A deep voice echoed from one of the nearby rooms.
"Who dares lay a hand on my men?"
Akira slowly turned toward the sound.
A large man who looked as though he had stepped straight out of a mafia movie stood in the doorway, several similarly dressed men flanking him. The boss narrowed his eyes as he took in the elegant figure wearing the black evening gown.
Akira's smile only grew sweeter. Tilting his head slightly, he gave the man a playful wink.
"My name is Morana. Morana Raven. Please don't forget it, okay~?"
The man grinned, clearly amused.
"Oh? You're a new face around here. We always welcome new blood... but you hurt my men. You'll have to pay for that, won't you?"
He already knew that only VIP guests had access to this floor. Picking an unnecessary fight with someone who belonged here would only bring trouble.
Akira's gentle smile never faltered.
"Oh? You want payment? Money is no problem for me."
The boss's grin widened.
"That's good. Cash? Check? Or something else?"
Akira's eyes curved into an elegant smile.
"Gun~."
In one smooth motion, he reached beneath the slit of his gown, drew a compact pistol, and fired directly at the man's face.
The round struck.
A burst of green gas exploded outward.
The boss staggered backward before collapsing heavily onto the floor without even having the chance to react.
The room froze.
"Boss?!"
"What happened to him?!"
"How dare you—!"
Akira maintained the same sweet smile.
"Relax, boys. This isn't lethal."
He calmly raised the pistol again and fired several more shots in quick succession.
Green smoke rapidly spread through the hallway and into the room.
One after another, the remaining men coughed... then collapsed.
Ritsu's surprised voice came through his earpiece.
"What is that?"
Akira walked gracefully into the room, casually firing another round at anyone who tried to stand back up.
"Something I made after watching The Green Hornet. A gas gun... or maybe a Hornet gun?Anyway—"
A huge man suddenly lunged at him with a powerful swing.
Akira slid low across the floor, the black gown flowing elegantly behind him, and fired straight into the man's face.
The giant crumpled with a heavy thud.
"—it's a fast-acting inhalation sedative. They'll wake up in a few hours. So don't worry."
Two more men charged from opposite sides with knives.
Akira performed a clean backflip between them, his heels clicking once against the floor as he fired twice in mid-air.
Both attackers collapsed instantly.
Landing lightly, he smiled once more, his voice soft and almost playful.
"My, my... I do love surprises. But only from people I like, okay~?"
Both Selena and Ritsu visibly flinched at the tone.
Akira continued weaving through the remaining men with the same graceful precision—dodging, spinning, and firing while quietly complaining under his breath about how awful high heels were for combat.
In less than a minute...
Every threat in the room was unconscious.
He straightened his posture, adjusted the evening gown, and struck a small pose.
"All threats neutralized~."
Selena's dry voice echoed through their telepathic link.
"You're enjoying this way too much for someone who fought so hard against wearing that outfit."
Akira mentally shrugged.
"Well... as they say, if you can't stop it, you might as well enjoy it."
Selena deadpanned.
"...You do realize how bad that sounds, right?"
Akira paused.
"...I do now."
Ritsu suddenly spoke up again.
"Hmm... Akira. I don't know why you're standing there posing... But you forgot about the girl."
Akira blinked.
"Huh. Yeah."
He turned toward the young woman still standing against the wall, her eyes wide with shock.
"Are you alright, little lady~?"
The young girl blushed again.
"N-no... no, I'm fine, miss..."
Then the urgency returned to her voice.
"Miss, you have to save the others! You have to save my sister... Please!"
Akira's expression sharpened slightly.
...Looks like a trafficking ring.
His smile softened.
"Of course. Can you lead the way?"
The girl nodded eagerly.
"Yes! Yes, I can!"
Akira offered her his hand.
"Can you stand, little lady?"
She took it and quickly pulled herself to her feet.
"Yes... thank you, miss... You can save them... right?"
Akira gave her a confident smile.
"Of course. Just lead the way."
He followed her deeper into the luxurious suite.
At the back of one of the rooms, she stopped in front of what appeared to be an ordinary wall panel and pressed a hidden switch.
A section of the wall slid aside, revealing a concealed door.
Akira muttered under his breath,
"...This hotel even has hidden rooms?"
Ritsu answered through his earpiece.
"Yeah. In fact, every room on this floor has one."
Akira narrowed his eyes.
"Hmm... Interesting."
The moment the hidden door opened, several girls tied up inside flinched and instinctively shrank back in fear.
Akira stepped inside, wearing the same calm, elegant smile.
"Don't worry, ladies. You're all safe now."
The girl he had rescued immediately ran to a smaller girl sitting in the corner and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Sister...!"
The younger girl hugged her back just as tightly.
"Sister... I missed you..."
Ritsu asked,
"So... what are we going to do with them?"
Akira looked around the hidden room.
"For now... they need somewhere safe."
Ritsu sounded confused.
"And where exactly are they supposed to find a safe place here?"
Akira smiled.
"I just booked a VIP suite, remember?"
Turning back to the girls, he held out his key card.
"Go to Room 501. Stay there until everything is over. Use this card."
The girls accepted it with trembling hands.
"Thank you... onee-chan."
Akira's smile became a little gentler.
"You're welcome."
As they carefully left the room, Ritsu spoke again.
"So... are you going with them now? Or are you finally going after Takaoka?"
Akira shook his head.
"Not yet. First... Ritsu. Scan this entire suite."
Ritsu activated the sensors in his phone.
A few seconds later, her tone became much more serious.
"Scan complete. There are a lot of documents here. They're related to trafficking rings across Southeast Asia. There are also connections to several corrupt officials. This is bad, Akira. Should we report it?"
Akira was already walking toward the next room.
"The evidence isn't going anywhere. So... not yet."
Ritsu asked,
"Why?"
He paused at the doorway and glanced back with a faint, dangerous smile.
"Because... The treasure hunt has only just begun."
Ritsu tried to protest.
"You know the rest of the class—"
Before she could finish, Akira had already reached the next room.
He rang the bell and called out in a bright, elegant voice.
"Hellooo~ Delivery~"
The door opened.
An irritated man stepped out, clearly ready to complain.
The moment he saw Morana...
He froze.
His voice immediately softened.
"W-what is it, miss? What are you delivering?"
Akira calmly raised the gas gun and pointed it at his face.
"Justice."
And so...
The next thirty minutes passed in a blur of elegant violence.
Room after room.
Akira moved across the entire floor like a black-clad phantom, dismantling one illegal operation after another.
Human trafficking.
Drug trafficking.
Money laundering.
Organ trafficking.
Smuggling.
And much more.
Each encounter followed the same pattern.
A polite smile.
A gentle greeting.
Then...
Green gas.
Graceful heel-clicking footwork.
And another group of criminals collapsing unconscious.
By the time he cleared the final room, he was visibly exhausted.
He sank onto a nearby couch, grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water from the minibar, and took several long gulps.
Ritsu's voice came through again, much quieter this time.
"By the way, Akira-kun..."
Still drinking, Akira answered absentmindedly.
"Hmmm?"
Ritsu asked,
"...What about Takaoka?"
Akira immediately sprayed water everywhere.
"Oh, shit—! I completely forgot about him!"
---
By the time Akira reached the rooftop...
The fight was already over.
On the helipad, Takaoka lay defeated on the ground.
Nagisa stood over him, breathing heavily but clearly victorious.
Below them, the rest of the class was cheering.
Then a girl's voice echoed across the rooftop.
"Oh nooo... I missed the fight!"
Everyone turned at once...
...and froze.
A stunning woman in a midnight-black evening gown stood at the edge of the helipad.
Long black hair framed her elegant face.
Crimson eyes looked genuinely disappointed.
The entire class stared.
"Who is that...?"
"A new enemy?"
"She... she's even prettier than Bitch-sensei."
Karasuma stepped forward, still a little unsteady from the sedative.
"You."
"Identify yourself."
Inside his transparent sphere, Koro-sensei floated closer with his usual cheerful tone.
"My, my, Karasuma-sensei. You should be gentler with a lady. My lady, may I ask who you are?"
Akira looked offended.
"What are you talking about? It's me. Me!"
Terasaka squinted suspiciously.
"What is this? A 'me me' scam?"
Akira let out a sigh before dropping the refined feminine voice and speaking normally.
"It's me, you guys. I'm just in disguise."
For a moment...
Absolute silence.
Then the rooftop exploded.
"WHATTTTTTT?!"
Koro-sensei's eyes spun wildly.
"How is that possible?! How is that even possible, Akira-kun?!"
The male students looked as though their souls had just left their bodies.
"Why...? Why is it like this...?"
"Why him...?"
"This is cruel..."
Meanwhile, the girls immediately surrounded him.
"Wow! How did you become this beautiful?!"
"This dress is gorgeous!"
"You're even prettier than Irina-sensei!"
Akira quickly raised both hands.
"Guys, calm down—!"
Nobody calmed down.
Nagisa finally raised his voice over the chaos.
"Everyone! Calm down! The antidote was still destroyed!"
Akira blinked.
"Oh... about that—"
Before he could finish...
Three figures stepped out from the shadows at the edge of the helipad.
The assassins Takaoka had hired.
The spiky-haired man with the gun in his mouth spoke first.
"Ha. You don't need no stinkin' antidote. You brats really thought you were getting outta here alive, huh?"
The class immediately shifted into fighting stances.
Karasuma, despite still recovering, stepped forward.
"We've defeated the man who hired you. You no longer have a reason to fight. I've mostly recovered. These students are more than capable. And we also have..."
He glanced toward Akira.
"...him. No... her. How about we stop this before anyone gets hurt?"
The gun-mouthed assassin shrugged.
"Yeah. Okay."
Yoshida blinked.
"You just don't know when to give up— ...Huh? 'Okay'?"
"Our contract doesn't include avenging the boss," the assassin replied. "Besides... Like I said. You don't need any antidote."
The assassin wearing the hat took out a small bottle.
"This is what we gave you. It's just a toxin that'll make you sick for a while. It naturally wears off after a few hours. Originally, I planned to use an improved food-poisoning bug that dies after thirty minutes... But someone anonymously warned us we'd die if we used bugs. So... we didn't."
Everyone slowly turned toward Akira.
Still dressed as Morana Raven, he smiled sweetly.
"That was the correct decision. Because you would've died a very painful death if you'd used bugs."
A collective shiver ran through the rooftop.
The blonde assassin looked at him curiously.
"Who exactly are you?"
Akira casually waved a hand.
"Don't worry about that for now. Just tell us why you didn't use the real virus. I'm sure that's what Takaoka wanted."
The gun-mouthed assassin nodded.
"Of course. If we'd used that... You'd all be in serious trouble. And he never planned on giving you the antidote anyway. So the three of us talked it over... And gave you this instead."
Okano frowned.
"So you disobeyed your client? You can actually do that?"
The assassin with a gun in his mouth snorted.
"What are you, an idiot? If you think professionals will do absolutely anything for money... You've got another thing coming. Sure. We try to fulfill our client's requests. But he never intended to hand over the antidote. So our choices were simple. Either become the murderers of a bunch of respectable junior high school kids... Or take a hit to our professional reputation. We simply chose the option that carried less risk."
The assassin wearing the hat nodded.
"And that's why none of you are going to die. In a few hours... You'll probably feel even better than before. So don't worry."
Karasuma remained firm.
"I'll believe that once I see every student recover. For now... I'll have to detain all of you for questioning."
The assassin with the gun in his mouth shrugged again.
"Ah well. You've got about a week. Then we've got another job."
A helicopter descended onto the helipad.
Takaoka and the three assassins boarded first.
The rest of the class waited for the second helicopter.
Karma casually walked over, still staring at Akira's disguise with obvious curiosity.
"So... Akira. What exactly have you been doing? I thought you'd get here sooner."
Akira awkwardly looked away.
"Well... I was on my way but... I just got distracted... And one thing led to another..."
Karma narrowed his eyes.
"And what exactly was that?"
Ritsu's voice came from several phones at once, sounding almost exhausted.
"Well... First, he dismantled multiple human trafficking rings."
Everyone stared.
"...What?"
"Then five drug trafficking operations."
"...WHAT?"
"Then three organ trafficking groups."
Silence.
"And finally... He collected evidence implicating twenty-five government officials."
The entire class shouted in unison.
"WHATTTTTTTT?!"
Karasuma pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh.
"...Why do I have the feeling this mission report is going to be longer than the operation itself?"
Still wearing the black evening gown, Akira simply looked toward the distant lights of the resort below.
"Well... that's that. So... when are we heading back? I want to see Erika."
The entire class shared the same quiet thought.
At least he stays true to himself... even while disguised.
---
After the last of the loose ends had been taken care of, everyone returned to the resort hotel.
The previously sick students were already back on their feet, energetic and smiling thanks to the medicine Akira had made.
The moment the two groups saw each other, the lobby filled with relieved laughter and tight hugs.
For a short while, they celebrated together, voices overlapping as exhaustion was temporarily forgotten.
Then the adrenaline finally wore off.
One by one, they began to slump against each other.
Within minutes, most of Class 3-E had collapsed into a tangled pile of peacefully sleeping students right there in the lobby, too exhausted to even make it back to their rooms.
While everyone else slept, Akira and Erika quietly slipped away.
They found a quiet cliff overlooking the dark sea.
Above them, the night sky was clear, filled with countless stars.
Akira was still wearing the complete Morana Raven disguise—the black evening gown, the long black wig, and the crimson contact lenses.
Without any ceremony whatsoever, he flopped down beside Erika.
"Alright. I'm using my unlimited lap pillow privileges."
Without waiting for permission, he rested his head on her lap and stretched out comfortably.
Erika looked down at him and sighed, though she made no attempt to push him away.
"...It's weird seeing you like this."
Akira's voice was muffled against her lap.
"Hey."
"You're the one who made me wear this."
Erika shook her head.
"No, no... You look beautiful in it, but..."
Akira tilted his head slightly so he could look up at her.
"More beautiful than my sister?"
Selena's voice immediately echoed through their shared telepathic link.
"Don't push your luck, Brother."
Erika smiled faintly as she gently ran her fingers through the long black wig.
"Hmm... I guess you're both beautiful. But that's not what I meant. You just... look completely different. Too different. So it feels a little strange."
Akira huffed.
"It's all your fault. You're the one who wanted this. So deal with it."
Erika looked quietly at the elegant female version of the boy she loved.
For a moment, she genuinely didn't know what to say.
Eventually, she settled on something much simpler.
"...At least take the wig off."
Akira immediately shook his head.
"No. Then I'd just be Akira wearing an evening gown. That would be way too ridiculous."
Erika imagined it...
...and couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Haha... Yeah. That really would be ridiculous."
Akira pouted.
"Don't laugh."
Her smile lingered for a few more moments.
Then her blue eyes slowly deepened into crimson.
"Well... There is one way to make sure."
Before Akira could ask what she meant...
She leaned down and gently bit the side of his neck.
She drank slowly and carefully for only a short while.
When she pulled away, she wiped the small trace of blood from the corner of her mouth with her thumb before licking it clean.
"...Yep. It still tastes like you."
Akira sighed, never moving from her lap.
"Well... It is me. So of course I taste like me. Sigh... Anyway, I'm never wearing this again after tonight. So enjoy it while you can."
Erika looked down at him with a knowing smile.
"Really? I have a feeling you'll definitely end up wearing it again."
Akira turned his face away.
"Nope. Not in a million years."
Erika looked thoughtful.
"My boyfriend sense is telling me otherwise."
Akira blinked.
"I've heard of girlfriend intuition... But what the heck is boyfriend sense?"
Erika answered with complete seriousness.
"It's the evolved version of girlfriend intuition. Kind of like Spider-Sense... But it only works on your boyfriend. All girls who really, really love their boyfriend have it."
Akira snorted.
"Really? I don't believe that."
Erika's eyes sparkled mischievously.
"Well... If you don't... I'll just tickle you until you do."
Her fingers immediately found his sides.
Akira jolted and burst into laughter.
"W-Wait!"
"Erika, stop!"
Erika smiled innocently.
"No. I won't."
She continued tickling him as the two of them laughed together beneath the star-filled sky...
...while the rest of the class slept peacefully far below.
---
That very same night...
Whispers had already begun spreading throughout the underworld.
A beautiful woman dressed in black.
Long black hair.
Striking crimson eyes.
A smile as sweet as poison.
A mysterious sleeping gas capable of dropping grown men within seconds.
One name passed from one criminal organization to another...
Spoken with equal parts curiosity and caution.
Morana Raven.
A new legend had quietly begun.