Rokugou is a seventeen-year-old combatant for the evil secret society Kisaragi—and he's barely scraping by on three thousand evil-deed points a month. So when headquarters hands him a mission worth a hundred thousand points, he jumps at the chance. There's just one catch: he has to infiltrate a peaceful parallel world that's practically modern-day Japan, pose as a high school student at Minamisakae Academy, and win the student council presidential election to seize control of the school.
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Combatants Will Be Dispatched to School! - Desperate situation! The magician's trap and my comrades' tears, but I'll fight on regardless
Purple light cast an eerie glow across the schoolyard.
A magic circle spun beneath the sorcerer's feet, warping the air around it. Rokugou watched from where he lay sprawled on the ground.
"Get up, Combatant. I'll show you what's become of your friends."
The sorcerer slowly raised a hand.
Crack-crack-crack!
The sound of air splitting apart.
Before Rokugou's eyes, the purple light formed two cages.
"Alice! Snow!"
Inside the cages were Alice and Snow.
Alice's long blonde hair was in disarray, one hand braced against the wall. Her blue eyes burned with fury, but her body was trembling. The heat from her power reactor made the air around her shimmer.
Snow gripped the bars of her cage, her pale blue eyes wide. The prefect's badge on her left chest caught the purple light and glinted dully.
"You... you coward! Let me out of here!"
Snow pounded her fists against the bars.
The sorcerer chuckled low in his throat.
"Coward? No. This is righteous vengeance. You sided with that man. So I'll dispose of you all together."
"Cut the crap! I'm the one you want! Let them go!"
Rokugou tried to stand.
But his body wouldn't obey.
The earlier spell had hit him dead-on—his bones creaked with every breath. His left arm hung limp, blood dripping from his fingertips.
"The one I want? Don't flatter yourself. I came here to torture you to death. To break what you hold dear, right in front of your eyes."
The sorcerer extended a hand toward Alice's cage.
"Stop!"
Rokugou shouted and ran toward her cage.
Thud!
He slammed into an invisible wall.
Blood sprayed from his nose.
"Futile. My barrier surrounds you. All you can do is stand there and watch."
"Damn it... damn it!"
Rokugou threw himself at the invisible wall again and again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
His shoulder nearly wrenched from its socket.
His forehead split open, blood running into his eyes.
Still, he didn't stop.
"Rokugou... stop... if you keep doing that, your body..."
Alice's voice came from inside the cage.
Rokugou looked at her through the blood covering his face.
Alice was staring back at him, her blue eyes glistening.
"A scum who cares for his comrades. How amusing. Then I'll show you more."
The sorcerer fired a spell into Alice's cage.
Giiiing!!
A shriek like a scream rang out from Alice's body.
"Alice!"
Alice clutched her chest and doubled over.
"I've interfered directly with her power reactor. In a little while, that android will explode. Until she self-destructs... eight minutes, I'd say."
"You bastard...!"
Rokugou pounded his bloodied fists against the invisible wall.
The sorcerer watched him with utter delight.
"Now then. Your turn."
The sorcerer swung his hand down toward Rokugou.
Thwack!
An invisible force struck Rokugou in the face.
His body slammed into the wall behind him.
Crack.
The sickening sound of ribs creaking.
"Gah—!"
Rokugou coughed up blood.
"If you hadn't stolen the magic stone, none of this would have happened."
The sorcerer slowly approached him.
"You took the source of my magical power. You trampled my pride. So now you'll taste the agony of having what you love torn away."
The sorcerer grabbed Rokugou by the hair and wrenched his face upward.
"Shall I speed up that android's self-destruct countdown with my magic? It's simple enough. Three seconds, and I'll blow this whole school to pieces."
"Stop... it..."
Rokugou gritted his teeth.
His mouth filled with the taste of blood.
His body wouldn't move.
His fingertips were numb.
(Damn it... this is my fault... all because I stole that magic stone...)
"My career... it can't end here..."
Snow's voice came from inside her cage.
"This wasn't supposed to happen... I was supposed to go so much higher..."
Snow pressed her forehead against the bars, shoulders shaking.
"It's all your fault! You had to go and steal that magic stone...! Now I'm caught up in this too!"
Snow's scream pierced Rokugou's chest.
(...She's right. It's my fault.)
For the first time, Rokugou thought it from the bottom of his heart.
(I was wrong.)
Guilt tightened around his chest.
Until now, he'd only ever thought about racking up evil points.
What happened to anyone else—he couldn't have cared less.
But now it was different.
Alice was suffering.
Snow was crying.
And it was all his fault.
"...I was wrong."
Rokugou muttered it quietly, spitting blood.
"Oh? Repenting now? Too late for that, you piece of trash."
The sorcerer ground Rokugou's face into the dirt.
"You'll die here, helpless. All you can do is watch your comrades explode. That is your punishment."
The sorcerer's foot pressed down on Rokugou's head.
"Rokugou."
A quiet voice reached him.
Rokugou lifted his face.
Alice, inside her cage, was looking straight at him.
"Your reckless stunts are wasting my processing power, you know."
Alice's voice wasn't trembling.
"But there are still eight minutes until the self-destruct. There's still time. Release the limiter—use your trump card."
"Alice... what are you saying..."
"Didn't you hear me? Use your trump card. That's what you do, isn't it? You always pull something reckless at the very last second."
Alice's voice sounded just a little quieter than usual.
The heat from her reactor was raising the temperature inside the cage.
Sweat beaded on Alice's forehead.
"...You were a little less awful today, you know."
Her words echoed in Rokugou's mind.
What she'd said that night, hiding her embarrassment.
"When we raided the occult club, you tried to protect me. In your own way, you tried to shield your partner. ...I think a little better of you now."
(That's right. Back then, I...)
He remembered the time he'd spent investigating with Snow, too.
Even though she'd exasperated him, always trying to steal credit.
But still—that time hadn't been bad at all.
"Guess I've got no choice...!"
Rokugou searched for the switch at his collar with trembling fingers.
The combat suit's safety release switch.
Press it, and he'd have one minute of invincibility.
After that, three minutes completely defenseless.
(I'm scared...)
His fingers shook.
(If I fail... if I get taken out during those three minutes...)
Terror raced through his body.
"It's over. Farewell, Combatant."
The sorcerer began chanting, preparing the finishing spell.
Purple light gathered in his hand.
(Protect Alice.)
(Protect Snow.)
(Protect the two I hurt because of my own stupidity.)
Rokugou gritted his teeth.
"UOOOOOOOH!!"
His finger drove the switch down.
—In that instant.
The world was swallowed by light.
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