Chapter 3: The Return of the Unifier’s Shadow

A few hours earlier, inside The Riftborn Academy Tokyo…

A man with slightly long blond hair and a rough beard was tidying his office, humming irritably as he stacked papers. His suit was crisp, his posture rigid, yet his expression was nothing but frustration.

“Headmaster Ainz, someone wishes to meet you.”
The voice crackled through the communication device on his ear.

Raiden Ainzwellestein clicked his tongue.

“Tell them I’m busy.”

“But—”

“Tch. These parents never stop bothering me. Always interrupting my peace.”
He grumbled, kicking aside a stack of unfiled documents.

He was Raiden Ainzwellestein.
Right hand of Caelus Ardyn.
The only servant granted the gift of Reincarnation by his lord.
A gift he had never forgotten.
A vow he had carried for lifetimes.

Just as he reached for another report, his phone buzzed violently on the desk.

Raiden growled.

“One more sound and I’ll crush you with my bare hands.”
He glared at the device as if it were capable of feeling fear.

Most calls these days came from needy parents begging him to fast-track their children’s graduation.

“Why do they want to be adventurers so badly? What’s the appeal? You could die out there. Idiots.”

He opened his tablet to scan recent news.

A familiar name appeared.

Hoshizora Miyuki.

A recent incident report.

Nearly killed in a dungeon.

Raiden sighed, the weight of responsibility pressing on his shoulders.

“I warned them countless times… Dungeons aren’t playgrounds. But kids these days listen to no one. The world has changed… perhaps I must change too. Adapt, Raiden. Adapt.”

A voice answered him from behind.

“Perhaps you’re right. It’s time for you to change.”

Raiden froze.

His blood chilled.

That voice—
That calm, distant tone—
He knew it.

He knew it better than his own heartbeat.

Slowly, he turned.

A figure stood by the window, gazing out at the city.

Black hair.
Golden eyes.
A presence that twisted the air around him.

Raiden dropped to one knee instantly.

“M-My lord… Caelus Ardyn… You’ve returned.”

“Stand up, Raiden. It has been a long time.”

“Long for others, perhaps. For me… it felt like only a moment.”
Raiden’s voice trembled. “How have you been, my lord? Are you well?”

Caelus lifted his hands, turning them slowly in the sunlight.

“As well as I can be. This world… has changed.”

“Not entirely, my lord. People still fight over thrones. Lexiria and Egla are on the brink of civil war again. Some things never change.”

Raiden sighed heavily, pouring two cups of tea.

Caelus remained silent for a moment, staring at his reflection in the window.

“Raiden… did I truly save this world?”

Raiden’s breath caught.

“Yes, my lord. You saved it. But… destiny does not bend so easily. Some fates remain the same no matter how much you change.”

Their conversation lasted long—Raiden explaining technology, the modern era, schools, guilds… the new world.

Finally, Caelus spoke.

“Then allow me to adapt. I want to see this world with my own eyes. And I want to know… how strong the Five Heroes have become in their new lives.”

Raiden nodded, then offered everything Caelus needed:

A new identity.
Clothes fit for this time.
A weapon.
A name.

That day, Caelus Ardyn became—

Nagumo Kohaku.

And he enrolled in The Riftborn Academy.

The moment Kohaku stepped into the academy, every eye turned toward him.

Whispers.
Stares.
Excitement.

Girls swooned.
Boys scowled in jealousy.

He didn’t react.
He had no idea how a “modern transfer student” was supposed to behave.

Then fate twisted.

He saw her.

The girl from the dungeon.

Hoshizora Miyuki.

Her aura—broken but warm.
Her heart—trembling but sincere.
Her lineage—clear as day to him.

The teacher pointed.

“Nagumo-kun, please take the empty seat beside Miyuki-chan.”

He walked over quietly and sat down.

Miyuki turned to him with hesitation.

“Um… before anything else, I want to thank you. For saving my life that day.”

“No need,” he replied calmly. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

When lunch break arrived, the girls surrounded him instantly.

“Kohaku-san, you’re amazing! Are you an adventurer too?”
“Where did you transfer from?”
“Your eyes are beautiful!”

Kohaku stiffened.

He had no idea how to answer any of these questions.

So he blurted out the first thing he could think of:

“Yes. I’m… top ranked.”

The girls gasped in admiration.

More questions came.
More voices.
More chaos.

Sweat formed on his forehead.

“Anoo… could you all ask one at a time? I’m getting confused…”

He looked desperate.

Miyuki noticed instantly.

She stepped between him and the crowd, tapping his shoulder gently.

“Um… Kohaku-san. Let’s go.”

The entire class squealed.

“They’re going on a date!? I’m jealous!”

Outside, Kohaku exhaled deeply.

“Thank you… If that continued I might have gotten crushed.”

Miyuki smiled faintly.

“It’s nothing. Think of it as repayment for saving me in the dungeon.”

As they walked, Miyuki talked about the Divine Heroes—five reincarnated individuals destined to stand with the Unifier.

Kohaku froze.

Her words stabbed straight into his past.

Raiden’s vow.
The death of the Five.
His failure.

And her voice overlapped with another—

A voice from long ago.

A voice he had once sworn to protect.

His chest tightened.

His vision blurred.

A tear slipped down his cheek.

Miyuki gasped.

“Anoo, Nagumo-san… are you alright? Why are you crying?”

He wiped the tear quickly.

“It’s nothing… just something in my eye.”

“Lies.”

Kohaku stopped walking.

For a moment, he simply stared at her—this girl with snow-white hair and crimson eyes, trying her best to smile through her pain.

Her aura shimmered faintly.

Warm.
Pure.
Familiar.

Seraphina…?

Of course.

Hoshizora Miyuki—

The reincarnation of Seraphina Vale, the greatest healer of his era.

And she had no idea who she really was.