've been looking at me like I'm a bomb ready to explode. Do you even believe I'm on your side anymore?"
Rai's silence spoke louder than any accusation.
Kuro, leaning lazily against a support beam, grinned at the exchange. "Well, isn't this sweet? A team already breaking apart before the trial even starts. Don't worry, Haruki. If you burn out in there, I'll remember you fondly. Probably."
Haruki's fists trembled. For a split second, he imagined slamming Kuro into the wall, showing him exactly how dangerous he could be. The System's whisper slithered in his mind. Do it. Prove them wrong. Show them your strength.
"No," he hissed under his breath, shaking the thought away.
Kana stepped forward quickly, resting a hand on his arm. Her touch was steady, grounding. "Don't let him get to you. Don't let any of this get to you. You've already survived worse."
Haruki met her eyes and found a flicker of hope there. But when he looked back at Rai, all he saw was doubt and behind Kuro's smirk, something darker, like a predator waiting for the perfect chance.
Three days until the trial. Three days to prove himself or lose everything.
And Haruki couldn't shake the fear that the enemy wasn't just the Guild or the Bantings. It was the shadow growing inside himself.
The guild dormitories were quieter than usual that night, but Haruki couldn't sleep.
He lay in the narrow bed, staring at the cracked ceiling, every breath loud in the silence.
Beyond the window, the moonlight spilled silver across the city rooftops, but it felt cold, watchful, like an eye waiting for him to falter.
Three days… No, two now. Time was slipping away.
The System flickered awake inside his head, its voice oddly subdued. You're restless. Your body burns, your thoughts scatter. This is inefficient for survival.
"Thanks for the lecture," Haruki muttered, dragging a hand over his face. "I can't exactly flip a switch and relax."
For once, the System didn't joke. You are afraid of what the Binding will reveal.
Haruki swallowed. "…What if they're right? What if I'm not just carrying this power what if I'm becoming the thing they fear?"
The silence stretched, and for a heartbeat, he thought the System wouldn't answer. Then: If you fall, you fall with me. But I will not let you break. Not yet.
Before Haruki could respond, his vision blurred. A wave of dizziness hit him, and suddenly he wasn't in the dormitory anymore.
He stood in a dim, endless field of red mist. Shapes moved in the fog hulking, clawed silhouettes with glowing eyes. The whispers began, crawling into his skull.
"Monster."
"Abomination."
"Banting."
Among the voices, one broke through familiar, desperate.
"Brother!"
Haruki spun. Through the haze, Makoto stood, his little brother, looking just as he had the day Haruki collapsed into the coma. Pale, eyes wide with fear.
"Don't let them take you," Makoto cried. "You're still you. Don't let it win!"
Haruki stumbled forward, but the red mist thickened, swallowing Makoto's form. Claws reached out from the fog, wrapping around Haruki's wrists, pulling, dragging.
"No!" He thrashed, heart hammering.
The System's voice cut through, sharp as lightning. Wake. NOW.
Haruki jolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat, lungs heaving as if he'd just run a marathon. His room was silent again, the moonlight still spilling in. But his hands his hands were glowing faintly crimson.
He clenched them shut, trembling. The Trial wasn't just about proving himself to the Guild. It was about proving he wasn't already lost.