ARC 1: THE AGE OF PURGE

  VOL. 1: A SMALL RESISTANCE

  CHAPTER 1: A PLAN LONG IN MOTION

  PROLOGUE

  Amid the chaos, every living being had fallen.

  Blood stained the ground, blending with a sky set ablaze—

  as if the world itself was burning for daring to exist.

  At the highest layer of the heavens, a solitary figure stood.

  Unmoving.

  Cold, like a god passing judgment upon his own creation.

  Below—

  A man lay among the ruins.

  No hatred.

  No pleading.

  No resistance.

  The figure above slowly raised a hand.

  “They are all dead…”

  The silence stretched, suffocating.

  “…because of you.”

  The man did not answer.

  Because deep down—

  He knew the accusation was not entirely wrong.

  MANY YEARS EARLIER

  Heaven and Hell had existed in parallel since the dawn of time.

  When humans died, their souls were judged:

  The righteous ascended to Heaven.

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  The wicked descended into Hell.

  Over centuries, both sides formed ruling systems.

  But the balance began to tilt.

  Heaven received fewer new souls…

  yet each one who ascended was exceptional.

  Hell was overcrowded…

  but most were weak.

  War erupted repeatedly.

  And Hell was always the one slaughtered.

  Kings and high officials no longer intervened directly.

  Only the Thirteen Overlords remained, guarding their respective territories.

  Any region without an Overlord…

  became nothing more than a hunting ground.

  KUROKAMI REN — 1970

  My name is KUROKAMI REN.

  The year is 1970.

  Peacetime.

  No war.

  No bombs.

  But power… had never disappeared.

  I was a strategist.

  I did not appear before the public.

  I held no official military rank.

  I worked in operations that did not exist on record.

  I viewed society as a chessboard.

  Politics was the battlefield.

  Economics was the resource pool.

  Humans were pieces.

  At first, I eliminated assigned targets.

  Later… I began choosing them myself.

  An official obstructing long-term plans.

  A superior too weak to hold authority.

  A link in the chain at risk of betrayal.

  I did not kill out of hatred.

  I killed for optimization.

  THE TRIAL

  They arrested me during an internal meeting.

  The trial was held in secrecy.

  Charges:

  Murder beyond authorization.

  Unauthorized purges.

  Assassination of a superior to manipulate strategic control.

  They called me a threat.

  A weapon that could not be controlled.

  The sentence:

  Death.

  I did not object.

  If the system could not control me…

  Then eliminating me was only logical.

  ESCAPE

  During transport between facilities, I escaped.

  Not by luck.

  I had calculated this possibility.

  Forged documents.

  An extraction route.

  A new identity.

  Within three days, the name KUROKAMI REN vanished from every record.

  Destination: Brazil.

  A country vast enough for someone like me to disappear into the crowd.

  I lived in anonymity.

  But I knew—

  Those who once worked with me would not let this end so easily.

  DEATH

  Three months later.

  A scorching afternoon.

  I stood on the balcony of my temporary apartment.

  The city roared below.

  A faint sound echoed behind me.

  Not footsteps.

  Metal sliding softly.

  I understood immediately.

  I did not turn around.

  I did not panic.

  Only one thought crossed my mind:

  “So they’ve finally reached this move.”

  A dry crack split the air.

  The bullet pierced through my skull.

  Everything went dark in an instant.

  No prolonged pain.

  No regret.

  No time to calculate another move.

  Just absolute emptiness.

  For the first time—

  I could no longer see the chessboard.

  And then I died.

  HELL

  When I opened my eyes…

  I was in Hell.

  Angelic purges occurred periodically.

  I survived.

  I fought.

  I climbed step by step in power.

  But it was not enough to surpass an Overlord.

  And I realized—

  If someone had created this world…

  Then I would find him.

  Three years of searching.

  I discovered a spatial fracture.

  A crimson space, sacred and terrifying.

  He appeared.

  An entity embodying both life and death.

  I offered to become his “eyes.”

  I offered him a game.

  In return—

  I received power beyond imagination.

  A contract was forged.

  My soul was bound.

  But I did not care.

  Because from that moment—

  I was no longer a piece.

  I would become the one arranging the board.

  OVERLORD

  I returned to Hell.

  Fighting.

  Manipulating.

  Destroying.

  Eventually, I defeated one of the Thirteen Overlords.

  I claimed the position.

  My name spread throughout Hell.

  KUROKAMI REN.

  PRESENT DAY

  KAGURA MISAKI had been assigned by the King of Hell to negotiate a ceasefire with Heaven.

  She ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

  “What the hell… why me?”

  TAKAMIYA RETSU shrugged.

  “Beats me. I’ve never negotiated with angels.”

  AOYAMA TAICHI scoffed.

  “Or you could just fly up there and insult them.”

  MISAKI glared.

  “You want Hell erased entirely?”

  The three fell silent.

  War was approaching the point of no return.

  And somewhere else—

  An Overlord was quietly calculating.