This mission was beyond belief; they actually tasked the class leader with assaulting girls from other classes. The entire class was abuzz, each person showing evident surprise.
"Surely not! How could our class leader do such a thing?"
"But if we refuse, we'll end up dead, just like Iago and Catori."
Listening to the murmurs around, the class leader stood up, pale-faced, and addressed us firmly, "Everyone, calm down. I have something to say."
As his words settled, the class grew silent. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "We can't continue like this. The Gatekeeper treats us like slaves, manipulating us as he pleases."
"If we don't stop now, he'll keep demanding horrific things from us. So, I've made up my mind."
With that, he looked around the room and declared, "I refuse to carry out this mission. I won't degrade girls from other classes, even if it costs me my life. I will not yield!"
His words were met with applause from the class; almost everyone applauded spontaneously, eyes filled with admiration.
Even I couldn't help but admire the class leader's noble act, despite not being that type of person myself. No wonder he became the class leader. Truly remarkable.
After finishing, he returned to his seat without looking at us. The classmates murmured to each other, faces contorted with resentment. "I've decided, I'll follow the class leader's lead!"
"Yeah, let's unite. We can't let the Gatekeeper continue to dictate us."
"Absolutely, even if it means death, we won't submit!"
"Never submit!"With these resolute voices, fists were raised in unison. Yet, I couldn't shake a sense of irony witnessing this scene, a feeling I couldn't quite grasp myself.
Donato patted my shoulder at that moment, gritting his teeth, "The class leader's a real man. It had to be done."
"If you were in his shoes, would you do it?" I asked him.
Donato hesitated, then shook his head, offering an explanation.
I smiled faintly, glancing at the class leader and whispered, "I hope he won't let us down."
Later, during the break, we all left the room. Before leaving, I glanced back; only the class leader remained seated. Head bowed, he seemed to be wrestling intensely, his expression alternating between pale and conflicted. It looked like he was making a difficult decision.
Perplexed, I glanced at him and walked away.
When I reached the playground, I found the classmates discussing with troubled expressions, clearly uneasy.
"We have to find a way to locate the Gatekeeper," Cornelia said.
"But how do we find her?" someone immediately asked.
"I've already found out. The Gatekeeper might be Taigi. I know where Taigi lives," Cornelia said triumphantly.
"Oh, that's great news," another girl remarked.
"After school, let's go check it out," Cornelia suggested.
Alxe was quietly listening beside me, while I pondered in my mind. Since I knew Taigi's home, perhaps I could figure out the cause of her death. Then I could find a way to eradicate her.
Just as I was thinking this, Mathilda hurriedly approached me. She tugged at my sleeve, her face pale. "Um, Alxe, I need to talk to you."
"What's the matter?" I asked, puzzled, looking at her.
"Don't ask questions, just come with me," Mathilda said, biting her lip nervously and motioning for me to follow.
I nodded and followed her away from the playground. To my surprise, Mathilda led me to a spot beside the girls' restroom.
Seeing this, I felt strange and couldn't help but ask her.
But she didn't answer. Instead, she just pulled me to an empty space beside the restroom. There, she pointed towards an abandoned toilet and whispered, "Go and take a look."
I gave her a curious glance. The place she pointed to was deserted, usually devoid of people.
Nevertheless, I went over as instructed. To my surprise, as I approached, I heard a woman crying, accompanied by a man's heavy breathing.
"Please, let me go. I won't tell anyone," the woman pleaded.
"Heh heh, that's absolutely not going to happen."
"Please, I beg you. It's impossible for me to let you go."
"I've already said, absolutely not."
Alongside the rough male voice, I suddenly froze because it sounded familiar. After a moment's thought, I was shocked. Wasn't this voice the class leader's?
Why would he be in such a remote place with a girl?
Suddenly, it dawned on me. Incredulously, I watched the scene unfold before me, unsure of what to feel.
Meanwhile, the man's voice grew louder while the girl's sobbing became more pronounced.
"Heh heh, this feeling is quite something. Why didn't I think of this before?" the man's voice continued to exclaim. Meanwhile, the girl's voice grew weaker and weaker.
At this point, I gritted my teeth and rushed in.
Upon entering, I was immediately stunned. Before me, the class leader was embracing a girl like a demon. The girl looked disheveled, tears streaking her face, bruises visible all over her body.
It was clear how violently the class leader treated this girl.
The girl was barely holding up, lying on the ground. But the class leader didn't relent. He coldly laughed, slapping her across the face while his eyes turned towards me.
When he saw me, his face noticeably froze, but then he quickly said, "So you've discovered it after all."
"Is this your doing? Weren't you adamantly refusing just moments ago?" I scoffed.
"Initially, that's what I intended. But you don't understand, as my death draws nearer, I feel more and more pain. Eventually, I couldn't bear it anymore. I had no choice." The class leader's face twisted as he spoke, visibly trembling.
From his trembling figure, I could sense his fear. After all, the most painful thing for a person isn't death itself, but the process leading up to it.
Still, I couldn't help but feel sorrowful. How could the class leader, who had always been righteous, commit such a heinous act? He clearly and convincingly refused initially, yet behind everyone's back, he resorted to such shameful deeds.
"Even if you say that, it doesn't change the fact that you're a rapist," I looked at him and walked away.
The class leader's expression remained unchanged. He just kept shouting desperately, seemingly trying to justify himself, "Even if I did this, I'll only get a few years. If I die, then it'll be over."
I left without a word, and after I left, I saw Mathilda, who looked pale. Her eyes met mine, and she said in a frightened voice, "I only found out by accident. He threatened a girl with a knife and brought her here."
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this," I shook my head, feeling a chill in my heart.
"What are you going to do?" Mathilda asked, lowering her head.
"I don't need to do anything. He'll be punished by someone," I shook my head and walked away. In the afternoon, as I expected, the police arrived. This time, they acted swiftly. The class leader was soon identified as the culprit and approved for arrest.
When the police arrested him, the whole classroom erupted. Many couldn't believe that the class leader could do such a thing.
But with the victim's identification, the truth came to light. As everyone learned about it, they were outraged.
"How is this possible? The class leader actually did such a thing!"
"This bastard was so adamant about refusing in the first place, and now he did this himself."
"With ironclad evidence like this, he can't argue his way out."
Amidst everyone's disdainful gaze, the class leader was handcuffed and taken away, hanging his head without a word. From his expression, he showed no remorse, but rather seemed relieved.
As he said, a few years for rape isn't much compared to life itself.
At this moment, Liz rushed out and shouted at the class leader, "You hypocrite, get lost. You're bound to have a bad end sooner or later."
After saying this, she collapsed in tears at her desk. Seeing this situation, everyone felt helpless.
Everyone knew Liz had a secret crush on the class leader. Now, things had become so complicated.
After the class leader left, the turmoil in the class didn't settle. At this point, Cornelia stood up and told everyone he had decided to visit Taigi's house, hoping to find out more.
At that moment, several others also stepped forward, deciding to go together. I was among them.
However, by this time, it was quite clear to me that the mentality within the class was undergoing a transformation. What was once a united front was now crumbling after the departure of the class leader.
Perhaps this was exactly what the gatekeeper of the underworld intended—she wanted to divide us, making it impossible for the class to unite again.
Despite this, we had no choice. The class leader's departure taught us that, for survival, people are willing to do anything, even commit crimes.