The night was unusually quiet, with everyone either asleep or playing games. Yukari and I were still watching TV together as usual, while Chiyori and Shinobi were bickering behind us and annoying me, until Yukari intervened and quieted them down again.
Suddenly, the TV connected to the campus broadcast, with the principal appearing on the screen. "Students, quickly sit down in front of the TV!" "What's going on?" Shinobi, clearly irritated, sat on my other side, muttering, "I really hope it's not a mission." The noisy chatter of the students tested the principal's patience. "Quiet!" ... Silence reigned. Of course, this time the majority of people didn't bother to watch the announcement, given the terrible weather affecting everyone's mood. "Ahem... Now it's time to enter a tense period. The birth of the Evil Entity has determined your fate. To completely destroy them, you only need to destroy their core. Remember, the lack of morals in exhibitionists is the enemy's characteristic." The TV turned off, and I half-jokingly asked, "Is the principal losing it?" "Probably just dreaming," Yukari agreed.
The next morning... "What?" Chiyori dropped her bread on the floor. "'Elena has established a special task force to search for carriers of the city virus'?" Instructor Flande sighed. "It's unavoidable. The upperclassmen are all tasked with killing energy entities, and among the freshmen, only you guys have combat capabilities." "Tch!" Yukari scowled, "Searching has nothing to do with fighting, right? Nobody wants to do such a hateful job!" The instructor, a bit angry, slammed his whip on the podium. "Do you even know? Enemies categorized as 'Calamity Beasts' are even more challenging to deal with than energy entities. I heard they're 'Calamity Viruses'!" 'Calamity Viruses'? The mention of those words made Flande break out in a cold sweat. "Hmm, I once saw records about the Calamity Viruses in my dad's office. They are highly intelligent and incredibly difficult to deal with beings!" Yukari set down her coffee and took out a notebook. "Let me see if there's a way to counter them..." She pondered carefully and thoughtfully, just like what the principal had mentioned! We all fell into silence, knowing that any slight injury this time would be catastrophic! "But," Yukari gave her head a tap, "recovery is simple, just kill the source." I didn't pay much attention to these issues; I just looked at Yukari's troubled expression and walked over to her. "President!" Everyone stopped in their tracks at my sudden movement and was about to say something when I firmly pulled her into the meeting room. *Click!* I locked the door in an instant as Yukari pretended to blush and pulled at the hem of my clothes. "Are... are you... feeling... a bit... animalistic again?" "What are you talking about?" I patted her head. "Don't worry, I just want to ask..." Darn, I almost forgot completely. I paused intentionally before continuing. "Could you share with me what you know, including some inside information about Elena? Yuanhui received information in the morning that she had run away from home. It seems she might have some connection with certain individuals within, meaning there are still some of our people there, or... she deceived me!"
"Have you been lying to me? Or is it that..."
"Hehe, what else do you have to say? What benefit would I have in lying to you, or do you think I am in cahoots with that old bastard Edward?"
"Well, you never know."
I moved the coffee table aside and grabbed Yukari's hand.
"Come on, let's go back to your father's place!"
I knew that once I confronted Edward, he would reveal the truth of the matter to me.
Likewise, the reasons for Yukari watching me would become clear immediately!
Yukari, however, resisted and kept pulling back.
"No, I don't want to go back!"
After my persistence, she erupted for the first time.
"Why do you care? Going back is no different from being dead!"
With that, she shook off my arm, angrily slammed the door and left me alone in the living room on the first floor.
...
Alone, just like back then, I wandered around the outskirts of the deserted city once again.
Street vendors selling snacks incongruous with this era dotted the streets, and the square was bustling as ever. I suddenly remembered: though I had my wallet on me, I didn't have much money. Maybe I should buy some snacks to bring home!
"Friend, how much for these taiyaki?"
In a not-too-small shop, an elderly man spoke up.
"One coin each, young man. How many would you like?"
I forgot to mention, a coin is the new universal currency issued by the Elena Castle, used for all wages and transactions here.
"I'll take eight. Oh... Teacher?"
I saw a rocker old man in jeans and a denim jacket slowly handing over the taiyaki and solemnly saying,
"Young man, I see a dark cloud over your mind, beware of impending disaster!"
How should I respond to this... This old man with twisted beard happens to be the current vice principal of our school.
Alright, I misspoke. He's Yu Nai's grandfather and also the former vice principal of my previous school.
"Grandpa, feeling overwhelmed? It's already this late... aren't you heading home?"
"No, how about you? Anything troubling you emotionally? Let me guess... girl troubles?"
"Wow, are you a mind reader?"
I couldn't help but admire this guy, he managed to hit the nail on the head regarding my woes!
"Hehe, what's so great about guessing that, anyway, what else do you young folks have besides love affairs and emotional entanglements?"
With that, the grandfather didn't linger in small talk and instead began sharing his own stories.
"Sigh, ever since the Evil Entity appeared, everything in the world has become more interesting..."
Just as he left not long after, Yu Nai's grandfather straightened his beard and chuckled.
"This boy is finally growing up."
The downpour intensified, and I took a closer look. Huh? This was unfamiliar to me, there was a faint sense of sinister blackness in the snow, lacking any hint of romanticism in the rainy night.
Suddenly, I clenched my fist, bones cracking.
"I should go back and comfort her, after all, she's mine in a way."
Rushing back home.
I must apologize, oh no... I'm almost roaring now, even a three-year-old passing by cursed at me.
"Madman!"
At home, Yukari should be in my room crying. I ignored Chiyori's nagging and didn't pay attention to Juxi's pestering.
"Hey, quickly help me make dinner for today!"
"Hey, quickly go and put up the wall stickers on the stairs!"
Chiyori was directing Shin to and fro on the stairs, but I pretended not to notice and walked straight into the room - empty.
It became quiet. Listen!
Faint crying could be heard coming from the closet. I gently opened the closet and saw Kaoru crying on the bed in there. I was momentarily at a loss and took out a taiyaki.
"Here, eat… um, I'll go buy you something to eat!"
Yukari slowly turned and said, "Hage, we can actually start anew."
I didn't understand. Seeing my puzzled expression, she continued, "It is said that after people die, they go to a new world where time does not pass, where they do not age, and... "
I was shocked by her sudden thought. Looking at Yukari with half of her eye covered by her bangs, her eyes that were exposed lost their vitality.
Shin had been staring at me with strange eyes all morning, while Yukari kept adding food to her plate like taking care of a younger sister - ignoring me.
Just as I sat down to sigh, the TV screen suddenly flickered.
"We interrupt this broadcast with an urgent news report. There has been a large number of mutants in the outer city last night, possessing a high level of infectivity that can cause genetic mutations. Currently, there exist advanced beings within the Evil Entity, transformed from individuals with special abilities."
"I didn't expect these things to come so fast!"
Everyone present had a worried expression on their face; the situation had become dangerous!
"Our house is not far from the East City, it's really dangerous!"
The TV station continued the report.
"The mutants have now started moving towards the eastern region, and their target has been identified as..."
The tone of the female reporter was unusually grave, as if issuing us a final warning.
"...the academy!"
"Clank!" The chopsticks fell to the floor. "We are in the jurisdiction of the academy!"
This is the must-pass route from the East City to the academy!
"Beep beep beep..."
The alarm in the room sent shivers down everyone's spine!
"Level one alert. Unidentified energy entity approaching, estimated in five minutes. The house will be teleported to the academy within ten seconds! Ten, nine, eight..."
Chiyori suddenly realized and slapped her forehead, then mischievously smiled.
"Ah, the jurisdiction of the academy has teleportation function in case of emergencies."
I quickly ran into the kitchen and looked at the western forest, where countless dark spots were swiftly moving through the misty sky.
At that moment, Shin suddenly pulled Yukari and me to jump off the house, but Chiyori quickly stopped her.
"Are you crazy..."
By then, the room had already been teleported to a safe area, and Yukari, Shin, and I were totally useless.
"Hello, newcomers... Uh, who are they?"
A stylishly dressed woman, looking like a pioneer of the era, intercepted us.
"Hey, aren't these members of the student council? Finally showing up after disappearing for so long!"
"Sorry!"
Yukari introduced us to the academy's colleagues.
"We are S-class ompetents from Class One, which means we are members of the student council of this school."
The platinum battle suits we wore were exclusive to the student council, a privilege for A-grade and above individuals with special abilities, providing resistance to attributes!
"Hehe," a blonde man said to his friend with joy, "This academy actually treats us like human beings and has sent an S-class squad to support us!"
"Alright, I'm their captain Letz, our C-class subordinates should respect the higher-ranking officers."
The blond man instructed the elaborately dressed purple-haired girl beside him, bidding us goodbye in passing.
"Well then, we'll be on our way. Are the officers okay with getting accustomed first?"
It dawned on me that the hierarchy in school was as strict as that in the military!
Even for senior veterans, in the face of absolute rank, we were still the officers.
