"Why is Ooka… here…?"
Yuigahama Yui's voice gradually softened. In the hallway, a boy with chestnut hair was hunched over, stumbling toward them like a zombie from a movie—his movements stiff, his eyes bloodshot.
"What's wrong with him?"
Even as an ordinary person, Yuigahama Yui could tell he was acting strangely and asked with concern.
She wanted to go over and ask, thinking that he was, after all, a classmate, but Yukinoshita Yukino grabbed her wrist.
"Step back, Yuigahama."
Yukinoshita Yukino said seriously, "Ooka is dangerous right now."
"D-Dangerous?"
Yuigahama had never seen such a serious expression on her face. Instinctively, she let Yukinoshita pull her behind her.
Cursed energy seeped out from him, mixed with an aura of malice. His crimson eyes reflected the figure of the dark-haired girl, as if his mind was consumed by a curse.
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the pink-haired girl beside her, who looked lost and confused. "Hikigaya, take Yuigahama and leave this place."
"I got it."
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded and quickly stepped back.
But just then, Ooka suddenly moved.
One moment he was shuffling like an old man; the next, he charged at Yukinoshita Yukino with unbelievable speed. Hikigaya Hachiman, caught between them, was struck by Ooka's arm, which swung like a hammer, and sent him flying.
All Hikigaya could do was raise his arm to block, but the force threw him through the hallway window, and he fell down from the floor above.
…No way. Again???
Staring at the familiar yellowish sky, Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes looked lifeless.
"Hikki!?"
Seeing Hikigaya Hachiman flung out of the building, Yuigahama Yui instinctively let out a scream.
But Ooka didn't stop. His eyes were locked onto Yukinoshita Yukino alone. After days of torment from constant whispers echoing in his head, and with both his twisted soul and the curse affecting him, all that remained in his mind was pure, murderous intent toward the girl before him.
He moved quickly, but he still couldn't escape Yukinoshita Yukino's watchful eyes. The moment he entered her range, she delivered a sidekick to him, making it look as if Ooka had flung himself onto her kick.
The impact sent Ooka flying back as fast as he had charged forward.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yuigahama Yui ran to the window and anxiously looked down.
There, she saw Hikigaya Hachiman lying sprawled out on the ground below, with blood at the corner of his mouth, giving her a thumbs-up.
During the fall, Hikigaya Hachiman had used cursed energy to protect himself. Besides the blood he spat out from the impact, he was mostly fine.
Although she didn't understand how he had survived falling from the fourth floor without serious injury, seeing he was okay made Yuigahama Yui breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
"Yuigahama, get behind me."
Yukinoshita Yukino said this as she walked toward the figure of Okamoto, who had just stood back up.
"Alright..."
Yuigahama Yui glanced down at Hikigaya Hachiman below. After confirming that he had managed to get up, she jogged over to stand behind Yukinoshita Yukino. "Um, Yukinon… what exactly is going on here?"
"I'll explain after this is over."
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed helplessly. Hiding the truth any longer was clearly impossible, but for now, her main concern was to make sure Okamoto lost his ability to fight.
Okamoto, who had just gotten back up, didn't attack again. Instead, he hunched over, and his school uniform on his back began to ripple in a disturbing way.
With a loud tearing sound, long, thin limbs started to sprout from his back, anchoring themselves into the ground. There were eight of them, lifting his entire body off the ground. Looking closely, coarse bristles could be seen on each of the limbs.
"Are those… spider legs?"
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned. Hayashizaki had mentioned he wasn't a spirit but a sorcerer—was this his technique? But wasn't Okamoto supposed to be a regular person? How did he suddenly awaken both curse energy and a technique? Was he like Hikigaya somehow? And what about the curse he carried...
A human… growing spider legs!?
The girl with the bun hairstyle looked on in horror at the disturbing sight before her, until she rolled her eyes and fainted from fright.
Yukinoshita Yukino was still pondering the strange changes in Okamoto when she heard a faint thud behind her.
"Yuigahama? Did she faint…"
Just as she was wondering how to handle the unconscious Yuigahama Yui, a breathless Hikigaya Hachiman managed to climb back up the stairs.
"Yuigahama passed out from shock. Take her and leave—I'll handle things here."
Yukinoshita Yukino instructed.
"Alright."
Hikigaya Hachiman then picked up the unconscious Yuigahama and began his descent down the stairs.
Without any distraction, Yukinoshita Yukino was finally able to focus on the enemy in front of her and openly converse with Hayashizaki. "Parasite-kun, Ooka and Hikigaya both ordinary people who just suddenly awakened curse energy, right?"
"No."
Hayashizaki narrowed his eyes, carefully observing Okamoto, who was temporarily motionless. "It's the effect of a technique. Someone must have tampered with him."
Temporarily in spirit form and sharing Yukinoshita Yukino's body, Hayashizaki could also sense others' souls. Okamoto's soul showed slight signs of distortion.
He recognized this technique from the system's list of technique exchanges.
"The technique is called 'Soul Transformation.' It works by reshaping the soul through physical contact, whether it's someone else's or the user's own."
Hayashizaki explained.
Transforming a person's soul to give them curse energy and techniques—that's actually a pretty ingenious idea. The Okamoto standing before them was, more than likely, a failed product.
"This boy won't last much longer."
He said.
"What?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"The curse has almost spread through his entire body, and the soul modification didn't go well. It's only a matter of time before he dies."
Hayashizaki said coldly. "His mind is likely affected, too—it wouldn't be surprising if what's moving this body isn't even Ooka anymore."
"After being taught a lesson by you, he must have encountered the curse sorcerer or curse spirit who tampered with him. It's possible that the curse was also inflicted afterward."
Hayashizaki analyzed.
"To treat people as experimental subjects and mess with them like that, what a person with a twisted sense of fun."
"How could this happen…"
Yukinoshita Yukino bit her lip, her gaze flickering slightly.
She had known for a while that in this world, where curses exist, ordinary people who encounter curse spirits or sorcerers generally don't have a good outcome.
But knowing it in theory and seeing it happen to those around her still made it feel incredibly absurd and unreal.
However, one thing that would never change was her intense anger toward those who did such things.
"Yuki... Yukinoshita..."
Looking at Yukinoshita Yukino, who had her head lowered and her fists clenched, Ooka spoke in a broken, hoarse voice, as if a robot had suddenly lost power.
"Quick... run..."
The black-haired girl took a deep breath to calm herself, then raised her head and looked at the boy with chestnut-colored hair. She spoke seriously, "I will save you, Ooka-kun."
Seemingly understanding the meaning behind her words, Ooka weakly lowered his head. His body twisted mid-air, and the eight spider legs quickly moved, charging toward Yukinoshita Yukino.
Yukinoshita Yukino extended her hand, sending an invisible slash that cut through four of the spider legs. Ooka, still in mid-charge, lost his balance and fell to the ground, sliding toward her along the hallway.
The girl immediately rushed forward, ready to take advantage of the situation. However, as she neared the fallen Ooka, her instincts screamed a warning.
The broken spider legs suddenly emerged again from his back, their sharp ends glistening with a dark sheen, likely laced with poison that would quickly spread if they pierced her.
The regenerated spider legs aimed directly at Yukinoshita Yukino, but she halted her charge, leaping backward just in time to avoid the attack.
The floor tiles were pierced, cracking to reveal the bare concrete beneath.
"Regenerated?"
Yukinoshita Yukino looked in surprise at the four newly grown limbs behind Ooka, thankful that she had avoided them. Even with Hayashizaki helping her heal, a hit would have been excruciating.
"No, they must have been reconstructed."
Hayashizaki corrected her. "This is his technique. If you observe carefully, you'll see those spider legs are made from curse energy."
"I see now."
"In battles between sorcerers, information can give you a big advantage. You must observe carefully and analyze."
Hayashizaki instructed, "Sorcerers with similar strength can often gain the upper hand by learning their opponent's technique first and making targeted attacks."
"Of course, if it's a technique that doesn't mind being exposed to the enemy, you can reveal it on purpose, using it as a [constraint] to increase your curse energy and the effectiveness of your technique."
"I understand."
Yukinoshita Yukino nodded and took a fighting stance again.
Ooka, now enveloped by spider legs, charged toward her. He climbed the walls to the ceiling and launched an attack from above.
Ooka, suspended in midair, had eight spider legs behind him, now clumped together and pointing downwards like drill bits, aiming at the girl below.
Yukinoshita Yukino once again unleashed a cursed energy-infused slash, cutting off the spider legs. The slash continued forward, striking Ooka in the chest and sending him crashing into the ceiling, blood spraying out.
The ceiling tiles shattered on impact, and Yukinoshita Yukino quickly dodged the falling debris.
A loud crashing sound echoed above. The ceiling continued to fall, piece by piece, chasing her. At the end of the hallway, Yukinoshita Yukino, unable to keep running, turned and leaped upward with a bend of her knees.
Her fist broke through the falling ceiling while she sliced through the oncoming spider legs. Grabbing Ooka by the collar with one hand, she pressed the other onto his chest.
"Rest in peace."
She spoke softly.
Instead of using a slash spell, she used cursed energy to swiftly crush Ooka's heart, leaving his body intact.
The limbs, still in the process of being remade, halted as the caster died, quickly turning into black cursed energy that scattered like dark embers in the air.
Yukinoshita Yukino gently lowered the corpse to the ground.
With a look of compassion, she gazed at Ooka's wide, bloodshot eyes. Silently, she reached out and closed them, covering his face.
As his eyes closed, the tense expression on his face eased, as if he had fallen into a peaceful sleep.
"Until the end, he was struggling against the curse on him, wasn't he?"
Recalling Ooka's painful words, urging her to escape, Yukinoshita Yukino sighed heavily.
"Ah, for an ordinary person, he really tried his best," said Hayashizaki.
Not long after, hurried, almost floating footsteps echoed from the stairwell at the end of the hallway. Hikigaya Hachiman, out of breath, appeared at the top of the stairs.
"I've sent Yuigahama to the nurse's office. How's the situation here?"
As soon as he spoke, he saw the chestnut-haired boy lying silently with his eyes closed on the ground.
After a brief silence, Yukinoshita Yukino softly spoke, "Thank you for your hard work, Hikigaya-kun."
"It's nothing."
Hikigaya Hachiman responded truthfully.
He really hadn't done much—mostly just climbed the stairs while carrying Yuigahama.
Then, as Yukinoshita Yukino explained the situation to Hikigaya, she had Hayashizaki use a reversal spell to treat his injuries. His body, which had been aching, was immediately restored to full health.
"Thanks, that fall really hurt."
He said, casting a heavy glance at Ooka's body on the ground. "What do we do next?"
Even though he disliked Hayama and his group, it was just dislike—not so dark as to feel relief at their death.
Seeing a classmate die right before his eyes was unsettling for anyone.
Thanks to Yukinoshita Yukino not destroying Ooka's body, Hikigaya Hachiman was able to hold himself together.
"Let's contact Ijichi."
Yukinoshita Yukino returned to the service club, pulled out her phone, and dialed Ijichi Kiyotaka's number.
The call was answered quickly. After explaining the situation, he said he would send someone from the Chiba office to handle things, while he himself would take a train there.
Twenty minutes later, as students left school after their club activities, several men in suits entered Soubu High, under the curious gazes of the students.
...
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