In the eastern district of the artificial island of **[Fumetsu]**, one of the many floating nations built to isolate **[mages]** and **[espers]** from the world of "real humans" in the eastern realm of most of Asia, there were four individuals who were members of one of the many teams created to carry out missions in this part of the island.
This group was made up of four people, with a base at the edge of a city, inside an abandoned locale that they had acquired years ago.
These four were the most active and efficient team in the eastern district.
In this part of **[Fumetsu]**, unlike the district under Goto's command, where his tyranny was hidden under a veil of deceit, lies, and manipulations, the leader of the **[Black Corps]** here was neither clever enough nor interested enough to do such a job.
There was far too much evidence of what he had done, and of all those under his command.
Hikari, that was his name, was an extremist fanatic of a religion that praised the sun.
The man represented the worst of religion.
His madness and faith in his beliefs were such that they drove him to sacrifice men, women, and children for the rituals of his creed. He burned them alive, or even worse, at least once a month.
Under him were his **[Black Corps]**, who were just as crazy as he was.
Hikari's radiant smile, his confident demeanor, and his charisma were lethal weapons that allowed him to take command and convert a large number of **[mages]** and **[espers]**, as well as ordinary people, to his religion.
The leader of the **[White Corps]** in this part of the island was one of his most fervent supporters.
Gathering evidence of what he was doing was not a problem for the **[New Dawn]**; the difficulty lay in not interfering more than necessary in Hikari's affairs.
The teams here saved as many people as they could when they could, but secrecy was their greatest weapon.
Thus, there were many times when they had to watch innocent people die for the greater good.
Needless to say, the **[New Dawn]** in this district had a really strong mindset to remain silent while watching so many people suffer.
One of these characters woke up in his room inside the locale.
"What time is it? Oh no… it's already evening!"
The man, who was at least 22 years old, with disheveled black hair and green eyes, hurriedly got out of bed, trying to dress as quickly as possible. As soon as he left his room, he went into the common area to see if his teammates were already waiting for him.
"Guys!? Why didn't anyone wake me up?!"
"Hey, what's with all this hurry, Benjiro?"
Benjiro, the man who had just woken up, immediately noticed that there was only one of his partners, sitting on a couch, watching TV, with relative calmness and tranquility. Something was definitely off.
"Aito? Where are the girls?"
This second individual was also around 20 years old, with blonde hair and almond-shaped eyes. His name was Aito, and he was the second boy on this team.
"They're out shopping. Why are you so agitated?"
"Isn't it already 11 PM? We should have gone on a mission, or am I mistaken?"
"Well, buddy, it's nine in the evening... someone must have set your alarm clock forward again, right?"
Benjiro felt embarrassed at the thought of being easily tricked by one of his colleagues, remaining utterly silent.
The only consolation was that only Aito had seen the scene, which he would keep to himself. Or at least, that's what the two boys thought.
"Hahahhahahhaha, you fell for it again!"
A cheerful voice came from near the front door; it seemed that the other two team members had returned earlier than expected and were waiting to see the scene for themselves.
"Bashira... did you do this?"
"Of course!"
"You won't even deny it!? At least pretend to feel guilty!"
"Nah, I don't think I'll ever do that!"
Bashira was a 25-year-old with long black hair and matching black eyes, with a toned but not overly muscular physique; the girl was a real beauty.
At her side was the leader, as well as the oldest member of the group, Emiko.
A woman with blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes, she was at least 30 years old; despite this, she was still beautiful and fit.
She had remained silent from the beginning, and although she was the head here, she hadn't interfered in Bashira's joke against Benjiro.
Why? Simple: their job wasn't easy.
Seeing so many people suffer and die and doing nothing to help them weighed heavily on the team's psyche over time.
The 25-year-old with black hair made these jokes to lighten up the tension from their missions and not just for fun.
Fortunately, Benjiro was too kind-hearted to hold a grudge against Bashira for more than a few hours at most.
And Aito, with his serious and meticulous character, often stopped the 25-year-old when she devised a joke that was too harsh.
Overall, they had a good team chemistry, considering they had been together for years.
"Let's get ready for the mission. Banjiro, check the equipment. Aito, make sure the patrol shifts of the **[White Corps]** haven't changed. Bashira, access the camera system and double-check the meeting location. Yukihime-sama has the utmost confidence in us for this mission, don't forget it!"
"Understood!" (all three)
As per orders, the trio moved to carry out their tasks while Emiko contacted Yukihime to ensure the plan hadn't changed.
*******
While the team in the eastern district was preparing for their mission, in the center of **[Fumetsu]**, a very cautious Hajime was running towards his friend Kaede's house.
Today was the day when Veronica had called him to start training.
Using the excuse of a night run, the boy had left his house without any problems or doubts from his sister and mother.
As he headed toward his destination, Goto's stepson could barely control his heartbeat.
His mind was filled with doubts and uncertainties.
"(I don't know anything about her, or rather, everything I thought about her might be false! Maybe even Kaede doesn't really know her mother! And what about her father!? Did I really make the right choice?)"
As he arrived at the front door, Hajime realized he could no longer turn back. Feeling a slight queasiness, the silver-haired teenager knocked on the door.
He didn't have to wait long before it opened. A smiling Veronica welcomed him inside. Hajime struggled not to be captivated by her.
"My daughter and my husband are not home today; they went to the movies. I pretended to be sick to have some time just for us. Are you happy, H-a-j-i-m-e-chan?"
She was trying to manipulate him using seduction; the possessor of the **[Grimoire]** knew it, but this didn't stop him from blushing slightly. It was truly impossible to control his adolescent hormones.
"Veronica-san, I'm not here to fool around. If you can't teach me to be stronger, I'll have no choice but to go to...my stepfather and report you as an unregistered and hostile [mage]."
He said, raising an eyebrow and looking at her with a rather serious expression, although inside he thought he had probably made a mistake; it was as clear as day that it was a lie.
The 40-year-old made a serious face at those words for a few seconds; though Hajime didn't believe he had convinced her, the woman began to laugh at the entertainment of his bluff.
"Ahahahah... I give you credit for that. At least you tried, but if you want to intimidate someone, Hajime, you need to do much better. For example, do it like this—"
With a fierce smile, the **[omega mage]** stepped in front of Goto's stepson; her orange eyes met his blue ones.
Veronica released part of her **[Mana]**, but aimed it solely at Hajime, making him so diminished that it seemed impossible to detect from outside.
"...... watch the eyes of your victim, looking for any trace of weakness or hesitation........"
The tension became palpable as the woman's murderous instinct intensified. Hajime began to feel cold sweat trickling down his spine; the magical energy of the woman felt sharp, suffocating, like a knife pressed to his throat or a steel cable seeming to prevent him from breathing.
"........ show yourself confident. Use your thirst for blood to instill fear in them. And then, threaten them with your cold and inhuman voice. That way, they will yield to your pressure."
Then Veronica deactivated that small residual Mana and murderous instinct, at that moment a couple of drops of sweat dripped from Hajime's temple, as if he could breathe again.
"A-are you going to teach me only these parlor tricks... that I can use only on some random civilian or on an amateur [mage]?"
"....your fake courage almost seems real, Hajime... you seem very gifted at hiding your emotions and pretending."
It was obvious why the 17-year-old was good at lying and hiding what he felt; living with Goto, and then the whole story with the **[New Dawn]** had allowed him to practice.
"At least I won't have to teach you that. However, no, the 'parlor tricks' I want to teach you are... how can I put it... more lethal! Come, today I will show you how to implode a heart with your **[mana]**."
Hajime truly felt scared when he heard the phrase "implode a human heart," but he decided to follow his new master anyway.