The Mastermind Behind the Scenes, Starting with *The Fruit of Grisaia*

Even Horikita Suzune silently shifted two steps toward Su Wei.

Sakayanagi, arm-in-arm with a clearly reluctant Kamuro Masumi, strolled to Su Wei's side and asked with a hint of confusion:

"Su Wei-kun, why did you choose this?"

Su Wei glanced at the Y-gun clutched in Kamuro Masumi's hand, his tone indifferent:

"Aren't you the same?"

"Since this is starter gear, the Black Sphere has no reason to provide junk. After watching Ryuen's playstyle yesterday, I have a bold idea I want to verify."

"Hehe, you really are quite interesting."

Sakayanagi's smile deepened as she lowered her voice:

"How about it? My previous proposal still stands, you know. Would you like to join my faction?"

"Pass."

Su Wei kept his gaze fixed forward:

"Forming cliques in a dungeon where a total party wipe can happen at any moment? Are you in such a hurry to die?"

Kamuro Masumi, still being held by Sakayanagi, was left stunned.

So these two aren't on the same side after all?

They were just arm-in-arm like a couple a moment ago, and now they've started playing palace intrigue?

Sakayanagi, having been rejected, didn't seem annoyed. She turned around and, without deliberately lowering her voice, spoke as if to herself:

"I've actually been thinking about what purpose the information provided by the Black Sphere serves..."

"The logic behind that Parasite last night was that it only began eliminating witnesses after being exposed."

"Combined with the catchphrases of these evil spirits this time..."

"Does it mean that as long as we don't actively reveal that we can see them, they will maintain some sort of order?"

"At the very least, on the surface, they won't attack proactively?"

The others gathered nearby could all hear this.

Lacking the full context, not everyone could grasp the implications, but following the examples of Ryuen and Ichinose was something Katsuragi and Shiranami were perfectly capable of.

They lowered their raised weapons and retracted their sharp gazes, observing their surroundings and the red dots on the Black Sphere screens only in secret.

Su Wei nodded to himself.

These evil spirits originated from Mieruko-chan; by pretending not to see them, there was a high probability of escaping unscathed.

Even the previous Parasite, when faced with a crowd, would usually choose to strike only when there were few people around, provided you didn't call it out.

Meanwhile, Shiina Hiyori followed behind Ichinose and Kamuro, looking around with curiosity.

She loved reading, especially mystery novels.

Although her heart was tight and she felt a sense of fear, the oppressive, dark atmosphere strangely matched the mood of the books she read.

It caused Shiina Hiyori's heart to race.

At this moment, Ryuen Kakeru let out a low shout.

"It's here!"

Those with Black Sphere guns cast peripheral glances toward the mottled concrete wall on the left. Naturally, no one was foolish enough to hold their weapons high in a defensive stance, as no one wanted to be the lab rat for a test.

"Sizzle..."

There was no sound of anything bursting through the wall.

It was as if ink had been dripped into water.

A translucent, hunched figure emerged from the cement wall without the slightest resistance.

It had no legs, its lower body swirling like smoke.

On that pale, bloated face, where eyes should have been, there was only smooth, dead flesh.

In their place, the face featured a grotesquely large, tooth-filled, lamprey-like suction mouth.

"Ugh..."

Even with mental preparation, Shiranami Chihiro's legs went weak at the sight of such a sanity-shattering scene, and she had to grip Ichinose's hand tightly to keep from collapsing.

Fortunately, the evil spirit did not notice her expression.

Its eyeless head rotated in a bizarre circle, finally stopping in front of Horikita Suzune, who stood at the very edge of the group.

A cold, putrid stench washed over her.

It was less than five centimeters from the tip of her nose; she could even see the writhing flesh buds inside that mouth.

"Can you see me?"

"You can see me, can't you?"

A hoarse, grating sound, like fingernails scraping against a chalkboard, whispered incessantly into the girl's ear.

Horikita Suzune's pupils constricted sharply.

Don't move!

You'll be discovered!

Her remaining sanity screamed frantically in her mind.

She pressed her bloodless lips tightly together, staring fixedly ahead, forcing herself to ignore the ghastly face inches from her own.

Treat this place as if it were empty air!

I can't see it... I can't see it...

Time seemed to stretch out indefinitely.

Everyone held their breath.

One second, two seconds...

The evil spirit, receiving no response, seemed somewhat puzzled.

It tilted its head, and its suction-cup face slowly drifted away from Horikita Suzune, seemingly intending to turn and search for its next target.

Horikita Suzune had just begun to let out a breath of relief.

Unexpectedly.

The moment the evil spirit turned, its twisted body doubled back without any warning!

That massive mouth snapped open, and with a foul stench, it lunged back to roar directly into her face:

"You clearly saw me, didn't you!!!"

"BANG!"

A gunshot rang out.

The evil spirit, which had been pressed right against Horikita Suzune's face, burst into a cloud of black mist instantly, like a pricked balloon.

Horikita swallowed hard, confirming it wasn't an illusion.

She was still alive...

Though she felt half-dead already.

As a bead of cold sweat slid down her cheek, she hunched her shoulders, braced her hands on her knees, and gasped for air.

"Haa... haa..."

It took several seconds for her to barely regain her composure.

Lifting her head again, her gaze fell upon the girl not far away who was holding a gun, her own face equally pale.

"Th-thank you."

Horikita Suzune's voice was dry.

At the same time, she noticed out of the corner of her eye.

It wasn't just Ichinose.

Sakayanagi Arisu, Ryuen Kakeru, and even the usually composed Katsuragi Kohei, who were scattered throughout the corridor, all had their black guns pointed at the spot where the evil spirit had just vanished.

Clearly, they had all reached the same conclusion.

It was just that Ichinose Honami, driven by some instinct, had been a split second faster than everyone else.

"That was truly unexpectedly decisive, Ichinose-san."

Sakayanagi Arisu lowered her muzzle, her tone carrying a hint of surprise:

"Even though you were scared to death, you still pulled the trigger faster than anyone else."

"Should I say, as expected of Class B's little angel?"

Sakayanagi remarked with a sigh.

Under these rules, where everything was ultimately driven by points.

Looking at Ichinose's shell-shocked appearance, it was clear that her motive for firing wasn't to snatch points, but purely to save someone.

The desire for points, in the end, could not overcome the instinct to sincerely help others...

Ichinose-san, I must admit, I underestimated you.

Facing Sakayanagi's words, which were half-teasing and half-praising, Ichinose managed to force a smile:

"I was indeed terrified... but I have always believed that only by sincerely helping others can one receive help in return."

"Besides, in this life-threatening exam, if we don't unite, none of us will make it out, will we?"

"Unity, is it?"

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled.

She had heard plenty of pretty platitudes, but it was rare to see someone actually stick to their principles under rules as life-or-death as these.

She turned her head to look at Su Wei, who was standing beside Horikita:

"Just now, why didn't you make a move... are you really not worried?"

Su Wei sighed helplessly:

"Give me a break, I was less than half a meter away from her."

"There were classmates all around us; what kind of move was I supposed to make? Give our own allies a bleeding buff with a knife?"

"A rational judgment."

Katsuragi Kohei spoke up to defuse the tension:

"It seems Sakayanagi's previous deduction was correct."

"In that case, what we need to do next is quite simple."

"We only need to assign people to attract attention and act as bait, which will allow our companions positioned in the blind spots to fire and eliminate the evil spirits."

"Bait...?"

Kamuro Masumi shrank back, looking somewhat uneasy: "So in a moment, we're going to split into groups and start fighting on our own?"

"Obviously."

Ryuen Kakeru looked at her as if she were an idiot:

"Don't forget the purpose of this exam, not to mention that the results are tied to our classes."

But...

In many of the orthodox mystery novels I've read, it's often because the protagonist's group feels victory is within their grasp that they split up, only to be picked off one by one in the end.

Shiina Hiyori hesitated for a moment.