"I win… resisting unfairness, that's what I—" Mash began, then faltered. "Oh."
"Ugh…" Saori groaned.
"Uh… sorry, I got a bit carried away," Mash said sheepishly.
"…Heh… heh, don't think… you've won, Mash Burne… ugh…" Saori gasped, clutching her head.
"Leader!" Misaki cried.
"Sensei, over here!" Tsurugi called.
"Y-Yeah," Mash stammered.
Mash darted to Hina and Tsurugi's side, checking their wounds. Both were gravely injured. Tsurugi's recovery had begun, but her condition was precarious. Hina was in even worse shape. Meanwhile, Saori, kneeling and holding her head, was tended to by her squad—Misaki wiping tears, Atsuko administering first aid, and Hiyori fussing nervously.
"Tsurugi-san, you're as tough as ever," Mash said.
"Thanks to you buying us time, Sensei," Tsurugi replied, wincing. "Just… a bit tired."
"Don't push yourself," Mash urged.
"I'm less of a concern than Sorazaki Hina," Tsurugi said. "Even for a Kivotos native, those injuries are severe."
"I'll be fine… once I eat some choux cream," Hina muttered.
"No way that works," Tsurugi said.
"Choux cream… is a cure-all…" Hina insisted weakly.
"Even if it was, it wouldn't fix that," Tsurugi retorted.
Mash glanced at the Arius Squad. Saori, still defiant, was being comforted by her teammates.
"I haven't… lost…" Saori growled.
"Leader, maybe we should give up?" Misaki suggested.
"No! I can't accept losing like that… ugh," Saori sniffled.
"Come on, Saori-san held her own against that Sensei," Hiyori said, trying to console her. "Right?"
"I'll keep fighting… I will…" Saori said, tears welling.
"…" Atsuko moved silently to her side.
"Hime… don't underestimate me," Saori said, wincing. "This wound… it's nothing… urk."
Was this what they called a dignity-shattering defeat? Saori pulled her hat low, hiding her face as Misaki, Hiyori, and Atsuko tried to comfort her. Why was she crying? Partly the frustration of losing to a tennis racket, partly the sheer pain of being clobbered in the head—but mostly the embarrassment.
She'd declared, "Come, Mash Burnedead… this will be your grave!" only to have her trump card, a meticulously crafted secret weapon, obliterated effortlessly. The absurdity of the defeat—pummeled by a makeshift tennis game—was too much for her brain to process, and her emotions spilled over in tears.
"Where'd all that intensity go?" Tsurugi asked.
"Getting beaten like that… wasn't in their plans," Hina said, almost sympathetically. "I kinda feel bad."
"Uh, sorry about… all that," Mash said awkwardly.
"Don't apologize. It makes us look pathetic," Saori snapped.
"…Anyway, losing like this ticks me off," Misaki said. "We've gotta hit back."
"Go ahead, I'm ready—oh!" Mash swayed, dizziness hitting him.
To finish off Hina and Tsurugi, Misaki raised her rocket launcher. Simultaneously, summoned Justina Saints' Mimesis began converging on them. Mash braced to protect his allies but was suddenly struck by numbness and vertigo, collapsing.
"Sensei?!" Tsurugi exclaimed. "The poison?!"
"It worked after all—the mystic venom," Misaki said with a smirk.
"Ehehe, I thought it didn't take effect, but good thing it did!" Hiyori chirped. "First, it acts as an acute neurotoxin, causing muscle paralysis and spasms. Then, as a hemorrhagic toxin, it damages muscles and organs. Finally, it triggers multi-organ failure or hemorrhagic shock, leading to death!"
"Sensei… your body!" Hina gasped.
"Whoa, it's turning purple…" Tsurugi muttered.
"Don't move—it'll spread faster," Misaki warned.
"…This is bad," Mash admitted.
His right arm, side, and face—where he'd been cut—oozed blood that turned a sickly blue-purple. Paralysis crept through his body, making movement nearly impossible. The slow-acting poison should've taken hours to spread, so Mash had fought on, accepting some damage as inevitable. But that was assuming he stayed still.
The intense muscle contractions from his battle with Saori had accelerated the poison's spread through his bloodstream, inflicting far greater damage than anticipated.
"…? Got it," Misaki said, listening to a comms device.
"Who's that?" Saori asked, still clutching her head.
"Report from another unit," Misaki said. "They're engaging Pandemonium's forces with the Justina Apostles. Team II's steadily cornering the enemy."
"Good," Saori said.
"Makoto-san, everyone…" Hiyori trailed off.
"We've taken a beating, but the tide's turning, Mash Burnedead," Saori said, aiming her rifle at him.
Tsurugi mustered her last strength to shield Mash, wrapping her arms around him. Hina spread her wings, guarding him too.
"You won't touch Sensei!" Tsurugi growled.
"You'll have to go through us first!" Hina declared.
"Pointless," Saori said. "These bullets can kill even you two easily. I could end you here, but either way, that man's done for."
"No plans to die," Mash said calmly.
Saori pressed the rifle's muzzle to Mash's forehead, her finger on the trigger. Despite the gun, Mash's expression remained impassive.
"With that body, how do you plan to move?" Saori asked.
"Alone, it'd be tough," Mash admitted.
"Exactly. So give up—"
"Nope, I'm not giving up. Not ever," Mash said.
"Why won't you quit?" Saori demanded.
"I know giving up has its place," Mash said. "But not this time. I'm giving it everything I've got—that's the mindset driving me."
"Just… trying…?" Saori repeated, incredulous.
As she tightened her grip on the trigger, an engine's roar echoed through the air.
"Leader!" Misaki shouted.
"?!" Saori flinched.
"Wah?!" Hiyori yelped.
"…!" Atsuko froze.
"Get outta the waaaay!"
A small truck barreled onto the scene, plowing through Apostles and Arius Squad members, separating them from Mash's group. The truck's identity?
"The… Choux Cream Club?" Mash said, stunned.
"There he is! For real!" a voice called.
"Tsurugi-san, Hina-san, this way!" another urged.
The truck's rear hatch opened, revealing Mobmi, Mobko, Torimi, and Gehemi. Mobue sat in the driver's seat, gripping the wheel and gearshift.
"You're—the After-School Choux Cream Club?" Saori stammered.
"We'll explain inside, just get in!" Mobmi said.
"Come on, we'll help!" Mobko added.
"Ugh, those injuries…" Torimi gasped.
The After-School Choux Cream Club, joined by Koyuki Kurosaki, had arrived in the truck. Tsurugi pushed herself to help Hina and Mash into the vehicle. The club members assisted, settling them onto stretchers inside.
"Alright, we're—gah?!" Mobue yelped as Arius students and Justina Saints began attacking the truck.
"No escape!" Saori shouted.
"Crap, Leader! Get us out!" Misaki urged.
"I know, I know! Uh, this goes here…" Mobue fumbled with the gearshift, clumsily working the clutch and accelerator.
As the truck took fire from rockets and Arius's GL grenade launchers, Mobue floored it, the vehicle lurching forward. The passengers clung to handrails, rocked by sudden acceleration and explosions. Ignoring speed limits, the truck screeched away, tires smoking, desperate to escape Arius and survive.
"—Aaaah! That was terrifying!" Mobmi screamed.
"Why… are you all here?" Mash asked weakly.
"Koharu contacted Toriko," Mobko explained. "'Sensei's in danger!' she said."
"We shared it on Momotalk's group chat," Torimi added. "Koyuki got Seminar and Veritas to track your phone's location and dig up info. Then we borrowed this truck from Millennium and raced here."
"Also, Sensei, don't worry about Chairman Makoto and the others," Gehemi said. "Gehenna's Emergency Medicine Club and Trinity's Rescue Knights leader are heading to help them."
"Good… but Trinity's people—others still need help," Mash said.
"No worries there either," Mobmi said. "Your important… uh, what'd they call them?"
"The ninja and… 'beloved wife,' I heard," Mobko said. "Geheko contacted Shalle about it."
"…Got it," Mash said, slumping in relief.
Koyuki applied basic first aid to Mash, Hina, and Tsurugi while explaining. "The ninja and 'beloved wife' said, 'The enemies of Sensei's students are our enemies.' The Rescue Knights leader and Emergency Medicine Club were sent by Ako Amamau and Nagisa Kirifuji."
"That's… reassuring," Hina said. "The Rescue Knights leader is… incredibly strong. Not sure about this 'beloved wife' thing…"
"Sensei, what's this about a 'beloved wife'?" Tsurugi asked.
"P-Probably just… something they're saying…" Mash mumbled.
"Anyway!" Mobmi interrupted. "We're taking all three to the Rescue Knights' field hospital. It's the fastest option!"
"Thanks, Choux Cream Club," Tsurugi said. "I owe you one."
"No biggie! We're choux cream buddies, right?" Mobko said.
"That uniform… you're from Trinity, right?" Hina asked. "Is it okay to help me?"
"Trinity, Gehenna—doesn't matter!" Gehemi said. "We can't ignore injured people!"
"Exactly. Tsurugi-san, hold out your arm for the bandage," Torimi said.
"Sorry, Gehemi," Tsurugi said gratefully.
The Choux Cream Club's truck sped toward the Rescue Knights' field hospital, carrying Mash and his allies. Trinity, Gehenna, factions—none of that mattered. They were there to save lives, nothing more.
"…They got away," Saori muttered.
"Ow… what are they?!" Misaki groaned.
"No idea… what now?" Hiyori asked.
"We go to ground," Saori said. "The others will regroup soon. Azusa—'Saori…!'—I was going to say 'later,' but… you're here."
"Saori… why are you doing this—huh?" Azusa stopped, her hostility fading as she noticed Saori's injuries.
"What's with all that blood on your head? That's not… from a bullet, is it? Did Sensei… hit you?"
Azusa, bursting onto the scene with full hostility, softened at the sight of Saori's wounds, puzzled by their extent.
"…No, Azusa," Saori said.
"What?" Azusa asked.
"I didn't lose. I didn't," Saori insisted.
"…???" Azusa blinked.
"Leader, that's hard to sell without context," Misaki said.
"I'm just glad to see you, Azusa," Saori said. "Come with—ugh!" She winced.
"Saori-san?!" Hiyori cried.
"You overdid it earlier…" Misaki said.
"…Should we move?" Hiyori asked.
"…" Atsuko nodded silently.
For now, Azusa and the others decided to relocate. What awaited wasn't just a talk or a fight—it was, quite literally, a family meeting.
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