"Then there's no reason that knife should just be for show, right?"
Su Wei stepped forward slowly, and the pitch-black blade extended in an instant.
"Why not try it and see?"
Before he'd even finished speaking, he brought the blade down.
It was like cutting through a piece of soft cheese.
The Evil Spirit's still-howling head flew into the air, then dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.
"Just as I thought," Katsuragi said with a nod.
Ryuen Kakeru curled his lip, clearly having expected as much.
"That was the obvious choice. If it couldn't even cut through that, what else could the person who picked it do but get themselves killed?"
But he didn't mock Su Wei's choice.
As a delinquent who relied on violence, he knew all too well:
With the frail physique of an ordinary human, trying to fight a supernatural creature at close quarters was a gamble in itself.
Fail to react in time, and you were dead.
That was why he hadn't picked the Combat Knife this time.
A person had to know their own limits.
"You've already claimed your two kills," Ryuen suddenly reminded him.
"Don't worry."
Su Wei nodded and sheathed the knife.
"The rest are yours. I won't take any."
At his words, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease a little.
Ichinose Honami stood to one side, watching the black smoke gradually fade, but she looked as if she wanted to say something and couldn't bring herself to.
She understood the unspoken meaning behind Ryuen's words.
There were only twenty Evil Spirits in this mission.
And there were nine of them.
On average, that meant just over two apiece.
If they followed the principle of "equal distribution," things were still peaceful for now.
But the problem was...
What about the last two?
Class A had the advantage in numbers, so they were naturally in a secure position.
She and Shiranami weren't the type to be obsessed with competing for rank. As long as everyone survived, that was enough.
But...
Ichinose's gaze swept over the black-haired girl, whose expression was resolute, then settled on Ryuen Kakeru, whose gloomy eyes suggested he was plotting something.
The only way to break the deadlock was to introduce a new variable.
Like that Hidden Boss.
But...
"Is it really worth risking our lives for a better rank?"
Ichinose sighed inwardly.
As long as they didn't do anything reckless, they could clear the mission by hunting down these twenty ordinary Evil Spirits with almost no injuries.
But was it worth splitting up for the two extra kills—or for that unknown Hidden Boss?
Perhaps sensing Ichinose's anxiety, Shiranami Chihiro quietly took her hand. The warmth of her palm helped Ichinose collect herself.
"It'll be okay, Ichinose," Shiranami whispered reassuringly. "I trust your judgment."
Ichinose managed a faint smile and nodded.
Less than thirty minutes had passed. There was still time.
All they could do now was take things one step at a time.
Just as Ichinose had feared.
Murphy's law always seemed to come true at the worst possible moment.
They continued forward, but when everyone had two kills recorded on their accounts, they inevitably came to a stop at a fork in the path.
Only two red dots remained.
And they were at opposite ends of the corridor.
"There are only two left."
Horikita Suzune was the first to break the silence.
She looked at Ryuen, his face full of hostility, without a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
"There's no longer any issue with ambushes or coordination. So from here on... let's each rely on our own abilities."
Instead of arguing over how to divide them, they might as well let their abilities decide.
Whoever got there first could claim the kill.
"Heh, of course."
Ryuen Kakeru grinned.
"But..."
Ichinose knew she had no reason to stop them anymore.
Still, out of a sense of responsibility, she did her best to remind them:
"Although the X-GUN only shows two red dots, don't forget that this exam also has a hidden objective."
"So, just to be safe, we shouldn't spread out too much."
Horikita and Ryuen didn't take her words to heart.
Horikita Suzune didn't even look back. She turned straight to Su Wei.
"Shall we go to the nearest one?"
Although Su Wei wasn't competing for points, the knife in his hand could hurt spirits, and his earlier display of composure made him the safeguard Horikita needed most right now.
Seeing this, Ryuen Kakeru promptly chose a target and magnanimously said:
"Ladies first. To accommodate the weaker ones, we'll take the farthest one."
And just like that, the group quickly split into two teams.
Sakayanagi and Kamuro went with Su Wei, while Ichinose, worried about Ryuen, took Shiranami with her and followed him.
Katsuragi Kohei thought it over and decided to go with Ichinose.
He could tell that Sakayanagi Arisu probably wouldn't welcome him.
Watching Ryuen and the others walk away, Su Wei clicked his tongue.
You sure know how to pick... The Parasite really is over there.
In this treacherous dungeon, with its many targets and two-hour time limit, the difficulty was already obvious. There was no need for him to make things deliberately harder.
So he'd placed the Parasite beside the Evil Spirit farthest from them, then added a wall of air.
Once someone went over, the story would trigger automatically.
Su Wei looked away and followed Horikita and Sakayanagi down the passage on the right.
Before long, the last ordinary Evil Spirit appeared in their line of sight.
But before the red-haired creature, radiating an ominous aura, could charge at them—
"Whoosh—"
A capture net shot from the side and bound it tightly in place.
"You can have it, Horikita. I don't need it."
Sakayanagi Arisu put away her Y-GUN and turned to Su Wei, who seemed somewhat distracted. She smiled lightly.
"What's wrong? Is it not much of a challenge?"
Su Wei didn't answer.
Horikita Suzune was taken aback, apparently not expecting Sakayanagi to be so generous.
"...Thank you."
She didn't bother with false modesty. She needed these points to prove herself. She wanted to improve more than anything.
She raised the X-GUN and aimed at the Evil Spirit's head.
But she didn't pull the trigger right away. Instead, she turned and glanced at Su Wei behind her.
"What is it?"
Sakayanagi Arisu noticed the gesture and couldn't help laughing.
"Ah... are you worried that Ryuen and the others will end the game as soon as they finish off their Evil Spirit?"
As she spoke, she nudged Kamuro Masumi with her elbow. "Look at her. She adapted so quickly. What about you? You were trembling earlier, even with me right there!"
Kamuro Masumi's vision went black. She nearly choked on her breath.
What? Which of your eyes saw me trembling?
Fine, maybe a little... but that was a physical reaction, okay?
And wasn't Horikita Suzune on the verge of tears at first? She was even more shaken than I was!
Just as Kamuro was furiously complaining to herself—
The Combat Knife in Su Wei's hand suddenly shrank, turning into a blade about the length of a dagger.
He stepped forward and deftly stabbed the Evil Spirit's core.
As the Evil Spirit vanished, Su Wei turned to Horikita Suzune, who looked confused, and explained:
"Our phones have no signal during the trial, so we can't contact each other."
"Rather than leave someone here to stand guard and invite trouble, we should claim this point while Ryuen and the others are still on their way, then go look for the Hidden Boss."
"No matter what happens, the result won't be too bad. Either Class C or Class B will end up at the bottom."
Horikita Suzune agreed.
That was true.
It was the most rational decision.
Rather than scheme over such a trivial reward, they should take a longer view.
"...I understand."
Behind them, Sakayanagi Arisu paid no attention to the twists and turns of their discussion.
She stared at the Combat Knife in Su Wei's hand, which could extend and retract at will, her eyes brightening.
Just as I thought...
The equipment from the Black Sphere isn't that simple.
The Combat Knife can extend and change shape. So what about this Y-GUN? Is its upper limit really just restraint?
Before she could figure out the answer,
Before you continue