Coercion

The night was as dark as ink, heavy clouds devouring the last trace of starlight, pressing down oppressively over the primeval forest. The humid air carried the stifling heat of an impending mountain storm, and even the insect calls grew sparse and strained. A torrential downpour was about to pour down.

Class D's camp had already sunk into slumber, with only the dying embers of the campfire flickering in the wind. Kazama In slipped out of his tent like a ghost merging into the night, utterly silent. Koenji Rokusuke was already waiting in the agreed shadow, his flamboyant golden hair subdued in the darkness.

"Arbiter, it seems tonight's stage will have a storm as its overture," Koenji said, his voice pressed extremely low, carrying a hint of pre-hunt excitement. "Have you confirmed the direction of 'Gray Owl's' nest?"

Kazama In raised his wrist. On the screen of the special watch, a faint but steady light point was blinking in the northwest direction of the map—the signal from a micro-tracker he had implanted into "Shadow" through special means, which the clever bird had cleverly snatched out early and hidden near "Gray Owl's" temporary nest! He nodded, his voice icy: "Class B is your responsibility. 'Blood Claw' might be lurking nearby, aiming to cause chaos or make a move on Ichinose. Protect them, especially her."

"Ohohoho, rest assured, Brother." Koenji performed an exaggerated, elegant hand-to-chest bow, but his eyes were sharp as blades. "Protecting the lovely Miss Honami and appreciating 'Blood Claw's' crude aesthetics struggling under the moonlight (if there is any) is a feast not to be missed! Good luck, Arbiter!" As his words faded, his slender figure had already turned into a phantom merging into the night wind, dashing swiftly and silently toward Class B's camp.

Kazama In took a deep breath of the humid air, thick with the smell of earth. His ink-black eyes locked onto the direction of the tracker signal. The next second, his figure moved!

With no wasted motion, Kazama In's body seemed to lose its weight, turning into a blurry black shadow weaving through the tangled forest. His steps were as light as treading on clouds; each landing precisely chose dry rock, thick tree roots, or dense moss, avoiding the noisy dead leaves and soft mud. His body flexibly twisted between sturdy trunks, using them for leverage, like the most agile ape, silently darting and leaping through the lower canopy several meters above the ground! Lush branches and leaves whipped past him, the stirred wind unable to disturb even a strand of his silver-white bangs. Raindrops began to fall sporadically, wetting his collar and hair, yet unable to affect his speed or precision. Rain slid down his stern profile like cold teardrops, adding to the murderous aura.

His presence was suppressed to near nothingness, his heartbeat steady and slow, but all his senses were heightened to the extreme. His ears filtered the rustle of rain on leaves, the distant murmur of a stream, and... the tracker signal growing closer. The light point on his wrist almost overlapped with the one representing his own position!

The target location was a recessed rock face hidden behind massive vines and ferns, forming a natural shallow cave from the rain. Kazama In slid down the tree trunk like a gecko, landing in the shadow of a giant tree about ten meters from the cave entrance. He held his breath, his ink-black eyes piercing through layers of rain and foliage, precisely locking onto the blurry figure inside the cave—it was "Gray Owl"! He had his back to the entrance, seemingly organizing gear, with a waterproof backpack and a long weapon case beside him.

Kazama In, like the most patient hunter, had his body taut as a bowstring, muscles storing explosive power beneath the cold, wet clothes. He slowly drew the poisoned tactical knife from behind his waist; the icy blade reflected no light in the rainy night. All he needed was a perfect angle, one silent strike...

Just then!

"Beep-beep-beep—!" A sharp, abrupt electronic alert suddenly rang from the special watch on Kazama In's wrist! The sound was jarringly piercing in the silent rainy night!

It was an emergency communication request from Koenji! Clearly, something unexpected might have happened at Class B's camp!

Kazama In's pupils contracted sharply! Alarm bells rang in his mind! He cut off the communication instantly, but it was too late!

"Gray Owl" inside the cave turned like a startled venomous snake! His eyes, gleaming coldly in the darkness, swept like searchlights toward the source of the sound! The moment the sound rang out, Kazama In had already shrunk back into the tree's shadow like melting wax, suppressing his presence to the limit, blending with the damp bark and darkness.

However, "Gray Owl" was clearly no ordinary opponent. He didn't rush out recklessly but instead drew a compact submachine gun with a silencer from his waist in a flash! The muzzle wasn't aimed at Kazama In's hiding spot but pointed unhesitatingly in the opposite direction from Class D's camp—toward another area where students might be active (such as a nearby patrol point or resource point for another class)!

A cold, metallic voice cut through the rain, clearly reaching Kazama In's ears, dripping with mockery and cruelty:

"Come out, Arbiter. I know it's you. Your little pet is clever, but your teammate... seems a bit clueless?" "Gray Owl's" voice carried the teasing of a cat toying with a mouse. "I'll give you three seconds. If you don't show yourself in three seconds, I'll empty this magazine in that direction. Guess... how many 'innocent' students will suffer because of your 'caution'?"

Kazama In's heart sank heavily! Icy killing intent surged in his chest like a tangible force! The opponent hadn't pinpointed his location but had used the most despicable method to grab his weak spot—using the lives of potentially innocent students as leverage! He had calculated everything except Koenji's communication at this critical moment, and he hadn't expected "Gray Owl" to be so ruthless and cunning!

"Three..." "Gray Owl's" countdown tolled like a death knell.

Kazama In's fingers gripping the knife turned white at the knuckles. He could gamble that the opponent wouldn't dare actually fire and cause a massive commotion. But the cost? He dared not gamble! As the "Arbiter," his duty was to eliminate threats, not drag innocents into it!

"Two..." The cold number pierced his eardrums like an ice spike.

Kazama In took a sharp breath, suppressing the surging rage and killing intent. He couldn't let anyone die because of him! Absolutely not!

"One!"

Just as "Gray Owl" was about to pull the trigger—

"Stop." A voice as cold as ice, devoid of any human emotion, rang out.

Kazama In slowly stepped out from the shadow of the giant tree. Rain slid down his angular face, his ink-black eyes like two burning ice flames in the darkness, locked onto the figure holding the gun at the cave entrance. He dropped the knife in his hand, letting it silently sink into the soft mud, and raised his hands to show he was disarmed.

"Gray Owl" looked at the prey forced into the open, a cruel, smug grin hidden beneath his mask. He slowly lowered the muzzle, but his finger remained on the trigger, ready to raise it at any moment.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." He let out a series of extremely unpleasant clicking sounds, like a snake flicking its tongue. "Look who it is? The legendary 'Arbiter,' the cleaner of the shadows, the terror of countless targets? And now you're like a lost elementary schooler, forced out by me using a few 'maybe' passersby?"

He stepped forward, walking to the edge of the cave into the rain, raising the cold muzzle again, pointing it from a distance at Kazama In's heart.

"So the rumors are true, young master of the Kazama family." "Gray Owl's" voice was filled with venomous mockery. "You've changed. You've grown weak. You've grown... laughable!"

"Is it because of that blonde girl? Ichinose Honami? That blinding sunshine that makes a gutter rat like you want to get close to its warmth?" "Gray Owl's" pace quickened, each word like a poisoned needle. "Or is it because of those so-called 'classmates'? Those ants in your eyes, those weaklings you, the 'leader,' feel you need to protect?"

"How did your mother die, Kazama In?" "Gray Owl's" voice suddenly rose, carrying bone-chilling coldness. "Right in front of you! Crushed like a bug by our people! Do you remember the temperature of that blood splattering on your face?! The family that taught you to kill, taught you to be ruthless, forged you into the sharpest blade—not so you could be a babysitter for classmates, or act like a love-struck kid protecting some sunshine girl!"

"You were supposed to be the perfect weapon! The emperor of the shadows!" "Gray Owl's" mockery reached its peak, twisted with anger and disappointment. "Look at you now! Tied down by ridiculous 'emotions'! Crippled by boring 'responsibility'! You've even forgotten the most basic 'hunter's rule'—necessary sacrifices are allowed to eliminate a target! And you, for a few 'classmates' who might not even exist, gave up a perfect ambush and walked out like a fool to die!"

"Arbiter?" "Gray Owl" let out a contemptuous snort. "Now you're only fit to be called... the Kazama family's disgrace! A waste whose bones have been softened by emotion!"

The cold rain mercilessly pounded Kazama In, soaking through his clothes, the chill biting to the bone. But even colder were the words "Gray Owl" injected into his ears like venom. Those taunts, like rusty dull blades, repeatedly cut into the deepest parts of his heart—the contradictions and pain he himself had never fully faced. His mother's blood, his family's expectations, the cold training... clashing violently in his mind with Ichinose's bright smile, the weight of "Shadow" on his shoulder, the grateful gazes from the camp... tearing him apart!

His body stood straight in the rain like a spear. Deep in his ink-black eyes, the two ice flames burned even fiercer, as if about to ignite the cold rainy night! Shame? Weakness? Waste? These words branded his nerves like hot irons. Yet, beneath the extreme anger and icy killing intent, something deeper, more resolute, was quietly coalescing.

"Gray Owl's" muzzle, like the gaze of death, was firmly locked on him. But this cold muzzle, in his eyes at this moment, had become the opponent's greatest flaw—one who had focused all his attention on him, believing he had the situation under control.