VOL 5
chapter 2: The ones Shadows of the Elite — Volume 5
Chapter 2: The Ones Above All
Narrator: Kei Fushimiya
Date: May 18, 2027
I had barely returned to school after my interrogation when a group of security guards approached me.
They didn't explain where they were taking me.
They didn't need to.
The way they surrounded me made it clear that this wasn't a request.
I followed them through the halls.
Eventually, we reached a room I had never been inside before.
The door opened.
I stepped through.
Nineteen people were already waiting.
Twenty students in total.
I recognized four of them immediately.
Naoki Shirayuki.
Ichika Renji.
Reina Aihara.
Rika.
The remaining students were S-ranks from the other years.
I had seen their names in my evaluation.
I'd simply never had a reason to meet most of them personally.
We stood in a circle.
And in the center stood Principal Toshiro Sobu.
He was smiling.
That alone was enough to make me suspicious.
Sobu looked toward me as I entered.
"Welcome, everyone."
His voice was calm.
Almost welcoming.
"I imagine you're wondering why you've been brought here."
Nobody answered.
Sobu continued.
"Have you checked your student evaluations?"
Around the circle, several students reluctantly nodded.
I had.
I already knew where this was going.
Sobu folded his hands behind his back.
"I'm referring specifically to those who received an S-rank."
The room became quieter.
"There are five S-ranked students in each year."
He looked around at us.
"Twenty students."
Then he smiled.
"You will compete against one another for the opportunity to become one of five captains."
A pause.
"Those five captains will lead their respective country during the Final Ascension Exam."
I studied the other students.
Some looked confident.
Others looked cautious.
A few appeared genuinely excited.
Rika was different.
She was tense.
I understood why.
She had seen what Sobu was capable of on February 15, when we had all gathered at the Golden Chronicle.
She knew there was something wrong with him.
And judging by her expression, she hadn't forgotten it.
Ichika raised his hand.
Sobu nodded.
"Yes, Ichika?"
Ichika's expression remained composed.
"Tell me something, Principal Sobu."
He paused.
"What exactly is the Final Ascension Exam?"
Sobu smiled.
The same smile he always wore when he knew something the rest of us didn't.
"You'll see."
He turned away.
"After you've competed against one another."
That answer told me almost nothing.
Which was probably the point.
Nobody argued.
Nobody demanded an explanation.
We all understood what was happening.
Twenty S-ranks had been gathered in one room.
Five positions were available.
Fifteen of us would lose.
And whatever happened next would determine who held the authority to lead the others once the Final Ascension Exam began.
I looked around the room again.
Twenty students.
Twenty different abilities.
Twenty different motives.
And only five positions.
The atmosphere wasn't hostile yet.
But it would be.
Competition had a way of doing that.
I kept my expression neutral.
Winning wasn't the only thing I had to worry about.
Something else was happening.
I could feel it.
The timing of this meeting.
The secrecy.
Sobu's refusal to explain the Final Ascension Exam.
Even Markus Danwood's interrogation earlier that day.
Too many pieces were moving at once.
Pieces I couldn't see.
Pieces being moved by people standing somewhere above us.
I lowered my gaze.
Whether I won or lost, something was happening behind our backs.
And I had a feeling that becoming one of the five captains would place me much closer to it.
Sobu stepped forward.
"Let's begin."
The students separated.
The first matchups were announced.
Twenty S-ranks.
Five captain positions.
And an exam whose true purpose remained hidden from all of us.
The competition had begun.
END OF CHAPTER.