There was no need to release Hedda's blessing. Merely the intimidating effect of the sheep-head hood itself was enough to make the girls present as silent as cicadas in winter.
In the firelight of the two candles placed on the podium to ensure illumination, Takumi could see the students' faces turn pale from the stimulation of that eerie aura.
Tension, fear, panic, confusion...
All of these emotions could be clearly seen on their faces.
During the first cycle, these girls had died one after another without even understanding why. Other than causing trouble, they had almost produced no beneficial effect at all.
But in this cycle, Takumi had already thought of a method—a simple and brutal one, perhaps not very humane, but at least one that might allow some of these people to survive, while also causing him a little less trouble.
"All right, everyone, don't panic yet. Listen to the broadcast first. Although she's an idiot, we still have to give her some face."
With a light tap on the desk, Takumi spoke to the students.
And immediately afterward, the broadcast quickly sounded.
[Alice's game is about to begin right now...]
The same voice, the same words as in the first cycle. It really felt like it had been recorded in advance. Otherwise, why was every sentence completely the same? Or was this considered one of an Aberration's characteristics?
These thoughts passed once through Takumi's mind, and then he looked again at these confused girls.
"As for this game, whether you want to participate or not is your business. In any case, I won't participate. I need you to go do something else."
"But judging from how everyone looks, you should have a lot you want to say, right? Then whatever thoughts you have, whatever dissatisfaction you have, bring it up now. Don't worry, don't worry, I won't start killing people right away. Let me think... if anyone is dissatisfied, I'll cut off one of her fingers or toes first. How about that?"
In an indifferent voice, Takumi spread his hands toward the twenty-four girls in the classroom and spoke in a tone of complete unconcern.
Using the power of the Rescue Team Badge, Takumi temporarily suppressed the eerie aura of the sheep-head hood.
When Takumi saw the expressions on these young girls' faces return somewhat to normal, he knew that next it was time for some bold one to step forward.
"You bastard—"
As expected, that yellow-haired girl who had stepped on the candle in the first cycle immediately stood up, grabbed the chair she had just been sitting on, and hurled it directly at Takumi.
It seemed that, as expected, the first one to recklessly court death would inevitably be this little yellow-haired one. There was even a kind of pure, idiotic beauty to it.
Watching the other party from inside the sheep-head hood, Takumi sighed slightly in his heart. Then he stepped forward, casually reaching out to catch the chair and set it down, after which he grabbed the fist of the yellow-haired girl who had rushed forward and pressed it onto the podium. A machete appeared in his hand, and with a single swing he chopped down, directly severing her hand.
Blood sprayed out in the next instant, splattering onto the faces of several students sitting in the front row.
"Quiet."
After that single command, all the screams were forcibly blocked inside their mouths.
Even the yellow-haired girl who had collapsed on the ground clutching her severed hand had no way to let out a scream.
Even though her entire face had already turned red from the strain, she still could not make any sound, as if something had forcibly suppressed the function of her vocal cords.
Takumi's gaze swept across every student. Every one of them was terrified beyond measure, yet forced into silent stillness.
It seemed that "Teacher's Command" possessed a function similar to "Outstanding Student's Command". No—when it came to command priority, it might even rank higher than Outstanding Student.
He wondered whether it could order students to carry out instructions that would normally be impossible to achieve, such as flying into the air or throwing a punch with ten tons of force.
"Get back to your seat. Stop trembling there—the bleeding has already stopped."
With a kick to the yellow-haired girl lying on the ground, Takumi flipped her over. Holding the machete loosely in his hand, he lightly swung it as he stood on the podium, surveying everyone present.
The yellow-haired girl had already stood up. Clutching her severed hand, she walked step by step back to her seat. Judging from the way she moved, it was as if something were gripping her body, forcing her to stand and walk.
After Takumi said "the bleeding has already stopped," her severed hand truly stopped bleeding. Of course, even so, the pain did not disappear. From the yellow-haired girl's deathly pale face, it was not difficult to see that she was currently enduring considerable suffering.
Every student's gaze toward Takumi was filled with fear.
Even Miko was trembling now, not even daring to meet Takumi's eyes.
But that was only natural. After all, the way he had appeared this time made him completely look like a villain. There was no helping it—although he himself did not like playing the villain, if he wanted these students to quiet down and follow instructions, this was the only way to do it. As long as they could leave this Instance alive, something like a severed hand was a trivial matter. With a player's abilities it could easily be healed. At the very least, it would give that fool a lesson so she would not pull some idiotic stunt like stepping on candles again.
Though it had frightened Miko a bit. That part was not very good.
Seeing the fear and confusion on Miko's face, Takumi silently apologized in his heart. Then he clapped his hands and continued speaking.
"Well then, I won't waste words. Don't be fooled by how imposing I look—I'm actually just a subordinate. In fact, you could all leave this classroom right now. But after you go out, whether the others will be as easy to talk to as I am, that I cannot guarantee. So, what do you say? Want to leave?"
Takumi laughed softly, walked to the classroom door, and relying on his inhuman strength forcibly opened the already damaged lock. Then he pointed toward the dark corridor outside.
The classroom was completely silent.
After personally witnessing Takumi conjure a machete out of thin air and cut off a student's hand, no one dared to move recklessly anymore.
"My, my… it looks like everyone is very nervous. Don't be afraid, really. In truth, you have already obtained an opportunity that surpasses ordinary humans. You saw it just now, didn't you? Wasn't that knife I used just now quite cool? That is genuine supernatural power."
Deliberately putting on a somewhat strange tone, Takumi took the machete out of his watch and put it back again. After repeating it twice, he walked directly to stand in front of the yellow-haired girl whose hand had been severed.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I acted a bit impulsively. How about this—I'll cut off my own hand and give it to you. Do you want it?"
The knife rose and fell.
In that casual tone, Takumi directly chopped off his own hand in front of the girl.
Blood sprayed out.
The students' screams immediately followed.
This time Takumi did not stop them right away. After all, cutting off a hand really hurt. Even though he had already experienced death several times, pain at the level of severing a hand was still something he could not endure with a calm expression. At this moment, he could only barely remain standing still. Beneath the hood, his face was actually completely twisted.
However, that level of pain only lasted at the beginning.
The power of the Rescue Team Badge quickly began to take effect. When fully activated, bone and flesh rapidly grew from the severed surface of Takumi's wrist.
The students' screams gradually subsided.
If the earlier acts of conjuring a machete out of thin air and cutting off a hand could still make them think Takumi was merely a murderous magician, then now—after clearly seeing his severed hand regrow at a speed visible to the naked eye and fully restore itself—no one could continue deceiving themselves into believing that this was some kind of reality show or prank program.
In less than ten seconds, Takumi's severed hand had completely regrown.
Then he picked up the hand he had cut off and placed it on the desk in front of the yellow-haired girl, who was already frozen with fear. Leaning a little closer, he whispered softly to her.
"Are you satisfied with this apology?"
The deliberately gentle voice made the girl—who was ultimately only seventeen or eighteen years old—tremble all over.
The way she looked at Takumi now was as if she were looking at a monster wearing human skin.
"W-what… what exactly are you? What do you want to do to us? M-my father knows a congressman. H-he… he can give you a lot of money…"
A girl who had already been frightened to the point of tears spoke to Takumi while trembling uncontrollably.
"Quiet."
Takumi turned around and simply spoke again.
The girl immediately became unable to speak, only grabbing her own mouth with a terrified expression.
"Now, everyone sit properly in your seats. Do not move."
Thus none of the students were able to leave their seats and could only remain sitting where they were.
Closing the door he had opened, Takumi returned to the podium. Looking at the girls below the stage, each wearing terrified expressions, he suddenly felt a trace of comfort.
It was as if everything he had just done had stirred a kind of pleasure deep within him, making him want to go even further…
'No. I did all that to intimidate these girls. When we go out later to explore, the ones left behind shouldn't recklessly run around courting death, so I had to trouble them like this. I shouldn't feel comfort from something like this. I'm not someone who enjoys tormenting the weak for pleasure.'
Takumi easily shook off the mental corrosion brought by the sheep-head hood.
"Then, Miko-san, please step forward. Come, walk over and stand beside me. And Yoshino Rika-san—you're the class representative or vice representative, right? I don't quite remember. Let's do this: choose a student you think is trustworthy, someone who won't cause trouble for me, and come over together. Then Ogawa Kyoko-san, you seem quite calm. I'll give you an opportunity—come up as well."
Under the power of the sheep-head hood, no student could disobey Takumi's command. Thus very quickly, Miko, along with Kyoko—who had died tragically in the previous run—stepped forward, trembling as they stood beside Takumi.
"Y-you… are you Takumi-san?"
The expression with which Miko looked at him was full of fear. She seemed able to sense something from the sheep-head hood that others could not perceive, which made her extremely afraid of Takumi—so afraid that her legs involuntarily pressed tightly together.
"Do you want me to be?"
Takumi asked back calmly. The question made Miko shudder, and she no longer dared to speak, trembling in silence.
When Rika was choosing a student, she was clearly very hesitant. Everyone was pleading with her, hoping not to be chosen. But under Takumi's gaze, the girl finally selected a somewhat thin and frail girl named Sanada Ai, bringing her over to stand beside Takumi.
Looking at the four young girls—some on the verge of tears, others already crying—and their fearful expressions, Takumi could not help sighing inwardly. It felt as if he had become a villain filled with sin. Then, without hesitation, he led them out of the classroom.
"The rest of you stay here. If the lights come back on later, then study properly and do not leave this place. Of course, if you want to try walking out, I will not say anything. That is your freedom."
Closing the door after leaving those final words, Takumi then went to several other classrooms and issued an order to the aberrant students inside:
[No one is allowed to enter Class 2-015. This is the teacher's command. Even if other teachers oppose it, they must come to speak with me personally. In carrying out this order, you do not need to obey anyone except me."
Only after doing this did he continue forward with the four girls.
That way, if they encountered Alice or some other Aberration again, there would at least be three people who could help test the rules.
Well, calling them cannon fodder might be a bit too cruel. After all, when necessary, he would still need to protect them.
Takumi's objective was very simple: to intimidate the entire class and prevent the meaningless suicidal behavior of the first run. Even if they had to die, he wanted these students to die with greater value—deaths that could help him gather intelligence more effectively. For example, with an Aberration like the mannequin that mimicked footsteps, discovering the problem would be extremely difficult without someone to help verify it. And from what it looked like at present, Ogawa Kyoko and Yoshino Rika from the first run still had some ability. Therefore, Takumi brought them out first, and then conveniently brought one more along as well, treating her as an extra attached to Miko.
As for the others in the class, they would be treated as backups. If they were obedient enough to listen, Takumi did not mind bringing them along either. Of course, if they wanted to run, they were free to do so—just like in the first run. Knowing very clearly that the vast majority of those people were doomed to die, Takumi did not particularly care about their lives or deaths. If they wanted to live, he would help when he could. If they wanted to die—well, then go die.
Click—
At that moment, the hand of the watch moved continuously, shifting from 2 to 3, then to 4, and finally stopping at the position of 5.
After consuming a full three charges of the rollback attempts, Takumi clearly sensed a coordinate—one located inside the Teaching Building, and judging by the distance, roughly on the seventh floor.
'Having lost three rollback opportunities in one go, I hope the return I receive will be worth the price I paid.'
"The classroom was full of idiots just now, so I could only use that method. But from now on, please behave and listen carefully. I don't want to use orders every time either, but in this place, the slightest negligence could bring death—or a fate worse than death. Miko-san, I already told you about the situation of the Instance. If they ask, you can explain it to them."
As he said this, Takumi gestured for the four girls to follow him forward, then walked toward one of the halls on the fifth floor.
"You… you really are Takumi-san, aren't you?"
Miko's expression was still very frightened, but after hearing Takumi's voice return to normal, she seemed to relax somewhat.
"Mm, it's me. Alright, it's time to set off."
Takumi left only that sentence behind. Then he took out a candle (taken from a strange student who had been holding a candle) and began walking straight ahead.
Behind him, Miko did not hesitate and was the first to follow. After hesitating slightly, Rika signaled to Kyoko and Ai beside her, and the three of them followed Miko and walked up as well.
"Yotsuya-san, do you know that very frightening man?"
Rika moved a little closer to Miko and asked her in as quiet a voice as possible.
"Mm… I know him. He… you can trust him. Although he looked very frightening just now in the classroom, he can actually be trusted. He isn't trying to harm us. Right now, no matter what, we must not separate from him."
Miko thought for a long time about how to explain Takumi's situation. After thinking for quite a while, in the end she could only warn them like this.
At this moment, Miko more or less understood the reason why Takumi had acted that way earlier. That really was the best way to intimidate the entire class. However, cutting off a student's hand was simply too terrifying. Therefore, Miko could only do her best to persuade herself inwardly, telling herself that trusting Takumi was now the only path available.
Can everyone survive and escape from this terrifying place?
The girl had no confidence at all. Her footsteps unconsciously moved a little closer to Takumi. Meanwhile, Rika and the others behind her, after first witnessing Takumi's unusual nature and frightening side, and then seeing him command those horrifying-looking students in the corridor, now also followed a little closer. The four girls all stayed firmly behind Takumi.
Even in the classroom behind them, which now had only twenty students left, the girls there did not dare to act rashly. Even the girl who, during the first run, had been the most suspicious of Takumi and Miko and had shouted the loudest insults now did not have the courage to leave the classroom.
Although he had completely displayed the posture of a villain, in this second run Takumi was, in a certain sense, actually "trusted" more by the students. Those brain-dead scenes that had occurred during the first run had directly disappeared in this second run.
Of course, Takumi himself did not care about such matters. In his mind he had now listed three tasks, and he was fully focused on thinking about how to accomplish them.
First, he needed to find the item at the target location and confirm what that thing was that could help him uncover the truth and break the core obsession.
Second, he needed to find a method to restore players who had become living puppets back to normal, so as to find a true player faction capable of helping him.
Third, he needed to figure out how to win Alice's Grand Adventure Game while not becoming friends with Alice, ensuring that he could leave the Teaching Building alive and further explore Fujihana Middle School.
Among these three goals, at least one had to be completed during the second run.
After silently making this decision in his heart, Takumi quickly walked into the hall and saw the mannequin standing there.
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