The news of Yuuji's victory had already spread beyond the Academy.
At House Redcrest, Liana von Altheim sipped tea in her private garden, her eyes narrowed at the report in her hand.
"So. He defeated Selene."
She smiled slightly, tapping the porcelain cup against her lip.
"Things are finally getting interesting."
Behind her, a servant stepped forward.
"Should we begin... preparation?"
Liana nodded slowly.
"Yes. If a King rises... then a Queen must rise higher."
Back at the Academy, students filled the halls with speculation.
Some respected Yuuji now.
Some feared him.
Others... wanted to test him.
Rumors of the "King with no House backing" had started to turn into whispers of rebellion. A few minor Houses had even begun secretly reaching out to him.
But Yuuji kept quiet.
He waited.
Watched.
In the training courtyard, Mira sparred harder than usual.
"Tch. They're watching us like we're celebrities now." she grunted, slamming her blade into a dummy.
Ayaka laughed from the side.
"Good! Let 'em watch! They'll get smashed if they try anything anyway."
Clara, seated nearby with a book open on her lap, said softly:
"We can't afford to relax. If this 'Shadow Trial' group really exists, they're already probing us. That letter wasn't just a message—it was a warning."
Yuuji approached.
He held a scroll—
not from the Council this time, but from a student courier.
No seal.
Just a map.
Drawn in red ink.
A location in the mountains behind the Academy grounds... and a time.
Tonight.
He looked up at his team.
"Looks like we've been invited to the shadows."
The forest behind the Academy was darker than it should've been.
Not just from the setting sun—
but from the thick, unnatural mist clinging to the trees.
Yuuji moved silently through the underbrush, flanked by Mira on the left and Clara on the right. Ayaka followed close behind, her hammer slung over her shoulder and glowing faintly.
The map had led them here—
to a hidden path between two crumbling stone walls, marked only by a rune etched in ancient chess notation.
Yuuji held up a hand.
They stopped.
He crouched near the rune.
"It's a barrier.
One meant to test who enters."
Clara stepped forward and examined it closely.
"It's puzzle-based.
A challenge written in magic.
If you try to pass without solving it, the path seals itself."
Mira sighed.
"Figures. Even in the dark, we gotta play chess."
Yuuji smiled.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, engraved chess piece.
A black king.
He placed it gently into the center of the rune.
A glow pulsed through the stone.
The air shimmered.
And the mist parted—
revealing a narrow stairway descending deep beneath the mountain.
"Let's move."
The stairwell was ancient—
cut into obsidian, barely wide enough for two people side by side.
Arcane lights flickered in the walls as they descended, revealing old murals:
figures in cloaks, games played in blood, the symbol of a shattered rook surrounded by eyes.
Ayaka muttered under her breath:
"This doesn't feel like school anymore."
At the bottom, they reached a single door—
circular, metal, sealed.
It opened without touch.
Only silence answered them.
Inside: a round chamber.
Empty.
Except for one figure waiting at the far end.
A girl.
The same one from the courtyard.
Wide-brimmed hat.
Silver bishop badge.
Long white hair tied in braids.
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
But when Yuuji stepped forward—
"Checkmate no Ouji-sama..." she whispered.
"So. You really exist."
Yuuji stepped forward, eyes fixed on the strange girl.
The air inside the chamber felt... off.
Heavy.
Thick with old magic and unspoken rules.
The girl stood motionless, her pale skin glowing faintly under the soft blue flames lining the wall.
She wore a tight black academy-style coat—
slightly too tight.
Unbuttoned just enough to reveal the thin lace of her underlayer.
Her skirt... suspiciously short.
The hat she wore shadowed her face, but her lips curved in an almost playful smirk.
"So... the King arrives in person."
Her voice echoed unnaturally.
She stepped closer—
slowly, hips swaying with every calculated movement.
"I expected a brute. Or a pawn dressed in noble skin.
But you..."
She reached out and trailed a finger just barely along the collar of Yuuji's jacket.
"You don't smell like the Academy at all."
Behind him, Mira's sword was already halfway drawn.
"Back. Off." she growled.
The girl turned her head slightly, amused.
"Oh? You brought your knight along. Cute."
Clara, meanwhile, remained perfectly still—
but her hands were glowing faintly with ready spells.
Ayaka cracked her knuckles.
"You wanna flirt or fight, girlie?"
Yuuji raised a hand calmly.
"We didn't come here to throw punches.
You invited me."
The girl's smirk widened.
"Not me."
She stepped back, and the wall behind her shifted—
revealing a chessboard carved into black marble, glowing faintly.
"This place is called the Shadow Hall.
And I'm just a Bishop."
She looked back at him over her shoulder.
"But the one watching you?
He's not so gentle."
A voice echoed from the shadows—
deep, cold, inhuman:
"The King moves early.
Let's see if he bleeds like the others."
A ripple of pressure filled the room—
and shadows began to crawl across the board like smoke.
Yuuji's eyes sharpened.
"You wanted a game?"
He took a step forward, the flames behind him flaring as if reacting to his presence.
"Then let's play, Bishop."
The girl's smirk returned—
and this time, there was a slight blush in her cheeks.
"Careful, King...
I bite."
The room pulsed with power.
Yuuji stood firm, face calm, but every sense sharpened.
The girl in the bishop's cloak stepped aside, letting the shadows swirl past her.
She didn't attack.
She simply watched.
"He'll be pleased you responded."
Her voice was lower now, almost... intimate.
"Few Kings have the courage to step this close to the truth."
Yuuji narrowed his eyes.
"And fewer Bishops play both sides."
That made her smile again.
She gave a soft giggle and turned, her coat flaring just enough to reveal more of her thigh than necessary.
"Maybe I just like strong players."
The smoke began to collapse back into the marble board behind her.
In its place, a single black chess piece remained:
a knight—burned and cracked.
Yuuji stepped forward and picked it up.
It was warm.
Alive, somehow.
The message was clear:
A challenge had been made.
Behind him, his team moved in.
Mira glanced suspiciously at the girl.
"That was a warning, wasn't it?"
Clara nodded, her gaze fixed on the fading magic.
"They're watching us. Testing us.
We're not dealing with rogue students.
This is organized."
Ayaka cracked her neck.
"Good.
I was getting bored again."
Yuuji tucked the scorched knight piece into his coat and turned toward the stairs.
"We've been drawn into their game.
Now it's time we learn the rules."
Somewhere far away—
A dark room.
A circle of masked figures around a large, ancient chessboard.
One of them reached out and moved a black pawn forward.
"The King has taken the bait."
A voice whispered in the shadows.
"Let the real trial begin."