Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume17 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 3===

After Shiraho hung up, Haruaki dialed his phone again, this time to talk to Kana while he was running.

Because they had entered through the main entrance, the large clock on the front of the school building was in view. The current time was just after noon, in other words, there were less than two hours until the time limit of 2pm.

The sports ground was behind the school building, so there was no way to reach it directly. They must either circle around the building or cross the courtyard. Along the way, enemies were probably going to obstruct them. Besides, even after reaching the sports ground, time was still needed for destroying «Dieu le veut»&mdash;They really had no idea whether an allotment of two hours was plentiful or too little. Unsure what could happen next, they must not be careless or complacent.

Their course of action was to swiftly converge with the in-school team first then head to the sports ground together. They wanted to verify the situation by meeting the in-school team first. Before running into the sports ground, they also needed to release the students. Besides, the reason why they had kept the «Demon's Mouth» so far instead of destroying it was so that they could control when the hypnosis was lifted, to prevent the students from entering a state of panic after regaining their senses. The timing must be chosen with caution. But at the very least, they were certain that the hypnosis must be lifted while the knights were still in disarray from losing «Auschwitz-Birkenau», before they did anything to the students.

They had decided on the infirmary, first floor of the school building, as their meeting point for now. Slipping into the white smoke, hiding in the bushes, advancing while trying their utmost to avoid combat, they entered the school building. ALong the way, they met one knight, but Konoha and Kotetsu went all-out to take him down the instant they encountered him. Although Konoha and Kotetsu rushed out of the smoke in what was tantamount to a surprise attack, the opponent's arm strength and endurance seemed to have risen to unnatural levels, presumably due to "Dominionization." Had they engaged him in frontal combat, time might have been lost to the battle dragging on.

The group then reached the door to the infirmary by following a noisy corridor. After they knocked, someone unlocked from inside without saying a word. Upon entering, they saw&mdash;

"Everyone...!"

Inside the room where all the curtains were shut, Haruaki found every face there a little nostalgic.

Probably staying on high alert as a matter of principle, Un Izoey had her foot raised while holding a knife. Presumably due to the earlier phone call, Shiraho was glaring viciously at Haruaki whereas Sovereignty instantly rushed over to hug Fear. Dressed in gym clothes, Chihaya glanced in their direction with displeasure while Isuzu greeted them, smiling as always. Shovel carried on her shoulder, Kaidou the teacher was observing the situation outside through a gap in the curtains.

In addition&mdash;

"Wow! It's Fear-chan, Fear-chan! It feels like it's been such a long time. I'm not going to lose, here's a hug from me!"

"Muugu."

Then immediately after Sovereignty, Kana hugged Fear along with her head of silver hair tightly against her chest.

Rotating his arm, Taizou also walked towards them.

"Hi Haruaki, it's quite a shame you didn't get to see me in action. I'm definitely winning the MVP award."

After exchanging a glance with Fear, Haruaki relaxed his expression, but Fear awkwardly lowered her gaze as though she had suddenly thought of something.

"Umm... Uh... Basically, as mentioned on the phone too, I&mdash;"

"Time out~ I don't want to talk about anything that'll force Fear-chan to make such a sad face~ I don't wanna listen either~ Listen carefully, Fear-chan, you are yourself and we are us. This will absolutely stay the same forever no matter what. Okay~?"

"Okay&mdash;!"

"Hey slow down, Taichi! You're proudly making a thumbs up way too fast! You've got to listen to the reply first!"

After she saw the two of them act excessively upbeat as always, Fear's shoulders began to shake&mdash;

"Back to the subject... Is it really necessary to say it...?"

Head lowered, staring at the floor, Fear simply raised her right hand.

Then she made a thumbs up.

"Of course it's okay..."

"Great&mdash;!"

As though celebrating a batter's home run, Kana and Taizou made fists and bumped them against Fear's fist that was gesturing thumbs up.

Watching the scene with a gentle expression just like Haruaki, Kirika spoke up:

"Well... Unfortunately, the current situation does not permit us the leisure to enjoy this reunion. Let's decide our next move."

"I answer with an answer of agreement. Is this all of your group, everyone present?"

Haruaki glanced behind him. Fear, Konoha, Kirika, Kotetsu and Kuroe, in other words, the usual members of the group.

"Yeah. We also contacted the superintendent just now to let them know the gates are opened, so they might be coming later. As for the leader of your organization, we didn't go out of our way to contact him, but he'll find out and visit on his own, I presume."

Un Izoey nodded silently as though going "Very likely."

"Then there's Pops... Since he's not a fighter and he said he'll be helping out in other ways, I'm guessing it's related to the town. Anyway, don't mind him."

"In any case, thinking about people who are not present won't help. The enemy has probably discovered the fact that we've broken into the premises, so they'll soon find us even if we stay in the infirmary. We have to decide our next move as quickly as possible."

"Yeah. Of course, the top priority is destroying that ''spear''&mdash;It's called «Dieu le veut», right? But... before that, the students need to be taken care of first."

Saying that, Chihaya looked up in sudden realization.

"That's right. It's great that we don't want them to panic, but in terms of concrete plans, what are we going to do? Do we have a solution thought up?"

In response, Kirika said:

"Yes. We still haven't destroyed the «Demon's Mouth». It's right here."

Kirika spoke and opened the bag hanging on her shoulder, allowing everyone to peer at the cursed megaphone inside. Due to Taciturn smashing it, there was still no lid on it.

"...Then what?"

Kirika sighed.

"Although it's absolutely ridiculous... We've no choice but to go there first. Namely, the broadcasting room."



The group was running in the corridor. There was no point trying to hide by this point. While weaving through the students&mdash;

"Yo! You guys!"

"Get out of the way!" "Move aside!" "...!"

Every time a knight appeared, Konoha, Kotetsu and Un Izoey were in charge of disposal. Probably without killing them.

"This has been bugging me for a while now! Could these enemies actually be quite easy to handle, Konoha!?"

"You're getting that impression only because we have the element of surprise and numerical superiority on our side. It feels like I can't inflict any damage unless I chop at arms with the determination to sever them, for example... Compared to the enemies before, I feel that this knight just now had become even more resilient."

"R-Really...? After all, there's not much time left till 'Dominionization' finishes. Does that mean the power-up effect is about to reach completion? We've got to hurry!"

After some effort, the group finally reached the broadcasting room. Although it was locked, that meant nothing before Konoha and the others. Breaking the lock, they stormed the room.

As expected of a broadcasting room, the internal layout was clearly different from other classrooms. First of all, like the dance studio earlier, there was a soundproofed door. After opening the soundproofed door, there was a staggering arrangement of devices like a console. Gray carpet was laid over the floor to eliminate the sound of footsteps&mdash;Speaking of which, there were slippers placed at the entrance, which meant that shoes were forbidden inside to begin with. Behind the console was a recording room isolated by glass, but one could apparently use the console to make announcements without going inside there.

Why could they conclude that? Because there was a walkman-like accessory hanging in front of the giant microphone inside the room&mdash;A speaker whose shape resembled a rice ball. Sitting in boredom on the seat before the console was a young blond knight, presumably in charge of guarding this speaker.

"Huh? Ah?"

The young knight only had enough time to exclaim in surprise and turn his head back.

Swiftly dragging him down to the floor, Kotetsu proceeded to play a horrifying symphony of snapping and cracking. When Kotetsu got up next, the knight was collapsed on the floor groaning with all the joints in his limbs visibly dislocated.

"Truth be told, he was way too open..."

"But Kotetsu, you were planning to fracture his arms and legs, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Even if this young man was careless and inattentive, his body was still fortified to such an astounding degree... Oh my, I get the feeling that things will not be so easy here on."

"It's very likely that the enemy changed tactics after «Auschwitz-Birkenau»'s destruction. In other words, they are taking a final stand to defend their lord and «Dieu le veut», leaving only a handful of knights inside the school building... These knights are probably disposable pawns of inconsequential value."

"I see..."

Haruaki nodded after listening to Kirika. In other words, things were going smoothly only for now... But no matter what, they had to finish what they needed to do first.

At this moment, Haruaki suddenly realized there was a problem. Sweeping his gaze across everyone present, he said:

"By the way, who will do it...?"

"It is perfectly obvious that it is my job."

Kaidou was the one who spoke up. Opening the bag carried by Kirika, she took out the «Demon's Mouth» without asking. Because she acted in such a natural and straightforward manner, it was quite worrying whether she actually understood what it entailed.

"S-Sensei? Are you sure? That Wathe's long-distance system is already broken, so the curse will affect the user as well. It will definitely be hard to resist&mdash;"

"No matter. Rather, precisely because of that, I must be the one to do it."

Resting her shovel against the console, Kaidou operated a switch near the microphone. As a member of the faculty, she was probably trained in the most basic usage.

"If you still cannot understand from what I have said, allow me to give you two reasons."

Kaidou proceeded to adjust a certain portion of the devices. Still facing the console, she continued to speak:

"First of all, there is the curse mentioned just now. Without any special abilities, it is unlikely that I will be able to assist in the next part. Rather, I might become a liability. In that case, there is nothing wrong with monopolizing the only thing I can do... As for the other reason&mdash;"

After saying this, she finally turned to face the group.

Then in a truly rare moment...

She made an amused smile, relaxing her face for the grinning corners of her mouth.

"Giving ''these orders'' is precisely a teacher's job&mdash;Do you not agree?"

Cover your ears well and resist the hypnosis&mdash;After leaving these final words&mdash;

Kaidou pressed the switch, connecting this place to every speaker all over the school.

Then raising the megaphone in front of the mic, she inhaled forcefully&mdash;

"&mdash;<b>Hört!!</b>"


"I hereby declare lessons to be over today. Everyone go home immediately. That is all!"