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

Accompanied by a screeching sound akin to fingernails dragging across glass, Gotou launched his offensive!

He did not charge directly; instead, he kicked off the ground with both legs, using the reaction force to catapult himself toward the ceiling.

Immediately following.

From the broken ventilation ducts overhead and the gaps in the greenery, barely perceptible in the darkness...

Countless sharp bone-blade tentacles struck from all directions like an exploding thicket of thorns!

"Scatter!!"

With the Black Gun radar and X-Gun guidance, Ryuen Kakeru and the others, who had remained on high alert, were not entirely caught off guard.

They roared and opened fire, attempting to hold him back.

But they lacked the protection of a Combat Suit, unlike Ichinose, who could rely on her enhanced physical capabilities to forcibly dodge and advance even under the dense assault.

"Puchi!"

"Ah!"

In just the first exchange, everyone who fell into the category of ordinary humans was left wounded.

Katsuragi Kohei's arm was slashed open, revealing a wound deep to the bone, while Kanzaki Ryuji was sent flying, slamming heavily into the wall.

"Everyone, fall back!!"

As Ichinose dodged, the X-Gun in her hand finally finished charging. She blasted the ventilation duct apart with a gravity wave and shouted urgently:

"Retreat to a safe distance! Find another opening!"

As the group retreated in disarray, the previously scattered firepower was finally concentrated.

All the tentacles that had been freed turned their focus, pouring down like a violent storm upon Su Wei, the only one currently with a proven combat record.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Sparks flew in the darkness, and the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out incessantly.

Su Wei's combat blade danced, though he appeared somewhat overwhelmed, forced into a passive defense.

"Su Wei! Hold on for two more seconds..."

Ichinose rolled to dodge a sneak attack from two tentacles, the muzzle of her weapon glowing once more:

"I've locked on, almost ready!"

"Useless."

From the shadows, Gotou's emotionless voice rang out:

"It seems that, unlike that net launcher, these high-powered weapons in your hands... require about three seconds of charge time, don't they?"

"And as long as I maintain high-speed movement, your targeting systems are nothing but decorations."

Seen through?

Ichinose felt a jolt of alarm.

"So what if you have?"

Su Wei sneered.

Before Gotou could react, the Reinforcement Suit on his body suddenly contracted!

Relying on the burst of power provided by the Combat Suit, Su Wei did not retreat but instead pressed forward, fighting with increasing ferocity.

"Wha...?!"

Gotou's pupils constricted.

He decisively retracted all damaged tentacles and used the ceiling to leap forward rapidly, dodging Ichinose's targeting lock by a hair's breadth.

His gaze turned fervent as he stared at the black leather exposed on Su Wei's body:

"Your equipment is special... that is not power a human should possess."

"Want it?"

Su Wei curled his lips:

"You know the rules. If you want it, come and take it yourself."

Gotou changed his strategy, wasting no more words.

Aside from the leg strength required to maintain movement, he gathered every remaining cell in his body into his left arm, transforming it into a massive, jagged bone blade.

"Die!"

Gotou roared as he charged, his speed reaching its absolute limit.

Su Wei could only raise his blade to parry.

"Clang--!!"

The immense impact shattered the tiles beneath Su Wei's feet.

He stood there like a blacksmith, grunting as he blocked Gotou's tempestuous slashes, looking as though he were on the verge of collapse and might break at any second, yet he somehow managed to hold on with his final breath.

"Ryuen-kun, Katsuragi-kun!"

Seeing the situation and recalling Su Wei's warning, Ichinose shouted loudly:

"Hurry and bring the Capture Gun to help! Gotou has no strength left to fight one against many! This is our chance!"

Hearing this, Gotou's heart sank.

He could not drag this out any longer!

He had to finish this quickly!

He no longer held back, mobilizing even the Parasite in his lower body, intending to strangle him on the spot!

As for Su Wei... Su Wei's Trap Cards lit up.

[Magic Cylinder] and [Water Barrier] signaled: It's time!

Honestly, he was a bit curious about how Trap Cards would function in reality.

But he was also afraid that a typical high-attack, low-defense creature like a Parasite might be reflected to death in one hit...

Gotou's defense was stronger than an ordinary Parasite, but it didn't seem to exceed the standard specifications.

After a moment of thought, Su Wei decided to use the Magic Glove.

His fingertips twitched slightly.

Gotou felt a repulsive force appear out of thin air; it was as if he had been tripped hard, and his original offensive posture inevitably distorted.

"Wha...?!"

Before it could react to what had happened.

Su Wei slashed three times in succession.

This time, he did not use the Time Pause Watch, but instead utilized the Acceleration Watch, also from Doraemon.

With the enhancement of the Reinforcement Suit, he achieved an effect similar to Kojiro's Noble Phantasm without much effort.

Thus, from the perspective of Ichinose, Ryuen Kakeru, and the others.

They only saw Su Wei's figure flicker.

Three pitch-black slashes bloomed on Gotou's body almost simultaneously!

No technique, purely numerical superiority.

"Swallow Reversal!"

"Puchi--!!!"

Blood sprayed wildly.

The tentacles Gotou took such pride in were mostly severed, and a terrifying saber wound appeared across his chest.

"Kee-kee-kee!!!"

All the Parasites within his body protested against him at this moment:

'We can't win! We can't win!'

'This guy is a monster! He was faking it before!'

'Run, run! There's no need for us to face an enemy that simply cannot be defeated!'

Listening to the footsteps drawing ever closer behind him, and the heart-stopping sound of the charge building up in the muzzle of Ichinose's gun, even Gotou himself began to entertain the thought of fleeing.

But...

He had already scouted the area; this entire floor was isolated by a damn air wall, and there was simply no way out!

If so, there was only one escape route left!

Taking advantage of the gap created by being knocked back, Gotou decisively and cleanly forcibly detached the dying Miki from his left arm and flung him toward Su Wei like a grenade.

Immediately following, he discarded the Parasite on his right arm, precisely throwing it into the trajectory of Ichinose's gun muzzle.

"For the sake of survival, sacrifice is necessary!"

"Bang!"

The Gravity Wave Bullet exploded, blasting the scapegoat into minced meat.

Su Wei also took the opportunity to swing his blade, slicing the incoming Miki into two pieces.

Taking advantage of this brief obstruction.

Like a lizard shedding its tail to survive, Gotou rushed toward the completely defenseless rear at an astonishing speed!

"It's coming over here!!"

Kamuro Masumi let out a terrified scream.

Ryuen Kakeru and the others were completely unable to aim in time.

"Hmph! Trying to escape?"

Su Wei's eyes turned cold.

He did not give chase.

Instead, he pointed the tip of his blade toward Gotou's fleeing back.

"Shoot him dead... God Spear!"

The katana in his hand instantly elongated, spanning a distance of several dozen meters!

"Pfft!"

A muffled sound rang out.

Just as Gotou crossed past Ryuen Kakeru and the others, the long blade had already pierced through his chest, pinning him in place!

"Cough..."

Blood gushed from Gotou's mouth as he struggled, trying to break free.

"Perfect chance!"

Sudo Ken, who hadn't gone far due to his injured leg, saw this and his eyes lit up.

He bent down, reaching out to grab the Capture Gun that Sakayanagi had previously dropped on the ground.

"How foolish."

Watching from afar, Sakayanagi Arisu let out a cold sneer. Amidst Kamuro Masumi's confusion, she pulled her directly toward a blind spot shielded by a wall and dove for cover.

Seeing that escape was hopeless, Gotou made a split-second decision to abandon his physical body.

The three parasites, sensing their impending doom, fled in different directions.

"Sudo! Run!"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka frowned, shouting a warning as he retreated.

But how could Sudo Ken, blinded by the desire for revenge, possibly listen?

He turned, raised the gun, and prepared to claim the glory for himself.