"Are you out of your mind?!"
A blond boy sitting in the front row gritted his teeth and grabbed Loren, who lay trembling on the floor with his face beaten to a pulp.
"What the hell has gotten into you?! Coming here first thing in the morning just to start trouble?! Are you some spoiled brat?"
Lin Ke had been sitting there minding his own business.
But you?
Without a word.
You walked into the classroom and immediately kicked his desk!
Loren's face was bruised and swollen. A trace of confusion flickered in his eyes, but it lasted only an instant before that red gleam once again turned his gaze furious and vicious.
He scrambled to his feet as though Lin En were the only person he could see, then pointed at him in a fit of rage.
"Lin Ke! If you've got the guts, then try-"
Smack-
Before he could finish, a folding stool came flying over and smashed into his nose again.
Splat-
Blood gushed from his nose as he lost his balance and toppled backward once more.
"Aaaah! (ΩДΩ)!! We can't hold him! We can't hold him anymore!!"
They watched as Lin En charged over, raising the folding stool again with a (〝▼皿▼) expression.
Slam dunk!
He jumped up for another slam dunk!
"Aaaaaah!! Quick! Somebody stop him!"
A crowd of students finally charged over again with (〃＞皿＜) expressions and forcibly hauled Lin En, who was like a Primordial Beast, toward the back.
Good Lord! Good Lord!
How was he so strong?!
Stop slam-dunking! You're landing all those hits on us! We're only trying to break up the fight!
Why are you hitting us?!
The blond boy frowned deeply, rushed over, and grabbed Loren by the collar, hauling him straight off the floor as he gritted his teeth.
"Loren! What the fuck is wrong with you?! You little-"
But before he could finish.
A voice rang out in his mind.
"He's been affected by Charm."
The blond boy froze.
But in that brief moment of hesitation, Loren suddenly wrenched free of his grip in fury. His entire face twisted as a pitch-black [Sequence] abruptly formed between his brows.
"Lin Ke! You brought this on yourself!!"
Bzz-
Almost at that very instant, thick wisps of black vapor began pouring from his body.
Every student nearby paled at the sight.
They immediately realized that Loren had used [Origin Substance].
But...
This was an academy classroom! The academy expressly forbade any fighting on its grounds that crossed the line. An ordinary fistfight might be tolerated, but the moment [Origin Substance] was involved, it became an entirely different matter!
"Loren! Stop!"
The blond boy's expression changed drastically, and he moved to stop him.
But it was already too late.
Drip-
Drip-
Drops of pitch-black blood fell from the ceiling onto the floor.
The sun was high outside, yet the classroom seemed to turn unnaturally cold in an instant.
"Up there..."
A girl at the side of the classroom warned them in terror.
Almost instinctively, Lin En looked up above him.
And there, practically face-to-face with him, was the twisted, rotting face of a female ghost. He could clearly see the long tongue protruding from her decaying lips and the thick black blood dripping from one eye socket. The Evil Spirit hung upside down, staring straight into his eyes.
[Ghost Control]!
Many of the students around them turned pale with shock.
The boys holding Lin En scattered at top speed, scrambling and tumbling away with (ΩДΩ) expressions.
They immediately understood.
Loren had activated his first [Sequence].
This Sequence allowed its user to control twisted Evil Spirits, even summoning them from the Spirit Realm anytime and anywhere. It was an exceptionally formidable ability among the Sequences.
"Wait! Wasn't Loren controlling an ordinary Terror Demon before...?"
They could tell at a glance.
The ghostly aura of this Evil Spirit was far more terrifying and intense than that of the little ghost he had controlled before.
Had someone helped him capture a stronger Evil Spirit?!
At that moment.
Someone was already trembling as they rushed off to fetch an academy instructor.
Because from this moment onward, the situation had changed completely.
Loren glared at him in fury, red light flooding his eyes as he said:
"Kill him!"
In an instant.
He gave the command.
The students around them all screamed and trembled.
They knew all too well the gap between ordinary Sequence users and Evil Spirits. Especially against those terrifying, incorporeal Evil Spirits from the Spirit Realm, if someone lacked a Sequence that could counter them, an attack was almost certain death.
And at that very moment.
The Hanged Ghost above Lin En suddenly opened her enormous, rotting, bloody maw and lunged at him directly below, looming larger.
"Kill who?!"
Lin En suddenly spoke with a (▼へ▼メ) expression.
"..."
"..."
The sudden silence was like popping a piece of candy into your mouth.
The Hanged Ghost stopped blankly less than five centimeters from Lin En's face. Their eyes met as she stared at his (▼へ▼メ) face from an awkward position.
"Uh..."
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Everyone watched the scene in terror, unable to understand why the Evil Spirit had suddenly stopped.
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle (distorted sounds)-hiss, hiss, hiss (tentative inquiry)-(mystified confusion)??-"
She seemed to be asking Lin En a few tentative questions.
Lin En merely maintained his (▼へ▼メ) expression without responding.
Gulp-
It sounded like something swallowing.
Then.
Something bizarre happened.
The Hanged Ghost slowly sat upright in midair with a (.;ﾟ;:anger:;ﾟ;.) expression, then slowly turned around. Her two deathly pale hands seemed to tremble slightly as she gripped the rope she had hanged herself with.
Wriggling...
She wriggled her way upward.
As though trying to get away from something.
Lin En instantly bared his teeth with a (▼皿▼#) expression.
[Ding! The Hanged Ghost's fear of you +50, Sanity -20] [Ding! The Hanged Ghost's fear of you +60, Sanity -30]
"Aaaaaah!!!"
In an instant, the Evil Spirit's hair stood on end as she made an (ΩДΩ) face, her long locks bristling like a hedgehog's spines. Abandoning even her rope, she darted over and clung to a nearby boy under everyone's astonished gazes, her face turned toward Lin En as her teeth chattered nonstop.
"Yamete!! Yamete yo-!!!"
The boy she grabbed was frightened straight out of his wits, looking half-dead with a (((;꒪ꈊ꒪;))) expression.
Everyone around them was stunned by the sight.
Before you continue