Sensing that Cat Woman's Nen had vanished as well.
Hovering high in the air, Shaiapouf couldn't help but darken his expression.
"That idiot Neferpitou…"
He had originally been counting on Cat Woman returning, so that together they could serve as the King's last line of insurance.
With the Ant King's ability to devour and evolve, as long as the two of them offered themselves up, he could absolutely—easily—blast this pack of humans into dust!
But as things stood now, the only one left who could help the King was, it seemed, him alone.
As for those Chimera Ant grunts back in the nest who hadn't even awakened to Nen?
They weren't even qualified to serve as cannon fodder to stall for time!
Shaiapouf's mind raced like lightning.
Controlling his remaining nano-clones like an invisible gossamer veil, drifting near then far around the Ant King and Nagumo Miyabi, he searched for the right moment to intervene.
On the ground below, waves of air churned and roiled.
In the span of mere tens of seconds, the Ant King and Nagumo Miyabi—clad in the [Gorilla Suit]—had already exchanged dozens of rounds of blows.
"Bam! Boom——!"
The dull thuds of collision echoed through the woods.
Honestly, even born premature, the Ant King's combat power surpassed Cat Woman's.
Unfortunately for it, the [Gorilla Suit] on Nagumo Miyabi—worth 100 S Points—was no trifle either.
On top of that, during his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Nagumo Miyabi had learned to wield the Ripple.
Although the Ripple couldn't deal bonus damage against the Ant King, as a support tool he wielded it to near perfection.
Mostly it was because he had no retreat left.
To survive, to amass enough points to bring back Horikita Manabu, he was fighting at this moment with the constant resolve of one prepared to die!
And the Ripple, as a testament to courage, was rewarding him in turn.
It was only because Nagumo Miyabi had no support item like [Sianweistan] on hand.
Otherwise, faced with this reckless, life-be-damned style of fighting, the Ant King might not have handled it so easily after all.
But this back-and-forth stalemate didn't last very long.
With a howl of wind, Ayanokoji appeared on the battlefield.
Sensing this, the Ant King—which had been sparring with Nagumo Miyabi rather offhandedly—suddenly borrowed momentum to fall back.
It glanced at Nagumo Miyabi, then at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka:
"It seems I really did underestimate you all."
"Still, as my very first meal after being born… this counts as a fitting one."
"I'm fairly satisfied with you."
Nagumo Miyabi gave a cold snort, not wasting a single word.
The instant his thrusting Black Sphere Combat Blade was blocked by the Ant King's tail, he raised his left arm without hesitation, the reinforced palm-cannon blasting out shot after shot!
"Boom——!"
But the Ant King neither dodged nor evaded.
In the next instant, using the smoke and dust as cover, its form flickered, and the spike at the tip of its tail was already poised to pierce into Nagumo Miyabi's brain!
At that moment, a Shaiapouf clone—which had been sensing the battlefield through its scale powder all along—suddenly detected something off:
"My King! Look out!"
"Clang——!" A Parasyte and the Ant King's tail slammed fiercely against each other!
Amid the showering sparks, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face was expressionless.
With perfect tacit timing, Nagumo Miyabi flickered forward in a dash, the combat blade at his elbow tracing an arc of light as it slashed straight at the Ant King's tail!
"Squelch!" Blood gushed, and a large chunk of flesh fell away.
Nagumo Miyabi pressed in on the momentum, while Ayanokoji's Parasyte simultaneously split off several tentacles, sealing off every escape route the Ant King had.
At this, the Ant King merely arched a brow, showing no panic.
It had indeed sensed Ayanokoji's presence; it just hadn't expected the man's stats to be no slouch either.
And so, facing two genuinely thorny opponents, the battle-lust in the Ant King's eyes only grew fiercer:
"So you… are the ones with the power to kill me."
"Good. Very good. Excellent!"
"Then come, show me you can do it!"
With that, it charged straight in to meet them.
Relying on the formidable Nen ability it was born with, it slipped like a phantom through the interlacing flashes of blades.
Its tactic was clear: close in and first deal with Ayanokoji hiding in the back, then use full force to cut down Nagumo Miyabi.
But it had been locked in a stalemate even facing Nagumo Miyabi alone.
Let alone with an Ayanokoji whose stats were no lower than his added in…
Just as Ayanokoji deliberately left an opening, allowing the Ant King to draw close.
"Hum——!"
The few tentacles the Ant King had dodged doubled back under Ayanokoji's control.
The golden Ripple coiled around them erupted all at once, mixing with the dusk sunlight to dazzle the Ant King's eyes in an instant.
"Now's the moment!"
Nagumo Miyabi caught on instantly, his thrusters roaring at full output.
He surged in head-on to seal off the Ant King's blind spot for escape.
High in the sky, Shaiapouf, witnessing all of this, was beside himself with anxiety.
But having earlier been unable to get close—because the King disliked being disturbed during the hunt—he was now even more at a loss.
After all, although Shaiapouf's [Lord of the Flies] could divide into nano-scale clones, all but immune to physical damage.
To force his way to the Ant King's side and transfer energy under the Parasyte's web of attacks… was nearly impossible.
Nagumo Miyabi and Ayanokoji weren't fools who'd just stand by and watch.
And just as Shaiapouf fretted.
Through his Scale Powder: Ai Sen spread across the battlefield, he judged the direction in which the Ant King was about to be sent flying.
"My King! I'll help you!"
Shaiapouf marshaled all his clones, readying them in advance at the spot where the Ant King would land.
He had to be absorbed and used to strengthen the Ant King within a brief window—even at the cost of his own life, he would preserve the King's.
But this was precisely the moment Ayanokoji had been waiting for.
Almost the very instant Pouf's clones converged.
Ayanokoji appeared behind the main body of Shaiapouf, who had just made his decision.
"Swish——!" A single slash came down!
As Shaiapouf's clones dissipated, the Ant King—sent tumbling away in disarray—completely lost this final supply of reinforcement.
And Nagumo Miyabi was already bearing down on it head-on once more.
With Shaiapouf's scheme having failed, the rest of the fight held no more suspense.
Chris lifted his gaze from the three-dimensional map on his controller and, feigning contemplation, said:
"Looks like we all underestimated them…"
Watching this, Tachibana Akane, standing guard nearby, let out a somewhat surprised sigh of relief:
"So they didn't need any upgraded gear sent over at all—they could handle it just fine on their own?"
Chris nodded and gave an honest assessment:
"That Ayanokoji kid raked in a big haul during yesterday's advance test—he might genuinely be no weaker than Nagumo Miyabi now."
"With Cat Woman out of the picture, plus those aces from your midterm exam backing them up, when you think about it, the lineup really isn't bad at all…"
What's more, aside from acting as a backup blood-bag for the Ant King and buffing it, Shaiapouf's actual combat ability could only be called middling.
And with his [Scale Powder: Ai Sen]'s built-in mental interference utterly unable to affect Ayanokoji—who was even more robot-like than the Parasyte itself.
His fate was naturally sealed.
In fact, given the heart-to-heart rapport between Ayanokoji and his Parasyte.
On the surface, he looked to be teaming up with Nagumo Miyabi to target the Ant King; in truth, this was likely a ploy to lure Shaiapouf into the trap and finish him in a single blow!
"So… should we still go reinforce them?"
Shiina Hiyori pressed her lips together and asked tentatively.
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps approached.
Fujimaki and Kiriyama Ikuha came running, panting hard, with a few surviving upperclassmen in tow.
Seeing this, Asahina Nazuna stepped forward and asked:
"How are things on Nagumo's side? How are you already back…?"
Fujimaki explained in a low voice:
"Because a nimble Cat Woman broke away from the battlefield and headed your way."
"So after we took down Menthuthuyoupi together, we left Ayanokoji to help Nagumo and figured we'd head back first to check on you all…"
His gaze swept over the few unharmed girls, and his expression eased slightly:
"But from the look of things over here… the Cat Woman's already been dealt with?"
Asahina Nazuna fell somewhat silent.
Tachibana Akane explained on her behalf:
"Thank goodness Chris was here… we just never expected that even after dying, she could play dead and wait for everyone to lower their guard before launching a sneak attack."
"If she'd had access to something like [Crazy Diamond], it could've turned into a real catastrophe."
At this point, Tachibana Akane's brow furrowed slightly: "What I'm worried about now is whether Nagumo Miyabi's side might run into the same kind of situation."
At these words, Fujimaki and Kiriyama Ikuha exchanged glances.
After all, killing Menthuthuyoupi had relied on Ayanokoji's Parasyte tearing open its outer hide, then pouring Imperial Arms flame straight into the wound.
Blasting it apart from the inside like inflating a balloon.
Not even a corpse was left behind, so naturally there was no question of any dying-word ability.
But as for Shaiapouf, who'd gone out together with the Ant King—that was genuinely hard to say.
No matter what, he was worth over thirty-some points; surely he couldn't have only a support ability.
With that thought, Fujimaki hurriedly raised his hand and opened his controller, meaning to take a closer look at this exam's monster info so as to avoid any oversight.
Chris cut in:
"I just checked the controller—on Ayanokoji's side, only the Ant King is left now."
"If you're still uneasy, just take the top-three rewards from your midterm exam—here, from Senior Asahina—and bring them over to Nagumo Miyabi."
At his words, Asahina Nazuna snapped back to herself as if waking from a dream.
She quickly pulled up the interface and drew out three faintly glowing discs.
"Kiriyama, Fujimaki, these are the rewards for the two of you."
Asahina Nazuna handed the discs over: "Once you've updated your gear, could you do me the favor of bringing Nagumo's share over to him too?"
Kiriyama Ikuha nodded silently.
Though in the past, because the Class A he'd belonged to had been crushed by Nagumo Miyabi's schemes—dropping the whole class down to Class B—he'd long harbored resentment toward Nagumo Miyabi.
But after the Black Sphere appeared.
That old grudge had come to seem utterly trivial.
What's more, after Horikita Manabu's disappearance, Nagumo Miyabi had changed dramatically in temperament.
Astonishingly, he hadn't seized the chance to ascend to Student Council President; instead, he kept stressing his acting capacity, taking the stance of keeping the seat open and waiting for Horikita Manabu's return.
Under these circumstances, Kiriyama Ikuha really had no further reason to dislike him.
Watching Fujimaki and Kiriyama Ikuha hurry off into the distance, Asahina Nazuna finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Truth be told, if she could, she'd have liked to go along with them too.
But since these discs didn't require her to be present in person to be retrieved, and after just having lived through the horror of Cat Woman's play-dead trick.
Asahina Nazuna knew herself well enough to decide not to tag along and become a burden.
If she were to cause Nagumo's extra reward to vanish, that would be a real sin.
At this point, Kiryuuin Fuka—who had just finished a vigilant patrol of the surroundings—heard the commotion and returned.
Looking at Fujimaki and the others, she couldn't help being a little surprised:
"Kiriyama and the rest?"
Asahina Nazuna explained:
"Mm, I gave them their midterm rewards, hoping they could bring Nagumo's share over to back him up while they're at it."
Kiryuuin understood, and promptly thought nothing more of it.
She strode straight up to Shiina Hiyori, who stood beside Chris, and said briskly:
"Shiina, pull up the shop for me—I want to buy something."
Shiina Hiyori nodded obediently.
She watched as Kiryuuin's finger came to a stop on a 30,000-point Imperial Arms blind box and pressed confirm.
With a flash of white light.
A belt-shaped Imperial Arm appeared in Kiryuuin's hand.
Using her Black Sphere Wristwatch, Kiryuuin learned its name and arched a brow: "[Beast King Transformation · Lion King]? Quite the imposing name…"
"It's just that Fujimaki isn't around, so without the item codex, I can't see the exact abilities."
But that didn't stop her from trying.
With that, Kiryuuin simply buckled the belt around her slender waist.
As a surge of wildness filled her.
Before she could even properly feel the changes in her body.
Shiina Hiyori's little mouth suddenly fell open, and she pointed at the top of Kiryuuin's head in astonishment:
"Senior… on your head?"
Kiryuuin frowned.
In the reflection of Shiina Hiyori's clear pupils, she discovered…
Among her long silver-white hair, a pair of fluffy lion ears seemed to have sprouted?!
Kiryuuin reached up to feel them, and discovered that besides the ears, a tail had even appeared behind her?
Fortunately, the Heavenly Artisans' Guild was reasonably considerate.
It hadn't left the tail with nowhere to go despite her form-fitting Combat Suit; as if a responsive gap had been deliberately left, she found she felt none of the awkwardness of being squeezed.
Looking at this image of striking contrast, Chris said, barely holding back a laugh:
"Going by how you look, combined with the Imperial Arm's name…"
"It's probably an ability that turns you into a beast-eared girl to boost all your stats?"
Kiryuuin shot him an annoyed sidelong glare.
Hopping in place and feeling how unbelievably light her body had become, she said with satisfaction:
"A simple ability, but practical too—not bad at all."
With that, Kiryuuin turned her head to look at Kushida Kikyo and Yotsuya Miko, who trailed behind her with envy written all over their faces.
"What about you two? Anything you want to buy?"
The two girls fell silent for a moment.
In the end it was Yotsuya Miko who spoke up meekly:
"It feels like apart from the Explosive Tags and the Stone Mask… everything else is so expensive I can't afford it…"
"I'll probably have to wait until the next test, save up some points, and buy then."
Kushida Kikyo, for her part, thought it over.
She reached out and bought a [Stone Mask].
Although thanks to Cat Woman, it had in fact been confirmed that vampires weren't truly immortal and undying.
But recalling the despair that had washed over her when she'd encountered Cat Woman earlier…
Honestly, Kushida Kikyo had very nearly wet herself with fright back then.
Truly only a hair's breadth away—she hadn't fully wet herself, but only by a hair.
Considering that she might be chosen by the Black Sphere again in the future.
Kushida Kikyo figured that, without a Combat Suit, she absolutely needed to have on hand something like this that could forcibly extend her life…
She couldn't just leave it entirely to luck every time and pray for Chris to come save the day.
With that, Kushida Kikyo converted all her remaining points into [Explosive Tags].
Seeing this, Yotsuya Miko hesitated.
She too traded for a Stone Mask to keep in reserve, but being short on funds, couldn't bring herself to spend on Explosive Tags.
Chris turned to Shiina Hiyori beside him and suggested softly:
"Shiina, why don't you go gather some points around here and buy something to protect yourself?"
But Shiina Hiyori shook her head with a faint smile: "I'd like to, but the goods in the shop this time are all a bit pricey,"
____
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