Parting Ways

Ichinose spoke up first:

"What if we run into several Evil Spirits? Don't forget, the Black Sphere's briefing mentioned hidden monsters, too."

"Ryuen, I know you want to earn points for the class, but maybe you shouldn't be in such a hurry. I don't think the class rankings are more important than everyone's lives right now."

At her words, Kamuro and Shiranami, who had already disagreed, nodded vigorously.

After weighing the pros and cons, Katsuragi and Sakayanagi also accepted this "sticking together" strategy.

After all, staying alive was the prerequisite for everything. A few points came second.

Seeing that the tide had turned, Ryuen Kakeru didn't deliberately argue against them.

He wasn't in a hurry.

There were plenty of people more desperate than he was.

For example...

Su Wei's gaze passed over the crowd and settled on the black-haired girl, who was standing with her head bowed in thought.

Her lips were pressed tightly together, her head lowered, her fingernails digging deep into her palm.

Was she afraid?

Of course she was.

She never wanted to experience that suffocating, near-death feeling again.

But...

If it were my brother, he wouldn't back down like this, would he?

Horikita Manabu had stood tall for three years in this cruel school and held firm to his position as Student Council president.

If she retreated now, if she didn't even have that much resolve...

It would mean she'd lose the right to chase after her brother forever!

I can't back down!

I'll earn points! I'll prove my worth!

As if she'd made up her mind, Horikita's gaze turned resolute.

While everyone was rearranging their formation and preparing to move on,

Su Wei activated his Teigu without drawing attention to himself.

It might have looked like cheating, but when he thought about how he could not only control Gantz with his mind but also had a few traps and quick-play cards on hand...

[Magic Cylinder], [Water Barrier], [Called by the Grave]...

Cheating? When had he ever stopped?

Besides, he didn't plan on fighting these newbies for such low-level monsters this time.

He was just letting them do their thing, and, while he was at it...

"I might as well turn it on and see what it can do."

Su Wei figured that an item a day was the least he could do to show his cheat ability some respect!

As it happened, [Spectator] had the power to see into the future.

When they came across the "three-in-one version of the Parasite BOSS" he'd prepared for this exam, he could use it to see whether he could cosplay a Bankai.

The group's progress went remarkably smoothly from then on.

Once they understood the rule that "if they can't see you, they can't do anything to you," the elite students quickly proved highly adaptable.

Using decoys to circle around and shoot the Evil Spirits in the head, they proceeded cautiously and successfully eliminated three more.

Ryuen, Katsuragi, and Sakayanagi each scored a kill.

At this rate, if nothing unexpected happened, the twenty Evil Spirits would be split among them, and each person would get about two.

"That's great..."

Ichinose Honami wiped the sweat from her brow, feeling a little relieved.

"Looks like we might actually get through this without anyone getting hurt!"

But while Ichinose thought so, not everyone agreed.

At the back of the group,

Horikita Suzune hesitated for a long time before quickening her pace and walking up to Su Wei.

She glanced at Sakayanagi and Kamuro, who were chatting and laughing with Ichinose up ahead, then lowered her voice.

"Aren't you on good terms with those two women from Class A?"

"Would you... work with me? We could look out for each other."

Su Wei turned his head and gave her a somewhat surprised look.

The long-haired girl still wore a cool expression, but her hands, gripping the gun tightly, betrayed what she was feeling.

To be fair,

That kind of presence really was beyond Yukinoshita's. He decided to give her his respect.

Su Wei drew his gaze back.

"Why do you think I'd leave the group and take a risk?"

"More to the point, even if I did want to leave, why would I need to team up with you instead of someone experienced, like Ichinose or Sakayanagi?"

She clearly hadn't expected Su Wei to be so blunt.

But she quickly gathered her thoughts and laid out her reasoning.

"Other than the hidden monster, there are only twenty Evil Spirits in this exam."

"Split among us, that's only two kills per person."

"In other words, if we can't find the hidden monster, then—except for Class A, which already has the advantage in numbers—the final few Evil Spirits will probably decide the rankings."

"Class A is already firmly in first place. Their only concern is keeping Class B and Class C from challenging them, so they have no fundamental conflict of interest with our Class D."

Clear logic, clear interests.

She could've just said that from the start. If you're asking for help, at least act like you're asking.

Su Wei didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned to look at Sakayanagi Arisu.

With Spectator, he could see how badly she wanted points to cure her chronic illness.

Though anyone with half a brain could've guessed that much.

"Look, our classmate Horikita wants us to split off and work together. I don't mind either way. What do you think?"

Sakayanagi Arisu stopped walking.

"Let's wait a little longer."

"Sixteen Evil Spirits is still too many for this Old School Building."

"When the time comes to compete for the rankings, the groups will sort themselves out. We won't need to form a team."

As she spoke, Sakayanagi smiled.

"Don't you agree, Ryuen?"

Ryuen Kakeru walked ahead without paying Sakayanagi Arisu any attention.

After all, he hadn't planned on relying on hunting Evil Spirits to compete for rank in the first place.

Setting aside Class A's advantage, the number of Evil Spirits and the difficulty of hunting them meant they couldn't be worth many points.

If he wanted to open up a real gap, he'd have to rely on the hidden monster.

He also knew that it'd be difficult for him and Shiina Hiyori to take on the BOSS alone.

That was why he'd had Shiina Hiyori choose the unused Y-GUN.

Like Sakayanagi Arisu, he believed in the Y-GUN's potential.

Along the way, the group used their tactics to add one more kill to everyone's tally.

As the kill count rose, they gradually grew used to their initial fear.

When they found another lone Evil Spirit, they exchanged glances and reached a tacit understanding.

"Wait a moment."

Ryuen Kakeru stopped and looked at the Y-GUNs in the hands of Shiina Hiyori and Kamuro Masumi.

"We need to test what that thing can do."

Watching the red dot on the screen draw closer, Ryuen Kakeru took the oddly shaped capture gun from Shiina Hiyori and weighed it in his hand. Then he said coldly,

"When it comes over, don't shoot yet."

"Wait until I fire. Then finish it off if you need to."

Neither Katsuragi nor Sakayanagi objected to this risky attempt to gather information.

Someone had to be the guinea pig, after all.

And so,

An Evil Spirit, its body covered in strange, sunken spiral patterns, swayed around the corner of the stairs.

It walked straight up to Horikita Suzune.

Its twisted face was almost pressed against Horikita's nose. Tilting its head, it kept muttering,

"Can you see me... Can you see me..."

Horikita Suzune looked utterly miserable.

Why is it always me?!

Even though she'd mentally prepared herself, its revolting smell still made her stomach churn.

And while the Evil Spirit was still fixated on checking whether she could see it,

Ryuen Kakeru pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Chapter 13: Parting Ways

With a burst of gas, the Laser Rope shot out.

Three glowing blue energy cables shot forward, propelled by their thrusters. Before the Evil Spirit could react, they wrapped around it and tightened instantly.

"Gah... Ah... Gurgle...!"

The Evil Spirit struggled desperately, its twisted limbs thrashing. Its fingernails scratched grooves into the wall, but the glowing ropes didn't budge. Instead, they tightened further, digging into its translucent spirit body as white smoke hissed out.

"No charge time, no delay, and it can even restrain a spirit directly..."

Katsuragi Kohei rubbed his chin as he watched the whole thing.

"A weapon specialized for support, perhaps..."

"Phew..."

Only now, with the monster right in front of her but unable to move, did Horikita Suzune finally dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

She suppressed the shudder running through her body, keeping her expression calm.

During the earlier battles, someone had accidentally made a sound and drawn an Evil Spirit's attention.

When that unlucky person had instinctively reached out to block it, they'd discovered just how absurdly unfair the Evil Spirits' rules were.

The spirits could touch humans with ease, even tear their flesh apart, while humans couldn't touch them or fight back at all. They could only retaliate with weapons provided by the Black Sphere.

"If the Black Gun's ropes can affect spirits..."

Katsuragi Kohei turned his gaze to Su Wei.