The sky above Tengen High was clear.
Too clear.
The kind of clear that made everything feel wrong.
Hiko noticed it first. He was standing near the main training field, watching students practice basic spell formations. The wind felt… off. Not natural. It was like space itself was holding its breath.
Goru felt it too.
He stopped mid-step.
"…Do you feel that?" Goru muttered.
Hiko frowned. "Yeah. It feels like the air is being folded."
Rougen, who was on one of the upper platforms observing several classes at once, slowly turned his head toward the horizon.
His expression changed instantly.
Not shock.
Not confusion.
Pure tension.
"…That presence," Rougen said quietly. "No way."
The sky split.
Not cracked.
Not shattered.
It folded inward, like reality itself was being peeled open.
A massive dimensional rift appeared above the central tower of Tengen High, stretching hundreds of meters across the sky. The clouds were swallowed into it, twisted into spirals as space collapsed around the opening.
Students screamed.
Teachers activated barriers.
The entire school began shaking.
And then…
He stepped out.
A tall man, wearing a long dark coat that seemed to shift between layers of reality. His eyes were calm. Too calm. Like someone looking at something that already belonged to him.
Behind him, dozens of distorted portals opened.
From them came beasts.
Rank 1s.
Rank 0s.
Even Semi Calamities.
The man spoke, his voice echoing through every dimension at once.
"Tengen High… still standing after all these years."
Rougen's blood went cold.
"…Tengen Orasu."
The name alone made several Radiances freeze.
The founder of Tengen High.
The man who vanished decades ago.
The original master of Dimension Magic.
And…
Goru's father.
Goru couldn't breathe.
"That's… my…" his voice trembled. "That's impossible."
Tengen Orasu slowly looked down at the school, his gaze scanning everything.
Then his eyes landed on Goru.
For the first time, he smiled.
"So you survived," Tengen said calmly. "Good. That makes this more meaningful."
And then he raised his hand.
The entire central district of Tengen High folded in on itself.
Not exploded.
Folded.
Buildings were crushed into compressed layers of space, disappearing into dimensional fractures. Defensive barriers shattered like glass. Hundreds of students were thrown across the grounds.
Screams filled the air.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Rougen shouted, "ALL TEACHERS, ACTIVATE FULL EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS!"
The Radiances appeared one by one across the battlefield.
Gold Prasso materialized in a flash of golden light.
Zephyr Qe Ming descended with a storm swirling around him.
Tartarus Redd erupted from the ground in magma.
Hero Vetro hovered in the air, explosions forming around his fists.
Jinkaru Zen's ghost arms emerged from thin air.
Feril Verrel's cards spun around her.
Muscle XZeno was absent.
Seven Radiances.
Against one man.
Tengen Orasu looked at them.
And sighed.
"…You became weaker," he said.
Gold stepped forward, his aura blazing.
"Tengen Orasu. Stand down. You're attacking your own creation."
Tengen tilted his head.
"My own creation betrayed its purpose. This place was meant to forge gods. Now it produces children playing hero."
Zephyr's storm intensified. "You brought Calamity beasts into a school. You've crossed the line."
Tengen snapped his fingers.
Space twisted.
Three Semi Calamity beasts were instantly teleported directly behind Zephyr and Tartarus.
The fight exploded.
Gold clashed with Tengen directly, golden energy colliding with pure dimensional distortion. Every punch Gold threw was redirected, folded, erased.
Zephyr fought two flying beasts at once, barely holding them back with Maelstrom winds.
Hero Vetro detonated half the sky trying to suppress a Calamity-level serpent.
Jinkaru's ghost arms tore through dozens of lesser beasts, but more kept coming.
The school was becoming a warzone.
Students were evacuating.
Some were trapped.
Some were frozen in fear.
And some… didn't make it out in time.
Not in graphic ways.
Just silence where people were moments ago.
Hiko felt it.
That hollow feeling.
People were actually dying.
Not training.
Not missions.
Real.
Goru stood frozen, staring at his father.
"Why…" Goru whispered. "Why are you doing this?"
Tengen finally looked at him properly.
"Because the world is approaching another Zodiac Collapse," Tengen said. "And you are all too weak to survive it."
Rougen appeared beside Goru.
"…You're lying," Rougen said. "This is about control."
Tengen smiled again.
"You learned well, Rougen. Yes. It is."
Then Tengen moved.
He vanished.
And reappeared behind Feril Verrel.
Before anyone could react, space compressed around her.
Not crushing.
Erasing.
Feril's cards scattered into nothingness.
Her body faded into fragmented light.
Gone.
Gold shouted her name.
Moments later, a Calamity beast pierced through Jinkaru's defenses while he was protecting evacuating students.
Jinkaru pushed them out of the way.
And was overwhelmed.
Two Radiances.
Gone.
The battlefield froze for half a second.
Gold's aura exploded.
"This ends NOW!"
Every remaining Radiance unleashed their full power.
The sky became a war between storms, magma, explosions, and warped dimensions.
Tengen fought them all.
Alone.
And he was winning.
Goru finally snapped.
He activated his Dimension Magic instinctively, his Glorious Claws glowing violently.
"STOP IT!"
He slashed at space itself.
For the first time…
Tengen was forced to block.
Their dimensions collided.
Father and son.
Master and student.
Tengen looked genuinely surprised.
"…You reached this level already."
Goru's hands were shaking.
"People are dying because of you!"
Tengen's expression softened.
"…Sacrifice is necessary."
Hiko stepped beside Goru, flames burning around his body.
"If this is your idea of necessary, then we'll stop you."
Tengen looked at Hiko.
And for the first time, his eyes narrowed.
"…That flame."
The devil inside Hiko stirred.
Not speaking.
Just watching.
Tengen raised his hand again.
But before he could strike…
A massive turbulence wave crashed into him.
Riyo.
One-armed.
Bleeding.
But standing.
"Tengen Orasu!" Riyo roared. "This ends here!"
Their clash tore open the sky itself.
Reality couldn't handle the pressure anymore.
Dimensions collapsed.
Beasts were erased.
The school was in ruins.
Tengen looked around at the destruction.
At the burning buildings.
At the fallen Radiances.
At his son.
"…Not today," he said quietly.
Space wrapped around him.
The remaining beasts were pulled back into rifts.
And Tengen Orasu vanished.
Silence fell.
Tengen High was broken.
Half destroyed.
Hundreds injured.
Two Radiances dead.
The strongest institution in the world…
Had just been proven vulnerable.
Goru collapsed to his knees.
Hiko stood in shock.
Rougen clenched his fists.
Gold stared at the ruins.
And somewhere deep inside Hiko's mind…
The devil smiled.
"Now the real story begins."