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! - Counterattack after cooldown! Three girls, a scumbag combatant, and a small feeling that budded
Purple light bathed the schoolyard.
A magic circle spun at the sorcerer's feet, and the air warped. Rokugou lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at the scene.
"Get up, Combatant. I'll show you what's become of your precious comrades."
The sorcerer raised a hand.
Crack-crack-crack!
The sound of air splitting. Before Rokugou's eyes, purple light coalesced into two cages.
"Alice! Snow!"
Inside her cage, Alice stood with her blonde hair in disarray, one hand braced against the wall. Her blue eyes burned with fury, but her body trembled in small, constant shudders. The heat from her power reactor made the surrounding air waver.
Snow gripped the bars, her aqua eyes wide. The disciplinary committee chair badge on her left breast caught the purple light and glinted dully.
"You... you coward! Let me out of here!"
The clang of her fists against the bars. The sorcerer chuckled low in his throat.
"Coward? No. This is rightful retribution. You sided with that man. So I'll dispose of you all together."
"Like hell! 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—every bone in his body creaked. 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—breaking everything precious to you right in front of your eyes."
The sorcerer extended a hand toward Alice's cage.
"Stop!"
Rokugou shouted and ran.
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, blood running into his eyes. Still he didn't stop.
"Rokugou... stop... if you keep doing that, your body..."
Alice's voice. Rokugou looked at her through the blood on his face. Her blue eyes were wet, fixed on him.
"A worthless piece of trash who cares about his friends. How amusing. Then I'll show you more."
The sorcerer fired a spell into Alice's cage.
Giiiiiiiin!!
A high, keening sound—almost 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. Time until self-destruct... eight minutes, I'd say."
"You bastard...!"
Rokugou pounded the invisible wall with bloodied fists. The sorcerer watched, utterly delighted.
"Now then. Your turn."
The sorcerer swung his hand down.
Crash!
An invisible force struck Rokugou square in the face, hurling him back against the wall. Crack—the sound of ribs straining.
"Gah—!"
Rokugou coughed up blood.
"If you hadn't stolen the magic stone, none of this would have happened."
The sorcerer approached slowly.
"You took the source of my magical power. You trampled my pride. So now you'll taste what it's like to have something precious torn away from you."
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 entire 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... because I stole that magic stone...)
"My career... it can't end in a place like this..."
Snow's voice came from inside the 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 drove straight into 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 thought of nothing but racking up evil points. What happened to other people hadn't mattered. But not now. Alice was suffering. Snow was crying. All because of him.
"...I was wrong."
Rokugou murmured it through the blood.
"Oh? Repenting now? Too late, 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. Rokugou lifted his face.
Alice, inside the cage, was looking straight at him.
"Thanks to your reckless stunts, my processing capacity is being wasted."
Her voice wasn't trembling.
"But there are still eight minutes until 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? At the very last moment, you always pull something reckless."
Her voice sounded just a little quieter than usual. The heat from the reactor had raised the temperature inside the cage. Sweat beaded on Alice's forehead.
"...You were a little bit better today, you know."
Her words surfaced in his mind.
"When we raided the occult club, you actually tried to protect me. In your own way, you were trying to protect your partner. ...I've revised my opinion of you. Just a little."
(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 the credit. But that time hadn't been bad. Not really.
"Guess I've got no choice...!"
Rokugou searched with trembling fingers for the switch at his collar. The combat suit's safety-release switch. Press it, and he'd be invincible for one minute. After that, three minutes of complete vulnerability.
(Scared...)
His fingers shook.
(If I fail... if I get taken out during those three minutes...)
Terror raced through his whole body.
"It's over. Farewell, Combatant."
The sorcerer began chanting his finishing spell. Purple light gathered in his hands.
(Protect Alice.) (Protect Snow.) (Protect the two I hurt because of my own stupidity.)
Rokugou gritted his teeth.
"UOOOOOOOOOH!!"
His finger drove the switch down.
—In that instant, the world was swallowed by light.
Rokugou's body grew hot from the inside out. Power surged through him. His heart, which should have stopped, pounded with fierce strength.
"...OOOOOOH!!"
Rokugou kicked off the ground. He smashed the invisible wall apart with his bare hands.
KSHAAAAAANG!!
Shards of the barrier scattered into motes of light.
"Wha—?! Impossible, my barrier, with bare hands...?!"
The composure vanished from the sorcerer's face for the first time. Rokugou charged straight at him.
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!"
He drove his fist home.
CRASH!!
The sorcerer's body slammed into the wall behind him.
"Guh—! This power... don't tell me, the combat suit's safety release...!"
Rokugou gave no answer—he just kept attacking. Kicks. Punches. Headbutts. A storm of blows rained down on the sorcerer.
"What's wrong, what's wrong, what's WRONG?!?!"
The sorcerer could barely keep his defensive spells up.
"Kuh...! But that power won't last long...!"
He was right. The limiter release lasted only one minute.
Rokugou ran to the cages.
"Alice! Snow!"
He tore the bars apart with sheer brute force.
Giii... CRACK!
"Rokugou...!"
"Wha—why... you idiot, that's insane..."
Rokugou pulled the two of them out of the cages, gathering them in his arms.
"No time to talk! Run!"
The three of them put distance between themselves and the sorcerer. And then—the strength drained out of Rokugou's body. Like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Guh... ah..."
Rokugou crumpled to the ground.
"Rokugou?!"
"Hey, are you okay?!"
"...Ha. Hahahahaha! Look at that! Time's up, just as I said!"
The sorcerer rose from the rubble.
"The recoil from the safety release will leave you unable to move for thirty minutes. ...You've done well. It's been a long time since anyone wounded me this badly."
His robe was in tatters, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Rest easy. I'll wipe your comrades out too—without a trace."
The sorcerer raised both hands. Purple light poured from his body.
"I'll show you my true magic! I'll blast this entire school to nothing!"
The air around them began to warp.
"Everyone, watch out! Here it comes!"
"I'll block it!"
Suddenly a small figure darted out in front of Rokugou. A bright chestnut-brown bob. Big amber eyes. Two little horns on her head. Rose.
"Rose?! What are you doing here—!"
"I'm hungry, but... I'll do my best!"
Rose spread both arms wide, standing as if to shield Rokugou.
"I shall stop that spell with my ice."
A familiar, gentle voice. Long silver hair done up in a Japanese style, violet-tinged eyes—Astaroth stood beside Rokugou.
"Astaroth?! Why are you here too—?!"
"I will not permit anyone to lay a hand on Rokugou-san."
Astaroth gave him a gentle smile, then turned to face the sorcerer.
"Here I go.—Freeze, ice, and bind my enemy."
Cold air burst from Astaroth's hands.
Kiiiiiin!!
The moisture in the air froze instantly. Thick ice encased the sorcerer's feet.
"Wha—what?! This ice... don't tell me, Kisaragi's...!"
The sorcerer's feet were locked in place, unable to move.
"Now! Rose-san!"
"Okay! I'll bounce the attacks with bread elasticity!"
Rose activated the power of the special curry bread she'd eaten in the cafeteria earlier. Her skin took on the soft, springy resilience of bread dough. The sorcerer's magic bolts struck her body.
Boing!
The bolts bounced right off her springy flesh.
"Wha—what kind of body is that...?!"
"Rokugou, can you hear me?"
Alice called out to him.
"I can move now. Thanks to your stupidity. But my reactor still needs cooling. Hold out one more minute!"
"I can't afford to be beaten by you—not when my career's on the line!"
Snow stood too, circling around to the sorcerer's flank.
"Damn... my body... won't move..."
Rokugou tried to push himself up, crawling. His arms shook. His legs wouldn't obey. But.
(Alice is fighting.) (Snow is fighting.) (Rose is protecting me.) (Astaroth is helping me.)
(I can't be the only one lying here!)
"U... OOOOO...!"
Rokugou gritted his teeth and forced his upper body upright.
"Still more than a minute... of cooldown left..."
He slammed his trembling fist into the ground.
"But... I'm not... giving up!"
Power returned to Rokugou's eyes.
"You lot... I'll take you all on at once!"
The sorcerer began gathering magic to shatter the ice.
"Rokugou! This barrier—if you destroy the core, it'll collapse!"
Alice's shout.
"That glowing sphere behind the sorcerer! That's the core! According to my analysis, if you destroy it, the barrier covering the school will fall—and the sorcerer's magic supply will be cut off too!"
"That thing...!"
Rokugou spotted the purple-glowing sphere floating behind the sorcerer.
"But how...! My body still won't...!"
"Rokugou-kun! I'll mimic his attack patterns!"
Rose stepped in front of him.
"When I bounced his magic earlier, I kind of figured it out. The rhythm of his attacks. ...I'll make an opening!"
Rose dashed toward the sorcerer.
"Insolent! A mere chimera!"
The sorcerer fired magic at Rose. She bounced it off her bread-springy body. Boing! Boing!
"Now, Rokugou-kun!"
While Rose drew his attention, Rokugou rose to his feet, supported by Astaroth.
"Rokugou-san, I will carry you to the core."
"Y-you... a Supreme Executive, why would you go that far..."
"...Because I want to rest together with you in the infirmary, Rokugou-san."
Astaroth said it with a blush on her cheeks.
"Let's go! Hold on to me!"
Astaroth draped Rokugou's arm over her shoulder, conjured a path of ice, and glided toward the sorcerer's back.
"Wha—?! When
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