Epilogue

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Shockwaves from the immense forces compressing the air kept roaring through the woods.

Rinya's figure seemed to merge with the wind. Riding the gusts stirred up by the shockwaves, he moved so fast that his afterimages seemed like an illusion, and the five men kept striking empty air.

After several exchanges, they finally realized their opponent was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished without a trace at some point.

The woman had disappeared even earlier.

"Damn it, all you do is play these cheap tricks! Come out and fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"

"Bang!"

He stomped down, instantly blasting the sand and stones beneath his foot apart. Genko's face was filled with fury as he kept stamping on the shattered rocks.

Seeing this, the white-haired youth leading the group shook his head, came over, and patted Genko on the shoulder. With a sigh, he said, "All right, all right. Since they have no interest in fighting us either, there's no point staying here. Today's plan is canceled. I'll report this to our master personally. Let's go."

Hearing this, the man was still furious, but there was nothing he could do.

"Hmph, you little punk... Just you wait. I won't forget this!"

Meanwhile, Rinya had set out to take Hoshinomiya away. Once they reached a safe place, he found himself feeling unexpectedly unsettled.

He had carried her in his arms as they hurried along the entire way.

If she were an ordinary woman, theoretically, being held so closely by a strange man would make her scream and struggle. Even a couple would show at least some subtle change in their expressions.

And Hoshinomiya was his teacher, to boot.

Yet she was strangely silent. Apart from keeping her eyes fixed on him, she had been like a wooden doll the whole time.

"What's wrong... cat got your tongue, Hoshinomiya-sensei? Heh."

Rinya boldly stroked her hair. Seeing that her expression remained as lifeless as still water, he couldn't help growing curious.

Ever since he had awakened, not only had the restraints on every aspect of his body been completely lifted, but his perception had also reached a terrifying level no one else could attain.

He could tell that her thoughts were simply too jumbled. Her consciousness couldn't adapt and sort them out in the moment, which was why she had become so dazed.

"Looks like I'll have to help you come to your senses." Rinya's gaze shifted.

Since he had already exposed himself today, he had decided to force out her other side himself.

If he could bring her fully under his control, he would bring her into his fold. If she was the type to go down fighting rather than submit, he would have no choice but to use a mildly painful method to make her lose her memories of this period.

After all, when trouble could be nipped in the bud, he wouldn't waste any extra time.

As he thought this, Rinya calmly moved behind her and gathered a little strength. Then, with a brief surge of energy, he struck her back, as casually as if he were triggering his usual self-healing.

The next second, something happened that left even Rinya feeling terribly awkward.

The force jolted Hoshinomiya out of her vacant stare, and her eyes gradually cleared. But he had used this move on someone else: Kushida at least had experience with it, whereas Hoshinomiya...

It seemed the force had been just a tiny bit too strong. After bringing the woman back to her senses, its residual power didn't fade. Instead, it continued downward from top to bottom. The result speaks for itself...

"Ahhh!"

Her shrill cry sent the birds in the woods scattering.

Hoshinomiya's expression went through ten changes in a single instant: confusion, doubt, fear, shock, panic, embarrassment, resolve, collapse, despair, and silence.

Rinya instinctively covered his nose. From that all-too-familiar smell, he knew exactly what had happened.

Having caused such an embarrassing scene, Rinya—who had originally planned to use her embarrassing past to force out her other side—found himself at a loss for words.

"Is anyone there?"

A rescue team nearby had heard her scream and quickly hurried over.

Seeing that things weren't looking good, Rinya smiled and shook his head. "Looks like I'll have to wait until next time."

But he wasn't in any hurry. Everything that had happened today was so bizarre that he was sure she would come looking for him sooner or later.

Before then... he wanted to investigate just how many other moves that man had left in this school.

After all, it wasn't until he had helped Hoshinomiya regain her senses that he realized the hypnosis was still in effect. It seemed there were other instructions yet to be carried out.

Although the energy he had sent into Hoshinomiya had incidentally destroyed the hypnosis affecting her consciousness, the homeroom teachers of the other three classes hadn't been so lucky...

As this disturbance seemed to be drawing to a close...

The youth moving through the woods suddenly stopped and gazed at the last traces of sunlight sinking below the horizon.

He murmured to himself, "People will die during the upcoming Uninhabited Island Exam, won't they..."