The Rampage (4)

"Master, do you think we should..." Kushida asked worriedly, watching the Out-of-Control Ones already beginning to stream toward the stadium.

"It's fine. Don't worry."

"Since someone set this whole thing up, he'll naturally find a way to handle it."

"And since we're outsiders... hehe~"

"Now that we're here, we might as well take the chance to make the most of it. Otherwise, our trip would be for nothing."

"Don't you agree, Kushida~"

As he spoke, the faintly smiling boy turned his dark red gaze toward the four homeroom teachers below, who were steadily retreating. He stared at them like prey, his meaning plain.

"Could it be~ that you mean..." Looking into his eyes, she seemed to recall the scene when Ibuki Mio had been taken down.

She couldn't help feeling secretly stunned. Was her master planning to take down one of the homeroom teachers, too~

Rinya didn't answer her directly. He merely motioned for her to keep watching with him. Perhaps the answer would appear soon.

Just then, the four homeroom teachers, already under the Out-of-Control Ones' scrutiny, quickly came up with a plan in the midst of the crisis.

"We've already called for help. It'll take at least ten minutes."

"Help me draw them away. Chie, Sae, get everyone inside and lead them toward the woods first." Mashima Tomoya, the stern-faced homeroom teacher of Class A, instructed them gravely.

"But then..." Hoshinomiya said, her face full of concern.

But before she could say anything else—or even react—Chabashira Sae grabbed her and hurried toward the stadium. Only after they had run some distance did they hear Sae's voice in the distance: "All right. Be careful, you two."

"Uh... yeah."

Watching one woman being dragged along and the other running at full tilt, the two men exchanged smiles. They both recalled scenes from the past. Now they finally had a chance to fight side by side again, and their feelings were complicated.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sae, let go of me! Let go! What if the students see us? I'll die of embarrassment!"

From outside, Hoshinomiya's voice still seemed to echo around inside the stadium.

But only a few moments had passed, and the homeroom teachers of Classes A and C had already lost the chance to hear her.

As the two men shouted and waved, they drew in a group of Out-of-Control Ones at the front of the pack.

The two had only meant to hold them off for as long as possible. But when they realized the pursuers were gradually closing the distance, even though they hadn't been running long—

Only then did they notice that the Out-of-Control Ones were moving far too fast. Some of them were already running at a level comparable to professional athletes.

"Damn it! Why are these guys so fast?"

As a former head of the athletics department, Mashima Tomoya watched the Out-of-Control Ones behind him, who seemed ready to grab him at any moment. Horrified, he panted hard and did his best to lead them in the opposite direction.

But Sakagami Suma, the homeroom teacher of Class C, wasn't so lucky. He had average stamina to begin with, and hadn't run far when a heavy punch struck him from behind. He rolled into an old tree on the spot.

The force of the impact was so strong that even the old tree shook.

"Cough~"

A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Surrounded by the Out-of-Control Ones, Sakagami Suma took off his glasses. There was no fear on his face. Instead, as he watched them swarm toward him, he began to laugh foolishly.

Perhaps when people were on the verge of death, they instinctively remembered the past...

"Hahahaha~"

"Tomoya!"

"Cough, cough. In my next life... don't let me skip P.E. class again."

"Otherwise, don't expect me to give her back to you!"

As the weathered man closed his eyes and let out the final roar of his life,

the Out-of-Control Ones unleashed a storm of terrifying blows, each one exceeding the limits of the human body.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."

Yet after taking such a brutal beating, Sakagami kept his eyes tightly shut and felt no pain at all. Not only that, but he could faintly hear the muffled sounds of someone blocking the attacks for him.

"An... hallucination?" Sakagami couldn't believe anyone would risk coming to save him at a time like this.

Then another series of blows rang out, accompanied by the Out-of-Control Ones' screams.

Hearing them, he tried to open his eyes, puzzled. But a deft strike to his shoulder immediately knocked him unconscious.

"Sorry. I miscalculated this time." Ayanokoji's voice sounded as soft as ever.

But his expression was less composed than usual, and more cold.

The few Out-of-Control Ones who had just approached were instantly knocked to the ground by his seemingly slow sidesteps.

After laying Sakagami down, he looked toward the top floor of the stadium, as if he had sensed something.

From below, the distance and the glare of the sunlight made it impossible to see anything clearly. Still, when Ayanokoji left, there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Watching from a window on the top floor, Kushida asked anxiously, "Master, did he see us just now?"

"Oh~ If you were in his place, would you have been able to see us?" Rinya asked with a laugh.

"Well... Master, I don't think I could have."

"Is that so? Then did you really need to ask me that just now?"

Kushida's face instantly reddened.

In truth, she didn't know why she had asked that...

Perhaps ever since that night, she had unconsciously been trying to keep that other personality from gradually replacing her.

"But... am I still myself~?"

Looking at the master beside her, she felt a faint, sickening possessiveness stirring in her eyes. It flashed by in an instant, but even so, it left her shaken.

Fortunately, Rinya wasn't looking at her. Otherwise, with his keen insight, he would have seen that something was wrong in no time.

"Still, he showed up to help at just the right moment."

Rinya looked meaningfully in the direction Ayanokoji had disappeared, amusement in his eyes.

"Never mind~ Looks like it's time for us to get moving, too."

"Huh?"

"Oh, right~"

Kushida, who had thought they'd been spotted, hurriedly came back to her senses. Her flustered response caught Rinya's attention.

But he didn't say anything. After a brief, thoughtful pause, he smiled and instructed her, "Stay here and keep an eye on the outside for me. If the School Rescue Force arrives, call and let me know."

"There are too many people around for this operation. I'll be better off going alone."

"As for Ibuki..." Rinya glanced at the girl in the corner, who was taking revenge by fooling around with Horikita Suzune's body. His mouth twitched.

After thinking it over, he shook his head. "Uh... Once I've taken care of things, make sure you bring them back to class, so no one gets suspicious."

"Yes, Master."