10:00 a.m. on the school rooftop. Kira was still sitting on a chair, staring at the contents of Vesely's notebook.
"Where is that person anyway…?" Kira muttered in confusion. He had been waiting for the informant hired by Nieza for two full hours, yet the person still hadn't shown up.
"…Perhaps he is still gathering information related to yesterday's incident, Sir Kira," Aigis replied.
"...That could be. Actually, there's something I wanted to ask him, but… never mind," Kira said as he lay back on the only long bench on the rooftop.
Aigis watched Kira lying there with her usual neutral expression. Feeling strangely embarrassed under her gaze, Kira suddenly spoke up.
"…Aigis, how long have you been guarding Diablo?"
"Two thousand years, Sir Kira."
"Wow… that's a very long time. I've actually been curious about Diablo himself. Who exactly is Diablo?"
"Diablo is the embodiment of all evil that exists within the Second Heavenly Beings. Those beings separated every malicious intent within themselves and unified it into a single entity. That entity is Diablo."
"…So Diablo is the sum of all evil intentions from the Second Heavenly Beings? That's insane. Why would they do that?"
"For the sake of eternal peace. They understood that the source of chaos and war originates from malicious intent. Therefore, they separated their own evil so that no wickedness would remain in their world."
"Then why didn't the Engill just kill him? If Diablo died, wouldn't their goal be achieved?"
"Diablo is too powerful. Killing him is nearly impossible. That is why God bestowed upon us Pandora's Box to seal him. From that moment on, we were tasked with guarding the sealed Diablo."
"…Then Zadyaraka appeared. I still don't understand his actions. Why would he want to destroy the peace that everyone desires?"
"…Even we Engill cannot fully understand him. He always said, 'Your heaven is not in this world!' Which is contradictory, considering he himself is a Second Heavenly human…"
"He's also a Second Heavenly human? That's surprising," Kira muttered.
"…Personally, I believe Zadyaraka's desire itself is chaos."
"Hm… That reminds me. You said Konets Sveta is a dimension created by Diablo, right? Why do ordinary humans who die there end up with Apathy Syndrome?"
"Because the souls of humans killed there are overwhelmed by despair. That despair originates from the accumulated malicious intent within Diablo. As long as they cannot overcome that despair, they will fall into Apathy Syndrome."
"So… people suffering from Apathy Syndrome can recover once the clan leader responsible for their deaths in Konets Sveta is killed?"
"There is actually one other way, Sir Kira…"
"What is it?"
"The human soul surrenders to despair and chooses to join the clan leader instead. Naturally, those who do so become Monsters."
Kira fell silent upon hearing Aigis's words. It felt as if he had uncovered something deeply unsettling about the mystery surrounding Neopjevan School. Suddenly, he sat up and reread Vesely's notebook.
"That… that makes sense. That's very possible," Kira said in shock.
"What is it, Sir Kira?"
"Aigis, I—"
"RING! RING!"
Kira's phone suddenly rang. He frowned in confusion; the number was unfamiliar.
"Hello?"
"K-Kira Rainhard? Is this Kira Rainhard?" A man's voice spoke urgently, heavy with fear.
"Yes, this is him. Who is this?"
"Listen to me! Protect Lady Nieza right now! Those parasites are going to attack her! Those haters—"
"…Parasites? Haters? Hey! What do you mean?!" Kira demanded.
"It—ad—uA—AGGHHH!"
A scream of agony echoed through the phone, followed by a loud crash. Kira also heard the sound of shattering glass.
"Oh my… such expensive things breaking like this. Oh well, they'll be consumed by flames anyway…"
Another man's voice echoed faintly—different from the one who had called Kira.
"Hello?! Hello?!"
The line went dead.
Who was that? What just happened?
A terrible premonition washed over Kira.
"BLAM!"
A massive explosion suddenly thundered across the area, accompanied by violent tremors that shook the entire school building. The blast, with a radius of several kilometers, originated from Neopjevan School's laboratory. Thick black smoke billowed into the midday sky as red flames engulfed the destroyed lab.
"What's happening?!" Kira shouted in shock.
"There has been an explosion approximately 300 meters to the southeast. It appears to have originated from the laboratory," Aigis reported.
"I have a really bad feeling about this. Aigis, let's go!" Kira said as he sprinted toward the laboratory.
At the same time, the school alarm blared.
"Attention all Neopjevan School occupants. Please evacuate the building immediately. Do not panic or rush while exiting. We repeat: all occupants are to evacuate the building immediately."
The evacuation announcement echoed throughout the school. Panic spread among the students as teachers hurriedly calmed and guided them outside.
The same chaos unfolded in Class 3-D. Nieza looked visibly shaken and confused as she prepared to leave the building. Mr. Forta, the teacher currently in charge, worked hard to keep the students calm and led them out in an orderly manner.
"…Is Kira safe…?" Nieza murmured quietly.
At the same time, Kira was running at full speed toward Neopjevan School's laboratory.
"Sir Kira, why aren't you evacuating the school building immediately?" Aigis asked.
"There's something I need to confirm, Aigis! And the answer is in the school laboratory!" Kira replied.
The closer Kira got to the laboratory, the hotter it became. Intense heat wrapped around his body, and the thin air made it difficult to breathe. Even so, Kira pressed on toward the lab.
When he reached the laboratory, Kira found a man lying motionless right in front of the lab door. The entire laboratory and its equipment were engulfed in flames. Ignoring the burning interior, Kira rushed to the man.
"Hey! Are you okay?!" Kira shouted as he tried to wake him.
There was no response. Leaving him there would be extremely dangerous. Kira lifted the man and carried him away from the laboratory.
"Sir Kira, how did you know there was someone injured here?" Aigis asked.
"It was just a hunch. This man is Nieza's informant. It seems he discovered something, but someone attacked him in the laboratory. I suspected the incident happened here because I heard the sound of shattering glass—and the attacker seemed aware that it was expensive glass. From what I know, the most expensive glass items in a school are chemical laboratory equipment," Kira explained.
"Your intuition is truly remarkable, Sir Kira."
"…Wait."
Kira suddenly stopped, as if realizing something. While continuing to carry Nieza's informant, he pulled his phone from his pocket and called Nieza.
"Hello? Kira? Where are you?!" Nieza said urgently when she answered.
"I'm on the third floor near the laboratory. Where are you?"
"What?! Are you stupid?! Get out of there right now! I and all the Neopjevan students are on the sports field!" Nieza shouted.
"Sir Kira, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Konets Sveta will arrive in five minutes!" Aigis warned urgently.
"At a time like this?!" Kira exclaimed.
"What? What do you mean, Kira?!" Nieza asked, confused.
"Nieza! Get away from the sports field right now! Konets Sveta is coming!"
"Huh?! But why?!"
"The culprits we're looking for—there are two of them!"
"Sir Kira, behind you! Be careful!" Aigis shouted in warning.
Startled by Aigis's alert, Kira turned around. A figure clad head to toe in fire-resistant protective gear stood there, holding a baseball bat. Before Kira could dodge, the bat swung hard into his head. Kira collapsed, falling together with the man he was carrying. Blood slowly trickled from his head.
"Sir Kira! Sir Kira!" Aigis cried out in panic, furious at her own inability to help him.
The person in protective gear quickly walked away from Kira, tossing the baseball bat into the burning laboratory and leaving it to be consumed by the flames.
"Kira! What happened?! Kira?!"
Nieza's voice rang loudly from Kira's phone, but it was not enough to wake him.