In her past life Akari had never trained for anything more strenuous than a school PE class.
No sports, no martial arts—just the unremarkable routine of an ordinary girl.
But this world allowed no such life.
Ranni's fist cut through the air.
Akari blocked before she even thought about it, her forearm snapping up in a smooth, reflexive guard.
A thrill ran through her. Her body wanted to fight—as if it had been waiting for this all along.
She countered with a quick jab toward Ranni's stomach, but Ranni slapped the strike aside.
Normally Akari would have followed with a kick, but today's sparring match forbade lower-body attacks.
Instead she slid in close, hooking her defending arm around Ranni's neck and snapping an elbow toward her jaw.
Tap.
The strike landed light—just enough to score the point.
Akari hopped back, breath steady. "That's my win, right?"
Ranni rubbed her jaw with a rueful smile. "Yeah, that's yours. I forgot we couldn't use legs and guarded my abdomen instead of my face."
Akari grinned and crossed to their bag, fishing out two bottles of water.
For the past week she'd begged Ranni for sparring sessions, ever since the prison's mini-tournament had lit a fire in her.
Hand-to-hand combat was new, but the speed of her progress surprised even herself. Fighting felt…liberating.
Ranni accepted a bottle, studying her with a small, proud smile.
Trained since childhood, Ranni rarely found partners who could keep up—yet Akari did, and kept surprising her.
"You grow so fast," Ranni said.
Akari flopped onto a weight bench and exhaled. "Thanks, but I'm just winging it. I doubt that'll take me very far."
"It'll take you farther than you think."
"You really think so?"
"I know so." Ranni's grin left no room for doubt.
Akari chuckled and glanced at the wall clock. "Break's over. We should get back to the investigation."
Ranni capped her bottle and nodded.
***
For the last week Akari, Ranni, Shinto, and Akio had led the inquiry into Akatsuke's murder.
Evvls showed little interest in solving the case, and Sylvia avoided it entirely—though she sometimes appeared out of sheer boredom.
Today Akari, Ranni, and Shinto had gathered every prisoner with any sort of weapon mastery.
That short list consisted of Evvls, a black-haired boy of thirteen, and a brown-haired girl barely twelve.
Ranni stood aside with the investigators; despite being a suspect herself, she refused to step down.
"Didn't Akio use a weapon too?" Shinto asked.
Akari considered.
Akio's barriers could form spikes, a greatsword—almost any shape. A small blade would be trivial.
But…
"He was devastated by Akatsuke's death," she said slowly. "I don't think he did it."
Ranni nodded agreement.
"Then we have four suspects," Shinto concluded.
The boy bristled. "How am I a suspect? I can use a sword, sure, but I don't have a sword in here!"
"Same for me!" the girl added. "My blade was confiscated when I arrived!"
Shinto tapped his chin. Fair points.
He knew this prison inside and out; there was no weapon storage on-site.
All confiscated arms were kept outside the compound.
At least, that's what most people would think.
His gaze slid to Evvls. "Your soul weapon—it's a storage type, isn't it?"
Evvls gave a slow nod. "That's right."
"Mind emptying it for us?"
Evvls hesitated, then sighed. "I have…personal items. But refusing will only make me look guilty to you, won't it?"
Shinto's grin was sharp. "You know me too well."
With a resigned breath, Evvls placed a hand to his chest.
An eastern dragon coiled into view, light-blue scales spiraling from tail to head across his torso.
"Conqueror's Strength," he intoned.
Shinto threw up his hands. "So you didn't have to flash us last time!?"
Evvls ignored him. The dragon's jaws opened wide.
A pure-white katana slid forth, accented in gold.
It landed without a sound.
Shinto's annoyance evaporated, replaced by awe.
Ranni leaned forward. "It's beautiful. Where did you find such a blade?"
Akari stiffened.
She'd slipped—Ranni hadn't seen everyone's soul weapons before. Rain had.
Shinto frowned. "It's his second soul weapon. You forgot?"
"Right, I blanked for a second too," Akari said quickly. "Double soul weapons aren't common after all."
Ranni gave her a puzzled look, but Akari pinched her arm and whispered, "Later."
The dragon's mouth remained open.
Gold coins spilled out next, clinking softly as they piled atop the white sword.
Akari's eyes widened.
A month ago she might have shrugged, but after scraping by as an adventurer she knew how staggering that pile of gold was.
Shinto gawked. "You said you stored some wealth, but you never said you were rich!"
"How else do you think I ended up here?" Evvls said evenly. "It's all stolen. And I'd never let anyone else touch my soul weapon—not that they could."
"True," Shinto muttered.
"What do you mean?" Akari asked.
"Only the owner can hold or use a soul weapon," Shinto explained.
Curiosity prickled through Akari.
Before anyone could stop her, she reached for the white katana.
Her eyes flared with light as her fingers closed around the hilt.
The room went silent.
Evvls' eyes widened. "No way."
Shinto's jaw dropped. Ranni simply stared.
Akari lifted the blade with ease, testing its weight. "What's its name again?"
"E…Xtsy," Evvls managed.
Akari nodded. "Xtsy."
Golden accents blazed. A pale mist rose from the blade, coalescing into the angelic woman Evvls had once summoned against Akio.
The woman tilted her head. "Keh—? Who are you?"
"My name is Akari," Akari said calmly.
Though a blindfold hid the woman's eyes, Akari sensed her confusion.
Xtsy turned toward Evvls. "How is she—?"
"I…don't know either," he admitted.
Not only could Akari hold the weapon—she could activate it.
Ranni summoned her own soul weapon: a wooden sword with a guard shaped like carnation petals.
"Akari, try holding mine!"
Akari extended a hand. Ranni dropped the blade into it.
Again, Akari's eyes glowed and her grip tightened around the hilt.
"Are you all absolutely sure no one else can do this?" she asked, now holding both swords—Evvls' in her left hand, Ranni's in her right.
Shinto scratched his head. "Let me show you."
He gestured to the white katana. "When the user is touching it, it's solid. Like this."
Akari tilted the blade toward him. Shinto grasped it; the weapon felt tangible.
"Now drop it," he said.
Akari released her hold. Xtsy's spirit dissolved back into the steel.
Shinto reached again—his fingers passed through as if it were mist.
"It shouldn't be possible," he murmured. "Maybe it's a feature of your own soul weapon. Your eyes glow every time you pick one up."
Akari handed Ranni her sword back. Ranni unsummoned it with a flicker.
"Well," Akari said, "that's something to figure out later. But your dragon's mouth is still open. Anything else in there?"
Shinto noticed too.
Evvls sighed. Another sword slid free—a pitch-black katana with a chain dangling from its pommel.
Dark energy bled from the blade, a choking smog only Akari could see.
"Before anyone says anything," Evvls warned, "this sword is cursed. I wouldn't let anyone use it."
Akari's gaze sharpened, a chill crawling down her spine.
"So you're the killer, then."
The room went utterly still.
Shinto was first to speak. "Akari… what do you mean?"
Akari didn't look away. "You remember what we found in the blood?"
"The dark magic?"
"Yeah. That exact energy is oozing from that sword. I can see it."
Her eyes glowed faintly—her soul weapon allowing her to see what others couldn't.
Shinto's expression hardened as the pieces fit together. "Then that makes Evvls our lead suspect."
Evvls' voice dropped low. "I don't remember doing anything… but I do have something to confess."
Akari turned toward the two young prisoners. "You two can go."
They didn't argue. They didn't want to be there anyway.
When they were gone, Akari folded her arms. "We're listening. Go ahead."
They stood in the hall outside the gym—a place Akari had chosen deliberately. The investigation could've been held anywhere, but she didn't want Ranni near the bloodstained cell. Even if the scene was cleaned, she didn't know how Ranni's fear of blood truly worked. Better not to risk it.
Ranni yawned. Oddly, Shinto did the same.
Akari's gaze flicked between them, realization dawning. Shinto's eyes met hers—he understood too.
Evvls looked down at the sword. "Its name is Galland."
He reached for it, stopping short before allowing Conqueror's Strength to swallow it whole.
"It's a cursed artifact," he said. "I think it used to be holy—until a devil was sealed inside."
Ranni crossed her arms, fully invested now.
"The night Akatsuke died," Evvls continued, "everyone in the prison suddenly felt tired. I tried to… wield the sword. But I can't remember anything after that."
Akari's heart sank. The only two who hadn't fallen asleep that night—were her and Evvls.
"I remember the voices," Evvls whispered. "They kept screaming in my head. I couldn't see anything… and that's where my memory stops."
Akari stared at him for a long moment. "Evvls, let me try holding it."
Evvls blinked, bewildered. "Didn't you hear me? That sword messes with your mind."
"I heard you," Akari said calmly. "I just don't think it'll affect me."
Ranni stepped forward, voice tense. "What makes you so sure?"
"I wasn't affected the first time everyone felt drowsy. I want to test if I'm just immune to mental attacks."
Ranni's frown deepened. "If something goes wrong, I'll immobilize you."
Shinto nodded, activating his soul weapon; black sludge formed gauntlets around his arms.
Conqueror's Strength opened its jaws again, the hilt of Galland glinting from the darkness.
Akari grasped it without hesitation.
Instantly, her mind filled with screams.
Dark magic crawled up her arm, staining her skin pitch-black. It slithered toward her eyes—until her soul weapon flared to life.
Her eyes glowed brighter. The darkness recoiled. The screams fell silent.
"It's as I thought," she murmured.
She raised the sword. Shadows twisted around her; phantom demons flickered in her vision, only to dissolve an instant later.
"It seems my soul weapon counters this blade perfectly."
A deep, cold voice echoed in her mind.
[Girl who dares to wield me.]
'Galland,' Akari realized.
[Kill everyone around you for your salvation.]
Her world went black—then cleared, her soul weapon banishing the illusion.
[Bathe in—no. You're not affected by my magic, are you?]
Akari stared down at the blade. "No."
The sword vibrated violently. The dark energy condensed, swirling in its core.
Akari's eyes widened. She recognized that pressure—it was preparing to explode.
"Evvls! Quickly—open its mouth!"
The dragon's jaws yawned wide. Akari hurled the blade into them just as it detonated. Conqueror's Strength clamped shut, smoke leaking through its scales.
Akari's hand—still gripping the hilt moments before—was blackened and cracked.
Ranni rushed forward, grabbing it. "Akari—your hand! Are you okay!?"
Akari smiled faintly. "It's fine. I can't feel it. I think I have something like CIPA."
She'd realized it long ago. Ever since coming to this world, she hadn't been able to feel anything—pain, cold, even touch. She didn't know if this body was born that way, or if something went wrong during transmigration.
Either way, she wasn't worried.
"What's CIPA?" Ranni asked, half-concerned, half-confused.
"I… basically can't feel anything," Akari said simply.
Shinto blinked. "So that's why you didn't react when I punched you during the tournament."
Akari smirked. "I bet it wouldn't have hurt anyway."
"Yeah, right," Shinto snorted.
The tension eased as laughter broke the air. Akari's hand had already begun to heal, golden light weaving over her skin as she quietly bypassed her mana-sealing bracelet.
Ranni, noticing the cracks closing, released her hand.
"So… does this mean it was Evvls who did it? While using Galland?"
Akari, Shinto, and Evvls exchanged glances, remembering why they were here in the first place.
They had to decide.
Whether it truly was Evvls—
or the devil within Galland—
who killed Akatsuke.