The moment the words left his lips, the last of the glowing particles dissipated, and Ryoji vanished completely, as if he had never existed.
"Hey!"
Shinomiya Amane was about to call out, but Ryoji had already disappeared. He stopped, clicking his tongue in frustration. Although the plan had succeeded, the final smile on Ryoji's face as he vanished left Amane deeply unsettled. He sensed that Ryoji was plotting something.
"Teleportation? Doesn't quite seem like it," Kurogane Ouma mused, relaxing his combat stance as he pondered the situation.
"I've only heard of one person with long-range spatial teleportation abilities: someone at the League headquarters who can transport targets around the world. But he's League Master Whitebeard's assistant and rarely leaves headquarters."
"And it doesn't seem like a fake. The ability, strength, and personality all match the original."
Sara ventured a guess. "So, it must be an avatar's ability?"
"He doesn't possess an avatar's special ability," Amane Shinomiya said, pursing his lips.
"He must have borrowed the special abilities of others at Hagun Academy. The avatar probably disappeared because its time limit had expired or the user's Magic Power had been depleted, meaning it could no longer sustain its existence. Well, let's make a wish first. I want to know where Ryoji is right now!"
Ding-a-ling!
The moment Amane had finished speaking, the phone in his hand started ringing.
"No matter how many times I see it, this ability is just too overpowered," Sara couldn't help but comment, her voice tinged with envy.
"Hello? Hiraga Reisen, is that you?"
Amane answered the call. It was their mission commander, Puppet Warlock Hiraga Reisen, on the other end.
"What?! You were taken out? Right at the entrance to Akatsuki Academy's headquarters?!"
"The attacker was Nangou Ryoji from Hagun Academy..."
Shinomiya Amane hung up the phone.
"So that's how it is, huh! As expected of him!"
A sinister smile spread across his face and his expression became unnervingly twisted.
"Heh hahahaha! Brilliant! To devise such a tactic despite my ability suppression... superb! It only makes me want to crush you more and more!"
"He created an avatar before entering the academy and sent it to fight us while he himself followed Hiraga Reisen into Akatsuki Academy's headquarters as a backup plan..."
Kurogane Ouma suddenly smiled like a glacier melting.
"Amazing...!" Sara whispered in admiration.
Mounting such a counterattack under the Wish-Granting Machine's ability suppression was truly remarkable!
"My wish was only for our attack on Hagun Academy to succeed, but I didn't wish for Akatsuki Academy to remain unscathed! What an unexpected retaliation! He completely exploited the flaw in my reasoning!"
Shinomiya Amane laughed heartily, then stopped, but his face still wore a confident, fearless smile.
"But it doesn't matter. The One-Armed Sword Saint is now guarding Akatsuki Academy. With his strength, it's impossible to defeat the One-Armed Sword Saint."
"Don't forget about Arisuin Nagi either," Kurogane Ouma interjected. "Hiraga Reisen was taken out, so Arisuin Nagi must have been rescued by him. If those two join forces, even the One-Armed Sword Saint will face a formidable challenge."
"...and that guy was there too."
Shinomiya Amane's smile faltered and he muttered under his breath.
"But it's not just the One-Armed Sword Saint who's still at Akatsuki Academy. She's there too."
Yet he remained unconcerned.
"Indeed."
Kurogane Ouma nodded silently in agreement.
"She's currently under the command of Rebellion. While she might not actively assist them, her creed is to repay a meal and lodging with her sword."
"Let's head back. Our business here is finished."
"Alright."
The group nodded in unison and gathered the unconscious figures of Kazamatsuri Rinna and the others, who were scattered around.
Meanwhile, on the other side:
"● REC!"
Hidden inside a large bus, Kusakabe Kagami had her camera trained on the academy grounds, ready to capture the entire battle.
"Eep!"
At that moment, her heart and lungs froze.
Through the camera lens, she saw Kurogane Ouma turn his gaze towards her.
However, they were already planning a high-profile report on Akatsuki Academy, and since she wasn't an official contestant, Kurogane Ouma didn't confront her.
After gathering their companions, they left Akatsuki Academy.
Only then did Kagami collapse weakly into her chair.
That glare had almost sucked the life out of her. What a terrifying man.
"I'm so sorry, Ryoji-kun! My magic power is too weak to sustain the avatar for very long. You were fighting so fiercely and using your special ability too..."
That was all draining her magic power!
She had so little magic power to begin with. How could it withstand such relentless strain? Ryoji's avatar vanished halfway through the battle.
Kusakabe Kagami's Blazer had a special ability called Multiplication.
Multiplication of quantity.
She could transform a single arrow into ten or one person into two, essentially, she possessed the same special ability as an avatar.
Before the bus entered the campus, Ryoji had felt a nagging unease. He asked Kagami to create an avatar for him and sent it into battle while keeping his real body in reserve. Fortunately, he was experienced in controlling avatars, so he wielded it as naturally as his own limbs.
That's why Stella had slipped up earlier, blurting out, 'Is that also an avatar?' Ryoji glared at her immediately. If their secret were discovered, it would be disastrous. The Imperial Princess really didn't seem very bright.
Kagami was too grateful to him to hesitate, agreeing immediately.
"I never thought it would actually come in handy!"
"Oh, everyone!"
Kagami scrambled out of the car and sprinted towards the campus.
The contestants and Student Council members were lying collapsed amidst the ruins.
Fortunately, they had all used the device's illusionary form throughout the battle, so they were not physically injured. A quick trip through the healing capsule would restore them to full strength.
"Akatsuki Academy... such formidable foes! Ryoji-kun, please don't get hurt!"
…
Meanwhile, Hiraga Reisen, carrying the unconscious Arisuin Nagi, drove a private car twenty kilometers into the depths of a remote mountain range.
His mood was buoyant.
"With Ouma, Amane and Sara on my side, how could we possibly lose?!"
Setting aside Kazamatsuri Rinna and Tatara Yui for the moment, these three were formidable opponents. Even within the world of Rebellion, they had what it takes to become top-tier Executives... the Twelve Apostles.
'Arisuin Nagi is such a fool to betray Akatsuki Academy! He never stood a chance, and clearly doesn't understand that!'
Hiraga Reisen continued his trek deeper into the mountains.
"We've arrived... Akatsuki Academy's headquarters!"
A colossal academy nestled deep within the mountains gradually materialized before him.
His mission had reached its end.
A silver blade flashed from behind.
With a speed far beyond his neural reaction time, it severed his head in a single strike.
(End of Chapter)
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