章節 6: One single soul!
Ryan stared intently at the little girl, his eyes a mixture of perplexity and disbelief. Arona, hands on her hips, tried to strike a stern pose, but her adorable appearance made the effort almost comical. Meanwhile, Yuno seemed indifferent to the girl's cuteness, focusing all her strength on breaking free from the immobilization to get back to the fight. She wanted to see Ryan bleed.
Arona stomped her tiny foot firmly on the ground, pointing a small, trembling finger at Yuno. Her voice, trying to sound authoritative, carried a childish tone that only amplified the contrast with the violent scene.
"Yuno-sensei and Ryan-sensei! Stop trying to kill each other right now!"
Her indignation was so comical that, for a moment, the scenario felt like a grotesque parody.
Yuno, teeth clenched and venom in her voice, replied with disdain:
"And who are you? Another competitor in this damn game? I don't recall seeing your face!"
Ryan averted his gaze with disdain, letting out a dry laugh.
"Look at that, the psycho's awake now. But come to think of it, I don't remember you either."
Yuno shot Ryan a deadly glare, her eyes burning with contempt.
"Liar. You just said her name."
Ryan smirked maliciously, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Oh, sure, because everyone believes the word of a lunatic. Keep trying; maybe someone will buy it."
Yuno's desire to tear Ryan to pieces was evident, but her helplessness under the immobilization only heightened the tension. The frozen expressions of the students, a mixture of panic and disbelief, contributed to the surrealism of the situation, as if time had truly stopped.
Arona huffed, crossing her arms with an irritated look that, in any other situation, would have been adorable.
"If you two don't stop and listen, you'll end up killing each other forever! Hmph!" She puffed out her cheeks, frowning like a stubborn child trying to assert authority.
Yuno growled impatiently.
"What did you do, you stupid brat?"
Ryan, always quick with a jab, grinned mockingly.
"Pink bitch, you're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?"
Yuno's expression of disgust and disdain only made Ryan laugh harder.
"Easy, easy, puppy. You can't bite right now; we're all stuck here. Relax."
Arona tried to regain control of the situation, speaking theatrically as she walked among the chairs.
"I didn't stop you, okay? It was the power inside you, fragmented though it may be."
Ryan raised an eyebrow, intrigued but skeptical.
"Our power? What do you mean, Arona? Are you serious?"
Before Arona could answer, Yuno sighed irritably, her voice dripping with sarcasm and scorn.
"Don't you recognize her, Masachika?"
Without even glancing at her, Ryan retorted dryly, ever the provocateur:
"catch my balls."
The tension in the room continued to grow, but the acidic comedy in every exchange was impossible to ignore.
"Listen, you two!" Arona raised her voice, trying to capture the attention of the stubborn opponents. "Ryan-sensei and Yuno-sensei, you were the winners of the survival game! Out of the 12 participants, only one was supposed to leave alive, but by some absurd twist of fate, you died at the exact same time!"
She gestured dramatically as she spoke, almost like an actress on stage. Ryan remained expressionless, while Yuno glared at her with contempt, the hatred still blazing in her eyes.
Arona, unfazed by their reactions, continued:
"Since something unplanned happened, it was decided that you both are considered winners. The divine authority, which was supposed to go to a single survivor, ended up merging into both your souls… as if you were one."
She began pacing in circles, wagging her finger in a near-professorial manner.
"That's why I'm telling you to stop trying to kill each other! It's impossible right now!"
Her indignant shout echoed through the room, but Yuno, with a darkly sweet tone, tilted her head and asked:
"Right now? Hey, Arona, how can I kill him?"
The twisted smile and sugary voice contrasted disturbingly with her clearly homicidal intentions.
Ryan let out an ironic laugh, glancing at her sideways.
"Touching, really, how much you care about me, darling."
Yuno responded with only a scornful glare, but the tension between them was palpable.
Meanwhile, Arona started rummaging through her skirt, murmuring to herself.
"Hmm, here it is… yes, got it!"
With a triumphant smile, she pulled out a small blue glass plate from one of her pockets. Ryan and Yuno, now silent, watched her intently, their curiosity replacing their hostility.
The plate began to glow and gradually expanded, projecting a screen with detailed information. Ryan tilted his head to read better, while Yuno squinted suspiciously.
On the screen, the title "Ryan/Yuno" was displayed as if they were a single entity. Joint information like "Age: 16/16" and even "Gender: Male/Female" seemed to blend the two into a baffling fusion.
Ryan let out a low chuckle, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
"How cute, it's like a couple's profile."
Yuno growled beside him, then turned her attention to Arona.
"What is this? Why are you showing us this?"
Arona responded enthusiastically, pointing at the data.
"These are your stats! Like I said, you're now considered a single soul!"
She swiped her finger across the screen, highlighting more details.
"Look here!"
The projection listed:
Ryan (Masachika Kuze)
Active Blessings: Eternal Cycle (Incomplete)
Yuno Gasai
Active Blessings: Temporal Displacement (Incomplete)
Energy Recovered: 0.1%
Ryan raised an eyebrow, reading with interest, then chuckled nonchalantly.
"Well, this fun! It's been a while since I've played tabletop RPGs."
Ryan's joking remark was enough to infuriate Yuno, who burst out in indignation.
"I don't care about your stupid games, you idiotic child!"
Arona crossed her arms again, puffing out her cheeks in protest.
"You could both be a little more grateful, you know? I'm trying to help here!"
Meanwhile, Ryan continued reading the details on the screen, muttering to himself with a sly grin.
"Well, if we're 'one soul,' I'd better at least get an advantage… or a good punchline, at the very least."
Yuno, clearly irritated by the explanation, struggled against her paralysis, her eyes blazing with hatred.
Arona sighed, frowning as she spoke in a tired yet sweet tone:
"Yuno-sensei, I've already explained that you're partially paralyzed because of your own powers… Could you please cooperate with yourself?"
Yuno turned to the small girl with a macabre expression, a cruel smile forming on her lips.
"Cooperate? This problem will resolve itself a lot faster once I get rid of you two and go after my Yuuki." Her voice was heavy, dripping with menace.
Ryan, completely unfazed by Yuno's hostility, casually addressed Arona.
"Arona-chan, why are you even here?"
His relaxed tone made Yuno huff indignantly, which only made Ryan smirk.
Arona, however, remained unfazed and replied with a warm smile, bowing dramatically.
"I apologize for not introducing myself properly, Ryan-sensei. I am a physical and intelligent representation of your divine energies. I was created from Ryan's memories and possess the necessary functionality to handle even Yuno-sensei's… ah… efficiency."
She seemed proud of her explanation, but Yuno, her expression filled with disdain, couldn't let it slide.
"Ryan's memories? This trash is clearly a lolicon."
Her voice was dripping with disgust, while Ryan rolled his eyes with boredom.
"Cool," he said casually, ignoring the jab. "So, you're like a system, right? A cute and functional AI system."
"Don't change the subject, you trash," Yuno snapped firmly, her rage evident in every word.
Ryan finally looked at her, his expression turning cold and dripping with sarcasm.
"Go check the corner for me. Oh, wait… you can't, can you?"
The provocation made Yuno clench her fists, her eyes promising chaos the moment she could move. Arona simply sighed, raising her arms as if trying to calm two bickering children.
"I need to finish my explanation before your energy dissipates, and you go back to trying to kill each other for no reason. So, pay attention!" Arona declared, placing her fists on her hips and closing her eyes like an impatient teacher.
She opened her eyes and continued in a more didactic tone:
"As I said, I'm a physical and intelligent representation of the divine energy you both possess. Think of me as a customizable technical support system for the two of you. I can be summoned at any time, but only you can see me. My abilities are vast, but… unfortunately, I'm nearly out of power due to a lack of divine energy."
Arona cast a serious look at Yuno before continuing:
"Yuno-sensei, you can't kill Ryan-sensei. Your souls are connected. Every time one of you dies, time will reset to the last checkpoint defined by him."
She then turned to Ryan, explaining with the same emphatic tone:
"I know you're both eager to finish each other off, but for now, it's literally impossible. Hmph!"
With her arms crossed, Arona turned her back to both of them, almost as if delivering an ultimatum.
"You need to establish a temporary truce and form an alliance for both your sakes."
Ryan and Yuno stared at each other for a long moment, their gazes brimming with hostility. Yuno was the first to speak, her voice dripping with disdain.
"You're suggesting I have to work with him?"
Arona smiled like a child who knew she was about to provoke them.
"Exactly that!"
The silence that followed was almost tangible as they glared at each other like predators ready to pounce. Finally, they spoke simultaneously, in perfect synchronization:
"Never..."
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