Chapter 193

“Pitter-patter…”

Heavy rain poured down.

The surroundings were dark, and visibility was extremely limited.

“I’m sorry, Senior. This is all because of me…”

“N-No, it’s okay. It’s only natural for a senior to help a junior in need.”

“Thank you so much, Senior.”

“Haha, don’t mention it.”

Two figures were walking somewhere, braving the rain.

Their short conversation easily revealed their senior-junior relationship.

The senior was a man.

The junior was a woman.

A subtle atmosphere flowed between them, perhaps due to their different genders.

Both the senior and junior seemed to be aware of it, their faces slightly flushed.

The senior cleared his throat and tried to change the mood with words.

“Ahem, so he comes when it rains?”

“Yes, maybe it’s just my imagination, but I’m so scared…”

“No, if it’s happened multiple times, it’s probably not your imagination.”

“Ugh…”

“Hey, relax. I’ll make sure that creep gets what he deserves.”

“Th-Thank you.”

The junior bowed her head deeply in gratitude.

The senior’s cheeks reddened.

The junior spoke to the senior, trailing off,

“Um… but this matter…”

“Ah, of course, I’ll keep it a secret. I haven’t told anyone.”

The senior nodded firmly.

This matter was the junior’s privacy.

Even if she hadn’t asked, he wouldn’t have gossiped about it, as a senior and a man.

“Thank you so much. I’m so glad I asked you for help, Senior.”

“No… it’s only natural.”

The senior scratched the back of his head.

He said that, but the corners of his mouth were lifted in a smile, pleased by her words.

They continued walking as they talked.

There were hardly any people on the street.

It was only natural, given the weather.

Even with an umbrella, the heavy rain seeped in and soaked their bodies.

“It’s over there.”

“Ah, I see.”

The junior pointed to a house on the outskirts of the mid-tier district.

It was a house that seemed a bit too big for a single person.

The senior thought that a female student living alone in such a place would be a likely target for a stalker.

They soon entered the house.

A spacious yard.

There was no dog in sight.

The senior thought that having a dog might have been helpful.

“Um… please come in, Senior.”

“Eh…? I-Is it okay?”

“O-Of course. We need to be somewhere inconspicuous so that suspicious person will show up…”

“Ah, y-you’re right. Th-Then excuse me.”

The senior followed the junior inside the house.

Click.

He heard the sound of the junior locking the door.

But the senior didn’t think much of it.

He just thought she was scared.

“I don’t think there’s any sign of the suspicious person following us.”

The junior said.

“Ah, right. I didn’t sense anything either.”

The senior agreed.

“So that means we just have to hide and wait for him to show up, then jump out…”

“Senior.”

“Huh? Yeah, what is it?”

“Your spear skills are excellent, right?”

“Ah. Haha… If you ask me that, I think they’re definitely among the best. Although I still have a lot to learn.”

“It’s okay. As long as your spear skills are excellent.”

“Huh?”

The senior sensed that something was off about the junior’s tone, but he didn’t have time to think about it.

Because the junior suddenly leaned in close.

“Eh, eh, eh, eh?!”

The senior let out a strange groan, his eyes wide with surprise.

His face was completely red, like a tomato.

It couldn’t be helped.

This senior was none other than Allen Benesse, a proud and experienced single pringle with zero romantic experience.

“Senior, actually, I…”

The junior pressed her body closer, as if expecting something.

Thump, thump!

Allen’s heart pounded loudly, as if it was about to burst.

He felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

T-This is it, right?

No matter how you look at it, this is it…

Swallowing nervously, Allen slowly pushed his trembling lips forward.

F-Finally, this day has come to me too…

At this moment, he envied no one.

Not even his best friend, Max Celtrine, who seemed to be showered with affection (?) from every beautiful woman he met.

‘G-Good…’

Slap!

“Ouch?!”

Allen’s cheek was met with a resounding slap.

Frozen in shock with wide eyes after being unexpectedly slapped, Allen…

The junior, her face completely transformed, straddled him and blurted out,

“Ugh, you’re so disgusting. How dare you shove that repulsive face at me?”

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you t-t-t-talking about…?!”

Allen stuttered even more than usual.

It was an understandable situation.

“Sigh, just because I flirted with you a little, why are you overreacting? If you’re a virgin, just act like one and stay quiet.”

“S-S-S-Sorry. I-I-I will.”

Allen was still in shock.

The junior couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Pfft, hahaha! What the hell? What kind of funny guy are you? You’re such an idiot, Senior.”

“H-Huh?”

“I’m going to eat you.”

“G-Gasp?! Th-Th-That’s too f-f-fast…”

“What? I’m going to eat your brain.”

Lick.

The junior licked her lips.

Her eyes were chillingly sinister.

Only then did Allen realize that she wasn’t joking.

His eyes widened in horror.

“W-W-Wait! Why would you eat my brain?!”

“Because I need to eat your brain to devour your excellent spear skills.”

“Wh-Wh-What nonsense are you talking about?!”

“You can go to the afterlife and find out if it’s nonsense or not. Now, let’s get started with the dissection.”

A sharp knife appeared in the junior’s hand, seemingly out of nowhere.

She smiled wickedly.

“I’ll stab you.”

“Noooooooo! I can’t die a virgin, it’s too unfair!”

Allen screamed his last, tearful cry.

At that very moment,

Crash!

The sound of breaking glass.

An arrow shot through the broken window like lightning.

“?!”

The junior dodged in surprise.

“Uh, uh!”

The arrow embedded itself in the wall, inches above Allen’s head.

It all happened in a split second.

Boom!

Almost simultaneously, the locked door was shattered.

A massive, bald man entered through the broken door.

It was Godwin.

The junior protested, dumbfounded,

“What the hell? Breaking into someone’s house like this is a crime…”

“It’s okay. I already talked to the owner.”

“What? What nonsense are you…”

“The owner is dead and already in heaven. I told you I talked to him.”

Thump!

The junior was definitely quicker on the uptake than the senior.

As soon as she heard those words, she leaped towards the opposite side of the room.

Crash!

The window shattered into pieces.

The junior rolled and landed in the yard.

She tried to escape through the back door.

But.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

It was Camian.

His sword was already drawn.

“…You’re serious.”

Annette, standing next to him, bit her lip.

She seemed conflicted, but her determination to stop the junior was firm.

“Ugh, what the hell is going on?! You guys suddenly show up and…”

The junior spun around, her face contorted with frustration.

It seemed like she was trying to escape through the front door.

“You’re not getting away.”

A man blocked her path with a smirk.

It was Max Celtrine.

“Get out of my way!”

A murderous glint flashed in the junior’s eyes.

Knives danced in her hand.

Swish! Swoosh! Swish!

In the blink of an eye, she threw a barrage of knives, filling the air.

Amazing knife-throwing skills.

It was a dangerous situation, as if his entire body would be torn to shreds.

Max’s sword moved.

– Net Slash Form.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

His sword drew lines in the air.

Like a net with no gaps.

A technique perfectly befitting the name of the form, Net Slash.

The net of his sword completely blocked the path of the knives.

Clang! Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The knives fell to the ground, deflected by the net of his sword.

Not a single knife got through.

“N-N-No way!”

The junior trembled, her face pale as if she had seen a nightmare.

Her most confident technique, among her many skills, had been effortlessly neutralized.

Max shook his finger from side to side, his expression saying “not a chance.”

Then he said,

“It’s over.”

Thump!

“Kyaah!”

Godwin’s fist smashed into the back of the junior’s head.

Thud!

She fainted, her eyes rolling back.

Blood poured from her broken head.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to kill her.”

“I hit her lightly.”

“If you hit her lightly twice, her head will split in half.”

“How did you know?”

“…”

Max shook his head.

Then he muttered,

“Well, one problem solved.”

* * *

The first-year junior who ate people’s brains to steal their skills.

She was the first villain to mark the beginning of the second semester of the third year.

It was also the incident where the first student died.

If we hadn’t stopped her, there would have been a second, a third, and more victims.

But I solved it cleanly, without any casualties.

It was a case that could be solved as long as we knew the culprit, the murder pattern, and the location.

However, there was one thing I hadn’t anticipated.

Allen becoming the first target.

I knew that clueless students would be randomly targeted, but I never thought it would be Allen.

“P-Please tell me these things in advance, Team Leader!”

Allen protested with a tearful face.

But I shook my head firmly.

“No.”

“Why… Why?”

“You’re a terrible actor.”

“Ugh.”

“If she sensed something was wrong, everything would have been ruined, you know?”

“…I-I see.”

“And thanks to that, you got to enjoy a little bit of happiness, right? That’s enough.”

“Ugh! N-No, it’s not enough! I’m so embarrassed I can’t even show my face!”

Allen cried out.

It must be incredibly embarrassing.

It wasn’t just me, there were two juniors and Godwin present.

“I-I understand, Senior Allen. Anyone would have d-done that… or maybe not…?”

Annette, unable to lie, ended her sentence with a question mark.

That’s like killing him twice.

“Ugh!”

…He seems to have suffered mental damage.

“I understand, Senior Allen. It’s understandable for a ‘single pringle’. I would have definitely done the same if I were you.”

“Sob!”

…Camian, why are you killing him too?

“Hmph, what a pathetic man. Look at me! I’ve lived my whole life without a woman, and I’m perfectly fine!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

…Allen screamed in terror, as if he saw Godwin as his future self.

It took a long time for Allen’s shattered mental state to recover.

* * *

“You seem to have gotten stronger.”

Camian approached me and said casually.

“Heh, is that so?”

“Yes, it seems like you’ve learned a new technique. You’re quite skilled.”

“I need to be at least that good to be a proper senior, don’t I?”

I chuckled and continued,

“You seem to have improved a lot too.”

“Of course, I have to if I want to catch up to you, Senior.”

“Yes, that’s a good attitude.”

I said that and then looked at him with a serious expression.

“Camian.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve experienced hell, haven’t you?”

“…”

Camian was silent for a moment.

He seemed to be thinking about the meaning of my words.

Then he replied,

“Yes, I definitely have. Thanks to you, Senior.”

The hell Camian was thinking of.

It must be the underground space.

It was the right answer.

Unlike the peaceful outside world, it was a land where death always loomed nearby.

It was no exaggeration to call it hell.

But.

That hell wouldn’t be limited to the underground anymore.

“Yes. So even if hell suddenly visits your peaceful daily life, you’ll be able to handle it without panicking, right?”

“…I think there’s a reason why you’re saying that.”

Camian’s expression was also serious.

“Think about it yourself. Don’t expect someone to give you all the answers. That’s reality.”

I stood up.

“No matter what happens, there will be something you can do. And so will I.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Recognizing that his answer wasn’t that of a naive boy, I turned around with a relieved heart.

* * *

And that day was approaching.

The day of the first great tragedy.