Three Months Later,

Ha… Ha… Ha…

Rhythmic panting punctuated the otherwise quiet morning as forty-odd figures ran in sync around a track. The figures moved like a well-oiled machine, measured breathing, and feet like cogs in a machine. Upon closer inspection, these figures were a group of children no more than twelve years old.

Compared to three months back, these children, whose bodies were initially terribly weak and dilapidated, now sported robust muscles and glistening skin, clearly showing their rapid improvements over the past month. Having followed strict dietary guidelines and exercise regiments, these children now looked nothing like their past selves. In fact, a lot of them could probably go toe-to-toe with teenagers much older than them.

Off to the side, Akari stood beside an older man wearing a sports shirt and slacks. The old man's gaze alternated between the stopwatch in his hand and the children on the track, continually memorizing each individual's time. A satisfied smile crossed the old man’s face as the children crossed the line for the nineteenth time that day.

This was a standard 400-meter track, meaning the children had already run 7600 meters, or just below 5 miles that morning. Considering most of them could not even manage half a mile when they first arrived, it was quite the achievement, and one he was incredibly proud of.

“Haven’t seen you smile like this in years, Coach Kazuki,” Akari laughed as he studied the older man’s bright grey eyes. Although Coach Kazuki was quite advanced in age, evidenced by his gray hair and wrinkled face, he still sported the vitality of a man decades younger.

To date, Akari couldn’t beat the older man in an endurance race, much to his shame. However, he preferred to see Coach Kazuki as a monster. That made much more sense.

Coach Kazuki lightly chuckled as he watched the kids. “Been a while since I saw kids take so quickly to my training.” Casting Akari a contemptuous gaze, he added, “How long did it take you to reach their level?”

“Come on, Coach,” Akari lightly protested, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. “Physical fitness was never my strong suit.”

Coach Kazuki glanced at the young man dressed as always in an impeccable form-fitting suit, those iconic square-rimmed glasses sitting below neatly brushed dark hair. The young Akari did indeed give off an air of an intellectual. Most evident in those dark eyes that seemed to weigh everything around him on an invisible scale. “Hmph, smarts may be important, but your physical strength is still essential. Why don’t you take a page out of that blond lad’s book?”

Akari’s face darkened. His lips twitched, brows furrowed as he was about to retort. However, Coach Suzuki’s shrill whistle forced his attention back to the track where the children had just completed their twentieth lap.

The twentieth lap was the dividing point. Up until then, the children had to keep a standard pace, but from here on, it would be a competition to see who would be the best to complete the final four laps.

A bunch of children had already begun to pull away from the rest of the pack. A tall boy, a full head taller than the rest of the children, led the group.

Coach Kazuki smiled as he studied the child. The boy, Kugo, was the oldest of the children at twelve years old, but that was in no way a detriment to why he could overtake the other children. More than most, the child had a drive and passion that Coach Kazuki had not seen in even many adults.

Kugo spent most of his time at the gym, his training time only seconded by one other person in the class.

Coach Kazuki sighed as he turned to the children floundering at the back, where an eye-catching couple steadily jogged on. A young man with silver hair watched the pack begin to pull ahead, but there wasn’t even the slightest care reflected in his indifferent gaze. Next to him, a destructively beautiful girl with blonde hair soldiered on, clothes sticking to her body due to excessive sweating.

Henri’s eyes were bloodshot, breathing becoming increasingly labored with time, but she kept her gaze on the track ahead of her. Despite the flames burning in her chest, she gritted her teeth, muttering to herself. “One more step. One more step.” Whenever it felt like the pain would consume her, she would look to her left, where like always, an indifferent Taiga would be jogging, a relaxed look on his face like he was going for a casual walk.

Ahead of them, the other children began to increase their pace to lengthen the distance. Although Henri and Taiga always came last in the endurance race, no one wanted to risk it. The punishment for the last place was just that terrifying.

Coach Kazuki’s gaze rested on Henri, his eyes carrying heavy melancholy. “Ah, life is cruel. Despite all her hardwork. Aish, who would have expected she had a bad heart?” This young girl was the person with the highest work rate in the gym after Kugo, but alas, even though her body had massive improvements, her bad heart prevented her from ever pushing her body to its limits.

Akari’s gaze meanwhile rested on the silver-haired kid as he casually replied, “That is precisely why we’re first going through Rebirth.”

“Bah! I don’t care about that unnatural Mojo Jojo.” Coach Kazuki snorted. “Nothing beats steadily raising our strength through sweat and grit.”

Akari chuckled. Indeed, he’d had this argument with his coach several times in the past. Still, he persisted, “Unfortunately, the human body has a limit to how much it can achieve without external help.”

“Hmph.” Coach Kazuki turned away from the bothersome conversation to the track. As expected, the race was coming to an end with Kugo coming out on top. Ford came in second, and a brunette with bright eyes finished third. The brunette stood next to Kugo with a triumphant look in her eyes. Out of the corner of her eyes, she glared at Ford, evidently discontent he had managed to overtake her.

The young girl’s name was Asahi, and she would have easily claimed the throne of queen amongst the children were it not for one little obstacle.

“They’re here,” someone quietly whispered.

As if forced by some unnatural force, several pairs of eyes turned towards the approaching silver and gold duo. As always, Henri’s determined expression and sweat-soaked, pained face drew countless sighs of praise, regret, and respect as she approached the line. However, just before she could successfully cross it, she finally collapsed.

Despite seeing her fall, no one made a move—no one needed to.

They all stared as a flash of silver appeared next to her, catching her falling frame. Taiga’s hand tightened around Henri’s small waist as he lifted her to her feet. Placing his lips next to her ears, he whispered, “If you’re gonna fall, fall after you cross the line.” A slight blush of red rushed up the young girl’s neck, but Taiga, attributing the phenomenon to embarrassed rage, remove his hand from her waist.

Indeed, ‘as he thought,’ Henri, as if injected with chicken blood, managed to pull out her latent potential and dashed past the line before collapsing entirely.

This time, however, Henri’s friends quickly came to her aid and caught her falling body. They promptly laid her on the ground and helped her drink some water while others quickly fanned her down while waiting for her to regain clarity.

At this point, Taiga finally crossed the line. His gaze apathetic, he walked past the collapsed Henri to stand before Coach Kazuki. Gaze even, he said, “I was last. I'm ready for my punishment.”

These words, spoken so calmly by this youngster, sent a massive wave amongst those present.

Although this situation occurred every single morning, neither the children nor the staff could understand how a child like this would exist.

It must be known that this punishment was something ninety-nine percent of adults would never want to experience if given a choice. Yet this eleven-year-old boy willingly subjected himself to the torture every morning without fail.

And for what? A girl? But looking at their relationship, it didn’t seem they were that close. What could be the reason, then?

Coach Kazuki shook the thoughts out of his head. Regardless of why, the kid did come in last, so he had to suffer the punishment. Coach Kazuki opened his mouth, about to instruct the guards to take the kid when a voice interrupted him.

“Coach Kazuki, I don’t think this is fair!”

The coach, already feeling a headache coming on, looked over to the children, where, as expected, Asahi stood, glaring at Taiga’s back with rage. The old man sighed. He was getting too old for this elementary school cliché. Still, he had a job to do. So, he earnestly asked, “What’s not fair?”

Asahi gritted her teeth as she pointed at Henri’s crumpled form. “The rest of us have to work hard every day, so we don’t get punished. Why does she get to walk away when she’s clearly the worst of us!?”

Coach Kazuki rubbed his forehead. Out of curiosity, he glanced at Taiga’s eyes, but as usual, those yellow eyes only reflected profound indifference. Turning his gaze back to the disgruntled party, he said, “Taiga-kun was last so—“

“Please do not treat us like fools, Coach Kazuki,” a deep voice interrupted. Kugo confidently weathered Coach Kazuki’s heavy gaze as he stepped forward. “Everybody here knows what Taiga is capable of. The only reason he keeps coming last is that he’s covering for absolute trash. The punishment is meaningless if someone can just keep covering for another’s worthlessness.”

“Yeah! Why should the rest of us suffer just because we don’t have someone to cover for us!?” Asahi spat. Low murmuring amidst the children revealed some of them had the same thoughts. Not all tests were physical.

In some other assessments, each of them would sometimes come last, and they would be forced to endure HELL. Besides the endurance test, Henri was usually amongst the top three in other tests carried out by the scientists and trainers. Predictably, jealousy had blossomed towards the only person in the class who had yet to suffer through HELL.

Discontent within a group of people was often like gradually piled up gunpowder kegs. It took just a single spark to send the hidden feelings exploding out to the surface.

Today, Asahi and Kugo’s challenge had finally set those kegs alight, and soon the track was drowned by protestant cries, calling for Henri to stop hiding behind someone else and face her punishment.

Coach Kazuki frowned, rage beginning to set in as he glared at the children. Indeed, it seemed he had been too lax recently since they dared to raise their voice on his tracks. He raised the whistle to his lips about to order a swift punishment when a cold voice interrupted him.

“Coach Kazuki.” The coach looked down, eyes widening at the burning yellow suns that glared at them. “What is the punishment for physical assault?”

“Three hours of HELL,” Akari answered in place of the gobsmacked coach. “Except in cases of self-defense.”

Those yellow orbs grew increasingly cold as Taiga clarified, “And if there are broken bones?”

“Four extra hours,” Akari stated with a searching gaze. ‘This kid, could it be?’

“I see,” Taiga muttered. “In that case…” Taiga turned around, the glare in his eyes emitting a faint killing intent, akin to a tiger locked onto a trespasser. As if intimidated by the child’s imposing figure, the wind itself stopped billowing, the rustle of leaves turning silent till all that could be heard was the child’s steps as his feet hit the ground.

Kugo and Asahi’s hands shook, confusion apparent in their gazes as Taiga walked towards them. They wondered why they could not get their feet to move a single step, although they wanted to confront him. Their bodies shook as Taiga nonchalantly walked past them, leaving behind a frigid, cold feeling which rattled them to their very core.

Only at this moment did they fully realize what it was. That was condensed killing intent! It was the natural air around someone who had reaped dozens of lives and now considered killing to be a part of his life. Having also grown up in impoverished regions, these two were naturally aware of this killing intent. Only, those gangsters they knew could not hold a single candle to the dense killing intent circulating the silver-haired boy.

Taiga stood before the children, all the rage he felt condensing into a small smile that spread up the corner of his lips. “If you want, we can do it your way.” His words caused a ripple to run through the crowd. Triumphant grins began to show themselves, but his next words killed all their enthusiasm. “However, I will make sure at least one person here does not finish the race every morning.”

The children’s bodies went numb with fright as they stared at the unreasonable boy. He would make sure someone did not finish? Wouldn’t that person automatically be last?

The children swallowed hard as they realized they were just offering themselves up for punishment if they opposed Taiga.

Still, hoping for one last reversal, they glanced at Coach Kazuki in hopes he would rebuke the child or denounce his actions.

As they expected, Coach Kazuki did berate Taiga, but his exact words left much to be desired. As if nursing an old grudge, the old man snorted as he said, “Do that, and you will spend three hours in HELL every morning.”

The children’s faces immediately darkened. Although the Coach laid out Taiga’s punishment, he did not explicitly say the action itself would carry no weight. This meant there was a high chance, even after Taiga’s punishment, whoever he stopped would still come in last and would therefore be subjected to thirty minutes in HELL.

Taiga’s grim expression made the children realize the horrifying truth. This bastard was well aware of the circumstances and would not hesitate to suffer three hours in HELL as long as someone took Henri’s position in last place.

The protesters could not help but look at Henri, each wondering what the hell kind of spell she had over him. From Taiga’s general indifferent attitude, it did not seem he was in love. But then, what else could justify torturing oneself for another person?

Kugo sweated as he realized that Taiga had seized control of the situation with only a few words. He could not help but shudder at the ingenuity of his words. He was so stunned that he was certain Taiga could not have come up with that scheme independently.

For all of Taiga’s strengths, elaborate schemes were not one of them.

That only left one person.

Kugo’s attention turned to the forgotten little girl, propped up by two of her close friends. Henri’s breathing was still heavy and labored, her pallor pale and sweaty. However, her half-closed eyes, fixed onto Taiga’s frame, revealed a hidden appreciation and anticipation.

Kugo inwardly cursed as he saw her prepare to stand up. He wasn’t stupid, instantly figuring out her intention.

The little skank wanted to play peacemaker and draw more people to her side.

‘Like fuck I’ll let you succeed so easily.’ Kugo cursed. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed at Taiga’s shoulder and subtly squeezed hard.

Oof! BAM! Crack!

“AAAAH!”

The subsequent consequence occurred in a flash, preventing anyone from interfering. The children and staff stared wide-eyed at Kugo, who was sprawled out on the ground, screaming for dear life as tears, and snot smeared his once confident expression.

Above Kugo, a stunned Taiga frowned as he released the limp arm he had yanked out of its shoulder socket. He had indeed not meant to retaliate so heavily. It was just that old habits died hard—especially ones formed from life-or-death situations.

Back home, typically, it was already too late by the time you felt a hand on your shoulder. Hence, no one casually tapped another person from behind. Taiga helplessly sighed as he stepped away from Kugo. He scratched his head and turned to Henri.

This was not part of the plan.

Henri groaned as she too stared at the wailing Kugo in shock. How the hell did this happen? She still remembered when she first confronted Taiga about taking her place in the punishments. However, he had only replied with some cheesy line.

“You are my sun. It is the sun’s job to shine brightly. So I will make sure you can do your job perfectly.”

Okay, so maybe she was secretly excited when Taiga said that. That did not mean she understood what the heck he meant, and she felt increasingly guilty by the hostility they faced every day. Hence she had conjured up this minimal plot to have everyone let out their grievances, then step in as a mediator to buy some sympathy cards and increase their influence.

Who knew that muscle-brained Kugo would not only notice but attempt to stop their momentum by threatening Taiga? Unfortunately for both sides, Taiga was not one to take to threats so easily. Surprisingly, just when everyone thought the situation had begun to cool down, Taiga’s glare suddenly turned vicious.

Before anyone could react, Taiga charged at Asahi, fingers reaching for her throat.

“Stop!” Just before they made contact, a desperate shout brought them to a halt. Asahi swallowed hard, the action causing her throat to come into contact with the tips of Taiga’s fingernails. Tears welled up the little girl’s eyes as she suddenly collapsed onto her backside, a flood of relief flowing through her veins. She turned grateful eyes towards Henri, whose scream had managed to save her from similarly being beaten.

Henri, who had recovered, walked up to Taiga and gently set down his arm. “Taiga, I'm sorry for being so useless that you have to go so far just to protect me.”

Although Henri was inwardly rejoicing at Taiga’s quick thinking, she quickly put on a façade of shame and regret as she faced the rest of the children and bowed. “I'm also sorry towards all of you. My actions may have annoyed all of you this much, but I swear I didn’t do this to annoy any of you, but because I am a coward.” Henri placed her hand against her heart, tears glistening in her eyes. “Like you all, I, too, was brought here against my will. But unlike the rest of you, I do not have the courage or strength to face the punishment. Actually, with my heart the way it is, if I were to suffer HELL, I would probably die after only three minutes.”

Henri glanced at Taiga, her gaze exuding awe and respect. Of all her expressions that morning, this was most likely the only genuine one.

The look in Henri’s eyes did not escape the children’s eyes as she continued, “Taiga has sacrificed so much only because we used to know each other in the town we came from. I helped save his life once, and because of that, he swore to protect mine when they brought us here.”

Henri paused, inwardly snickering as she saw the children’s hostile and fearful expressions change as they looked at Taiga. Suddenly, from a wild, dangerous animal, he now resembled a handsome loner who valued his friends tightly and kept his promises even if they were detrimental to his health.

“Ah, no, we understand.”

“Yeah, Henri, you don’t have to apologize. It’s your life, after all.”

“Yeah. We’re sorry we misunderstood you, Taiga.”

A few of the children even took the lead to step forward and propose peace. Evidently, these twelve-year-olds were not too big on scheming. After witnessing Taiga’s superior strength, a few soft words were more than enough to bury the hatchet. Some even hoped to build friendships with this strong boy who took good care of his friends and demanded nothing in return.

Akari let out a chuckle as he watched the proceedings. “Well, I think we now know who the leader of this motley crew will be.”

Coach Kazuki snorted as he glared at Henri. “I hate you intellectual types the most. I will only acknowledge the strong.”

Akari displayed a brilliant smile but did not bother wasting his saliva on the topic. “What’s your verdict on the boy?”

Coach Kazuki gaze evaluated the silver-haired child. “He’s not bad, not as strong as Kugo, but he has more life-or-death battle experience.” He clucked his tongue as his gaze turned to the crumpled Kugo. “However, he most likely used a gun. He’s too jittery when someone attacks from close range. But with a bit more battle experience, he should be able to acclimatize himself to close-range fights. In this group, he’s most likely the one with the highest chance of becoming a useful asset.”

“I disagree,” Akari said with a shake of his head. Jerking his chin at Henri, he said, “I feel she’s the key. She clearly holds some power over Taiga. Most likely, without her, Taiga would not be as efficient as he is now.”

Coach Kazuki’s brows shot up. “Oh? What makes you say that?”

“Just a hunch.” Akari laughed as he lightly shrugged. He was about to add something else when his phone lightly buzzed in his pocket. He turned to Coach Kazuki, his gaze turning grim as the coach also brought his phone out of his pocket.

Simultaneous messages.

This most likely meant…

Akari swiped the phone screen, multiple expressions of wonder, fear, and resignation flashing across his features. He shut the phone and placed it in his jacket, then exuded a heavy sigh. He turned to Coach Kazuki, the same reactions playing across the older man’s face. Akari let out a bitter smile. “Rebirth is finally ready. The labs have completed all preliminary tests. They will carry out the procedure tomorrow.”

Coach Kazuki grimaced, brows furrowing in thought. “So we’re really going to play God, huh? This is going to bite us in the ass.”

Akari snorted. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t jinx us, old man.”

“You guys already took care of that by yourselves.” Coach Kazuki shrugged then pointedly gazed at the silver-haired child. “What about the kid?”

Akari’s smile froze. He listlessly gazed at the child before sighing. “The punishment is compulsory.” Turning around, he patted Coach Kazuki on the shoulder. “Take care of them, coach. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

With that, Akari left the training grounds.

Coach Kazuki shook his head. With a wave of his hands, two guards walked up to Taiga, their imposing presence destroying any hopes of resistance. Surprisingly, Taiga only glanced at the two guards before resolutely following them off the training ground with a grim expression.

The children could not help but shiver as they watched his back disappear behind a pair of sliding doors.

They all knew the horrors of HELL. None of them would be able to face it consecutively with such bravado and indifference. Even Kugo, who grimaced as medics carted him to the medbay, could not help but feel a sense of inferiority as he stared at the silver-haired boy’s back.

Unnoticed, Henri’s smiling gaze faltered, massive tremors shaking her heart. Although she had never experienced it herself, she only needed to look at the other children’s expressions to understand how genuinely terrifying HELL was.

This was a debt she would never be able to repay.

Ten minutes later, within a pristine white room, Taiga coldly stared at the sole chair placed at the center of the room. Without prodding, he settled into the chair, his expression calm as clamps fastened his limbs to the chair’s arms and legs. Soon, his vision began to cloud over as a helmet descended onto his head, until, eventually, everything went black.

Taiga floundered within this dark world, unable to feel, breathe, or taste anything. Against his wishes, his heart began to pound heavily, increasing in tempo as three massive flames appeared. Strangely, their light did nothing to brighten the darkness, as if the world itself absorbed all light. Taiga’s fingers began to shake, his resolute expression beginning to crumble as the flames started to morph and split till they formed three distinct words.

WELCOME TO HELL

Taiga let out a defiant roar as a pair of pistols appeared in his hands. He swiftly pointed them forward, frantically squeezing the trigger as an apparition tore through the floating flames.

The being should have once been a beautiful young girl. But now, only snow-white bones remained, clad in a loose hammock closer. Its face was sunken, tiny flames the only sign of life in its hollow eyes socket. Its ethereal form seemed to shift in and out of reality as it sped towards the child. However, it was blown back by the bullets fired from Taiga’s guns.

But, there was no relief in the young boy’s face as, a split-second later, the apparition paused in mid-air before turning to glare at Taiga, a creepy grin on its yellowed teeth. Its ghastly voice, akin to despair incarnate, traveled across the void to Taiga’s ears.

“You can’t kill what is already dead!”

With mad cackles, it led a charge as dozens of apparitions and undead tore burst through the flames, each face familiar to the silver-haired youth. Its bone-chilling laugh echoed throughout the void as Taiga’s bullets kept bouncing off it. “You can’t kill off your past!”

Its claws sunk into Taiga’s face, drawing the first blood of what would be a lengthy torturous experience.