Ailiss persists in staring us down like a lion sizing up its prey.
"Not a fan of the musical selection? I thought this might be my only chance to play it over the school speakers, considering the school will return to normal operations soon," I comment.
"Enough with the pointless chatter. So, how many 'soldiers' have you brought for me to kill today?"
"For now, you'll have to settle for just the two of us. However, I'll warn you—you won't kill anyone else," I respond.
"I won't kill? And who's going to stop me? You two?" She closes her eyes and laughs. "Every time someone's made that declaration, they've failed. If I can even call such miserable attempts failures. Shall I remind you of the pathetic excuses for war you've waged against me?"
Unfortunately, she doesn't need to remind us. That's precisely what concerns me. However, this pattern of her anticipating our every move must inevitably be broken today. Since we've withheld more information than before, I'm confident no spy or supernatural means has clued her in this time.
"There's no need. We're well aware of what you're capable of," I say.
"I'm very disappointed in your recklessness. What kind of entertainment could you possibly offer me? You're at an overwhelming disadvantage," she says, standing and displaying her weapons. "I think I've greatly overestimated the two of you. With your track record of failures, you should have prepared better—not that it would change the outcome anyway."
"You are oversimplifying things," Mikoto interjects. "Just because you are armed does not mean you are at an advantage. This is two players against one, and it seems you have no one to sacrifice alongside you. At most, you could kill one of us, but you would pay with your own life. The mechanics of this game have always made it clear that working alone is a disadvantage."
"I've already told you this game has been altered. I can kill both of you and still leave here alive," Ailiss counters.
"It is written all over your face that you are bluffing. There is no way to tamper with a millennia-old black magic technique like this. Do you really expect me to believe such a brazen lie? If you are going to lie, at least make it believable," Mikoto replies.
"If you don't believe me, you'll see I'm right when I kill your beloved, and nothing happens to me. I don't need to convince you of anything. Time will prove me right. In fact, I'll show you now." She releases the safety on her weapon.
Ailiss continues to insist on her claim. I hope she's merely prolonging her bluff. But if she's telling the truth, we're in deep trouble.
"That is not going to happen," Mikoto says. "Let us make this fair. Johann and I will use these during our confrontation to compensate for the supposed advantage we have." She pulls two black cloths from her coat pocket.
I take one and, like Mikoto, blindfold myself.
"This has to be a joke. Are you mocking me? You barely stand a chance against me without blindfolds, and now you're making it even worse. Have your brains fried from realizing there's no way to defeat me?" Ailiss sneers.
"We will give you five seconds to surrender. Drop your weapons, and we will not hurt you," Mikoto says as she moves toward the windows.
Ailiss laughs coldly. "Have our roles reversed in your head? Come and take them if you think you can."
Mikoto yanks the curtains covering the small windows at the top of the basement. A sudden burst of light floods the room, so intense I can perceive it even through the blindfold.
"What the hell is this light?" Ailiss grumbles.
This is where our plan goes into action. During yesterday's fight, I noticed she could seemingly anticipate every move as if she could see a few seconds into the future. The only way to defeat her is to disrupt this ability.
Miyu and Manabu adjusted the gym lights to shine through the small windows. We positioned Ailiss precisely where this would work. Now, it's Haruki's turn to act.
The basement lights go out, leaving only the glaring brightness from the windows. Mikoto and I remove our blindfolds. Unlike Ailiss, our dilated pupils allow us to see reasonably well in the dark.
"So that's your plan? I hate to disappoint you, but I can fight without seeing! Not relying on vision is a prerequisite for an assassin. I've been in similar situations many times before," Ailiss exclaims.
"Apparently, you are the naive one. Do not declare victory prematurely. I know your combat abilities well enough to admit we could not defeat you even in the worst conditions. But how many opponents can you handle in this state?" Mikoto retorts.
As Mikoto finishes speaking, Manabu, Haruki, and the remaining students under Natsuki's command, who had already infiltrated the basement, emerge from behind the shelves and join me in attacking Ailiss.
If our assumption that she's bluffing is correct, she can't fire her weapon, as there's a significant risk of hitting Mikoto or me. This forces her to rely solely on her fists.
We advance from all directions, but even with just her hearing, she deftly dodges our punches and kicks.
Her combat skills are truly remarkable. The title of professional assassin is no exaggeration.
I can't land a single hit on her. Even without her vision, only Mikoto might be able to match her. But I don't want to put Mikoto in danger again. Still, I confirm my theory: she's refraining from using her weapons—it's all a bluff.
Manabu charges at her with a flying kick. The difference between a sedentary otaku and a professional assassin becomes clear. Ailiss sidesteps and grabs his legs, spinning and hurling him into the other attackers.
With this human projectile, she takes down a significant portion of our battalion.
However, Manabu's attack wasn't in vain.
Taking advantage of her lowered guard, Haruki leaps and attempts a hammer strike with both arms. She can't dodge this time and is forced to block, only to kick him in the stomach.
I'm sorry, Manabu, Haruki. For making you endure this again, even though you haven't fully recovered from yesterday. But your efforts to keep her hands occupied will not be in vain.
Our attack would have failed if I hadn't masked the sound of my steps amidst the others, sneaking close enough to land a punch—not on her, but on her gun barrel.
The torque from my strike causes the revolver to slip from her hand and fall to the ground. I kick it away in a random direction to distance her from one of her weapons.
"How dare you touch my weapon?" she growls, kicking the back of my knee.
Her blow knocks me down at her feet. However, I've completed my part of the plan. Victory is practically guaranteed. Her arrogance was her undoing.
"It is over. We have won. Now, you have nowhere to run. We outnumber you and hold one of your firearms. You have no advantage left," Mikoto says, picking up the weapon from the floor.
"I wouldn't be so sure. I still have my machine gun. I might even congratulate you for disarming me, but you took too long. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness now, so your mediocre plan is useless," Ailiss retorts.
Knowing her, I'm sure she won't give up easily. Still, a weight in my chest compels me to make one last attempt to persuade her, hoping for a different ending.
"Ailiss, please, surrender. Maybe we can find a way—" I start, but she interrupts me with a powerful punch to my stomach.
"Shut up! You always ruin everything! Mistkerl!" she shouts in German, striking me again, this time in the face, knocking me to the ground.
It should hurt more, but something distracts me from the physical pain. I glimpse an image that doesn't seem real.
Am I imagining things? Is this nonsense? Did the impact make me delirious?
"I will not repeat myself," Mikoto says, narrowing her eyes. "Another misstep and you'll face the consequences. Drop your weapon and stop resisting."
"And what can you do against me? Your life is too precious to risk shooting, isn't it, Madam President? If you didn't value yourself so much, none of us would be here in the first place," Ailiss retorts.
Why do I feel such bitterness? She's undoubtedly my enemy, trying to kill all of us, including Mikoto. Yet it hurts so much to know I couldn't save her.
"You were hasty in assuming that. Who said I would be the one to pull the trigger?" Mikoto takes two steps to the side and hands the weapon to Natsuki, who had been hiding behind her. "Failing to predict this is what led to your downfall."
Ailiss, seeing Natsuki's tear-streaked face filled with rage and aiming directly at her, tries to attack first with the machine gun. However, it's too late.
"YOU WRETCH! DIE!" she screams. Since her weapon has a silencer, her shouts substitute for the noise of gunfire.
The bullet cuts through the air in an instant and pierces Ailiss's chest before she can mount any counterattack.
For a few seconds, she stands frozen, staring at the hole in her torso.
She could barely comprehend that the one to end her life would be the fragile, unbalanced Natsuki. Only when the crimson liquid begins to flow, staining her uniform, does the fierce assassin collapse to her knees.
She turns toward me and then falls entirely to the floor.
Seeing her shot and bleeding out, only one message echoes in my mind: I failed.
Why am I thinking this?
'Failed, failed again. Again?'
On impulse, I get up and run to her fallen body. I sit on the dusty floor beside her, turn her body over to expose the severe wound and lift her face onto my lap.
For the last time, I watch as her crimson eyes slowly close.
As I see her departing this world, the strange, suffocating sensation intensifies. It feels as though a part of me is dying with her. Some connection between us makes it feel as though a fragment of my soul is being carried away by death.
How could we possibly share this kind of connection? I still can't believe it's merely mental manipulation; if that were the case, the enchantment should die along with her.
Studying her face and eyelashes in the darkness, I notice something that further deepens my sentimentality.
A tear?
"Natsuki-chan!" Haruki rushes toward Natsuki.
So preoccupied with Ailiss, I hadn't noticed why Haruki is panicking. Right after the shot, Natsuki also collapsed and is now coughing up blood. From this, I realize that the game's rules are indeed valid after all.
"I did it; I avenged Keiko. Haruki-kun, I did it!" Natsuki says, trying to muster a victorious smile while coughing up blood.
"Don't say another word! Save your strength! We'll find a way to save you!" Haruki pleads, trying to assist her.
But there's nothing to be done. She soon collapses entirely. Inevitably, she'll share the same tragic fate as Ailiss.
Haruki was the only one not informed of this outcome beforehand. He likely would have opposed the sacrifice of yet another friend, even if she volunteered willingly.
"Someone help her!" he continues shouting. "Why did you do this, Natsuki-chan?!"
The other students around us move toward her in a futile attempt to save her, but I don't even consider Haruki's plea. Not just because I don't feel much attachment to the girl in question but because, strangely, I have such intense emotions for the girl in my arms—the one who, just moments ago, was my enemy.