Smoke still lingered in the cafeteria air.
Kouji leaned forward, one knee pressed to the tile, breathing heavy. His left shoulder was bleeding.
The metal-wrapped chair leg shattered beside him. A thin trail of sparks still across the floor where it had clashed with the other man's blade.
That man — or what had once been one — now lay crumpled against the wall, unmoving.
The air around him shimmered faintly. Heatless. Empty.
Kouji's thoughts were chaos.
The man who'd saved him — the one with the strange pressure in the air around him — stood quietly nearby. He looked like someone who had seen too much of this before.
Kouji pushed himself up.
He faced the man.
"What the hell was that thing?"
The silver-haired man didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned and motioned Kouji to follow.
"Come on. You're not going to want to stay here."
They stepped out into the night.
The school grounds were quiet — no sirens, no emergency crews. Just wind brushing through leaves and the lingering sense that something unnatural had passed through.
Ryo walked ahead, hands in his pockets. Kouji followed, clutching his arm.
"That wasn't a normal person," Kouji said again. "He turned a chair leg into a blade. What kind of ability is that?"
Ryo exhaled through his nose.
"That," he said, "was someone who made a contract with a Demon."
Kouji blinked. "...A what?"
"Demons," Ryo said calmly, "aren't like myths make them out to be. They're born from fear. When enough people fear something, sometimes the world listens — and something answers. That answer becomes a Demon."
He glanced back.
"Some humans try to reach out to them. Offer something in return — power, revenge, whatever. If the contract works, they get a Curse."
Kouji looked down at his hands, still faintly shaking.
"And if it doesn't work?"
Ryo shrugged.
"They break. Mind goes first. Body follows. And then... they're just vessels"
"After they took their body, demons blend among the humans"
Kouji swallowed hard. "And what kind of curse was that"
"That one's called the Knife Curse," Ryo replied. "It belongs to the Knife Demon. Whatever he touches, it sharpens. Even air, if you're unlucky."
He paused.
"You're lucky."
They stopped at the gate, just outside the school. Ryo looked up at the sky — the stars were faint, obscured by city haze.
He reached into his coat and pulled out something wrapped in thin cloth.
A tarot card.
Kouji could see the Roman numeral VII across the top. The image on it was a rider in a war chariot, pulled by two opposing beasts.
"The Chariot," Kouji murmured.
Ryo nodded.
"What does it do?"
"It shifts space in a set radius. Toss it, and it takes you — and whatever's nearby — somewhere else. Instantly."
Kouji blinked. "You were just carrying that around?"
"I've had it a long time." Ryo's voice was quieter now. "It belonged to an old friend. He'd be pissed if I just kept it forever without using it."
There was a pause. The kind of pause where something ends.
Ryo held the card between two fingers, then tossed it casually onto the street.
The moment it touched the ground, it lit up
Kouji's breath caught.
A circle of light spread outward from the card, fast and silent. The world twisted — not violently, but like it was folding in on itself. A warm pressure clamped down on his ears.
And then—
They were somewhere else.
A wide stone courtyard stretched beneath their feet. Old buildings — part-modern, part-temple — loomed on all sides. Torches burned in quiet holders, casting flickering light onto banners stitched with strange symbols. A training field spread out in the distance, marked by broken weapons and soft earth.
Above them, the sky was clearer than it had been in the city. Stars scattered across blackness.
Kouji turned in place.
"Where... is this?"
Ryo stuffed his hands back in his pockets.
"The Hunter Association," he said. "Welcome."
They walked through the courtyard. Other people — some in uniforms, some in plain clothes — moved around, most carrying weapons, files, or nothing at all. No one gave them more than a glance.
Kouji felt... strange.
Like stepping into another layer of the world he hadn't known existed.
"So," Ryo said, glancing sideways, "you still want in?"
Kouji didn't even pause. "Yeah."
"Not going to ask about danger? Or contracts? Or what it costs?"
"You already told me enough," Kouji said. "If people are making pacts with Demons and turning into monsters, someone has to stop them."
Ryo let out a short laugh. "You've got that hero complex thing real bad."
"Someone has to."
Ryo gave him a concerned look.
They reached a stone stairway leading into a central building — older than the rest, with carvings along the doorway.
"I'll show you around," Ryo said. "You'll be tested later. For now, just try not to get lost."
Kouji followed him in, footsteps echoing in the dark.