"It's okay... I'm fine!"
Staring at the flat-headed ghost before him, its face full of eager anticipation as it waited for him to give up his seat, Kamiya Konan frantically tried to reassure himself.
"I'm a Chosen of God! I have Sequence 099's Answer Analysis!"
"I'm the real Protagonist! I can't die here!"
Kamiya Konan forced down his fear, his mind racing.
"As long as... as long as I prove my worth to these people!"
"As long as I make them realize I'm irreplaceable!"
"There are so many empty seats in this classroom. It's not unreasonable for me, a Chosen of God, to get one, is it?!"
With that thought, he sprang to his feet.
Facing Lu Shiyan at the lectern and the indifferent classmates around him, he shouted,
"Everyone! Listen to me!!"
"I have a Supernatural Ability! I'm an A-Class ability user! My ability is Insight!!"
He didn't reveal the true name of his ability, instead making up a more intimidating-sounding one.
Pointing at the blackboard, Kamiya Konan frantically tried to sell himself, his voice hoarse.
"I've used my ability to see through every rule of this class!!"
"Just listen to me! Follow my instructions, and we won't die! The ghosts won't get to us, either!!"
"I can get us out of this! I'm useful!!"
But...
The shock and eager submission he'd expected never came.
Instead, there was only dead silence, and... ridicule.
Lu Shiyan leaned against the corner of the wall, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and frowned, his eyes full of suspicion.
"I remember you, Kamiya Konan."
"When we gathered, I asked everyone about their combat strength so I could assess the group."
"Back then, you said you were just an ordinary person who couldn't hurt a fly."
Lu Shiyan blew out a smoke ring and sneered.
"What's this? You suddenly have an ability now that you're staring death in the face?"
"A-Class? Insight? I think you just made that up to get us to save you."
"Bet you're trying to trick us into dying in your place."
At that, the Cherry Blossom Country students who already disliked Kamiya Konan chimed in one after another.
"Exactly! Kamiya Konan's definitely lying!"
A boy with freckles on his face shouted mockingly.
"Everyone knows that a person's potential has a lot to do with whether they awaken a Supernatural Ability!"
"That idiot Kamiya Konan gets barely a passing score on every exam—not a point more!"
"The teachers are always calling him a blockhead who just doesn't get it!"
"How could a perennial dead last like him awaken an A-Class ability this powerful?!"
"If he's A-Class, then I must be S-class! Hahahaha!"
"..."
Hearing those stinging taunts, Kamiya Konan trembled with rage, nearly choking on his fury.
"I... I was controlling my scores! I was playing the fool to catch the tiger!!"
He roared inwardly.
But now, he truly regretted it!
Why had he ever put on such a show?
Why had he kept his scores down for that pathetic bit of superiority?
Now he couldn't clear his name no matter what!
Was this the punishment for crying wolf?
Just then...
The flat-headed ghost standing in front of Kamiya Konan seemed to be losing patience.
The expectant smile on the half of its face gradually vanished.
Its hand began to tremble, its black fingernails growing wildly.
Give up the seat... or not?!
The countdown to death had begun.
Kamiya Konan knew that if he didn't take concrete action, the ghost would tear him apart whether he gave up his seat or not!
"I really am telling the truth!!"
Kamiya Konan cried out in despair. "Believe me! I really do know the rules!"
Lu Shiyan lit another cigarette and sighed.
He didn't believe this "bad student," but they did need more people right now.
"All right. Since you're so sure..."
Lu Shiyan pointed at the sleeping figure in the back row, a glint in his eyes.
"Then prove it."
"Use your Insight and tell me... exactly what Supernatural Ability that sleeping man has."
"If you get it right, I'll believe you—and I'll keep you alive."
It was a trap.
And a test of loyalty.
Lu Shiyan needed solid information to confirm his suspicions.
Before Kamiya Konan could answer, Yu Shishi couldn't hold back any longer.
"Stinky Uncle! You—"
But before she could get the words out, Liu Yuqing clamped a hand over her mouth.
She understood why.
He seemed to be asking Kamiya Konan to use his Insight to get information.
But in truth, he wanted to judge whether the earlier Air Manipulation was real by watching how their Jiangnan teammates reacted!
Lu Shiyan saw Liu Yuqing's expression and shook his head. It was clear...
He already had his answer.
Ginger grew hotter with age.
"Uh..."
Kamiya Konan froze.
He knew Lu Shiyan was setting him up. If he named Jiangnan's ability...
Given Lu Shiyan's temperament, he'd kill him without hesitation.
Besides...
He couldn't say. He'd already used up his one chance for the day!
And the man called Jiangnan still had a memo covering his face.
He had no interest at all in the deadly drama unfolding nearby.
"Arrogant bastard..."
A nameless anger surged within Kamiya Konan.
"You'll regret losing a Chosen of God!"
But reality was cruel.
To stay alive, he had no choice but to lower his noble head.
He put on a fawning expression, trying to sell himself to the man who seemed like the strongest one to rely on.
"Mr. Jiang! You... you can't keep sleeping!"
"Don't you want to know where your underling... that Guo Shuai, went while he was missing earlier?!"
"And one more thing! He might die soon!!"
"I don't mean because there's no desk at his seat! It's for another reason! A deeper reason! I know the truth!"
"The truth about someone in this classroom trying to turn everything upside down!"
Hearing his own name, Guo Shuai shuddered in the corner.
After resting, he'd regained a fair amount of strength.
He struggled to turn his head and look at Jiangnan beside him, his eyes full of questions.
"Boss...?"
Clearly, if this kid really knew something that could hurt him, shouldn't he listen?
Just as everyone expected Jiangnan to get up and ask about his underling's safety...
Rustle.
A long, slender hand slowly lifted the memo from his face.
Jiangnan opened his eyes. His dark gaze held not the slightest ripple.
He picked up a pen, wrote a line on the memo, then tore it off and tossed it away.
The memo fluttered down onto the desk in front of Kamiya Konan.
There was only one cold line on it:
[Talk is cheap. Name my ability, or... die.]
"!!"
Everyone present was shocked.
They hadn't expected that at such a critical moment, Jiangnan wouldn't care about the rules or his underling's safety.
Instead, he'd asked exactly the same thing as Lu Shiyan!
Such a sensitive question!
One that could easily expose his hand!
What confidence!
And what a...
Complete disregard for the rules of the game!
Kamiya Konan stared at the memo, frozen in place.
Cold sweat ran down his forehead, soaking his glasses in an instant.
A profound sense of helplessness swept over him.
He felt like a husband who couldn't perform, faced with his wife flaunting herself before him, yet unable to respond.
Because...
His Sequence Supernatural Ability, Answer Analysis, could only be used once a day.
And he'd already wasted that one chance on that damned question about the Curse of Four!
Now, he was nothing but an ordinary person!
How could he possibly know what Jiangnan's ability was?!
The air seemed to freeze.
For some reason, after falling into utter despair, Kamiya Konan actually calmed down.
In fact...
He suddenly felt like laughing.
"Jiangnan... what a weirdo."
He grumbled inwardly, without a trace of anger.
"Wouldn't a normal person ask where Guo Shuai went? Wouldn't they ask why he might die?"
"Even if they asked about the classroom rules or the ghost's weakness, that'd make sense!"
"I spent all that time setting things up and leading him to the right questions..."
"And this guy... just copied that bastard Lu Shiyan and asked what his own ability was?"
"Something completely unrelated..."
"He really is a thoroughgoing, self-centered Madman..."
"I lost."
"I lost to luck, and to this damned Human Heart."
"Haha... Hahahaha!!"
Kamiya Konan suddenly covered his face and let out a frenzied laugh.
If no one believed him...
If they were all going to die anyway...
Then he might as well play the Madman for once!
"Good grief..."
Kamiya Konan abruptly lowered his hand, a final glimmer flashing in his eyes.
It was the last shred of a Chosen of God's dignity—and his final act of revenge.
"Since none of you want me to live..."
"Then before I die, I'll give you all an answer for free!!"
He widened his eyes and shouted at everyone with all his strength.
"Listen to me!!"
"There's... a demon hiding among you!"
"And this demon... is right there among the three human el—"
Whoosh!
Before the words were out, a flash of silver streaked across the room.
Splurt!
Kamiya Konan's voice cut off abruptly.
His eyes widened as he clamped both hands around his throat.
But blood still gushed wildly through his fingers.
His vocal cords, his neck—severed clean through!
Meanwhile, at the lectern,
Lu Shiyan lowered his right hand after throwing the scalpel. His face showed no emotion as he blew out a ring of smoke.
"So noisy."
"Class is about to start, and you're still shouting."
"Have you no classroom discipline?"
Before you continue