Before Charlotte could react—
Hiroshi was already in his face, fist glowing with divine energy.
Charlotte yelped like a dog.
"W-WAITWAITWAIT—TIME OUT!!"
He dropped to his knees, hands up, trembling like a leaf.
"I-I'm a scientist, not a fighter! I do experiments, evil monologues, and button pressing! Fighting isn't in my contract!!"
Hiroshi skidded to a stop mid-air, deadpan expression.
"…You serious?"
"I'm deadly serious!" Charlotte squeaked. "I have scoliosis, asthma, and emotionally triggered nosebleeds! You hit me, I die!"
Lucas, blinked.
"What the actual fuck…"
Alexia facepalmed.
"He's the weakest boss I've ever seen."
Charlotte nervously stood up again, slowly backing toward the control panel.
"But! But! I do have something! Something better than fighting!"
He pressed a button on the console. The room shook.
Suddenly, the corrupted entities stopped. Their bodies began to merge… twisting, warping into something huge.
A new form started to rise—bigger than anything before, even stronger than the last one. The entire room dimmed under its energy.
"I give you—THE REAL BOSS!" Charlotte laughed maniacally, hiding behind a steel pillar.
"I call it... X! Have fun!"
"Whose ex?" Hiroshi asked, tilting his head.
"You dumbass, I said X, not ex!!" Charlotte snapped, veins popping on his forehead.
Then he chuckled darkly, voice low and dripping with arrogance.
"Kuakuakua… but say what you want. You'll all be dead soon, so I don't care how you pronounce it."
Hiroshi rolled his eyes, gripped his sword.
"Tch. Whatever."
He dashed forward, light bursting from beneath his feet, and slashed down on the massive Entity X.
But the moment his blade touched its skin—
Everything changed.
His vision went white.
His body froze.
His mind… shattered.
Images flooded into him—hundreds of memories not his own. Screams. Cries. Loneliness. Darkness.
Children… locked in basements.
Hungry, cold, abandoned.
A girl curled in a corner, whispering to herself to not cry.
A boy trembling in front of his drunken father—
A child screaming as their mother walked away forever.
Poverty. Hunger.
Isolation.
Abuse.
Betrayal.
All of it. Every ounce of suffering the corrupted students had endured—was now running through Hiroshi's veins like venom.
His sword slipped from his hand.
He dropped to his knees.
"I… I can't…"
His voice was shaky, distant—like he wasn't even present in his own body anymore.
Lucas froze.
"What the hell just happened?"
Alexia took a cautious step forward.
"Kid....what happened?"
But he didn't answer.
His hands trembled.
His face pale.
His eyes wide.
He was feeling everything.
Every scar left on those students before they were turned into monsters.
The hunger.
The pain.
The loneliness.
The moment they realized no one was coming to save them.
The moment they broke.
And the one that hit the hardest—
The memory of a boy, barely five…
Begging his father to stop.
Bleeding. Crying.
And being told—
"You were a mistake."
A hand touched Hiroshi's shoulder—firm, steady, warm.
"It's not the time to show sympathy," a voice said. Calm, but filled with weight.
"You saw it yourself. They're not screaming for help anymore…"
He paused.
"They're begging for death. It's the only peace we can give them."
He gave Hiroshi a small push. "Awake, my friend."
The sensation of being ripped apart by a thousand hands… started to fade.
The suffocating darkness loosened its grip.
And in its place—came warmth.
Hiroshi's eyes blinked open, breathing uneven. He turned around slowly.
"…Ren?"
Ren nodded.
Behind him stood Squad 4—Ren, Celestine, the rich guy whose name everyone forgets, and the other guy who's somehow always there.
Celestine and the others were standing beside Alexia and Lucas, keeping distance from Squad 12—but standing with them all the same.
"Why… are you here?" Hiroshi asked, still on his knees.
Ren stepped forward and picked up Hiroshi's fallen sword.
He held it out.
"Take it," he said. "And help me finish this thing."
He scratched the back of his head, looking awkward but determined.
"I know I'm weak. I've always been. But I'm trying to change. Trying to overcome my fears…"
He glanced at Celestine without finishing that thought.
Before Hiroshi could answer, another voice chimed in.
"I'll help too."
Everyone turned.
Leon was standing. Supported by Kami, one arm over her shoulder, his leg's bleeding stopped and the area was covered in skin. Though she couldn't make his leg like before, but she tried her best.
Celestine stared for a second.
Then she covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
"Pfft… a guy without a leg trying to fight?"
Leon grinned, not even blinking.
"Still better than a girl hiding behind Alexia."
Celestine's smile dropped instantly.
"Ha?! What'd you say, you legless—"
"Enough," said Alexia coldly.
That one word, that single look—
Her icy expression froze Celestine mid-sentence.
"…Tch." Celestine turned her head, arms crossed, biting her tongue.
Alexia glanced at Leon, just for a second.
He called her by name.
Not senior.
Not ma'am.
Just… Alexia.
She blinked.
But said nothing.
Still…
She didn't seem to mind.
"Ren's right," Leon said, voice steady, blade forming in his hand, glowing faintly with his energy.
"The only thing we can give them now… is death."
He stepped forward, limping slightly.
"Let's kill it—and free them."
Hiroshi looked down at his trembling hand. The weight of all those memories still lingered like chains.
But he gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and forced his breath steady.
"You're right," he said, standing up fully.
"Sitting here… pitying them… won't change anything."
He took his sword from Ren's hand. "They've suffered long enough."
From the side, Alexia took a step back. Her tone was firm—calm, but final.
"Lucas. We're not joining this fight. Let those kids and Leon handle it."
Lucas hesitated, glancing at the massive Entity X, then at Hiroshi, Ren, Kami, and Leon—each standing with barely enough strength to move… but burning with resolve.
He nodded.
"Understood."
He sheathed his sword and stepped back beside Alexia.
She crossed her arms, expression unreadable.
"This is their battle now. We will see from here, how much capable are the first year students."