A month passed since Raze officially joined the Hero Department.
In that time, something unexpected happened—his class had begun to genuinely respect him.
Not because of his family.Not because of fear.But because he earned it.
He trained the hardest.Asked the sharpest questions.Improved fastest.And never once acted superior.
Even the proud ones like Kaine and Felix nodded to him in the halls.Zack Kreiger sparred with him weekly (and lost more often than he'd admit).Rain Lancelot became a quiet, steady companion at his side.Roger, of course, remained his loudest supporter.
Lunch break in the Hero Department often sounded like this:
"Raze, how are you STILL top three in theory without Nexas?" Kaine complained.
Raze shrugged. "Sleep less. Read more."
Roger laughed. "Bro, don't give Kaine ideas—his brain will explode if he studies."
Rain smiled softly. "Don't tease him too much."
Even Astra would occasionally glance over from her table and mutter, almost grudgingly:
"…You're improving quickly."
Raze would only reply, with a small grin,"I have to. Otherwise I'll never catch up."
Life settled into a strangely warm rhythm.
But elsewhere in Lionel Academy…
something dangerous was approaching.
Meanwhile — Luna Arcwell
Luna Arcwell, second-year prodigy and Raze's beloved older sister, was on a volunteer excursion with her class.
Her ability — overwhelming super strength and godlike speed — made her the pillar of the entire team.
They cleared debris.Helped repair damaged structures.Assisted civilians.Hero work in its purest form.
As the sun began to set, the students gathered at the local Hero Headquarters — a small branch office used to coordinate missions.
They chatted casually inside the lobby, until…
A voice echoed from outside.
A man… laughing.
Not a normal laugh.
A carefree, dancing, whirling laugh.
The doors slid open — and a man entered, stepping lightly, almost… playfully.
Tall.Late twenties.Dark purple hair falling loosely over a black blindfold covering his eyes.
He looked like someone who had no place in a hero facility.
Two stationed heroes rushed over immediately.
"Sir, are you lost? This area is restricted—"
They reached to guide him.
And in the next instant—
THUD! THUD!
Both heroes collapsed.
Not a single student saw what happened.
Not one.
Except Luna.
Her eyes widened.
He didn't use Nexas…That was pure martial skill.But… how? Nobody moves that fast without using Nexas.
But she quickly realized something else.
He hadn't moved fast.
He hadn't moved at all.
He simply disappeared from where he stood—and reappeared right behind the two heroes.
His foot touching down lightly after the kicks.
He wasn't teleporting.
He was swapping places with objects.
A small pebble rolled on the floor near the heroes.One hadn't been there before.
Luna's expression sharpened.
(…He exchanged places with that stone.One of his Nexas is positional exchange.)
The blindfolded man stretched casually, unfazed by the silence.
"Oh dear… they touched me without asking.I don't like being touched."
His tone was calm. Cheerful.Terrifyingly gentle.
The second-years immediately stood guard around Luna.
"Who are you!?" their leader shouted.
The man tilted his head, smiling beneath the blindfold.
"Me? I'm nobody important."
He stepped forward — deliberately — and the entire building felt colder.
"But the ones I came for…"
He lifted his hand and pointed deeper inside the headquarters, toward the Hero staff rooms.
"…are waiting inside."
Luna stepped forward, wind trembling around her from her rising speed.
"That's far enough."
The man paused.
"Oh… Arcwell blood. I can feel the pressure.""You're fast… probably very fast."
Luna clenched her fists.
"Leave now."
He laughed softly.
"If you attack me, little comet… I'll have to defend myself. And trust me—"
He tapped his blindfold.
"—you don't want to see what's under this."
The air trembled.
Luna's classmates whispered nervously.
"Who IS he…?""He took down two pro heroes instantly…""And he hasn't even used his Nexas yet…"
The blindfolded man finally turned his head toward the exit.
"Well… I don't fight children. I only came to say hello."
He snapped his fingers.
A small pebble on the other side of the room glowed briefly—
—and he instantly swapped places with it.
He vanished.
Gone.
Luna exhaled sharply.
Her classmates ran up to her.
"Luna, what was that!?""Did he teleport!?""No. Something else…"
Luna stared at the spot he had vanished from.
"It wasn't teleportation," she said quietly."He swapped places with objects… but that's just one of his abilities."
Her eyes narrowed.
"And he has more."
A lot more.
Because she felt it—
a pressure equal to, or maybe even greater than…
Astra Noire.
Back at Lionel Academy
Raze trained late that night at the grounds, unaware that somewhere in the city…
a monster with multiple Nexas…
had taken interest in the world again.
And soon…
in him.
*******************
The Hero Headquarters had never been this silent.
Shattered glass, broken pillars, and unconscious heroes lay across the lobby floor—victims of the mysterious blindfolded man who stood calmly in the center, hands in his pockets, as if the destruction around him were nothing more than spilled water.
Just then, a reinforced door slid open.
A tall hero in black composite armor stepped out, the emblem of a chess rook imprinted on his chest.
Rook — a mid-class hero whose Nexas allowed him to reinforce any part of his body to extreme density, surpassing steel in durability.
He froze, shocked.
"What… happened here?"
The blindfolded man tilted his head slightly and smiled—not warmly, but with the bitter satisfaction of a long-awaited meeting.
"There you are."
Rook frowned.
"Do I know you?"
A jagged laugh escaped the intruder's throat, sharp and wounded.
"Knew it. Of course you don't remember. People like you never remember the ones you step on."
His voice trembled—not with fear, but fury that had simmered for years.
"Today, I came only for you. So everyone else—stay out of this."
Rook bristled.
"Don't ignore me!"
His arms darkened into a metallic obsidian tone, density increasing rapidly. He lunged forward with a reinforced punch.
Luna sprang forward instantly—but an instructor caught her arm.
"Luna. Do not interfere. This is not a student battle."
Several heroes rushed in to support Rook despite his protest.
"I SAID I DON'T NEED HELP!" Rook snarled.
"I will deal with this alone!"
But it was too late.
The blindfolded man reached into his pocket and flicked a pebble.
And vanished.
SHF—SWAP!
He reappeared behind a hero, switching places with the pebble mid-air, striking a precise blow to the neck—clean, minimal movement, lethal precision.
Another pebble.
SWAP—
Another hero collapsed.
He repeated the motion—silent, efficient, almost surgical.
No speed Nexas.
No strength enhancement.
Just flawless martial skill and spatial swapping.
In less than twenty seconds, four trained heroes were down.
Gasps filled the room.
"Is he teleporting?"
"No—he's exchanging positions with objects!"
"How is a non-speed fighter beating pros like this!?"
Only Rook remained, breathing heavily, his reinforced arms already cracking under stress.
"You… monster…"
The blindfolded man exhaled irritably.
"This is becoming tedious. I didn't come here to play with children."
He looked toward the entrance.
"Backup will arrive soon. I'll end this now."
Before anyone could move, he lifted the blindfold just an inch—revealing one bloodshot crimson eye, its iris swirling with a hostile energy that made skin crawl.
A pulse of invisible force rippled outward.
Suddenly—
Heroes screamed, clutching their heads.
"My Nexas— it won't activate!"
"I can't trigger mine either!"
"What is happening!?"
Rook staggered, horrified.
"My reinforcement— it's gone! He canceled it—!"
The intruder spoke softly, each word like a knife:
"I didn't freeze your bodies.
I simply sealed your Nexas."
Everyone could move—but no one could use their ability.
Rook trembled, realization dawning.
"No… impossible… your family was—"
The blindfolded man stepped closer, voice breaking with rage and grief.
"Remember this name."
He leaned in.
"Fray."
Rook's eyes widened in pure shock.
"You—No. That entire bloodline was erased twenty years ago…"
Fray smirked.
"Here. A farewell gift."
He slipped a compact explosive device into Rook's armor—then flicked a pebble.
SWAP—
He vanished.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion tore through the hall, blasting debris in every direction. Luna shielded her face from the flying stone and steel, coughing through the cloud of dust.
Alarms screamed. Emergency lights turned the room blood-red.
When the smoke finally cleared—
There were no bodies.
No Fray.
No Rook.
Only silence and ruin.
The only object left intact was a scorched rook-emblem badge lying on the floor.
A frightened support hero whispered:
"Who… was that man?"
Another trembled:
"How can someone seal Nexas like turning off a switch…?"
Luna's hands shook as she picked up the broken badge.
"The name he spoke… Fray."
Her voice cracked.
Professor Celeste Ardyn, pale as a ghost, whispered as if speaking a curse:
"That name should not exist. Everyone from the Fray lineage… died twenty years ago."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
A ghost with vengeance.
A tragedy resurrected.
A storm awakened.
Luna stared out the shattered window toward Lionel Academy—toward her brother.
"…Raze," she whispered.
Thunder rolled overhead, shaking the ground as lightning split the sky.
The calm era had ended.
War was coming.