The metal claws, glinting with deadly cold light, drew closer and closer to the girl, the faint, sharp whistle of their tips tearing through the air like the death god's siren in her ear.
The will to survive, like an electric current, instantly pierced through her nerves, which had been numbed by the oppressive sensation. Taki's gaze was fixed on the edge of a small, faintly visible metal disc, emanating an inhuman cold light, beneath Takagi Naoko's bangs.
"Takagi!"
Taki roared, not a cry of despair, but a bugle call to action.
She erupted with the fastest speed and strength of her life, her body practically skimming past that invisible "death." Simultaneously, her left hand violently grabbed the white thin quilt covering the unconscious Umiri, and with all her might, she flung it upwards!
Whoosh!
The thin quilt, like a giant white curtain, carrying a faint, astringent smell of disinfectant, instantly enveloped the nearby Takagi Naoko. Taki's goal was not to obscure her vision, but to use this soft barrier as cover to execute a bolder plan.
Just as the thin quilt rose and obscured Takagi Naoko's vision, Taki's body did not retreat. Instead, using the momentum of flipping the quilt, she suddenly lunged sideways towards Takagi Naoko's back, like a nimble black panther.
Rip—!
Almost at the same instant Taki lunged, a sharp tearing sound pierced the air.
Several precisely punctured holes appeared out of nowhere on the thin quilt, and then, the entire thin quilt was torn into two pieces by an invisible force! One piece floated lightly to the ground, while the other draped askew over Takagi Naoko's head.
Taki rolled awkwardly on the ground, her knees and elbows hitting the cold tiles with a sharp pain.
However, just as she tried to prop herself up, an indescribably strong wave of nausea suddenly surged from her stomach, rushing up to her throat.
Her vision instantly blackened, countless golden stars darted across her sight, as if the whole world was spinning. Her limbs felt boneless, soft and weak, making it extremely difficult to even lift a finger. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, but with a weak, irregular tremor.
"Ugh…" Taki groaned in pain, her body collapsing uncontrollably. She could only barely support her upper body with her elbows, leaning against a cold metal locker nearby.
At this moment, every breath she took brought an unbearable burning sensation.
"You're really stubborn, Shiina-san." Naoko's voice carried a condescending mockery.
"Just now, you even tried to attack my head, didn't you? What astonishing reaction and… courage. What a pity you missed."
"But, since you dodged, didn't you just put your good friend in danger?"
Naoko's words were like vines beneath a pond, coiling around Taki's heart.
As she spoke, the figure of the Maximum The Hormone once again clearly appeared by Umiri's sickbed. A cold mechanical hand, like iron tongs, clamped onto Umiri's slender, fragile neck, its sharp claws almost embedding into her skin!
"If I want to," Takagi Naoko's voice was light, yet carried immense weight, "the next moment, her body will collapse completely from the inside, just like yours—no, worse than yours."
"Umiri…" Taki squeezed out fragmented syllables from her throat.
She tried with all her might to move her body, but her weak limbs and the tumultuous dizziness left her helplessly leaning against the cabinet, watching as a red mark gradually appeared on her friend's neck.
"Keep your eyes wide open and watch this moment, Shiina!" Takagi Naoko growled excitedly, her face contorted with the twisted pleasure of impending victory. She suddenly turned around, seemingly wanting to more clearly appreciate Taki's collapsing expression.
Just as she turned and reached out to completely pull off the remaining fragments of the thin quilt on her head—
"Hmm?"
The smugness on Naoko's face suddenly froze, replaced by extreme bewilderment and… terror!
She felt that something extremely important, something connected to her soul, had been forcibly pulled out from her forehead, and even from the depths of her consciousness, by that casual tug!
Clang—
A crisp, light sound of something falling to the ground echoed particularly harshly in the silent infirmary.
A circular disc, its edges glowing with an eerie dark blue hue, was pulled from Takagi Naoko's forehead as she tore off the thin quilt.
It rolled across the clean tiled floor between the two of them, spinning and making a cold, hollow sound.
At the same time, the solid figure of the Maximum The Hormone, which had been gripping Umiri's neck, flickered and distorted violently like a bad signal projection, emitting a buzzing static sound, before completely dissipating into the air.
The suffocating oppressive feeling also vanished with it.
Taki felt the invisible shackles on her instantly loosen. Although the pain and weakness in her body remained, the heavy pressure originating from the supernatural power had disappeared!
She stared intently at the disc on the ground, which was slowly coming to a stop, her heart pounding, almost bursting from her chest.
Her suspicion was confirmed!
That disc was the source of Takagi Naoko's strange power! It was the core of her "unique" brilliance!
In that lightning-fast action just now, Taki's goal was never to attack Takagi Naoko herself—that would have been suicide.
She had lifted the thin quilt and lunged behind her opponent to create chaos and an opportunity to get close.
And before she lunged, the metal ear clip she held tightly in her right hand had already been quietly unlatched by her thumb. Just as the thin quilt covered Naoko and she reached out to block, Taki risked extending her arm from under the thin quilt, and with all her precision and strength, she firmly clamped that metal ear clip, along with a portion of the thin quilt's fabric, onto that small exposed edge of the disc!
She couldn't guarantee that she could pry out the disc with her bare hands in the tense chaos, but using an ear clip to "clip" it, and then using the opponent's own force of pulling off the thin quilt to bring it out—this was the only feasible "clever" plan she could think of under immense pressure!
She was betting on the opponent's carelessness when she thought victory was in her grasp!
Now, the gamble had paid off!
The source of that power lay naked on the cold floor!
"Ugh ah—!" Takagi Naoko let out a mournful howl like a wounded beast; she finally understood what had happened.
The moment the disc left her body, she felt an indescribable emptiness and sharp pain, as if a piece of her soul had been forcibly gouged out. Power was rapidly draining away, and the pillar supporting her twisted belief collapsed with a crash!
"Mine… that's mine!" she shrieked in terror, stumbling as she tried to lunge towards the disc.
Taki also moved; the instinct for survival and the will to save Umiri overcame her physical pain.
She used the last of her strength, scrambling on all fours towards the disc glowing with an eerie dark blue light! Her fingernails scraped against the smooth tiles, making a harsh sound.
"Shii! Na! Ta! ki!"
Takagi Naoko's voice was distorted by extreme anger and terror, sharp as a night owl's shriek.
"At this point, are you still going to take away my only hope?!"
"Unforgivable! This unique brilliance is my everything!"
The fear of losing her power instantly overwhelmed her mental weakness. Takagi Naoko erupted with astonishing speed. Like a mad beast protecting its food, completely disregarding her image, she violently slammed her shoulder and head into Taki, who had already crawled close to the disc, knocking her away forcefully!
Bang!
Taki grunted, sent tumbling, her back hitting the metal equipment cart in the corner with a heavy thud, sending the enamel plates clattering to the floor. The intense pain made her vision blacken, almost completely incapacitating her.
Takagi Naoko, seizing the opportunity, pounced to the ground, shielding the disc with her entire body, her hands trembling as she clutched it tightly, as if it were the entire meaning of her life.
"Mine! It's mine!" she whispered nervously, fumbling with the disc, trying to stuff it back into her body.
She didn't even bother to find its original position, just wanting this power to return to her body immediately, right now!
The hard edge of the disc roughly pushed against her skin, causing a sharp pain, but Naoko felt a familiar sense of security.
However, this sense of security lasted only an instant before an even more unacceptable thought, like a poisonous barb, suddenly plunged into her mind:
'Shiina Taki! How did she do it? And what is this disc all about?'
'Could it be… that this power isn't unique to me? Could she also easily see through, or even seize, this power?!'
'No! This is impossible!'
'I refuse—!!!'
Jealousy and panic instantly devoured the girl's mind, which had just recovered a sliver of strength, completely igniting her final madness. She didn't even look up to confirm Taki's location, but merely, driven by her intense resentment, issued the most violent command in her heart.
A bright blue phantom fluctuated violently beside her. The headless mechanical torso of Maximum The Hormone forcibly coalesced again. Although its figure was much more ethereal than before, its killing intent was even purer and more brutal.
"Tear her apart! Maximum The Hormone!" Takagi Naoko shrieked hysterically, pointing at Taki, who was curled up in the corner.
Maximum The Hormone emitted an unstable hum, like an out-of-control engine, waving its two metal claws and pouncing like a storm towards Shiina Taki, who was sprawled on the ground.
The mechanical arm brought with it a piercing whoosh, its claw tips pointed directly at Taki's throat and heart!
Taki despairingly closed her eyes, her body devoid of even a sliver of strength to dodge.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The anticipated excruciating pain of her body being torn apart did not come. Instead, a dense and harsh sound of metal clashing, like blacksmithing, rang in her ears!
Taki suddenly opened her eyes, only to see several terrifying dents abruptly appearing on the old metal locker she was leaning against.
Maximum The Hormone's attack seemed to have lost its precision due to the violent fluctuations in its main body's state, or rather, it was already in an extremely unstable, out-of-control state.
The violent claw attacks completely missed their target, all pouring onto the thin metal cabinet door.
The fragile metal plate was instantly covered with countless hideous dents and holes, as if it were made of paper. The metal hinges and door shaft connecting the cabinet door groaned under the impact that far exceeded their limit.
Clang—!!!
After a loud crash, the entire twisted and deformed metal cabinet door, along with its broken hinges and flying screws, collapsed outwards with a bang, heavily hitting the ground between Taki and Takagi Naoko, stirring up a cloud of dust.
And the next moment, an unexpected figure, as if a puppet losing its support, softly fell out from inside the cabinet as the door collapsed, landing precisely on the fallen metal door panel.
The air completely solidified at this moment.
Both Shiina Taki and Takagi Naoko seemed to be under a spell, looking incredulously at the person who had fallen out of the cabinet.
It was her?
They were both quite familiar with this person—it was the female school doctor on duty in this infirmary. The lady who usually wore glasses and spoke in a gentle tone.
But at this moment, her appearance was utterly disheveled.
Her iconic white lab coat had been stripped off, and she was only wearing her shirt and trousers underneath. Her mouth was brutally stuffed with a white towel, and several layers of thick medical tape were wrapped around it, sealing it tightly. Similarly bound were her wrists and ankles—with the elastic bandages commonly kept in the infirmary for immobilizing fracture patients.
Her hair was messy, her face was covered in dust and tear streaks, and her eyes were tightly closed, clearly in a deep coma.
Even more chilling was the opened, old-fashioned brown leather wallet lying beside her. The banknotes and coins inside the wallet were still there, but the transparent compartment where identity documents and work permits should have been stored was now empty.
'If this is the real school doctor...'
'Then who was the one who was knocked out just now?'
A chilling thought, like a venomous snake, slithered into Takagi Naoko's mind. Immense shock instantly drowned out all previous emotions, leaving only a bone-chilling question.
The madness and ferocity on the girl's face also receded like a tide, replaced by an extreme bewilderment and coldness.
Takagi Naoko subconsciously took half a step back, and just as she was about to turn her head to look at the unconscious "school doctor," an unfamiliar voice, without warning, sounded behind her, so close it seemed to be right next to her ear, carrying a soul-freezing calmness:
"It's me."
All the blood in Takagi Naoko's body seemed to instantly freeze.
She twisted her neck inch by inch, extremely stiffly, like rusty machinery.
But Taki, lying on the ground, saw it clearly: the "school doctor" who had been struck by Naoko's punch and should have been knocked unconscious, had somehow stood up and was now standing quietly behind Naoko.
But at this moment, the "school doctor's" appearance was extremely bizarre.
The skin on her heavily struck face was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, like a bumped piece of porcelain, and it was peeling off little by little with her movements.
Beneath the shattered skin fragments, a dazzling golden hue and a pair of deep-set eyes were revealed.
And as the cracks spread, the facial features that originally belonged to the school doctor were twisting, deforming, and falling off like melting wax.
An indescribable aura, like a cold wind from hell, instantly enveloped Takagi Naoko.
This coldness was not a physical low temperature, but a fear that directly acted upon the depths of her soul.
Her Maximum The Hormone could disrupt the endocrine system in others' bodies, and it could also affect her own.
This ability was trying to inject courage and strength into her by stimulating the secretion and transport of chemical substances in her body, to confront this sudden terrifying presence.
But at this moment, no matter how much she screamed in her heart, her body completely betrayed her will.
Her brain was dominated by primal fear; every cell screamed to escape. She couldn't even control the violent trembling of her body, her teeth chattering.
The "venomous snake" lurking behind the girl seemed to have lost interest in toying with its prey further. A slender hand emerged from the sleeve of the white lab coat, with an almost elegant cruelty, gently brushed her dark green hair, as if soothing a frightened small animal.
The voice sounded again, carrying a strange, magnetic charm that filled Takagi Naoko with overwhelming dread, yet strangely caused a dangerous sense of relaxation in her taut nerves:
"Don't be nervous, Takagi-san."
"You don't have to force yourself anymore."
The moment the words fell, the hand that had gently brushed her hair suddenly accelerated like a hunting snake.
Five fingers together like a blade, it precisely and incredibly swiftly sliced across Takagi Naoko's back of the head, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained!
"Ugh—"
Takagi Naoko only let out half a scream before her body went limp and collapsed, as if all her strength had been drained.
And the owner of that hand did not pause in the slightest.
When the palm retracted, two circular discs were already firmly clamped between her fingers.
Memory disc and stand disc.
The last fragment of the middle-aged woman's skin peeled off the "school doctor's" face, revealing a youthful, almost demonic, handsome face.
Golden long hair fell smoothly, skin as fair as porcelain, deep-set eye sockets beneath which were a pair of deep black eyes as calm as an ancient well, a high nose bridge, and gracefully curved lips.
It was Togawa Fuuki, with a brand new face "cast" by Wakaba Mutsumi!
At this moment, he, dressed in the obviously ill-fitting school doctor's uniform, exuded a cold and magnificent aura that transcended gender.
He slightly lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the two brand new discs in his hand, a subtle, unreadable curve playing on his lips.
Shiina Taki, lying nearby, almost unconscious, used her last bit of strength to widen her eyes, staring incredulously at the scene before her.
She saw the two discs in Fuuki's hand, saw the unconscious Takagi Naoko and the real school doctor on the ground, and Umiri on the infirmary bed... The immense amount of information and intense dizziness completely overwhelmed her, and her vision was rapidly enveloped by darkness.
Silence once again reigned in the messy infirmary.
Togawa Fuuki stood quietly among the fallen girls, examining the "trophies" he had just acquired in his hand.
Sunlight from outside the window streamed through the blinds, dancing on his golden long hair, yet unable to warm the chill that permeated around him.
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