Chapter 1 – The Childhood Friend’s Betrayal

In an ordinary high school in the suburbs of Tokyo. Inside the 2nd-year, Class B classroom, Karasu Kurosu was about to end another day. Outside the window, a crimson sunset spread across the sky, and the clamor of students engrossed in their club activities could be heard in the distance. For Karasu, there was no place more comfortable than the classroom after school. Because there, you could always find Suzuran Shiraishi—his childhood friend and his one and only confidante.

Suzuran was the most popular girl in class. A bright smile and a talent for offering a kind word to anyone. It was as if her radiance only intensified by having a plain person like Karasu next to her. Karasu was happy just being able to be by her side. They would walk home together and talk about the new dungeon RPG at a family restaurant. That was Karasu’s everyday life, and his future.

However, that peace was suddenly, and all too easily, shattered.

The catalyst was a single transfer student.

“I’m Rouga Haitani. I’ll be in this class starting today. Nice to meet you.”

Appearing in the classroom with his introduction, he radiated the very picture of a “popular guy” aura. He was tall with a slender build. His hair, styled with wax, was on-trend, and his eyes glittered with confidence and ambition. And above all else, his title delivered a stunning impact.

“I’m a dungeon streamer known as ‘King Wolf.’ I’d appreciate your support.”

The classroom fell silent for a moment before erupting into a buzz. “King Wolf”—there wasn’t a young person around who didn’t know that name. In an age when dungeons had appeared in reality and streaming their exploration had become a massive boom, his name was that of a hero.

Like an actor on a stage, Rouga breezed through the classroom door and was gone. From that day forward, Karasu’s daily life was slowly, but surely, eroded.

He could tell that Suzuran was changing.

At first, the changes were trivial. During class, she would occasionally glance over at Rouga. After school, the cheerful conversations they exchanged. And eventually, when walking home with Karasu, Suzuran began to say, “Sorry, I have something to do today,” with a slightly apologetic face before running off in Rouga’s direction.

Karasu couldn’t say a thing. He could only feel the heavy, lead-like lump in the pit of his stomach growing larger.

“Suzuran, you’ve been talking to Haitani a lot lately.”

One day, Karasu mustered his courage and asked. For a moment, Suzuran wore a puzzled expression, but she quickly returned to her usual bright smile.

“Yeah! Rouga-kun is super interesting to talk to, about dungeons and stuff! He’s a different type than you, Karasu, but, you know?”

“But, you know?” Those words seized Karasu’s heart. A different type than you. The phrase felt as if it were a negation of his entire existence.

And then, that day. It was a scene Karasu witnessed after school, while waiting for Suzuran as always.

Behind the school building, in a place no one usually went, were Suzuran and Rouga. Suzuran was clinging to Rouga’s broad back in an embrace, her face filled with a look of contentment Karasu had never seen before. Rouga gently stroked her hair, whispering something in her ear. The air between them was undeniably intimate, and it was one that rejected Karasu completely.

The blood drained from Karasu’s entire body. His feet felt unsteady, and his breath caught in his throat. It was a sensation like his heart turning into a lead weight and sinking to the very bottom of his body.

“…Suzuran.”

His strained voice didn’t reach their ears. No, it wasn’t that it couldn’t reach them. It was that their world was so perfectly closed off that it was impossible for it to enter.

That night, the message from Suzuran was just a single line.

Karasu, I’m sorry. Let’s stop seeing each other.

The all-too-brief message made Karasu’s mind go blank. It was as if all the time the two of them had built together had been nothing but an illusion.

From the next day on, Suzuran was openly together with Rouga. She didn’t seem to mind the curious stares from those around them. A dazzling, “special” aura drifted between the two of them.

All Karasu could do was watch. The pain was enough to rip his heart apart. The despair of betrayal. And more than anything, he was crushed by the fact that he was so utterly powerless.

In the corner of the classroom, Karasu simply stared out the window. The crimson sky was just as vast as it was yesterday, and the sounds of club activities could still be heard. But he knew that his world would never, ever return to what it once was.

I…

Karasu clenched his fist tightly. Within his shattered heart, a new emotion had begun to sprout. It was black, deep, and blazing…