I opened my eyes to see the class staring at me. Standing up, I cracked my neck. "So, ladies and gentlemen," I said. "Shall we figure out what we're going to do?"
We know the goal. We know what we're capable of.
The only question, then, is what Korosensei would want us to do.
Chapter 20: Happy Birthday Time
(3 Days)
The conversation didn't really take all that long; we were mostly in agreement. We all took turns giving our points of view on the options, but it was boilerplate through and through.
First off, not a single one of us truly wished that Korosensei would die. That wasn't even in question. Of all of us from E Class, I was perhaps the most likely to kill him - but that was because I'd been hired to assassinate Korosensei, and my desire to complete the contract was separate from my personal feelings in the matter. And given the choice between killing Korosensei and letting him live, of course... Well, it was a bounty more than it was a contract, so technically I wasn't going to be expected to kill him. Letting Korosensei live would be simply a refusal to go after the bounty.
Next, we were assassins. As Okano made her point, gesticulating wildly, I knew that the class was all in agreement even if nobody wanted to meet anyone else's gaze. There was no way that we'd just accept the fact that random strangers were going to be the ones to kill Korosensei. The way that they were just pushing our training to the side infuriated all of us; the training we endured over the course of the year was more than just something we'd played at.
"...So," Terasaka grumbled, fingers on his temples. I smirked - looks like all the hard thinking was stretching unused muscles. "What exactly is it that we want to do?"
Yada hummed in thought. "...That should be obvious," she said. "And I think... Korosensei feels the same way. We want to see him."
Yeah. I think we all feel the same way.
Nothing will end until we see him again.
"Alright," I said, "now that that's settled, we can hurry up and wait."
"Huh?" Okano asked. "What are you saying, Nick? We need to-"
"No, he's right," Fuwa said. "We should sit tight for now. Remember what Mr. Karasuma said - 'Cool off, and think things through over the next three days.'"
I nodded. "Like everything else, he was giving us information. There's no point in doing anything over the next few days, we won't be able to escape - but it's also a guarantee that the laser won't fire before then. On that third day, Karasuma will give us an opening. Until then... we need to be ready."
"Right!" E Class barked.
I smirked. Excellent - my classmates are on board. Well then, let's get started, shall we?
We needed to brainstorm. It was easy to scrounge up papers and a pencil; while none of us had managed to bring anything with us, the soldiers were trying to keep us more or less satisfied and not kicking up a fuss, so all we had to do was get Kurahashi to beg for the goods we need. Once we had everything, Isogai, Kataoka and I sat down to get to work.
...
Three days left.
While the three of us, assisted with others when necessary, set up plans and maps in the event we got an opportunity to escape, our classmates weren't idle. I saw Sugaya and some of the others practicing hand signals, making sure that their backs were to the security cameras placed here and there along the ceiling. Fortunately, most of the cameras were in the bedroom entrances and exits - which I'm not entirely sure what that meant, though I'm not sure I wanted to know.
...
Two days left.
With the plastic silverware we were given with our meals, we all sparred; I watched as Maehara dodged Muramatsu's high kick, glancing over as Nakamura climbed over a couch to attack. Of course, Maehara's situational awareness wasn't awful, so he was able to counter her plunging stab.
They weren't the only ones, of course; Hayami and Chiba were holding practice drills while pretending to hold their guns.
"Isogai. Nick."
Karma's voice caught my attention; Isogai was writing in a notebook, but he looked up. I looked back to the papers spread out over the table - we'd made sure that the table was out of sight of the cameras on the first day, and in the rare occasion that a soldier decided to come into the room when it wasn't mealtime, we could scramble to cover everything up. The maps were fine; honestly, I was just staring at the maps because I was paranoid something would go wrong.
"If we end up making it into the mountains," Karma said, "let me take point from there on out." I glanced up at him; his eyes were serious. "Please."
Isogai smiled. "...Yeah," he said finally. "I'll leave it to you, Karma. Nick, do you have any objections?"
I chuckled softly and turned the page over, looking at the flowchart of goals. "No, no, it's all yours, Karma." It's a good thing I'm content being just a tactician. Once we reached the actual execution part of the plan, barring any disastrous shift in the planning I was more useful as an elite unit. That's how I preferred it, honestly; I enjoyed the planning, and to a certain extent the reformatting on the fly, but in the end I was a solo player through and through.
Could I command? Certainly. As a member of E Class and as a tactician, being unable to deliver my strategies would make me worse than useless. It wasn't even a matter of the weight of responsibility. I had faith in us. Together, we could overcome even this seemingly insurmountable obstacle. No, the real problem was something different: I simply didn't have the charisma that Isogai and Karma effortlessly exuded. I was passable at the role of leader, yes, but there were others better suited for the job right now.
And, if I'm being entirely honest, there just isn't anything quite as thrilling as taking matters into my own hands.
...
The final day.
I knew that if I looked outside, I'd see Gungnir glowing brightly in the heavens. Of course, I couldn't know for certain. Since, y'know, I was still locked up in this stupid confinement in the military base.
"...What now?" Terasaka grumbled, sitting on the couch. "There hasn't been a single opportunity for us to escape yet. Today's the day they're firing that laser."
I fidgeted awkwardly. I couldn't blame my classmates for being fidgety; I felt the need to move and do something. It was like a tight red-hot coil in my gut, preventing me from sitting still. Any time I tried, the burning intensified until I had to get up and move, whether it was getting something to drink, or throwing a few punches to burn nervous energy, or just start pacing.
Each time I looked at Nagisa, I could see the despair slowly growing in his eyes. Karma's gaze, so firm the day before, was starting to go distant.
Just as I was starting my Nth lap of the room - I hadn't been keeping count - the steel door locking us away from the world let out a loud chunk as the lock disengaged. We all turned to look as someone strutted through. "Listen up!" the guard outside shouted. "You're only allowed to see their faces, okay? Man, if the higher-ups found out about this..."
"Don't worry, I understand." I blinked, momentarily taken aback by the voice of our visitor. "Just one look at them will put me at ease." Those lines sounded like they should come from a respectable teacher that's worried about her locked-up students.
Not, y'know. Not from a bitch. "Ahhh!" Professor Bitch cooed, throwing her arms out as she smiled at us. "My beloved students! I was worried sick about you all!"
Everyone just stared in confusion and a little bit of despair.
Suddenly, she grasped Takebayashi's head, the poor guy flinching in surprise - before she lunged forward and drew the explosives expert into a deep kiss. Everyone yelped in surprise.
Suddenly Professor Bitch went on a kissing rampage - first Yada, then Kanzaki, then Mimura, and even Nagisa. She approached me, and I glared at her. "No," I said flatly.
"Aw, you're no fun," she simpered. "C'mere!" Before I could get away, she had me by the shoulders.
...
...Mm?!
...
I feel dirty, Kana. Please, forgive me. We can't get married anymore.
...Heh, like a kiss from Professor Bitch would stop me from being with Kana.
"How are you kids?" Professor Bitch smiled, pointing at us. I heard Mimura mumble something. "You're all doing well? Great! Then I'm out of here." Huh. That was fast.
Finally, one of the soldiers got up the courage to approach the blonde. "A-Alright, that's enough," he said.
Professor Bitch smiled sunnily at him. "Geez, there are guards outside too, you don't have to be so tense!" My eyes hardened for a second before I schooled my expression back into neutrality. "Well then," Professor Bitch said to us, blowing a quick kiss, "see ya, brats!"
Everyone fell silent as the door slammed shut again.
"W... Why the hell did Professor Bitch even come here?!" Kayano yelped, hurrying over to Nagisa. Her cheeks were bright red; guess seeing her boyfriend being kissed sent all of her panic glands into overdrive.
But Nagisa was cupping his mouth. "...Nagisa?" Kayano asked him.
He opened his mouth and spat out a small plastic baggie. Every single one of us that Professor Bitch had kissed - myself included - had an object slipped into our mouths; the one in mine was a small slip of rolled-up paper, just like Yada's. I unrolled it and scanned over the text. It was a small list of numbers and what looked like times.
"It's my explosives set!" Takebayashi smiled, wiping at his lips. Each of us had been slipped a small something, and when we all put it together, it looked like several small explosives. Takebayashi's gift was the remote detonator.
I grinned. "Well, that answers the question of when the hell we're getting out of here."
Okano frowned. "But Professor Bitch said there were guards outside," she protested.
Honestly, I'm glad someone else caught that, since it meant I got the perfect straight line. "Don't worry about that," I said, waving my piece of paper slightly. "I think we've got that on lockdown."
Blank stares.
"...Because we're locked up?" I snorted when all I got was an awkward smile from Yada, clearly trying to spare my feelings. "Hate you all."
"Maybe you should stop with the bad jokes," Nakamura snarked. "And then you'd embarrass yourself less."
I made a rude gesture in her direction. "See my previous statement regarding hating you all."
Sneaking past the guards was easy, with Professor Bitch's strangely detailed notes. She had all the guard shifts, as well as the times when we could expect the door to be mostly unguarded. Armed with that, it was simple for Takebayashi to hook up a few small bombs to the door's locking mechanisms. A press of a button later, and we were out.
Making our way out of the facility was also easy; Yada's paper had a hand-drawn map, guiding us out. At the end of the path was another locked door, to which our key was another bomb on the lock.
We crept out of the facility into the dark alley, only to be greeted by a black-clad Professor Bitch as we rounded the corner. "Still late," she said. "Even after providing you kids with a map of my perfect escape route!"
I snorted. "I was thrown by the professionalism. It's not what we expect from you."
"Stow it, brat," Professor Bitch scolded me.
Fortunately for our poor bare feet, a set of boots was set out for us. As we were slipping them on - ugh, no socks, but I feel like we have bigger problems to worry about - Yada held up the maps and said, "Professor Bitch, these..."
"Karasuma requested it," she said. "It took longer than I expected, but constantly visiting as your teacher eventually resulted in those guards opening up to me."
I smirked. "And you scolded us for being slow."
Professor Bitch ignored me. "It became normal for me to join them and banter, which gave me the perfect opportunity to secure a good escape route."
Yada blinked. "How did you even manage to fit all of that equipment in your mouth?"
Professor Bitch just smirked.
"That's one of the techniques of the world's most prominent seductress," Maehara said.
"I overheard the guards saying the laser will be fired right before the clock strikes midnight," Professor Bitch told us. I glanced up at the sky to see the shining star of Gungnir. My lips curled. "I don't know how this will all end," Professor Bitch admitted. "Either way, tomorrow's your graduation day."
"This is your last class," Irina told us. "Go face it with everything you've got!"
"...Y-Yes ma'am!" the class shouted.
"Alright!" Isogai said, turning to us. "Everyone, head home as planned. They'll discover we escaped fast, so do it before the guards are alerted again."
We all turned and bolted. "Professor Bitch!" Kataoka shouted. "Make sure to bring Mr. Karasuma with you! We think you're both amazing!"
Professor Bitch stared in surprise, before smiling. "I guess I have to, huh," she said.
I smirked and turned to run for my home. The trip there was almost soothing in its familiarity, even if the streets were strangely quiet. The lack of cars on the road made my run home nearly uninterrupted.
As I cracked the door open, I made sure that I wasn't going to be suddenly arrested by a soldier keeping watch on my home. I paused just after opening the door, but the hairs on the back of my neck stayed down, and I let out a little sigh of relief. My home hadn't been invaded.
"My own little Safe Zone," I mumbled to myself as I quickly got changed. My home. Where I slept. If there had been someone waiting here, it'd be like having a mob just waiting to ambush someone at the entrance of a town. It would just shatter any faith in the rules.
After getting dressed, I slipped out of the house, shutting the door softly behind me. I started to head out, before freezing; someone had just pulled up to the entrance to the apartment complex, and I was pretty sure they were military, judging by the vehicle.
Gritting my teeth, I froze and listened. The chatter below me was... two people, back and forth. Their voices were similar in tone, but the conversation was flowing rapidly enough that it couldn't be one person talking over an earpiece. There weren't any pauses that would indicate one person speaking and then listening. I couldn't hear enough footsteps to be more than two.
Okay, that's good. There weren't enough bootsteps to be more than just the two. Now, the question was, are these people here because they know we escaped, or is this just a random check?
My mind raced. No, this probably wasn't because we'd gotten caught, or there would be a lot more of them to restrain us. They wouldn't send the Wolfpack, of course, they were busy guarding the mountain, and while they might have ignored Karasuma's warnings, I doubted the military would underestimate us after the skills we've shown in the past.
Only two of them? Yeah, this was just a routine check. In that case...
I waited until I heard the footsteps going up the stairs. Once they were in the stairwell - and thus not in one of the hallways - I stood up, cracked my knuckles, and jumped off of the railing.
Grinning like a shark, I soared through the air before hitting the nearby rooftop and rolling. With no momentum loss at all, I kept going forward and jumped again, clearing the gap between roofs easily. I didn't care which way I was headed, I just needed to be out of the area as soon as possible.
Once I was a good distance away from the apartments, I changed course and angled towards the meet-up location.
When I got there, I was greeted by a sight I only slightly expected. "Glad to see you're all safe!" Ritsu chirped from Isogai's phone, giving us a salute. She was dressed as a pilot, for some reason. "I've kept the entire situation in check from above while you were gone!"
Ah, that's why she's cosplaying. I glanced up to see a quartet of drones flying towards us. They'd all been heavily modified by Itona, of course. "So this is the drones' charging station," Isogai said. I caught one of the drones as it swooped towards me and grinned, absently patting the top of the casing. Ritsu giggled.
"I can't believe you had something like this prepped up your sleeve, Itona," Maehara said.
"I was saving it to be my ultimate Anti-Korosensei weapon," Itona said, staring at his laptop. "Its performance peaks when paired with Ritsu. But... it looks like I'll be using it against a different enemy."
Isogai pulled up the map Ritsu had collected for us. "From the way things look, we'll only be pass through the barricade surrounding the mountains right here," he said, pointing at the furthest point from Korosensei. I sighed. Naturally. "Unfortunately, we'll have to go through the heart of the mountain."
I frowned. That definitely meant we weren't going to get away with not clashing against the Wolfpack. Oh well. Maybe this was a good thing - I'd been looking forward to having some fun.
"Let's all meet up at this point in an hour," Isogai said as the drones took off.
An hour later, we were all crouched on the roof of a building just inside the barricade. Our uniforms were entirely black thanks to Sugaya's swift magic, and with the night sky above us there was no way any of the soldiers looking up would see us. Not that they looked up at all; they were too busy chatting light-heartedly.
I smirked. Sloppy work.
"Okay then, everybody," Isogai said solemnly. "Moment of truth, our final mission."
As one, with Karma in the lead, E Class took off running through the mountains. "Let's go," Karma said quietly, sharing a fist bump with Nagisa.
Countdown until Korosensei's deadline: three hours.
Ahead of me, Karma reached up to his collar, and my comms crackled to life. "Nick," Karma said, "take Okano and Kimura. You three are scouting ahead, so mark locations of any soldiers that you see. Not too far, though."
"Roger," we replied, pouring on the speed and pulling ahead of the rest of E Class.
As we grouped up, the two of them following behind me to my left and right, I recalled the map I'd painstakingly memorized. "Okano, take the left," I said. "Kimura, the right. I'm going straight ahead. Regroup at the fir tree if we can, otherwise I'll contact you with new orders."
"Got it," they chorused, before splitting off. The left had more rocky terrain, perfect for Okano; she was like a mountain goat. Kimura's path was more straight-lines that took advantage of his high speed. As a tactician, this was my perfect battleground to work my magic.
The path I'd chosen for myself had a punishing slope, but I took advantage of the hardy trees that thrived in the soil. They were tough, their bark hard and their branches sturdy, which made them perfect for what I needed. Launching myself forward, I kicked off of the closest tree and swung up into the tree branches, hiding myself in the leaves. With a feral grin, I started running through the trees.
The Wolfpack soldiers didn't even know I existed; to them, my movement was just the random rustling of the wind. As I passed by them, my lack of killing intent meant that they couldn't sense me. It was almost a form of self-hypnosis - I just saw them, marked them on my phone, and moved on. They were merely obstacles, and you don't try to kill walls or blocks when solving a maze, do you?
As I reached the end of our paths, I glanced back over the forest below me. I couldn't see Okano or Kimura, but that wasn't a surprise. What was a bit of an issue was the mounted turret at the top of the hill where I had originally set up the meeting with my squad members. "Problem," I murmured into my comms, melting back into the woods and mixing my presence with nature. "Change in plans. Okano, Kimura, end your routes here and head back to the rest of the group. You're back under Karma's orders."
"Okay," they said, not questioning me. Have I mentioned I love having people that won't argue? It's really, really great.
After that, I switched channels back to the main group. "Karma," I said, "let me go ahead. I want to clear out a few problem children."
The boy laughed. "Getting a little antsy?" he asked. "Oh, it's fine. Go ahead."
My eyes lit up. "Thank you," I purred, closing the comms and cracking my neck.
After all, in the end, I'm a solo player. And this is my time to shine.
I was one of the best in the class at erasing my presence; only Nagisa was better, and that was because he had some strange line in to his target's psyche that I just couldn't imitate. Still, against this group that had been fighting only against humans in some distant location... The disparity in our experience is quite obvious.
After all, I'd spent a year in these mountains. Hunted a superbeing in the mountains. Had fun with a superbeing in these mountains. Was taught by a superbeing in these mountains.
I was used to seeing a half-second in the future with the aid of Future Step. But this was greater than that. I was seeing everything. I knew that when I reached out, a branch would be waiting for me, sturdy enough for me to swing up onto it. I knew that jumping to the right would land me on a patch of slippery gravel, while jumping to the left would put me on a patch of thicker than usual grass that would muffle the sound of my landing.
The three soldiers at the top of the hill didn't have a ghost of a chance.
Like a snake in the grass, I simply appeared behind them. My lips curled into a soft smile as I finally unsheathed my bloodlust. My left hand clenched around the taser I was holding.
The soldiers weren't bad at their jobs by any means, of course. As soon as I revealed myself they whirled, training their guns on me. But, of course, I'd chosen my position perfectly; the two on my left and right had to hesitate for a second, making sure they weren't about to shoot each other, and that was the moment I struck.
My hand lashed out, striking the bare neck of the soldier to my left. He dropped instantly as the taser crackled, sending electricity coursing through his body. The soldier that was behind me - previously to my right - gasped out a breath, and that was all the hint I needed. My training took over at this point, and I dropped. With a clever spin, I rolled back and knocked the legs out from my target, dropping him with a jab of the taser to the underside of his chin as he fell.
My grin was feral and mad as I straightened up, swaying back and forth to keep the third and final member from training his gun on me. His eyes studied me as I approached, and I smirked.
Those eyes have seen death.
Low chuckles broke out of me as I stalked forward. I could feel the shift in his focus as I seemed to blur forward, nothing in my body language threatening. Oh, yes, he's seen death. And he's very skilled.
"Thank you," I said to him, smiling serenely. "I've always wanted to try this."
The melody of his motions reached fever pitch, and the jagged shrieks of the tones grew until every note was out of tune. His pupils dilated, and just before he squeezed the trigger -
- I dropped my taser and slammed my palms together.
The man shattered like glass at the sudden sound, his grip on his gun going slack as his knees gave out. I didn't waste the chance I'd been given, dashing forward to close the tiny distance between us. A quick roundhouse kick to the head followed by a chokehold, and he was out cold.
A drone buzzed up the hillside, and I cracked my neck before waving to Ritsu. The drone bobbled in the air, waving back in her own unique way. I smiled before turning and heading deeper into the mountains. The more soldiers I could clear out, the better - and I was a solo player.
Clearing enemies on my own was something I was very skilled at.
I could hear panicked screaming from down the mountain behind me, and I shook my head. That had to be Karma, using one of the soldiers as bait for the others. These guys were definitely good with pain - the two I'd tased were already starting to recover by the time I'd managed to fully restrain them - but screaming like that sounded like something I'd expect from our resident torture technician.
Shaking my head and marking the direction I was heading on my phone just so Ritsu knew, I marked the soldiers on the hill as neutralized, hopped down into the brush, and kept moving.
This was our territory. We were the best assassination team on the planet, so long as we were confined to here. Assassinating my way through the rank and file, I left the completely destroyed soldiers behind. I'd taken out three on that hill, and another two on the way; that meant I'd eliminated at least a sixth of them on my own, with the rest of the team behind me. They had no chance against me, not when I could see everything and select the best methods of assassination. One was caught in a snare we'd originally set for Korosensei, and the other had been eliminated by a long-range tranq dart I fired. Neither of them had the slightest chance to see me coming. I was a storm, blowing through them without making a sound. I was the snake, hidden in the grass. I was the -
- I froze.
There was just one person standing at the top of the hill, his back to a single tree. The black-haired man was wearing glasses, and carrying a rifle in his right hand.
Craig Houjou, the Divine Soldier.
This man was at least three times as strong as Karasuma, and I could feel it. Even without his attention directly on me, I could feel some sort of animalistic intensity coming from the man. He was just standing there, and my heart was already jack-hammering in my chest. I needed back-up, I needed the other students, I need to (kill him) get away as quickly as possible.
"Oh, don't leave so soon," Houjou said, smirking as he looked directly at me. "You haven't even said hello yet."
So, he can speak Japanese.
I melted out of the trees and jumped down, staring up at him. "...You knew I was here," I said. It wasn't really surprise in my voice, so much as dull resignation. "What, do you have the nose of a wolf too?"
He just chuckled. "It seems you brats need to be taught a lesson," he said as he reached up to his glasses. "About the difference between a playground and a real battleground." He pulled off his glasses. Instantly, every shred of my body went on high alert. This was dangerous. In response, I closed my eyes for the half-second trigger of Future Step, settling into the enforced calm.
It was never really enforcing calm on me, of course. That was impossible, for a skill in Aincrad and later Alfheim. Instead, it was the ritual of activating it, the mental shift in what I was seeing, that sent me into a state of calmness. "Too bad," I said, my voice feeling distant. "I already know."
Craig Houjou smirked before shooting forward, hand already thrusting in a palm strike to my head as he closed in.
Instantly I was on the defensive, parrying and redirecting the blows that would send me flying if they connected. I knocked his hand up even as I ducked down so that his swinging punch would pass harmlessly over my head, only to spring backwards into a backflip to dodge as his leg shot out for my head. Seconds into the fight, and I'd already lost total control of the tempo to him. I needed to take it back!
I'd already lost this clash as an assassin by the simple fact that I was fighting. But I was a swordsman too, and damned if I was going to lose without getting a single blow in!
The next time I dodged Houjou's attack, I jumped away and landed in a skid, sliding back towards a nearby tree. Houjou lunged forward, hand hardened in a knife-hand aimed straight for my shoulder. I slammed my hand down at the base of the tree at the same time I kicked up with my leg, deflecting his strike. Leaves stacked at the base of the tree sprayed up, forcing Houjou to cover his eyes with his free hand.
I swung the sturdy branch that had been hidden in the leaves at his ribs. It collided solidly, and I smirked just before Houjou's kick sent me flying. "Look out!" I heard Nagisa shout.
The kick's strength was insane, and I bounced off of a few trees before landing in a heap. Still... I groaned, rolling over and glaring at Houjou. He had grabbed on to the bare tree, bracing himself right there. As he pushed his glasses back onto his nose, he said, "I'm almost impressed. You lasted twenty-one seconds."
I realized I was lying more or less behind the rest of my class, and groaned out, "Oh hey guys. Just dropping in." That bastard is real tough.
"My apologies," Houjou said to all of us. "It seems we've severely underestimated your abilities." Kanzaki looked at me in shock, before turning back to face Houjou. "From this point forward," he said, "I'll give you a lesson you will never forget..."
Just as Houjou was about to slip his glasses off again, his hands let go of his glasses and snatched two darts out of the air. I looked over to the side to see Chiba and Hayami huddled in the bushes. "Tranquilizer darts," Houjou declared, dropping the darts. He'd actually caught them in midair. "I suggest that you use my subordinates' rifles... Without real bullets, you have no hope of matching my abilities."
"Don't you dare," I gasped out. We couldn't use live ammo, and if I wasn't in a surprising amount of pain I'd be able to focus long enough to figure out exactly why my instincts said not to.
"Well then," Houjou said, hand at his glasses again, "ready or not..."
Karma jumped at him, extendable baton swinging at his head. Houjou just smirked, swaying out of the way and harshly sweeping his rifle up to knock Karma away. "Crafty runt," Houjou muttered, still trying to take off his glasses.
Suddenly a rock shattered against the tree behind him as he managed to get out of the way just in time. He whirled to face where it had come from, only to be forced to shield his eyes as a bright light shone; Sugino was holding baseball-sized rocks, while Kanzaki stood behind him, holding one of Mimura's powerful lights and shining it at him.
Houjou covered his eyes, blinded, and everyone in the class lunged immediately. Even with all of our students attacking nearly simultaneously, Houjou was still able to dodge our attacks; the problem with that, of course, was that as each student jumped in, struck, and then jumped away, he had no solid targets to strike. And while he was busy trying to handle one wave, the next wave was approaching from his rear.
He was reduced to just fruitlessly blocking, unable to gain any tempo in the battle - exactly the situation I'd found myself in when fighting him one-on-one earlier. I smirked; the hit and run techniques I'd developed for bosses in Aincrad and taught the class for Korosensei were being put to good use right now. The boss is stronger, faster, and tougher than all of us put together. Even if we tried to run away, we'd lose; and if it turned into a conventional fight, just like the one I'd been in half a minute ago, we'd lose.
Thinking now that my mind was cleared from the pain a little, not using guns was using the right call. We weren't experienced with real guns, and he was skilled enough to draw our fire into each other.
Chiba shot another dart at him, having relocated while everyone else kept him busy; when he dodged, he was off-balance for long enough that Takebayashi was able to jump and kick his rifle out of his hand, throwing it away. We'd learned well, under Korosensei's instruction. The fundamentals of being an assassin. One of Ritsu's drones swooped down, firing a dart from the modified gun; it actually tagged Houjou's neck, forcing him to draw it out.
In an instant, everything shifted - I felt immense bloodlust pulse, and I looked around for Nagisa. The second I realized he was nowhere to be seen, I smirked.
Houjou was about to be destroyed.
Suddenly, Nagisa appeared, swinging down from tree branches; his legs were wrapped around the branches as he slammed his palms together right in front of Houjou, stunning the Divine Soldier. "Karma!" Nagisa shouted, grabbing Houjou's head as the soldier reeled. Nagisa swung off of the tree and behind Houjou, tilting his head up as Karma jumped from where Houjou had flung him earlier.
Simultaneously, Nagisa slammed his knees into the back of Houjou's head and Karma dropped his heel on Houjou's face.
The man hit the ground. Panting heavily, Nagisa and Karma straightened up. "Heh... Nagisa," Karma said. Nagisa looked up, still panting, before he grinned widely. Laughing, the two of them high-fived.
I rolled my eyes as I kicked Houjou's hand out from under him; the man, halfway upright, crashed back down to the ground and I tased him. "Idiots," I muttered, taking the chance to search him for concealed weapons. "Celebrate after confirming the enemy's down."
"Dumbasses!" Terasaka shouted as some other students joined me in the party. "What do you think you're doing?! Finish what you started instead of high-fiving like losers!"
Both of the boys studiously faced away from us. Nagisa scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Okay," Isogai said after Houjou was securely tied up. "Let's get out of here. As long as we get inside the barrier, we're within Korosensei's range!"
"...He's still conscious," Fuwa said with surprise. I realized Houjou was watching us silently.
"After everything we did to him," Kimura said. "This guy's a real monster."
Sugaya frowned. "Gives me the chills imagining what would happen if we fought this guy fairly."
Leaning down, I wiped off some of the blood spilling from Houjou's nose. "Sorry," I said. "This is what it means to be E Class." Smirking, I pushed his glasses back up. "Your glasses were slipping out of place. Be careful." His eyes widened.
Still grinning, I followed E Class as we jumped up the mountain.
...
Before long, we were standing in front of Aegis - after beating Houjou, there weren't any other members of the Wolfpack to fight. I sighed as I realized what shapes were visible in the foggy orange laser field. "Why is it always hexagons?" I moaned under my breath.
One by one, we passed through the barrier effortlessly. I glanced at the foliage and frowned; the plants and trees that the barrier passed through weren't harmed in the slightest. Still, the energy field was keeping Korosensei locked up. If I had to guess... It was a type of energy that only affected tentacle cells, just like the material our blades and bullets were made out of.
Whatever, that didn't matter right now. The path up to the school was in front of us, and we didn't waste time racing up the mountain.
As we burst out into the sports field of our campus, we were greeted by a very welcome sight. "I thought that sounded like you," Korosensei said, waiting for us in the center of the field. Everyone gasped in relief, seeing he was unhurt. "You've come so far," the octopus said. "Look at you."
There was a beat of silence before everyone started babbling at once, rushing for our teacher.
Korosensei indulged us in our happiness for a little while, but before long we had to stand back and explain things to him; after all, he'd been stuck in this perfect cage, so he hadn't heard any of the explanations. "The laser's almost fully charged," Kataoka said. I looked up at the bright red light directly above us, even brighter than before.
"So it would seem," Korosensei said neutrally. "I imagine they'll try firing the killing shot just shy of midnight. There's enough concentrated power in that baby to shut down even my Absolute Defense Form," he added, cutting off the first suggestion I was about to make. Stymied, I worried at my lower lip, staying silent.
"What do we do?" Kanzaki murmured.
"We have to leave!" Kurahashi exclaimed. "Let's try to find a way out of here! Oh, I know! You could take us as hostages or something!"
A few of the students nodded in agreement. It wasn't a bad plan per se, but at the same time it was ultimately pointless. "Unless your body is made of tentacles, or you're willing to let Korosensei kill a few of us and prove he is exactly as dangerous as they say he is," I said softly, "that won't work."
"Huh?"
I gestured at the building. "Look around, Kurahashi," I said, not unkindly. "They've already fired the laser once, and nothing seems to be amiss. The energy seems to only destroy tentacle cells, and nothing else." I sighed. "I don't think there's anything we could do to stop this laser short of... well, destroying the generators or the laser itself. It's a deadly weapon that will only ever kill the target it's been built for."
"As Nick says," Korosensei said, "there's no stopping this now, no matter how influential of a hostage I may take. I'm sorry, children." E Class gasped, while I felt a mix of pride and disappointment that I was right. "Too many people are aware of my existence."
Everyone in the class stared down at their feet, lost in thought. "You knew it'd come to this eventually," Hayami stated, the first to reach the conclusion I'd made a long time ago. "You knew all along."
"Even if I don't explode," Korosensei said, "the cat's out of the bag. We'd be fools to think the world would accept the existence of something like me. Sooner or later, they'll want me out of the picture. It's a perfectly reasonable reaction," he told us when the class seemed ready to dispute that.
"You can't tell me we couldn't have found a way around all that if we'd acted sooner!" Fuwa mumbled, clenching her fist. "We could have busted up the barrier protectors, gone on TV to try and make our case."
That would be impossible. The simple fact of the matter is, the world government cannot abide the existence of something stronger than itself. Even the existence of Korosensei - an incredibly powerful, independent monster roaming freely and beholden to no country - would destabilize everything. I hated it. I hated it so much. But it made too much sense.
"You would have met with resistance," Korosensei told her softly. "The public would decry you as dangerous, possibly demand you to be put under surveillance. And besides, the projector's defenses are impregnable. If I so much as chuck a rock at them, the answer is anti-aircraft artillery. Likely as not, even given your skill, you would have been captured." He glanced my way. "There is a reason your tactician decided to infiltrate the mountain instead of attack the projectors."
A few students turned to me, and I nodded solemnly. The projectors were the only things keeping Korosensei in place under the geosynchronous satellite; were they to fall, Korosensei could just run away somewhere they'd never find him. Of course the defenses were airtight. We'd known that, discovered it when gathering data last week, but still...
"This was the perfect route for you to have taken," Korosensei said, his face orange with two red rings. The symbol that we were correct. "You maximized your skills, time, and numbers without fault. In a very real way," he continued, "my assassination represents the many disparate threads of mankind's cumulative wisdom brought together for a single purpose. What an accomplishment!" Korosensei breathed. "In truth, I'm honored."
I licked my lips. Like being the top player on a leaderboard, where everyone would aim for you first for the honor of saying he killed you. That recognition in and of itself was a reward.
"...So then," Yada said, "you're saying all the hard work we put into this, has been for nothing?"
"Come now, Yada," Korosensei said, plopping a tentacle on her head. "I hardly think that's fair. Think about it," he continued. "You've journeyed to outer space. Uncovered vital information. Surely we don't call that nothing. Especially," he added, "when said information brought our classroom a much-needed ray of light. The past month may have been short-" Of course it was, it was February... "- but also uncommonly sweet. That's what it's all about," Korosensei said, tapping his tie. "The hard work gave you heart. You used every bit of what you learned to come and see me one last time. For a teacher, there is no greater happiness."
"...So time's up, is that it?"
Korosensei turned to look at Terasaka and made a little noise of confusion.
"The risk is still less than one percent!" Terasaka growled. "And I don't care what other people say, I'll take those odds any day! We've been a hell of a lot closer to you than any of those jerks running the show! They have an obligation to hear us out! The octopus isn't dangerous! He's a pervert, sure, but he's not dangerous!"
Hazama rubbed at her head. "As far as they're concerned, we're in over our heads," she muttered. "Why give delinquents the time of day, right? It's much easier to brush us off."
Muramatsu scowled. "Like we're just gonna take it? Bullshit!"
"Next time a government suit crosses my path," Yoshida spat, "I'm gonna -"
Korosensei appeared behind them in a burst of wind. One by one, he pressed a tentacle to their cheek in a light, sticky slap - except Terasaka. He shook Terasaka's head back and forth first, before turning the boy's head to face him. "Terasaka," Korosensei said. "All of you. Permit me to give you a word of advice."
He disappeared again, appearing in front of the class. "In life, we travel upstream, thrashing against the mighty current of society. More often than not, things simply won't pan out as you wished. Don't apportion blame. Society is in a circumstance of its own. Resist the temptation to renounce it. Believe me, your time and energy are far better channeled elsewhere. When hardship prevails," he said, making a disgruntled face, "say, 'That's life!' and marshal your dignity towards mitigating the disappointment as best you can. When the water calms, ask yourself, if society tosses me about like a piece of driftwood, is it wiser to stay the course? Or find another way?
"If E Class has taught you nothing else," Korosensei said to us, "take this to heart. In your assassination classroom, you don't have to face hardships head on. You can run. You can hide. Launch a sneak attack, if it's not against the rules. Avail yourself of unconventional methods." I blinked. Suddenly, I'm remembering when Nagisa and I crossdressed to get into that club. Weird, but I guess it was unconventional. "Whatever you choose, above all else, be determined. Don't give frustration the last word. The beauty of trial and error is that there's always hope. Never forget, when the moment calls for a decisive strike, you are an assassin."
We let the passionate words sink in, before Terasaka finally snorted. "Ugh," he said. "Of all the times to lecture..."
"Nue-heh-heh-heh," Korosensei laughed. "What can I say? A lesson seemed appropriate! A good educator never passes up an opportunity to teach.
"Thank you," Korosensei told us sincerely as individual tentacles plopped on our heads. "Your rescue efforts mean more than you know. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've been holding back tears."
As the tentacles withdrew, I reached up to touch the place on my head where it had rested. Korosensei was calm and composed in this situation, where his death was inevitable and slated for less than three hours from now. The octopus in front of us was about to die and vanish from our lives forever... All because he was our teacher.
Because of us.
"By the way, Nakamura," Korosensei said, "I couldn't help but notice how delicately you carried yourself during the last battle." I raised an eyebrow. Nakamura? The crass girl we all knew? Her? Delicate? "And, uh... Do I smell something sweet by chance?" he asked, starting to drool.
"Your ears are as sharp as your nose," Nakamura said, grinning ruefully. "It's been exactly one year to the day since the moon blew up," she said as she reached in the satchel around her waist and drew out a cake box. "And, if I remember correctly," she said, revealing the delicacy, "Miss Yukimura designated today as your birthday."
The cake was a work of art; a ring of plump raspberries surrounding what I could guess was fluffy cake, topped with sparkling icing and a juicy-looking strawberry on top. It was all but literally glowing.
"Yeah, it's no big deal if you wanna shower me with praise for getting it here intact," Nakamura said, "but I - hey!" she yelped as soon as she realized Korosensei was too busy drooling over the cake to praise her.
"Sorry," Korosensei murmured, "but this is... my first taste of sweet in a week..."
"Don't you dare get your drool on it!" Nakamura shouted at him. "Ugh! So gross! Alright guys, let's sing!"
I hate singing Happy Birthday. On one hand, I hate having it sung to me; I dislike being the center of attention normally, and having a group of people surround me and sing loudly enough to catch extra attention was even worse. And on the other hand, I hate singing it; I was a classically-trained musician, and that meant that I could pick out all the clashing pitches in the chorus.
As everyone started singing, though, I joined in. We were a class, of course.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!
"Are we even allowed to use song lyrics in-" Terasaka started to ask, before Kataoka reached up and pinched his cheek. Right away, he started singing along.
Happy birthday dear Korosensei... Happy birthday to you!
Once the song finished - and I stopped forcing myself not to cringe at every flat note - the class celebrated. Korosensei just sat there, staring at the flickering candle, and people started urging him to blow out the candle.
After a second, Korosensei reared back, inhaled, and -
-A black tentacle smashed into the cake, splattering it everywhere.
Everyone stared in shock as the tentacle retreated. We followed it up to the roof of the school, where two figures were silhouetted by Gungnir's light. "And many more," Yanagisawa sang tauntingly, Number Two at his shoulder. He smirked menacingly.
"Shiro," Terasaka growled.
"Yanagisawa..." Korosensei breathed.
I'd wondered how I'd feel the next time I saw Yanagisawa. After all, when he turned around and walked away, I hadn't known anything about him beyond the fact that he was somewhat of an asshole. I didn't know that he was a bastard on par with Sugou; while he might not have attempted to rape his fiancée, which gives him one tiny point over the smug shitheel I destroyed, Yanagisawa still had no hesitation throwing Miss Yukimura in harm's way just to escape. When I heard how he treated her, I'd been infuriated, on the brink of doing something I'd regret. The mad rage seemed to have decayed over time, but I still hated him for what he'd done.
I'd wondered what I would feel when I saw him next. Maybe I'd feel cold fury, or maybe hot blinding anger, for the way he treated Miss Yukimura. Maybe it would be disdain or sadistic pity, for having his dream shattered by the very specimen he sank time and money into, losing both his future and his eye. Maybe I wouldn't feel anything at all. In the end, I'd decided that the thought experiment was utterly pointless, and put the matter to rest.
Now, I knew how to feel.
"You bastard!" I snarled. "You smashed the cake! What the hell, what monster does that?!"
Yanagisawa's eye gleamed. "The hour is upon us!" he said. Behind him, Number Two started writhing. "So then, permit me to give you the gift of the world's cruelest death."
Number two unzipped his weird suit a little bit. "Hello there," his voice burbled out. I couldn't see anything except two glowing yellow eyes. "You do know who I am, don't you sir?"
Korosensei shuddered. "I should reintroduce him for the benefit of your students," Yanagisawa said. "This, boys and girls, is the pupil who stole the name Reaper from your teacher." As Number Two - the Reaper - strode forward, his suit shredded around him. "As of today... I take the privilege of christening him the new and improved Korosensei."
The Reaper's suit finally exploded outwards as massive black tentacles filled the air. The monster in front of us was massive - bigger than even Korosensei - looming over all of us. His shape was vaguely humanoid, with a torso and two arms; those arms, though, were massive pseudo-pods ending in writhing black tentacles. Uncountable tentacles came from both below and above the Reaper, waving in the air and squirming along the ground.
The monster had teeth and a human-like face - it was like looking at a black skull, covered in pulsing red veins. All the better, then, when the mouth cracked open as a deep laugh rumbled through the Reaper.
Gross.
Korosensei shuddered, staring up at the Reaper. The Reaper, back for round two, leapt off of the rooftop and landed in front of Korosensei, staring down at the octopus. "What's that?!" Yoshida yelped. "No seriously, crap!"
"Reaper Two Point Oh," Nagisa exclaimed as we all scrambled away from the Reaper. "The one who attacked us!"
"Okay, before it was just his face," Muramatsu said, "but now his entire body freaks me the hell out!"
I shuddered. "Super glad I was never on his side," I said. "Looks like the health benefits suck."
Yanagisawa hopped down from the roof, landing lightly behind the Reaper. "He underwent the same modifications as your octopus," he said. "With one difference. Quite unlike Itona and my would-be sister-in-law, he begged for them. Far be it for me to judge, but I think that puts him a cut above." We all stared. I pushed at the bridge of my glasses. "I know," Yanagisawa said, "wrap your head around that! A man able to overwhelm you in human form now possesses unlimited power! Tentacles fueled by pure hatred! Can you imagine?!"
So, this... guy?... This thing has infinite cosmic power... without the drawback of the itty-bitty living space.
Well this blows.
The Reaper growled, before lunging forward. "Run!" Korosensei shouted, sweeping a tentacle behind him and sending us all flying.
On the ground, immediately where we had been, something exploded. We all shouted as dust and dirt sprayed up, pattering us - fortunately harmlessly. Below, Korosensei slid back, gouging a huge channel through the earth as we fell down.
We all started to pick ourselves up off the ground. "My ears," Yada moaned. I tried to get to my feet, but the world swayed around me and I staggered drunkenly before toppling over and catching myself on my hands and knees.
"That was a sonic boom," Yanagisawa observed, hands folded in his sleeves. "His tentacles have an initial velocity of Mach 2. Their top speed, however..."
The Reaper blurred behind Korosensei, then around the octopus. I tried to keep track of what was going on, but I could barely see Korosensei when the octopus moved; I had no chance here.
"...is Mach 40!"
I frowned. So... So it's just double. Just double what Korosensei can do. That's. That's it. His stats are doubled.
Okay. Cool. I guess.
Couldn't you have just said that and saved us all your stupid, end-boss monologue? I mean we can all tell you're the final boss, just give it a rest already.
The Reaper, with his much higher initial velocity, was easily able to run rings around Korosensei, slamming blows into our teacher. Each tentacle 'punch' was accompanied by a whip crack and Korosensei's grunt of pain.
"H-How is that even possible?" Okajima asked as we watched the Reaper rain blows down on Korosensei.
"In short, his basic performance level is doubled," Yanagisawa said. Seriously, that's so much easier, why couldn't you have just said that in the first place? "The tentacles amplify Two Point Oh's ungodly kinetic vision and intuition. He's readily adaptable to a supersonic world. Unlike some people," Yanagisawa sneered, "he took to his tentacles with ease. He shares that in common with version One Point Oh."
The Reaper closed in on Korosensei, dashing back and forth I could really only see a black blur until he was right in front of Korosensei. His head smashed into the octopus, knocking Korosensei into the air. "Korosensei!" Nagisa shouted.
Midair wasn't an escape from the Reaper either; the Reaper's head tentacles stretched out and started lashing Korosensei, each one cracking like a whip as it struck. "The most significant difference, though, is that his tentacles, quite unlike yours and those of the octopus, aren't designed for sustained use." My eyes flicked over to Kayano, before being forced back to Korosensei as the octopus thrashed in midair. "He requires no upkeep, rendering him effectively disposable. In exchange for being given three months to live, he can tap continuously into unthinkable reservoirs of strength. Oh," Yanagisawa added brightly, "and his expiration date does not come with an explosion."
The Reaper leapt into the air to pummel Korosensei, knocking our teacher downwards to the ground where the assault continued. "Gya ha ha ha!" Yanagisawa laughed. "Efficient, deadly, sustainable, and safe."
"Why do you always have to do this?" Kayano shouted. Yanagisawa turned to her. "Why do you always have to hurt people? Do your own dirty work for once!"
Yanagisawa stared at her, and his eyes changed. Before, they'd held mad, deranged glee at watching his creation beat Korosensei. After Kayano shouted at him, though, his eyes went flat. "You think I'm not willing to?" he asked, pulling back his hood.
He jabbed a syringe in his neck.
We all gasped as we watched a sparkling blue serum get injected into his neck. Instantly, his veins started turning a deep blue, almost black, spreading rapidly up and down from the injection point. "You think I'm not prepared to meet my own demise?" Yanagisawa asked, lips tilted up in a cruel smile. "Come now, that's very naive." His almost pleasant manner of speaking roughened and deepened.
"What did he just do?!" Sugaya exclaimed.
Okuda covered her mouth. "Oh no..."
Yanagisawa threw his white robes off with a flourish, revealing a simple white tanktop underneath. His entire body was crawling with deep, bruise-colored veins, and his arms were twitching and distorting unnaturally. "I no longer give a damn whether I live or die," Yanagisawa said. "Everything I care for was stolen from me long ago. I'm merely a collection of muscle fibers, joints, nerves... Fertile ground for tentacle implantation."
Gross, dude.
"No," Yanagisawa said, "an empty temple where god-like powers can thrive! As long as I strategically implant tentacle cells, I will gain superhuman strength whilst maintaining my human functions!"
He blurred across the field. Fast! Not as fast as Korosensei, his body was still somewhat human it seemed, but still incredibly, incredibly fast. "Know this, guinea pig!" he shouted at Korosensei. His prosthetic eye shined with a violet light, and Korosensei stiffened. The light that hardens Korosensei's cells and slows him down. "Your death will haunt these children for the rest of their Earthly existence!"
The Reaper appeared in front of him, and struck with a pair of incredibly fast tentacles.
With an explosive crack, Korosensei managed to deflect the tentacles enough that they passed harmlessly over his head. "Listen to me, class," Korosensei said. "There is something I neglected to mention in my earlier lesson. A clever assassin may avoid confrontation for a while... but sooner or later the fight will come." I stared at Yanagisawa, standing next to the Reaper. "When it does, every last ounce of strength will be put to the test," Korosensei ground out. "In my case... That would be now!"
The final boss appears! Nick is, almost immediately, done with his shit.
The first half of this (pre-escape) isn't all that exciting, but it's to be expected. Nick's already gone through a lot of what the E Class students are finding as novel; being pitied by strangers that didn't know anything was something he had to deal with after Aincrad. It's part of the reason he 1) doesn't talk about being in Aincrad all that much, and 2) put so much effort into getting healthy and fit again, so that there weren't any physical signs.
The assault on the mountain has been in the works for a while. I knew that I wanted Nick to get a chance to stretch his muscles and show off just a little bit; alone, he wiped out a sixth of the Wolfpack and fought Houjou hand-to-hand for twenty-one seconds. (that doesn't sound like much but in the manga Houjou brags that he will end any fight under twenty seconds, so…) In the end, of course, everyone teams up to smash their way through the Divine Soldier and then meet Korosensei.
Yanagisawa is Yanagisawa, there's really not much else to say. Dude's a dick. Nick hates him because he's similar to Sugou. The only real difference being, where Sugou was an idiot with a puffed-up ego, Yanagisawa is dangerous, so Nick is a little bit more on edge around him. Of course, Yanagisawa hasn't threatened to rape one of Nick's sisters, so he's not on the shit list just yet.
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.