The terrorists launched their assault with reckless abandon, striking blindly at anything in their path.
Erika moved like a flash of light. She leaned away from a sweeping blade, the steel whistling past her ear, before delivering a sharp strike to the back of the terrorist's head. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Mari followed suit, though her methods were more methodical, taking a moment longer than Erika's explosive pace to neutralize her own targets.
Mayumi, meanwhile, wasn't just standing idly by. With a flicker of her CAD, she flash-froze the floor, causing the advancing hostiles to lose their footing in a comical sprawl, or pinned their feet directly to the tiles with frost, stripping them of their mobility entirely.
Tatsuya acted as the final arbiter—the executor. He moved among the fallen, ensuring not a single terrorist remained conscious. He neutralized them utterly before they even had the chance to muster a counterattack.
Within their bodies lingered a faint trace of the "Black Mist." The quantity was so minuscule it could have been easily ignored, yet Tatsuya showed no such negligence. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Tatsuya had no intention of letting an avoidable mistake turn into a future regret.
"Tatsuya-kun, why are you still discharging magic after they've been defeated? I noticed you aren't exactly healing them," Mari inquired, her voice wavering with hesitation and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"…I am pulling the problem out by its roots," Tatsuya replied flatly.
"The roots?"
"These people have been contaminated by the Black Mist. It's the same phenomenon that affected Morisaki and Mikihiko."
Erika didn't seem particularly surprised, but Mayumi and Mari were visibly shaken.
"If that's the case, we need to contact the Magic Association or the Ten Master Clans immediately!" Mari muttered, a hint of panic bleeding into her tone.
Mayumi placed a hand on Mari's shoulder to steady her, then turned her gaze toward Tatsuya.
"Tatsuya-kun... there won't be any casualties, will there?"
"...None from our side. I can guarantee the safety of the students who joined them."
"Thank goodness. I believe in you, Tatsuya-kun. Please... don't betray that trust." Mayumi's voice was uncharacteristically deep, her expression solemn. Her gaze held a weight that felt almost physical.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on Tatsuya's lips.
"I know. Leave everything to me. I will take full responsibility for whatever happens."
Only then did Mayumi allow herself a small sigh of relief, though the chaos engulfing First High still weighed heavily on her mind.
"Come. We need to subdue the most dangerous terrorist immediately."
Surprise flickered across Mari's face. "You know where they are?"
Tatsuya gave a firm nod and pointed toward a building looming in the distance. Mayumi and Mari exchanged serious glances, as if coming to a silent understanding. Erika wasn't entirely familiar with that specific facility, but she knew instinctively that it held something the terrorists were desperate to get their hands on.
"Looks like I'll have to get serious this time," Erika muttered. A fierce, predatory grin spread across her face, making her look both sharp and dangerous.
...
'I've brought them here just like Tatsuya instructed... but is this really going to be okay?' Sayaka watched the terrorists with a growing sense of dread as they busied themselves with their task. In her large, clear eyes, a swirl of complex emotions—too tangled for words—flickered.
"Kukuku, why are you just standing there? Get to work and help us!"
The lead terrorist, a mountain of a man, barked at Sayaka. He stood well over two meters tall, his physique even more imposing than Juumonji Katsuto's. His eyes were as pitch-black as a moonless night, and he radiated an aura reminiscent of an ancient, shackled beast.
"Right!" Sayaka moved to obey out of sheer terror, but she was jerked back as the giant grabbed her arm.
"Hehehe, you're even prettier up close. Fine then—from this moment on, you belong to me!"
"What? No! Let go of me!" Sayaka struggled, but her efforts were futile against a grip that felt like a localized vice. "No! Let me go!" She began to thrash more violently, yet the man's hold didn't budge an inch.
"Hehehe, it's useless. No one is coming to save you here. Let's have some fun before we head back with our victory." The terrorist leaned in, bringing his revolting, massive face closer to hers.
Sayaka recoiled, pulling her head back as far as she could. But he pulled her forward with brute force, until their faces were inches apart, nearly touching.
Sayaka continued to struggle, but despair began to set in. Tears of hopelessness welled up as the image of a certain handsome face flashed through her mind.
"You bastard... just what do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?"
Tatsuya's sharp, cold voice echoed through the area, freezing everyone in their tracks.
"Who the—Gahk!"
Before the giant could finish his sentence, Tatsuya's fist buried itself in the man's gut, sending the two-meter brute flying several meters backward.
Sayaka didn't hesitate; she sprinted into Tatsuya's arms, sobbing uncontrollably against his chest. Tatsuya gently stroked her hair until her shaking subsided, shielding her from the shadow of the terrorists.
"Tatsuya-kun, I don't think now is quite the time for a romantic tryst." Mayumi's voice was sweet, yet it carried a lethal edge, accompanied by a sudden chilling wind and a volley of ice bullets.
"Just as I thought. Tatsuya-kun truly is the enemy of all women," Mari added, her voice sharp as a razor following Mayumi's lead.
"For once, I'm with Watanabe-senpai on this one. By the way, Tatsuya—I'm going to need a very thorough explanation for this later."
Erika emerged from the shadows, having finished mopping up the remaining grunts.
Tatsuya let out a long, weary sigh. "Now is really not the time for this debate," he replied, his tone tinged with a rare hint of exasperation.
In response, Mayumi, Mari, and Erika simply offered him the sweetest, most terrifying smiles he had ever seen.
To be continued...Anvanced Chapter p*tre*n.com/AgamYupi02