The Elegant Hunter

Almost at the same moment Kazama In engaged in a deadly confrontation with "Gray Owl" in the rain-soaked night forest, Koenji Rokusuke's figure, like a moonlit spirit, quietly arrived at the outskirts of Class B's base camp.

The campfire at Class B's camp had long been extinguished, with most students sunk in weary sleep. At the edge of the camp, a tall, upright figure stood like a solitary pine, vigilantly scanning the surroundings—it was Kanzaki Ryuji. He had taken Kazama's warning to heart and did not let his guard down even in the dead of night. The cold moonlight spilled over his sharply defined face, reflecting the steadfastness and sense of duty born from a military family.

Koenji made no particular effort to hide his movements. He gracefully parted a dense patch of ferns, the faint rustling sound of leaves brushing against each other standing out sharply in the silent night.

"Who goes there?!" Kanzaki's reaction was lightning-fast! He spun around, muscles instantly tensing, his sharp gaze locking onto the source of the sound like a searchlight. His right hand instinctively went to the baton at his waist (a simple defensive tool permitted by the rules).

Koenji stepped calmly out of the shadows, moonlight spilling over his striking silver hair and refined black tracksuit, as if draping him in a silver glow. His face bore his usual, slightly amused elegant smile.

"Oh, dear Kanzaki-kun," Koenji's voice rang out like an aria, "standing guard over the camp's peace alone on this silent, moonlit night—such persistence and vigilance... truly a beautiful tableau brimming with power!" His gaze then drifted to the hazy moon in the night sky, half-veiled by thin clouds. "And this moonlight, hazy yet carrying a cold radiance, is also an ineffably serene beauty gifted by the Creator."

Kanzaki Ryuji recognized Koenji and relaxed his tense nerves slightly, but the wariness in his eyes did not fully dissipate. He lowered his hand from the baton and asked in a deep voice, "Koenji? Why are you here so late?" He remembered Kazama's words to "stay alert," and Koenji showing up alone in the dead of night was suspicious in itself.

Koenji elegantly smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle on his clothes, his smile unchanged. "Why have I come? Naturally... to protect the beauty that ought to be protected." His words carried hidden meaning, his gaze casually sweeping toward the direction of Ichinose Honami's tent in the camp.

Just then, Ichinose Honami seemed to be roused by their conversation. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she pushed open her tent flap. Under the moonlight, she wore simple pajamas, her long golden hair slightly disheveled, her blue eyes clouded with the daze of just waking, like a lost fawn. She spotted Kanzaki and Koenji, surprise flickering across her face.

"Kanzaki-kun? Koenji-kun?" Her voice was hoarse with sleep. "What are you two talking about so late?" She wrapped her jacket tighter and walked over curiously.

Koenji was about to speak, to explain in his characteristic ornate language—

Suddenly, a change occurred!

Without any warning, a cylindrical metal object, carrying the faintest sound of cutting air, was thrown from the shadows of a dense bush at the camp's periphery! It traced a low, flat arc and landed precisely in the open space between Kanzaki, Koenji, and Ichinose!

"What's that?" Kanzaki noticed first, shouting sharply!

"Watch out!" Koenji's perception was far keener than Kanzaki's! The moment the object landed, he even caught the faintest, almost imperceptible sound of breathing from the thrower's direction—like rocks grinding together! A powerful, violent presence! But at that moment, the fallen object was the greater threat!

"Psssh—!"

A pungent white smoke erupted like a volcanic blast, surging wildly from the metal canister! The smoke spread with terrifying speed, instantly engulfing the slower-reacting Ichinose and Kanzaki! A powerful wave of dizziness and suffocation hit them!

"Gas! Hold your breath!" Kanzaki reacted quickly, immediately holding his breath while reaching out to grab Ichinose beside him! But the smoke was too thick and acrid, completely blinding his vision!

"Cough... ugh..." Ichinose only managed a short cough before the strong anesthetic gas invaded her airways. The world spun around her, her legs gave way, and her body uncontrollably crumpled toward the ground!

"Ichinose!" Kanzaki fought the dizziness, lunging toward where she fell based on memory and sound! His hand just brushed the edge of her clothes!

"Whoosh—!"

A heavy, swift black shadow, carrying a terrifying gust of wind pressure, burst in like a ghost from the edge of the smoke! Its speed was so great it left only a blurry afterimage under the moonlight!

"Thud!"

A dull sound of flesh colliding rang out!

Kanzaki Ryuji felt as if a heavy iron hammer had smashed into the back of his head! His vision went black instantly, all consciousness and strength draining away like the tide! He didn't even see who the attacker was before, with unwillingness and a massive wave of dizziness, he crashed heavily to the ground, completely losing consciousness!

"Oh?" Koenji Rokusuke, the moment the gas canister exploded, had already floated back several meters like a light feather, holding his breath! His golden eyes gleamed with astonishing light in the smoke, like a nocturnal feline! He clearly "saw" the burly figure that burst into the smoke and took down Kanzaki with one blow! That oppressive aura like a primordial beast, that familiar violent presence—it was "Blood Claw"!

The smoke quickly dispersed in the night breeze.

All that remained was Kanzaki Ryuji, unconscious and sprawled on the ground. And Ichinose Honami, who had just collapsed, had vanished without a trace!

Koenji Rokusuke stood under the cold moonlight, looking at the unconscious Kanzaki and the empty ground. His handsome face, always wearing a playful smile, was now, for the first time, utterly still. His golden pupils contracted slightly, holding not panic, but a cold, molten-gold fury flowing within!

"Oh ho ho..." He let out a low laugh, no longer elegant, but filled with a chilling menace. "To treat a beautiful star so roughly, like throwing a precious work of art into the mud... a waste of heaven's gifts! This twisted 'aesthetics'... is truly nauseating to the extreme!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he raised his wrist and quickly typed an encrypted message on his special communicator, sending the key information—"Ichinose abducted, Kanzaki unconscious, 'Blood Claw' responsible"—to Kazama In. The message was concise and precise.

Done, he walked over to the unconscious Kanzaki, bent down, and checked his pulse and breathing, confirming he was only temporarily unconscious and not in danger.

"Dutiful guardian, Kanzaki-kun." Koenji's voice regained a trace of warmth, carrying a hint of praise. "Your 'beauty' has not faded with your temporary fall." He quickly moved Kanzaki's body to a relatively safe, dry spot.

Then, Koenji's gaze, like the most precise probe, swept toward the direction "Blood Claw" had taken Ichinose—the northwest! The same direction Kazama was tracking "Gray Owl"! His target was the Waterfall Area!

Koenji's figure merged into the night again, speeding northwestward! His pace was swift, yet his movements retained a strange elegance, as if dancing under the moon. But this dance was filled with deadly rhythm.

Once inside the dense primeval forest, tracking became extremely difficult. "Blood Claw" was clearly experienced, deliberately choosing paths with the thickest vegetation and softest, wettest ground to obscure his trail. The humid, oppressive air before the storm also accelerated the dissipation of scents.

However, Koenji Rokusuke was no hunter relying on brute force. His nature, which pursued ultimate beauty, granted him an observational acuity and terrifying attention to detail far beyond ordinary people!

A snapped twig, no thicker than a pinky finger, with a fresh break pointing northwest by west. Koenji crouched, running his fingertip over the break, feeling the moisture of the wood fibers.

On the thick leaf of a giant fern, there was an unnatural, blurred indentation at an angle, clearly from a heavy object brushing past quickly. The indentation also held the faintest traces of dark soil different from the surrounding earth—special mud from "Blood Claw"'s combat boots!

Koenji closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the humid air. His powerful perception filtered out the forest's earthy smell and the fragrance of plants, capturing an extremely faint, almost wind-scattered trace of Ichinose Honami's unique scent—like sunlight mixed with a light floral fragrance—and... the violent, rust-and-sweat body odor of "Blood Claw"! This scent was like a candle flickering in the wind, intermittent but clear in direction!

He tilted his head, listening. His sharp hearing caught a distant sound, instantly drowned out by stronger wind and insect noise! Direction—northwest by west!

"Oh... it seems this brute who pursues 'power aesthetics' isn't entirely without method." A cold curve tugged at Koenji's lips, his eyes gleaming with intelligence. "It's just that the traces left by crude power, before the 'beauty' that pursues harmony and detail, are like ink spots on white paper... utterly exposed!"

He lingered no longer. His body once again transformed into a silver phantom merging with the moonlight, following the most likely path he had deduced from the clues, racing toward the northwest by west, toward the Waterfall Area that might hide a deadly trap! His heart, which sought ultimate beauty, now burned with an unprecedented flame called "protection" and "retribution." The calm before the storm had been shattered. The elegant hunter had set out to reclaim the star.