The sun bathed the castle grounds in a golden hue as Daigo and Marina played with the animals. Marina's laughter filled the air as she chased a small rabbit through the fields. Daigo sat under the shade of a large tree, a peaceful smile on his face as he watched her.
For a moment, everything felt perfect.
But the cold wind that suddenly swept through the area signaled the arrival of Lavender. Her long violet cloak billowed behind her as she approached with measured steps.
"Everything is ready, Daigo."
Daigo's expression darkened. He exhaled slowly before rising to his feet.
Marina, still smiling, turned to him. "Where are you going, Daigo?"
Before he could answer, Lavender stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Marina's shoulder.
"You stay here, Marina. Just for a while."
Marina hesitated, her bright eyes dimming with unease. "Just for a while…?"
Daigo gave her a reassuring nod. "I'll be back soon."
But even as he said it, something in his chest felt heavy—like he was walking toward something he would never return from.
The air was thick with incense, curling in ghostly wisps above a massive blood-drawn pentagram at the center of the chamber. The flickering candlelight cast eerie shadows on the stone walls.
Standing near the altar was Issey, the head of the ritual. Her violet robes shimmered under the dim light, her piercing gaze unreadable.
She gestured to the glowing sigil in the middle of the pentagram. "Everything is ready. Sit."
Daigo hesitated. Something about this place felt wrong—as if the very walls were whispering to him.
Still, he obeyed.
The moment he stepped into the circle, a chilling force wrapped around his body, constraining him as if something unseen had bound his very soul.
His breathing became shallow.
Issey's voice rang out. "Tear open your chest. Remove your heart and place it in the small circle before you."
Daigo's hands clenched into fists. "…I will die if I do that."
Issey's violet eyes remained cold. "You will not die. Do what I say."
His pulse pounded in his ears. There was no turning back now.
With trembling fingers, he dug into his own chest, tearing through his own flesh and bone. Blood splattered onto the stone floor, and a searing, unbearable pain shot through his body. His vision blurred, but he forced himself to keep going.
With a final agonized cry, he pulled out his own beating heart.
It throbbed in his hands, still alive, as if refusing to leave him.
Daigo's body trembled violently as he placed the heart in the small, blood-marked circle.
His breaths were ragged.
Issey's voice remained calm and sharp. "Now, take this dagger and pierce your heart."
A silver blade was handed to him.
His grip was unsteady. The dagger felt impossibly heavy in his hands.
Just as he was about to plunge the blade into his heart—
A sudden, suffocating presence filled the room.
The ritual circle ignited with a dark flame, and the entire chamber trembled violently.
At the center of the room, a monstrous, nightmarish doll with stitched eyes and a jagged grin stood still.
The air turned suffocatingly thick.
Then—
Daigo's heart disappeared.
Issey and Lavender's eyes widened in shock.
He hadn't even pierced it.
A deep, echoing voice rumbled through Daigo's mind.
"I like your soul. Be my guardian, Daigo."
Daigo's body stiffened. His vision blurred.
"Who… are you?"
The voice chuckled darkly. "You already know. I am Lord Satan."
A cold shiver crawled up Daigo's spine.
Lord Satan's voice whispered in his soul."Swear loyalty to me, and you shall find the truth you seek."
Daigo clenched his teeth. "Will you restore my lost memories?"
A pause. Then—
"You will find the truth soon… after you become my guardian."
His lips parted, and with a trembling breath, he uttered the words that sealed his fate.
"I accept."
In that instant—
A shadowy hand emerged from the darkness and pressed against Daigo's forehead.
The entire room erupted in black flames.
A burning sigil of a black star appeared on Daigo's forehead.
Lavender and Issey were frozen, their expressions twisted with disbelief and awe.
Issey's voice was barely a whisper. "He… he's a Guardian."
Just then, the heavy doors burst open, and Joe and Ray—two elite servants—entered the room.
They stopped in their tracks, their eyes widening as they saw the unholy aura radiating from Daigo's body.
His presence alone was suffocating.
Daigo's eyes darkened, and he turned to face them, his voice calm, yet absolute.
"Kneel."
The moment the word left his lips, a crushing force filled the chamber.
Joe, Ray, Issey, and Lavender fell to their knees, unable to resist the sheer weight of his existence.
Joe's hand shakily reached for his energy scanner, and when he saw the number—his blood ran cold.
500,000.
His power level was 500,000.
A dead silence fell over the room.
Daigo took a step forward, his newly awakened power coiling around him like a serpent.
His voice echoed through the chamber, each word laced with undeniable authority.
"I am your leader now."
His piercing gaze met each of them.
"You are not my equals. You are my servants."
The shadows around him deepened, swallowing the last remnants of his former self.
"And remember this."
His voice dropped to a chilling whisper.
"I serve only Lord Satan. Not you."
The air was thick with dread.
No one dared to speak.
No one dared to move.
For at that moment—
A new Dark Guardian had been born.