After Yamikuro and Kaminari reunited, they carried a wounded student to the cafeteria, in hopes of meeting Ivy, a special healer.
Ivy knelt on the tiles littered with the wounded. Without a word, green vines sprouted from beneath her palms, weaving around the boy's body like a cocoon.
The thorns softened into petals as his breathing steadied.
Yamikuro barely allowed himself a breath of relief before the presence of Hunters washed over him.
The glow of their conjured orbs painted the room in violent colors.
He and Kaminari exchanged a look. There was no one else left to stand between the civilians and death.
Yamikuro's eyes changed, going from blue to purple, which was the visual confirmation of his Darkness powers activating.
Kaminari, standing beside him, didn't hesitate, and two yellowish lightning bolts formed in both of his palms. The light bounced off the dark atmosphere cast by the large barrier set around the school.
There had to be a split-second decision made here.
Kaminari threw one of the lightning bolts, his hand before him, quicker than Yamikuro could react.
A shadow was cast over Kaminari's face, making him look like a dangerous opponent to the Hunters, hence why they seemed hesitant.
Once the lightning bolt jolted through one of the Hunters in front, the shock killed him in an instant.
The Hunters aiming the orbs were distracted, eyeing the downed Hunter.
While their eyes were away from Kaminari, he threw the other lightning bolt. This time, he aimed it towards their feet.
Since the Hunters weren't paying attention, the electricity spread across their bodies, also killing them, without being able to dodge.
That was Kaminari's plan: to distract them, then get a sneaky attack without breaking much sweat.
He may have been considered dumb when it came to academics, but under no circumstances was he supposed to be underestimated in battle.
Kaminari's goal was to take down The Watcher, and in order to do that, he couldn't afford half-assing his tactics as he could math homework.
Yamikuro took the chance Kaminari gave him and rushed to the doorway. Just as expected, there were more of the Hunters rushing in.
Kaminari and Yamikuro moved side by side, their attacks weaving together without needing words.
While Yamikuro was alone in the hallways fighting the Hunters, he tested out his Darkness powers and found a technique he felt comfortable using.
He swayed his hand from head level to his side.
"Una Lacrima: Centum Mortes." He said to channel his power properly.
That motion launched a purple, unstable slash-like attack that cut through the ground as it moved.
In a split second, before the ground that was being cut through could even react, the slash cut through the Hunters trying to get into the cafeteria.
There were still many mysteries to the Darkness' power, but ever since his last encounter with it inside his mind, he felt more in control.
Kaminari was amazed, but wary. Yamikuro killed Hunters without hesitation, which wasn't like him at all. During their fight against Lucian and Jacinto, Yamikuro made a direct call not to kill anyone, not even the Hunters.
But why did he do that now?
Kaminari kept quiet for now. He didn't want to cause any friction between them, considering how unstable Yamikuro's power seemed. Their focus needed to remain on protecting others.
As Kaminari tried to take a step forward, the slash finally activated, and the ground split open.
That slash also exploded further down the hallway.
Yamikuro remained calm, indicating he was still the one in control.
Kaminari just shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets.
Even Ivy was startled; she wanted to root for Yamikuro and Kaminari, seeing potential in them, surpassing even hers.
Ivy was appointed to become one of the elites at just eighteen years old, but seeing those two, there was no doubt they'd be stronger than most, if not every person in The Hideout, within a year of consistent training.
The Darkness emitted cold and loneliness. Ivy felt unsure about rooting for someone like that, but it was Yamikuro Asaki, the person who befriended multiple people in the school in just a few weeks. A person without a kind heart couldn't pull that off.
Yamikuro and Kaminari reached the doorway, and when they poked their heads out, they noticed too many Hunters charging towards them.
"Where the hell are they all coming from?" Kaminari struggled to understand; there was no clear source from which they could've spawned.
Yamikuro shrugged slightly.
"No clue. But they have to be coming here because of the intense power, which attracts them."
Now that Kaminari thought about it, they did seem like mindless zombies. Some could talk and react, but most just fought without hesitation.
"Are they, like, zombies or something?"
"Probably."
There was one easy way to take out every Hunter.
With an Ascension.
But there was a big risk attached to it; it'd also have an effect on the people he was trying to protect.
Kaminari would be fine, but not the wounded or helpless students. Despite them not using their powers, they still had them, and his Ascension could've eaten away all their power in an instant.
Yamikuro wanted to do it, but hesitated. He didn't want others to get hurt again because of his ignorance.
Kaminari was also considering using his trump card. His own Ascension.
Although that wasn't a real one, and would instead put his body at huge risk.
When Kaminari was training with Kazuhiko, he learned about Ascensions and accidentally forced one out of him. It hospitalized him for a month.
Both of them wanted to yell out their Ascension, but couldn't. The risks were far too high.
They didn't know how much longer it was possible to hold all of them back.
Perhaps one of them had to take that gamble.
Meanwhile, on the floor above Yamikuro and Kaminari, in the other half of the school building's section.
Cedar, Rye, and Deia stuck together.
Rye couldn't sense the source of where the Hunters came from, and neither could Deia. So he suggested that Cedar activate his Junigenme eyes.
He otherwise wouldn't have needed to activate them, but the distortion of different powers was throwing him off.
A 3-dimensional cube formed in Cedar's eyes, and he started searching, being able to see through walls with his eyes.
What he saw shocked him.
"There's one... Two...Three... Six..."
The numbers kept growing the more he looked around.
The portals appeared all around, Hunters marching inside the school.
If it wasn't handled soon, the lives of everyone would be in danger.