Classroom of the Elite: Black Sphere Academia

Let's turn the clock hands back a little—to five minutes earlier.

At the moment when Horikita Suzune had led Amikura Mako, Kamuro Masumi, Kushida Kikyo, and the others to split up and search for the intruders.

Kouenji Rokusuke, who had volunteered to take on the job of finding "Santa Claus," was in no hurry to make a move.

On a hidden corridor on the second floor of the department store.

Using a small mirror he carried with him, Kouenji Rokusuke watched the café diagonally across the way, where Kishibe and Quanxi sat facing each other across a table, talking.

Along with a man and a woman who had appeared at some unknown point.

Kouenji Rokusuke put away the mirror and spoke.

"Heh heh… Interesting. Let's tail them and take a look." Amanatsu Kazuha pressed her lips together and chuckled softly:

"Oh my~ By the looks of it, does Senpai Kouenji also think that this so-called 'Santa Claus' is actually after them?"

"All I can say is, it's very likely."

Kouenji Rokusuke gave a slight nod, his gaze locking onto Denji, who had a Fiend at his command.

"After all, the combat power that woman displayed just now was abnormally strong. And her target seems to be that group of people in suits…"

"In a test arena where the winds and clouds converge like this, such an abnormal intersection makes it hard not to draw a few beautiful conclusions, wouldn't you say."

"Then why not tell Horikita, Amikura, and the others?" Housen Kazutomi frowned, cracking his knuckles.

"Wouldn't it be safer to wait until everyone joins up and acts together?"

Before Kouenji could answer, Hayasaka Ai, standing at the edge of the group, gently shook her head and explained in his stead:

"It's when you're fishing in muddy waters that things go wrong most easily."

"But if you know in advance that there's trouble in these waters, does the other party still have any reason to keep fishing?"

Kito Hayabusa murmured softly at the side:

"I see… so it's to make the opponent let their guard down…"

If the main force assembled and marched over in a grand procession, the Santa Claus hiding in the shadows would absolutely lie low for the time being.

Only at the moment when defenses seemed weakest and the scene most chaotic would the hunter bare its fangs.

"Bingo~" Kouenji Rokusuke snapped his fingers, his gaze suddenly falling on the Y-GUN's radar, his eyes narrowing slightly: "All right, boys and girls, keep your eyes on the radar screen!"

"There it is… a new red dot!" … Beside the café.

The situation unfolded almost exactly along the predetermined trajectory of fate.

After Kishibe passed a secret signal via a note, inviting Quanxi to join forces in hunting Makima—and failing.

The true Santa Claus, who had been lying in wait for a long time, finally began to act.

She intended to use her disciple Toriga, employing the long spike that had already stabbed Denji three times before, to stab Denji once more.

This would trigger the conditions for the Curse Devil to appear, thereby setting her subsequent plan into motion.

Unfortunately, unexpected variables arose.

Just as Denji was distracted by Toriga's sudden sneak attack, causing Quanxi's Fiends to break free of their bonds;

Quanxi seized the chance to kick Kishibe off the floor; Kishibe was then held in check by Hayakawa Aki and Yoshida Hirofumi, while Denji, under the cover of the Shark Fiend, fled in a hurry—and was just about to step right onto the long spike held in the hand of Toriga, who was disguised as a corpse, when—

"Yo, Boy, you look pretty pathetic there."

Kouenji Rokusuke, leading Amanatsu Kazuha and the others, came rushing in from the side emergency-exit entrance.

Seeing this unexpected group of high schoolers appear, Denji froze for a moment, abruptly halting the foot he'd been about to bring down.

"How'd you all get here? Ah, you're here to help, huh?!" Denji laughed heartily and carelessly. "Heh, I knew students were always eager to lend a hand—this is so embarrassing…"

By pulling his foot back just in time, he caused the trap Toriga had anticipated to come up empty.

Seeing this, Toriga, lying on the ground playing dead, clicked his tongue. He simply gripped the long spike in a backhand hold, about to forcibly drive it into Denji's thigh!

"Look out!" Kouenji Rokusuke immediately called out a warning.

Although he had no idea what that long spike actually did—indeed, he and Denji combined hadn't exchanged more than three sentences—

nevertheless, whether it was someone as powerful as Quanxi or this rat sneaking attacks from the shadows, they had all clearly come for Denji.

With just a little extrapolation, one could easily reach a conclusion:

That 'Santa Claus' who had yet to show themselves absolutely valued Denji as well!

Therefore, since it was something the enemy desperately wanted, he could never let them have their way!

He, Kouenji, would go out of his way to keep this blond youth safe!

A thought stirred in Kouenji's mind, and he prepared to summon his Stand [The World] to stop time.

But Santa Claus would absolutely not allow the plan they'd been scheming for so long to be ruined by a few high schoolers who didn't know their place.

"Shhh—you mustn't disturb Toriga's coming-of-age ceremony."

A cold, ghostly voice abruptly sounded right beside Kouenji's ear.

Immediately after, a pale arm reached out from his blind spot, about to land on Kouenji Rokusuke's shoulder!

Facing this utterly bizarre method of attack, a chill ran down Kouenji's spine, and he boldly activated his power!

"ZA WARUDO—!!!" Vmmm—!

In an instant, all things lost their color, and the world fell into absolute gray-white.

In these two silent seconds, Kouenji swiftly scanned the entire scene.

He noticed Amanatsu Kazuha, not far behind him, who at this moment was controlling the Parasyte on her left arm, struggling to clear away the puppets surging out from who-knew-which corner.

Realization dawned on Kouenji.

If his guess was right, this person beside him was either Santa Claus in the flesh, or an exquisite puppet crafted by Santa Claus!

Considering that his time-stop lasted only two seconds.

If he went to save Denji, there definitely wouldn't be enough time to make it back.

Moreover, this bizarre woman behind him would absolutely become a threat to Amanatsu and the others.

So, the remaining choice was simple!

Whether you're the real Santa Claus or not, blow you up first and ask questions later!

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA—!!!"

Kouenji Rokusuke whirled around, controlling his burly golden Stand, and unleashed a furious flurry of blows at the woman behind him! In the span of a mere second.

The World's fists had already rained down on the woman's body like a violent storm, landing a full twenty-some punches!

With The World's terrifying double-A stats in both Power and Speed.

Those twenty punches were enough to punch through a steel plate, let alone an ordinary person's flesh!

However… "Time, begins to flow."

As color returned. "Bang!!!"

The woman, who by all rights should have been pulverized into mincemeat, was sent flying through the air like a cannonball.

Yet within a short span of time… at a terrifying, visible-to-the-naked-eye speed, she instantly recovered completely?

Kouenji Rokusuke was certain that a second ago he had genuinely beaten her to a pulp!

In other words… this was Santa Claus's true body?

"Interesting…"

The corner of Kouenji Rokusuke's mouth curled, and with a push off his feet he was about to continue the pursuit.

Meanwhile, the Santa Claus in midair, looking at herself suddenly flung backward, couldn't help being surprised. She had, in fact… completely failed to register what had just happened.

She'd even lost all perception of the process of being struck?

Just how had it been done?

Still, the devil she herself had contracted with was indeed not the type suited for close-quarters melee combat.

What's more, out of the corner of her eye she had already glimpsed…

Toriga, taking advantage of the gap while Kouenji was tied up, had viciously driven the Curse Devil's long spike into Denji's thigh!

"Aaaagh—!! That hurts! You bastard!" Denji let out a scream.

"Whoa whoa whoa?! Am I flying? Am I gonna become Jesus?"

Heh. Since her objective had been achieved, what she needed to do next was actually quite simple.

Facing Kouenji Rokusuke's follow-up barrage as he pressed his advantage.

Santa Claus did not choose to meet force with force.

She let Kouenji's golden Stand beat her into grievous injury and send her flying once again.

But this time, she did not heal herself; instead, she used the countless puppet dolls scattered throughout the mall as meat shields to forcibly slow his pace.

She herself, riding the momentum of being knocked away, drifted down like a withered leaf to land beside Toriga.

Looking at her blood-soaked, panic-stricken master.

Toriga hurriedly threw away the long spike and, trembling, reached out to support her: "M-Master! How did you get hurt so badly… I'll take you to a hospital right away!"

But Santa Claus gently shook her head.

"Toriga… you carried out the task I gave you splendidly."

"Teacher, don't say any more… It's all my fault, I failed to protect you…" Toriga's eyes reddened.

But Santa Claus went on speaking to herself, her voice carrying a kind of bewitching, soul-ensnaring magic:

"Toriga, now we are family as well."

"Let me teach you the final secret to crafting 'exquisite puppets.'"

"And that is… pity, adoration, reverent love, supplemented by the deepest… sense of guilt." As she spoke, she clasped Toriga's trembling hand in a reverse grip. "Complete."

As her words fell.

Toriga's expression froze; his gaze, after a moment of distortion, sank into emptiness.

He became an exquisite puppet—one that possessed self-awareness yet was utterly obedient to Santa Claus.

Her goal accomplished, Santa Claus swiftly transferred away the injuries on her body, then rose from the ground, preparing to leave the battlefield.

Not far away, Kouenji Rokusuke, Amanatsu Kazuha, and the others, drowning in a sea of puppets, wanted to charge over and stop her, but were bogged down in a hard fight by the sheer number of dolls.

After all, although Kouenji had his time-stop and Amanatsu Kazuha had her Parasyte.

As an ordinary person, though, Kouenji's [The World] time-stop didn't cool down all that fast;

and Amanatsu Kazuha had to split her attention to protect Hayasaka Ai and Kito Hayabusa beside her, who weren't well-suited to dealing with puppets that snared you the instant you touched one.

Worse still, because the puppet corpses kept piling up, the mall's passageways became severely obstructed.

In this brief, frantic interval.

"Eek—!" Kamuro Masumi, unable to retreat in time, was accidentally touched on the ankle by a puppet hidden in the heap of corpses!

Assimilation took effect!

With a cry of alarm, Kamuro Masumi was judged dead and briefly vanished from the exam grounds.

Those few seconds, in which losing a member opened a gap in their line of defense.

were already enough for Santa Claus to leisurely leave the department store.

As she vanished into the night.

Outside the building, another of her "exquisite puppets"—an old man—walked in at a slow pace.

He turned his own arm into a blade and, without hesitation, plunged it into his own chest.

"At the cost of my heart and my child…"

"Drag every living being in this department store down into Hell!"

The contract was sealed.

Rumble—!!!

The sky seemed to split open in a gigantic gash.

A pale hand, so enormous it blotted out the sky and sun, plummeted from the clouds and seized the entire department store in its grip!

Space twisted; gravity reversed.

Everyone—including Denji, Kouenji, and Quanxi—had their vision plunged into absolute darkness in an instant.

A sense of weightlessness interwove with endless darkness.

But for some people, this was not entirely a bad thing.

In the brief spatial waystation where all the humans inside the department store were being transferred into Hell, amid a deathly-still pitch blackness.

Horikita Suzune spotted a familiar figure.

"…?!" "B-brother—" "Why are you here?!"

Horikita Suzune cried out involuntarily, her voice trembling.

Horikita Manabu withdrew his wary gaze from the surrounding darkness.

Looking at his unharmed little sister before him, an indescribable expression crossed his face.

There was both a gentle relief and a hidden trace of helplessness.

He gave Horikita Suzune a slight nod, said nothing, and merely reached out a hand to signal her to stay alert to the situation.

At this moment, Hayakawa Aki had also groped through the dark to reach Denji's side, and was about to check the wound on Denji's thigh.

When he raised his head and discovered Horikita Manabu's figure, his face too filled with surprise:

"Horikita… how come you're over here too?"

Horikita Manabu sighed: "Senpai, now is hardly the time to explain that."

"The Black Sphere exam has officially begun. What we need to think about now… is how, going forward, we're going to survive."

Hayakawa Aki exchanged a glance with Angel beside him; both faces were full of bewilderment.

And Kouenji Rokusuke and the others, who—thanks to the mall's disintegration—had finally escaped the boundless sea of puppets, were also full of frustration at this moment, feeling nothing whatsoever like survivors of a disaster.

"What a terrible experience. To actually be forcibly dragged into an unknown exam-instance dungeon…" Soon. The darkness receded like an ebbing tide.

Light pierced their eyes once more.

What appeared before everyone's eyes was an endless grassland.

A breeze drifted past, carrying not the fragrance of green grass, but a chill that did not belong to the mortal world.

When they raised their heads.

They were startled to discover that above their heads there was no sky, no sun.

Only countless doors, suspended in midair, densely packed, in all manner of shapes!

They hung upside down, like countless pairs of greedy eyes, fixedly watching this group of uninvited guests!

"What… what the hell is this place…"

Kushida Kikyo, who had slumped down onto the grass, still found it somewhat unbelievable at this moment.

She hadn't done anything at all!

She'd only wanted to tag along with Horikita to look for people and coast as a slacker—so why was even she forcibly dragged over here?!

Matsushita Chiaki shifted her gaze away from Tachibana Akane, who had fallen into shock upon spotting Horikita Manabu.

She reached out and pressed a hand on the somewhat-trembling shoulder of Kushida Kikyo; though her tone was tight, she still kept her wits about her:

"No matter what, since the exam has already begun, we can only accept it."

"Stop spacing out, Kushida. Something's up."

Just as Matsushita Chiaki had predicted.

The moment they stepped onto this grassland.

Denji, Power, the Violence Fiend, the Angel Devil, and even the several Fiend girls beside Quanxi—all of them developed abnormal conditions.

"Urgh…" Power's face went deathly pale, and she dropped straight to her knees on the grass, dry-heaving.

The Violence Fiend's expression went rigid, his forehead covered in cold sweat, finding it difficult even to stand.

Seeing them act so absurdly, as though they'd come face to face with a natural predator—

Quanxi looked coldly at Hayakawa Aki and the others: "Let's call a truce."

"The Fiends look off, and this place feels off."

Hayakawa Aki had no time to keep pressing Horikita Manabu about the Black Sphere either; he turned to the Angel Devil beside him:

"Mr. Angel, do you know where this place is?"

The Angel Devil clenched his teeth, cold sweat dripping down his cheeks:

"We're done for…"

"This is Hell… this is the aura that belongs to Hell."

Quanxi turned to ask her Fiend girlfriends:

"Is there any way to escape?"

But the Fiends she relied on most in ordinary times were, at this moment, merely kneeling on the ground trembling all over, weeping and begging:

"Qu-Qu-Qu-Quanxi… Lady Quanxi… I think I'm going to go mad…"

"It seems we've been targeted by a monstrous devil… something countless times more terrifying than the Gun Devil… It's a devil bearing a Primal name that's watching us!"

"Lady Quanxi, I beg you… please allow me to kill myself! I don't want to face it!"

For once, Quanxi was stunned, then immediately scolded sternly: "…Idiots! Pull yourselves together, all of you! I'll think of something…"

Meanwhile, off to the side.

Seeing these devils and Fiends—who back in the mall had worn such confident faces and killed without batting an eye—now kneeling and trembling, weeping and clamoring to kill themselves.

Kushida Kikyo, who'd been questioning her whole existence, somehow suddenly felt a little better inside.

'So… it's perfectly normal for me to be scared.'

'Look, these local natives are putting on an even sorrier display than I am…'

'Sure, I'm a bit scared, but at least I'm not begging for death as dramatically as they are, right?'

What's more, having already been through several life-and-death crises like this, plus knowing that Chris and the others were sure to show up later to save the day…

So deep down, Kushida Kikyo was actually harboring a measure of anticipation.

After clearing her throat lightly, Kushida Kikyo forcibly steadied her breathing, preparing to quietly wait for the veteran players to come to the rescue.

But at the very moment she'd just gotten herself together.

Accompanied by the Fiends' even more piteous trembling and wailing.

The true Primal-level crisis descended.

Up above in the sky.

From among the countless upside-down doors, a single drop of pure-black ink suddenly seeped out.

"Drip."

The ink dripped onto the grass.

In an instant, the world seemed stripped of all life and color, turning gray and dim in a flash!

A row of astronaut corpses, hands pressed together in prayer, lined up like the most uncanny red carpet, paving the way through that darkness.

It was the embodiment of humanity's deepest fear of the unknown.

The oppressive pressure swept across the whole scene like a tsunami.

Even Kouenji and Horikita Manabu and the others felt their breathing grow difficult.

But… before the Darkness Devil could truly descend, treading along the red carpet of corpses—just as it revealed a blurry outline in the darkness—

Time seemed to have suddenly had its rewind button pressed!

The gray dimness dispersed.

The Darkness Devil actually retreated bit by bit, turning back into ink—defying the laws of physics, it flew back in reverse into the doors!

Even that row of hair-raising astronaut corpses seemed as though it had never existed at all.

Under the astonished, disbelieving gazes of everyone—including Quanxi, Kishibe, and even the Darkness Devil itself.

"Bzzt-bzzt—!" Accompanied by a flicker of blue-green electric sparks.

A bizarre humanoid creature that looked exactly like an upright-walking lizard, its body colored in black and white, with plugs jammed into the top of its head and the tip of its tail… and a green hourglass symbol glowing on its chest.

materialized out of thin air before everyone.

The Electric Lizard scratched its head a little sheepishly.

"Ah, sorry about this, everyone."

"This round's Black Sphere exam was thrown together in a bit of a rush, and I forgot to designate someone to serve as the proxy Mysterious Merchant…"

The green symbol on the Electric Lizard's chest blinked once; it looked around the circle and spoke:

"As compensation for giving you all a fright."

"May I ask—is there anyone present willing to volunteer to moonlight as this round's Mysterious Merchant?"

____

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