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 Black Clock and the Key to a Locked Heart
A cold sensation on his cheek.
Concrete floor. Warehouse air. The smell of rusted iron.
The smell of blood.
Iris's blood.
"......"
Kaito woke up.
A familiar ceiling. His own room.
Morning.
He sat up.
Stopped his phone alarm.
7:45.
Opened his desk drawer.
Levanor.
A jet-black watch. Silver hands.
White light floated on the dial.
*Find the true nature of what you want to protect*
The words vanished.
New words appeared.
*Café Kagura*
"......Tsumugi-san, huh."
The previous loop.
The words Shunya had forced out.
—There's something I want to protect... I have...
That pained face.
The scar under his left eye had twisted.
(*That wasn't an act*)
He gripped the watch.
Cold.
But heat pulsed deep within.
(*Let's go*)
He stood up.
——
The classroom.
Morning classes.
Kaito looked at the blackboard, but his mind was elsewhere.
(*Iris is safe*)
The day before the third time.
She's alive today.
They even have plans to meet on the rooftop after school.
But—
(*Not yet*)
(*Nothing's been solved yet*)
The Pendulum is moving.
Shunya will betray her.
Iris will be killed.
He'd seen it twice.
Both times, he couldn't do anything.
"......The third time will be different."
He muttered quietly.
The girl in the seat next to him glanced at Kaito with a puzzled look.
After school.
He sent Iris a message.
*Going home early today. See you tomorrow.*
A reply came instantly.
*Okay, got it. Be careful.*
He closed his phone.
Ran.
——
Café Kagura.
An old coffee shop in front of the station.
The wooden sign read *Kagura*.
A *CLOSE* tag hung on the glass door.
But lights were on inside.
Kaito pushed the door open.
A bell chimed.
The scent of coffee.
The smell of old wood.
A quiet interior.
In the back, behind the counter.
A man who had been removing his white apron looked up.
Tsumugi Kousuke.
58 years old.
Short hair mixed with gray.
Narrow eyes.
Strong, chiseled features.
He'd been a Pharos operative in his youth.
Now he was the master of this café.
"Oh, Kaito-kun. Sorry, but we're closed."
Tsumugi spoke in his usual gentle voice.
But Kaito didn't stop.
He walked up to the counter.
"It's about Shunya."
Tsumugi's hands stopped.
"......What about Shunya?"
"He's going to betray Iris."
Tsumugi's narrow eyes widened slightly.
"Wha—what are you saying—"
"I know."
He pulled Levanor from his pocket.
Placed it on the counter.
"I know a lot more than you think."
The expression vanished from Tsumugi's face.
He stared at the jet-black watch.
At the silver hands spinning backwards.
A long silence.
Only the faint sound of the coffee mill echoed.
"......Where did you get that."
"Can you talk?"
Tsumugi sat down on a chair.
He seemed to age all at once.
"......I have a younger brother. Kouji."
His voice trembled.
"He lost his wife ten years ago. He's raised Shunya alone ever since. He's not his real father. But... they were a real family."
Tsumugi pulled a single photograph from under the counter.
Three people in it.
A young Tsumugi.
Another man—Kouji, probably.
And a young Shunya.
"Three months ago. Kouji disappeared."
"The Pendulum."
Tsumugi nodded.
"They abducted Kouji. Then they told Shunya: kill Iris. Or we kill Kouji."
Kaito clenched his fist.
A grinding sound.
(*So that's it*)
In that warehouse.
The anguished expression Shunya had shown.
His trembling hands.
What he wanted to protect.
A bitter choice to save his family.
"That idiot..."
Tsumugi's voice shook.
"He just left for the warehouse district alone. To save Kouji. He's planning to sacrifice himself."
Kaito grabbed the watch.
The hands trembled.
White light on the dial.
*Third Warehouse District*
*Underground*
"Where. Give me the exact location."
"In the third warehouse... underground. There's a Mist Vein amplification device. A Pendulum hideout. The entrance is in the very back warehouse, behind a broken container."
"Got it."
He ran.
"Kaito-kun, you're not seriously—"
"It's fine."
He spoke without looking back.
"I'm not giving up."
——
Dusk.
Tobari Port.
The Third Warehouse District.
The sea breeze mixed with rusted iron.
Heavy air.
Clouds hung low and thick.
Kaito ran.
A cluster of abandoned warehouses.
Crumbling walls.
Shattered windows.
Yellow keep-out tape.
No sign of anyone.
Levanor's hands trembled.
Pulled deeper, as if by a force.
The very back warehouse.
A broken container.
Behind it.
An iron door.
Rusted.
But fresh oil on the hinges.
(*Here*)
He opened the door.
A creaking sound.
Stairs.
A narrow staircase leading underground.
Purple light.
Leaking from below.
That color—the Pendulum's mist.
He descended.
——
The basement.
Thick with purple mist.
Breathing was heavy.
His vision flickered.
Strange devices on the walls.
Pipes crawling everywhere, and in the center, a massive glass cylinder.
Inside, purple mist swirled.
The Mist Vein amplification device.
And—
"......You came."
Shunya stood with his back against the wall.
Black hair streaked with silver.
Gray eyes.
The scar under his left eye.
A knife in his right hand.
Mist Vein seeped from his left.
Blood ran from his shoulder.
A deep gash.
His clothes were torn, skin visible.
Five men and women surrounded him.
All in black clothes.
A pendulum crest on their chests—the Pendulum.
"Nice of you to come, Kurosaki."
The man who seemed to be the leader sneered.
A gun in his hand.
"The traitor dies here. We'll send your foster father after you soon enough."
"......Don't touch Kouji."
Shunya's voice dropped low.
His Mist Vein extended sharply.
The men's movements slowed.
Shunya's ability.
But—
Outnumbered.
One man circled around.
Behind Shunya.
"It's over."
The muzzle aimed at Shunya's head.
In that instant—
Kaito pulled a canister from his pocket.
A smoke grenade.
An emergency one, bought at a convenience store.
He pulled the pin.
Threw it.
*Fwoosh.*
White smoke filled the basement.
"What the—?!"
"Smoke! Someone—"
Kaito ran.
Through the smoke, he grabbed Shunya's hand.
Slick with blood.
But he didn't let go.
"Run!"
"......You—"
"Just move!"
They sprinted up the stairs.
Angry shouts behind them.
A shockwave of Mist Vein slammed into the wall.
The sound of concrete shattering.
He didn't look back.
He pulled Shunya along.
The shoulder wound slowed him down.
Still, they ran.
The end of the stairs.
The iron door.
He kicked it open.
Outside.
——
Out of breath.
His lungs burned.
But he didn't stop.
They weaved through the shadows of warehouses, running.
Running.
The port, swallowed by twilight.
Through the containers, to the wharf.
The wind from the sea blew the smell of smoke away.
He stopped.
Caught his breath.
No sign of pursuit behind them.
"......Why did you save me."
Shunya spoke, leaning against a wall.
He pressed his shoulder wound.
Blood seeped between his fingers.
"I... killed someone precious to you. Twice."
His voice trembled.
It was the first time Kaito had heard him sound so weak.
Kaito steadied his breathing and looked at Shunya.
"I heard everything from Tsumugi-san."
Shunya's eyes widened.
"That Kouji-san is being held hostage. That you betrayed Iris to protect him."
"......So what."
Shunya's face twisted.
"Reasons don't matter. I still betrayed her!!"
His voice echoed across the wharf.
"Iris... she trusted me. And yet... I..."
Shunya's hand trembled.
Blood dripped.
Kaito took a step closer.
"Don't carry this alone."
He reached out his hand.
"We'll save Kouji-san together. And then—this time, we'll protect Iris too."
Shunya stared at the outstretched hand.
A long silence.
Only the sea wind passed between them.
The sky shifted from purple to ultramarine.
A single star began to shine.
"......Help me."
A voice squeezed out.
It was the first moment Shunya had spoken his true feelings.
His trembling hand grasped Kaito's in return.
Firmly.
But somehow, clinging to it.
"I'm... tired of fighting alone."
The moon emerged from the clouds.
Silver light illuminated their handshake.
Kaito gave a small smile.
"It's two of us now. Not alone anymore."
Shunya didn't answer.
But his grip tightened.
That alone was enough.
Kaito pulled Levanor from his pocket.
The jet-black dial.
The silver hands had begun to move forward—slowly, but surely.
Words appeared.
*Time Remaining: 23 Hours*
*Locate Kouji*
*Protect the Mist-Returning Ritual*
"Tomorrow morning, the Mist-Returning Ritual begins."
"......They're planning to attack the ritual site."
Shunya finally lifted his head.
In his gray eyes, a light other than hostility dwelled for the first time.
Determination.
"The ritual site is Hikage Shrine. What I heard is they plan to use the Mist Vein amplification device to kill Iris during the ritual."
"Where is Kouji-san?"
"......I still don't know. But he has to be somewhere in that underground facility. The Pendulum doesn't let hostages go."
Kaito gripped the watch.
(*No time*)
(*But—*)
"Three things to do."
He counted on his fingers.
"Save Kouji-san. Protect the Mist-Returning Ritual. And—crush the Pendulum's plan."
Shunya's mouth relaxed slightly.
The first fragment of a smile Kaito had ever seen.
"......That's insane."
"My specialty."
Kaito looked toward the port.
In the direction of the Third Warehouse District.
Purple light still faintly leaked out.
"First, we treat your wound. Then—we make a plan."
"......Please."
The two left the wharf sinking into darkness.
Behind them, the purple mist of the warehouse district stretched slowly into the sky.
As if waiting for something.
The next move.
The final battle.
The moon hid behind the clouds, and the wharf was swallowed by darkness once more.
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