Chapter 60: Twisted, warped—

"Sensei still isn’t here…"

In Trinity’s annex building, Hifumi murmured softly, staring at a half-open bag of sweets.

"Yeah… I wonder why. He’s not even at his usual work spot."

Nodding, Asiri tilted her head, lost in thought.

Sensei’s errands—
the first thing that came to mind was one of those routine tasks he often handled for Schale.
But if it were something within Trinity, then it didn’t make sense that the Volunteer Activities Club hadn’t been contacted.

So then—what else could it be?

"…Maybe Sensei was called by someone from the Tea Party?"

"Ah…"

Asiri’s offhand remark made Hifumi’s eyes widen.

The true purpose of the Supplementary Lesson Department was to uncover the “traitor within Trinity” and have them expelled.

That goal hadn’t been achieved yet. And if the department’s activities were nearing their end, it was only natural the Tea Party would begin preparing some kind of countermeasure.

If that were the case, then the reason Sensei might have been summoned would be…

"…A hostage?"

"T-That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think…?"

Asiri shook her head, brushing off the strange thought.

Specifically, the image in her mind had been of Sensei in chains—restrained in an indecent, suggestive pose, being interrogated and tortured to death… but thankfully, that line of imagination never left her lips.

"What are you talking about?"

No—apparently, it had slipped out. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, such fantasies were powerless before someone as equally imaginative as Koharu.

"N-No, um, actually… Sensei still hasn’t shown up."

"Really? I wonder if something happened…"

"I don’t think there’s anything to worry about—at least, not when it comes to Sensei…"

One after another, members of both the Supplementary Lesson Department and the Volunteer Activities Club began to gather.

"But still… did anyone see Sensei today? Or even know someone who did? Maybe someone who had plans to meet him or asked for help?"

"A-At least not me…"

At Azusa’s question, everyone shook their heads.

"Hey hey, Prez, what’s with the serious face?"

The vice president of the Volunteer Activities Club arrived late, grinning as she slung an arm around Asiri’s shoulders.

"…Hey, got a minute?"

"Wh—What’s up, Prez? Something wrong?"

Asiri’s serious expression—so unlike her usual airheaded self—made it clear something had definitely happened. The vice president straightened up immediately.

"Were there any requests scheduled for today?"

"Uh, let’s see… we had some changes last night. Then this morning, the ones that got canceled were: searching for missing books, looking for lost accessories, and an inspection over at Basis Schola—that’s it."

"…The only one Sensei might’ve handled is the Basis Schola inspection. Alright, check with all the requesters just in case. See if anyone asked Sensei for help."

The other members of the Supplementary Lesson Department looked a little surprised at how decisively Asiri was taking charge.
For a moment, she didn’t seem like the clumsy president they knew.

"…So,"

After a few minutes, Asiri suddenly turned back.

"W-We’ve checked, but… nobody seems to have asked Sensei! I-I mean, some people said they saw others heading toward the Tea Party’s building, but—!! Wh-What do we dooo!?"

And just like that, she was back to her usual self.

"Calm down, Asiri-san. It’s too early to jump to conclusions."

"Y-Yeah, you’re right… b-but still! What if something awful’s happening to Sensei—something like that or that—!!"

"Like what…? Actually, let’s not go there right now."

Hanako stopped herself mid-sentence and frowned thoughtfully.

The timing was suspicious—right after the Supplementary Lesson Department had finished their exams.
But if that were the case, why summon Sensei personally?
If they really wanted a hostage, they could’ve just abducted him outright. Whether or not that was feasible, doing it so publicly made no sense.

So maybe this was simply a straightforward request for cooperation. At the very least, it didn’t seem like they’d risk doing something that would turn public opinion against them.

"I think it’s fine. Sensei might’ve gone to the Tea Party’s building, but there’s no need to panic—"

She didn’t get to finish her sentence.

BOOOOM!

"Kyah!?"

"W-What was that explosion!?"

"…Judging from that sound, a large amount of explosives were used. Whatever’s happening, it isn’t peaceful."

At Azusa’s calm analysis, the atmosphere in the room froze.

"H-Hey, look… over there!"

Asiri pointed toward a small window.

Through it, they could see dark smoke rising from the direction of the Tea Party’s building.

"…!!"

Everyone except Azusa thought of the same person at once.

"Sensei!!"

And in Azusa’s mind—alongside Sensei—another name surfaced.

"Suou…?"

---

"…Not going to fight back, Suou-chan?"

"Gah—gh…!!"

What the hell kind of strength is that…!?
Even with Mysticism reinforcing my defense, the shock still rattles through my gut…!

During the ambush, I took that hit head-on—without any Mysticism at all…!

"Hff… nghhh…!"

Calm down. My left arm’s imbued with Mysticism, but it’s far from healed.
Still, her strike didn’t completely pierce my Mystical defense. Barely—but I can block it.

"…"

The arm I used to guard is red and swollen. Bruised.
Should I avoid close combat…?

"Oh, backing off now? Guess you’re more scared of fists than guns?"

"Of course I am…!"

Mid-range combat, then—using the hand cannon as my main weapon.
Keep distance. Use the hair rope to control space. If there’s even a second to contact the others, take it—fast.

"Well, not a bad idea, but…"

…What now? She’s smashing the wall—

She’s lifting a boulder—wait, that’s bad!

"You think I wouldn’t prepare for that kind of tactic?"

"…!!"

The rock—it’s glowing!? Did she overload it with Mysticism!?

That feeling… that dread crawling up my spine. Every nerve is screaming: Don’t take it head-on. Run.
Enhance vision with Mysticism—

"If you can block it, then go ahead and try!!"

…Did she just throw it!?

"Ah—damn it…!!"

I can’t take that hit.
Dodge. Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge!!

"Hhh—gh!!"

"…Dodged, huh? Well, that’s the smart move."

"Huff… huff…!"

The tension breaks, and my breathing’s a mess.

What Mika just did was simple. She poured Mysticism into that boulder, hardened it to the extreme, then used her own enhanced strength and reflexes to hurl it full force.

Basically, she took the same kind of technique I use—and pushed it even further.

"…!!"

And the result speaks for itself. The wall’s torn open like paper.
Even Mystical defense couldn’t guarantee survival against that.

If she turned that kind of power on the others… I couldn’t protect them.

Then there’s only one thing to do.

"Oh, changing your mind? Going close-range after all?"

"…"

"…You could at least talk to me, you know. Why’re you ignoring me…?"

I’ll disable Mika here and now.

"Looks like you’ve made up your mind. I was hoping you’d just surrender quietly, but… guess not."

Three grenades in my right hand.
I channel Mysticism into each one, threading my finger through the pins.

"…I’m going all out."

Losing my left arm hurts, but I can’t afford to waste Mysticism on healing.

"Hah!!"

I kick off the ground, leaping high into the air.

"Bad idea—up there, you’re just a target."

Mika hurls another boulder. I twist midair, detonating one grenade to propel myself sideways out of its path.

"I know that already!"

Second grenade—this one for acceleration, blasting me straight toward Mika.
I crash down, shattering the floor beneath me.

"—!!"

With her balance thrown off, I drive my fist—together with the third activated grenade—straight into Mika’s abdomen.

"Get—blown—away!!"

My strike should’ve sent her crashing through the ceiling, but—

"Cough… You’re pretty good, Suou-chan…!!"

At the last moment, Mika had braced herself, planting her feet deep into the floor.

Fine. Change of plans.
As her body lifts slightly, I seize the opening for a follow-up.

"Urgh…!! Is this—your hair?"

Using the hair rope weighted at the end, I ensnare her and yank hard, pulling her toward me.
As she flies in, I spin midair and kick her square in the face before landing.

At the same time, I leap again—stomping down on Mika’s face to propel myself upward. I tighten the rope, about to lift her into the air when—

"This is a problem. Mind if I tear it off?"

"—!!"

A chill runs down my spine. I instantly release the hair rope and fire the shotgun imbued with mystic energy—but.

"Hmm… missed, huh."

Some of the dispersed bullets were crushed in Mika’s hand.

"Here, take it back."

"Not good—!"

Mika flings the bullets back at me.
I dodge—but right in the path ahead—

"Argh…!!"

Mika’s bullets. She fires in bursts. They’re not as dangerous as her fists, but they still hit. They still hurt.
The damage is real. Unavoidable.

"Kh…!!"

I spin the hair rope with my right hand, deflecting as many bullets as possible.
Forcing my throbbing left arm to move, I use the explosive’s blast to accelerate toward Mika for a counterattack.

"…Hey, Suou-chan. Your left arm’s in really bad shape, you know?"

"Not your concern…!!"

A slight flinch. Mika’s weak spot.

Actions that made no sense—ignoring pain, doing the unexpected. If that’s what it takes—

"Hah!"

"…"

I feinted with my right arm.
Naturally, Mika reacted, raising her right to block—

"Haah!!"

"!?!"

I drove my left fist—the one clutching the explosive—into Mika’s right cheek.

Following through, I chased her as she flew sideways.

"Ugh—ah…!!"

It hurts—it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!
I couldn’t infuse mystic energy into my left arm, or the surprise attack would’ve been ruined…!

My thoughts scattered. I couldn’t form the next move.

"Raaah!!"

Snap out of it. This isn’t the time to stop because of pain. You’re used to this.

Others have gone through worse—so much worse.

Then what right do I have to falter now?

"Kh…!! Suou—"

"Take this!!"

"Ugh…!!"

My only edge against Mika is the acceleration and speed from my explosives. My small frame makes me harder to hit. Add my close-quarters training and whatever mystic output I can manage—and that’s the advantage I have, even if I don’t fully know how we compare.

Mika’s style is pure brute force.

Soft overcoming hard—if only I could pull that off—but…!

"Hey now."

Of course, Mika wouldn’t let that happen…!

"Urgh—!?"

Crap—she grabbed my leg…!!

"You’ve been swinging a little too wildly, don’t you think?"

"Gah—aaahhh!!?"

The world spun—!
Just before impact, I saw it: her fist glowing with mystic light. She’s serious now—this is full power…!

"Ugh…!"

Can’t stand. My brain’s rattled.

"I’ll admit, that one hurt even me!!"

"Guh—! Gahk…!!"

She hit me again and again.

"Hey, Suou-chan."

"Kh…!!"

The world flipped—she had me by the leg.

"You’re strong, Suou-chan. Really strong. On a normal day, I bet you could go toe-to-toe with me. I even heard you fought that Swordpoint Tsurugi girl. But… with your arm and body like this, you can’t beat me."

"…!!"

"My first hit—that was me going all out. Same strength as just now. You didn’t notice, but your body’s already in bad shape."

The pain in my left arm and ribs—plus the shock of her words—kept me from realizing it sooner.
But focusing inward, I felt it clearly: the first hit shredded muscle fibers; some bones even cracked.

That’s how powerful it was.

"The only reason you seemed to have the advantage midway was because I was letting you—trying to buy time for Saori-chan and the others, and… well, I didn’t want to hurt you too badly."

"Kh…!"

"But that’s not enough anymore. We’re out of time… Sorry, Suou-chan."

She’s gonna hit me—!! Move—!!

"This is the end."

I can’t dodge—!!

"Kh…!!"

…The pain never came.

"Haa… haa…!!"

"Oh, Saori-chan. Saved me the trouble."

"Let go of Suou—right now, Misono Mika!!"

"S-Saori!?"

She heard the battle—!? We didn’t make it in time…!!

"Alright, I’ll let her go."

"Kh…!"

The damage… it’s bad. I need to heal, fast…!

"Hey, what’s going on here…?"

No—focus! Calm down!
What should I do now? Saori and the others are here. We can’t beat Mika.
Then there’s only one thing I can do.

"Everyone, run!! Misono-san’s trying to capture us!!"

"Yeah… I figured you’d say that, Suou-chan."

I have to make sure they get away—no matter what.

"Ow…! A sniper rifle, huh. So Hiyori-chan’s here too… there you are."

"Hiyori!! Get out of there right now!!"

"Huh?"

That stance—she used it when she fought me…!

"Haaah!!"

"W-wahhhh!?"

"Hiyori!?"

The transmission cut off.
Through my mystically enhanced vision, I could see her—clear as day.

Hiyori, lying motionless on the ground, blood pouring from her.

"Kh…!! Stop it, Misono-san…!!"

"…Sorry. But I told you, didn’t I? I’m capturing everyone."

No… no way.

"Mika… I don’t know what you’re going through, or what your reasons are."

"But still… still—"

"I won’t forgive you for hurting Suou and Hiyori."

Please… no more. No one else needs to get hurt.

"You plan to win? Without Azusa-chan and Hiyori-chan?"

"We’ve got the whole Eighth Squad here. This time’s different."

"Right… and this ‘Eighth Squad’ of yours—"

A huge chunk of rock. She didn’t use anything like that when we fought.

"Think you can dodge this?"

Move, body—move, move, move…!!

"Oraaah!!"

"Kh…!"

"Haa… haa…!"

I moved—just barely stopped her attack.

"…You’re really something, Suou-chan. Still fighting like that, even in that state."

"Everyone… run…!"

"We’d never leave you behind. Do you really think we’re that heartless?"

"N-no, that’s not—gah…!!"

I can’t breathe—!

"Suou-chan, just rest a bit. Don’t worry, by the time you wake up, we’ll all be together again."

"…You underestimate me. You think I’d fall for such a cheap taunt?"

"Doesn’t really look like that’s the case, though."

"…"

No… Saori, don’t fight her…!

Mika knows exactly what she’s doing. The best move is to throw Saori off her game—to make her lose control.
Saori’s the Eighth Squad’s strongest, their commander. Take her down first, and the rest crumble.

That’s why Mika’s provoking her.

"Leader, calm down. I get how you feel, but—"

"I never understand a word you say, Atsuko-chan. Can’t you talk normally for once?"

"…"

"Y-you…!!"

"I don’t know what kind of plan you’re cooking up, but—enough. Let’s do this, Leader."

My strength… it’s fading…!

"Oh? Finally ready to fight?"

No… my consciousness… slipping…

"Alright then—let’s begin!"