Seraphim is a Bystander

School Trip – Day 1: A Heavenly Messenger
 
“Now then, where should I begin?”

In a back alley, he sat casually on a box, wearing an unsettling grin as he looked at me, sounding strangely amused as he muttered and pondered something.
“…Who are you, really?”
“That’s a sad thing to ask. After all, we’ve been in the same group this whole time.”

He laughed as he said that. ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) It was the kind of eerie laugh you could describe with a “kekeke” sound effect. After laughing for a bit, he abruptly went silent and looked at me expressionlessly, as if he’d gotten bored of laughing.
“…Does it really matter who I am?”
“Of course it matters. Are you even still Sasaki-kun?”

“Ah, right. I suppose that’s what really matters to you.”
With those words, he opened and closed his hand as if testing something, then swung his legs idly and nodded once before turning back toward me.
“Don’t worry. The boy’s still in here… for now.”

“…For now?”
“You sure like picking at the little details. But tell me—how did you even notice me? You don’t have any powers like this boy does, right?”
His expression twisted slightly in irritation as he asked. Sasaki-kun has powers? I’ve never heard anything about him having some kind of special ability…

“…Does it matter how I noticed you?”
“Of course it does. That’s important information—something I can use next time.”
“There won’t be a next time. I’m ending this right here.”

For a moment, he looked surprised, eyes widening, before bursting into laughter again—unsettling, high-pitched, and gleeful. After a bit, he climbed down from the box and began walking toward me.
“Well, aren’t you talking big? So? How exactly do you plan on ending me?”
“…”
“This boy wants you to save him, apparently… but it’s not like you have any powers like he does, right?”

As he spoke, my mind raced, thoughts spinning wildly. Sasaki-kun’s powers. What I can do. This thing’s goals. The fox woman’s warning… All these pieces flashed through my mind, but no concrete answer came. Meanwhile, his hand reached toward my head.
“Well then, let’s just see what it is you can do, shall we?”
Not wanting to hurt Sasaki-kun’s body but knowing I had to neutralize this somehow, I instinctively moved to draw the scythe from my ring… and then—

A memory flashed through my mind.
“Anyway, Aoi, I’m giving this to you. With it, you should be able to handle what’s coming starting tomorrow.”
That dream. That nostalgic angel giving me a book… The image resurfaced so vividly that I froze in place.

Before I could react, the hand of the thing inhabiting Sasaki-kun touched my head.
The instant it made contact, a bone-deep chill surged through my body. At the same time, my powers—my abilities—started moving on their own, completely against my will.
“...!? What is this?!”

I heard a startled voice from the thing in front of me just as an overwhelming wave of exhaustion flooded me.
And then—my consciousness faded into darkness.