Chapter 11: The Intent to Kill

It seemed as if a flock of crows flew across the sky, cawing “idiot, idiot,” leaving the boy deeply embarrassed. He had almost believed it just now. “What an idiot I am, letting that woman make a fool of me! Damn it! I don’t even know who I am! Whatever, I should just go to the hospital!” he muttered angrily, turning around to leave, when the student council president kindly reminded him, “There’s no hospital here!”

“Huh? Why not?” he instinctively asked.

“Because no one gets sick.”

“Why doesn’t anyone get sick?”

“Because everyone is already dead.”

“We’re all dead?” The boy’s mind collapsed at those words. There it was again—clearly, they had all agreed to play this trick on him while he was suffering from amnesia. Furious and embarrassed, he shouted, “You’re in cahoots with that woman, aren’t you? You’re both taking advantage of my amnesia to mess with me!”

“It’s common for newcomers to have memory loss here. Especially if you died in an accident, your brain might be damaged,” the student council president replied patiently.

“Then prove it to me! That I’m already dead and can’t die again!” the boy demanded stubbornly, practically daring the student council president to show him that he couldn’t die. The president, somewhat oblivious, stepped forward, her lips parting as she uttered a single English word, “Handsonic.”

From the cuffs of her school uniform, a stream of data-like light materialized, forming metallic blades that resembled hidden arm-swords resting on the backs of her hands. With agile steps, she darted toward the boy, and the cold tip of her sonic blade pierced directly into his chest.

The boy instantly lost consciousness and fell silent. Nightfall, watching from the side, wanted to retort—if it were him, never mind reaction speed, at the very least he wouldn’t have died so simply and cleanly.

“Hey! Yuriko! Look, that newbie over there just bit the dust—taken out by the Angel!” In the distance, Hinata, peering through binoculars, called out to Yuri Nakamura, describing the scene unfolding on the field.

“Shut up! I saw!” Yuri snapped back, finger poised on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. Nightfall had promised to join her side; there was no way she’d let Angel take him out too—what if he got scared and quit?

Had Nightfall known what Yuri Nakamura was thinking, he would have been thoroughly exasperated. He’d witnessed far bloodier scenes, and the number of people who died by his hand numbered in the tens of thousands. Compared to the days when he was hunted, this was nothing—a mere trifle.

When the boy fell, the student council president fixed her amber eyes on Nightfall, rushing toward him as if to prove to him as well that he was already dead. But as he watched the silver-blue-haired girl running toward him, devoid of any murderous intent, Nightfall felt wronged. It was that guy who asked you to prove he was dead, not me—I haven’t said a word, so why are you attacking me?

With a sidestep and a swift grab, he dodged the blade aimed at his chest, seizing the girl’s wrist and catching her body with his other hand. In an instant, he immobilized her. Against someone with Nightfall’s vast experience in battles between life and death, the girl stood no chance.

“Listen, he was the one who asked you to prove he couldn’t die—not me! I’ve long known I’m already dead, so there’s no need for you to bother, but thank you anyway.” The girl, held captive, looked at him in surprise, as if puzzled by how she’d been caught in the blink of an eye. Nightfall smiled gently and released her, then gestured toward the boy lying on the ground, politely prompting her to “say thank you.”

“You’re welcome…” The girl, seemingly oblivious to the teasing in Nightfall’s words, bowed sincerely in response.

Bang! A gunshot rang out. A bullet flew from the steps behind Nightfall, clearly fired by either Yuri Nakamura or Hinata. With a sharp whistling sound, the bullet sped straight toward the girl in front of him.

“A bullet? Guns like that haven’t been used on me since I was seven,” Nightfall remarked lazily as he watched the bullet fly. By the age of seven, Yexingchen’s strength had rendered bullets completely harmless—even standing still, they couldn’t touch him.

However, according to the system, Nightfall’s current posthumous body was as vulnerable as any ordinary person’s. He dared not risk catching the bullet barehanded. Blocking the student council president, who tried to shield him, Nightfall’s right hand shimmered with starlight as he casually swatted behind him.

Bang! The bullet, deflected by the light tap, ricocheted to the ground nearby, leaving a small crater.

“How is this possible? Is that guy even human? He swatted a bullet away barehanded! Even Angel only uses her sonic blades!” Hinata exclaimed in disbelief, dropping his binoculars to the ground.

“And he just took Angel down in one move—Shiina couldn’t do that either! Ha! Now that he’s joined us, Angel won’t be a threat anymore!” Yuri Nakamura smirked, as if envisioning a future where they trample Angel and defeat God.

“Hm?” The student council president stared at Nightfall, puzzled at how easily he’d handled the bullet.

Nightfall now understood what kind of being this so-called “Angel” girl was—just a human, though her soul was so pure it was devoid of any blemish. If one called her angelic, it would not be an exaggeration; even true angels might not match her purity.

“Kill her! Destroy her! Annihilate everything within your sight!” Suddenly, a demonic voice echoed in his mind, relentlessly eroding both Nightfall and Yexing’s consciousness, trying to bend them to its violent will.

“What’s wrong?” the student council president asked calmly, her face expressionless, but a faint undertone of concern in her voice warmed Nightfall’s heart—even amidst a murderous haze, he thought perhaps making friends like this wouldn’t be so bad.

But the murderous intent only intensified, until both Nightfall and Yexing could barely control themselves—their eyes flickered with pain. The girl couldn’t understand: if death meant no more sickness, why was this person suffering so much? Out of kindness, she wanted to help Nightfall, but didn’t know how.

Nightfall realized that if he stayed any longer, he would lose control and slaughter everyone here. Without hesitation, he spun around, bursting forth at incredible speed, vanishing from everyone’s sight in an instant, swallowed up by the night.

“What happened to him? He suddenly went berserk!” From afar, Hinata and Yuri Nakamura were at a loss—wasn’t Angel supposed to be no match for him? Why had he suddenly become so tormented?

“It must be something Angel did! She’s an angel, after all! Damn it! Come on, let’s go find him!” Yuri, unable to make sense of the situation, blamed the girl and set off with Hinata to search for Nightfall.

The student council president, too, was worried about Nightfall’s pain. As the president, she felt it was her duty to help a suffering student, so she hurried off in search of him as well.

Meanwhile, the poor boy who had so boldly declared his undying state still lay on the field, quietly awaiting his resurrection, completely ignored by all...