strictlysupreme Chapter 281 - 275 – Eclipse Vanguard (1)
Chapter 281 - 275 – Eclipse Vanguard (1)
Preparations for the coming festival filled Veyl Academy with noise, color, and nervous excitement. Students ran around with banners, booths were being set up, and magical lanterns drifted across the blue afternoon sky.But inside the Academy's inner courtyard far from the music and chatter three men stood in silence.
These were not students.
Not professors.
They were the Eclipse Vanguards, the strongest force the Academy could deploy.
Kurosawa Zeke, magma flames simmering beneath his skin.
Gorou Kanzaki, the monk-like giant whose calm was heavier than stone.
And Kaito Yagami, the tactical Wave-user whose mere presence felt like watching still water waiting to strike.
Master Isen had summoned them in private earlier.
And now, following his orders, they walked toward the northern boundary toward the ancient burial grounds where Kaom the Giant was sealed.
The air around them grew colder and heavier with each step.
Kurosawa Zeke
His jaw was tight, fists clenched, sparks of magma pulsing under his gauntlets.
He broke the silence first.
"I don't get it," Zeke growled. "Why protect some ancient corpse? If it's sealed, it's sealed. Anyone stupid enough to unseal it dies."
Kaito, walking slightly behind, answered without turning his head.
"Because the Hollow Nine aren't 'anyone,' Zeke."
Zeke clicked his tongue.
He hated being corrected but he respected Kaito's mind.
Gorou Kanzaki
The mountain of a man kept his palms pressed together, beads wrapped around his wrist.
His voice was calm, solemn like a temple bell.
"Amitabha… It is not the dead we fear," Gorou murmured.
"It is the living who seek to disturb them."
Zeke rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
Gorou's words always carried weight, even if Zeke pretended otherwise.
Their Mission
Kaito exhaled softly. Mist drifted from his breath.
"Master Isen said the Hollow Nine want a shard."
"A shard of what?" Zeke demanded.
Kaito's gaze sharpened.
"A shard sealed with Kaom himself. Something powerful enough that ancient dragonknights buried it with him."
Silence stretched again.
Even Zeke's fire quieted.
A Strange Detail…
Gorou looked ahead, expression unreadable.
"I am more concerned," he said slowly, "with how young Khael knew this information. The identity of Kaom is not spoken of. Even among the Vanguards."
Zeke snorted.
"Maybe the kid's dragon whispered it to him. Who knows."
Kaito glanced sideways.
He didn't like mysteries.
"Whether he lied or not, the Hollow Nine's intention is real."
"And Lucere doesn't move without purpose."
Gorou nodded.
"Amitabha… then we move with vigilance."
Arriving at the Forgotten Seal
The forest gave way to fractured stone pillars, broken walls, and ancient carvings half-swallowed by vines. The ground trembled faintly, rhythmically like a heartbeat buried deep beneath the earth.
Zeke ignited the magma around his arms with a low rumble.
"Feels like a damn volcano waiting to blow."
Kaito formed a ripple-barrier around them, transparent and shimmering.
"No… this is something older."
Gorou placed a giant hand over the stone slab marking Kaom's tomb.
"Amitabha… the giant rests still. But the seal… it weakens."
Zeke's flames surged violently.
"Let them come then."
"Let the Hollow Nine try."
"I'll burn every last one that touches this place."
Kaito drew a wave-like sigil over his palm.
"Calm your flames. We are here to guard, not provoke."
Gorou closed his eyes, breathing deeply.
"May our strength hold… until Master Isen arrives."
The three stood in formation.
The forest fell silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Far away almost a whisper a shadow laughed.
The Hollow Nine had already begun to move.
While the Vanguards marched toward the ancient seal of Kaom, life continued within Veyl Academy…
or at least, it tried to.
A sudden crackle of thunder split the training field though the sky was perfectly clear. Sparks of violet lightning crawled over the open ground like living serpents.
Students looked up.
And there he was.
Raiden Kurogami, the Thunder God of the Eclipse Vanguards, coat half-buttoned, hair messy, expression borderline bored. A can of soda in one hand. His presence alone made the air vibrate.
Kaen and Rael, who had been resting under the shade of the training arc, froze.
The Lazy God Steps In
Kaen blinked, startled.
"Raiden-sensei… you are here?"
Raiden took a long, sleepy sip from his can.
Then he yawned loud, unbothered, like someone who had just woken from a 15-hour nap.
"I be here to train you kids."
Kaen straightened, fiery eyes burning with excitement.
But Raiden's gaze slid sideways toward Rael, then back to Kaen and Rael together, expression flattening like he'd just realized he actually had work to do.
Rael crossed his arms, brows knitting elegantly in irritation.
"That's strange," Rael muttered coolly.
"I thought I was the only disciple you have?"
Raiden shrugged.
"This isn't training anyway."
Lightning flickered.
His tone shifted lazy, yes, but edged with authority.
A thunderstorm hiding behind a thin curtain.
"This is a sparring."
"What you two need is experience against a stronger opponent."
He crushed the empty soda can with his thumb and tossed it perfectly into a bin twenty meters away without looking.
A spark hissed across the field.
Raiden cracked his neck.
"And that opponent…"
His eyes glowed gold, electricity dancing around him.
"…is me."
Kaen stepped forward immediately, fists already heating with aggressive flame. The ground beneath his feet darkened from the pressure.
He couldn't help grinning.
Raiden-sensei wasn't just any veinwalker, he was a monster.
A genius of thunder whose casual attitude hid lethal precision.
Kaen's aura ignited.
Crimson Shade Ignition awakening.
Raiden raised one eyebrow.
"Oh? Already transforming? We didn't even start yet, Crimson Blaze."
Rael, in contrast, inhaled slowly.
Wind coiled around him, shaping calm rings in the air.
Lightning flickered at his fingertips in disciplined arcs.
Bloom-light shimmered faintly behind him like petals.
Earth stabilized his stance, grounding every movement.
Cold.
Prideful.
Composed.
But inside?
A spark not of thunder, but of rivalry.
Kaen Suro
His enemy.
His mirror.
His equal.
Rael lowered his chin, eyes sharpening.
"Experience against a stronger opponent… beneficial."
Raiden's lips curled into a lazy smirk.
"Good. At least one of you has a brain."
Kaen snarled.
Rael smirked.
Thunder crackled.
Raiden's Thunder Domain Expands
Electricity exploded outward, forming a dome-like field around them. Students backed away instantly some nearly tripping over themselves as Raiden's power spiked.
The very air vibrated.
Kaen braced.
Rael steadied his breath.
Raiden pointed at both of them with a bored face.
"Rules are simple."
"If you managed to defeat me…"
Lightning wrapped around his arms like chains breaking free.
"I'll treat you to lunch."
He stretched casually.
"If you can't… well…"
A thunderbolt flashed at their feet, almost touching them yet perfectly controlled.
"…you'll both be running laps around the academy until sunset."
Kaen's eyes burned.
Rael's expression tightened.
Raiden cracked his knuckles.
"Now, both of you."
Thunder surged.
"Come at me."
To be continue