The clash between Arius Branch School's Team III and the Gehenna Disciplinary Committee raged on, neither side yielding an inch in their fierce back-and-forth…
"Waaaah! I can't hit her at all! She's too fast! I'm barely dodging as it is!" Hiyori wailed.
Hina was simply too much. The Arius students couldn't keep up as Hina unleashed a barrage of bullets—or rather, beams of light—that rained down on Hiyori.
"No escape!" Hina declared.
"Ugh, even exploiting openings is useless…" Hiyori muttered.
(She seems frail, but her skills are the real deal. I can't let my guard down, Hina thought.)
"While the chairwoman handles the big shots, we'll mop up the rest!" Iori shouted.
"They're not going down easy… then—" an Arius student began.
One of the Arius girls wrapped something around her body and charged straight into the enemy's ranks. Iori's sharp eyes caught it instantly.
"Too slow!" Iori snapped.
"Guh?!" the Arius student grunted as Iori intercepted her.
"Suicide tactics… they've been drilled to go that far?" Iori said, incredulous. "Chinatsu, disarm her!"
"On it. Stay still," Chinatsu ordered calmly.
"Tch!"
A suicide attack—nobody expected them to actually go through with it. It was proof they truly didn't value their own lives.
(Arius's student council president… just how rotten are you? No, stay calm. Right now, I need to stop this girl in front of me, Iori thought.)
"Waaaah! If we lose like this, they'll definitely do awful things to us!" Hiyori cried.
(Her precision, her judgment—flawless. One slip, and we're done, Iori noted.)
"Then I'll be locked away in some dark cell, all alone, dying quietly!" Hiyori sobbed.
(Once we deal with this squad, we should link up with Trinity, then rendezvous with Sensei, Iori planned.)
"Before I die, I at least want to eat something delicious! Steak! Hamburgers! Burgers… oh, and skewers!" Hiyori wailed.
(…All meat dishes? There's gotta be more variety than that—ugh, focus, Iori! Deal with—)
"Everyone! Thank you for everything! Waaaaah!" Hiyori screamed.
"Shut up!" Hina snapped.
"Eek?!"
"You're distracting me! You're fighting because you don't want to lose, right? Save the whining for after you lose!" Hina roared, her patience finally breaking as she glared at Hiyori.
"B-But…"
"No buts!"
"So you're saying I should just die quietly?!"
"That's not what I said! Your self-esteem is zero!"
"…Self-esteem?" Hiyori blinked.
"You don't even know what that is?!" Hina exclaimed.
"Um, is it okay to yell like this in a fight?" Hiyori asked timidly.
"Whose fault do you think this is?!" Hina shouted.
"Hiii! I'm so sorry!" Hiyori squealed.
Hina's time with Mash had turned her brain into a protein-fueled machine, but it also unlocked her knack for sharp retorts. Even in the midst of this absurd exchange, the battle between Hiyori and Hina raged on.
(Why do all her bullets glow like that?! Hiyori thought, panicking.)
"I promised Sensei I'd stop you, no matter what," Hina said, cocking her weapon with a click.
"I'm stopping you!" she declared, unleashing a radiant beam.
"That's cheating!" Hiyori shrieked as the beam struck her. Honestly, it was almost pitiful.
Meanwhile, the clash between Team II and Trinity's forces had Trinity on the back foot, largely due to the Justina Apostles.
"My shots are hitting, but it doesn't feel like they're taking any damage!" a Trinity member cried.
"They're not even alive, are they?" another asked.
"Their combat strength is top-notch… only Tsurugi-san and Sakurako-sama can keep up," a third noted.
Fighting the Justina Apostles was utterly bizarre. Despite their doll-like appearance, there was no tactile feedback—like striking something inorganic. Worse, they showed no signs of damage, moving as if completely unaffected. It was clear they felt no pain.
"Tch, this is tough!" Tsurugi growled.
"Tsurugi-san, we need to take out the source," Sakurako advised.
"Easier said than done! Look at how many Apostles are guarding her!" Tsurugi shot back.
"…Incredibly troublesome," Sakurako admitted.
"Doesn't matter! I'll rampage as Sensei ordered!" Tsurugi roared.
Wielding her dual shotguns with brutal precision, Tsurugi tore into the Apostles—kicking, crushing, and even biting them. She was a beast unleashed.
"…Monster," Misaki muttered.
"Gihyahya! Yeah, I'm a monster—but Sensei called this monster a friend!" Tsurugi cackled.
"Pathetic," Misaki scoffed.
"You bet!" Tsurugi shouted, lunging forward and aiming her right shotgun at Misaki. The Apostles surrounding Misaki opened fire with a barrage of SMG rounds, but—
"Not happening!" Sakurako declared.
(Her covering fire is too fast… what a pain! Misaki thought.)
"Thanks, Sakurako!" Tsurugi yelled.
Sakurako's precise shots disrupted the Apostles' formation, giving Tsurugi an opening to fire point-blank at Misaki. The blast staggered Misaki, but she was far from defeated.
(She's firing at this range?! Misaki thought.)
"Get blown away!" Misaki roared, launching a rocket at point-blank range.
The explosion sent Tsurugi flying, but Sakurako caught her, helping her regain her footing.
"Tsurugi-san!" Sakurako cried.
"…I'm fine. It'll heal quick," Tsurugi grunted.
"It hurt… but I got some damage in," Tsurugi added.
"She attacks without any regard for her own safety… like she's saying she doesn't care if she dies!" Sakurako said, horrified.
"What do you think a life is worth?" Sakurako demanded.
"I threw mine away long ago," Misaki replied coldly. "I learned there's no meaning in living."
Misaki raised her launcher, firing a missile packed with submunitions. A rain of deadly projectiles arced toward Trinity's forces.
"There's no meaning in living… or in thinking about it," Misaki said.
The missile barrage was set to devastate Trinity's ranks—or so everyone thought. Suddenly, a shadowy figure crashed onto the battlefield, spinning furiously with one foot as the pivot. A massive tornado erupted, sweeping up the submunitions and detonating them harmlessly in midair.
"There is meaning," the figure said.
"…That hair, that face… so it's you. Mash Burnedead," Misaki said, realization dawning.
"Hey there. First time meeting like this, right, Arius Branch School?" Mash said casually.
"Sensei!" Tsurugi exclaimed, standing despite the explosion's damage, with Sakurako at her side.
"You're safe, Sensei!" Sakurako said with relief.
"Tsurugi-san, Sakurako-san, glad you're both okay," Mash replied.
"Ki-kihyahya…!" Tsurugi giggled, blushing.
"So those are the Arius Branch School kids?" Mash asked.
"Yes… but not all of them," Sakurako clarified. "Look at the enemies dressed like sisters."
Mash turned to face the Justina Apostles. Most would feel fear or confusion facing such an eerie foe, but not Mash. That was his unique quality.
"Uh, are you okay? Your faces look really pale… got a cold or something?" Mash asked.
THUD! Everyone, including the Apostles, metaphorically faceplanted. Misaki stared, dumbfounded by Mash's clueless sincerity in such a dire situation.
"…Are you messing with us?" she asked.
"Nope, totally serious," Mash replied.
"Sensei, their skin is like that by default," Sakurako explained.
"Oh, really? My bad, sorry for the rude comment," Mash said, bowing slightly.
(He apologized! To enemies that probably aren't even human?! Misaki thought, stunned.)
(This guy's unreal, Sensei, Tsurugi thought, impressed.)
"…Enough. I don't have time for your nonsense," Misaki snapped.
(No, that's just how Sensei is, Sakurako thought.)
Misaki raised her hand, signaling one of the Apostles. The Apostle charged at Mash, SMG blazing.
"!"
"Sensei, don't! The Apostles have no emotions or pain! Even your attacks won't work!" Hasumi warned.
Undeterred, Mash drove his fist into the Apostle's midsection.
"It's useless. No matter how much damage you deal, they don't feel—" Misaki began.
CRUNCH!
"…What?" Misaki gasped.
"Huh?" the others echoed.
"Just as I thought," Mash said calmly.
His fist had punched clean through the Apostle's abdomen. The Apostle reached out, trembling, before its halo shattered and it crumbled to dust.
"What… what just happened?!" Misaki stammered.
"It didn't feel like I hit anything… like punching the void," Mash mused.
"Sensei, what did you do?!" Sakurako asked.
"Gut punch," Mash replied simply.
"No, that's not what I mean!"
"No pain, no emotions… but nobody said they couldn't be defeated," Mash said. "I don't need to make them feel pain. If I break them, they're done."
"…You took out an Apostle with a single gut punch? What kind of ridiculous strength is that?!" Misaki shouted.
"Sorry, that's just my power," Mash said, snapping his fingers and turning to Team II. He wasn't angry or taunting—just resolute.
"You want to kill me, right? Then come at me. I'm not running."
With a determination that belied his unassuming frame, Mash made his stand.
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