Tether's chains whirled wildly toward Fumiko and Hinata, ready to constrict them once more, the metal whistling through the air.

  Then, suddenly—they stopped.

  The chaos, still roaring with destruction, fell into a brief but suffocating silence. Even the flames seemed to quiet their crackling.

  Tether's eyes widened. He looked down.

  A shadow was cast over his own—a foot pressing firmly against it.

  A chill ran down his spine as realization set in. Only one man could stop someone so abruptly like this...

  Kage.

  Before Tether could react, a brutal fist crashed into his face, sending him hurtling backward into the rubble. The impact echoed across the broken ground, followed by the crunch of debris as his body collapsed among the ruins.

  Kage stood still, his face unreadable, yet his aura was seething with barely contained fury. His gaze snapped toward Hiro. "Hurry up and heal his wounds." The command was cold, precise.

  Sylvester and Bone exchanged glances. This wasn't normal. Kage wasn't supposed to care.

  Sylvester, ever the instigator, grinned. "What's this, Kage? Are you playing hero now? Do you see yourself saving the world from evil?" He burst into laughter, mocking him. "Gotta say, didn't expect you to be the sentimental type."

  Kage's shadow shifted. From the darkened ground, it rose, taking shape—a humanoid figure materializing behind Sylvester. Before Sylvester could react, it wrapped around his throat, tightening with merciless precision.

  Kage's voice was calm, but cold as winter. "I don't give a damn about saving anyone. I care about the brat so I can get my revenge on Haikito." His smirk deepened. "I heard he humiliated you. Do you dare be humiliated twice within one week?"

  Bone's voice cut through the tension. "Drop him, Kage. Business is business."

  Kage narrowed his eyes but, after a moment, released Sylvester from the shadow's grasp. Sylvester coughed, rubbing his throat, glaring daggers at Kage.

  The students, still reeling from the battle, started shouting. "Kage, do something!"

  Kage stood unmoving. His hands clenched into fists as the weight of his predicament settled in. If Rei died, he would have to kill himself or be hunted by the Assassins Guild for failing his contract. But if he interfered too much, he would be violating the assassin's code himself.

  A scowl formed across his face before he barked out, "Summoner brat! Summon your unicorn and heal him—NOW!"

  Just as he gave the order, Bone moved. A spear-shaped bone shot toward Kage's throat with deadly precision.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "If you interfere any further... You're subject to being culled too," Bone stated coldly, his eyes devoid of emotion.

  Before Kage could react, Tether had regained consciousness. His chains lashed out, coiling around Kage's legs, locking him in place with a clinking of metal links.

  "Stay out of this," Tether hissed, regaining his smugness.

  Kage... smirked.

  "You assassins sure put me in a hard position."

  Kage exhaled, rolling his neck, his voice shifting into something quieter—more deliberate. A whisper that cut sharper than any blade.

  "I know what it means to follow orders." His smirk faded. His fingers flexed. The space around them suddenly felt smaller, the air thicker. "But my contract supersedes yours. And I will see it through."

  The air became heavy, pressing down upon them all. Kage's eyes darkened, pupils contracting to pinpoints.

  "From the moment I stepped into this fight, your options vanished. Your choices became illusions." His voice was steady, emotionless. "Nothing personal. Just business."

  A long silence followed, broken only by the distant crackling of flames.

  Bone's eyes widened—just slightly. He knew what was coming.

  "Kage..." he muttered under his breath, a hint of dread in his voice.

  But Sylvester?

  Sylvester's usual cocky grin was nowhere to be found. A nervous chuckle left his lips.

  "What... What the hell are you talking about?" He shifted his footing but his body wouldn't respond—his instincts screamed at him to run.

  Something was wrong.

  "Oi, Kage—quit your cryptic bullshit." His voice cracked slightly. "The hell is this?"

  Kage didn't answer.

  Instead, his fingers locked into a precise hand sign, each joint bending at an exact angle.

  The ground trembled.

  The sky darkened as if night had suddenly deepened. The earth cracked beneath their feet. The edges of the area melted into a writhing abyss of shadows.

  A deep, chilling whisper filled the air, but it wasn't coming from Kage.

  The world itself was speaking.

  "Shrine Technique..."

  If a concept was a sorcerer's will materialized into power, a Shrine Technique was something far rarer—a sorcerer's very soul recognized by reality itself, given form and dominion over a domain. For centuries, only a handful had ever achieved such mastery, becoming legends spoken of in hushed whispers.

  A deep rumbling filled the air, vibrating through their bones.

  "—OPEN."

  The ground betrayed them as shadows surged upward, twisting like vengeful phantoms, reaching with elongated fingers.

  And then, the voices came.

  Whispers. Screams. Echoes of something old, something hungry.

  The scene was no longer just a battleground.

  It was a graveyard.

  And Kage?

  Kage had just opened the gates.

  Sylvester froze. His entire body felt like it was sinking into a depthless void.

  "The hell is this?! I... I can't move!"

  He tried to breathe—but the air was suffocating, thick as syrup in his lungs.

  His own shadow had betrayed him, binding him in place, whispering in a voice he did not understand.

  "No... No, no, no—"

  He struggled, but his body refused to obey.

  He looked at Bone, desperate. "Do something, dammit! What the hell did he just do?!"

  But Bone didn't move.

  Didn't answer.

  Didn't even blink.

  Because Bone already knew.

  Bone's breath caught in his throat. "No... this is... the pinnacle of sorcery... the pinnacle of what it means to change the tide..."

  A Shrine Technique.

  Sylvester, Tether, and Bone couldn't move. Their own shadows had betrayed them, constricting their bodies, locking them in place.

  Kage's voice was ice. "If that boy is dead, I will have no qualms killing all of you. Assassin or student."

  The air was silent yet filled with whispers of the deceased, a background chorus of the damned.

  The only ones still able to move were Hiro and Sama's unicorn, desperately pouring energy into Rei.

  A pulse.

  Rei's body lay motionless as Hiro worked, his tongue pressing against the wound. But something felt wrong.

  A whisper. Soft, but clear.

  "Rest well, brother. You're too weak to do this on your own. It's time to reveal myself."

  The shadows shuddered.

  Rei's fingers twitched.

  His breathing steadied.

  Then, his eyes snapped open.

  No longer black.

  Piercing blue.