The night sky burned with streaks of red and gold. Flares hissed as they burst overhead, raining sparks across the ruined plaza.
Every surviving Hunter looked up, their exhaustion replaced with a new, sharp tension. Reinforcements had arrived.
The ground trembled with synchronized footsteps. From the northern gate, a squad of armored figures emerged, their presence suffocating.
They weren't the ragtag fighters Haruki had trained with they were Guild elites. Cloaks marked with the Guild insignia trailed behind them, weapons gleaming in the firelight.
At their head strode Captain Hoshin, a towering man with silver hair tied back and eyes like sharpened glass.
His mere gaze cut across the plaza, silencing whispers, weighing every survivor.
His armor bore scars of countless battles, and his blade, broad and blackened, rested easily on his shoulder.
"Report." His voice was calm, yet it cracked through the silence like thunder.
One of the surviving Hunters stumbled forward, pale and trembling. "C-Captain… we lost half the squad. The Banting" He hesitated, glancing nervously at Haruki. "It was… destroyed. By him."
Hoshin's eyes followed the gesture, landing squarely on Haruki. The boy felt his breath hitch as the weight of that stare pressed down on him. It wasn't suspicion, not yet it was assessment. Judgment.
Kana shifted instinctively, placing herself slightly in front of Haruki. "Captain, he saved us. If not for Haruki, none of us would still be standing."
Hoshin didn't answer right away. His gaze lingered on the smoking crater, then on the ichor staining Haruki's gauntlets, then finally on the trembling Hunters whispering at the edges of the plaza.
Kuro, of course, seized the silence. He stepped forward with an infuriatingly casual smile. "She's not wrong.
The leash-boy did kill the Banting. But…" He spread his hands theatrically, as if presenting a dangerous artifact. "…you might want to ask how."
The murmurs rose again. Eyes flicked between Haruki and the Captain, between fear and doubt.
Haruki's fists clenched. His pulse roared in his ears. He wanted to defend himself, to explain but the memory of black flames and Kana's terrified expression made his throat close up.
System Zero chuckled in the back of his mind:
[They'll never understand. To them, you're not a hero. You're a problem waiting to happen.]
Hoshin raised one hand, silencing the crowd. His voice was even, unreadable. "Is this true, boy? Did you kill the Banting?"
Haruki hesitated, then nodded. "…Yes."
The Captain's eyes narrowed slightly. "And did you do it using Guild-sanctioned techniques?"
The plaza seemed to hold its breath. Every Hunter waited for his answer. Kana's grip on his arm tightened.
Haruki opened his mouth then stopped. The words tangled in his throat. If he admitted what had happened, would they execute him on the spot?
The Captain studied him for a long, unbearable moment. Then he finally spoke:
"Take him. The Guild will want to see this for themselves."
Cold steel clamped around Haruki's wrists with a harsh click.
The cuffs weren't ordinary he could feel them drinking from him, siphoning the faint remnants of his power.
His arms sagged almost instantly, heavy as stone.
Two of the elites flanked him, their expressions hidden beneath the shadows of their helmets. They didn't look at him like a person, but like a volatile weapon barely contained.
Kana shoved forward. "Wait! You can't just he's not a criminal!"
Hoshin turned his head slightly, not even blinking. "If what he wields is dangerous, then he's everyone's problem until we know otherwise."
His tone carried no cruelty, only the weight of absolute authority.
"He saved us!" Kana's voice cracked. "You weren't here you didn't see what that thing was doing to us. If Haruki hadn't"
"That's enough." The Captain's eyes narrowed. "You're alive. That's proof enough that his power is real.
Whether it's safe…" His gaze shifted back to Haruki. "…that's another question entirely."
Kuro leaned lazily against a broken wall, smirking at the whole scene. "Don't strain yourself, Kana.
They're right. He is dangerous. It's not like anyone here didn't notice the black fire, or how he smiled while ripping that thing apart." His grin widened. "Honestly, I'd say they're showing restraint."
Haruki gritted his teeth but said nothing. Every word Kuro spoke was designed to twist the knife. He wanted to shout, to deny it but deep down, part of it was true. He had smiled.
The soldiers tugged him forward, chains rattling. The ruined plaza fell silent except for the crunch of boots against shattered stone.
Survivors parted as the procession moved, their eyes following him. Some with fear, some with awe, none with trust.
Kana tried to follow, but one of the elites barred her with a single armored arm.
She glared up at him, fury boiling behind her eyes. "He's not alone in this! If you're taking him, then I'm coming too."
Hoshin's gaze flicked toward her, impassive. "Fine. But if he loses control again, you'll share his cell."
Kana didn't flinch. "Then so be it."
The Captain gave no further comment.
As they marched toward the northern gate, Haruki kept his eyes down. The weight of the cuffs, the whispers of the other Hunters, the slow erosion of his strength all of it pressed down on him like a mountain.
System Zero's voice coiled through his thoughts, sharp and mocking:
[How quickly they turn. A few moments of strength, and now you're their prisoner. Pathetic, isn't it?]
Haruki clenched his fists against the cuffs until blood welled at his palms. He whispered under his breath, "Shut up."
Kana noticed, her hand brushing against his arm, soft but firm. "Don't let them break you. I believe you, Haruki. No matter what."
He met her gaze for a fleeting instant, and something steadied in him.
But just ahead, Kuro's silhouette led the way, his smirk hidden but unmistakable. The look in his eyes promised one thing Haruki's fall was only beginning.
The Guild fortress loomed like a jagged wound on the horizon.
Black stone walls stretched upward, fortified with towers that pierced the clouds.
Iron braziers burned an eerie blue, their flames licking at the mist that rolled in from the northern cliffs.
As the procession drew closer, Haruki felt the cuffs tighten, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. Each throb left him weaker, as though the fortress itself demanded his surrender before he ever set foot inside.
Kana stayed close, though her usual lightness was gone. Her hand hovered near his arm, as if ready to catch him should his legs give out.
She glanced up at the towering gates and muttered, "They make this place look like a dungeon instead of a sanctuary."
"It is a dungeon," Haruki whispered back, the words bitter on his tongue.
The gates groaned open, metal chains clanking as if dragged by unseen hands. Inside, the fortress was no less grim.
Corridors of obsidian stone stretched endlessly, lit by glowing sigils etched into the walls. The air smelled faintly of ozone and ash.
Every step echoed, a hollow drumbeat reminding him of the chains at his wrists.
Hoshin led the group through the winding halls with mechanical precision. Not once did he glance back at Haruki, nor did his stride falter. The soldiers behind kept their weapons close, eyes fixed on Haruki's every movement.
At last, they reached a circular chamber deep within the fortress. The walls here pulsed faintly with light, like veins carrying energy from some unseen heart.
At its center lay a single stone chair, bound with runes that shimmered faintly in shades of violet and black.
"The Binding Seat," Kana whispered, her voice trembling.
Hoshin turned, his expression unreadable. "Place him there."
The soldiers shoved Haruki forward. His knees struck stone as he stumbled, the cuffs dragging him toward the chair as if magnetized.
He resisted for a heartbeat, but the runes flared, pulling him down until he collapsed onto the cold seat. The restraints clamped shut, locking his wrists and ankles in place.
Pain seared through his body, not sharp but suffocating. It was as though the chair was peeling back his soul, layer by layer, to expose what lay within.
Kana surged forward, but Hoshin raised a hand. "Stay where you are."
"He's not a criminal!" she snapped. "This is torture!"
"It's protocol," Hoshin replied, his tone steel. "If his power is genuine, this is the only way to verify its nature."
Kuro finally stepped into the chamber, his smirk deepening as he leaned casually against the wall. "Oh, I like this. Nice seat you've got there, Haruki. Fitting, don't you think? For someone pretending to be a hero."
Haruki didn't rise to the bait this time. His chest heaved as the runes pulsed brighter, forcing his eyes upward. Above him, the ceiling shimmered, opening like a black mirror.
And from its depths, a voice that was not human spoke.
[Subject recognized. Power: Anomaly. Commencing extraction.]
The air in the chamber thickened until it was hard to breathe.
Haruki's chest rose and fell in ragged gasps as the runes flared brighter beneath the stone seat. Each pulse sank into his skin, threading deep into bone and soul.
[Subject scan in progress.]
The voice wasn't heard so much as felt a vibration that rattled the inside of his skull. The soldiers stiffened but didn't move, their hands tightening on weapons.
Even Hoshin's stern mask cracked slightly, his eyes narrowing as the voice reverberated.
Kana clutched the edge of her cloak, biting her lip. "This isn't right. The System… it shouldn't sound like that."
Haruki's vision blurred. He could see his own reflection in the black mirror above him, but it wasn't him. His reflection's eyes burned like dying stars, and shadows curled from its shoulders.
The voice pressed harder.
[Classification: Incomplete. Power source: Unstable. Designation pending.]
The runes on the chair shifted from violet to crimson. Haruki cried out as the cuffs burrowed deeper into his wrists, feeding the extraction. It was as if they were tearing secrets out of him, piece by piece.
"Stop this!" Kana shouted, rushing forward. The soldiers blocked her with crossed spears. She glared at Hoshin. "You're going to kill him!"
"If his power consumes him," Hoshin replied, his tone grim but unwavering, "then better he dies here than out there, taking cities with him."
Kuro chuckled from his place against the wall, slow and mocking. "You hear that, Haruki? You're a walking disaster. Even the mighty Guild sees it. Guess that makes me the smart one for not trusting you."
Haruki tried to speak, to argue, but his words strangled in his throat. His mind was being dragged into two places at once. On one side the cold stone chamber.
On the other something else. A vast emptiness filled with broken shards of glass, each shard showing fragments of battles, deaths, and monsters that weren't his memories.
System Zero hissed in his head, sharp with urgency.
[Do not let them see it. Do not let them take what is mine!]
Haruki clenched his teeth, forcing a groan through the pain. "S-shut… up…"
The mirror above rippled. For an instant, his reflection grinned back at him wild, untamed, almost gleeful.
The voice boomed louder, shaking the chamber.
[Anomaly confirmed. Rank beyond classification. Warning: System breach detected.]
The runes flared so brightly the soldiers flinched back, shielding their eyes. Kana screamed his name.
And just as it reached its peak, the light snapped.
Everything went dark.
Haruki slumped in the chair, smoke curling from the cuffs. The chamber smelled of scorched metal and ash. His chest still rose, shallow but alive.
The mirror above shattered, raining down sparks of black fire that dissolved before touching the ground.
Dead silence followed.
Hoshin's jaw tightened. "Cut the restraints. Get him contained elsewhere. Whatever this is… it's beyond the Guild's protocol."
Kuro's grin widened like a predator's. "Oh, this just keeps getting better."
The silence after the mirror shattered was suffocating. Smoke drifted lazily from the runes etched into the floor, their glow fading into dull scratches.
Haruki sagged against the restraints, chest heaving, sweat soaking through his shirt. Every breath tasted of iron and ash.
Kana shoved past the guards, ignoring their warnings. She fell to her knees beside the chair, hands trembling as she touched his arm. "Haruki hey, stay with me, okay? You're still here. I can feel it."
His eyelids fluttered. Her voice was distant, muffled, as if heard underwater.
Hoshin stood rigid, his jaw set like stone. For the first time, unease cracked his composure. "The Binding Seat doesn't fail. Ever." His gaze swept the chamber, searching for answers that weren't there. "What just happened… shouldn't be possible."
One of the soldiers shifted nervously. "Captain, do we do we report this to the Council?"
Hoshin didn't answer. His eyes flicked to Haruki, then to the scorched cuffs. "Not yet. If the Council learns of this before we understand it, they'll execute him on the spot."
Kuro pushed off the wall, his smirk curling into a grin sharp enough to cut. "Execute? Sounds fair. You all saw it the chair couldn't even classify him. That means he's not just dangerous, he's wrong. Tell me I'm lying."
Kana shot to her feet, her face flushed with fury. "You're lying because you want him gone! Haruki isn't wrong he's alive! He fought to save us when you were hiding in shadows!"
Kuro's eyes glinted, but he didn't respond. The smirk was enough.
Haruki stirred weakly, his head tilting as System Zero's voice whispered, oily and amused.
[Look at them. Splintered already. Fear is such a delicate thread to pull.]
He tried to shake the voice away, but another presence stirred beneath it. A voice deeper, older, resonating not in his mind but in the marrow of his bones.
[You are mine.]
Haruki's breath caught, his body tensing against the restraints. The words echoed endlessly, as though spoken from a void beyond comprehension.
Kana leaned closer. "What is it? What's happening?"
He wanted to tell her, to warn her of the thing clawing at him from within but the words stuck in his throat.
Hoshin barked an order, snapping the moment. "Cut him loose."
The guards hesitated. "Captain, with respect"
"I said cut him loose." His tone brooked no argument. "Restrain him differently. But if the Seat failed, keeping him there is suicide."
The cuffs hissed as they released, glowing faintly before falling to the ground with a clang.
Haruki slumped forward, barely caught by Kana. His weight was heavier than she expected, like he carried something far denser than flesh and bone.
Kuro's chuckle filled the chamber. "Enjoy this moment, Haruki. It's only a matter of time before your little secret devours you… and everyone else."
Haruki's head tilted, eyes locking on Kuro. For the first time since the fight with the creature, a spark of something unfamiliar flickered there. Not just anger something colder.
Hoshin noticed. He gestured sharply to the guards. "Take him to containment. No one enters without my permission. And not a word leaves this fortress. Do you understand?"
The soldiers saluted, but unease lingered in their eyes.
As they dragged Haruki from the Binding Chamber, his mind echoed with the voice once more.
[You are mine.]
And for the first time, Haruki feared it might be true.