CHAPTER 92: CHAPTER 13

With a wide, terrifying grin, Retsu lowered the surgical knife under Ayano’s terrified eyes.

She wasn’t cutting deeply yet, merely testing the sharpness, and with a gentle tap, a thin, perfect red line—a superficial cut—appeared on Ayano’s skin just above the estimated position of his kidney.

Ayano struggled against his paralysis, his muscles seizing, tears, snot, and saliva flowing like a grotesque waterfall down his face.

The hundredfold enhancement of his pain sensors made the mere scratch feel like his entire skin was being peeled off his body by dull blades.

"Fufufu~, that was just a light tap. Now, the real surgery begins."

However, just as Retsu was about to deepen the incision, ready to slice through the fascia and muscle tissue, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist—firmly and steadily, preventing her from moving the knife a single millimeter further.

Retsu’s predatory mask shattered instantly. She turned toward the one who had stopped her, and her blue eyes widened in a sudden, profound fear.

It was Seijirou.

He was barely standing, his face severely bruised and bloodied, his lips split, but his eyes were clear, focused, and watching her with an unnerving intensity.

’Oh no, no, no, please no...’ Retsu thought, a cold terror gripping her heart. ’My Seijirou saw me in this state!’

The fear of his disapproval was worse than any physical threat.

’What would he think? Would he feel disgusted by my methods? Would he distance himself? Would he hate me?’

No! She couldn’t have that.

She resolved instantly that she would kill herself if Seijirou decided he no longer wanted to associate with her.

’No, I can still save this,’ she told herself frantically. ’yes, it’s not over yet. There’s still hope...’

She considered her options: she could use her advanced acupuncture knowledge to erase his memories of the last few minutes.

But it’s too dangerous, a logical voice warned in her mind. He could end up losing all his core memories at best, and fall into a vegetative state at worst.

...But, isn’t that okay? A darker, possessive thought immediately surfaced. If he were a vegetable, she could take care of him for the rest of his life, twenty-four hours a day.

He would never leave her.

"Retsu," Seijirou called out, his voice soft, but carrying an unmistakable authority, "that’s enough."

Those words immediately erased all her dark and possessive thoughts.

Retsu stared at him, and attempted to smile, but the gesture was stiff and forced, forming a grotesque distortion on her face.

Her voice trembled, her words tumbling out in a hurried stutter. "S-Seijirou-kun, please, m-move aside for now. W-We can talk later, b-but right now, I must p-punish this man for h-hurting you. I n-need to make sure he regrets e-every pain he brought you."

"Retsu," Seijirou’s voice became stern, cutting through her frenzy. "I can handle my own revenge. If someone has to make this guy suffer, it must be me. This incident will be settled on my terms, not yours."

"But—"

Retsu hesitated for a long, agonizing moment, staring into Seijirou’s determined eyes.

She saw the unwavering resolve, the need for personal retribution.

Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded.

"Thank you," Seijirou smiled.

Retsu sighed and carefully took a cloth from her case and meticulously wiped the blood from the surgical knife before placing it back into its protective case and snapping it shut.

She then turned towards Ayano, who was still frozen stiff.

Then, with a casual wave of her free hand, a gesture that belied the complexity of the action, all the silver acupuncture needles flew out of Ayano’s body simultaneously and returned neatly to her hand, which she immediately pocketed.

Ayano immediately collapsed onto all fours, coughing violently, the overwhelming pain ceasing, but his eyes were still filled with despair and hopelessness from the glimpse of Retsu’s madness.

Unknown to everyone present, Retsu had deftly stabbed one final, almost invisible needle into a specific pressure point along Ayano’s spine as the others flew out—a needle that would cause no pain, but would guarantee a long, debilitating period of recovery, if he can even recover.

It was a gentle poke, before she immediately retrieved the needle.

"Ayano," Seijirou called out, his voice now regaining its steady, cold command.

Hearing him, Ayano slowly raised his head, meeting Seijirou’s gaze.

"You won today," Seijirou conceded, his voice flat. "I accept the loss. However, I will not allow this incident to end like this. You beat up my friends and humiliated me in front of my own crew."

Seijirou raised one of his fingers, his bloodied face radiating pure menace. "Consider this a declaration of war. One month. In one month, I will come to Saint Shinomiya, and I will personally dismantle and destroy your school’s hierarchy and the Bully Society’s influence within it. That will be my revenge for what you did today. Now scram."

Ayano slowly pushed himself up, his muscles aching with exhaustion and lingering shock.

He stared intensely at Seijirou, then shifted his gaze to the unnervingly calm Retsu, before finally turning and running away, his confidence utterly shattered.

Seijirou watched hin leave then turned towards Retsu, his battered body swaying slightly.

"Retsu," he asked, his voice low and searching, "what exactly did you do to him just now?"

Retsu blinked, her gentle nurse facade snapping perfectly back into place.

She feigned surprise that Seijirou had even caught the underlying meaning of her actions.

But she only smiled, giving her a sweet, soft smile that entirely concealed her true nature, and offered no answer, letting the silence hang heavy between them.

Seijirou observed her, and noticing she doesn’t want to answer, he decided to let it be.

He knew he can force her, but honestly, he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

Just then, the moment Ayano’s retreating footsteps faded, the immediate danger lifted, and the horrified paralysis gripping the girls who were lying on the ground finally broke.

Suzune, despite the lingering pain throbbing in her head from Ayano’s precise strike, was the first to move.

"Seiji!" She scrambled to her feet and immediately ran toward Seijirou, throwing her arms around his battered body and burying her face against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

The sight of her invincible pillar broken and bleeding had shattered her composure.

And then, to the surprise of absolutely everyone—especially Suzune—Rindou rushed forward right behind her.

"Seijirou!" She didn’t hesitate, tackling both Suzune and Seijirou, knocking them back down to the ground.

She clung to Seijirou tighter than Suzune, her face contorted in a mix of terror and relief as she openly wept onto his school uniform.

Yukina and Emi wanted desperately to join the embrace, but their ingrained loyalty to the crew took precedence.

They forced their attention away from the scene, moving immediately to check on their three unconscious teammates.

"Thank god they’re alive," Yukina muttered, confirming a pulse for Shou and Renji. "Just completely knocked out. I thought they really died seeing."

"Me too." Emi whispered.

Touka and Rei rushed toward the pile of people, their concern focused entirely on Seijirou.

They were worried Rindou and Suzune’s crushing, emotional tackles would worsen his already severe injuries.

"Be careful!" Rei cried, reaching out tentative hands. "You’ll break his ribs!"

"P-Please be gentle!" Touka begged, "He’s still hurt!"

Meanwhile, Haruka stood alone, observing the chaos with her characteristic stoicism before her eyes settled on Retsu.

Without hesitation, she walked over to the nurse, who was still standing near the spot where she had initiated her terrifying surgical threat, and stared straight into her eyes.

Retsu stared back at her, a hint of confusion in her blue eyes, wondering why the android-like girl wasn’t tending to the injured and focusing on her.

Haruka ignored the chaos, her mind replaying that supernatural event that just happened.

She had witnessed the exchange of these three, the supernatural strength that defied human limits, the golden auras that had suddenly manifested, and the word ’Karyoku’ that had been tossed around like currency.

"Retsu-sensei," Haruka began, her voice low and direct, "What was that about? Those auras, that Karyoku... you must know what it is, don’t you? You have one, too. But it feels... different."

Retsu sighed, running a hand through her pure white hair.

The moment of panic over Seijirou’s intervention had passed, and she was already regaining her composure.

"We can talk about it later, Haruka-san," she said, her voice soft but dismissive. "I promise. For now, we need to focus on the injured. Let’s bring them all inside their entertainment building and get them stabilized. We can’t leave them exposed here."

Haruka stared at the nurse, her eyes as cold and unwavering as always, attempting to gauge the sincerity of the promise.

Eventually, she gave a single, stiff nod.

Retsu turned back to the tearful pile on the ground.

"Suzune-san, Rindou-san," she instructed gently, yet firmly. "Please, get off Seijirou-kun immediately. You might cause his internal injuries to worsen."

The two girls finally snapped back to reality, realizing the severity of their actions.

They quickly scrambled off Seijirou, still hiccupping with sobs.

"Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Seijirou-kun!" Rindou wailed. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"I’m so sorry, I was just so worried and—" Suzune bit her lips, feeling ashamed.

Seijirou managed a soft and gentle smile, completely relieving the two girls.

"It’s fine. Don’t worry about it," he reassured them.

Rindou and Suzune instantly banded together, carefully helping their battered leader get back onto his feet.

"A little help over here, please!" Yukina called out.

She had managed to hoist Shou onto her back, the usually sleepy boy still completely passed out and bleeding.

Emi was performing a similar feat, Renji slung over her shoulder.

However, Sakai remained on the ground, he was too large and heavy for the girls to manage.

Rei and Touka, finally finding a useful role, rushed over to help.

They awkwardly grabbed Sakai’s arms and rested them over their shoulders, attempting to drag him toward the building entrance.

Haruka, seeing their clumsy struggle, finally broke her stoic inaction. She moved to the enormous figure of Sakai, stood between the two girls and supported them.

Then with a silent, unnatural strength, lifted his bulk effortlessly with her back, and the three immediately carrying him inside.

With that, all of them entered the new building, with the heavy door thudding shut behind them.

Retsu, however, remained outside in the deserted street.

She stood alone, her arms tucked into the pockets of her white coat, staring intently at the horizon.

Her brows were deeply furrowed, her serene mask momentarily lifted to reveal an expression of intense, contemplative worry.

She wasn’t thinking about the kidney surgery she had missed, but about the declaration of war that her Seijirou had just issued.

At his current strength, he will get completely demolished by those people. And those extras he calls friends would also, absolutely, follow him.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and wondered if she should help them awaken Karyoku, after all, they are all extremely loyal to Seijirou.

He will need their strength if ever the need arises.

"Well, enough about that for now. First, treat those injuries."