The forest entrance; darkness like the gaping maw of a monstrous creature, swallowing all light.
Shizuka stood at the entrance with a flashlight in hand, delivering the rules to the first group of students about to set off.
"There's only one route—just follow the footpath marked with red cloth strips. Someone is waiting for you at the finish line; take the proof item from them and you're considered successful. No flashlights, no making noise. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Several students walked trembling into the darkness.
Before long, it was Darius's group's turn. Four members: Zaimokuza as "Bait," Yui as "Grenadier," Yukino as "Assault," and Darius as "Commander."
"Heavy Infantry, advance." Darius put on his night-vision device, his voice coming out slightly distorted through the equipment.
Zaimokuza swallowed hard, steeling his heart with the tragic mentality of "loyalty unto death," and stepped forward to lead the way into the forest. His heavyset frame nearly blocked half the footpath.
Yui followed close behind, clutching her "ammunition pouch." Yukino gripped the large block of wood, following without expression like an executioner devoid of feeling. Darius held the rear position, his green eyes sweeping the surrounding darkness like a predator on the hunt.
Barely twenty meters into the forest, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Wind stirred the leaves, producing a sound like thousands of people whispering all at once.
Suddenly, from the bushes to the left, a white shadow leapt out!
It was an elementary school student wearing a white bedsheet with a ghost face scrawled on it. He spread his arms and let out a "Wuaaa—" sound that he presumably considered terrifying.
"Contact! Ten o'clock position, enemy target appeared!" Darius's voice was impossibly calm and all the more unsettling for it. "Fire!"
"Ready!"
Yui didn't even have time to see the target before her body responded on instinct. She reached into the cloth bag, grabbed a piece of black cookie, and with all her strength hurled it in the direction Darius had indicated.
"Anti-Materiel Tactical Grenade, launch!"
The cookie shot through the air in a sharp arc. It didn't hit the elementary schooler—it struck the trunk of a nearby arm-thick tree with pinpoint precision.
*THWACK!*
A hard, dull impact rang out, the kind that set teeth on edge. The tree shuddered violently, sending a shower of leaves raining down.
The elementary schooler in his ghost costume flinched hard at the sound of the impact. The lines he had prepared caught in his throat. He stared blankly at the tree, then at these high schoolers radiating a deeply unsettling aura, and instantly forgot what he was supposed to do.
"Target hit by sonic shockwave, movement impaired! Heavy Infantry, hold the front line!" Darius issued orders immediately.
Zaimokuza nervously puffed out his chest and planted himself at the front.
At that very moment, from another set of bushes to the right ahead, a figure stumbled upright. This one was an elementary schooler wearing a monster mask and holding a plastic scythe.
"Second wave incoming! Two o'clock position! Witch of the End, assault the left flank!" Darius's commands rang out clear and fast.
Yukino's mind went blank. The words "assault the left flank" seemed to bypass her logic center entirely and flow directly to her nerve endings like an electric current. Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
She stepped forward, turned her body, and the "Sacred Sword of Physics" in her hands swung in a horizontal arc with the perfect form of a baseball batter, trailing a ferocious rush of wind!
*WHOOSH!*
The block of wood didn't hit anyone—it was still well over a meter away from the elementary schooler. But the roaring wind produced by a heavy block of wood cleaving the air, like the snarl of a wild beast, combined with Yukino's face—pale and luminous in the darkness, completely expressionless—created a visual that was nothing short of oppressive.
The second elementary schooler in his ghost disguise felt his mask go crooked. He stared at the block of wood that was nearly thicker than his own arm, the tremendous pressure of the displaced air slamming into his face. His brain immediately crashed.
The next instant, a living creature's survival instinct overrode everything else.
"WAAAAAA—MOMMYYY!"
He let out a heartrending wail, flung his plastic scythe away, spun around, and bolted at full speed into the depths of the forest—crawling, rolling—until he vanished into the darkness.
The first elementary schooler in his ghost disguise also snapped back to his senses. Infected by his companion's crying, he joined in screaming and ran for his life.
All that remained at the scene was a dumbstruck Zaimokuza, Yui clutching her bag of cookies, Yukino frozen in her follow-through pose with the block of wood, and Darius observing in calm silence.
"Good." Darius lowered his night-vision device and nodded. "Enemy morale shattered, they've routed. Threat neutralized."
He walked to Yukino's side and patted her shoulder. "Exceptional reaction speed, Class-D Personnel. But remember for next time—aim for the head."
Yukino slowly lowered the block of wood and looked down at her slightly trembling hands. She felt as though something was being peeled away from her.
"Let's... keep moving," Her voice came out a little dry.
The unit continued their advance.
The remainder of the journey went remarkably smoothly. No more "ghosts" leapt out. The entire forest fell into complete silence, as though all "enemies" had evacuated the battlefield in advance.
They quickly completed most of the route. Through the night-vision device, the glow of the bonfire at the finish line was already beginning to appear faintly ahead.
And there at the border between light and darkness, a small solitary shadow sat alone on the ground.
It was Rumi.
She was dressed all in black, with a simple white triangular cloth on her head, playing the role of the legendary ghost. She was the final checkpoint of this Test of Courage route.
In Darius's night-vision device, the small figure was locked inside a red targeting box. Above the box, a line of green text appeared.
[Target Locked: Patient Zero]
The corner of Darius's mouth curved into a barely perceptible arc.
"Everyone, attention." His voice brought the others back to full alertness.
"The final boss has appeared."
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