At that moment, she once again stood before the podium in the gymnasium, looking down at the majority of students whispering among themselves. She had actually anticipated these furtive actions long ago. After all, the rumor about Funeral Parlor had spread so widely, and the offer was so tempting that many of them must already have been swayed. Even those who were not tempted would still have plenty to discuss. Naturally, she had gathered them today precisely to address this matter.
Tap, tap...
At that moment, Arisa also came to the front of the stage and took the microphone first.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I have an announcement to make."
Arisa spoke. Although her prestige had already collapsed in the eyes of the students, her words still drew everyone's attention.
"After repeated deliberation by the student council, I... Arisa Kuhouin, will be stepping down as student council president. The new student council president will be the student standing beside me, Raiden Mio."
"—!" ×N
For a moment, everyone was astonished... then they began whispering among themselves once again.
Naturally, their reactions were sharply divided. Some were genuinely relieved that Arisa would no longer be serving as student council president, while others were suspicious of Mio. Some even cared greatly about why the students had not been allowed to vote. Why had the appointment been decided in advance? Could there be some kind of conspiracy behind it?
"...?"
The Shogun looked at Arisa beside her in confusion. Upon noticing her gaze, Arisa winked at her, meaning—The rest is up to you.
Although the announcement was shocking, everyone was more concerned about the earlier rumor, so the decision was quickly pushed aside and replaced by another wave of chaotic noise.
The discipline of these people truly is... utterly atrocious...
As the Raiden Shogun who had once governed Inazuma, she could not help thinking this in exasperation. Forget it. She would simply use the same method as before.
Rumble!
A peal of thunder once again tore across the sky, its deep roar filling the gymnasium.
"—!" ×N
Everyone immediately behaved themselves again.
"Have you finished discussing it?"
She asked.
Everyone silently nodded. Although most of them had a poor impression of her in private, none dared defy her beneath that overwhelming pressure. Perhaps this was what people called the bearing of the strong.
"Since you are finished, it is time for me to speak."
She gave a cold smile and began.
"I know you have already heard the rumor, and I also know what some of you are plotting."
Her sharp gaze swept through the crowd. Whenever it passed over the people in question, they visibly tensed.
"Hand over the hidden members of Funeral Parlor, and you will be granted freedom and allowed beyond the wall—I admit that such an offer is indeed tempting to you. However..."
She paused, her beautiful eyes narrowing.
"Have you considered that it might be a trap? Have you considered that GHQ wants these rumors to spread?"
She countered with a question, then once again observed everyone's expressions.
"..." ×N
The students exchanged uncertain glances. Those who thought her words made sense once again found themselves unable to decide. They had believed they had finally found a glimmer of hope, but after hearing the Shogun's warning, fear returned.
Indeed, what if it is false?
Tch...
Nanba, who had been preparing to cause trouble, was rendered speechless by her words, and his expression darkened. The braided-haired student in his group reacted the same way. They had thought they could exploit the rumor to stir up another wave of unrest, only for this woman to intercept them so quickly.
"Grains of sand gather to form a tower. Should the sand composing it scatter, the tower will cease to exist. I hope you can understand this principle. We are one whole. We must not suspect one another. Doing so will only cause this tower to collapse faster."
"Um... P-President!"
At that moment, a male student raised his hand. He was the first person to speak and was so nervous that he even stammered.
"Speak..."
She gestured for him to continue.
"W-What if they aren't lying? What if it's true? If we hand over Funeral Parlor, GHQ might really let us beyond the wall. If that really is the case... th-then what are we supposed to do? Wouldn't we be wasting this opportunity?"
The boy stammered out his objection.
(Exactly!)
(That's right. What if it's true?)
(No, but what if it's false?)
The crowd immediately began arguing again, splitting into opposing sides as they wavered between truth and falsehood.
"That is an excellent question. You have gone straight to the heart of the matter. In that case, we might as well verify it for ourselves. Tsugumi."
She called to the girl who had long since finished preparing behind her.
"Okaaay~!"
Tsugumi leaned out adorably like a kitten and greeted everyone. The students froze when she suddenly popped out, but they were far more concerned about what the Shogun had just said.
What did she mean by "verify it for ourselves"?
How could something like this possibly be verified?
They were extremely curious.
Yet strangely, when those words came from this woman, they somehow carried an additional sense of credibility.
"Everyone, look over here!"
Tsugumi produced a sophisticated device from behind her that somewhat resembled a tennis racket. It had a handle and was covered in densely arranged buttons.
"This is one of my secret high-tech inventions... a portable scanner for creating dolls~!"
She proudly introduced it to everyone.
"...?" ×N
They all turned to look, their faces filled with curiosity.
"Its function is exactly as the name suggests. It creates dolls... It can duplicate the subject it scans, and the resulting doll has exactly the same mass as the original. You won't be able to tell which one is real at all, you know?"
(Could it be—!)
(She's going to use this thing to...)
"That's right~ It looks like some of you have already figured it out. Finding out whether those GHQ bastards are lying is simple. We just need to send the duplicated dolls to them."
"All right, who wants to come up and give it a try? Who wants to become a member of Funeral Parlor?"
Tsugumi asked.
"..." ×N
Everyone fell silent, hesitating once again.
"Haa, fine. I'll do it myself."
As soon as she finished speaking, the device in Tsugumi's hand began scanning her. A girl identical to her then automatically materialized beside her. Visually, there was absolutely no way to distinguish the real one from the fake, and even its personality could be configured.
"I'll do it!"
Upon seeing this, someone finally volunteered. Several others followed. Tsugumi called them onto the stage, scanned them one after another, and created a row of dolls.
The dolls could not only pass for the real people but were also obedient and well-behaved. The plan was to have several dolls drive all the way to the boundary of Loop 7 and pretend that they were handing captured members of Funeral Parlor over to GHQ. Everyone here would be able to watch the live broadcast and see how GHQ responded.
Naturally, to ensure authenticity and guarantee that the group included someone recognizable as a member of Funeral Parlor, Ayase also allowed herself to be scanned. Thus, through Gneiss' broadcast, everyone present witnessed a terrifying scene in the very next moment.
Boom, boom!!!!
When the dolls approached the GHQ Endlaves, the student leading them deliberately explained why they had come. However, the only response they received was the cold barrage of several Endlaves. Bullets swept through the dolls like a dense forest, even blowing up the vehicle behind them until not a trace remained.
"—!!" ×N
Everyone watching the broadcast instantly cried out in terror, and the gymnasium descended into chaos. During the commotion, Gneiss cut the broadcast, and the lights in the gymnasium came back on.
"This is the result you wanted. I doubt anything could be more convincing than what you just witnessed."
The Shogun asked.
"GHQ spread this rumor to make us collapse from within and turn us against one another. Just when you truly believe you can escape, the only thing awaiting you will be death. They possess no mercy. I will not deceive you."
After seeing the hope disappear from everyone's faces, she smiled faintly to herself. Yes... this is precisely how it must be. Only then can I firmly secure their support.
"Th-Then... what are we supposed to do, President?"
A female student took the initiative to ask.
(That's right. What should we do?)
(I don't want to die!)
(President! Save us!!)
As expected, everyone's hearts began leaning toward her. When people fell into despair, they instinctively depended upon whoever made them feel safe, and at that moment, the only person capable of making them feel secure was the Shogun.
"Silence. Next—"
Boom, boom!!!
At that moment, when no one present could possibly have anticipated it, the rear wall of the gymnasium was blasted apart by some kind of heavy weapon. The sudden explosion terrified every student present, and they instantly turned toward it.
"Hahahaha!!!! So this is where all you brats were hiding?!"
At the front was the leader of the drifters, piloting an Endlave. He burst into laughter upon seeing them.
"Oh~! You're even holding a meeting in here?! What a joke. You're really pretending this is something serious!"
Behind him came several drifter underlings piloting lower-grade Endlaves than their leader's. Not only that, there were also dozens of infantrymen. They raised their rifles and fired several shots into the ceiling with sharp bangs.
"Aaah—!" ×N
The girls began screaming in panic. The students, who had already been facing despair, immediately scattered and fled in every direction.
(Help—! I don't want to die!!) ×N
Bang! ×N
Seeing the students flee in terror, the armed drifters became even more arrogant. Some even fired at the ceiling panels in a show of force.
"You weak little runts!"
"Our brothers died at your hands, didn't they?! Huh?!"
"This school belongs to us now! Every resource here belongs to us!!"
They even aimed their guns at the numerous students before them, causing everyone to break down in tears.
(Someone save us!) ×N
"These guys really are..."
Tsugumi watched the scene with a speechless expression.
It was obvious that those GHQ animals were behind this... This was the so-called tactic of killing with a borrowed blade. First, they used rumors to destroy everyone's trust from within. Then they sent these drifters to attack and destroy the last place the students could shelter. However—
"Cry! Once you're done crying, you can all die—!"
Shhk!
A streak of lightning passed through the leader's Endlave. As the Shogun rose and completed the motion of flicking the blood from her blade, the man was cut in half together with his machine before he could even finish speaking!
Oil and blood sprayed out together, splattering across the floor, with crimson gore mixed throughout.
The sight left everyone present frozen in shock, including the drifters.
"Wha—!" ×N
Without saying another word or even looking at them, the Shogun raised Musou Isshin and drew a semicircle beside herself.
Crack...
Time slowed, and countless blade marks appeared throughout space like a dense forest. One second later, with another sharp crack, every drifter was sliced into pieces before they could even perceive what had happened, their remains falling to the floor.
"..."
Looking at the mutilated corpses, she waved one hand. Musou Isshin shone with violet light, corroding every fragment until they vanished into the air, though the blood remained behind.
Everyone stood frozen. Some had even fallen to their knees. They had witnessed every movement the woman before them had just made. That overwhelming "strength" struck their fragile hearts like the manifestation of a god who had descended to save them from disaster.
"—!"
Arisa's eyes had also widened during the entire display. She had heard people beside her speak of the Shogun's deeds before, but witnessing them with her own eyes today shocked her even more deeply.
"..." ×N
For a time, no one in the gymnasium made a sound.
"Haa... We were interrupted."
The Shogun withdrew the blade in her hand and turned to look at the stunned crowd before her. She walked toward them, and when they saw her approaching, they moved aside in perfect unison, leaving the center open for her as though welcoming a sovereign.
"What I wish to say is very simple. You need not worry about your safety, nor should you believe your circumstances are as terrible as they seem."
She continued in her cool, commanding voice.
Along the way, she deliberately helped a girl who had fallen back to her feet, leaving the girl overwhelmed by the unexpected attention.
"I guarantee that every one of you will remain safe. I guarantee that you will see your parents again. I guarantee that you will make it beyond the wall. I will not abandon anyone. Therefore..."
She reached the central point.
"I expect all of you to obediently follow my instructions. Do not suspect one another again. Do not believe rumors. Most importantly, do not imitate certain people and scheme in the shadows. Should I discover anyone doing so, I will abandon that person."
She deliberately swept a cold glance over Nanba and his group, turning their faces deathly pale.
"Do you understand?"
She asked the crowd.
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
"I want to hear your voices."
She demanded again.
"Understood!" ×N
Everyone answered loudly in unison.
"Good. Food and vaccines will continue to be distributed as usual. You are dismissed."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" ×N
Everyone answered instinctively with one voice.
—
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