Haruto's disappointed and disdainful attitude successfully enraged the group of men in black.
"Kid, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for meddling! Die!"
The leader of the group charged forward, bringing his machete down fiercely at Haruto. Judging by his ruthless strike, he wasn't just some street thug.
However, to Haruto, they were all the same.
The descending machete moved so slowly that it almost made him yawn. Raising his hand, he easily caught the man's wrist.
The downward force of the machete stopped abruptly in midair.
Then, Haruto exerted a little strength.
A crisp crack echoed.
The man's wrist instantly shattered, blood splattering everywhere, exposing white bone fragments. With a metallic clang, the machete fell to the ground.
The man let out a bloodcurdling scream.
His wrist had been crushed entirely, the pain nearly making him pass out. The blood that splattered onto Haruto's hand quickly seeped into his skin.
Haruto scanned through the man's memories.
As expected, the group behind these thugs wasn't even on the same level as the four major financial conglomerates.
They were just part of an underground gang from Chiba.
Barely better than common thugs.
Something even Inspector Megure could handle. In fact, these guys didn't even know Kaguya's true identity.
They were simply sent here to carry out an attack.
The trail of clues ended there. Unless Haruto raided the gang's headquarters and devoured their leader, he wouldn't find out who was behind it all.
The wailing continued.
Behind Haruto, Hayasaka Ai twitched slightly at the gruesome scene.
Meanwhile, Kaguya, still blindfolded by Hayasaka Ai's hand, could only hear the harrowing screams. Despite her strong will, she was trembling with unease. Her mind kept conjuring terrifying images of herself being attacked.
After all, she couldn't imagine how Haruto could possibly handle an entire group of armed men by himself.
Haruto thought for a moment, then made a decision.
He twisted the man's neck to the right, ending the endless screaming. With a thud, the corpse collapsed to the ground.
The horrific scene left the remaining gang members too scared to advance.
They had attacked and even killed people before, sure. But they had never seen anyone kill like this.
A single squeeze, and the bones shattered.
A single twist, and the neck snapped like a twig.
As Haruto turned his gaze toward them—
The entire group instinctively took two steps back.
Haruto, however, made no further move.
Blood dripped from his fingertips, and with a flick of his hand, it turned into a crimson mist. The mist rapidly spread toward the gang members.
"Run for your lives!"
Someone, overcome with terror, screamed.
The men in black scrambled, tripping over each other in a desperate attempt to escape.
But it was too late.
The blood mist had already engulfed them.
It didn't even require them to breathe it in.
The moment it touched their skin, it seeped directly into their bodies.
Haruto snapped his fingers.
The group of people who had just been trying to escape suddenly froze in place, standing still with vacant eyes.
Assimilation, or rather, degradation.
Their bodies had been invaded by blood containing the Blacklight Virus. These people had now become puppets at Haruto's disposal.
He could even alter their genetic sequences, physical structures, and brain memories. Most of their memories were wiped clean, leaving only basic knowledge.
Then, he implanted the behavioral protocols of D-Class personnel and the SCP Foundation's personnel reception location.
Soon, in a daze, these people walked out of the alley together.
They were heading to the Foundation to report in, where they would become D-Class personnel, dedicating themselves to protecting humanity.
Hayasaka Ai watched this scene, feeling a chill run down her spine.
This kind of domination was far more terrifying than simply killing them outright. The gradually fading sounds left the blindfolded Kaguya in confusion.
What happened?
"It's already fine now."
Haruto turned around and smiled at the two of them.
Hayasaka Ai felt like crying.
Compared to these small fry, the scummy president was clearly a much greater threat. But right now, she was powerless to do anything. Hayasaka Ai could only release her hand.
As her vision returned, Kaguya hurriedly looked around.
However, the black-clad men who had filled the alley just moments ago had all vanished without a trace.
Only one person remained lying on the ground, clearly lifeless.
Meanwhile, the boy named Haruto showed no signs of having fought at all, his clothes were still perfectly neat.
What was going on?
Doubt crept into Kaguya's heart.
'Could it be that these people were actually arranged by this guy? A staged hero-saving-the-beauty act to gain favor?'
Kaguya was used to assuming the worst of others.
But soon, she dismissed that thought.
Haruto'a background wasn't strong enough to infiltrate the Shinomiya family and track her movements.
So… what really happened?
Kaguya turned to Hayasaka Ai, hoping for an explanation. But when she looked over, she saw her personal maid exchanging meaningful glances with the boy.
Kaguya's mood instantly soured.
As expected, her maid had already been blinded by love.
Meanwhile, Hayasaka Ai was indeed negotiating with Haruto through eye contact. Who knew how they managed to converse using just their eyes?
But the rough exchange went as follows:
Hayasaka Ai: 'Requesting the use of D-Class memory wipe on a civilian.'
Haruto: 'Request denied.'
Hayasaka Ai: '?'
Haruto: '!'
Hayasaka Ai: 'President, please don't lay a hand on the young lady, I'm begging you.'
Haruto: 'I'll try my best.'
"Hello, Takamine-kun. I'm Shinomiya Kaguya, a friend of Hayasaka Ai. She often talks about you when we chat."
Kaguya suddenly stepped between the two, cutting off their exchange, and extended her hand toward Haruto.
She was about to execute her plan.
Make Haruto fall for her, make him confess, bring him under her control, and take back Hayasaka Ai.
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
Hayasaka Ai talked about him?
Unlikely.
However, Haruto still smiled and extended his hand shaking Kaguya's.
"Nice to meet you, Shinomiya-san."
Kaguya flashed a perfect smile, her eyes seemingly twinkling with admiration (acting).
"Thank you, Takamine-kun, for lending a helping hand. If those people had surrounded us, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Arigato."
"It was just a small effort." Haruto shook his head. "No need to remember it, Shinomiya-san."
Looking at the boy's sunny smile and feeling the warmth of his hand, Kaguya suddenly felt her body temperature rise, her heart pounding.
Even more intense than when she had been running away just moments ago!
'What's going on?'
Kaguya was puzzled by her own reaction.
Right. didn't that magazine say that when you meet someone you like, your heart beats faster, and your face gets hot?
'Could this be… love at first sight?'
Kaguya felt like she was going crazy.
Just then, voices came from the other side of the alley; it was the Shinomiya family's security personnel.
As if electrocuted, Kaguya quickly withdrew her hand.
"Uh… Takamine-kun, we'll be leaving now. Goodbye!"
Kaguya's face was visibly red. In a fluster, she grabbed Hayasaka Ai and bolted.
So, was it love at first sight?
Not at all.
The moment they shook hands, Haruto's blood had seeped into Kaguya's body. The Blacklight Virus had instantly infected her.
The so-called rapid heartbeat and rising body temperature-
That was simply her body's natural rejection response to the virus. However, though he infected Kaguya with the Blacklight Virus, Haruto did not influence her.
Instead, he kept the virus in its incubation stage.
As previously mentioned, while Shinomiya Kaguya was a noble lady, she didn't have absolute control over the Shinomiya conglomerate.
Haruto wanted to use her to infect the head of the Shinomiya family.
And thereby take control of the Shinomiya conglomerate. Influencing Kaguya prematurely would only alert them.