Chapter 72
We keep an eye on the students and the Dark Wolf.
There are about ten students.
They probably all have Skills.
Their movements are nothing like those of ordinary students.
Even so—
"......Why is that monster here?"
Ichinose-san mutters under her breath.
Apparently, she felt the same way.
"I can't say for sure without asking it directly, but..."
For now, the battle seems to be tilting slightly in the Dark Wolf's favor.
The students have an overwhelming advantage in numbers, but the Dark Wolf's power more than makes up for that.
Even so, the students are holding their own because it still hasn't fully recovered from the damage it took fighting us.
The Dark Wolf's movements are clearly sluggish.
It looks pretty badly weakened.
But that's precisely why I don't understand.
Why had it shown up here?
If it was hunting people efficiently for experience, attacking a shelter certainly made sense.
But if that was the case, there should have been no problem waiting until its wounds had healed.
Its chances of success would have been far higher that way.
It had enough intelligence to retreat immediately when it realized it was at a disadvantage while fighting us.
There was no way it failed to understand something that simple.
And yet it had appeared here and was fighting the students.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong about the scene.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!"
The Dark Wolf howls.
The 'Darkness' unfurling beneath its feet spreads outward, trying to swallow everything around it.
"Everyone! Whatever you do, don't touch that black stuff! It'll swallow you!"
The one directing the battle is a nervous-looking student wearing glasses.
Judging by his voice, he's probably the student council vice president.
He directs the students from a step behind the front line.
And the way he adjusts his glasses is remarkably practiced.
He's clearly the intellectual type. Intellectual Glasses Guy.
"U, uwaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Somebody help meeeeeeeee!"
Apparently, two students were too slow to get away.
Their feet have gotten caught in the 'Darkness.'
"What are you doing, you idiots?! Get out of there, now!"
"B-but, Vice President! Saying that won't help! We can't pull ourselves free!"
"Me too... I feel like something's pulling me in..."
Intellectual Glasses Guy raises his voice irritably, but they can't pull free at all.
If anything, the more they struggle, the deeper they sink into it.
"Tch, you useless idiots... Never mind! Leave them! Everyone else, keep attacking!"
He abandoned them without a second thought.
He's ruthless.
Well, strictly speaking, I suppose it was the right decision.
Going to rescue them recklessly would only lead to further casualties...
"B-but, Vice President..."
"A-are you abandoning them?"
"They're still alive!"
But the students standing beside him don't seem able to bring themselves to be heartless.
They must really want to help.
Then he slammed the metal pipe in his hand against the ground.
"You! Who do you think you are, questioning me?! President Igarashi has entrusted me with complete command of this battlefield! Disobeying me is the same as disobeying the president. You do understand what that means, don't you?!"
"......!"
Hearing that, the students immediately fell silent.
"That's right. Good. Just keep quiet and follow my orders."
He nods, looking satisfied.
The two students who had been too slow to escape wore desperate expressions.
"......Kudo-san, what should we do?"
I suppose she's asking whether we should save them or not.
"As things stand, there is absolutely no benefit to saving them."
I tell her plainly what I think.
Saving those two would be the same as revealing ourselves to them.
"If we intervene carelessly and reveal ourselves, there's a chance we'll be affected by 'Charm' or 'Brainwashing.'"
That's what concerns me most.
My greatest fear is that we might end up under the influence of their Skills.
That student council president had a Skill that could interfere with people's minds through the 'voice.'
Then there was a good chance the other student council members possessed similar Skills as well.
At the very least, until we knew for certain, I wanted to avoid showing ourselves to them carelessly.
"......That's true."
Ichinose-san nods too.
But even if she understood, she probably still couldn't fully accept it.
Come to think of it, she'd been helping those delinquents right before sending me that email.
Unlike me, she hadn't been able to draw such a clear line.
"Well, I'm sure it'll be all right, Ichinose-san."
"Huh...?"
"It looks like reinforcements have arrived."
I point toward the school building.
A figure comes racing toward us at tremendous speed.
The figure races past Intellectual Glasses Guy and comes to an abrupt stop in front of the two students about to be swallowed by the 'Darkness.'
"Whoa, Tanaka-cchi and Kato-chin are in a real pinch. You two okay?"
Despite her words, her tone is utterly free of tension.
The newcomer is a gal-like high school girl with flashy hair tied in a side ponytail.
"Aisaka Rikka! Did you come as reinforcements? Hey, what are you doing acting on your own?!"
Intellectual Glasses Guy shouts angrily, but she barely pays him any attention.
She grabs the two students' hands and tries to pull them up.
But the legs of the two students trapped in the Darkness won't come free so easily.
"Hmm, brute force isn't gonna work after all. Then..."
She takes the machete hanging from her waist.
The two students' faces stiffen when they see it.
They must have immediately realized 'what she was trying to do.'
"Huh, w-wait, Aisaka-san?"
"Y-you're joking... right?"
"Sorry, you two."
Then, in the next instant, she mercilessly severs the two students' legs with the machete in her hand.
Blood sprays through the air, and their bodies are severed from the 'Darkness' at the same time.
Their screams echo.
She pulls their bodies free and quickly retreats to the rear.
"All right, rescue successful!"
She sets the two she'd just saved down on the ground with a thud and nods in satisfaction.
The students are left dumbfounded by how utterly decisive her actions were.
"......Huh. W-what are you all standing around for?! Don't let up on the attack!"
Intellectual Glasses Guy is the first to recover and starts shouting orders again.
The other students resume their attacks.
"M-my leg..."
"I-it hurts, it hurts so much..."
"Sorry, you two. But... this is better than dying, right?"
Rikka-chan says matter-of-factly to the two students, whose faces are contorted in agony.
Well, once they'd gotten into that situation, there really wasn't any other way to save them.
"Honestly, how barbaric. This is why delinquents..."
Intellectual Glasses Guy pushes up his glasses and glares at Rikka-chan.
"But if I hadn't done that, you two would've died."
"So what? That would've been fine, wouldn't it? I don't need useless trash that can't follow my orders."
"Ugh, what a nasty attitude."
"Say whatever you like. In any case, if you're satisfied with saving them, follow my orders."
Rikka-chan bristles at his unabashed arrogance.
"......Huh? Why should I—"
"Rikka, follow his orders."
Nishino-kun cuts in amid the explosive tension.
Apparently, he had come running as reinforcements too.
"......Nissy?"
"He's the commander here, at least for now. I'll support him too, so follow his orders for the moment."
"Mmph, fine..."
Persuaded by Nishino-kun, Rikka-chan seems to agree reluctantly.
She immediately raises her machete and heads toward the Dark Wolf.
With Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan joining the battle, the tide of battle began to turn.
The students kept a reasonable distance to avoid being swallowed by the 'Darkness' and switched to primarily ranged attacks.
They were probably planning to wear down the Dark Wolf's stamina and drag the fight out.
It had already been worn down fighting us.
If they could prolong the battle, they might indeed have a chance to win.
"The monster's running away!"
The Dark Wolf seemed to realize that too.
It forcibly broke through the students' encirclement and fled toward the city.
"Hey, don't let it get away! After it!"
"Wait!"
Intellectual Glasses Guy immediately tries to pursue it, but Nishino-kun stops him with a raised hand.
"......What do you think you're doing, Nishino?"
"Pursuing it too far would be dangerous. For now, we should prioritize treating the wounded."
"How can you be so complacent...? You saw how strong that monster is! It's dangerous to leave something like that on the loose. Obviously, we should finish it while we have the chance! Are you disobeying my orders as commander? Me, the one President Igarashi entrusted with total authority?!"
"That would only be true if there were just one of them, right?"
"What...?"
"Aisaka and I fought monsters like that one at the home improvement store. They traveled in a pack. They also had a Skill like a howl that called their comrades. What if it has comrades waiting where it ran? What if it calls them here? The situation would reverse in an instant. We'd all be wiped out."
The people around them grow restless at Nishino-kun's words.
They must have realized that he was neither lying nor exaggerating.
Intellectual Glasses Guy clicks his tongue bitterly.
"......Fine. This time, I'll graciously heed your 'advice.' But don't forget: I'm still the one in charge of the operation."
With that spat out, Intellectual Glasses Guy walks toward the school building.
Nishino-kun watches him go and lets out a deep sigh.
Most of the other students sink to the ground as well, as if the tension had finally snapped.
"......Looks like it's over."
"......"
"......Huh? Ichinose-san?"
There is no reply.
What's wrong?
When I look toward Ichinose-san, she is staring fixedly at one point with her mouth hanging open.
"Why......?"
In the direction of her gaze—
Standing there is a gal-like high school girl.
"Rikka-chan..."
"Huh? Rikka-chan?"