Heaven's Library

"Boom!"

A violent explosion rocked the wide highway of the Outer Residential District, sending a pillar of fire and thick black smoke billowing into the night sky.

The stretched limousine had been crushed in an instant, reduced to burning wreckage that slowly smoldered on the asphalt.

Anyone who witnessed the scene would have assumed that no one inside could have survived.

But—

Dirk Eberwein was still alive.

"Tch…"

A low, irritated click of the tongue sounded from the highway.

Dirk's short, stocky figure inexplicably reappeared a short distance away from the burning limousine, completely unscathed.

His perpetual scowl deepened, his dark red hair bristling with frustration as he glared upwards.

There, floating in midair, was the culprit—a figure clad in a black hooded cloak, standing effortlessly against the night wind.

The flames below cast shifting shadows across his silhouette.

Dirk couldn't see the person's face, obscured beneath the deep hood. The only thing vaguely visible was a mask, covering the upper half of his face.

But what the figure held in his hand—

Dirk recognized it instantly.

"So you're the bastard who stole Gravisheath?"

His voice was low and dangerous, his eyes dark with fury, as if staring at his greatest enemy.

"Who the hell are you?"

But before an answer could come—

"Vmm!"

The response came not from words—but from Gravisheath itself.

The scythe vibrated, reacting to its wielder's command.

With a mere flick of his wrist, Kaiser swung the blood-red scythe—

And in an instant, countless gravity spheres materialized in the air.

Each one was pure black, pulsating ominously as they formed an overwhelming storm around him.

Dirk's pupils shrank violently.

Because—

The scale of this ability was far beyond anything Irene Urzaiz had ever displayed.

The difference was like night and day.

When Irene used this technique, the number of gravity spheres she summoned was limited.

But now—

A storm of thousands upon thousands of gravity spheres had appeared, densely packed, stretching dozens of meters in every direction, flooding the entire space.

Dirk's entire field of vision was consumed by them.

Even his breathing faltered.

"Ten Thousand Ruin."

The masked figure calmly named the technique.

This—

This was the true version of the ability Gravisheath possessed.

"Go."

With a casual swing, Gravisheath descended—

And the storm of gravity spheres rained down.

"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"

Each sphere impacted the ground like a meteor, detonating with enough force to tear apart the asphalt, shatter stone, and reduce the entire highway to rubble.

Explosions erupted one after another, filling the air with chaotic wind and debris.

Above it all, Kaiser watched.

But then—

His instincts screamed.

Without hesitation, he shifted his weight, his body moving as if weightless in a vacuum, smoothly gliding aside.

The very next instant—

A darkness surged through the air, black spikes suddenly materializing and piercing through the space where he had just stood.

Had he been a moment slower—

He would have been impaled like a porcupine.

"Darkness?"

Kaiser's golden eyes narrowed.

"No… Shadows?"

The black spikes weren't solid objects—

They were shadows.

"…You saw through it that quickly?"

A cold voice echoed from the darkness.

And then—

A figure emerged from the shadows.

A man clad in tight black combat gear, his silhouette eerily resembling that of a ninja.

Unlike Kaiser's upper-face mask, this man wore a lower-face mask, covering everything but his eyes.

His eyes—

Narrow, sharp, golden—like a cat's.

Cold.

Emotionless.

Predatory.

Seeing this newcomer, Kaiser remained unshaken.

"As expected…"

His tone was calm, almost amused.

"No matter how weak Dirk is, he's still the Student Council President of Le Wolfe Black Institute."

"Even if he's just a normal human, of course he'd have a 'cat' watching his back."

"Cats"—

That was the codename for Le Wolfe's intelligence operatives.

Le Wolfe Black Institute was deeply entrenched in Asterisk's underworld, and within the academy, there existed a covert intelligence division.

Their official reputation? The greatest intelligence-gathering force among the six academies.

The truth?

They were more than just spies.

They handled all illicit activities, from covert assassinations to black-market dealings, making them one of the most feared underground organizations in Asterisk.

Other schools, including Seidoukan Academy, also had secret intelligence divisions under their Student Councils.

But Le Wolfe's "Cats" were known to be particularly ruthless—a faction with no moral limits, willing to do anything for their missions.

And members of this faction—

Were given codenames.

"You must be 'Gold Eyes.'"

Kaiser scrutinized the man before him.

Le Wolfe's operatives were divided into two groups—

"Silver Eyes" – Operatives who worked within the academy.

"Gold Eyes" – Operatives who worked outside the academy.

And this man?

Clearly, he was a Gold Eye, assigned to personally guard Dirk during his outings.

Kaiser had already anticipated this.

Not just because of his knowledge from the original story, but also because of the intelligence Claudia had provided him earlier.

He had known from the start—

If he attacked Dirk, the "Gold Eye" protecting him would immediately surface.

And yet—

"The one who should be answering questions here is you."

The shadow-clad man's cold, feline eyes locked onto Kaiser.

"You have no right to ask anything."

"Right now, you have two choices."

"One—identify yourself and explain your reasons for attacking us."

"Two—I take you down, drag you back for interrogation, or kill you and find the answers from your corpse."

As he spoke—

He lifted his hands.

On each wrist—

Twin daggers gleamed under the moonlight.

These were not Lux weapons, nor Orga Lux.

They were real blades, akin to Senbakiri, meant for pure assassination.

"Choose."

The Gold Eye declared emotionlessly.

But Kaiser—

He simply smiled.

Not his usual calm, relaxed smile.

No—

A deeper, sharper grin.

One that carried a hint of mockery—of disdain—

And amusement.

"Quite the arrogant tone."

"Looks like you've been abusing your authority in Asterisk for far too long."

Slowly—

Kaiser raised Gravisheath.

"Fine, I'll give you two choices as well."

"Would you rather be cut apart by this scythe?"

"Or be crushed to death by gravity?"

"…Never mind."

Kaiser smirked.

"I'll choose for you."

"Vmm!"

A surge of violet light erupted from Gravisheath, expanding instantly.

"BOOM—!"

A tremendous gravitational force crashed down like a solid wave, distorting the air, bending the very fabric of space.

"—!"

The Gold Eye's eyes widened.

His entire body sank, his chest tightening painfully—

And before he could react—

He was ripped from the shadows and hurled toward the ground.

"Damn… it…!"

Even behind his mask, his face twisted in shock.

He knew what Gravisheath's abilities were.

He had studied the data.

And yet—

This level of power was completely beyond what the reports had ever described.

"Gravisheath was… never this strong…!"

As the ground rushed toward him, he had no time to think.

In desperation—

He unleashed his shadows, sinking into them like diving into water, vanishing from sight.

But—

Kaiser's golden eyes remained cold.

"Your tricks won't save you."

He raised Gravisheath high.

And the battle truly began.