The night spread out like ink unfurling.
The old classroom wing of Saint Oath Academy was surrounded by a translucent barrier of light, its surface flickering with psychic defence patterns. The air felt unearthly cold, as if this were no longer the realm of humans.
Kazama Rei stood outside the barrier, tracing the edge of the sealing pattern with his fingertips. Psionic energy surged beneath his skin and he could sense its restless movement.
'Anomaly source confirmed on the second floor,' Amagi Yuuto murmured, clutching a psionic detector whose blinking light pulsed like a heartbeat.
Amagi Yuuto murmured, clutching a psionic detector whose blinking light pulsed like a heartbeat.
'It's him.'
That 'him' referred to Takamine Shou.
Kazama Rei could see his smile in his mind's eye.
The classmate who had offered him a pen on the second day of school and helped him find his way around campus.
The boy who loved telling bad jokes and drawing strange symbols in the corner of the blackboard.
Now, the student council had listed that name as a 'psychic runaway'.
Rei fell silent for a moment before whispering, 'What happened to him?'
Amane Yuto's expression was hidden behind his goggles.
'Yesterday, he injured someone in the club building. He claimed he could hear voices whispering in his ear. His psychic overload index had skyrocketed to critical levels overnight. If we don't handle this soon, he'll..."
Before he could finish, the sound of shattering glass erupted throughout the old classroom building.
A piercing scream tore through the night.
Rei didn't hesitate. He forced his way through the light barrier in an instant.
Lights flickered inside the old classroom.
Graffiti-like cursed patterns twisted and writhed on the walls.
Blood-red spiritual light floated in the air as if the space itself were breathing.
"Xiang!" Rei shouted.
From the depths of the darkness, the familiar silhouette of Gao Lingxiang turned. His eyes had lost their focus and his pupils were covered by black spiritual scars. His mouth twitched into an eerie grin.
'Rei, did you hear it too? That voice calling my name."
Rei approached step by step.
The spiritual light cut through the darkness, shattering the vengeful spirit into pieces.
Gao Lingxiang collapsed, the black mist in his chest disappearing.
Rei knelt down and reached out to catch him.
The darkness in the boy's eyes slowly faded, leaving only tears.
"Rei, did I deserve to die?"
Rei replied softly, 'No. It's just time to wake up.'
The light faded.
The grey-white world gradually faded away, leaving only the night and the sound of the wind in reality.
It was three in the morning.
The rescue team carried the unconscious Xiang to the spiritual healing room.
The Student Council President, Yuto Amagi, patted Li on the shoulder.
"What's your initial assessment?"
Rei said nothing, merely staring at his hands. They trembled slightly.
The silver afterglow still flickered between his fingers.
For the first time, he realised that 'judgement' meant more than just exorcism.
It was a kind of pain: seeing another's sins and choosing whether to forgive them.
At that moment, the clock outside chimed.
The final stroke of midnight sounded like a requiem for souls.
Rei looked up; the moonlight reflected in his silver pupils.
He murmured, 'How many unjudged sins still lurk within this academy?'