Chapter 01…
First Year
Section 1 – Reunion
After 3 Years
When I was little, I was pure.
No—maybe I was just ignorant.
Or perhaps, I simply wasn’t thinking about anything at all.
I believed people could always understand one another.
That if you talked to someone, you could become friends with anyone.
But that wasn’t true.
People are twisted.
If someone thinks another is beneath them, they look down on them.
If it’s for their own pleasure, people will hurt others without hesitation.
If they don’t like someone, they’ll attack them, even if the other person has done nothing wrong.
If it’s for their own gain, they won’t hesitate to push others down.
No matter how wrong it may be in general.
As long as they think it’s fine, people believe it’s fine.
Of course, I know not every human is like that.
Even in such an environment, there were decent people.
That’s why I was still able to remain decent myself.
But that too, was an illusion.
A person’s will is powerless before strength; it gets swallowed whole.
The greater the strength, the more so.
In the end, people don’t care about sacrifices if it’s for their own desires.
In the end, people are twisted to some degree.
The only difference is whether they hide it or not.
That’s the faint shred of reason left in humanity.
And yet, that reason is meaningless before overwhelming power.
If so, then power beyond human control shouldn’t exist in the first place.
That’s why I decided:
Power beyond human hands must be separated from people.
So I abandoned everything—
So that I would never lose anything again.
No… from the start—
For someone like me, who can’t save anyone,
The only thing allowed is to keep fighting.
“Next stop, Seiun, Seiun.”
The train’s onboard announcement called out the next station.
And that station was my destination.
I, Masato Insei, opened my eyes and pulled myself out of the daze I’d sunk into while seated on the train.
…Guess I should start getting ready to get off.
I stood, slung my backpack over my shoulders, and picked up the black case I’d set down at my feet.
Then I walked toward the nearest door.
Outside the train window, a familiar townscape came into view.
Since the train ran along elevated tracks, I could see far into the distance.
Seiun City.
I was born here, and I lived here until sixth grade.
And then, due to certain circumstances, I left about three years ago.
I was ready never to return again.
…Never thought I’d be back this soon.
As those thoughts swirled in my mind, the train slid into the station and began to slow.
It stopped, the doors opened.
I stepped onto the platform, steeped in nostalgia.
It looked almost the same as in my memories.
…Well, it’s only been three years, so of course it hasn’t changed much.
Thinking that, I headed toward the stairs leading to the ticket gates.
Along the way, I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket, tapped the IC card in its case, and passed through the gates.
I continued onward, exiting the station building.
And then the station square, which I’d glimpsed earlier from the train window, spread before me.
The bus rotary below.
A supermarket inside a commercial building.
The mountains visible in the distance.
The same familiar scenery from my memories.
…Though, it feels like a few things have changed.
I had left this town behind without saying goodbye, because of the accident.
……I wonder if those two are doing well.
No—I can’t see them now.
I can’t drag them into this.
The reason I came back here isn’t to meet old friends.
Shaking off the regrets and worries bubbling up inside me, I resumed walking toward my destination.
I left the station square and followed the busy main street’s sidewalk.
That destination was my new home.
Apparently, the house I used to live in has already been sold.
If there’s one thing that concerns me…
It’s that my new home is close to where my old one used to be.
…What if I run into those two?
No, I left this town without even saying goodbye.
I’ve either been forgotten or hated by now.
Besides, as long as I use a perception-blocking spell, I won’t be recognized.
As I thought about that while walking, suddenly, an unpleasant sensation washed over me.
…So soon, huh.
I swallowed the sigh that almost escaped.
Then turned my steps away from my destination, toward the direction of that sensation.
It seemed to be coming from the southern residential district.
I crossed a nearby crosswalk and entered the neighborhood.
The range and accuracy weren’t great, but I’d sensed it clearly.
Which meant there was a stagnation nearby.
I quickened my pace through the residential streets.
And then I arrived at a park within the neighborhood.
There, several humanoid shapes made of writhing black sludge moved about.
Alongside them, grotesque forms like human-sized flies.
Clearly out of place in a city park.
Those two types of monsters were ganging up on a boy—
About the same age as me.
…To think I’d run into this on the very first day back.
With that thought, I set my bag and black case down at the park’s entrance.
Casting perception-blocking spells over them, I crouched and opened the black case.
Inside was a rectangular device, its deep blue color striking.
I took it out and, standing, held it over my abdomen.
From its left side, a belt-like strap formed, wrapping around to fasten on the right.
Now ready, I called out to draw their attention:
“Monsters, that’s far enough.”
Yes—this is the reason I’ve returned to this town.
To fight monsters.
