In the Academy as Sukuna

POV: [Unnamed character]

I am [Unnamed character], a professional assassin, well, ex-professional assassin.

During my glory days, I was the best… but I left the filthy world of killing a long time ago, at least I tried to.

The first time I saw my son, I knew that I couldn't put his life in danger just for a little money, my heart grew heavy, and I immediately stopped taking requests.

But, I guess sinners can't just leave their sins behind.

A month ago, I was hired again, by a World Noble, to assassinate Ryomen Sukuna.

The Killes family had a hate for the boy, something which I couldn't understand.

The world of the ones on top was very different from mine, and I knew… I need not question them.

I wanted to decline, I wanted to leave my sins behind, but I knew all too well how dangerous a World Noble could be to both me and my son.

I accepted, vowing for this to be my last assassination, but, I never expected it to be my 'last' assassination.

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Ryomen Sukuna, quite an abnormal kid.

He had basically no mana, something which I had seen for the first time.

However, I felt something from him, something dangerous… something my instincts told me to run from.

I ignored all these feelings, however, focusing on the job, and on the job only.

Sitting between trees, I aimed right at his head, he was a moving target, quite far away too, which made this difficult.

I waited until I found my aim to be perfect. With a deep breath, I put my finger on the trigger, the years of killing coming back to me.

With a final, silent breath, I shot.

The rifle jolted, the bullet shooting out without a sound.

I had used only mana, which decreased the power of the shot, but made it almost completely silent.

However, I saw something that made my eyes widen.

"What?" I muttered, confusion evident in my voice.

I saw the bullet going right at him, my aim perfect.

But as soon as the bullet got close to him, it moved to the side, being deflected from its path just enough to let him go unharmed.

It was as if it hit something in the air. Did he do something?

He jumped into the wilderness, hiding himself behind a boulder.

I knew that my chance was gone.

I pulled the rifle back immediately, jumping down from the tree, retreating with speed as my footsteps crushed the fallen leaves on the ground.

Suddenly, I froze, my eyes widening as I felt my stomach churn. A feeling of unbearable dread overtook me.

As I attempted to retreat, a sudden chill ran down my spine. The air around me seemed to grow heavier, an unnatural silence enveloped the forest.

Everything was silent, even the animals and birds, as if something was threatening them too.

My instincts screamed at me to run, but my legs felt like they were stuck in mud.

My hands trembled at the feeling as I forced myself to move, my legs shaking uncontrollably.

Just when I managed to take only a few steps, an invisible force seized me. My body stiffened, and I felt an intense pressure compressing me from all sides.

Panic surged through my veins as I struggled against the unseen grip, but it was useless.

I looked back in panic, my gaze falling on the dark figure of the boy—Sukuna.

He was looking at me, with a grin plastered on his face which could only be described as… evil.

A sharp, excruciating pain shot through my body, and I felt my flesh and bones being sliced with precision.

The agony was beyond anything I had ever experienced. It felt like a thousand blades were carving through my skin, muscle, and bones.

My vision blurred… my eyes were filled with tears of pain.

I could see the world fracturing around me, my perspective splitting into distorted images.

Each part of my body, each limb, seemed to be suspended in mid-air, isolated from the rest, yet still agonizingly connected by the unbearable pain.

As my consciousness began to fade, I experienced a strange detachment from my body.

It was as if I were an observer, watching as my body was dissected into countless cubes.

I could feel each piece, every nerve ending still firing signals of torment to my mind.

The pain was overwhelming, but even more terrifying was the sense of helplessness. There was no escape, no way to fight back.

The world around me dimmed, the colors fading into a dull gray, and the sounds of the forest grew distant.

In those final moments, my thoughts were a jumbled mess of fear, regret, and disbelief. How had I underestimated this target so much? The thought that crossed my mind was a chilling realization…

'This is the end.'

I smiled sadly, red lines forming all over my body like a net.

"I'm sorry, Lucas," I muttered as blood gushed out from these lines.

I was no longer me, my body, divided into cubes, falling to the ground like pieces of a puzzle.

And then, everything went black.

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(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)

(2 days later…)

I was sitting in quite a luxurious room, with a couch on the side, a few chairs placed in the middle, a table on one side, and a TV, which was playing the live footage of students fighting some monsters.

I was really angry, of course, since I was just told that I would not be needed to take the first 4 exams as I was recommended into the school—something World Nobles could do—and will be automatically entered into the top 2000 from the combat sector who will take the 5th test.

I was just made to skip out on all the fun, I was looking at students fight the monsters, some immediately failing, others giving it their all.

Beside me were sitting two important people, who were both the other recommended students.

But more importantly, they both are part of the main cast.

First, a high noble, Alexia Hadrion.

The only daughter of the Hadrion family, a prestigious noble house, a Rank 5 World Noble family.

Even though it was only the second-lowest rank, it was still considered to be on top of the world.

Comparatively, my family—the Ryomen family—was a Rank 3.

With her blue hair, a mark of the Hadrion bloodline, she walked with a grace that looked fitting for a noble.

She was the weakest of the main cast, but played a huge role nonetheless.

What was unfortunate was… she had no use for me.

Her morals were too strong. Ever since birth she was told to care for everyone, to help the people suffering.

I glanced at the other girl, Anny Leonheart, the princess of England.

She had long blonde hair that seemed to glow in the bright light of the room. This hair only emphasized her deep blue eyes even more.

Her appearance was enough to attract gazes from both genders. But, under the beautiful exterior, she was just a young woman trying to fulfil the expectations placed on her.

Born to lead the country, the responsibilities on her shoulders were quite heavy.

She was quite famous all around the world, breaking the stereotypes of princesses, as she came up as a strong fighter.

She is the third strongest in the main cast, a long- to mid-range mage.

Her physical capabilities were good, but not as good as the other main cast members.

She entered the room with Alexia, talking as if they were good friends

It's good that they already met, same as the original story.

I need to keep an eye out for changes in the story, since my family didn't exist in the original, there will surely be many big ones.

I glanced at Alexia, and noticed her... shaking and sweating… for some reason. Since she is part of the main cast, she'll definitely get into the Academy, plot armor is a thing.

I leaned back on the chair, closing my eyes as I rested for a bit.

The fifth exam will begin soon, and as I promised my father… I must get first place.

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(POV: Alexia Hadrion)

"Did you see how they handled the first test?" I asked, smiling brightly, prideful about our friends' performance in the test.

"Don't celebrate too early," Anny replied, sighing slightly, folding her arms over her chest.

I pouted, poking her cheek playfully, making her lean away, even though her lips seemed to slightly rise. "Can't you be a little optimistic?"

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond, continuing to walk through the hallway, towards our designated room.

I was carefree, unbothered. After all, being recommended meant that I was guaranteed to pass the first four exams, I could rest and ready myself for the fifth.

The door opened with a silent creak as we entered.

The room looked normal, but for some reason, it had a… dark atmosphere.

I was confused, looking around, feeling quite uncomfortable.

But then, I saw someone… someone that made my body shiver with fear.

Sukuna.

My body stiffened as my eyes landed on him, cold sweat forming on my face.

Memories flooded into my mind… memories from years ago, when I saw him for the first time.

(A few years ago...)

I walked on the luxurious, tiled floor of the venue, towards my two friends who were sitting at a table, talking to each other.

I sighed, walking to them and sitting on a chair silently.

Being the only daughter of a high noble wasn't easy. The constant attention had exhausted me, so I decided to rest for a bit and talk to my friends.

My mood slowly started to get better as I chat to them, making me forget all the tiring people I had to talk to before.

Suddenly, there was a silence… an eerie, creepy silence as everyone's head turned towards the center of the room.

There stood three people, a man and a woman, close to each other, wearing extravagant dresses, and another man in front of them, his red hair swinging as he spoke to the two quite loudly.

The man seemed to be mocking the two, spewing insults. He seemed to be quite drunk too.

"Aren't they the Ryomen family?" One of my friends whispered, leaning towards us to make sure nobody hears us.

"Yes, they are… World Nobles too." My other friend replied, her tone seemed to be more amused than concerned.

"A World Noble?" I asked. I was not updated on the standings of other families, but it was surprising for anyone to try to disrespect a World Noble, even if they were drunk.

"That's right," she added, looking at me. "He is from the Killes family, a Rank 6, same as the Ryomen family… he's the heir… if I'm right."

The heads of the Ryomen family, were visibly annoyed… but remained silent, trying to ignore the provocations.

The man was visibly angry, while her wife was calmer, but seemed to be irritated too.

They believed it wasn't worth it to attack a World Noble of the same rank over some small dispute.

The man seemed to get more confident at this, his voice growing louder and his insults more explicit.

The surrounding people looked at the scene with interest, wondering how it would play out.

Suddenly, the sound of tapping shoes filled the room.

Everyone felt something in their hearts, something which made them instinctively stiffen up. The heir of the Ryomen family, Ryomen Sukuna, approached.

He was often regarded as a 'good-for-nothing' due to his lack of mana.

However, that illusion was broken for all the people present there, his aura was something that made a primal fear awaken in us.

Sukuna walked up to the drunk noble and simply stared at him. The heir, enraged, began to spew insults at him too.

Then, something unexpected happened. Sukuna's apathetic expression twisted into a condescending, evil, and malicious grin that sent shivers down everyone's spines. The atmosphere seemed to grow even darker, making my legs tremble.

I started feeling dizzy, falling to my knees, my breathing turning into shallow gasps.

My two friends immediately fainted beside me, falling to the floor with a thud.

Their parents came running, their movements sluggish too, it seems that they were being affected by the aura too.

Sukuna… how can he have such an aura when I can barely chant basic spells?

I, with a lot of difficulty, raised my head, and that is when I saw Sukuna, looking at me, his eyes seemed to be glowing red… or was I just imagining it.

His gaze might just have landed on me while he was looking around… but I couldn't help but feel that it was something deeper, something more important.

My head fell down again, sweat dripping down my forehead.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard Sukuna speak….

"You dare disrespect my family?"

The voice sent chills down my spine, my vision growing blurry.

"Since killing you here would cause problems, I'm forgiving you this once."

"Know your place…."

"Foolish insect."

I couldn't stay conscious anymore, my vision going dark as I fell to the ground, the tense silence was... so loud.