The dust slowly settled.
On the western battlefield, with the death of the last second-tier venomous scorpion, the few remaining first-tier venomous scorpions were quickly dealt with by the other students working together.
The battle was over.
In the academy multimedia room, several teachers fell briefly silent as they watched the footage transmitted by the recorders.
"He didn't use his Echo at all?"
"No."
"So... he relied purely on his physical strength and speed to defeat a high-grade second-tier Scorpion King protected by rock armor head-on, then instantly killed a low-grade second-tier one?"
"An 'S' alone isn't enough to describe a physique like that!"
"What about his aptitude for Echo?"
"He... wasn't tested."
"He wasn't tested?!"
"Right. He didn't take an Echo potential test, either during his final evaluation at the preparatory institute or during today's entrance assessment."
"Why not?!"
A teacher who had heard of Qiji's exploits pushed up his glasses and repeated Qiji's famous words, his tone a mixture of resignation and amazement:
"He said, 'To test is to define, and to define is to limit.'"
"And he was-"
"a genius who was neither defined nor limited."
The evaluation room fell silent once more.
On the recorder screen, the boy in the pure white mask stood calmly beneath the murky sky of the rift, both hands in his pockets.
As if he had a halo of his own.
Chapter 14: Because He Was Terrifyingly Strong
What they had imagined would be a grueling battle had ended in a complete victory with zero casualties.
The students of Class Eight panted as they looked at the Void Beast corpses scattered across the ground. Alongside the joy of victory, they felt even more shock and disbelief.
Only now did they truly realize just how strong the legendary "City of Kindling's Number One Genius" was...
Was this guy even human?
Even a monster couldn't be much more than this!
What touched them even more was that, judging by the power Qiji had just displayed, he could clearly have handled everything easily on his own.
But he hadn't taken everything on himself and stolen the spotlight. Instead, he had left an opportunity for everyone.
Qiji had been there to back them up, allowing each of them to fight without restraint and give it their all.
As a result, all twenty of them had gotten the scores they wanted from the battle, scores that matched their abilities.
No!
With Qiji backing them up, they hadn't needed to worry so much. Quite a few had exceeded their usual performance, earning scores far higher than expected!
Huomu, for example, and Setsuna.
Everyone's eyes sparkled with delight as they looked at the estimated scores on their recording devices.
"No one's hurt, right?"
Qiji's gaze swept over the group, his tone as normal as ever.
But when his gaze passed over a certain spot, he paused slightly, his brow twitching.
Almost at the same time, Bai Lili raised her hand, looking a little worried. "Liuli... she seems to be... missing."
"?!"
Only then did everyone snap out of the afterglow of their victory.
At some point, Liuli had vanished from the crowd.
"Stay here. Don't wander off. Rest and recover your strength, but stay alert. I'll go find her."
Qiji gave his instructions at breakneck speed.
As his last words fell, he shot off like an arrow loosed from a bow, vanishing from sight.
Deep inside the rift.
A clearing surrounded by enormous pale fungi.
Kamishiro Seigen, Liuli's older half-brother, was coldly watching the younger sister standing before him.
He wore a dark blue outfit designed for ease of movement, with an archaic-looking longsword at his waist. He had a sinister air about him.
"Why did you fail?"
His voice barely fluctuated, but it carried an undeniable pressure.
"With your abilities, manipulating the emotions of a brat who hasn't even awakened his Echo and leading him to his death should have been effortless. The family didn't give you the best talent so you could fail!"
Liuli kept her head lowered, her long, misty-purple hair concealing most of her face.
"Something unexpected happened."
Liuli offered a brief explanation. Kamishiro Seigen listened with a frown, but didn't grow overly suspicious.
His younger sister's past missions had always been completed to near perfection.
She was one of the Kamishiro Family's most prized tools.
Besides, this time the target was that Yanyi's son, and the matters involved were complicated to begin with.
What was more, according to the latest news they had received, Yanyi seemed to have returned to the City of Kindling in the past few days...
Perhaps Liuli's failure had something to do with him.
Fortunately, the family had prepared a backup plan.
At that thought, Kamishiro Seigen's expression softened somewhat. Rather than blaming Liuli, he comforted her with an older brother's warmth.
"Never mind. I'll take the blame for what happened this time. You've spent all these years undercover in the City of Kindling. Thank you for your efforts."
His tone grew gentler as he began making practiced promises.
"When I successfully take power one day, I'll be sure to help you break your Curse Binding and give you true freedom."
Freedom?
Hearing those two unfamiliar words, Liuli felt nothing. She even wanted to laugh a little.
"I've finished my report. May I go back now? If I'm gone too long, it'll arouse suspicion."
Kamishiro Seigen gave Liuli an inscrutable look.
He didn't know whether it was his imagination, but this time, his younger sister gave him the feeling...
that something about her was different.
But he immediately shook his head, amused.
She's only a tool. What could possibly be different?
"There's no need to go back for now. In a little while, you can join me in watching an interesting show."
He leisurely patted the cloth pouch at his waist.
"I brought the family's Red-Hot Incense with me. Combined with the circuit I laid out in advance, it's enough to drive all the Void Beasts in this part of the rift... completely mad."
Kamishiro Seigen explained the plan, then said leisurely, looking as though he were anticipating a good show:
"Next, let's enjoy watching these little ones from the City of Kindling get torn to pieces."
Liuli was startled by his words.
She had originally thought the family's only target was Huomu.
But from what Kamishiro Seigen was saying...
"There's no need to be surprised."
Kamishiro Seigen seemed to see through her thoughts and explained calmly,
"Deep Blue and the City of Kindling are bound to go to war. The family has changed its mind. Now, we're not just going to kill Huomu and draw Yanyi out. We're going to destroy the City of Kindling's entire next generation!
"War means using any means necessary. It means destroying the enemy's future! As long as Deep Blue can swallow up the City of Kindling, my Kamishiro Family's contribution will surely allow us to..."
Just as Kamishiro Seigen was absorbed in his beautiful vision of the future, an ill-timed voice suddenly cut in, interrupting him.
"I'm terribly sorry. Your fantasy is wonderful and all, but if I may be frank, you should save your dreaming for nighttime."
Whose voice was that?
Kamishiro Seigen started in alarm and whipped around!
At the top of a twisted giant tree not far away, a figure had appeared at some unknown point.
Wearing a pure white mask and a black trench coat, he sat casually on a branch jutting out from the trunk.
The newcomer was Qiji.
In his hand, he was also toying with a standard academy recorder that was actively recording.
Qiji waved the device in his hand, his mask facing Kamishiro Seigen.
"As you can see, everything you just said was recorded. It's being transmitted in real time, too~~ Sorry for ruining your plans."
Qiji's sudden appearance horrified Kamishiro Seigen, because he hadn't noticed him at all!
But he quickly regained his composure. He glanced disdainfully at the recording device in Qiji's hand and sneered.
"Idiot, why don't you check whether that thing in your hand is working?"
The recording device had stopped working as soon as it approached this area.
That was only natural.
Qiji had known all along.
After all, Liuli was here too. If the recording device really worked, how could he possibly have taken it out now?
Wouldn't that be the same as personally reporting Liuli's identity to the academy?
But even knowing that, he had done it for one reason-
to give Liuli time to prepare.
"Oh dear. In a world where the supernatural is the foundation of everything, electronic devices really are unreliable."
As Qiji spoke, he casually tossed the device aside.
He leaped lightly from the tree and landed with ease.
The place where he landed was very deliberate.
Right between Liuli and Kamishiro Seigen.
Chapter 15: Playtime Is Over
Kamishiro Seigen looked at him as though he were already dead.
"Liuli, do it."