Alarm sirens blared, and fire trucks rushed through the college gate, followed closely by police cars and ambulances. The scene was bustling with movement and organized chaos: firefighters jumped out of their vehicles carrying hoses, and police surrounded the main entrance of the college, trying to disperse the crowd.
Amidst all this, Reichi stood leaning against a cracked wall, his face exhausted, his clothes torn, the traces of the battle still imprinted on his body despite his attempts to hold himself together.
He slowly raised his head...
Then he saw the police.
They were striding quickly toward the entrance, giving orders, talking on walkie-talkies, and ordering some students to move away. It wasn't simple... The cafeteria had virtually disappeared, and scattered fires were still being extinguished.
Erica approached him, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Erica (whispering): "Reiichi... They're here. The police."
Reiichi (in a low voice): "I know... I saw them. But I don't know... what to say if they come up to me."
Natsumi looked at him anxiously, the bleeding from her face had stopped but she was still pale.
Natsumi: "We have to quickly rearrange the situation. If they investigate too much... it will go beyond the cafeteria."
Miko (heading towards them): "The news is spreading... and the building is now under complete surveillance."
At that moment, one of the officers approached, carrying a portable device and a small piece of paper, talking to some students, and then... he looked at them.
Reiichi (to himself):
Please... Don't come closer now. Not yet... Not while I still have traces of black lightning on me.
But it was too late.
The policeman walked steadily toward Riichi, his eyes sharp with a mixture of responsibility and suspicion. He held a small notebook and stood in front of him.
Policeman (in a formal tone):
"You... What happened here? Were you here at the time of the explosion?"
Ryuichi froze for a moment, his heart pounding, the students' gazes surrounding him from all directions. He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. He glanced at Miko discreetly, as if seeking her help.
Before he could say a word, Miko stepped forward decisively and placed herself between the police officer and Riichi.
Miko (in a clear voice):
"Sir, Riichi wasn't the cause. We were all near the auditorium when we heard the explosion. Someone else did this... An unknown man... He was wearing a mask."
The policeman raised his eyebrows.
Policeman:
"A mask? Can you describe him?"
Miko:
"No, unfortunately. We didn't see his face... All we know is that he was strong and dangerous, and he disappeared at an unnatural speed after the accident."
The policeman turned toward the cafeteria and froze for a moment... It was almost completely destroyed, with only charred edges and cracked floors remaining, no tables, no windows, nothing.
Policeman (in a low voice):
"...What the hell is this? Where are the bodies? Where are the victims?"
Then... a voice came from among the crowd.
Student (shouting in panic):
"It's him!! That student!! We saw him using strange mana!! He's the one! He's dangerous!!"
The student pointed directly at Reichi, and a group of students gathered around him, their faces showing fear and accusation.
The police officer (in a loud voice):
"Young man... Is this true? Did you use any abilities on campus?"
Ryuichi looked at him, his whole being confused. He didn't know how to answer. Aura had been destroyed. Natsumi was tired. And the black lightning... He couldn't explain it.
All he could do was stand there, silent, his eyes reflecting the pain of everyone he had lost in the explosion.
At that moment...
A new voice intervened calmly and firmly from behind:
???:
"If you want to know the truth, you'd better listen to me."
Everyone turned around... and saw a person wearing a formal black coat with an official badge on his chest, a high-ranking official in the government's Mana Capabilities Management Division.
The person (with a slight smile):
"My name is Yoshimura, from the Mana-Related Incident Analysis Division... and I will be conducting the investigation myself."
Reiichi was about to explode inside... His breathing was uneven, his thoughts jumping around randomly.
Amidst all this, the man in the black coat, Yoshimura, approached him with calm steps, as if nothing around him was causing any disturbance.
Yoshimura (in a calm tone):
"I want you to tell me, in detail... what happened here?"
But Reichi didn't answer...
He didn't even move, his eyes staring at the ground, his lips sealed tight as a rock.
And in an instant...
Everything disappeared.
The sounds... the wind... the movements of people...
Everything froze completely.
The police officers stood still as if they were statues. The students' mouths were open as if time had stopped in the middle of a whisper. Even the leaves that had been flying around... were suspended in the air.
The only ones left moving in this frozen world were Reichi and Yoshimura.
Reichi (in shock):
"... What...?"
Yoshimura (calmly, turning his right hand):
"Don't worry. We haven't moved to another dimension, and I haven't broken the laws of nature."
He smiled slightly, then took out of his pocket a strange-looking clock with hands that moved backwards.
Yoshimura:
"The name of my ability:
'Stasis Cross.'
Within a limited circular area, I can completely stop time...
except for myself and those I choose."
He approached Reiichi more calmly, then said:
Yoshimura:
"I only use this ability for sensitive interrogations... because I don't like lies.
In this still world, lies tremble."
He raised his eyes directly to Reichi.
Yoshimura (in a low voice):
"Answer me, Reichi.
What exactly happened in the cafeteria?
Who was the masked man?
And how does what happened relate to you and your abilities?"
Reiichi felt the air was heavier than usual...
as if this moment was the difference between being condemned or understood.
Reiichi stood still, but he couldn't take it anymore.
He closed his eyes... and let out a heavy sigh.
Reiichi (in a trembling but firm voice):
"... It all started when we left the stadium."
He raised his head and began to recount...
Reichi:
"I saw that masked man in the crowd... No one else noticed him but me. I sensed him. I knew things weren't going to be okay.
I ran towards him, but..."
He paused for a moment, his eyes trembling.
Ryuichi:
"Suddenly, he was next to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said... (I have a nice surprise for you).
Seconds later... the cafeteria exploded.
My glasses were blown away, and the students... some of them..."
He swallowed his words, as if they hurt him.
Ryuichi (whispering):
"I couldn't save them..."
Then he clenched his fists tightly.
Ryuichi:
"But I got up. I saw the masked man and confronted him...
I fought him with all my might.
A power I didn't understand appeared."
Then he continued:
Ryuichi:
"But the masked man was no ordinary human. His strength, his speed, his abilities... I've never seen anything like it.
In an instant, he was about to kill me, if not for Natsumi's intervention.
She summoned the beast of dimensions,
then fought the masked man...
She banished him to another dimension."
He continued in a low voice:
Reiichi:
"But he came back. Stronger than before...
As if the dimension had freed him."
Then he looked directly at Yoshimura:
Reiichi:
"The masked man... is a danger that no one will survive if he is left free.
I may not be the strongest,
but I am the only one who can stop him."
---
[Yoshimura remains silent for a few seconds, then moves closer, placing his hand on Riichi's shoulder]
Yoshimura (in a calm but powerful tone):
"I understand now... everything."
Then he stares into his eyes:
Yoshimura:
"Reiichi...
You are not a criminal.
You are... the only survivor who stood up to the disaster."
With a small movement of his watch,
life returns to the place.
Reichi's voice dropped, and his eyes flickered as if reflecting the wreckage of a distant past.
Reichi (in a weary whisper):
"Please... don't tell them anything...
I... don't want to go to prison...
My mother... is still unconscious...
I don't want to relive the old nightmares... I don't want to repeat what happened at Facility 09..."
[Silence... Then Yoshimura quickly turned to him and stared at him.]
Yoshimura (startled):
"What did you say? Facility 09?"
Reichi (looking down, swallowing his nervousness):
"...Yes."
[Yoshimura steps forward, his eyes sharp as if he remembers something]
Yoshimura:
"Are you... ? Impossible... You're the boy who survived there?"
Ryuichi (looks up and answers wearily):
"Yes. I am..."
[Yoshimura's expression changes, a mixture of surprise, awe, and respect]
Yoshimura:
"...So, you know him... Sigma, right?"
Reiichi (with frightening calm):
"Yes...
I still hear his voice... in my nightmares."
[Yoshimura smiles slightly, his expression turning calm and respectful]
Yoshimura:
"So Sigma is still in the shadows...
That bastard."
Yoshimura (before time returns to normal):
"I won't hand you over, Reiichi..."
[Time returns to normal—the sound of birds, police sirens, the whispers of students around the place]
[Yoshimura suddenly stands up straight, then turns to the officer standing next to him—a stern, professional look in his eyes]
Yoshimura (in a calm but audible voice):
"It has been confirmed."
Police officer (in a formal tone):
"And? Is the young man guilty as some have claimed?"
[Reiichi looks at the ground, his features confused, and Miko puts her hand on his shoulder to calm him down]
Yoshimura (looking directly at the police officer):
"No. There is a big misunderstanding.
The student Reichi was tricked by the masked person who was at the scene of the incident. The latter... used a high-level manic technique, creating an identical copy of Reichi, and used it to cause chaos and destruction."
[The students begin to whisper in surprise, and the police officer raises his eyebrows]
Police officer:
"An exact replica...? Do you have any evidence?"
Yoshimura (confidently):
"Unfortunately, the technique dissolves as soon as its effect ends, and it is banned in the register of manipulation techniques. But I personally guarantee that the student Reichi has no direct connection to what happened.
More importantly... we now have a lead that will take us to the real criminal."
Police officer (scratching his head, then looking at his colleagues):
"Hmm... This is complicated... But if you're sure, we'll record this testimony for now."
Yoshimura (in a low voice to the police officer):
"Trust me... The man who did this won't be hiding for long.
We'll track him down... and bring him to justice soon."
[The camera cuts to Reichi, who is still panting and staring into space, his hand trembling slightly... then he whispers to himself:]
Reichi (in a low voice):
"It's really started..."
The policeman (looking around carefully, then speaking into his radio):
"Units two and three, come to the cafeteria immediately. We need to comb the place thoroughly... Any small clue could lead us to the identity of the masked man."
[One of his assistants approaches him wearing a protective helmet and carrying a portable manure detector]
Assistant (in a tense voice):
"Sir... there are no bodies. No human remains at all... it's as if something swallowed them whole."
[The policeman is silent for a moment, then lowers his head and looks at the rubble... He sighs.]
Policeman (in a low but pained voice):
"...I don't know what's going on at this college...
But those students... They were just having lunch."
[He looks around, then speaks loudly to his team:]
Policeman:
"Search the entire place! Any trace, any trace...
I don't want us to lose any more lives!"
[Then he pauses for a moment at the edge of the rubble, looks up at the sky, as if whispering to himself:]
Policeman:
"Forgive us... We couldn't save you..."
[Ryuichi stands steady for a moment before his knees weaken... His breathing is ragged... Sweat and blood cover his face... His eyes widen and then... darkness.]
[Ryuichi staggers... falls... but Natsumi quickly reaches out and catches him before he hits the ground.]
Miko (in a trembling voice):
"Ryo... Ryoichi!!"
Erika (frightened, approaching him):
"Is he unconscious?! No... not now!"
[Natsumi, with her usual seriousness, places two fingers on his neck.]
Natsumi (calmly, despite her trembling eyes):
"He's alive... but he needs immediate care. I'll send him to the hospital... the hospital he was in before, under Sigma's supervision."
[Natsumi begins to draw a manic pattern with her hand... silver-blue symbols begin to glow... a magic circle forms beneath them.]
[Suddenly...]
Yoshimura (jumping in front of her, raising his hand):
"Stop."
[Miko and Erika look shocked, while Natsumi looks at him with cautious confidence.]
Yoshimura (looking at her hands):
"The symbols haven't disappeared... Those inscriptions cannot be mistaken by an expert eye. You are using the legacy of the dimensions... aren't you?"
Natsumi (hesitating for a moment, then saying):
"Yes... and I won't apologize for using it, not now."
[Yoshimura is silent for a moment, then looks around to make sure the police are approaching.]
Yoshimura (in a low, sharp voice):
"The legacy of dimensions... is forbidden, especially in public places. In front of the police... they will consider you a legal threat."
Miko (in alarm):
"Then... what are we going to do? We can't leave Reiichi here!"
[Yoshimura puts his hand on the hilt of his sword, then closes his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes glow turquoise and an hourglass symbol appears in the air.]
Yoshimura (in an official, solemn voice):
""Chronolock""
[The soldiers and police freeze completely—the birds, the smoke, even the wind stops.]
[The world is completely silent, nothing moves except Natsumi, Riichi in her arms, Miko, Erika, and Yoshimura.]
Yoshimura (looking seriously at Natsumi):
"Now... you have 15 seconds. Move him."
[Natsumi flashes her shadow, and light begins to swirl around Reichi and her body. A silver gate appears, sparkling with purple threads.]
[In an instant, the gate opens, and Natsumi enters carrying Reichi and closes it behind her.]
[Yoshimura exhales, then touches the time symbol in the air... and everything returns to motion.]
[A transparent Manui tunnel intersects with the time dimension—inside Natsumi's dimensional gate]
[Purple and silver flashes... then the light disappears, and we find ourselves in... A sterile corridor, its walls black, lit by soft blue lights... Cameras follow our every move.]
[A space gate opens inside one of the fortified halls, and Natsumi emerges carrying Reichi in her arms, accompanied by the sound of electronic alerts:]
"Identity confirmation: Natsumi Sato – Fourth Dimension Keyholder – Access Classification: A-Class – Activated Area: Gray Case Ward."
[The door opens automatically, and a doctor wearing a distinctive white uniform appears, with the Sigma logo on her shoulder—a circle with an eye symbol inside a gear.]
Doctor (in a calm, professional tone):
"Bring him here. We have advance orders from Agent Sigma to prepare Ward 13 in case of any abnormal activity related to Reichi Ayajin."
Natsumi (breathing heavily, placing him on the bed):
"He came out of a battle that almost killed him... twice."
[A transparent screen approaches the side of the bed and begins measuring mana, brain, and vital signs.]
📈 "Mana analysis: unstable."
📈 "Pulse interference: traces of energy shock – level four."
📈 "Tearing in secondary mana pathways."
Doctor (raising her eyebrow):
"This data doesn't match someone with fragile mana... It looks like someone who stormed through a sooty gate and then breathed in its ashes."
Natsumi (with a serious look):
"Rather, it's like someone who stood up to the masked man... and held his ground."
[In the background, a mysterious man in a suit and reflective glasses appears, advancing calmly.]
The man (in a melodious voice):
"Inform Sigma, he's here... Riichi Ayajin, he's back in the story again."
[Location: Ward 13 of the Intelligence Hospital – a dimly lit room with vital signs monitors running silently in the background.]
[Reiichi slowly opens his eyes... his breathing is heavy. He closes his eyes again and then reopens them, this time more slowly.]
Reiichi (in a shaky voice):
"...Where am I?"
[Natsumi quickly approaches him, her smile trembling slightly with concern.]
Natsumi:
"Reiichi... You're okay! You're at Sigma Hospital. We transferred you after the battle..."
[Miko also approaches, bending down and holding his hand.]
Miko (calmly):
"You were on the verge of death... But you came back, as you always do."
[Reiichi sighs, then looks around, his features sad as he remembers the scene of the explosion.]
Reiichi (whispering):
"...The students... The cafeteria... The masked man..."
[He lowers his eyes, and Natsumi puts her hand on his shoulder.]
Natsumi:
"You fought until your last breath... and that alone means you didn't let anyone down."
[Heavy footsteps are heard in the room. A tall man appears, wearing a dark coat that reaches his knees, his eyes shining behind his dark glasses.]
[Sigma.]
Sigma (in a low, firm voice):
"You're finally awake... Reiichi."
[Reiichi slowly raises his head to look at Sigma.]
Reiichi:
"You... Sigma... I didn't expect to see you again."
Sigma (advancing with steady steps):
"Neither did I expect one of the foundation's bases to collapse like this without your involvement."
Sigma (in a sharp, low voice):
"Tell me... what made you decide to confront that masked man?"
[Reichi averts his gaze, avoiding Sigma's eyes.]
Sigma (his voice rising slightly):
"Didn't I warn you before... not to interfere in any fight without direct orders? Were my instructions not clear enough?"
No response. He grabs the bedspread.
Sigma (steps forward, his gaze intense):
"More than that... Didn't the doctor warn you? He said it clearly: your mana center is fragile... extremely fragile! Any burst of energy could cause you to collapse completely, and possibly worse."
[Reichi whispers, his voice barely audible:]
"...I couldn't stand by and do nothing... I couldn't bear to see all that destruction without doing anything."
[Sigma is silent for a few seconds, as if what he heard sparked a deeper anger in him, but he hides it under his apparent calm.]
Sigma (in a heavy, trembling voice):
"Intent alone does not justify recklessness. You risked your life... and the lives of those around you as well. You are not alone on this path."
[Reichi finally raises his eyes to him, his gaze clearly filled with regret.]
Reichi:
"I know... but if I don't fight, who will?"
Sigma (in a low but firm tone):
"I will, Yoshimura... There are those who have been prepared to bear this burden... But you, Reiichi, are still in the process of forming. Your body couldn't even withstand intense training without symptoms. And you, quite simply... decided to face someone ten times your strength!"
[A moment of heavy silence. Then Sigma adds, looking away slightly:]
Sigma:
"You have rare potential... but if you waste it like this, you won't make it all the way."
[Suddenly...]
Sigma (with deadly calm, taking a tablet out of his pocket):
"...By the way, there's something else you need to know."
[He raises his head and looks directly at Riichi.]
Sigma:
"We collected some data after analyzing the mana and energy left behind by that masked man... and linked it to specific mana waves."
[Riichi raises his eyes, his features beginning to change, sensing that something unusual is coming.]
Sigma (looking at the device, then back at Reichi):
"Reichi... we have almost certain indications that the masked man... is a student at the same college you attend."
[A bolt from the blue. Sigma's words pierce the silence like a sword.]
[Silence fills the room. Miko, Natsumi, and Reichi stare at Sigma in shock.]
Natsumi (in a low voice, stunned):
"Impossible..."
Miko (confused):
"Does... Does that mean he's one of us?!"
[Reiichi's pupils dilate as he recalls the gazes of countless students... their footsteps, their voices... and the mysterious masked face.]
Reiichi (in his mind, his heart racing):
"If it's one of us... who could it be?!"