A short while later...
In an old, abandoned warehouse with no surveillance cameras, Ren stood across from a gang of school punks.
Hands in his pockets, music playing in his ears, Ren's half-lidded eyes looked downright sleepy. He yawned occasionally, clearly not taking them seriously in the slightest.
Childish. Just some kids playing pretend.
He wouldn't have even bothered with them if their feet didn't stink so bad, it was honestly offensive to his senses.
On the other side, the punks wielded metal bats and sneers. Their expressions dripped with contempt, as if Ren were nothing more than prey waiting to be toyed with.
After all, the last cocky transfer student who challenged them had ended up hospitalized. To them, Ren was no different.
Just another toy.
"Listen up, kid," the redhead drawled. "If you get down on your knees now and lick our shoes clean, we might just leave you in one piece."
"Yeah! Lickin' our boss's shoes is an honor, ya hear?"
"Be a good little mutt and grovel like your life depends on it!"
"Our boss is the strongest in all of Hoshinoumi Academy!"
"Even the student council president had to cheap-shot him to land a hit!"
"If we'd been there, that half-baked ability of Nao Tomori wouldn't have stood a chance!"
"Damn right!"
"So here are your options. One: get on the ground and lick our boots. Two: let us beat the crap outta you as a warning to the rest. Your choice."
Ren didn't respond. The noise buzzed around him like summer mosquitoes.
He brought a hand to his mouth and yawned.
"...Are you guys done yet?"
His voice was calm. Bored.
"You little, so you're choosing the hard way, huh?!"
The redhead's grin twisted into a snarl.
Ren met his glare with a dull gaze, as if looking at clowns in a circus.
"Stupid games."
And in the blink of an eye, Ren vanished.
"What?!"
"H-he disappeared?!"
"He ran away?!"
"Is his ability... the same as Nao Tomori's?!"
"Damn it, you- "
Bang!
A dull, thunderous crash cut through the chaos.
Before anyone could react, one of the punks, Green Hair, was launched into the air like a ragdoll, slamming into the steel wall with such force that it left a dent.
"First one."
Ren's voice drifted in, laced with amusement.
He reappeared in the middle of their formation, hands still in his pockets.
The others instinctively stumbled back.
"W-When did you-?!"
"He's too fast..."
"This... this is the power of an ability user?!"
"He's even faster than Takajō Jōjirō from the council...!"
"Don't be so shocked," Ren said, tilting his head with a crooked grin. "I haven't even started trying yet."
He slowly raised two fingers from his right hand.
"Release."
In an instant,
The technique activated.
A horizontal, invisible slash cut through the air.
Shhhhk! Shhhhk! Shhhhk!
A series of muffled bursts exploded like meat being torn apart.
Before they could even scream, the gang's legs were severed by the strike. Blood soaked their clothes as their bodies crumpled to the floor.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
"My legs! My legs!!"
"It hurts, it hurts so bad!!"
The warehouse filled with shrieks of agony.
They writhed like worms on the ground, drowning in their own panic.
"Oh, what happened, little tough guys?"
Ren knelt beside one of them, his voice coated in sarcasm.
"Weren't you all bark and no bite just a second ago? Come on, then, knock me down! Make me lick your boots! I'm waiting~"
His dark eyes gleamed coldly, watching their pain with the detached amusement of someone watching a performance.
"Y-you... you monster...!"
The redhead, the only one untouched, stared in horror at his fallen comrades. His legs shook violently. Cold sweat poured down his face.
This guy... wasn't a student. He was a demon.
"Monster?" Ren chuckled. "Not bad. But personally, I prefer 'King of Curses.'"
"K-King of... Curses...?"
"Correct."
"You..."
"Oh right," Ren interrupted. "You've got an ability too, right? Show me. I'll give you one chance to fight back."
His voice brimmed with genuine curiosity.
He wanted to know, how many abilities could he copy?
A hundred? A thousand?
Or more?
"I-I..." the redhead backed away, face pale.
After witnessing that slash, he had no intention of fighting.
"Not gonna show me?"
"I-I'm sorry! Please spare me!!"
He dropped to his knees, groveling without a shred of dignity.
"Tch. Lame."
Ren's interest vanished.
"Release."
Shhk!
Another clean slash.
The redhead's legs were severed, sending him crashing to the ground, screaming in agony.
Ren didn't even flinch.
He turned away, walking toward the warehouse exit.
His mood was decent today, he'd let them live.
But really, crippling them like this was worse than killing them.
For a bunch of bottom-feeding punks, losing their legs was a harsher sentence than death.
"Come on out, Secretary."
As Ren stepped outside, he called out casually.
The air shimmered.
Nao Tomori appeared with her DV cam in hand.
"Ta-da~ Surprise~!"
She grinned impishly.
Ren glanced sideways at her.
"Stalking me. Is that fun for you?"
"Not really."
"Then what was the point?"
"Watching you beat up thugs was fun."
She answered bluntly.
Those guys had been a menace for far too long. Seeing them get torn apart? Extremely satisfying.
"So you're not entirely 'good,' are you?"
"My kindness has limits. And those guys were way outside of them."
Nao spun her camcorder with a wry smile.
After what she'd been through, she was no longer some naive little girl.
Kindness...
Depends on who's on the receiving end.
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200 P.S / 1 Extra Chapter