Amaterasu and Kamui were being held captive by a man with dark crimson hair.
"So, you're finally awake," the man said casually.
"Who are you?" Amaterasu snapped.
"Easy there, don't get worked up," he replied.
Amaterasu glared at him with clear irritation. Then the man smirked and dragged Kamui's bruised body forward.
Seeing Kamui in that state, Amaterasu's rage exploded.
"You bastard! What did you do to him?!"
"I merely tortured him," the man answered coldly.
"YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!" Amaterasu screamed, thrashing wildly.
"Calm down, sweetheart."
Suddenly, the bindings holding her broke, and in a blink, she punched the man across the face, launching him back.
But she wasn't done—Amaterasu dashed forward and began to pound him relentlessly.
"Hey! Do you even know who you're hitting?" the same man's voice came from behind her.
Shocked, Amaterasu turned around.
"How are you behind me?"
The man then pointed toward the one she had just been attacking.
"Kamui?"
With a devilish grin, the man introduced himself.
"The name's Gabimaru. I'm a hero… and a master of high-level illusion magic."
"Why are you doing this to us?"
"Simple. I'm following the orders of Erina—your beloved teacher."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been tasked with eliminating all the 'useless' students like you."
Amaterasu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Gabimaru laughed maniacally and covered his left eye with his right hand.
---
"Oh, is that so?" a new voice said.
Gabimaru turned quickly.
"How long have you been standing there?!"
Allen stood behind him, pointing toward a group behind Gabimaru—Rika, Stella, and Megumin were there, holding Erina hostage.
"Impossible…" Gabimaru muttered in disbelief.
---
Some time earlier...
Allen was about to rush in to save Amaterasu and Kamui, but Megumin stopped him.
"Don't be reckless," she warned.
"Relax, I'll end this quickly," Allen replied.
"Idiot, what if it's a trap? You haven't even mastered your energy yet."
Allen paused and looked at Megumin sharply, his eyes fierce.
"Do you really think I'm weak now?"
Megumin was silent.
At that moment, someone approached the arguing duo.
"Long time no see, Allen Stolen."
Allen and Megumin turned.
"You… Fujimiya?" Allen said.
"Yup," Fujimiya replied, flashing a mischievous grin. "You two seem really close, huh?"
"Shut up, psycho," they snapped in unison.
"Haha, what are you two up to?" Fujimiya chuckled.
"Who is this guy?" Megumin whispered.
"That's Fujimiya Hanemia—an old friend of mine. Don't let his personality fool you—he's a genius strategist."
"What are you whispering about?" Fujimiya smiled again.
Allen and Megumin exchanged glances and nodded. Allen then explained what had just happened.
Fujimiya rubbed his chin, processing the situation. After a while, he smirked darkly.
"This just got interesting."
"What do you mean?" Allen asked.
Just then, two figures came running toward them—Stella and Rika.
"Allen, have you seen Kuroinchi?"
Allen and Megumin looked confused. Fujimiya, however, remained calm.
"You lost a teammate too?" Megumin asked.
"Yeah," Stella replied.
Fujimiya narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"This is all part of Erina's plan. She's trying to wipe out the students she deems useless."
Everyone went silent after hearing Fujimiya's words.
"Wait, are you saying Kuroichi is useless? He has potential!" Rika protested.
"Don't you remember how he was a burden during the tournament?" Fujimiya answered coolly.
"You can't just throw accusations like that," Stella said.
Fujimiya smirked and pulled a small device from his pocket.
"Near." A holy spell activated.
Suddenly, shadows around Allen, Stella, Megumin, and Rika trembled and turned to dust—then reformed.
"What was that?!" Megumin exclaimed.
"That was a Knull—a weak creature, easy to tame. They act as tracking parasites for whoever they cling to," Fujimiya explained.
Allen glanced around—and noticed a man spying on them.
The man immediately turned to flee, but that was his mistake.
Allen appeared above him mid-sprint and struck him with full force. The man blacked out instantly.
Allen dragged him to Fujimiya.
"Here."
Fujimiya scanned the man's memories and then transferred them to the others.
Inside the man's memories were scenes of Erina, Ian, Clara, and Gabimaru conspiring to eliminate the expedition students.
"No way…" Stella gasped.
"Why would they do this to us?"
"Because Clara brainwashed them," Fujimiya replied calmly.
"You keep throwing baseless accusations," Megumin snapped.
Allen tried to calm her down.
"Maybe, but think—have you noticed how strange everyone's been acting lately?" Fujimiya said, his eyes gleaming with cunning.
---
To be continued…