The world is vast, yet fragile. It trembles at the slightest touch of power, of ambition, of minds capable of bending reality itself. And tonight, in the shadows of a ruined city and the calm of a secluded estate, a new force quietly consolidated—a force that would change the very balance of the continent.
He did not act yet. He did not fight yet.
He planned.
John Merciless—the avatar, the clone, the perfected extension of Arata Kurogane's imagination—sat in a darkened tower atop the scarred remains of Karveth. The mask reflected faint moonlight, and the black slime sword rested across his lap like a living beast.
He was silent, patient, regal. Every movement measured. Every breath a calculation. His circuits hummed faintly, not in anticipation of combat, but in the quiet orchestration of an empire yet to exist.
This was not Arata. This was John Merciless. The persona designed to manipulate, dominate, and command.
John's mind worked like a machine of perfect logic. Every scenario, every contingency, every reaction anticipated. He needed more than a weapon; he needed a hierarchy. An army of singularly powerful minds, each capable of enforcing his will.
Soldiers to execute orders.
Masters to enforce specialization.
An Elders Council to govern sectors and maintain loyalty.
Ten Kings and Queens—warriors, mages, tacticians—each capable of annihilating armies solo.
And at the pinnacle… John Merciless, the singularity around which the organization revolved.
The Kurogami.
It was not merely a guild, nor a villain faction. It was a living extension of his mind, a projection of his will into the world, each member handpicked, groomed, and bound to his vision.
No failures. No hesitation. No questioning.
Recruitment required subtlety. Brute force would destroy the world too early. Subtlety would preserve it until the plan matured.
He began with whispers, hints, and manipulations across the continent:
Ryunosuke Takeda – "The Iron Fist." Soldier-level recruit. A martial artist whose circuits allowed him to create shockwaves with a single strike, capable of demolishing entire squads. John observed him crushing bandit leaders in isolated forests, then "intervened" subtly to test obedience.
Kiyomi Hoshizora – "The Silver Gale." Master-level recruit. A wind-element manipulator who could generate tornados small enough to slice steel or large enough to bury fortresses. John sent her a challenge disguised as a duel request; she could not refuse and quickly fell under his calculated influence.
Tsubasa Kurogami – Not related by blood. A shadow manipulator capable of moving through darkness across entire cities. Elders Council-level recruit. John carefully orchestrated a series of "coincidental" attacks on the guilds controlling underworld shadows, leaving Tsubasa no choice but to seek an alignment with him to survive.
Akihiko Rindou – "The Magma King." A pyro-circuit awakened warrior capable of melting stone and metal. King-level recruit. John studied his battles from a distance, subtly undermined rival warlords, then extended an invitation only Akihiko could accept.
Hanae Shigure – "The Mind Weaver." Queen-level recruit. Illusionist with circuits manipulating perception and memory. John orchestrated a series of events to make her believe her old allies betrayed her; only his guidance offered her safety and power.
Kaoru Mikazuki – Master-level recruit. Beast-tamer capable of controlling monstrous entities from mountain to ocean. John lured him into the fold with a combination of challenge and fascination, ensuring loyalty through respect for power.
Seiji Arakane – Soldier-level recruit. Anti-matter manipulator; small in scope but deadly when coordinated. John isolated him in the desert, creating a scenario where joining the Kurogami was the only path to survival.
Ren Shibata – Elder Council-level recruit. Tactical genius and swordsman. John observed Ren orchestrate entire city-level sieges and carefully nudged events to ensure Ren's alignment with his vision.
Miyuki Hoshigaki – Soldier/Master hybrid. Assassin with circuits designed to phase through matter. John saved her from a collapsing ruin and made the offer to join the Kurogami. Survival and loyalty intertwined.
Yuto Kazehaya – Soldier-level recruit. Barrier manipulator; capable of nullifying armies in defensive arrays. John anticipated every movement of the continent's military forces and secured Yuto's allegiance with minimal risk.
And so on, until the organization was complete—hundreds of handpicked individuals, each perfectly suited to their rank, each hand-tied to his will through fear, respect, and fascination.
The abilities John possessed were separate from Arata, born from imagination but logical extensions of Arata's mind:
Nova – massive sphere of destructive energy, city- and continental-level devastation.
Black Slime Sword (Nuclear Pasta) – regenerative, unbreakable, controllable; a living weapon.
Chrono Stop – immobilizes opponents temporarily, manipulating reality via the soul circuit.
Enhanced Intellect/Strategy – beyond standard Arata; John's mind operates in perfect foresight, manipulating multiple factions simultaneously, creating contingency layers that anticipate failure and exploit it.
Persona Isolation – John's body and consciousness can act independently of Arata; decisions, perceptions, and combat occur without interference, allowing Arata to maintain ordinary life while John operates globally.
John Merciless' strategy was multi-layered, cinematic, and ruthless:
Foundation: Recruit and consolidate the most powerful individuals across the continent, placing them into ranks (Soldiers → Masters → Elder Council → 10 Kings/Queens → John Merciless).
Each tier could operate independently but adhered to strict protocols.
Control: Each member was psychologically manipulated through carefully constructed scenarios; loyalty was absolute.
Contingency plans for every rebellion, every betrayal, were in place.
Territory: Establish Kurogami across cities, kingdoms, and lawless regions—not openly, but through influence, blackmail, manipulation, and selective annihilation.
Main Conflict: Identify and gradually dismantle the Circuit Guardian Association, using them as both a test and entertainment.
No direct confrontation initially; the Guardians would be baited, misdirected, and exhausted.
Escalation: Public displays of John Merciless' power (Nova, demonstrations of Chrono Stop) to destabilize political and military confidence, ensuring that fear and awe spread faster than news of the Kurogami itself.
Redundancy: Multiple members, Kings and Queens, could enact simultaneous operations, ensuring no single failure would compromise the larger plan.
Every move had at least three layers of backup.
Observation: Arata maintained his presence at the academy, blending in, gathering intelligence, monitoring the Guardian's reactions, political movements, and magical anomalies—all while John executed the plan across continents.
John Merciless is not reactive. John Merciless is inevitable.
Each recruitment was a performance:
A city destroyed subtly by manipulations of smaller factions; the intended recruit witnesses the chaos, intrigued, calculating the mind behind it. A challenge is "posed" by John Merciless, always framed as honor, survival, or curiosity. He rarely shows full power. Instead, he demonstrates just enough to impress, frighten, or entertain, leaving his recruits enthralled by the combination of danger and genius. Each member, upon joining, receives a personalized "imagination-based augmentation," designed by John to maximize their circuits' potential while enforcing obedience.
By the time the organization was fully formed, John had created a loyal, terrifying army—silent, efficient, and perfectly structured to act on his plans without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Arata Kurogane sat in the back row, chin resting lazily on his hand. Kaede Honjou lectured on the integration of circuits, students struggled, and reports of Karveth's continued chaos filtered through magical notifications.
Arata's lips curled faintly.
The Guardians scramble. The Fangs are irrelevant. My organization, my perfect system… all moving exactly as predicted.
He glanced down at his notes, pretending to scribble random lines. Inside, he was already calculating the next contingency, the next step.
The Kurogami exists. It obeys. It will execute flawlessly. And I will remain… unnoticed.
It was not merely an organization. It was a web of inevitability, a structure that allowed John Merciless to act as both the eye and the hand of fate itself.
Soldiers would obey without hesitation. Masters would execute with deadly precision. The Elders would manage vast territories with strategic genius. And the Ten Kings and Queens? Each capable of annihilating armies and creating new circuits if necessary, ensuring the Kurogami's supremacy for decades to come.
And above them all, watching, manipulating, calculating… John Merciless.
He was not a man. He was a principle. A storm. A certainty that the continent would never forget.