Riot (3)

"The show is about to begin." On the top floor, Rinya's gaze was like a torch, fixed on the scene outside the window.

"Eh~ so we can finally see it." Hearing this, Kushida, whose heart had been filled with curiosity due to her confusion, couldn't help but nod gently, the anticipation in her tone self-evident.

The faint worry that had previously lingered on her face finally gave way to a hint of joy after seeing the situation below. "It looks like everyone is starting to recover."

Following Kushida's gaze downward, many of those who had lost control were gradually regaining their senses, though they all looked far from well.

Perhaps because they realized they had committed foolish acts worthy of expulsion, no one—from Class A of the first year down to Class D—was without a face full of remorse and worry.

They had put in so much effort to come to this school and fulfill their so-called dreams, yet now...

Looking at their companions on the ground, bloodied and some even still unconscious, they were truly terrified that the school would use this as a pretext to expel them all.

After all, there were no surveillance cameras here; saying anything would be futile... especially since the turmoil that had occurred here today was simply too massive and too severe.

Once the top brass of the school found out about this, there was no need to guess that the outcome would be dire for an incident that so clearly damaged the school's reputation and caused such serious losses.

Moreover, having learned the lesson from the last time information was leaked, they feared that this time, there would be absolutely no mercy for the participants.

"What do I do? I don't want to be expelled, wuwuwuwu~" A girl's trembling sobs broke the silence.

Hearing this, everyone else wore complex expressions.

Just then, the middle-aged man from the management team, who had already organized the four homeroom teachers on the other side, acted.

In a flurry of activity, he had already instructed them to use the excuse of an accidental incident during the physical examination to gloss over today's events, then take their respective classes back to school or to the hospital as needed, while the physical examination would be canceled; in any case, it was best to act as if today's events had never happened.

Although the four teachers had complex expressions, they were all old hands at this, and they nodded one after another.

Having been homeroom teachers for so long, they truly hadn't expected the leadership, who usually shifted blame first, to take the initiative to help them cover this up. Though they were deeply suspicious, they weren't stupid given the current situation.

After all, such a serious brawl had occurred, and even they, as homeroom teachers, had been involved without noticing a thing. With no surveillance around, they didn't even need to think about the consequences if the school's top brass found out.

However, just as the middle-aged man finished giving his orders with a smug look and stepped out of the stadium gate to head to the detention center to collect his people, he froze the moment he looked up.

He saw the school Security Department, which shouldn't have been there, arriving in a massive, orderly procession of police cars, and he was all too familiar with the person sitting in the lead vehicle.

"Aya... Ayanokoji, how could you..." The middle-aged man rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

Yet, before he could dwell on it, the tall, thin man in the lead stopped his car, and the cold, stern voice that followed hit him like a bolt of lightning.

"Coordinator Mikawa, listen to what this is!"

As the other party turned the recording up to its maximum volume, a series of conspiratorial conversations, amplified by the loudspeakers, instantly reached every corner of the stadium.

"Th-this voice is..."

Inside the stadium, the four homeroom teachers confirmed the voice repeatedly, their faces changing drastically.

The listless students of each class were filled with horror and disbelief as they listened.

Because many had just emerged from their state of loss of control, they even briefly thought they were suffering from auditory hallucinations.

But when another well-known, cold, and stern voice rang out, so many people were caught off guard by the suddenness of the event that they stood frozen in place.

"That's right, you heard correctly. This recording comes from the recording box hidden under Chairman Sakayanagi's office computer."

"Today, I, Takashimizu Ukai, as Deputy Director, am willing to guarantee to all of you in the name of the Security Department that this matter is absolutely true and absolutely reliable."

As the voice faded, the silent stadium erupted with a roar, descending into chaotic, noisy chatter.

Fortunately, the first-year homeroom teachers were people who had seen their share of storms; after the intense psychological shock, they quickly regained their composure and sternly ordered everyone to stop.

"Class representatives, keep your people in check and wait in place."

"Make sure the injured students are taken care of and wait for the ambulance. We'll go out and see what's happening." Mashima Tomoya, the lead homeroom teacher of Class A, said in a cold, serious tone.

"Master, the recording just now... and the Security Department outside, I'm finding it harder and harder to understand." On the top floor, watching this scene, Kushida tilted her head, feeling puzzled.

"Tch, do you even need to ask Master? Even I figured it out. Is that place really just for show instead of brains?"

Before Rinya could reply, Ibuki stepped in, staring pointedly at the other girl's chest with a disdainful, flat tone.

It seemed that whenever she thought of the humiliation she had suffered at the hands of Kushida's other side, she couldn't help but tease her whenever she had the chance.

"Eh, why are you bringing that up again, Ibuki-chan?"

Kushida pouted, but her eyes accidentally swept over Horikita Suzune, who had fainted beside her. Seeing something about the other girl that was advantageous to her, her eyes lit up.

She then whispered to herself: "Eh, isn't Horikita-san your rival? Look, her place there seems to be bigger than yours..."

"Ma... Master, my stomach hurts, I'm going to the restroom, sorry."

Before Kushida could finish her sentence, Ibuki Mio interrupted her sharply and then bolted away in a flash.

"...I knew it would be like this, hmph." Kushida couldn't help but be speechless.

However, Rinya didn't pay much attention to the conversation between the two girls, because at this moment, his gaze was fixed on the middle-aged man, who seemed to have been driven into a corner by Ayanokoji.

Looking at the man's disheveled and pathetic state, an ordinary person might think the matter should end here.

After all, with so many people surrounding him, it seemed he had no chance of a comeback.

But with Rinya's sharp, insightful gaze, he could clearly see that there was definitely a hidden plan lurking behind the man's faint, unwilling expression.

"Heh~ It looks like this guy is planning to go all out," Rinya said with a faint, intrigued smile.

Perhaps out of habit from watching shows, he subconsciously added, "Kushida, bring some snacks over. The main event is about to start for real now, hurry, hurry."

"Master, this..."

Hearing this, Kushida immediately looked embarrassed. Although she really didn't want to admit the truth, Ibuki hadn't actually put her bag down when she left.

"Hmm? Where's the food?" Rinya acted like a child for once, his gaze locked tightly on the window while one hand reached out behind him, gesturing.

"Th-that, I am truly sorry, Master. The bag... is still with Ibuki~" Kushida hung her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Uh... then how long is she going to be in the bathroom?" Rinya suddenly recalled what she had said when she left.

"As for that... I have a feeling it might be quite a while."

"Fine then~" Upon hearing this, Rinya's voice sounded as if it had lost half its vitality as it drifted out softly.

Fortunately, an unexpected change occurring on the other side helped him recover quite a bit of his spirit.

"You bastard, Mikawa, what did you do!"

"Cough, cough..."

Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, down below the window, Takashimizu Ukai and his group, seeing that their target wasn't resisting, had just moved in to slap the cuffs on him.

No one had expected that this seemingly frail and weak Mikawa would suddenly produce a small packet of grayish-white powder.

Unfortunately, by the time the group reacted, he had already taken advantage of the wind to fling it forward, and the chilly breeze instantly carried the substance toward the members of the Security Department.

Seeing his plan succeed, Mikawa couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

"Haha... Hahaha..."

"This is a small packet of powder refined from tons of Berserk Liquid at headquarters. It's always been used specifically to train our high-end products; even the boss wouldn't dare let ordinary people inhale it lightly."

"So, I wonder if you'll end up with complete neurological collapse or brain death because of this. Just thinking about it is so exciting."

"You... you lunatic!" Takashimizu Ukai gritted his teeth, his face flushed red; it seemed the effects of the drug were already starting to take hold.

As for the other members of the Security Department, it went without saying; after clutching their heads and howling in pain, they immediately turned into out-of-control monsters who didn't recognize their own kin, falling into a chaotic brawl on the spot.

Perhaps because the concentration was so high, these Security Department members, whose physical strength was already superior to the average person, were now forced to push their bodies to the absolute limit with every punch and kick under the influence of the inhaled Berserk powder.

If too much time passed and no one intervened, it was possible that these people would die one after another as their organs failed under the immense strain.

"Hmm? Ayanokoji, why are you fine?"

Mid-laugh, Mikawa suddenly noticed that Ayanokoji, who was in a car in the distance, was not only unaffected but was also watching him quietly.

"So, after all that, he didn't even tell you about my identity?" Ayanokoji's calm voice made an inexplicable sense of unease rise in Mikawa's heart.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Hearing this, Ayanokoji didn't bother to respond further. He simply gestured toward the surroundings with his eyes before walking away from the scene.

"Hey, stop right there! Ayanokoji, don't you think—"

However, before he could finish his sentence, Mikawa suddenly felt his head shrouded by a shadow.

The moment he looked up...

From the outside, let alone his voice, even his entire person was instantly submerged and swallowed up by a swarm of completely berserk, out-of-control attackers.