Three weeks had passed since Seran's demonstration of strength, earning him the nickname "The Unshakable"—a name born from the vivid imagination of Regis and now used by the entire class.
It was Saturday evening. Dressed in his best outfit for a party celebrating the end of their educational course, Delora arrived at a tightly packed venue decorated with lights and streamers by his classmates.
"There he is, the Unshakable has arrived," a boy slurred, stumbling over a streamer.
"I'm only half an hour late, and people are already falling over themselves," Seran muttered.
"Hey Ser, this is the last party before adult life—what did you expect? Ahahaha!" said Kathy, a classmate who in an instant handed him a glass full of alcohol.
Moving through dancing students and slightly drunk teenagers, avoiding the occasional staggering body, Seran spotted Regis and three other boys talking at the open bar. Just as he began to approach them…
"BOOOOOOM!"
A deafening roar—like an entire building collapsing.
Time itself seemed to slow. Everyone froze. Adrenaline surged through the young adults' brains, and panic erupted.
They all ran immediately toward the exits—screaming, pushing, tripping over one another in desperation.
Seran, having reached the outside together with Regis and the others, stood in shock as he saw a crater in the middle of the street. Inside it lay an unconscious man, a mysterious briefcase still tightly gripped in his hand.
"Argh…" the man groaned, regaining consciousness. Looking around with the urgency of someone fleeing something, he said:
"Sorry… or maybe not, haha. I need a diversion—and injured or dead people will do just fine."
He pointed his right arm toward the ground, where a Black Serpent tattoo was engraved at shoulder level. A translucent aura began forming around his arm. After three terrifying seconds of anticipation—
A wave of black energy erupted outward.
"BAAAANGGGG!"
An explosion of sound and force swept through the area, damaging vehicles and buildings within a forty-meter radius.
In the instant before being struck by the shockwave, Regis didn't hesitate—he threw himself in front of Seran, shielding him with his body, still unable to comprehend what was happening.
Five minutes passed.
Where there had once been a lively street, filled with shops and people enjoying their evening, there was now only destruction—screams of agony, scattered rubble, and lifeless bodies that had once been full of life.
A hand, covered in dust and soot, rose from the debris. Someone tried to crawl out from beneath a crushed car pinned under a restaurant wall. A father searched desperately for his missing daughter…
"mgh… mgmh…"
Seran groaned as he regained consciousness, touching his head, arms, and torso. Dazed, he tried to stand—but failed, finally feeling a sharp, piercing pain in his right leg.
After several attempts, he managed to stand using a nearby car for support.
Relieved that he had somehow survived in relatively good condition, a thought struck him like lightning:
"REGIS!!!"
He shouted, suddenly remembering that his closest friend had thrown himself into harm's way to shield him.
Panic took over. He began searching frantically through the ruins of the street.
"Not here… where are you, Reg?!" he shouted, stumbling left and right among the wreckage.
"Someone's under here! Please—someone help me!!!" a voice cried out.
Seran turned sharply. Limping toward a pile of bricks and concrete, he spotted a body trapped beneath a collapsed metal scaffolding—just stable enough to form a hollow space within the rubble.
With trembling urgency, he began moving debris as fast as he could—one piece of concrete at a time. For some reason, his anxiety kept growing, as if getting closer to freeing that person also meant getting closer to unbearable truth.
He removed a bent metal pipe.
And there—he saw it.
Brown hair.
Too familiar.
Soaked in red.
Seran's blood ran cold. His breath became shallow. His hand moved to his chest, feeling his heartbeat hammer violently.
Regaining whatever clarity he could, he forced himself to continue.
Finally, he pulled him out of the wreckage.
The person who had been one of the constants of his life.
Seran's screams of pain and rage were gradually swallowed by the sound of approaching sirens.