Chapter 44

"Let me take a look."

Rokudo Mukuro held a trident in one hand and stroked his chin with the other, staring intently at the monster before him.

Its appearance is indeed quite intimidating; those fangs, claws, and protruding eyeballs all over its body give you goosebumps and make your sanity drop drastically.

This seems like great material; I can write it down and use it to intimidate the Vongola when I get back.

Rokudo Mukuro slowly approached the monster, but Kirihara Akaya quickly stopped him, saying, "Rokudo-senpai, don't go over there. Who knows if that monster will unleash magical attacks?"

Although the monster had been using physical and mental attacks on them, Kirihara Akane, who was well-versed in the attack patterns of monsters in the game, was still worried, fearing that the monster might launch a desperate counterattack and go berserk at the last moment, which would hurt Rokudo Mukuro, who had saved them.

Rokudo Mukuro smiled slightly. He was growing increasingly fond of these children. "Don't worry, it can't hurt me."

He walked up to the monster, raised his trident, and plunged it fiercely into the monster's body. The monster roared in pain and struggled desperately, trying to break free of the vines binding it, its sharp claws reaching out towards Rokudo Mukuro.

Rokudo Mukuro remained calm and confident that even if his illusions couldn't harm it, they could at least trap it.

But the people who rushed over were anything but calm. Sanada Genichiro shouted, "Get out of the way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a yellow tennis ball whizzed past Rokudo Mukuro's side and slammed into the monster's claw, leaving a deep mark.

Yagyu Hiroshi turned his head and saw his companions, soaked to the bone and with panicked expressions on their faces, rushing toward them.

"Sanada-senpai, Yanagi-senpai, Niou-senpai, Marui-senpai, Jackal-senpai..." Kirihara Akaya called out excitedly one by one, his voice choked with emotion, tears welling up in his eyes.

The others stared at the monster before them, their bodies stiffening slightly, but they still managed to walk to their companions' sides.

"...What exactly is going on?" They were all teenagers who had always lived in peace. Their biggest worries were things like losing a competition, their grades slipping, and being criticized by their teachers and parents. They had never seen anything like this before.

"There's a monster at school," Yagyu Hiroshi explained, perking up. "What brings you here?"

"We can talk about that later, let's leave here first." The usually composed Genichiro Sanada wanted to lead everyone away first. "Rokudo-kun, stay away from that thing..."

A flicker of fear flashed in his eyes as he looked at the enormous creature before him.

Rokudo Mukuro carefully examined the wounds he had made on the monster with his trident, and as he expected, the small wounds slowly healed over time.

But he also noticed that the marks he had made from being hit by the tennis ball had not disappeared.

He recalled how he had used the Deathly Flame to burn away the remaining power on Kirihara Akaya, and a hypothesis slowly formed in his mind: illusion magic couldn't deal with this monster, but a high concentration of Deathly Flame would definitely be able to burn it to death.

Moreover, these ordinary tennis boys in his eyes must possess mysterious powers that he is unaware of, and perhaps they can even unleash their own flames.

“Sanada-senpai, Rokudo-senpai is very powerful. He saved us and he also trapped that monster.”

"...Also, Sanada-senpai, that shot you made was so cool..."

With the help of several senior colleagues, Kirihara Akaya finally recovered and regained his spirits.

Niou Masaharu subtly moved closer to his partner, Yagyu Hiroshi, and pressed himself against him without making a sound. The two were perfectly in sync; Yagyu Hiroshi, whose legs were already weak and he was about to faint but could only silently endure, leaned most of his weight onto his partner.

Niou Masaharu, unusually, didn't say anything, but simply supported him silently. Each partner knew that the gentleman Yagyu Hiroshi was actually terrified of ghosts; hearing a ghost story or having a supernatural event performed in front of him could easily leave him frozen in place.

It's already amazing that you've managed to hold on for so long without fainting.

"...What will happen to this monster if we leave? Will we just leave it there?" Some people wanted to leave first and find an adult to deal with it, but others questioned what would happen if the monster escaped from the school and hurt people, since they left directly.

Rokudo Mukuro wore a mysterious smile, yet remained silent. The human heart and human nature were his favorite subjects of entertainment. However, the children before him were all good kids who could distinguish right from wrong.

"...But we are not capable of handling this matter." If they can't handle it, they can't handle it. Faced with something beyond their capabilities, even if they are full of enthusiasm, they can only be helpless.

Just as the children were caught in a dilemma, a beam of light from a flashlight broke the silence.

"Ah, it's the gatekeeper!" Kirihara Akaya's eyes widened in surprise. Having an adult by his side when in danger made him feel much more at ease.

A short while later, the security guard, who was patrolling the campus with a flashlight, came over.

Upon seeing the group, the gatekeeper, with a stern face, reprimanded them, "You lot, didn't we say you weren't allowed to linger on campus after school? What are you still doing here?"

"The school has emphasized safety countless times: go home early after school and don't linger outside. Also, school is a place for learning, not a place for you to go on adventures..."

"It's raining so hard outside, don't you guys even care about your own safety...?"

Although the gatekeeper was a bit of a nag, he was wholeheartedly concerned for the students. Normally, a few well-behaved and polite students would have listened attentively and taken his advice seriously.

However, at this moment, the gatekeeper's incessant chatter seemed particularly out of place.

Marui Bunta, whose face was a little pale, pointed to the bound monster and said, "Uncle gatekeeper, look over there."

The gatekeeper was taken aback. He looked in the direction Marui Bunta was pointing and immediately saw Rokudo Mukuro.

"What's wrong, student?" the gatekeeper asked, puzzled.

Kirihara Akaya was getting anxious. "No, uncle, can't you see it?" Such a huge monster was right in front of him, did this person really not see it at all?

"Huh?" The gatekeeper thought the students were playing a prank. "What did you see? I just saw you students loitering on campus late at night. Hurry up and go back."

"Uncle, you..." Kirihara Akaya wanted to say something, but Yanagi Renji covered his mouth.

"We'll leave the school as soon as possible, move the plants off the rooftop, and leave immediately." They were indeed going back to school for Yukimura Seiichi's flowers. After seeing the weather forecast, he knew that, given Akaya's personality, he would definitely go back to school to take care of the flowers.

When they tried to call him, his phone was switched off, so he had to contact other people. In the end, they discussed it and decided to come to the school together.

But who knew that after arriving at the school in the rain, just as I approached the teaching building, I heard a loud noise and heard a strange, faint presence in the corridor.

Before the gatekeeper could say anything more, Rokudo Mukuro once again used genjutsu to fool him. Watching the gatekeeper's departing figure, everyone was somewhat confused.

Rokudo Mukuro stepped forward. "I have some special abilities. I'm the one who asked the gatekeeper to leave first."

The security guard has left, but the problem they now face is even more difficult to resolve. Based on his behavior, it's certain he couldn't see the monster, but everyone present can attest to its existence.

Is it because they are special and can see this monster, or is there some other reason?

There's an even more important question: if they are special, meaning only a small number of people can see the monster, will it harm others after they leave?

Even if they don't leave, they are helpless against this monster.

"What should we do now?" Everyone except Rokudo Mukuro frowned.

Just as Rokudo Mukuro was about to step forward, solve the children's problems, and then enjoy their admiring gazes, a clear and lively voice broke the silence once again.

"At this point, of course, it's time for me to step in!"