The Mastermind Behind the Scenes, Starting with *The Fruit of Grisaia* Chapter 31

However, in this world, within the lines of good and evil he had drawn, it seemed there were an unusually large number of The Silence who crossed that line.

This was one of the reasons he decided to add a DLC patch to this exam.

He just hoped he wouldn't cause inflation in the currency system.

As he pondered.

"Su Wei."

Sakayanagi Arisu, walking in front, suddenly turned her head and looked at him with a faint, enigmatic smile:

"You promised to protect everyone, so why have you ended up at the very back?"

"Slacking off like this is quite irresponsible, you know~"

Su Wei kept a straight face: "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. I'm bringing up the rear for you all."

"Bringing up the rear?"

Sakayanagi Arisu blinked:

"If I recall correctly, the Gantz Sword doesn't have a radar, does it? Are you worried about being ambushed?"

Su Wei replied casually: "Isn't the protection working well? Do you see anyone injured?"

As someone who didn't succumb to pressure, if there really were an ambush, he would simply turn around and accuse them of failing their duty to warn him!

Seeing his impervious attitude, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't get annoyed and turned to look at Horikita Suzune, who was anxiously muttering her score to herself in front of them.

She nudged Kamuro Masumi with her elbow:

"Hey, Kamuro."

"How many points do you think Horikita will get this time?"

Kamuro Masumi rolled her eyes, wearing an expression that said, "Are you sick?"

"I'm not a Beater, how would I know the Kabane scores?"

"I only know that you and this guy each took two, Horikita Suzune took three, and you were all competing so fiercely. As for me, heh... I had nothing to do."

Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head with a chuckle, as if she hadn't heard Kamuro's blunt complaint, and naturally shifted the topic:

"I just saw on the radar that the threat response next to the survivor has disappeared."

"They must have run into Ichinose and the others."

"How fortunate..."

The young girl sighed:

"At least there's a safety net this way, so we won't have all our points deducted because the survivor died~"

Kamuro Masumi's mouth twitched.

So all you care about is the score?

How is someone like you supposed to change... Poet's Grip!

Su Wei looked down from above, catching a glimpse of the screen in Sakayanagi Arisu's hand.

"Our goals are aligned. It looks like we might be able to group up for a raid at the end?"

Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head and glanced at him:

"If we're talking about a raid, someone like Su Wei, who has been slacking off the entire time... would be kicked from the party at the end, you know~"

Su Wei ignored her.

Up ahead, Horikita Suzune remained silent, walking in front and leading the way on her own.

In her heart, she had already begun to study the hidden final boss.

Not long after.

The two groups successfully converged at the corner leading to the rooftop on the fifth floor of the school building.

Su Wei looked at the unconscious Hirata Yosuke on the back of a male student, his expression showing surprise:

"Injured this badly? Is it really okay not to send him to the infirmary?"

"There's no other way," Ichinose Honami said helplessly.

"The connecting passages between this building and the others have been sealed off. We can only use the first-aid kit from the laboratory to provide Hirata with basic treatment."

"If we want to save him now, I'm afraid we have no choice but to finish off the last Kabane and end this exam."

She paused:

"There's no time to look for hidden monsters; Hirata can't hold on for much longer."

"Not necessarily."

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly interjected, pointing toward the floor above:

"Look, this final Kabane has been on the top floor the whole time, and it shows no signs of coming down."

"This 'inviting the guest into the urn' stance... no matter how you look at it, it seems like it's waiting for us!"

Ichinose Honami fell silent for a moment.

She glanced at the unconscious Hirata, then looked back at Amikura Mako and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, whose expressions were equally grim.

Ichinose turned around:

"Shiranami, Shiina."

"Please stay here and look after Hirata, and... I'll leave Ayanokoji and the others in your care as well."

"The upcoming battle... leave it to us!"

To this, even Shiranami Chihiro had no reason to refuse.

After all, everyone fears death.

Without exception.

"Ichinose, good luck! I believe in you!"

Shiranami Chihiro handed over her Capture Gun, her gaze firm.

Ichinose thought for a moment, but instead of taking it herself, she passed it to Su Wei, who was standing nearby.

"Su Wei."

"The staircase is narrow, which likely won't favor the use of a long blade. This gun... could I trouble you to use it?"

"I believe it will be more effective in your hands."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Shiranami Chihiro's face instantly soured.

That's my gun!

I gave it to you for self-defense, not for you to use as a gift to curry favor with some random guy!

"Shiranami?" Ichinose turned back, looking somewhat puzzled. "Is that alright?"

Shiranami Chihiro looked into Ichinose's pure, untainted eyes and could only force a smile, her heart bleeding:

"...Of course, of course it is."

Su Wei took it, barely managing to keep his expression composed.

Fortunately, there wasn't much time left for Shiranami to wallow in heartbreak.

"Stop dawdling! It's right up there!"

Horikita Suzune and Ryuen Kakeru, both impatient to end the exam—or perhaps eager to snatch the final hidden boss—had already stepped onto the stairs.

The remaining Qualified Ones followed close behind.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hesitated for a moment before deciding to join them.

He kept feeling as though he had forgotten something.

It wasn't that he could remember everything perfectly.

It was just that when people forget something that actually happened, the motive for that forgetting is often because the event was unpleasant or troublesome.

Yet, the lingering pain in his mouth served as a reminder that this was of great importance.

And it was happening right now, not far away.

The higher they climbed, the more intense the sense of dissonance in the air became.

Ryuen Kakeru simply kicked the iron door to the rooftop open.

Then, when he saw the scene behind the door, he couldn't help but freeze.

"What the hell... is that?"

The only remaining Kabane was currently bouncing and roaring at the rooftop water tower like a child throwing a tantrum for candy.

And what it was chasing was even more heavy-duty.

In the shadow of the water tower, a dense swarm of eerie creatures wearing black suits, their skin gray and wrinkled, hung upside down.

Even though it was his first time seeing them.

For some reason, Ryuen Kakeru felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

It was as if... he had seen these things countless times in his nightmares.

"Damn it..."

A strong sense of unease made him instinctively raise his gun.

Forget the feelings; it was better to ensure he could end the instance at any moment!

"Zzz--!"

The Laser Rope flew toward the last remaining Kabane, binding it without any resistance.

But it also successfully awakened the group of The Silence hanging from the ceiling.

Swish—

Three or five pairs of lidless, grayish-white pupils swiveled in unison.

In this moment.

A brief blankness emerged in everyone's memories.

Nameless Three-Stage Thrust!

This subtle sensation...

Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes, watching the scene before him that resembled an inverted The Scream, listening to the insect-like screeching.

Combined with the faint taste of rust inside his mouth, the pain stimulated his cerebral cortex.

Even though he still did not know the true nature of the monsters opposite him.

The gaps in his memory were finally being bridged.

I have seen them before... Was it today? Just now?

Ayanokoji was certain.

As a rational person who rarely suffered from internal friction.

In his memory, only today could be considered truly special.

Since even zombies had appeared, what was so strange about another type of memetic monster capable of shielding or even altering human cognition?

So-called science.

Was, by nature, a constant assault on common sense, a process of breaking through and transcending it.

The insect-like screeching came to an abrupt halt, and the Silences hanging upside down from the water tower had already flipped themselves to stand upon the earth.

Although their facial features were indiscernible, those faces, warped by the catalysis of arrogance, were wrapped in disdain for humanity, as if looking down from above, or perhaps simply ignoring them entirely.