"Kira! Answer me! Kira!" Nieza shouted into her phone. Her classmates began to stare at her.
"Nieza…? What's wrong?" one of her classmates asked in confusion.
"O-oh… I—I'm fine. I just panicked a little… hahaha…" Nieza said as she backed away from her friends, hiding her phone. Kira's warning echoed in her mind. She had to get away from the sports field—now.
Her retreat was suddenly stopped by Mr. Forta. His large hands clamped down on her shoulders.
"Where do you think you're going, Nieza? We can't split up at a time like this…"
A terrible feeling crept over Nieza as Mr. Forta restrained her. Instinctively, she broke free from his grip and stepped away.
"What's wrong, Nieza? You look… afraid," Forta said casually.
"…No. I'm sorry, I just—"
"…There's no need to rush if you want to fight me. At the very least, wait until Konets Sveta arrives," Forta said, his gaze turning icy.
"What did you say?!"
Suddenly, a black dome with a diameter of one hundred meters, etched with hieroglyphs, appeared in the middle of Neopjevan School's sports field. The dome expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire city of Himinn Stigi. Diablo's crimson left eye appeared in the sky, signaling the beginning of Konets Sveta.
"Sub promisiunea diavolului. Zandayaraka!" Forta shouted.
After the shout, Forta's body began to swell, growing massive and muscular. His casual clothes tore apart, unable to contain his expanding frame. His black hair began to fall out, his face warped grotesquely, veins bulging beneath his skin. His right eye enlarged and turned red. Gritting through the pain, Forta screamed and doubled over. His teeth sharpened into the fangs of a wild beast. Thick black coat and trousers enveloped his body. Moments later, he stood upright again and roared like a lion threatening its prey. His roar echoed throughout the school grounds.
Nieza couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Then she saw the same transformation happening to her classmates.
No.
More precisely, every student on the sports field was undergoing the same horrific change as Forta. On each of their clothes, Nieza saw Lumina talismans glowing with a crimson light. She realized that the monstrous transformations were caused by those very talismans.
Surrounded by three hundred zombie-like students of Neopjevan School, Nieza stepped back and shouted,
"Sunt un reprezentant de—!"
Her cry was cut short.
Forta's oversized hand stabbed swiftly into Nieza's abdomen. The wound wasn't deep, but the pain was excruciating. Realizing she had been pierced, Nieza vomited blood. She failed to summon Aliniere.
"Ugh…!" Nieza groaned, clutching her stomach.
With cruel force, Forta yanked his hand free, sending Nieza flying about two meters away.
"Ali… niere…" Nieza whispered. Something was pressing down on her, preventing her from speaking the activation words of her power.
"What's wrong? Having trouble saying something?" Forta sneered.
"Cu…rse…!" Nieza spat, glaring at him.
"Hah… did you really think I'd let you transform first so we could fight fairly? Idiot. That would just waste time and energy," Forta mocked.
Nieza struggled to stand, clutching her wounded abdomen. Even as zombie students closed in around her, she refused to give up. She would not lose hope.
"…So you're the one who killed Vesely…?" Nieza asked.
"Vesely…? Ah, that woman… yes, that annoying one… I don't know. I've kind of forgotten," Forta replied indifferently.
"Answer me, bastard!"
Forta strode forward and grabbed Nieza by the throat. She couldn't dodge in time and was lifted off the ground by his crushing grip.
"So what if I did?" Forta taunted.
"You…!"
"You think you could save your friend with that half-baked power of yours? Don't make me laugh! You're even weaker than she was!" Forta snarled, hurling Nieza away.
Nieza writhed in pain, fury boiling within her helplessness. She had been trying desperately to utter her activation phrase—but failed every time.
"It's pointless. You've been afflicted by a third-tier Diablo curse—Dezintegra. With this curse, not only your body but the Engil bound to your soul will disintegrate within fifteen minutes. No one can lift this curse except me. The game is over, Nieza. You and your Engil will end here…"
Nieza froze in shock. Not only would she die—she would never be able to save Vesely.
"Ki… Ra…" Nieza whispered, hoping he would appear and turn the tide, as he always did.
"…Ah, I almost forgot to tell you. As for your partner, it seems he had to die at Neopjevan School before Konets Sveta even began. Such a shame, isn't it?" Forta said casually.
"W-What did you say…?! Impossible! He was still around the school! There's no way someone could've killed him!" Nieza cried.
"Come on, Nieza. You should've known when he said there were two culprits at Neopjevan School, right?"
Nieza shuddered as Kira's warning resurfaced in her mind. But who? Who else knew Kira was a Knight and tried to kill him before Konets Sveta?
"You should know—Mr. Zia is still alive. He became a Monster after I killed him in Konets Sveta. Impressive, right?" Forta grinned.
"Mr. Zia…?!"
"Yes. Vesely lost because she didn't know that Mr. Zia was my partner—along with the students and civilians turned into zombies during Konets Sveta. Having such a useful partner is delightful, you know?"
"L-Liar… Why… why would you do this to my friends? To my school…? Weren't you a teacher—someone who was supposed to protect your students…?" Nieza cried.
"Money, Nieza! Money is the answer! Do you know how much Lumina pays if I successfully spread terror at Neopjevan?! One hundred million Valoros! And it keeps increasing as more idiots buy those talismans! Of course… Mr. Zia gets his share too. That's the only reason he accepted my offer to become a Monster!" Forta shouted.
"No… How could you be that cruel?! To my friends?! To my school?!" Nieza sobbed.
"Yes, Nieza! Do you think Zia and I live off the love of our students?! Hah! Love?! In the end, money fills my stomach! Money earns me respect! Money gives us comfort in our homes! Don't be naive enough to think we teachers exist solely to teach for the future of brats like you!" Forta roared.
"No… Kira… why…?" Nieza whispered, refusing to believe her partner had been killed before Konets Sveta began. That would mean he died for real.
No.
Nieza refused to accept that reality.
She understood Kira better than that. He wasn't someone who would be killed so easily by schemers like them.
"KIRA RAINHARD! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD?! GET HERE NOW AND SAVE ME LIKE MY WHITE KNIGHT!" Nieza screamed through the pain.
"…So this is surrender? The Nieza of the Puternic family amounts to only this?" Forta said in disbelief.
"KIRA! GET HERE NOW! YOU HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN MY PROMISE, HAVE YOU?! COME HERE—NOW!" Nieza cried desperately as tears streamed down her face.
'CRASH!'
The sound of shattering glass rang out. It came from a window in the room beside the school laboratory. Something burst outward from inside.