White Reaper walked forward slowly, his steps steady yet unhurried. The sound of his boots echoed through the silent night corridor.
The filthy hero stepped back, sweat beginning to form on his face. His eyes were sharp, but shaken.
"White Reaper, huh...? HAH! WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT!? SUCH A STUPID NAME!!" he shouted loudly, trying to cover up his fear with volume.
Without warning, he attacked. Magic exploded from his hands, and his sword swung viciously toward White Reaper.
But...
Clang!
White Blade was raised slowly, blocking the strike without even budging.
"Hmm..." Kazuki murmured flatly.
His gaze was calm. His smile faint. Not the expression of someone fighting desperately... but of someone enjoying a performance.
To Kazuki... this was nothing more than a small scenario he had written himself.
He glanced at the filthy hero from beneath the hood of his black cloak.
"Attacking without introducing yourself... what a clown."
His smile widened slightly. Not out of joy. But because things were finally... getting interesting.
The hero backed up a few steps. His breathing rough. A mix of panic and rage.
White Reaper continued moving forward slowly. White Blade swayed gently, reflecting the moonlight with a cold aura.
"I don't like dragging things out," Kazuki said, low and flat. A voice that didn't need to be loud to cut deep.
"I'm ending this now."
The hero gritted his teeth.
"Tch!"
He quickly injected something into his neck. Poison. A drug to boost magic power brutally.
His body trembled, muscles tensed, eyes turned red.
"YOU THINK YOU'VE ALREADY WON, HUH!? DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!! I'M A HERO!! AND YOU'RE... JUST A SNOT-NOSED BRAT!!"
Kazuki merely stared at him, deadpan. Not intimidated in the slightest.
His smile stayed faint. His gaze, like a scriptwriter watching an actor fail to improvise.
"I'm not scared of stuff like that..."
His sharp eyes glinted coldly from beneath the shadows of his hood.
"Because I'm the one controlling this story."
The hero leapt forward, attacking with all his might.
Kazuki simply dodged with ease, then blocked the next strike... with just one hand.
Clang!
Metal clashed with metal. But it wasn't equal.
Kazuki closed his eyes briefly. Expressionless.
"...No different from before."
Words that stabbed the ego.
Then...
Thud!
One kick slammed into the hero's chin.
His body was lifted off the ground, then crashed hard to the floor.
Kazuki slowly raised his sword.
A white-purple aura began to envelop White Blade. Wind swirled, the earth trembled, the air tensed.
His magical pressure... exploded.
The wolf-eared slave girl who had been forcefully dragged earlier could only freeze. Her body trembled.
Kazuki gave a slight smile. His gaze remained calm.
"I don't really mind..."
He muttered softly.
"As long as my moves look cool."
His eyes stared straight down.
"It's time... for the game to end."
The hero's eyes widened. His breath caught. He could feel... the end.
"W...WHAT IS THIS!? THIS AURA... THIS AURA ISN'T HUMAN!!"
Too late.
Kazuki raised his sword high.
"ALL... LIGHT FADE... DEATH BLOOM."
A burst of white-purple light obliterated the place where the hero stood.
No screams.
No remains.
Death Bloom. A magic spell created by Kazuki himself. Once unleashed... nothing is left behind.
And amidst the destruction, only one figure stood tall.
White Reaper.
His cloak swayed softly.
The rescued slave girl... fainted from the sheer magical pressure.
Kazuki glanced briefly. Then walked into the shadows of a narrow alleyway.
His footsteps disappeared into silence.
As if... he was nothing but a night's illusion.
Or... a shadow that truly lived beyond the logic of this world.
The next day, the academy was still on break.
Kazuki walked casually along the street with Rean and Lucien.
The sky was clear. The atmosphere peaceful. As if... nothing had happened the night before.
In his mind...
Death Bloom...
That skill was too dangerous.
If released without limits... maybe this world could be completely destroyed.
But...
That won't happen.
Because I'm the one who controls it.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. Not the smile of a happy person. But the smile of someone... who knows he doesn't belong to this world.
"Hey Kazuki! Let's go over there!!" Rean shouted, pointing at a magical game stall.
Lucien joined in, "They say there's a tool that measures magic potential, and it looks really cool!"
Kazuki just stared at them blankly.
"...What's even there?"
Soft voice... empty.
But the two didn't care.
With excitement, they grabbed Kazuki's hands from both sides.
"Hey, don't pull like that..."
But Kazuki didn't resist.
He just... accepted it.
In his heart, he muttered.
"Well... let's just say this is part of the daily script for background characters."
White Reaper... aka Kazuki Altherion, got dragged along to the booth.
His face remained expressionless. As if this was just... a small part of a much bigger story.
While they played, Kazuki's eyes glanced toward a corner of the shelf.
That item... looks interesting.
His hand moved fast, nearly invisible.
One mini crystal slipped into his cloak pocket.
Collection increased.
A faint smile.
But suddenly...
From a distance, a man ran in panic while carrying a bag of gold.
He bumped into pedestrians, then... headed straight toward Kazuki.
"...Huh?"
THUD!
The man crashed into him.
Before running off, he slipped the bag of gold into Kazuki's hand.
"Hold this for me..."
Then vanished.
Kazuki looked inside the pouch.
A wide smile.
"Yay... free gold."
However...
"HEY!!"
A loud yell came from behind.
A guard pointed straight at Kazuki.
"That's him! The thief! That brat! CATCH HIM!!"
Kazuki stood still.
Expressionless.
As expected...
Two guards immediately slammed Kazuki to the ground.
BAM!
His head hit the stone. But his face... remained cold.
"KA..ZU..KI!!"
Rean and Lucien ran toward him.
"HE'S INNOCENT!! He's been with us this whole time!!" Rean shouted.
"Yeah! We're witnesses!! He couldn't have stolen anything!!" said Lucien.
But the guards didn't care.
They kicked both of them without mercy.
Rean and Lucien's bodies were thrown aside... unmoving.
"REAN! LUCIEN!!"
Kazuki looked at them, his eyes slowly... turning dark.
In his mind...
Is this... how the world treats background characters?
Well then...
It's time for me to rewrite the script.
But...
Will Kazuki really be left alone?
Or will he be thrown into a dark prison and tortured... for a crime he never committed?
Maybe...
The answer lies in the next chapter.