(Kuchiba Hiro's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he acted swiftly, his right hand gripping Hiratsuka Shizuka's wrist tightly.
The moment her wrist was seized, alarm bells rang in Hiratsuka Shizuka's heart. Her internal energy instinctively erupted, trying to shake off the restraint, but Kuchiba Hiro's hand was like iron pincers, remaining completely motionless!
Lying spread-eagled on the ground, Kuchiba Hiro's core exploded with astonishing power. His body suddenly twisted like a taut bowstring, and his legs, like springs compressed to their limit, kicked out fiercely toward the nearby Hiratsuka Shizuka!
Hiratsuka Shizuka was experienced in battle; she instantly used her other arm to parry in front of her, channeling her internal energy in an attempt to withstand the blow.
Bang!!
A dull, heavy sound rang out, like a strike against thick leather!
The force transmitted was far beyond Hiratsuka Shizuka's estimates! That was simply not the power a human leg should possess; it felt more like being hit head-on by a high-speed truck!
"Ugh!" Hiratsuka Shizuka groaned as sharp pain shot through her blocking arm. She was sent flying back like a kite with a broken string, her back slamming heavily into the wall of the school building a dozen meters away!
Boom!
With her point of impact as the center, huge spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the wall, and chunks of concrete crumbled down.
"Cough!" Hiratsuka Shizuka coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood and struggled to pull herself out of the dented wall. As she landed back on the ground, her gaze toward Kuchiba Hiro was filled with shock and uncertainty.
"What is going on?! His strength... how could it suddenly surge so much?!"
Her understanding of the supernatural world was not deep, consisting mostly of her family's inherited martial arts and internal energy techniques. This bizarre situation—a breakthrough in the heat of battle, or perhaps even the awakening of a second ability—was completely beyond her knowledge.
Kuchiba Hiro slowly stood up and cracked his neck with a soft "click." He clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying power surging within him, far exceeding what he had before.
With a slight thought and a "Clang!", his right fist was instantly covered in a layer of cold, hard, black-gold metal shimmering with an eerie light! Then, with another thought, the metallic luster instantly dissolved into phantom iron filings and vanished without a trace.
He temporarily suppressed his curiosity about this new power, his cold gaze locking back onto Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"I don't want to kill you," his voice held no warmth as he repeated his initial question, "Tell me, where is she?"
Enduring the sharp pain in her arm, Hiratsuka gritted her teeth and said, "Kuchiba! Are you really this heartless? Is there no room for compromise? Or even a shred of mercy for the innocent? Yukino is just an ordinary girl! What did she do wrong to deserve your wrath?!"
"Will you talk, or not?" Kuchiba Hiro ignored her questioning, his tone still flat but carrying a suffocating sense of pressure.
Hiratsuka Shizuka's heart sank. She knew that with the strength Kuchiba Hiro was currently displaying and that bizarre Hardening ability, once he targeted them, the Yukinoshita Family would have almost no chance of escape. She could not just stand by and watch her student be harmed.
"Even if you kill me, I won't say a word!" Hiratsuka Shizuka wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes becoming resolute.
The last trace of emotion disappeared from Kuchiba Hiro's eyes, leaving only pure, icy killing intent: "Since you've chosen to accept this karma, then I'll grant your wish."
"If you can do it, then bring it on!" Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly shed her cumbersome lab coat, throwing it to the ground. She rolled up her shirt sleeves and assumed the starting stance of her family's martial arts, her internal energy surging and flowing through her body.
The battle erupted in an instant!
Hiratsuka Shizuka moved first, her footwork as agile as a deer as she closed the distance instantly, delivering a hand blade strike infused with soft internal energy straight toward Kuchiba Hiro's throat! This strike seemed slow, but it contained a turbulent undercurrent specifically designed to break hard styles.
Kuchiba Hiro did not dodge or even use Hardening. Relying solely on his suddenly enhanced reflexes and dynamic vision, he precisely raised his arm to block.
Smack!
As their arms collided, Hiratsuka Shizuka's internal energy drilled into Kuchiba Hiro's arm like a venomous snake! Kuchiba Hiro's brow furrowed slightly as he felt a wave of numbness and stinging pain inside his arm—this power could actually penetrate defenses to attack the interior?
Having suffered a minor setback, he quickly retreated half a step.
Kuchiba Hiro's arm underwent Hardening, which then quickly vanished, and the discomfort was soon suppressed.
Hiratsuka Shizuka was secretly startled. Her internal energy was enough to easily shatter an ordinary person's bones, yet the opponent only frowned?
She didn't have time to think further as Kuchiba Hiro's counterattack arrived! With his arm undergoing Hardening, he threw a simple, direct straight punch that was so fast it left an afterimage, its power incredibly violent!
Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't dare take it head-on. She used exquisite footwork to dodge while simultaneously striking out with continuous palm hits, moving like a butterfly flitting through flowers. She targeted Kuchiba Hiro's weak points like joints and acupoints, her internal energy surging as she tried to dismantle him from the inside.
Upstairs, the students and teachers watching the battle through windows or holes let out bursts of gasps.
"My god! Is that Teacher Hiratsuka? How can she..."
"Who is that boy? His hand seems to turn into metal!"
"Are they filming a movie? I'm not dreaming, am I! That wall actually cracked!"
Hachiman Hikigaya and Yui Yuigahama were squeezed at the very front of the crowd, their faces pale. Hachiman's dead-fish eyes were filled with worry and helplessness as he clenched his fists tightly. Yui covered her mouth in fear, her eyes wide.
In the battlefield, Kuchiba Hiro initially seemed somewhat restricted because he was unfamiliar with this peculiar "internal energy" attack style, taking several muffled palm strikes. Each time he was hit, his body would tremble slightly. But soon, his far-beyond-normal learning ability and keen perception began to take effect.
He began to anticipate the timing and trajectory of Hiratsuka Shizuka's internal energy. At the moment of impact, he precisely used Hardening on the internal bones and even muscles of the struck area, greatly weakening the penetration damage of the internal energy!
At the same time, his attacks became increasingly violent and sharp! Fists, feet, elbows, knees... every part of his body turned into a weapon. His speed grew faster, his strength greater! Every swing carried the whistle of tearing air, forcing Hiratsuka Shizuka into a constant state of dodging and blocking, no longer able to mount an offensive.
Bang!
A heavy punch was narrowly parried by Hiratsuka Shizuka's arms, but the sheer force caused her to stagger back, her arms going numb.
Crack!
Kuchiba Hiro kicked a piece of rubble on the ground, and the flying stone fragments shot toward Hiratsuka Shizuka like bullets, leaving several bloody scratches on her face.
Boom!
Another punch missed and hit the nearby wall, directly blasting a hole the size of a washbasin. The reinforced concrete was as fragile as paper!
The injuries on Hiratsuka Shizuka's body increased, her breathing became ragged, and her internal energy was heavily depleted. She realized that if this continued, she would surely be defeated!
She had to risk it! A look of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes as she decided to take a dangerous gamble and use her family's ultimate killing technique—the "Seven Severances"!
This technique required striking seven different types of internal energy into the opponent's seven acupoints in a very short time. The eruption of the seven overlapping energies was enough to completely destroy an enemy from the inside!
To create an opportunity, she began to use a style of trading injuries for hits!
Puff!
She endured a sweep kick from Kuchiba Hiro, her ribs screaming in pain, but she took the chance to rapidly strike a major acupoint on Kuchiba Hiro's chest with her finger! The first internal energy was injected!
Cough!
She was grazed on the shoulder by another punch, her bone feeling as if it would crack, but she gritted her teeth and struck Kuchiba Hiro's waist with another finger! The second one!
The third point! The fourth! The fifth... blood kept leaking from the corner of Hiratsuka Shizuka's mouth as her injuries grew more severe, but her eyes grew brighter! Only one more!
Just as she braced herself to take a heavy blow from Kuchiba Hiro, her finger about to strike the seventh acupoint—
Kuchiba Hiro seemed to have long since seen through her intentions! The fist he had aimed at her head suddenly changed direction, its speed exceeding Hiratsuka Shizuka's reaction limit! His iron fist, covered in a black-gold luster, struck second but arrived first, slamming heavily into her wrist!
Crack! The cringing sound of bone fracturing rang out!
"Argh!" Hiratsuka Shizuka let out a scream of agony, her wrist bent at a bizarre angle, and that final finger strike could no longer be delivered. The immense force sent her flying back once more, crashing heavily to the ground. She struggled a few times but was unable to crawl up due to the severity of her injuries.
Kuchiba Hiro slowly walked up to her. There were several small holes in the clothes on his chest where her finger strikes had hit, and a black-gold luster faintly flowed beneath his skin, neutralizing the few strands of foreign internal energy that had entered his body. He looked down at the defeated teacher, his voice icy:
"I'll ask one last time: where is the Yukinoshita Family?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka spat out bloody foam, her gaze unfocused, but she still kept her mouth tightly shut, not saying a word.
Kuchiba Hiro looked at her unyielding gaze, and the last of his patience finally ran out. He raised his right foot, the entire foot instantly covered in that heart-palpitating black metal luster, and aimed it at Hiratsuka Shizuka's head.
At this critical moment—
"Stop!! Don't kill her!!"
A figure suddenly rushed out of the school building, throwing himself in front of Hiratsuka Shizuka regardless of the cost, spreading his arms to shield her with his own body!
It was Hachiman Hikigaya! His face was completely bloodless, and his body trembled slightly with fear, but his gaze was exceptionally firm as he shouted at Kuchiba Hiro: "I know! I know where Yukino's family is! I'm her boyfriend! If you want to kill someone, kill me! This has nothing to do with Teacher Shizuka! Please, let her go!!"
Upstairs, Yui Yuigahama let out a cry: "Hikki! No!"
All the watching students were stunned.
Kuchiba Hiro's movement paused, his foot hanging in mid-air. His gaze fell upon Hachiman Hikigaya's face, which was distorted by extreme fear and resolve.
It was in this moment of hesitation!
Kneeling on the ground and seemingly devoid of any resistance, Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes suddenly burst with a final light. She gathered all her remaining strength, even burning a portion of her life force, into a final, faint but extremely concentrated strand of internal energy. It traveled through the ground, silently attacking the sole of Kuchiba Hiro's foot—this was a variation of the "Seven Severances" and her final resort!
However—
Hum!
Kuchiba Hiro's entire body instantly underwent Hardening! That insidious internal energy struck the indestructible defense and was easily dissipated!
Kuchiba Hiro's gaze was bone-chillingly cold. He glanced at the Hachiman Hikigaya who was risking his life to protect her, then at the completely despairing Hiratsuka Shizuka whose final move had failed.
There was no longer any ripple in his heart.
The Yukinoshita Family had likely already fled; further questioning was meaningless. And these two people, one protecting to the death and the other willing to die in her stead, had both actively chosen to stand against him, accepting this "karma" through their actions.
Then, so be it.
Since they had chosen the path of the enemy, they had to be prepared for destruction.
Mercy? Compromise? In the face of his father's cold corpse and the cruel truth of a so-called "necessary sacrifice," it all seemed so laughable and hypocritical.
His killing intent no longer wavered in the slightest; it became incredibly firm and pure.
"No... run..." Hiratsuka Shizuka hissed in despair as she looked into Kuchiba Hiro's completely frozen eyes.
But it was too late.
Kuchiba Hiro's suspended foot fell once more, first crushing the bones of Hachiman Hikigaya's arm that was shielding her without any resistance, and then, amidst his scream of agony and look of disbelief, stomping heavily onto his chest!
Crack! The cringing sound of a shattering sternum rang out.
Immediately after, without losing momentum, his foot carried Hachiman Hikigaya's broken body and spraying blood further down, and finally stomped down hard on Hiratsuka Shizuka's despairingly upturned face!
Squelch—!
Like an overripe fruit being crushed.
Red and white matter instantly splattered everywhere, staining the surrounding ground.
The world seemed to fall silent at this moment.
The students and teachers upstairs who witnessed all this let out heart-wrenching screams and cries; many vomited or fainted on the spot.
Kuchiba Hiro coldly withdrew his foot as the black-gold luster faded. He didn't even look at the two rapidly cooling corpses at his feet as he turned and cast his gaze into the distance.
His path of revenge was not yet over.)