After stocking up on some food and water, I left the outdoors school.

I was now back in the thick of the forest, trying to keep myself concealed and find a place to hunker down until this awful weather dies down.

The rain had thinned down a bit, but it was still mostly unbearable to travel under. My sympathies laid with the hiders who chose to hide in the open, since they'd be taking these harsh elements the worst.

"Damn it, everything is so slippery..."

I muttered to myself while climbing up a hill. However, just before I could reach the top, my fingers were stepped on.

As they retracted their foot, my fingers moved back reflexively, making me loose my grip on the slope. I held on just barely using my other hand, but seeing who lingered over the edge made me let go immediately.

It was Nakajima.

Landing on my back, I squinted up at the bleak sun. As he stepped forward, he blocked it out, casting a shadow over my body like a hunter's net. Under the grey sky singing with rain, the whites of his teeth glittered from the transient smile he flashed at me.

"Takanori-san... or should I say, Blade-san?"

Standing while contemplating my options, my mind temporarily locked up for a few seconds hearing that careless provocation Nakajima threw at me.

"You're unlucky to have run into me here."

Using that brief opening in my defence, Nakajima jumped down, coming after me. The dirt under his foot made a crunching sound as he rocketed off the floor.

Snapping out of it, I got into a defensive stance as Nakajima landed on his feet and lunged at me, throttling forward with his right foot and outstretching his left hand.

"Because I'm done playing around in this special exam."

"Khh!"

Gritting my teeth, I barely dodged his initial grapple.

"Ha ha... that's the first time I've heard you grunt all week. You're finally feeling worn down, huh?"

I didn't say anything back nor did I show it from my facial expression, but Nakajima was right. I was far from my peak physical condition. I was practically running on fumes and adrenaline, especially after traversing the mountain so much in the first half.

My only solace was the fact his movements were also affected, not by sleep deprivation, but by the injuries Shimada inflicted on him two days ago. His movements, while still as technical and impressive as ever, felt sloppier than when we first fought.

But still... he's got me in a bind.

As much I didn't want to fight him, or even so much as waste my time on him, especially before the critical point of my plan, his vicious attacks filled with hostile intent were dragging me in and forcing me to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

No... it was more accurate to say those vicious attacks were filled with murderous intent instead. I could tell from the look in his eyes and the aura I felt emanating from his fingertips as they grazed my shirt...

Nakajima was planning to finish me on the spot right now, just like he did with Oshita.

I took a deep breath as Nakajima twirled into a front kick. I tanked the blow with my hardened stomach, but at the same time, he reached out with his left hand again.

It looked like it was trying to grasp something... and that's when I realised what he was trying to do.

Nakajima knows that, between fleeting and fighting, I'd rather take the first option even if it's seen as more cowardly. After all, I had no good reason to brawl him right now, and if anyone walked into us trading blows, it'd expose our unique connection.

That's why, instead of swinging at me with a knife, he was trying to literally grab a hold of me. Once I figured that out, I jumped back a few steps to create some distance between us and took up a long ranged fighting stance.

In a battle like this, normally I'd have a disadvantage, since Nakajima has longer reach than me. However, since I know from Oshita that he's carrying his knife on him, he would actually prefer a close range fight so he could use his weapon to his advantage.

Nakajima, also seeming to realise what I was going for, stopping moving and shoved his hands into his tracksuit's pockets.

"How boring... you're really going to fight like that, huh?"

"It's not flashy, but it's effective."

I held out my fists, using the possibility of receiving a counterpunch as a deterrent from him to stay away. Since Nakajima seems to be aware of my past, then he'll know that using my fists is my speciality.

"Fighting to survive... of course you'd think that way. The facility you were trained in had it all backwards, you know?"

As Nakajima removed his hands from his pockets, I noticed a silver glimmer hiding under his left hand.

"They should've taught you fighting to kill."

At that moment, like a baseball pitcher, Nakajima flung his knife directly at me.

As it travelled through the air at lightning speed, I cocked my body to the left to evade it, before quickly refocusing my vision back on Nakajima.

As I suspected, it was meant to a diversion to draw my attention away from him so he could sneak up and get right up into my face. Unfortunately, it was at the great cost of his weapon, and I had an opportunity to snatch it from him by grabbing it off the floor.

However, Nakajima had double bluffed me, and as I swung my fist to stop him from getting close, he dived down to the floor and scooped up his knife before I had any time to turn around and take it myself.

In that moment where he was under me, Nakajima shoved the knife into my ankle, before pulling it out and stabbing it into my knee in quick succession.

Bright fresh blood spurted out of my leg like a fountain.

Out of reflex, I kicked the side of Nakajima's body with my other leg, pummelling his ribs and sending him flying towards my far left. However, he landed on his feet, smiling at me thinly while still gripping onto that bloodstained knife for dear life.

That was careless of me...

Even though it didn't hurt, these wounds could threaten my life and get out of hand if I lost too much blood. More annoyingly, he got me in the leg, which would severely neuter my mobility for the rest of this challenge.

In any case, survival came first. While Nakajima was still dazed from my attack, I scrummaged my bag for the towel Mizuki gave me and used it to wrap around my wounds tightly so that my body could form blood clots quicker.

However, while I was still down, Nakajima throttled at me, taking me by surprise by grabbing my shirt with his left hand.

Now that we were in close quarters, I could more or less predict what would come next. To dodge his next swing, I wriggled my body to the left as Nakajima swung down with his knife with his right hand.

However, he tried using that miss as an opportunity to skewer me in the side of my neck, but I pulled my left arm free from under his body, and thrusted him in his chest with an uppercut, causing him to jolt back from the shock.

In retaliation, Nakajima, who was still towering over me, lifted his knife over my head and swung down in a ruthless half arc motion, aiming to gouge out my left eye and render me blind.

By shifting my body weight, I managed to wrestle us both onto our sides, and more importantly, get his crossing blade to miss it's intended target completely.

Instead of shivving down to my brain, it instead plunged itself into the back of my left shoulder blade. More fresh blood gushed out of my body.

The Warning Alert on my watch went off. After five seconds, it cleared.

However, now that his knife was lodged in there, it brought the two of us extremely close to each other. Nakajima grit his teeth before we mutually butted heads, grinding our ringing skulls against each other.

Using this closeness to my advantage, I wrapped my left arm around Nakajima, trapping him in a bear hug. As I did, he tried pulling his knife out of me again, only to start tensing up as I punched his stomach with my right hand to get him to let go of the weapon.

As I repeated my punches at full power, weak groans escaped Nakajima's breath. Between trying to keep his consciousness and pulling his knife out, he had to prioritise the former. Just like the last time we fought, he was damn stubborn about holding onto it.

While our skulls were connected, I finally opened my mouth to speak to him for the first time.

"Give up, Nakajima."

I whispered that threat into his ear before shifting my fist up a bit higher to punch his liver. The groans became louder, but Nakajima didn't let go. Not until he could pull his knife out of me.

"Why should I?"

I thrusted my fist deep in the bowels of his stomach next. Nakajima hissed, his spit mixed with blood dribbling out of his mouth.

"You're going to lose your life if you don't."

"You...? Take my life? That's a funny joke..."

Nakajima laughed thinly, only to groan deeply as I punched his chest, or more specifically, the sternum— the bones covering his heart.

I wanted to destroy Nakajima by punching his heart. As my knuckles pushed in, I could feel his entire ribcage shaking. It wouldn't surprise me if one of them had cracked by now.

"I'm not giving up... not until you're dead, Blade-san."

Hearing that name be spoken so brazenly at me caused my better judgment to be clouded for a split second.

OST: I will get my revenge

All this time... you've been doing nothing but pissing me off.

My anger towards you... it's nothing like the anger I hold towards him.

Nor is it like the anger I have towards Kaido.

And it isn't anywhere near close to the anger I had towards Oozora.

The anger that I have for you, Nakajima...

...is the same kind of anger I have upon seeing a cockroach.

You're nothing but a nuisance.

Just as was about to unleash a punch with enough power to kill Nakajima, I stopped myself.

Regaining my outwards composure, I tried to remain calm, but the sparks inside my head were also fighting against each other.

Inside and outside, I was fighting a battle for survival.

Getting desperate to escape, Nakajima smashed his head into mine, trying to use the sudden attack to make me let go.

Instead, I switched targets to his solar plexus, hovering my fist over it before landing a devastating punch there.

The Warning Alert on Nakajima's watch sounded.

As if releasing all the tension that had been stored in his body, Nakajima recoiled from the blow and hacked out loudly, his spit splattering the side of my face and his blood spraying into the air.

Even though it felt disgusting, it was also a clear sign that his enduring defence had finally come down, so I used this opportunity to let go of his skinny body and grab onto the arm that held the knife in my back.

And, unlike like the last time we fought, I cut straight to the chase.

Crushing his wrist, I forced him to let go of the weapon.

Nakajima grit his teeth, biting on his tongue to subdue the pain electrifying his arm right now. He refused to show me any signs of weakness, even when I was clearly gaining the advantage over him.

Afterwards, I shoved Nakajima's body away from me and got to my feet, wiping down the side of my face. As much as I wanted to take the knife out as it stung each time I moved my shoulder, I knew it was better to leave it in so I wouldn't die of blood loss.

Plus, that meant Nakajima wouldn't have access to his weapon anymore. If he wanted his precious knife so badly, then he'd have to come rip it out of my body.

In the midst of this momentary silence, as I hung over Nakajima's body like an ominous full moon, I destroyed my watch to turn off the second Warning Alert that sounded out.

I couldn't let myself be retired... not yet.

"That was dirty of you, jumping down on me like that."

Was this sort of sneak attack how he also got Oshita? Nakajima had forgone all pretences and went straight in with the intent to kill from very beginning. He was getting cocky, that's for sure.

"I'd save my breath if I were you... you look like a zombie, limping like that."

Even as Nakajima was losing, he still had to get one snarky word in. He sighed, releasing a cold breath, before attempting to get back to his feet.

I kept him down by kicking his stomach, causing him to cough up more blood. Then, I kept my foot firm on there.

"I really did mean what I said earlier, Nakajima-san."

Seeing as he was rendered incapacitated, I felt it was finally safe to do this.

I was going to steal Nakajima's greatest weapon right in front of him.

Drawing the knife out of my shoulder like a sword, I presented sideways it to Nakajima.

His eyes widened, thinking that I was going to kill him with his own weapon.

"...you really plan to end this game right now, huh?"

Unfortunately, I was much crueller than that.

Almost as if accepting his fate, Nakajima closed his eyes and went silent.

"...do as you like. I've clearly lost this battle."

"Is that so."

Wrapping my left hand around the naked blade, I grabbed it tightly.

Blood seeped out of my hand, dropping on Nakajima's face like rain.

Feeling the thickness of it, his eyes opened slowly.

Only to then shoot open as I snapped his knife clean in half, shattering the metallic blade into tiny fragmented pieces under my tightly squeezed fist.

As I opened my hand, the remnants of his weapon scattered over his body like petals, and I let the empty handle fall onto his face.

"Try killing me now."

"Ha ha... ha ha ha ha..."

Nakajima began laughing, a wide smile appearing on his face.

"This is the first time... I've fought someone from the underworld so defiant..."

Somehow, he actually looked happy I destroyed his precious weapon.

"...you really are a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, Yuuto Blade."

I didn't have anymore words for him.

Something this simple wouldn't shake my heart.

I simply stood on top of Nakajima, taking in the moment, thinking about my next move.

The sound of the rain pouring filled the dead air between us.

Nakajima closed his eyes again, waiting for me to deal the finishing blow.

But it never came.

As easy it would be to reap his life, I couldn't kill him here.

And there was one simple reason for that.

There was no way Nakajima truly intended to give up this easily. Especially not after that half-hearted sloppy attempt at my life.

Even though I might have him pinned down now, the opportunity to overturn the situation was riper than ever. I had three deep cuts, two in my leg and one in my shoulder, along with a sliced up hand and severe fatigue from sleep deprivation.

In other words, all my energy, stamina, and life were being drained right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it.

By all accounts, Nakajima should be the one on top right now. With my foot on top of him, he could grab onto it and yank hard to throw me off balance, dragging me to the floor with him.

By simply refusing to counterattack, despite having the opportunity to do so, Nakajima was silently conveying to me that he wasn't even trying his hardest. That he wasn't even going all out. That he was just playing around.

I wasn't surprised, since I held back too. It was better to keep your true strength hidden in your arsenal, rather than revealing it to your opponent.

Only an idiot like Shimada would do something reckless like go all out. But Nakajima, despite looking like a delinquent, was smarter than this. I know he's smarter than this, since his strategies and tactics are more inline with my own.

As such, there's absolutely no way he was simply handing me a win this easily. He's only letting his guard down because still has something up his sleeve. There was still a trick I hadn't seen yet.

The implication that we Nakajima's true strength had yet to be seen was terrifying. The worst kind of foes are the ones you have almost no information about. However... the more I analysed the situation, the more confused I became at this set up.

If Nakajima wasn't seriously trying to kill me, then what he said earlier must've been a bluff. If that's the case, if he actually wanted to, then he could've easily assassinated me from the very start.

Yet even so, he didn't bother. Not even after dealing all this damage to me. What was the purpose of fighting me if he wasn't actually out to get me this time then?

Come to think of it... why didn't he stab Oshita?

If he was willing to stab me thrice, then surely he must've also been willing to mark Oshita with a grave injury before leaving her to rot too. Despite that, the most I could see were shallow cuts on her body. What gives?

And even more bizarrely, he looked exhausted despite being in better physical condition than me. If he's from the underworld, then his body shouldn't be so weak. Programmes are meant to train you, both mind and body, to the very limits of human potential.

I know that <that> wasn't exactly a normal programme, but he's graduated from one of them as a keeper. It should be impossible for him to be down for the count right now, but when I look at Nakajima, his breathing is strained and ragged.

None of this makes any sense. For him to get to this point, he must've put a giant burden on his body like I have. Just how much has he been running around and exerting himself during this entire challenge?

That's when I noticed it.

Nakajima was also hiding a fatal injury of his own. Wriggling his shirt up with my foot, my eyes widened as I saw a huge sprawling black bruise where his solar plexus was.

No wonder my final punch dealt so much damage... I aimed straight for his weak point.

Even if he was the strongest man in the world, there was no way he could've taken that. You can't train the solar plexus after all. It's just a bundle of nerve endings.

Now then... that leaves the question of who inflicted this life threatening injury on him. There was no way it was Oshita. If she did that much, she would've told me.

Then... could it be Shimada?

But why would Shimada hit Nakajima this hard, especially between when I last saw him and now? I know he's a flippant man, but he usually prefers to end it in one go. Besides, he's already softened up Nakajima yesterday, so this was unnecessary.

An uneasy premonition crept down my spine.

"...who did that?"

Nakajima opened one eye and glanced at me.

"It should be obvious, shouldn't it?"

"You say that, but the conclusion I came to doesn't make any sense."

"...so you're aware of her too, huh?"

"What?"

Nakajima pulled down his shirt, covering his bruise.

"It was Rinbayashi. She was the one who did that."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You... you went after Rinbayashi-san?"

"No need to sound so spooked, Blade-san. You, me, and even Oshita knew that this was bound to happen eventually. If she's from that place, I also have to kill her sooner or later."

"And you chose this challenge to be your first time facing off against her?"

"It was my only opportunity. At school, she's like a hermit. I had no good chances to test out her strength. And well, as you can see..."

Nakajima frowned, clutching his wound in pain.

"...I severely paid the price for it."

"Rinbayashi-san got you good, huh?"

"That would be an understatement. I didn't even realise I had been hit during our first encounter. The moment I tried to jump her, she turned around and glanced at me, before walking away. Before I knew it, searing pain exploded across all over my body, grabbing hold of my consciousness, and bringing me down to my knees. It was only after the fact I understood what had happened. And getting up was even harder... I think I was laying on the floor for a good ten minutes before I could get back up."

"...all of that sounds unrealistic."

"Your existence is unrealistic. Don't go underestimating her strength like I did, Blade-san. You should feel lucky to have such a strong woman in your class."

"While it'd be reassuring knowing that she has that sort of capacity for violence, I also can't trust any words that come out of your mouth either. I mean, earlier, you just lied about going all out."

"You overthink things too much. That was me trying my hardest to get you. And it seems I truly did fail..."

"There's no way. I still don't believe it. You had plenty of opportunities to hurt me further, especially earlier on in the fight, and yet you refused to take them. Even after I pinned you down like this, you still didn't bother to try and turn the tables around."

"Heh... trust me, I didn't want things to go this way either. But as you can see... I'm really at my limit. I'm not like you. I'm not some sort of fighting monster who can go on forever... I'm still human, after all."

"...just how much do you know?"

"About your past? Not enough. If you want, feel free to tell me more. I'd love to know about it."

"I'll pass."

"I thought so. However, one thing that I do know for certain is this."

Nakajima opened his other eye and stared deep into my soul.

"You and all the other monsters from the Under Doctrine aren't supposed to be here. You four, and everyone else who underwent that accursed programme, shouldn't exist. Nor should any of you be roaming around the earth so freely. In fact, all of you should be buried six feet under in the mud, stuffed in coffins, just like how you sho—"

Before he could go on further, I stamped down on Nakajima's bruise, causing him launch into a coughing fit and curl up.

You don't know the first thing about my past, asshole.

"Ha ha... you're so easily provoked. Despite looking the calmest, you're actually the most quick to anger. A trait you got from your father, I presume?"

He's really pushing his luck here. That man is not my father.

"Believe it or not, I've met him before. But not as you think. It may surprise you, but... in fact, I despise Ryuusei."

...why did he bring him up?

Nakajima smiled thinly.

It felt like he was trying to mess with my head on purpose.

"Have I caught your attention with that?"

I didn't respond. Nakajima continued.

"Me and you, we're not that different. I can't stand him either. If had the choice, I would kill him with my own two hands. If you guys are monsters... then that man is the devil."

He sighed.

"Unfortunately... he's too big, even for my britches. My jurisdiction is more suited for small fry like you. Actually going out of my way to kill the King... yeah, I'd be the dead one instead. It's probably why no one's tried doing it so far."

"Where are you going with this exactly?"

"Oh, right. Your father... yes, I've met him before. Not as Ryuusei, but as Yza."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'd love to tell you more about it... but unfortunately, my time is up."

"I didn't want to know anyways. Keep that story to yourself."

"Sure thing. By the way, have you noticed anything?"

"Yeah... I've noticed it long ago."

It was back when the both of us went silent.

It was the sound of distant footsteps.

"Slowly, over time, they've gotten louder and louder."

"They have, haven't they? Sounds like they're coming to where we are."

When Nakajima said that, I understood why he was acting so brazenly now.

Someone, whether it be a teacher, or Shimada, or someone working for him on the inside, was coming to save him.

By predicting that I wasn't going to kill him, Nakajima was able to set up this trap.

If anyone were to find us in this situation, there'd be no way to logically explain it without telling the truth.

And regardless of who it was, it was me who was going to be screwed.

"You've seemed to finally realise what's going on."

Confidence returned in Nakajima's sly eyes.

"Guess all that talk of ending my life was nothing but an empty promise. You should've killed me while you still had the chance. And here I was, looking forward to seeing this ruthless side of you... the one that let you survive the underworld. But now, after waiting so long, you've wasted your only chance and gave me a lifeline."

I took my foot off Nakajima's body. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips. He turned his head towards me.

"This isn't over just yet, Blade-san. This little game of ours has only just begun. I hope we'll meet each other on the next stage."

As the footsteps drew closer, I took it as my signal to leave.

Before I could fall into Nakajima's trap, I would escape.

Even if... my body was on the verge of breaking down itself.

"In the meantime, try not to die, alright? I still have so many questions for you."

As I dragged myself back into the thickets of the forest, I could hear Nakajima sarcastically taunt me from afar.

I paid it no mind, but I periodically checked behind me to see if he was secretly following me.

I could still see him lying down in the far distance.

Before Nakajima disappeared completely from my sight, I caught a glimpse of who came to save him.

I nearly stopped me in my tracks when I saw.

It was Akusa-sensei, the homeroom teacher of C Class.

However, I couldn't dwell on the implications, and recklessly kept moving forward.

Even as the wind battered my face, blood drained from my wounds like waves, and the rain came down on me like hail...

...I kept pushing on, completely numb to the pain.

However, just because I felt nothing didn't mean my body felt the same.

Slowly, the toll I had accumulated from this fight finally came crashing down on me like a house of cards.

The distance I put between myself, my mental state, and my actual physical body finally crossed paths.

And when they met in that ugly blood red cross section, the corners of my vision blurred, turning fuzzy.

And soon enough, I couldn't see anything anymore.

My body slumped onto the ground.

I was powerless to stop it.

My limit, this human body, had finally stopped me.

My heart was beating the hardest it's ever beaten in three years.

Is this... it?

Was my story really going to end here?

Unceremoniously, in the middle of the mountains, by a cheap stab wound, from a man as cowardly as Nakajima?

I tried to grit my teeth, but I couldn't.

All I could do was lay on the muddy floor as the rain soaked my half dead body.

I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything.

My breathing was getting colder.

Damn it...

Ah...

So I'm really going to die here, huh...?

If I'm going to die, then at least...

At least let me see her before I die, damn it...

No... that's not right.

At least let me die in her arms.

In the arms of the girl who saved me all those years ago.

For a moment, I thought I could see her.

Within this maze of darkness, her slim figure was there, waiting faintly at the end.

I reached out with my imaginary hand.

Towards that light.

The light that was interrupted by words I could barely make out.

"You can't die... not until you... get your revenge... isn't that right?"

The sounds went in and out of my ears.

I couldn't hear it very clearly.

But...

"Yuuto."

Hearing that voice, I could tell who was towering over me right now.

"But, I..."

He grinned, showing me his pearly white teeth jagged with fangs.

Killed...

you...