14: The Mysterious Voice
This has to be some kind of joke.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but the message on the screen remained the same:
‘The target is already under hypnosis!’
He rubbed his eyes again, blinked, turned his phone upside down, and even stood on his head, but the message still didn’t change.
“What the hell!?”
His mind was in a state of utter confusion, refusing to accept the meaning behind the characters.
He looked around, searching for any evidence to deny the existence of what he held in his hand, but of course, it wasn’t something that would just be lying around in a school hallway.
“C’mon… this can’t be real…”
The chances of someone hypnotizing him without him noticing were about as low as getting hit in the head by a meteorite and dying.
He hadn’t seen Makoto once since this morning.
Still, just to be sure, he checked his app history, but Makoto’s name wasn’t there.
That left only one answer.
“Could it be that someone else than me…”
Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring—
“Wh-what!?”
His heart skipped a beat at the unexpected ringtone.
He looked down at the screen to see the emotionless words, “Unknown Caller” displayed.
The timing was impeccable, sending chills down his spine. His lungs tightened, and he forgot to breathe.
Time seemed to stand still as he hesitated, but the caller didn’t hang up. It was as if they knew he was in a state where he could answer.
“Damn it…”
He steeled himself and tapped the answer button.
Confirming the connection, he raised the phone to his ear.
“…Hello?”
“Good morning.”
The voice was rough and grainy.
A voice changer, maybe?
It was monotone, making it impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman. Judging by the lack of background noise, they were probably making this call from a private room somewhere.
Ryugo asked cautiously, “Who is this?”
“I am the one who gave you that app.”
“You?”
“That’s right. Are you enjoying it?”
“It’s a piece of crap. I can’t even see any boobs… no, never mind. Forget I said that.”
“Your denial comes a bit too late. I’m well aware of the frivolous use you’ve put it to.”
“That was just a side effect!”
“Well, no matter. I didn’t expect you to use it properly from day one anyway.”
This person’s way of speaking was strangely theatrical.
Were they relishing their role or simply trying to conceal their identity?
If it was the latter, it was certainly effective. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease toward this unknown caller.
“Why did you give me this thing?”
“Because you were the only one who didn’t bow down to Ira and the others.”
“Huh? Is that all?”
“That’s one reason. There’s another, but I can’t tell you yet.”
“Why not?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“To protect you. From here on out, things are going to get very complicated.
You’ve been acting pretty suspiciously ever since you got the app, so I’m sure you’ll be shaken up and do something bad once you learn about my information. That’s why I have to keep this a secret for now.’
“I hate people like you who hold back important information and regret it later when something goes wrong.”
‘You’ll regret it more if you find out. Please stop. Right now is the time to get used to how to use the app.’
“Is that so? Then, shall I hear your request? Why did you call me at this time?”
‘Your smartphone–no, the app has been slightly tampered with. I’ve set it up so that I’ll get a notification when you reach a certain stage. And also the problems that you encounter.’
“You should have told me from the beginning.”
‘As I said earlier, if I give you too much information, you might be suspected by others depending on your actions.’
“Are you going to give me information in small doses and observe me like you’re administering a reagent?”
I don’t know what this voice’s intentions are, but the fact that I’m being used pisses me off a little.
‘I’m not trying to be evasive. However, let me tell you this–‘
“Hey…”
‘What is it?’
“The classroom is starting to get a little hectic, so can you do this later?”
‘Eh?’
When I peeked through the window of the door, I saw Asami, her desk overturned, covering her face with her hands and sobbing.
As I watched the homemade-looking food spill out of the lunchbox that had been thrown on the floor, a boiling rage burned deep in my eyes.
“I’m going to beat the crap out of him, so call me later.”
To such a sudden request, the voice on the phone,
‘…I understand. Do as you like.’
He agreed calmly, as if he had expected it. I found it strange, but I had other priorities right now.
I ended the call and stealthily entered the classroom.
Seito had his back to me and didn’t notice me. The gazes of the surrounding students pierced me, but no one said anything.
As Ryugo grabbed a nearby chair to attack, the butt of a boy who was about to sit down hit the floor hard.
Holding his breath, he swung the weapon.
“…!!”
However, he was suddenly interrupted by a kick.
Ryugo dodged it by opening his body and glared at Seito, who had quickly sensed his approach.
“Damn…!”
“You bastard, you’re trying to hit me from behind.”
Seito bared his teeth and swung his arms to loosen his shoulders.
“Your bludgeoning attack won’t work on me anymore.”
“Don’t give my attack a stupid name!!”
“Didn’t you name it yourself!?”
Ryugo dropped the chair and clenched his fists.
His eyes stared straight at his opponent, simulating the trajectory of his punch. He calculated the distance between them and thought only of destruction.
In contrast, Seito maintained his composure and did not take a stance. He let his arms hang down naturally. He was not in the state of a person who was about to fight.
However, the malice in his eyes was evident.
That eerie glow had enough force to cool my liver.
“I’m going to kill you today. It’s okay if I do it, right? Ira?”
When asked by Seito, Ira nodded while looking at her smartphone with a bored expression.
“…Okay.”
“Then, let me return yesterday’s favor.”
I don’t think I can win.
However, I have to fight here to keep my past self who gave up from fighting.
My broken and defanged self.
I am increasingly becoming arrogant with the hypnosis app, and it may eventually ruin me.
This is also a battle to warn myself against that.
Asami looked at me and shook her head.
“…Th, that’s, enough… Raccoon, -kun. Stop… I, I’m, completely fine…”
“No, I’ll do it no matter what you say. I’ll make this guy pay for ruining your mother’s lunch!”
“Raccoon-kun…”
I glanced at her, her eyes moist with tears, and slid my toes forward.
“Shaa!”
I fired my fist from my waist with a fierce battle cry, but it was received as lightly as if I were amusing a small child.
“Hu!”
A hook aimed at my chin flew in.
“Kuh!”
I dodged it by arching my chest, but I lost my balance.
I staggered, unable to gain a foothold.
“Hah!”
Makoto pulled my fist and forced me to bend forward.
Then, an elbow strike from above crushed my spine.
“Gah…!?”
A suffocating feeling attacked me as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of my lungs.
The Bl00d flow in my internal organs reversed, and a groan escaped my mouth.
Light burst in my vision, but I somehow regained my senses.
I ducked and retreated to avoid the follow-up attack.
Makoto quickly closed the distance and said,
“What’s the matter!? Is that all you’ve got!?”
He grabbed me by the lapels and lifted my body slightly into the air with his powerful arms. My toes touched the floor, barely keeping me balanced.
I held my breath, my eyes fixed on his triumphant expression right before my nose.
“Raccoon, are you going to kick the ball away like you did before? That trick won’t work this time.”
“Guh… No… I don’t need to.”
“Huh?”
I reached for the five fingers holding me, chose a thumb, and
“…Ngh!”
Twisted it with force.
Gokyachan
Along with the gruesome sensation of destroying the internal structure of his finger,
“Gi…Ugh!”
Makoto bit back a groan of pain,
“aaahhhhh!”
He let out a shameless scream.
His facial muscles contorted as if they were tightening, he leaked bitterness from the corners of his mouth, and he desperately writhed his body to escape the pain. The intense pain Bl00dshot his eyes, causing a small spoonful of tears to overflow from them.
“L-let go!”
“It’s not good to grab someone by the collar when you’re threatening them. This is how your fingers get broken.”
Normally, he would have used one hand to push the other person’s face to the side, then used his other hand to break their fingers, but he didn’t have the leeway here.
That said, Makoto was also an amateur.
Even makeshift self-defense was effective enough.
Apparently, those used to fighting would grab the belt at the waist instead of the chest. Doing so would throw off the other person’s balance, preventing them from easily counterattacking.
Ryugo released his hand and created some distance.
“Your finger is still just cleanly broken right now. But, if you go any further, it’ll be broken beyond repair.”
“Bastard… I’ll kill you…”
Makoto’s eyes sparkled with malice, and he still hadn’t lost his fighting spirit.
This time, it was just dumb luck that the knowledge he happened to have was useful, and that the surprise attack had worked. If they faced each other again when both were in top condition, he would lose. The difference in their fighting abilities was unbalanced, like a scale with one side crashed down.
That was why Ryugo had been a spineless wimp up until yesterday.
He couldn’t beat this guy in a one-on-one fight.
“Bastaaard!”
His furious scream was cut off by,
“–That’s enough.”
Aira’s indifferent voice.
These scenes kinda remind me of Viral Hit.