High school student Kaito rewinds time to save his childhood friend IRyS, who was supposed to have died.
Just as the world is consumed by the Void Mist and all seems lost, a black-winged angel named IRyS falls from the sky before Kaito's eyes. Called the 'Savior,' IRyS was betrayed by the people she tried to protect. They branded her a demon's pawn, and they killed her.
In his moment of despair, Kaito screams—and a black clock appears in his hand. Trapped together in a frozen moment, IRyS asks
Hollow Reload: Saving the Dark Angel - The Secret of the Clock and Signs of Betrayal
Sunset streamed through the windows of Café Kagura.
The only sound was the splash of water washing coffee cups at the counter. It echoed too loud.
The shop had been buzzing with Iris's guard team moments ago. Now silence hung heavy.
"Why is your watch running backwards?"
Shunya's voice tightened the air.
Kaito felt his heart pound. Cold sweat traced down his back.
(He's not normal. I knew it.)
In the previous timeline, Shunya Kurosaki was the guard who betrayed Iris.
182 centimeters tall. Blue-black hair streaked with silver.
Gray eyes now pierced straight into Kaito's left wrist. The deep scar under his left eye stood out sharp in the dim café light.
"You're imagining things. Old watch. Moves weird."
Kaito scratched his head, playing annoyed. His sleeve hid his left wrist.
Shunya didn't move.
He stood.
Footsteps. One step. Another. Closing in.
"Show me."
No room for argument.
"W-wait, hold on! Shunya, what do you think you're doing!"
Sanae, the short-haired guard, rushed between them. Her bright brown eyes usually smiled like sunshine. Now they were desperate.
"Kaito's Iris's guest. Stop glaring at him!"
Shunya didn't stop.
He grabbed Kaito's wrist.
His hand was cold and hard as iron.
"...This is."
Shunya studied the Levoir Noir's face.
Silver hands spinning backwards. Jet-black dial.
Not a normal watch. He had to know that.
(Dangerous. What do I do?)
Alarms blared in Kaito's head.
Then it happened.
"Shunya, stop."
A small voice. But firm. It rang through the shop.
Iris had stood. Her long silver braid swayed slowly with the motion. Deep violet eyes met Shunya's gray gaze straight on.
"That watch is a toy I gave Kaito long ago. It's broken. The hands move strangely."
Her voice didn't tremble.
Kaito stared at her in surprise.
(Iris, you...)
A lie.
But she didn't flinch before Shunya.
Shunya's brow twitched slightly.
"...A toy."
He wasn't convinced.
Anyone could see it. A vein faintly pulsed at his temple.
But Iris had spoken.
The savior.
The one chosen by Pharos to save the world.
"Fine."
Shunya released Kaito's wrist.
He turned on his heel and returned to the counter.
He lifted his coffee cup. Took a sip as if nothing had happened.
But his back radiated wariness.
Kaito opened his clenched palm.
Soaked with sweat.
"...Saved."
He exhaled.
Iris gently tugged his sleeve.
"Sorry. For the weird lie."
Her voice was small and hoarse.
She'd been tense.
But she'd lied for him.
(This girl only ever thinks of others.)
Kaito felt warmth spread deep in his chest.
"No. You saved me. Thanks."
"...Okay."
She smiled. Relieved. But still anxious.
About thirty minutes later, the guard team left.
Preparing for tomorrow's Return Mist ritual, probably. Iris left too, escorted by Shunya.
"See you tomorrow. At school."
She waved a little.
Kaito waved back.
He was alone in the shop now.
Outside the window, night had fully fallen.
At the counter, the owner Tsumugi polished glasses alone. Her short hair, streaked with white, was tied back. Her deeply lined face worked in silence.
Kaito stood.
"Bathroom."
Tsumugi glanced at him.
Kaito stepped not toward the bathroom, but into the kitchen.
Dirty dishes piled in the sink. Tsumugi was still behind the counter.
"You're no ordinary high schooler."
He turned. Tsumugi stood at the kitchen entrance. Polished glass in hand. Staring at him.
"Shunya. You. Neither of you has the eyes of a high school brat."
"...What are you talking about."
"Don't play dumb."
Her voice was quiet. But sharp. As expected of a former Pharos operative.
Kaito gave in.
"Tell me about Shunya Kurosaki."
Tsumugi didn't answer.
"He's from Nagiri, right? The city destroyed in the Second Hollow Fog Disaster 40 years ago."
Tsumugi's eyes widened just slightly.
"You know your stuff."
"...I looked into it."
Actually, it's memories from the previous timeline. Kaito added that in his head.
Tsumugi let out a deep sigh.
"Can't be helped."
She leaned on the worktable. Her weathered face looked up at him.
"That boy grew up in Nagiri's orphanage. The fog took his parents. Then his foster parent. Everyone who took him in died."
Kaito swallowed hard.
Foster parent.
In the previous timeline, that person was imprisoned by Pendulum.
"...Who was the foster parent?"
"A Pharos researcher. Brilliant. A specialist in Mist Vein abilities. But..."
Tsumugi choked on her words.
"...No. I'll stop here. Ask him yourself for the rest."
"But—"
"No more questions."
Her voice left no room for argument.
She was hiding something.
But Kaito couldn't press further.
"...Understood. Thank you."
Kaito bowed and left Café Kagura.
A heavy feeling.
He'd learned something.
But the crucial pieces were still missing.
Why was the foster parent imprisoned by Pendulum?
And why did Shunya betray Iris?
He couldn't even see the shape of the key yet.
Outside, Kaito walked through Tobari's night streets. The harbor town's salt smell rode the wind. He passed through the residential area. Down the slope. Not toward the station. Toward the port.
Tobari Port's Third Warehouse District drew near.
A half-abandoned zone. Decaying. Rusted containers scattered randomly. Several streetlights dead.
Yellow KEEP OUT tape fluttered in the wind.
Then.
In his pocket, Levoir Noir trembled.
Click... clickclickclick...
The hands sped up.
(What?)
Kaito stopped.
Purple light leaked from between the warehouses.
No. Not light.
Fog.
Purple, eerie fog. Seeping from the restricted zone of the Third Warehouse District.
The temperature dropped. Suddenly.
Something cold crawled down his neck.
(Pendulum.)
Instinct.
Kaito killed his footsteps. Crept into the shadow of a warehouse.
Pressed his back against the iron wall.
Held his breath.
Two figures.
Men in Pharos uniforms. White fabric. Wing crest embroidered. But the chest patches were subtly wrong.
Fakes.
"Orders from the Long Hand. Activate the Mist Vein Amplifier at tomorrow's Return Mist ritual."
One spoke in a low voice.
"If the savior fails the ritual, it's a pretext for the Void Fog. Then Pendulum's plan enters its final stage."
(...What?)
Pieces started connecting in Kaito's head.
(They plan to sabotage tomorrow's ritual. Not just kill her. They'll turn the ritual itself into the trigger for the Void Fog.)
His hands trembled.
He pulled out his phone.
Opened the voice memo.
"The Long Hand said it. 'The pendulum never stops.'"
"Eliminate the savior. The world is ours."
He moved to press record—
Thud.
Impact.
A dull pain shot through the back of his head. Like an iron pipe swung down.
His vision exploded white.
(—Someone behind me.)
Consciousness faded. Fast.
He hit the ground.
His phone slipped. Clattered on concrete. A sharp sound.
Purple fog swallowed his vision.
He couldn't see anything.
Footsteps approached.
"Blame fate if you want to blame something."
Someone spoke.
The voice was distorted. Voice changer.
Kaito reached out his right hand.
But he couldn't move a finger.
Just once, Levoir Noir in his pocket let out a loud click.
Then everything fell into darkness.
—Beep beep.
Electronic tone.
Kaito woke in his own bed.
Familiar ceiling.
His phone's usual alarm.
Pale moonlight slipped through the curtain gap.
"...Where."
He tried to sit up. Sharp pain shot through the back of his head.
He touched it. A large bump.
(The warehouse. Someone hit me. Then...)
Memory cut off.
He couldn't recall how he got home at all.
Did someone carry him?
Or—
He searched for his phone.
On the floor beside the bed.
Checked the screen.
Time: 1 AM.
Opened the recording app.
Searched for yesterday's file.
Gone.
The data was erased.
"...Damn it."
He clenched his fist on the bed.
(Pendulum is targeting tomorrow's ritual. They intend to trigger the Void Fog.)
He moved to his desk.
Opened the drawer.
The jet-black pocket watch—Levoir Noir—was trembling.
Clickclickclickclickclick...
The silver hands spun backwards. Faster than ever.
Something surfaced on the dial.
White, faintly glowing letters.
『Iris』
The name etched itself onto the face.
The hands pointed to tomorrow morning. The time of the Return Mist ritual.
"...No time left."
Kaito gripped the watch.
Cold seeped into his palm.
(I can't stop this alone.)
Reality pressed down. Heavy.
(Shunya, maybe—)
But Shunya was the man who betrayed Iris in the previous timeline.
He was still playing the loyal guard now. Asking for his cooperation was too much of a gamble.
And his foster parent was imprisoned by Pendulum.
If that was his motive—
(Which do I bet on?)
Kaito clenched his teeth.
The enemy was too powerful to fight alone.
He wanted allies.
But he didn't know who to trust. Nothing was clear.
Only moonlight quietly lit the room.
In his pocket, Levoir Noir still trembled.
Tomorrow, Iris dies.
The hands alone pointed to that truth. Unwavering. Certain.
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