A new day began. Hide opened his eyes — and froze.Sona was leaning over him, eyes wide in surprise when she saw he'd woken up.
She squeaked and quickly scrambled off the bed."Sorry! I… I just wanted to look at you while you were sleeping."
Hide rubbed his eyes. "Sona… why are you here?"She folded her hands behind her back. "I found out where you lived — and now I'm living here too."
"What?" Hide said, half-asleep.Sona grinned. "The BCC and FCC thought it'd be good for me to relax — so they enrolled me in Edens High, your class. Besides, I've never actually gone to a normal school."
Before Hide could reply, a knock rattled the door — Mrs. Fujishi's voice called from outside. She pushed the half-open door wide...and saw Sona perched on Hide's bed while Hide was half-dressed.
A shriek echoed down the hallway.Mr. Fujishi came running in, hair sticking up. He took one look and screamed too.Minami, yawning in the hallway, peeked inside — then he screamed the loudest of all.
Ten minutes later, they all sat around the table, awkwardly sipping tea.
"So… Hide," Mr. Fujishi began, trying to sound calm. "You and Sona… you didn't…?"
"No!" Hide said quickly. "I just woke up — she was sitting there."Sona just smiled sweetly.
After a long silence, Minami cleared his throat. "So… Sona's really living here?""That's right," Sona said brightly. "I'll be staying — and going to Edens High too!"Mrs. Fujishi buried her face in her hands.
When they left the house that morning, Hide, Sona, and Minami opened the door — and froze.
A mob of students, reporters, and fans were crowded outside the gate, camera flashes flickering like lightning. Sona's presence — and the rumors — had drawn a small army.
Minami squeezed through the crowd easily — no one cared about him. But Hide and Sona were instantly swarmed.
The two retreated inside. "What now?" Sona said, peeking out the curtains.
Mrs. Fujishi just sighed. "You two figure it out."
So Hide and Sona slipped out the back, hopped the fence, and vanished into a narrow alleyway. When they finally reached Edens High, breathless, the morning announcement called everyone to the auditorium.
Inside, Principal Michenko stood at the podium. His voice boomed through the mic."Students, today we welcome a very special new classmate. You all know her: Sona Mizuki — top BCC and FCC operative — will be attending Edens High."
Cheers erupted. Phones flashed.
Sona turned to Hide backstage. "I'll say we're not dating, okay? Just like you asked."Hide nodded. Better to avoid drama.
When Sona stepped onto the stage, the students roared with excitement.
"Hello, everyone!" Sona said into the mic, beaming. "I'm here to relax and study like a normal student. Please take care of me!"
A boy shot up his hand. "Sona! Are you really dating Hide Nomura?"Sona laughed lightly. "No — we just met a long time ago. We're old friends!"
Another boy blurted, "Are you single then?"She winked. "Well… I'm still looking."
The boys swooned.
When Sona came off stage, Mrs. Taka leaned over and whispered, "You two are dating, right?"Sona pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh."Mrs. Taka chuckled.
Then it was Hide's turn. He stepped out onto the stage. Murmurs spread through the crowd — some students glaring.
Hide spoke evenly into the mic. "About the Ranks Battle — you all think I cheated. Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. But I won't explain myself."
A wave of jeers erupted."Liar!" someone yelled."Cheater!" another student shouted.
Hide just looked at them, unbothered.Principal Michenko stepped forward. "That's enough for today. Return to class."
Back in class, Hide stared out the window. He ignored the looks, the whispers. Killian and Fujikawa tried to talk to him, but he just shook his head — don't. It would only drag them down too.
Days passed. The rumors didn't fade.
Then a mission came up — Hide's first real one. He was assigned as support for a hunting team. Dromarch, the bully from before, was there too.
In a remote cave, Hide's instincts prickled."We're surrounded. We should fall back," he warned.Dromarch scoffed. "Scared, cheater? Shut up and follow."
Inside, they found a lone beast. The team killed it easily — but Hide knew better."Be ready. They're coming."Dromarch laughed. "Yeah right—"
A spike whistled through the darkness. Hide shoved Dromarch down, saving his life.
Suddenly, a swarm of beasts erupted from the shadows. Chaos exploded in the tunnels.
Hide's voice crackled over the comms. "Command — we're surrounded. Requesting immediate evac."
Hold for thirty minutes, Command replied. Reinforcements en route.
The team ran, but Dromarch fell. Hide dragged him up. They burst into a chamber — and found a massive beast blocking the exit.
A roar shook the walls. Dromarch froze.
"Get them out — I'll hold it off!" Hide barked.
"What?!" the other students shouted.
"GO!" Hide ordered.
The team fled — Hide stayed behind. A blast echoed — the cave roof collapsed.
Outside, Minami arrived just in time to see the entrance sealed with rubble.
"Hide…" Minami whispered.
Inside the ruins, Hide coughed dust from his lungs. He forced himself up — alone in the dark. His radio sputtered.
"…Hide… alive…"
Then only static.
Deeper in the cave, he sensed someone watching him. A girl stepped from the shadows — pale eyes, strange energy. A fiend.
They spoke in an ancient tongue. She called herself Scylla — a hunter who lost her mother's pet in these tunnels.
"Help me find it, and I'll show you the way out," she said.
Together, they found the strange beast — a ribbon around its neck.
Scylla thanked him. "What's your name?" she asked as they reached the exit.
"Hide," he said.
"Good name," she smiled — and vanished into the night.
In the forest clearing, Hide made camp — just like the old days. He bandaged his wounds under the moonlight.
But footsteps approached. Familiar voices. He turned — and saw two figures from the past.
"Ji-San. Priscilla."
The old man and the fiend woman stared at him, tears in their eyes.
"Young Master," Ji-San said softly. "You're back."
In their hidden home, they told him the truth — of fiends hunted into hiding, of sacrifices made, of a child named Rylan stolen by humans.
"I'll get him back," Hide promised.
That night, Hide infiltrated the research facility — disguised as a terrifying fiend king.
He tore through guards, illusions swirling around him. He found Rylan's cell. Opened it.
The boy stared, wide-eyed. Before he could speak, Hide shoved him through a portal — straight to Ji-San's home.
The guards swarmed. The BCC and FCC cornered him on the rooftop — even Sona was there, glaring with regret.
"Who are you?" Lee demanded.
Hide only smiled, darkness rising behind his eyes.
"I am the King of Fiends."
They attacked — he stopped them cold.
Before vanishing into the portal, he whispered, "Remember what fear feels like."
Back in the hidden house, Rylan appeared by the fire — safe. But Hide knew something was wrong.
Later that night, he found the boy standing over Ji-San — a blade in his hand.
So it's like this, Hide thought grimly.
With a snap, reality shattered — plunging Rylan into a white dreamscape.
"Sleep," Hide murmured. "And forget the hatred. Become who your parents died for you to be."
At dawn, Hide stood at the door. Priscilla wept as she thanked him.
He smiled faintly. "I'll be back. There's more I need to see."
And when he stepped outside — the rising sun touched a King who walked among men, and fiends, and secrets yet to wake.