The bus rumbled steadily down the long road, its reinforced wheels crushing gravel beneath them as the academy faded far behind. Sunlight filtered through the windows in long slanted beams, illuminating rows of students packed with backpacks, weapons, and nervous energy.
At first, the mood was tense.
But tension never lasts forever among teenagers.
"So," a girl near the back said, leaning forward between seats, "anyone wanna play something before we all die in the forest?"
"That's reassuring," someone muttered.
"I vote truth game," another said quickly.
"No," Daizen scoffed from across the aisle, arms crossed. "Games like that are stupid."
"Then suggest something, genius," Goru said from the front seat without turning around.
Daizen clicked his tongue. "Fine. Guessing game. One person thinks of a word. Others guess."
"That's boring."
"Your face is boring."
A few students snorted.
Hiko sat near the window, watching trees slowly become denser the farther they traveled. Still, he half-listened as the game started anyway.
"Alright, my word is… something you'll need in the forest," said a boy near the middle.
"Food?"
"No."
"Mana?"
"No."
"A weapon?"
"Wrong."
"Patience?"
The boy froze. "Okay that was way too accurate."
Laughter spread through the bus, loosening shoulders, easing breaths.
Even Hiko felt it—this strange calm before something unknown.
Inside his mind, the devil was silent.
That alone bothered him.
Gold Prasso stood near the front, one hand resting lightly on a support rail. He hadn't spoken since boarding. His presence alone kept the game from getting too loud, but he didn't stop it either.
Rougen sat several seats behind the driver, eyes closed, as if meditating.
"Hey, Hiko," Goru called back. "You're too quiet. Your turn. Word."
Hiko blinked. "Uh… okay."
He thought for a moment.
"My word is… 'hidden.'"
"Hidden what?"
"Can't say."
"Enemy?"
"Maybe."
"Fear?"
Hiko didn't answer.
The laughter slowly faded.
The road curved.
The trees ahead thickened unnaturally fast.
Gold Prasso's eyes opened fully.
The bus suddenly slowed.
The driver frowned. "That's weird…"
"What?" Goru asked.
"There's no reason for traffic to—"
The world flickered.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
For half a second, the scenery outside the windows duplicated—overlapping images of the road, trees, sky, all slightly misaligned.
Several students gasped.
"What the hell was that?"
"Did… did the world lag?"
Before anyone could laugh it off, the bus screeched to a halt.
The air outside twisted.
A figure stood in the middle of the road.
No—three figures.
Then six.
Then twelve.
Afterimages.
All standing in slightly different poses, all overlapping, all smiling.
The real one stepped forward.
Silver hair tied loosely behind his head. A long dark coat fluttering as if caught in a wind that didn't exist. His eyes were sharp, cruel, and amused.
"Well," the man said, his voice echoing strangely, "this is convenient."
Gold Prasso stepped forward instantly, mana flaring like a restrained sun.
"Students," he said calmly, "do not exit the bus."
Rougen's eyes snapped open.
The man tilted his head. "Ah… a Master Rank. One of the Radiances, even."
Several students froze.
"Master Rank…?" someone whispered.
Hinorami Higuko smiled wider.
"My name is Hinorami Higuko," he said. "And unfortunately for you… I was bored."
Another flicker.
He vanished—
—and reappeared behind the bus, standing where one of his afterimages had been.
Students screamed.
"What kind of magic is that?!"
Rougen stood. "Frames Magic."
Hinorami clapped mockingly. "Correct."
He walked leisurely, each step leaving behind a faint, frozen afterimage of himself.
"Every movement," he continued, "creates a frame. A moment. A picture."
One of the afterimages suddenly turned solid.
Hinorami teleported into it.
"And I," he said softly, "can step into any frame I choose."
Daizen slammed a hand against the seat. "Tch. Cheap trick."
Before anyone could stop him, Daizen leapt out of the bus, mana flaring.
"Daizen, wait—!" Goru shouted.
Too late.
Daizen charged, blade drawn, slashing straight through Hinorami's torso—
—only to hit nothing.
An afterimage.
Hinorami appeared beside him instantly.
"You moved," Hinorami said pleasantly. "That gives me options."
Daizen was struck.
Not by a spell.
By impact.
His body slammed into the road, skidding violently before crashing into the bus's side.
Bones cracked.
Blood sprayed.
Students screamed.
Daizen groaned once—
—and didn't get back up.
Hinorami sighed. "So fragile."
The air exploded with pressure.
Gold Prasso stepped forward.
Enough.
Golden mana erupted around him, forming layered barriers that bent light itself.
"You've harmed my students," Gold Prasso said calmly.
Hinorami's grin sharpened. "Then entertain me, Radiance."
The road shattered as they moved.
Afterimages multiplied.
Gold light clashed against fractured space.
Hinorami vanished—
—reappeared—
—teleported—
—struck.
Gold Prasso blocked.
The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the forest edge three kilometers away.
Trees snapped.
The bus shook violently.
Students clung to seats, terror-stricken.
Hiko stared through the window, heart pounding.
Inside his mind, the devil finally spoke.
This one is dangerous.
Gold Prasso stepped forward through the dust, unscathed.
Hinorami wiped blood from his lip—laughing.
"Oh," Hinorami said. "This is going to be fun."
The air distorted again.
More frames.
More afterimages.