Chapter 372: The Black Death Emperor Faction Seeking Their Own Demise
Fashionable clothes in the wardrobe, various women's magazines, makeup products, and a few cute stuffed dolls.
Asagi's room was no different from an ordinary girl's room.
Only the area around the desk in the corner stood out, featuring a large screen and a towering rack-mounted computer.
A computer setup that could rival those of small-scale tech companies or university research labs was arranged on the desk.
The scene resembled the room of a shut-in otaku.
Though only a few knew, Asagi's specialty was computer programming, making her a genius girl.
She was a hacker, known in the IT world by the domineering and embarrassingly cringe-worthy nickname "Cyber Empress."
Balancing personal interest and practical benefits, Asagi also took on high-paying jobs from companies on Itogami Island or the Artificial Island Management Corporation.
That said, Asagi wasn't in the mood for work today, all because she had learned from Yuuma that Mahiro and that underclassman named Himeragi Yukina had attended some party.
She had originally planned to vent her frustrations to Kou, but as soon as she launched the messaging app on her phone, she noticed an unfamiliar email.
The sender's email address was from Kano Alchemical Industries Corporation.
Asagi had taken on several job requests from this company before and knew it was a major player in Itogami City.
What was strange was that the content wasn't a job request.
The message contained only a single line:
"Seeking Interpretation—"
"What is this? Though it doesn't seem like a virus email either..."
Tilting her head, Asagi opened the attached file.
A quick glance revealed a string of strange, unidentified characters—a complex and intimidating linguistic system, a flawlessly logical array, unlike any language that had ever existed among Earth's peoples, and not an incantation used for Magic or Sorcery.
Even if all linguists or Mage organizations were mobilized, deciphering this would likely be difficult.
But for Aiba Asagi, it was a different story entirely.
She was clever and had a strong interest in solving puzzles.
"Bold of you to challenge me."
With a pleased expression, Asagi exhaled, her fighting spirit ignited.
Her hacker intuition told her that the symbols displayed on her phone weren't a string meant for humans, so ordinary linguistic approaches would be utterly useless.
This was a language created for something other than humans—a command system designed to manipulate an unknown, special structure. It was a program.
A command system for manipulating an unknown, special structure.
This happened to align perfectly with her area of expertise.
Coincidentally, she was still fuming over the last time an unknown individual had bested her in her most confident field, with pent-up frustration nowhere to vent. Driven by pure curiosity, Asagi immediately decided to prepare for decryption.
Soon, Asagi immersed herself in deciphering the character string.
The bizarre characters were dismantled, and translated text appeared on the screen.
"Nalakuvera...?"
Muttering the word that surfaced on the screen, Asagi continued typing on the keyboard.
The night deepened in the Demon Sanctuary of Itogami City, with neither the security forces nor the Demon Hunters yet aware that events had already spiraled far beyond everyone's expectations.
While the Beastmen's intellect indeed couldn't decipher the characters, they could entrust the task to world-class geniuses to complete...
It was getting late.
By the time they disembarked from the cruise ship, it was already around midnight.
Since Yukina lived in the small villa next to Mahiro's home, they could walk part of the way together.
While leaving the ship to return, Yukina kept apologizing on behalf of her friend, hoping Mahiro would forgive her.
Along the way, Yukina shared many things.
Mostly about Sayaka's past.
As a child, Sayaka was frequently abused by her biological father, which made her deeply afraid of interacting with boys.
And all the schools she had attended were exclusively girls' academies.
Throughout her life, Yukina was her only friend, which was why she cared so excessively and acted out in those petulant ways.
Mahiro was well aware of these details, as they were somewhat described in the original work. Yet, hearing them firsthand still left him unable to help but sigh—sometimes the gap between people could be even greater than that between humans and beasts.
To have such a lovely and beautiful daughter yet fail to cherish her, instead inflicting harm countless times.
Fortunately, Sayaka's father had died a few years ago.
This was a comforting thought.
"So, Sayaka didn't mean to speak harshly to you, Senpai. She's actually quite pitiable," Yukina whispered softly.
"Mhm, don't worry, I understand. I haven't taken those things to heart," Mahiro replied with a faint smile.
"Thank you, Senpai. If possible, could you please ask Natsuki-sensei about Gardos?"
Upon reaching the front of Mahiro's villa, the girl gave Mahiro a cheerful smile.
Waving both hands in farewell to Mahiro, she returned to the apartment across the way.
Watching Yukina's graceful figure disappear into the neighboring villa, Mahiro couldn't help but feel a slight pang of emotion in his heart—this little girl seemed truly serious this time.
No, given Yukina's stubborn nature, every decision she made was serious.
But what purpose would it serve to have him ask Natsuki-chan?
It was true that Natsuki-chan had captured several unregistered demons, and after interrogation, they were indeed linked to the Black Death Emperor Faction. The problem, however, was that the whereabouts of those stone tablets remained unknown.
And most crucially, even Mahiro couldn't offer much help in this matter.
Aside from the lack of description about the stone tablets' location in the original work, he had also sent people to search for that Black Death Emperor Faction.
But unfortunately.
With too many connections to those Beastmen and the multitude of enterprises on Itogami Island, Shadow Garden's investigation had made little progress, yielding only trivial information.
Even Zeta, who was most skilled at gathering intelligence, was currently at a loss.
They could only wait for these individuals to reveal themselves.
The next day.
The blazing sun rose once more from the sea's horizon. Bathed in the morning light streaming through the window, Mahiro awoke from his slumber.
However, it wasn't a natural awakening—he was rudely jolted awake!
"Mahiro-nii! Hey, Mahiro-nii, time to get up!"
Replacing the alarm clock ringing in his ears was Nagisa's voice, pitched a sharp fifty percent higher than usual.
Chirping away like little sparrows.
The girl, already changed into her uniform, barged directly into his bedroom and yanked open the curtains.
She then snatched the blanket from Mahiro, who instinctively tried to cover his head from the blinding sunlight.
"It's morning already, time to get up. You'll be late. What about your breakfast? Ah, you turned off the alarm clock again. Did you pack all your textbooks? What about homework? And you just threw your clothes everywhere...
...Huh? Mahiro-nii, really! How could you crumple up such an expensive evening gown like that!"
"Yawn, what's the big deal? It's only going to be worn once anyway. I was planning to just..."
Mahiro yawned, slowly sitting up from the bed, rubbing his bleary eyes—clearly still half-asleep.
"That won't do! I remember this brand's clothes are super expensive. You can't waste them; you have to take good care of them!"
From the crack of dawn, Nagisa Akatsuki, full of energy, stood by the bed with her hands on her hips, lecturing him.
While scolding him, she didn't forget to take out a hanger, shake out the suit pants he had crumpled into a ball, and neatly hang each piece on the hanger.
Meanwhile, Mahiro wobbled to his feet and headed toward the bathroom.
He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water. The cool water instantly washed away most of his drowsiness.
Given his current constitution, he didn't actually need to sleep.
But the worst was being forcibly woken up in the middle of sleep—that was pure torture.
However, if he wasn't forced awake, there was no telling how long he might have slept.
On the dining table, as usual, breakfast specialties from various countries were spread out.
But unlike usual, the black gothic lolita who loved sitting at the head of the table was nowhere to be seen.
According to Veldiana, Natsuki-chan had left before dawn.
She said the security team had received new intel and reportedly found the hideout of that Black Death Emperor Faction.
When he heard this news, he glanced at Zeta and Alpha, who were also having breakfast.
But both of them shook their heads.
Clearly, the intel Natsuki-chan received was fake.
But he didn't pay it much mind. After finishing breakfast, he headed to school with Yuuma, Nagisa Akatsuki, and the others.
Entering the Class 1-A classroom and returning to his seat, the first thing Mahiro did was open the window. He enjoyed the cool sea breeze blowing into the classroom while catching up on sleep.
Seeing this, Aiba Asagi, sitting next to him, just sighed softly, showing she was already used to it.
She also rested her head on her backpack on the desk and started catching up on sleep.
Because of deciphering that text last night, she hadn't slept much either.
Fortunately, her efforts weren't in vain. In just one short night, she had already deciphered part of the program.
Was it the activation program for Nalakuvera?
"What exactly is Nalakuvera..."
Muttering like a sleep-talker, Aiba Asagi also fell into a deep sleep.
It wasn't until the third class of the morning that she woke from her slumber. Sitting up, she focused intently on the teacher's lecture, diligently taking notes.
Occasionally, she would sneak a glance at Mahiro's handsome sleeping face.
Everything was just like any other day.
Until a rough sound of the door being thrown open suddenly came from the front of the classroom.
Bang!
Suddenly, the classroom door was rudely pushed open.
Seeing the figure slowly entering the room, the students let out brief gasps of surprise.
Blocking the doorway was a tall man dressed in gray military uniform, his face covered in silver beast-like fur, with sharp fangs protruding from his prominent mouth.
"Beastmen? And unregistered demons at that?!"
Motoki Yaze, seated next to Asagi, let out a small exclamation, which prompted Asagi to also emit a low murmur.
Were unregistered demons scary?
Very scary.
Because they were beings that the security forces could not monitor.
Not to mention, they were a group of unregistered demons who had suddenly barged into the classroom, looking as fierce and menacing as terrorists!
Yuuma, who was in the same class, frowned slightly upon seeing the beastmen who had recklessly intruded.
If it were just one beastman, she was confident she could defeat and easily subdue him with magic.
But at the moment, the number of beastmen swarming in through both the front and back doors was around ten, and she also had to consider the safety of her classmates.
Even if she acted unexpectedly, it would be difficult to guarantee the safety of her classmates...
As she thought this, her peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of her father, who was still catching up on sleep.
Seeing Mahiro's peaceful sleeping face, her heart inexplicably calmed down.
Yes, since Father was present, it seemed there was no need for her to take action. She only hoped these beastmen would restrain themselves and not disturb Father's sleep.
Otherwise—
Father's grumpiness upon waking up was truly terrifying.
"Gregor, have you found the person?"
Following the beastman who had first barged into the classroom, another burly man in military uniform entered.
Although the newcomer was in human form, he was a middle-aged man with an astonishing sense of authority, especially the scar on his left eye, which coiled across his face like a centipede, leaving a deep impression.
"I can only confirm she is among the forty-some people in this class, Captain."
The questioned beastman replied in a rough, difficult-to-understand voice, clearly not fluent in Japanese.
Upon hearing their conversation, Motoki Yaze immediately understood.
They were here to find someone, which was why they had come straight to their classroom.
Coincidentally, the Witch of the Void, Natsuki Minamiya, was also away from the school due to business... Could it be that these guys had deliberately lured her away?!
Motoki Yaze quickly analyzed the situation. If Natsuki Minamiya were at the school, these unregistered demons would never dare to set foot in Saikai Academy.
But the current situation was far too dire.
Could it be that this time, they would truly have to rely on him?
Thinking this, Motoki Yaze's gaze involuntarily fell upon Mahiro, who was sleeping soundly in the corner.
Yet, the moment he recalled how Hinado had always looked pained every time he saw her after that day when this man had called her away, an inexplicable emotion surged in his eyes.
It was resentment and humiliation!
At the same time, the middle-aged man referred to as the captain grumbled impatiently: "Japanese faces are so hard to recognize. Although we could just take them all away and use them as hostages..."
The quality is there, but it's too conspicuous. Although the Demon Slayer Natsuki Minamiya has been lured away, it's still troublesome.
"You... what are you trying to do? Don't... don't disrupt our class."
The bespectacled math teacher snapped back to reality and began lecturing them.
However, before he could finish, the middle-aged man in military uniform, referred to as the captain, drew his pistol and pulled the trigger.
The fired bullet instantly struck the teacher's forehead, and his body immediately collapsed heavily onto the floor. Blood from the hole between his brows slowly spread across the pristine tiled floor.
The sudden, horrific scene unfolding before them caused the students in the classroom to erupt in screams of terror!
"Captain?"
Such decisive action even left his Beastmen teammates stunned.
"Shut up, all of you!"
The moment the middle-aged man's fierce gaze swept across the classroom, the students fell silent, trembling as they covered their mouths, not daring to make a sound.
Pleased with their reaction, the man calmly holstered his pistol.
Then, in fluent Japanese, he addressed them:
"Sorry for the sudden visit. We're just looking for a girl named Aiba Asagi, hoping she can help us with a task. Could she come out quietly?"
It might have been an illusion, but the man's voice now sounded completely different from before, mixed with a faint electronic static.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?"
Hearing that they were looking for her, Asagi bravely stood up, shielding her classmates as she questioned the man.
She couldn't possibly be unafraid, yet her voice didn't tremble in the slightest.
The man called the captain expressed admiration for Asagi's bravery.
Perhaps because he was a soldier who valued courage, he showed respect for those with bravery.
That was likely his way.
"My apologies. We only know the rules of the battlefield and were late in introducing ourselves to the ladies. I am willing to apologize. I am Christoph Gardos—a retired soldier from the Warlord's Empire, now a revolutionary activist."
This time, everyone noticed that the Beastman wasn't moving his mouth, yet a voice could be heard.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out the voice was coming from a communicator on the Beastman's body, conducting the conversation with them!
However, the name Christoph Gardos made Motoki Yaze gasp silently in shock.
Why would someone from the Black Death Emperor Faction come to the school, and specifically seek out Aiba Asagi? Had something happened?!
Aiba Asagi frowned slightly as she looked at the communicator in the Beastman's chest pocket, pondering for a moment before speaking again:
"I can go with you, but you must not harm anyone else in the school!"
"Haha, I admire your bravery, Aiba Asagi. I can agree to your request, and I never intended to harm humans in the first place."
Gardos's laughter came through the communicator.
Yet, in front of the math teacher who had died with his eyes wide open, his words felt particularly ironic.
Just as Asagi was about to leave with them, Yuuma, who was closest to her, called out for her to wait.
"Yuuma, don't stop me. This trouble is my fault. I can't put everyone in danger..." Asagi whispered softly.
Just as Yuuma was about to say something more, a languid voice drifted lazily through the air.
"...What trouble? What danger? Asagi, if you go with these beasts, that would be the greatest trouble and danger of all."
The flippant, idle voice quietly echoed in the classroom, drawing everyone's gaze.
Glancing sideways, they saw Mahiro, who had been catching up on sleep, had woken up at some point. He was slumped back in his chair, looking drowsy.
He crossed his legs.
In his gaze sweeping over those Beastmen, crimson eyes already glinting, something terrifying churned within.