Kamuro: I've Seen Right Through You!

The one at the front was exceptionally tall. It lowered its head slightly, its gaze sweeping over the group of humans holding strange black guns. It made no move to attack.

"Humans."

"Tell me your purpose."

Ryuen Kakeru, standing at the very front, furrowed his brow but still answered.

"Our purpose?"

"Obviously, we're here to send you monsters straight to hell!"

As he spoke, the countdown he'd been silently keeping reached zero.

Seeing that everyone had finished charging their weapons, Ryuen decisively pushed aside his brief moment of unease and pulled the trigger.

Whatever this was, striking first was always the right move!

"Attack!!"

A furious shout rang out.

He seemed decisive and ruthless, but that battle cry sounded completely unnecessary.

Something's wrong.

Is it hypnosis? Or some kind of psychological suggestion?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka keenly caught the anomaly.

The ability to influence someone's subconscious in an instant and make them speak... Was this what had caused me to forget those related memories?

Hearing Ryuen Kakeru's provocative declaration, then seeing the Kabane they'd been messing with begin to be teleported away from head to toe by several beams of light, the Silences finally seemed to show some interest.

"Bzzzt—bzzzt!!"

They spread their arms, arcs of electricity dancing at their fingertips as they let out a piercing shriek, as if mocking the insects for overestimating themselves.

Unfortunately, they didn't get to laugh for long.

Ichinose Honami, Yamada Albert, and the others had finished charging their weapons.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Multiple invisible Gravity Wave Bullets, rippling with waves that distorted the air, instantly poured toward their fragile bodies.

"Splurt—!"

Even with the ability to control lightning and alter people's perception, they were still as fragile as paper.

Several Silences were still laughing up at the sky when their heads burst like watermelons, scattering blood mist everywhere.

Not everyone had chosen the lethal X-GUN, so a few slipped through.

But the Silences that escaped unharmed didn't fare much better. Two pale blue laser nets pinned them in place.

The tide had turned.

In the vast rooftop space, only the tall Silence at the front remained, standing all alone.

By then, the Kabane had finished being teleported away, and the Black Sphere's prompt sounded in everyone's ears.

[Targets eliminated.]

[Mission complete.]

The surviving Silence seemed to understand something.

It slowly raised a hand. Blinding arcs of electricity began to gather at its slender, pale fingertips.

"Humans..."

"This power doesn't belong to you."

Its voice grew noticeably lower, filled with an echo that made one's head spin.

"As lowly insects, you should—"

"Should shut up."

Before it could finish speaking, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already hurled a homemade Molotov cocktail at it.

"Don't let it finish!"

The Silence paused, seeming surprised that anyone could recognize its ability.

Even so, its instincts as a superior life-form still made it react quickly.

"Fools."

It twitched a finger. Electricity shot from its fingertips, shattering the Molotov cocktail in midair.

A brilliant burst of fire exploded overhead. Mixed with alcohol and glass shards, it scattered in every direction like fireworks.

Just as the current pierced through the flames and was about to strike the group, Su Wei, who had been observing the situation with [Spectator], finally moved.

As he took his first step, it was as if the world had been frozen in place.

The flying sparks hung motionless. The arcs of electricity dancing and spreading through the air stopped, too.

Su Wei planted his foot calmly, then took a second step.

Time resumed.

0.1 seconds later.

Time stopped again.

This happened once more.

Only when he took his third step did time truly begin to flow again.

So, to everyone but Su Wei, it looked as if he had used Flash three times in a row to appear behind the Silence.

With a curved shadow of black light, its head was already flying high into the air.

But Su Wei didn't stop.

Riding the momentum of his swing, he turned his wrist. The blade extended, slicing through the other stray Silence beside him, still trapped in the laser net.

"Thud."

The two heads hit the ground almost simultaneously.

Only after finishing all that did Su Wei leisurely turn to look at Kamuro Masumi, who was standing nearby, staring in stunned disbelief.

"What are you spacing out for? We're about to be teleported back. Hurry up and finish them off."

"Huh? Oh, right!"

Kamuro Masumi came to her senses as if waking from a dream, hurriedly raised her Y-GUN, and pulled the trigger.

Several lasers fell on the head of the last remaining Silence, scanning it. At last, the fluorescent light beneath everyone's feet began to rise.

Only then did the others, stunned by Su Wei's astonishing series of moves, finally come back to their senses.

"This..."

Sakayanagi Arisu's beautiful eyes sparkled.

"So this is how the Reinforcement Suit is really meant to be used?"

That speed and explosive power, beyond the limits of human ability...

If I could have that kind of power, with this frail body of mine...

"Just as I thought!"

Ryuen Kakeru clenched his fist and couldn't help swearing.

"There isn't a single simple piece of Black Sphere equipment!"

If he'd known this thing was so powerful, he wouldn't have given Ichinose his points.

He regretted it so much his heart was bleeding!

Ichinose's points should've been his! What a damn shame!

As for Ichinose Honami—

Ichinose didn't feel jealous at all. She was simply sincerely glad that everyone had survived.

Then, as if she'd remembered something, she suddenly turned to look at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who stood in the shadow of a corner.

"Um, classmate..."

"The exam is over, so the air wall downstairs should have disappeared by now."

"When you take Hirata to the infirmary, could you... pass a message to Amikura for me?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came back to himself.

His gaze shifted away from the black object in Su Wei's hand.

"Sure."

His tone was flat.

"What should I tell her?"

Ichinose Honami pressed her lips together.

"Just tell her..."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't protect anything."

Brilliant blue light engulfed Ichinose Honami, and she disappeared into thin air. Only the trailing end of her regretful apology remained, drifting away in the night breeze.

On the rooftop, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka frowned in confusion as he looked around at the empty space.

Why am I here?

Did I... forget something?

Chapter 28: Kamuro: I've Seen Right Through You!

When everyone returned to Black Sphere Space, everyone except Shiina Hiyori and Shiranami Chihiro, who hadn't gone up to the rooftop, wore a momentarily blank expression.

Of course, just like Brother Bin, once the sun rose, they'd forget all the pain of the day before.

Their expressions soon returned to normal.

Honestly, although the Silences weren't much to look at in terms of combat performance, their ability was pretty damn overpowered. You only had to look away to forget, and your memories would be passively corrected.

Even Su Wei, who had Gantz giving him special treatment, would probably have been in trouble if he hadn't used any items.

Luckily, these Silences were not only weak on defense and low on health, but also had terrible judgment.

Give that skill set to someone with a normal level of intelligence, and they could make a mini-boss out of it in no time.

"Is it over already?"

"Strange..."

Sakayanagi Arisu was the first to come to her senses. Returning hadn't made her lower her guard.

She rested one hand against her chin.

"Why can't I remember anything about how it ended?"

At this, even the slowest person could tell something was wrong.

Besides, everyone here was sharp-witted.

A collective gap in their memories was the biggest anomaly of all.