Charm

"Don't come any closer. Throw away the knife in your hand first!"

Clang—ding!

Kurumi still wore a smile as she tossed the Steel Katana in her right hand aside. It struck the ground with a clear ring that seemed especially loud in the silent night... Not far away, quite a few Dead Bodies had already noticed them and were slowly making their way over.

"Big brother, is this enough?" Kurumi spread her hands, then turned in a circle to show that she truly had no weapons on her.

The man stared hard at the hem of her pleated floral skirt as it fluttered up, straining to peer inside. Other than a glimpse of snowy-white skin above her black stockings, he saw nothing else, and the itch in his heart only grew worse.

"Let's make this clear first. You come over here and let me tie you up, then I'll let this bitch go! But your vehicle is mine!" The man looked toward the minibus bearing the words "Fujimi Academy," and his thoughts began stirring again.

Getting the greatest possible benefit from this was what he wanted—the greed among humanity's seven deadly sins.

Before Kurumi could answer, Komuro Takashi spoke up first. "The vehicle is out of gas!"

"You little punk, didn't you go inside to get money? Go fill it up! Do I have to remind you?"

"Right, we can still talk this over..."

"Don't come any closer!"

Just as Komuro Takashi headed toward the school bus, he suddenly turned around and took several steps toward the man, still thinking there might be room to negotiate.

He had not expected the man's nerves to be so sensitive. The moment he stepped forward, the man dragged his knife across Rei's neck again, leaving another cut!

"Don't hurt Rei! I'll go fill it up right now." Komuro Takashi walked to the vehicle, picked up the nozzle, and began pumping gas.

"And you!" the man shouted toward Busujima Saeko. "Go find a rope and tie her up for me! Otherwise, I won't let this bitch go!"

"Isn't it asking a bit much to find a rope right now?"

"That's none of my business. Hurry up! You don't have much time! Little fairy, stand right there and don't move. Tonight, I've got plenty of time to shower you with love!"

The man continued threatening them with the small knife pressed against Miyamoto Rei. Busujima Saeko did not dare make a move either. She looked toward Kurumi, and after seeing her nod, she said to Hirono Toda, "Hirono, come with me."

Behind the school bus, in the man's blind spot, Busujima Saeko lowered her voice. "Hirono, are you confident you can hit him with the Nail Gun?"

Hirono Toda frowned. "No. He's too far away. It might work if we had a handgun, but although Komuro has one, he's been under that guy's watch the whole time. It'd be hard to make a move."

"So that means Kurumi is the only one who can take the risk?"

"Though it's a little embarrassing for me to say this as a man, that's the truth. Trust Tokisaki Senpai. She wouldn't do something she wasn't confident about."

Busujima Saeko fell silent. If it were only herself, she could choose to take the risk without hesitation. But her first friend she could truly open her heart to... She became somewhat hesitant.

Gritting her teeth, she took the Nail Gun from Hirono Toda's hands. Ignoring his reluctant gaze, she forcibly tore off the white tape wrapped around it, then walked over to Kurumi and called to the man, "Will this do?" She raised the long, white rope-like strip in her hand.

The man glanced at Kurumi's slender, fair limbs and felt that she had no strength to break free at all. He nodded at Busujima Saeko. "Make sure you tie her tight!"

...Kurumi placed her hands behind her waist and let herself be bound. Busujima Saeko's quiet voice reached her ear. "Kurumi, are you sure about this?"

"Don't worry. I won't take a risk."

Kurumi even turned around to show the man her tightly bound arms. Her baby-soft skin had been marked with red welts by the bindings. "Is this enough?"

"Walk over slowly. Nobody else move!" His expression remained fierce as he constantly tried to bolster his own courage. He had originally been nothing more than an uneducated street thug, living off extorting students and government welfare.

Ever since the disaster began, everything that had happened that afternoon had been too much for him to accept. Fear, fleeing, then excitement—he had gone around smashing and looting things, and no one came to stop him. Who knew what the cops were doing? Aside from those monsters, this world was practically paradise to him!

And now, he had threatened another group of students. Feeling the soft body in his arms, even if it smelled of blood, it was still a rare prize! Not to mention there was another female student beautiful enough to take his breath away!

That fair, tender skin, that exquisite face, and those black stockings—tsk, tsk, tsk. He could not even find the words to describe her. Then again, his elementary school Chinese teacher had died early.

As he watched Kurumi walk toward him step by step, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Yet the strength in his arms did not loosen in the slightest, ruining Miyamoto Rei's plan to escape.

When she was halfway there, Komuro Takashi and the others saw a fruit knife slip out from Kurumi's sleeve! It was precisely pinched between two slender, jade-like fingers. With a twist, she tore through more than half of the white tape!

Busujima Saeko began questioning her life. She had clearly not sensed any knife hidden in Kurumi's sleeve just now! Have I gone blind...?

Of course, she had taken it from her spatial backpack. It was the fruit knife she had found in her "home" on the first day. To avoid arousing suspicion, she could only make it appear this way.

With a slight exertion of force, she found that her 2 points of strength were already enough to snap the tape with ease, so she relaxed. The fruit knife danced continuously in Kurumi's hand, making the people behind her tremble with fear. At a time like this, Miss, you still have the leisure to play with that...? Is this what they mean by a skilled artist being bold?

"Hey, did you know? Those monsters you see are actually just sick. They can be cured, you know~"

As she drew closer and closer to Miyamoto Rei, Kurumi wore an innocent smile that made the man dizzy. "Stop joking! You little fairy, don't think you can fool me! How could those man-eating monsters just be sick? I'm not brainless!"

"Then have you been to the hospital? Let me tell you, all those patients are in the hospital. Some have already received treatment. Don't you want your family to become normal again?"

Unconsciously, Kurumi's Charm spread outward. As the distance closed and the breeze passed by, the man could smell a faint fragrance coming from her. Seeing that Kurumi did not seem to be lying, he asked as if possessed, "Really? Can they really return to normal?"

His softened tone made Kurumi's smile bloom even brighter. Like a demon's whisper, her voice lured the soul of a lost man. "Of course. You can tell them that you took me hostage and threatened them. Use both kindness and force, and they'll accept a pitiful person's request~"

If Kurumi looked at her status panel now, she would certainly be surprised to find a complex rose-red pattern glowing at the very bottom. Beneath it, two tiny regular-script characters read: Charm...

Her wine-red eyes grew deeper, and the man felt as though he had already fallen into them. Yet instinctively, he did not want to resist. He stammered, "R-Really? If that's true, I'll repent! Please, save me! I really don't want to be like this anymore!..."

As he spoke, snot and tears streamed down his face. His arms unconsciously loosened as well, but Miyamoto Rei still did not seize the chance to run.

She was also directly affected by Kurumi's Charm! Right now, she only felt that everything Kurumi said was true. It was so moving!

Komuro Takashi and the others were completely baffled. This isn't how the script is supposed to go. Why is he crying now? Though what Kurumi said somehow... seemed to make sense...

Just as the man released Miyamoto Rei and raised a hand to wipe away his tears, a sharp glint flashed through Kurumi's eyes. Strength far beyond that of an ordinary person instantly snapped the tape, and the blade in her hand slashed toward his neck!...