Makima's gaze cut through the crowd of students, landing right on Reisou's face.
She didn't look away for a single second. Every little thing about him got burned into her mind.
His face, his expression, even the way he breathed.
Makima locked onto him completely, soaking up every little thing she could feel from him. It felt like if she looked away now, she might lose sight of him forever.
No one noticed the strange glint in her eyes. While still staring, Makima spoke again, her voice calm and steady.
"Hayakawa, are there any important appointments today?" she asked Aki, who stood nearby.
Aki blinked, looking a little thrown off by the sudden question, but he didn't say anything about it.
He just did as he was told.
"Uh, well, Miss Makima... there's that visit to a famous talk show in about an hour, some charity campaigns after that, and a meeting with the Shinomiya rep—"
"Cancel them," Makima cut in, her tone unchanged.
Aki froze for a moment, confused, but stayed silent and obeyed.
"I've had a change of plans, Chabashira-san. I'll be joining this expedition. It's been years since I did something like that," Makima said, her voice polite, without even glancing at Sae.
Standing next to her, Sae narrowed her eyes slightly, not really understanding why Makima had suddenly changed her mind.
It felt strange, but Sae remained silent.
The Crimson Devil had a certain reputation among the elite, and from the rumors, Sae knew Makima wasn't exactly right in the head
"I don't have a problem with that," Sae said, though her voice carried a hint of reluctance. "However, I ask that you avoid interfering directly unless it's really necessary."
Makima didn't say a word in response.
She just turned and walked toward her tent.
As soon as Makima disappeared from view, Sae let out a quiet sigh, already feeling things were going to get messy.
Meanwhile, Reisou was busy checking a notification from the system, completely unaware that a certain crazy woman had her eyes on him.
[Ding!]
[The Gate level is too low to issue a mission. Calibration will begin in two hours.]
When Reisou finished reading the message, a bad feeling settled in his chest.
A timer appeared on the floating screen, counting down with no explanation of what would happen once it hit zero.
Lost in thought, trying to figure out the possibilities, Reisou was pulled back when Sae called everyone to follow her out of the encampment.
Some time later, they arrived at the forest entrance, where an outpost built by the Akuma Guild stood.
Sae and the homeroom teacher of Class 2C, Naomi, then explained how the assignment worked.
This was where Sozukusen showed why it produced the best Hunters in Japan.
The students were given complete freedom to explore the forest, except, of course, they were strictly forbidden from entering the Lesser Area, where the Gate boss resided.
Of course, to ensure no one triggered the boss accidentally, various personnel from the Akuma Guild patrolled the area.
"Okay, I hope you all understood what I just explained," Sae said, scanning the half-excited, half-nervous students. "The team with the most monster cores will take first place and win one hundred credits. Second place gets fifty, and third place gets twenty."
"Stealing monster cores from other teams is not allowed. Anyone who puts the expedition at risk will be held accountable, up to and including expulsion. Did everyone understand?"
The students all shouted back a loud "Yes!" in unison.
Then, Sae launched a massive fireball into the sky, marking the official start of the competition.
Almost everyone, except Reisou's team and a handful of others, dashed into the forest, eager to face monsters for the first time.
While most inexperienced Hunters would have trouble against even low-level monsters, the Sozukusen students had been trained to stay calm under pressure.
In the academy's history, only two students had died during an expedition, showing just how competent they were.
"Should we go now? We're gonna fall behind," Eriri said, locking eyes with Reisou.
"Yeah, but charging straight in isn't the best idea," Reisou said with a nod. "Let's head this way instead. We might run into monsters faster than the others."
As he pointed toward a different path off to the side, the girls glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.
Reisou felt grateful they didn't make things difficult or argue about it.
Without wasting any more time, the group dashed forward, using Enhancement to boost their speed.
From behind, Sae watched Reisou with a satisfied smile.
She was glad about the path they had chosen, since it led right along the Center Area, where monsters gathered while avoiding the boss's territory.
"This boy is interesting, right?"
Suddenly, a calm voice sounded behind her.
When Sae turned around, she saw Makima standing there, dressed in an elegant white shirt, a red tie, and black pants.
Her appearance was more relaxed now, a big change from the commanding, boss-like presence she usually had.
"You… better not try anything with him. He's someone the higher-ups have their eyes on," Sae said calmly, but inside, she felt a bit uneasy.
Although she didn't have a close connection with Makima, the way she called Reisou 'interesting' didn't sit well with her.
For someone like Makima to use a word like that, it meant there was a hidden meaning Sae couldn't figure out.
"It doesn't matter," Makima said this time, her face expressionless and her voice cold. "I always get what I want, Flame Storm... or should I call you Prometheus' servant."
Sae's eyes widened instantly, and she tensed, ready to attack.
But Makima was faster.
She appeared right in front of Sae, raising her index finger like a pistol and aiming it at her forehead.
At that moment, Sae froze instantly, halting all movement.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Prometheus' servant," Makima said coolly. "The time hasn't come yet, and you know that."
Sweat dripped down Sae's forehead as she recognized the gesture.
It was one of the ways Makima activated her Innate Skill, Telekinesis.
Among all Telekinesis users in the world, Makima was undoubtedly the strongest.
Facing her like that would only end with Sae becoming nothing more than a headless corpse.
"Who do you serve, Crimson Devil?" Sae asked coldly, doing her best to sound unfazed.
Makima's expression turned pensive, as if searching her memory.
"Myself," she replied simply.
Sae's eyes widened in shock, her face turning to one of disbelief.
Such blasphemy was dangerous.
Anyone aware of the consequences understood the gravity of those words.
Just as Sae was about to say more, Makima lowered her hand and walked ahead toward the forest.
Seconds later, Naomi, who had left earlier when Sae gave the signal, returned. He saw Sae standing still, looking a little pale, and moved to approach her.
Sae caught sight of him before he could get closer and spoke with a firm, commanding tone.
"You stay here. I'm going to supervise a few problematic students."
Naomi's brow furrowed in confusion. The Akuma Guild staff was supposed to be handling all the surveillance already.
But Sae didn't stop to explain. She just turned and sprinted into the forest, determined to reach Reisou's group before Makima could.
At the same time, in a different part of the forest, Reisou and the girls found themselves surrounded by a large group of twenty low-level green goblins.
The Princess Trio looked a bit nervous facing so many monsters right from the start.
Reisou and 2B, on the other hand, stayed completely calm. Compared to the enemies they had faced before, these goblins were nothing special.
"Don't worry, these ones are weak," Reisou said, raising his lance and shifting into an attacking stance. "But don't get careless. Goblins can be sneaky if you stop paying attention."
2B quietly unsheathed a simple katana and moved to his side, guarding his flank.
The three girls, seeing how steady Reisou and 2B were, followed their lead and got ready for battle.
Kei summoned a floating orb of light, letting it hover nearby, ready to provide healing and protection when needed.
Yukino pulled out a grimoire instead of a staff, flipping it open with a calm motion to boost her ice magic and reinforce her defenses.
Eriri cracked her gauntlets together with a sharp clang, taking a solid stance that looked a bit like a boxer's.
The goblins didn't advance, holding their ground as if waiting for an opening.
Seeing that, Reisou didn't hesitate. He charged forward with his lance, 2B and Eriri following close behind.
Meanwhile, Yukino started chanting, summoning floating ice spikes, while Kei used an enchantment boost to increase their power.
With one powerful strike, Reisou eliminated four goblins at once. 2B took down five more easily, her sword never even stained with blood.
Eriri had a harder time, managing to kill only two, probably nervous about making a mistake.
Yukino's ice spikes froze three goblins by piercing their chests. She stared silently at the first monster she had ever killed.
Two more goblins fell to small light spears shot by Kei, the spears hitting their brains directly.
The remaining goblins panicked and tried to flee, but 2B stepped in with her technique.
✫| Sum Fdah |✫
Her lightning-fast speed and sharp strikes amazed the watching girls, especially Eriri, whose own Innate Skill was tied to velocity.
"She's fast," Eriri said, clearly impressed. "Even with my Innate Skill, I don't think I can surpass her."
Reisou raised an eyebrow at Eriri's praise.
For a tsundere like her to compliment someone and admit she was weaker was very surprising.
"If Reisou-kun and 2B-chan stick with us, there's no way we won't come in first," Kei chimed in, sounding relieved.
Looks like teaming up with them was the right choice.
Yukino stayed silent, clutching her grimoire tightly. No one could tell what she was thinking.
"Now that we're done, let's collect the monster cores," Reisou said, grabbing a knife and heading toward a nearby goblin's body.
As soon as he said that, the girls aside from 2B all let out small sighs or grimaces.
They were well aware of the process for retrieving monster cores, and none of them liked it. Just thinking about cutting into monsters to pull out those stones made their stomachs turn a little.
One by one, the girls pulled out small combat knives and sliced into the monsters' bodies, their expressions a mix of awkwardness and discomfort.
Especially Eriri.
Her expressions were the most entertaining to watch.
Amid occasional laughter, everyone finished the task. They placed the monster cores into Kei's backpack for safekeeping, since she was carrying the essentials.
The group spent over an hour moving through the forest, hunting monsters and collecting cores. When they started feeling tired, they climbed up a tree to rest.
Because the trees inside the Gates were massive, resting on the branches was a common way to avoid getting swarmed by monsters on the ground.
With everyone settled in and snacking, the mood lightened.
Eriri and Kei, both looking curious, started throwing questions at the only couple in the group.
"So you two are really dating?" Kei asked, noticing how close they seemed.
She couldn't help feeling a little envious. After all, she was single, and getting fed dog food like that wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Yeah, yeah, I wanna know too," Eriri chimed in, leaning closer with an interested look on her face.
Reisou ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit awkward, but in the end, he gave a small nod.
"Yeah... we are."
"Woah!" both girls cheered at the same time, grinning.
Honestly, they thought the two did look good together, even if 2B seemed almost too beautiful to be real.
She had the kind of presence that made people assume she was from a noble family.
Before the girls could get more excited, Yukino stood up sharply.
Reisou and 2B followed quickly.
They had sensed something was wrong.
"JUMP!" Reisou screamed.
BOOOOOM!