Two days had passed since the disaster at the abandoned temple.

  Two days since Kaelan had nearly died at Raynare’s hands.

  Two days since he had disobeyed Sona.

  Two days since his Resonance had nearly collapsed the Sitri territory.

  Asia had slowly integrated into the Occult Research Club. Issei walked around with an embarrassingly radiant joy. Koneko glanced at him from the corner of her eye whenever he passed. Kiba greeted him with restrained respect. Rias… observed him in silence.

  A period of calm. Brief. Fragile. A breath before the next hell.

  But for Kaelan, there was no peace. His arm was still in a cast. His Resonance still trembled with every strong emotion. And Sona… Sona Sitri had gone two full days without speaking to him.

  Until today.

  It was early, before classes, in the underground gym protected by Sitri clan barriers.

  Kaelan was panting in the center of the tatami, the cast wrapped in protective runes Tsubaki had applied to keep it from falling apart under strain.

  “Again,” Tsubaki ordered calmly, without raising her voice.

  Kaelan staggered.

  “Tsubaki-san… I can’t even lift my arm.”

  Tsubaki looked at him with the same expression a military trainer would give a stubborn recruit.

  “I didn’t ask you to lift your arm. I asked you to control your aura. Do it.”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  His chest vibrated.

  His emotions overflowed.

  The Resonance answered—a blue-red pulse.

  Too strong.

  “Control, Arverth!” Tsubaki said, her own aura crashing against his to restrain it. “Don’t lose it again like you did at the temple!”

  Kaelan clenched his teeth.

  “It wasn’t my fault! The Resonance reacted to something I didn’t understand!”

  “And that will be your death if you don’t tame it.”

  He took a deep breath.

  He tried.

  He failed.

  The aura expanded in an emotional heartbeat so strong it made the ceiling lights tremble.

  BOOM.

  Tsubaki narrowed her eyes.

  “Again.”

  “Again? I’ve already done this twenty times!”

  “Twenty-one.” Tsubaki sighed faintly. “Sitri-sama wants absolute control. If you lose control like you did at the temple again… it will be the last time.”

  A chill ran down Kaelan’s spine.

  And at that exact moment…

  A presence entered the gym.

  A masculine presence. Irritated. Impatient. Burning.

  “Could you stop shaking the building, please?”

  Kaelan turned.

  And there he was.

  Short blond hair. Sharp eyes. The posture of someone trying too hard to look tough. Chest puffed with pride. The aura of an overworked laborer.

  Genshirou Saji.

  Sona Sitri’s other Pawn.

  Kaelan’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

  He had finally appeared.

  Tsubaki inclined her head slightly.

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  “Saji-kun. Punctual.”

  Saji crossed his arms.

  “Always am. Unlike some people…”

  His gaze swept over the cast, the bandages, the tremor in Kaelan’s hand.

  “So this is the famous ‘resonant disaster,’ huh?” he asked with clear displeasure.

  Kaelan clenched his teeth.

  “It’s also my first day training without pain every time I breathe.”

  Saji scoffed.

  “Your emotional meltdown almost cracked one of the district barriers. Did you know that? Or were you too busy disobeying Sitri-sama’s orders?”

  The words hit Kaelan square in the chest.

  “I… had to go.”

  “You had to stay home,” Saji corrected, perfectly mimicking Sona’s tone. “It’s a simple order.”

  Kaelan closed his fist.

  Saji stepped forward.

  His aura felt like a serpentine heartbeat—energetic, aggressive.

  The Absorption Line.

  Kaelan felt it instantly. Like spiritual hunger. A pull. A living cord trying to latch onto his power.

  Saji smiled arrogantly.

  “Feel that? That’s a Sacred Gear. Learn from those of us who actually have one.”

  Kaelan felt his pride sting.

  “If that’s your Sacred Gear,” he said, “then be careful. I can feel what you’re about to do before you do it.”

  Saji raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh yeah? And what am I about to do right now?”

  Kaelan sighed.

  “Break my other wrist.”

  Saji clicked his tongue.

  “Tch… annoying.”

  Tsubaki intervened with a sharp palm strike against the tatami.

  “That’s enough. Both of you.”

  They fell silent instantly.

  Tsubaki continued:

  “Sitri-sama wants you to train together. Starting today.”

  Kaelan’s eyes widened.

  So did Saji’s.

  “What!?” they protested in unison.

  Tsubaki looked at them with absolute calm.

  “You are both Pawns. You are both unstable. And you both need to learn to work together.”

  Saji pointed at Kaelan angrily.

  “He’s a walking problem! He almost brought down the district barrier!”

  Kaelan pointed back.

  “And he wants to absorb me alive! I already felt it!”

  “Exactly,” Tsubaki repeated evenly. “That’s why you’ll train together. Because if one of you loses control, the other must be able to restrain him.”

  Saji opened his mouth to protest, but Tsubaki raised a finger.

  “And yes, Saji-kun. That includes restraining an out-of-control Resonance.”

  Saji shut his mouth.

  Kaelan swallowed.

  The gym fell silent. Only the dry echo of both Pawns’ breathing filled the tatami.

  Tsubaki walked to the center, drawing an invisible line between them.

  “Today we are not measuring power.” Her eyes hardened. “Today, we measure discipline.”

  Kaelan felt a stab of shame in his stomach.

  Saji raised an eyebrow.

  “Discipline, huh? Does that mean I can’t break his other wrist?”

  Tsubaki looked at him with one eye.

  “Try it, and you’ll spend the rest of the month cleaning the Sitri temple by hand.”

  Saji went pale.

  Kaelan couldn’t help but smile slightly.

  Tsubaki saw it.

  “Arverth. Don’t relax.” She stepped closer, her face nearly inches from his. “You lost control at the temple. You endangered the territory. You will prove it won’t happen again.”

  Kaelan nodded, swallowing hard.

  “Yes… Tsubaki-san.”

  She stepped back, clearing the center.

  “Exercise one: aura synchronization.”

  Saji looked horrified.

  “What? With him? Seriously?”

  Kaelan felt the emotional impact in his chest. Synchronization meant opening his aura field. Letting someone else in. Letting the Resonance… align.

  It was invasive.

  Dangerous.

  Humiliating.

  “It’s not optional,” Tsubaki said. “If you can’t align your magical rhythms, then Sitri-sama cannot trust either of you.”

  Silence.

  The air tightened.

  Kaelan’s blue light vibrated around the cast.

  Saji’s golden-serpentine line crackled like restrained electricity.

  Both took a step forward.

  Tsubaki raised her hand.

  “On my signal… release aura. Do not fight. Do not clash. Do not push. Just… align the pulse.”

  Kaelan took a deep breath.

  Saji snorted.

  “This is going to go badly,” he muttered.

  Tsubaki lowered her hand.

  “Now.”

  Both released their aura.

  Blue-red met golden-serpent.

  And the clash happened.

  Not physical.

  Not explosive.

  Something worse.

  Something internal.

  Kaelan’s heart raced.

  He felt the Absorption Line brush against him like a living serpent crawling through his spirit.

  Saji frowned.

  “Your aura… it’s a mess,” he spat. “It’s vibrating like it’s afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid!” Kaelan shouted—

  and in that instant, his Resonance pulsed too strongly.

  The gym air trembled.

  Saji stepped back.

  “Hey, calm down! You’re shaking the barrier again! What’s wrong with you!?”

  Kaelan gripped the cast with his good hand.

  “I’m trying! I can’t control it when someone presses me like this!”

  Saji opened his mouth to respond—

  But he didn’t get the chance.

  Because at that moment…

  The gym door opened with a sharp click.

  And she entered.

  Sona Sitri.

  The President.

  The strategist.

  The one who hadn’t spoken his name in two days.

  Her expression was perfect:

  Cold.

  Serene.

  Distant.

  But her eyes—

  Her eyes were locked on Kaelan.

  And not a single emotion among them was good.

  “Lower your auras. Both of you,” she ordered.

  Saji obeyed immediately.

  Kaelan took a second longer.

  The Resonance trembled.

  Vibrated.

  Sona narrowed her eyes.

  “Arverth.”

  The surname fell like a sentence.

  Kaelan lowered his head.

  “…Sona-sama.”

  She walked toward him slowly, as if evaluating every step.

  Tsubaki bowed.

  Saji straightened.

  Sona spoke when she was barely a meter away.

  “What you did at the temple… the disobedience, the Resonance collapse, the risk to the territory…”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  The entire gym held its breath.

  Sona looked at him without blinking.

  And said:

  “I am not finished with you.”

  Silence.

  Kaelan slowly lifted his gaze.

  “Sona-sama… I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  She raised a hand, cutting him off.

  “Breakfast. Classroom 1-B. Before classes.” Her tone left no room for argument. “I want to speak with you. Alone.”

  Kaelan felt his blood freeze.

  Saji muttered:

  “Oof. May God—well, no—may someone help you.”

  Sona turned away.

  “Training suspended. Kaelan… don’t be late.”

  And she left.

  The silence that remained was heavier than any aura.

  Saji looked at him.

  So did Tsubaki.

  Kaelan swallowed, pale.

  “…I’m dead, aren’t I?”

  Saji sighed.

  “No. Worse.” He patted Kaelan’s shoulder like offering condolences. “You’re about to have a serious talk with Sona Sitri.”

  Kaelan collapsed onto the tatami.

  Tsubaki spoke one last time.

  “Arverth.”

  He looked up.

  “If Sitri-sama summoned you alone…”

  You’d better not lose control there too.

  Kaelan closed his eyes.

  all the interludes at once, followed immediately by Chapter 18.

  reframe the aftermath of the church incident from multiple perspectives and quietly set the board for what comes next:

  new tensions, political pressure, shifting loyalties, and consequences that don’t disappear overnight.

  true start of the next arc, not with a new enemy, but with control, discipline, and unresolved authority. From here on, the story tightens.