Contention

"Well, well, what a coincidence. I just happened to catch this show. Ayanokoji, you're quite rough, aren't you?" Ryuuen arrived late, but perfectly on time, just as he witnessed Ayanokoji violently threatening Karuizawa Kei.

Of course, Ryuuen also pulled out his phone, ready to give Ayanokoji a taste of his own medicine.

Ayanokoji noticed Ryuuen holding his phone and assumed he was secretly filming, just like Ayanokoji himself had been, and that Ryuuen had recorded his actions.

Ayanokoji frowned, but quickly took action.

Before Ryuuen could say another word, Ayanokoji launched a high kick at Ryuuen. Although it didn't cause much harm, the kick landed on Ryuuen's hand, sending his phone flying.

The phone hit the ground with a thud. Unfortunately, the school's custom-made phones were quite durable; Ayanokoji's kick hadn't caused any significant damage to it. Ryuuen naturally realized this and, as soon as the phone left his hand, moved to pick it up.

But Ayanokoji was faster. He practically flew to Ryuuen's side, kicked him in the abdomen, and then went for the phone on the ground.

That kick to Ryuuen's stomach truly hurt. Ayanokoji hadn't held back at all. Ryuuen's reaction speed would typically allow him to take defensive measures beforehand, but he didn't. He needed Ayanokoji to kick him. Only then could he get close to Ayanokoji.

And his goal in getting close was the same as Ayanokoji's: the phone. However, it wasn't the phone on the ground, but Ayanokoji's phone.

Finally, the two pulled back, returning to their initial positions, but their phones had been swapped.

"Phew," Ryuuen whistled. Despite the kick to his stomach, he was in a good mood.

Opening Ryuuen's phone, Ayanokoji felt a bit numb. It was a blank phone, completely empty. Ryuuen hadn't recorded any evidence of his "crime" at all.

In an instant, Ayanokoji understood. This was a setup, and Ryuuen had been orchestrating the entire situation from behind the scenes.

"Do you have a Superpower?"

Ayanokoji, who was always the epitome of rationality, actually asked such a foolish question.

However, this question made Ryuuen unconsciously look at Ayanokoji with new eyes. After only two exams and just a few encounters, Ayanokoji had already seen through so much.

Although Ayanokoji's words seemed foolish, they also reflected his perception of Ryuuen. In Ayanokoji's mind, Ryuuen's existence and patterns of behavior were unreasonable, so he attributed Ryuuen to having a Superpower.

Ryuuen, who had transmigrated, indeed possessed advantages that ordinary people didn't. Calling it a Superpower had some truth to it, but it was an exaggeration.

Ryuuen also didn't think Ayanokoji truly believed Superpowers existed; he just didn't fully understand Ryuuen as a person yet.

"Of course, my Superpower is seeing through everything," Ryuuen replied, playing along with Ayanokoji's words.

"How foolish," Ayanokoji regained his composure, his mind returning to a rational state. This "foolish" remark referred to both Ryuuen and himself. He probably felt foolish recalling what he had just said.

"You're still so arrogant, even with your phone in my hand?" Ryuuen fiddled with Ayanokoji's phone. Although Ayanokoji had set a password, Ryuuen wasn't worried. As long as the phone was in his possession, the evidence of Ayanokoji's "crime" couldn't escape. Plus, there was a victim lying on the ground. With Karuizawa Kei's testimony, it would be very difficult for Ayanokoji to get out of this.

The threat of expulsion was in Ryuuen's hands, so Ayanokoji wouldn't let Ryuuen leave so easily.

Both of them understood the current situation, only Karuizawa Kei was still a bit confused. She didn't know why Ayanokoji suddenly appeared to accost her, then why Ryuuen popped up. Was Ryuuen here to help her? Karuizawa Kei wasn't sure. She didn't think Ryuuen would help her, but Ryuuen was indeed confronting Ayanokoji, and he did help her by taking Ayanokoji's phone.

"Is he helping me?" Karuizawa Kei wondered. Ryuuen might be similar to Ayanokoji, also wanting to control her, which was why he snatched Ayanokoji's phone.

In reality, Karuizawa Kei's thoughts were almost spot on. Both Ryuuen and Ayanokoji's goal was Karuizawa Kei. However, unlike what Karuizawa Kei herself imagined, their target was never her body, but her value: her status among the girls in Class D, and the significant impact she would have in the upcoming exams.

Ryuuen and Ayanokoji both needed her, which was why they stood there. But the moment Ryuuen got the phone, the meaning of their fight changed. Karuizawa Kei became the spoils of the victor, while the cost of losing was as unequal as their strength.

If Ryuuen lost, he would lose Karuizawa Kei and get a brutal beating.

If Ayanokoji lost, he would lose Karuizawa Kei and most likely be expelled due to the evidence in Ryuuen's hand. After all, in Ayanokoji's eyes, Ryuuen was full of hostility towards him, so he naturally didn't believe Ryuuen would leave him an escape route.

The issues they were contemplating were different, but on one point, they both agreed: neither of them believed they would lose!

This was a game of violence, a clash between a genius and a mortal. The genius was naturally Ayanokoji, and the mortal was Ryuuen. However, Ryuuen had a cheat. Although this cheat didn't directly enhance his body, it allowed him to prepare for this day for sixteen years.

Ryuuen's punch was the culmination of sixteen years of sweat. The power of this punch—Ayanokoji, could he withstand it?

Almost simultaneously, Ayanokoji also threw a punch.

There were no fancy techniques; true moments of lethal combat were often brief, a single strike.

In the clash of two fists, Ryuuen clearly felt the agonizing pain of his finger bones almost shattering. But even so, he couldn't let go. If he let go, he would lose. Not only could he not let go, he had to keep pushing!

Ayanokoji wasn't having it easy either. In a head-on collision of punches, where you wound an enemy by a thousand but hurt yourself by eight hundred, Ayanokoji had no retreat. He had even less room to let go than Ryuuen.

Their finger bones were practically melting together. Any more force, and both hands would be ruined.

Before it reached a point of no return, Ayanokoji spoke, "You don't want me expelled, do you? This fight is meaningless now."

Ayanokoji had truly seen through him. Sometimes, one couldn't help but lament God's unfairness: why were some people geniuses and others merely mortals?

"Hmph." Ryuuen pulled back his fist. Since Ayanokoji had figured out his intentions, this brawl couldn't continue. Yes, in Ryuuen's mind, he defined this confrontation as a brawl.

If Ryuuen truly wanted Ayanokoji expelled, he wouldn't have stepped in when Ayanokoji first threatened Karuizawa Kei. Instead, he would have recorded the entire process, waited for Karuizawa Kei to be completely bullied, and then secretly reported it.

"Is your goal Karuizawa Kei?" Ayanokoji was a little suspicious. Although Karuizawa Kei was indeed valuable, he didn't think her value was so great that it would warrant Ryuuen expending so much effort on a plan.

"Perhaps. For now, let's talk about our own problem," Ryuuen shook the hand he had just punched with. It was truly sore and painful.