The Masterpiece's Fangs

"Kiyotaka."

"Show him what a 'masterpiece' is."

Natsume Yu's voice was soft.

Yet it was like a precise command, instantly etched into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's central nervous system.

On the track.

The final straight sprint.

The atmosphere had frozen to the breaking point.

In Class D's camp, the spark of hope that had just flared up was being mercilessly doused by the cold water of reality.

"It's over..."

"The gap is too big. There's no way he can catch up."

"Third place... is already the limit of what we can do."

Sudo Ken clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh, yet he felt no pain at all.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the figure far ahead.

Class C's Ryuen Kakeru.

And Class A's ace.

They were like two insurmountable mountains standing before the finish line.

The expressions on Class D's students' faces had gone from excitement, to tension, to utter despondency.

Miracles, after all, had their limits.

"Heh."

Ryuen Kakeru, running in second place, even had the leisure to glance back.

His gaze passed over the Class A runner and landed precisely on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka behind him.

His face, twisted in a vicious grin, was filled with the teasing cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.

He even deliberately slowed by half a step.

That posture was no longer about competing.

It was a public execution.

In this way, he was telling everyone that Class D was nothing more than insects beneath his feet, free for him to trample and humiliate as he pleased.

"Hey, trash."

Ryuen Kakeru's lips moved soundlessly as he mouthed the words at Ayanokoji.

"So this is everything your Class D has got? What a disappointment."

The entire crowd's attention was focused on the final hundred meters.

Everyone saw Ryuen Kakeru's provocation.

And they saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's unresponsive, almost vacant expression.

Would he give up?

Would he admit defeat now?

The hearts of Class D's students sank to the bottom.

However.

The next instant.

A sudden change occurred!

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had maintained a steady pace all along, suddenly had his pupils contract within those calm, ancient-well eyes.

Natsume Yu's command underwent a second decoding in his mind, revealing its true meaning.

"Overtake him."

"But don't reveal all your strength."

"Make him lose without understanding why."

Boom!

An invisible shockwave erupted violently from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka!

His entire presence transformed in an instant, from a dull, harmless stone into a blade drawn from its sheath!

His body lowered slightly.

The muscles in his legs bulged instantly, visibly swelling before the naked eye.

The next moment.

He moved.

That was not running.

That was launch propulsion!

The synthetic track beneath his feet groaned under the strain with every push-off.

His speed soared madly along a curve that completely defied the laws of physics!

The frequency of his strides, the rhythm of his breathing, the swing of his arms...

Everything was precise to the extreme.

Not a single unnecessary movement, not the slightest waste of energy.

He did not look like someone running.

He looked more like a cold, merciless killing machine programmed with the command: "Victory."

"W-What is that?!"

The students in the stands cried out in disbelief.

Everyone's eyes were locked onto that figure charging forward in pursuit.

Too fast!

Absurdly fast!

The Class A runner who had been in the lead only felt a gale sweep past him.

Before he could even see the other person's face clearly, the bib belonging to Class D had already flashed past his side like a ghost!

Overtaken!

So easily!

So unreasonably!

At that moment.

The vicious grin on Ryuen Kakeru's face had yet to fully fade.

Hearing the commotion behind him, he disdainfully prepared to turn back and mock him again.

But when his gaze shifted behind him.

The face he most wanted to see, filled with despair, was nowhere to be found.

There was only an empty stretch of track.

Where was he?

An absurd thought rose from the depths of Ryuen Kakeru's heart.

He abruptly turned his head.

Then.

He saw him.

That expressionless face, right beside him.

The smile on Ryuen Kakeru's face froze completely.

It was replaced by shock and disbelief, as explosive as a volcanic eruption!

Impossible!

When did this guy catch up?!

Why hadn't I felt a thing?!

Panic coiled around his heart like vines in an instant.

Ryuen Kakeru let out a beastlike roar, desperately squeezing out every last bit of strength in his body as he charged forward frantically.

He had to shake this monster off!

He had to get rid of him!

However.

No matter how he accelerated or gritted his teeth.

The figure at his side remained level with him.

No farther ahead.

No farther behind.

Like an inescapable shadow, it clung tightly to him.

That person's breathing was not the least bit disordered.

Ryuen Kakeru could clearly hear his own heart hammering and feel the searing pain as though his lungs were tearing apart.

Yet his opponent remained so calm that it made his scalp go numb.

The finish line was right ahead.

The final ten meters.

Neck and neck!

At that moment, with all eyes upon them, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka finally made his first movement aside from running.

Slowly, he turned his head.

With those eyes devoid of all human emotion, he calmly glanced at Ryuen Kakeru beside him.

There was no mockery in that gaze, no anger, and certainly no joy at victory.

There was only emptiness.

Like a higher-dimensional being looking down at an utterly insignificant insect.

In that instant.

Ryuen Kakeru felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen.

A chill from the depths of his soul left his limbs icy and his mind blank.

They crossed the line!

Almost at the same time!

The entire stadium fell deathly silent.

Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the large screen by the finish line.

Slow-motion replay.

The image froze.

Class D's Ayanokoji Kiyotaka crossed first, with the slightest advantage of a shoulder!

He won!

After a brief silence.

"OOOOOOOOOOO—!"

Thunderous cheers instantly ignited the entire stadium!

Class D's camp descended completely into madness!

"We won! We won!"

"First place! We're first!"

Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki hugged each other excitedly, laughing and crying at once.

Hirata Yosuke threw up his arms in a shout, his eyes reddening.

Every student screamed, shouted, and embraced one another, venting the overwhelming ecstasy brought by the comeback.

In the Student Council stands.

Horikita Manabu's hand tightened unconsciously around the railing.

As he watched the boy at the finish line slowly come to a stop, his expression still completely unruffled, his gaze turned graver than ever before.

That man was absolutely no ordinary person.

In Class A's stands.

The serenity on Sakayanagi Arisu's face had long been replaced by a sickly, excited flush.

Her cane lightly tapped against the ground, its sound resonating perfectly with her racing heartbeat.

"Found you."

She murmured softly, her eyes gleaming with the fervor of having met a worthy opponent.

"At last, I found you."

Amid the crowd's cheers, no one noticed.

Natsume Yu, standing in a corner, merely watched it all calmly.

The corner of his lips curved into an expression only he could understand.

Seventy percent.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had used at most seventy percent of his strength.

This result was just right.

It could deal Ryuen Kakeru the heaviest psychological blow while successfully pushing the name "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka" into everyone's spotlight.

A powerful and mysterious "monster."

What a perfect shield.

And he himself could continue hiding behind that shield, draping himself in an even thicker disguise.

The competition ended.

Amid the noisy crowd.

Ryuen Kakeru dropped to his knees on the track, utterly dazed.

His eyes were vacant as he gasped for breath, sweat and tears mingling together.

Lost?

How could I have lost?

He could not understand it, nor could he accept it.

The victor, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, paid no heed to the cheers and praise around him.

He passed through the excited Class D students embracing one another and walked straight toward the boy who had stood in the corner from beginning to end, seemingly cut off from the world.

He lowered his head slightly and reported in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Mission accomplished."