The Raid Is Underway

"Of the twenty Kabane, the radar now shows fewer than half remaining. Luckily, there seems to be only one red dot near us. As long as we're careful, we shouldn't run into any more trouble..."

"Tch. You're taking forever."

Ryuen Kakeru, walking at the very front, clicked his tongue impatiently.

"Five Qualified Ones with Black Sphere Weapons, and you can't even handle a single Kabane? At this rate, you might as well quit school and go back to raising pigs."

"Ryuen..."

Shiina Hiyori, walking along the flank of the group, knitted her brows. She wanted to warn Ryuen Kakeru not to tempt fate.

But thinking back on the Kabane they had fought through along the way, aside from feeling no pain and being a little stronger, they didn't seem much tougher than the Evil Spirits from the last exam.

As long as they didn't get ambushed at close range, they had the upper hand with their Black Sphere Weapons.

The only question was whether the hidden enemy would appear at the very end or could be found from the start.

As they pondered this, perhaps the sound of their unabashed conversation reached it.

Up ahead, a shadow slowly peeled away from the darkness.

It was a Kabane in tattered samurai garb, holding a sword in each hand.

Unlike the others of its kind, it didn't charge mindlessly while roaring. Instead, it tilted its head and studied them with murky eyes, finally fixing its gaze on the Black Blade in Ryuen Kakeru's hand.

"This is..."

Shiranami Chihiro cried out.

"The Kabane that climbed the wall at the beginning?!"

"Yeah, I remember it too." Ichinose Honami shouted as she raised her gun and tried to lock on. "Everyone, be careful. It's different!"

"Interesting... A special individual?"

Ryuen Kakeru narrowed his eyes. He didn't arrogantly charge forward to cross blades like some reckless fool.

Among the Kabane, who were all unarmed and lunged at people like beasts, one had appeared holding two swords. It was staring at the Black Blade in his hand as if thinking. Anyone could tell there was something wrong with that.

He raised his Combat Knife and kept his guard up. Beside him, Yamada Albert had already raised his gun and begun charging it.

But the instant Ryuen Kakeru lifted his blade, the sword-wielding Kabane seemed to take it as an invitation to fight.

Its mouth suddenly split into a grin.

The tiles beneath its feet shattered.

Whoosh!

It darted forward so quickly that no one had expected it.

"!"

Ryuen Kakeru's pupils contracted.

But Ichinose and the others behind him were still charging their weapons. If he retreated now, all their effort would be wasted.

Damn it. I'm going for it!

A vicious glint flashed in Ryuen Kakeru's eyes. He gripped his blade with both hands and braced himself to meet the attack head-on.

Clang!

The blades collided, sparks flying.

The Combat Knife made by the Black Sphere sliced through metal like paper. The Kabane's katana snapped with a sharp crack.

But that was all. Ryuen Kakeru didn't follow through and strike his opponent.

The Kabane had seen its weapon break, and its face had twisted into an expression of shock that was almost human.

Then, in a posture that defied all human anatomy, it twisted its waist in midair, kicked off the ground, and used the momentum of its spin to slash at Ryuen Kakeru's neck with the sword in its other hand.

"Get away from him!"

At the last moment, Yamada Albert stepped forward. Worried about hitting Ryuen Kakeru, he had abandoned his charge just like Ichinose.

His powerful front kick sent the Kabane flying like a cannonball. It slammed hard into the wall.

"Cough... Thanks."

Ryuen Kakeru clutched his bleeding arm, amazed.

"That sword was fast... Was this thing some kind of sword saint when it was alive?"

"Ryuen, move!"

Shiina Hiyori's urgent warning came from behind him.

Ryuen Kakeru heard her and immediately stepped aside, without a moment's hesitation.

Even though the Capture Gun fired without delay, it was still a piece of long-range equipment provided by the Black Sphere, and it needed time to lock on.

Zzzzt!

The triangular Laser Rope seemed to anticipate the Kabane's movements as it rose. The moment it drew near, it wrapped the creature up like a dumpling.

"Gah... Ah..."

The Kabane struggled frantically. For all its skill, it could only rage helplessly against the overwhelming superiority of technology.

Ryuen Kakeru let out a long breath.

"Not bad with a sword... Good thing it was alone. It would've been a pain to deal with otherwise."

After confirming Ryuen Kakeru was all right, Ichinose glanced at the three green dots on the Black Gun's screen. She was just about to go to the lab and confirm Amikura Mako was there.

"Ichinose, you take it."

Ryuen Kakeru suddenly spoke.

Ichinose turned to him, looking a little confused.

"Don't misunderstand."

Ryuen Kakeru waved a hand impatiently.

"We're carrying a debuff. Even if we kill it, we won't get many points."

"So we might as well give the points to you, since you have the highest score. That way, we can see if we can earn enough for a Reinforcement Suit and get the most out of it."

Ichinose Honami looked surprised, but didn't make a fuss.

"...I understand. Thanks."

She raised her X-GUN and aimed at the Kabane on the ground. It had given up struggling and was simply staring at Ryuen with its murky eyes.

Faced with that almost mocking gaze, Ryuen Kakeru was taken aback.

Just then, perhaps having heard the commotion outside, the laboratory door, which had been left slightly ajar, was cautiously pulled open from within.

Amikura Mako poked her head out. When she saw Ichinose, she was overjoyed.

"Ichinose...! You finally came back! I knew it was you!"

"By the way, Hirata from Class D was badly injured and passed out while luring the monsters away... He needs medical attention right away..."

As she spoke, she started to push the door open.

"Don't come out yet. Something's wrong."

A voice that belonged to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly rang out, interrupting the joy of their reunion.

Ryuen Kakeru frowned and looked toward the doorway. Ayanokoji was holding a container filled with some unknown chemical.

"Speak plainly."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook his head.

"I'm not sure either. I just remember... there's supposed to be something important here, or something important going on."

"But no matter how hard I try, I can't remember what it is."

Ichinose Honami had just finished collecting the points. She glanced down at the radar again, puzzled.

"But... I was watching the radar just now. Aside from that Kabane, there really weren't any other signals nearby."

Shiina Hiyori seemed to have thought of something and offered a theory.

"During the last exam, we didn't receive a signal representing the Parasite until the very end."

"Maybe it's the same this time? The radar only displays it once we meet certain conditions, or wait until the end?"

"Until then, we'll have to search on our own."

Ryuen Kakeru looked at Ayanokoji, whose state seemed strange, then at Amikura Mako, who appeared not to have noticed anything unusual at all.

He gestured for Shiina Hiyori to switch weapons with him.

"I've still got three lives. I'll take point. You all keep watch."

Ichinose Honami followed his example. After making room for Amikura Mako to leave the danger zone, she went inside right behind Ryuen Kakeru.

The two of them raised their Capture Gun and X-GUN, keeping their eyes fixed on the screens.

The Black Guns provided by Gantz all had built-in X-ray vision. They couldn't see through walls, but they were enough to prevent ambushes from behind cabinets or in the shadows.

Better safe than sorry.

Behind them, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, clutching a homemade Molotov cocktail, finally relaxed his clenched jaw a little.

The sharp pain of his bitten inner cheek kept reminding him that something was wrong.

As someone who had undergone strict training, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew what this kind of discrepancy in his perception meant.

Naturally, as soon as he realized this, he told Amikura Mako to remain on guard by the door and made sure she didn't give anything away.

Meanwhile, using the excuse that he needed to deal with the Kabane, he had used the ethanol and chemicals in the laboratory to make Molotov cocktails to buy time.

He had never intended to face the enemy head-on.

He hadn't expected Ichinose and the others to eliminate the Kabane outside from behind the door.

He had no right to criticize them.

But the commotion had clearly already disturbed that "guest."

Now that things had come to this, there was no need to keep pretending he hadn't realized something was wrong.

Following the direction of Ryuen Kakeru's gun, everyone's gaze finally settled on the curtain hanging partly open in the corner of the laboratory.

Chapter 26: The Raid Is Underway

Hoh. So they're finally up against the Silence?

Hmm... They're still too softhearted. They could've taken out at least one of them instantly, but they let it get a clean solo run?

Facing the floating screen that only he could see, Su Wei mused to himself before turning his attention ahead.

Because the X-GUN's range and firing delay were abysmal, Horikita Suzune was practically acting as the vanguard, charging at the front to save time and rack up points.

As for Su Wei, he only stepped in when a stray enemy tried to sneak up on them from the flank.

As the Main God, how could he be like Xiang Zhili and transform himself just to compete with the youngsters for their opportunities?

More importantly...

He had to give them enough experience to nurture the pillars of this land!

Besides, the Silence was waiting up on the roof. He could just step in then to satisfy his need to show off. That would be enough.

There was no helping it. As a group with high attack and low defense, the Silence were well suited as an intermediate-level enemy for beginners.

In a sense, their ecological niche was similar to that of the Parasites.

Although they weren't entirely villains in Doctor Who.