Fuyuu Gakuen no Alice and Shirley

Chapter 18

Lunch break––

Shirley was anxious to go to lunch together, but she held back since she had someone with her.

As for Alice, she looked like she wasn’t caring about anything as she faced the elevator.

After Masaki saw them off as they got on to the elevator going up, he immediately got on to the elevator going down.

He got off on the 28th floor and went towards the designated cla.s.sroom 2808.

This floor was filled with mostly empty cla.s.srooms. It seemed like they were used for club activities after school.

“Ah… this is…”

Masaki had reached cla.s.sroom 2808.

It was the cla.s.sroom on the left hand side of the innermost part of the corridor––the place where the wiry young man had cornered him.

The ceiling and walls should have been wrecked due to Alice’s Dialect.

Yellow tape with the words “No Entry!” was stuck on the door. However one part was slightly torn off so he opened the door slightly.

Where was the girl that wanted to talk with him? thought Masaki, dissatisfied.

“Well, maybe I’ll understand if I go in.”

He opened the door.

No one was there.

Safety equipment seemed to have been taken out the cla.s.s and the scattered table and chairs were no longer there. There was just the wreckage of the fallen ceiling and wall which had been reduced to rubble and the smashed desks and chairs.

In the ruins of the center of the cla.s.sroom, a silver bangle flickering with silver light fell.

“What is this?”

He advanced while taking care not to fall down due to the unstable footing. He heard the sound of things breaking and the rubble under his feet.

He picked up the bangle.

It was a Ring Gear that had a relief in the shape of a flower.

Attached to it was a crystal which was the proof of a Partner Contract. The crystal was pale yellow.

“Who does this belong to?”

“––Minamishima.”

“!?”

Masaki spun around to face the male voice that he heard behind him.

Ishounuma had come in. There were also three people with pale faces.

“I borrowed that for a while so that I could call you. ”

“I see. So you were the one that called me.”

Masaki pocketed the Ring Gear that he had picked up. He would return it later. This must have been the reason why Minamishima looked depressed.

Of course she would be uneasy when her name was used to send an email to someone without her permission.

“Do you hate Minamishima-san?”

“She always does what I tell her to do. I hit her lightly, and when she heard what I had to say she started crying.”

“………You!!”

Heat from the bottom of Masaki’s gut swelled up.

His anger was to the extent that the hairs on the back of his neck started standing on end.

Ishounuma sneered.

“Too bad, that girl didn’t call you!”

“It seems like you haven’t learned your lesson from yesterday… even though I said it very strongly. You’re not going to reflect on your actions…?”

“Ha! You’re a Level 7? You’re not strong at all!”

The door closed.

He locked the door with the key.

It was the same as the time on the stairs, four against one. But the three people with him looked completely different.

He got the sense that they were trying to hide behind Ishounuma.

“Hey–– are you guys getting cold feet or something!?”

“But, Kusunoki-kun is a Level 7, right?”

“I’m no good here, Ishounuma-san… That guy, even in a fight it’s too…”

“Just look at the wall and the ceiling, the power of a Level 6 isn’t that significant…”

Ishounuma grabbed the collar of one of them.

“What the h.e.l.l!? Are you saying that my power is worthless!? ”

“Ah, no, I mean the fact that Ishounuma-san is a Level 6 is great but… it’s not the same as being a Level 7…”

“It’s not the same, huh? The h.e.l.l am I lower than them!”

“It-it hurts… I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

It was a perfect spot for bullying someone.

Masaki waved his Ring Gear and brought up the window so that he could contact Breaker. However there was an “x” displayed in the place where the signal antenna was. He couldn’t call or send an email either. It seemed like it was cut off.

It appeared that Ishounuma’s strange application was able to do tricks like this. It was likely that the sound and video recording was being jammed too. It was just like the time on the stairs the other day.

Masaki curled his fingers into a fist.

He had no choice but to fight.

But this time his opponent would definitely use his Dialect.

––The situation had become desperate.

Masaki took off his gla.s.ses and placed them in his breast pocket.

His vision became a little blurry, but he would be able to give his all with no hesitation.

This was the third time he would be going against a Globalizer. The first time he was just surprised, but now he had gotten considerably more used to it.

“Ishounuma, let it drop already… you shouldn’t get involved with someone that you don’t like. If there’s something that you don’t like about me, then shouldn’t you say what it is to me?”

“Ge! Have I acted like a good person up till now!? Alright, I’ll burn up your request! I’ll burn everything that I don’t like down to ashes!!”

Ishounuma threw away the guy whose collar he had grabbed. He held out his right hand towards Masaki.

“Diiiie!!”

“Such an easy––”

He had already checked his steps. Masaki ran towards his left, sneaking round the outside of his right hand.

A human hand wasn’t able to aim as quickly when moving in a backhanded direction.

A red hot flaming fireball flew right beside him.

His hair was slightly singed.

An explosion ensued behind Masaki.

The large monitor that took the place of a blackboard in the cla.s.sroom was seriously damaged.

The power was quite formidable.

Something like a bullet couldn’t be taken lightly. It seemed to have enough destructive power to shatter a car into small pieces.

It might have been weaker compared to Shirley’s “Star Blast,” but if it hit human flesh the person would be helpless against it.

“What are you doing Ishounuma?! Using something like that against someone in a fight!”

“This isn’t a fight! …It’s your punishment!!”

He shortened the distance.

The fireball’s power was obviously a threat.

If it hit him, he would lose his life.

That fact gave birth to tension and unrest.

His heart rate sped up.

However, if he stopped moving he would be an easy target. He needed to keep moving so he wouldn’t die.

Masaki didn’t carry firearms with him. At any rate, it would become one-sided if he didn’t get closer.

“It seems like you’re fixated on Shirley, but why don’t you try to understand how she thinks!? You make a big deal about Levels and do immoral things––”

“Ha! I can do whatever I like since you’re a Level 7! And, I can’t stand you! Like I know what is going on inside your dumb head!! ”

“Ugh… you…!!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it right away! After I’ve dealt with you!”

“But will you be able to?!”

Masaki closed the distance between them in three steps.

Ishounuma threw a second fireball.

A ball of fire just as hot as the previous one flew!

It missed.

“s.h.i.t! Stop moving!!”

“I stopped moving just before you shot it. It’s necessary for you to concentrate before you release it. As I thought, you’re not strong at all!”

Masaki shortened the distance so that he was within his reach.

And as he did, he threw his fist.

Ishounuma’s cramped face completely changed and he stuck his tongue out.

“Liiiiiiiiiike that!”

His opponent extended his left hand.

Was the fireball from before a decoy, and he was going to shoot one now!? Ishounuma’s left hand was right in front of Masaki.

“Idiot! It’s my win! Kneel down befoore mee!!”

“As I thought, it seems like you won’t shoot.”

“What!?”

“That’s the extent of your power. If it exploded right before your eyes, you would be putting yourself in danger.”

“What the f.u.c.k!”

“Alice and Shirley… it doesn’t seem like they’re able to control the scale of power of their Dialect. Even if you know that you can damage the area if you use too much power, you can’t control it. It appears to be quite difficult to do.”

“I’m not like them! I’ll shoot it!”

“I shortened the distance between us after the second shot, and the power was the same as the first shot. Even at that distance, the explosion was still dangerous. ”

“Uu… gu…”

The three men who were watching the fight between Masaki and Ishounuma close to the wall from a distance away groaned.

“Is he serious? ” “How could he see that?” “When the bullet-like fireball flew right by the side of his head…!?” “As I thought, he is a Level 7 human. It’s strange!!”

Ishounuma started trembling.

“s.h.i.t… I’ll shoot it… I said that I’ll shoot it!”

“I’ll have the advantage if you don’t use your Dialect. Give up. And make amends for what you done.”

“You…!!”

He was so angry that he could only groan like an animal while his face went bright red.

Right at that moment––

There was a rattling sound at the door.

It seemed like someone was trying to open the door from the other side. But since it was locked, it wouldn’t open…

The other students might have noticed that something out of the ordinary was happening if they heard the explosion. Or was it a teacher?

It became quiet after a while––

 
 

The door was blown away.

 
 

There was a loud sound and then the crushed door flew through the air, travelling across the cla.s.sroom to the other side of the almost completely demolished wall.

A pale leg was stretched out from the side of the corridor.

In other words, the door had been kicked down. By a girl.

“Masaki, are you safe?”

The person who turned up was Shirley.

“Ah… I’m glad that you weren’t near the door.”

“Hm? Ah, that’s right.”

She laughed as if nothing was wrong.

Ishounuma’s face was twitching.

“Why are you here… I see, Masaki told you come here in advance, right!?”

“Nope, I came here by myself.”

“I thought that something dangerous might be happening. Masaki’s reckless.”

“That’s right. After yesterday, I didn’t think that something like this would happen today.”

Perhaps it was the girl behind Shirley who found this place.

“…The trace that was keeping track of Masaki-kun’s location got cut off over here.”

Alice recited calmly.

She must have been a little worried.

“Hey, is it that simple to check up on the location of other people?”

“…Depending on the time and situation.”

In place of Alice who dodged the question, Shirley gave an answer.

“In Breaker’s headquarters I requested ‘an emergency order to monitor you because of abnormal behavior."”

“Isn’t that abusing your power!?”

If they weren’t deceiving anyone, and if it was just the two of them, then everything might have been overlooked.

“Well, this time I was saved.”

“Really? But it seemed like you were winning?”

Masaki loosened his clenched fist and smiled.

No matter how violent Ishounuma was, he wouldn’t do something bad in this situation.

The other three that were with him hung their heads with resigned looks on their faces.

It was settled.

In the cla.s.sroom full of rubble from the destroyed ceiling and the wall where the window was, everything up to the large monitor had been destroyed.

Shirley was at the doorway towards the rear and Alice was behind her.

Masaki was in the center.

Ishounuma was extremely close to him. Until now, he had been going wild with his Dialect, but now he hung his head helplessly.

The three people with Ishounuma were gathered together near the door at the front of the cla.s.sroom. They had lost the will to fight from the beginning even though they had been brought along to surround Masaki.

The video and sound recording seemed to be jammed, but the evidence of Dialect being used was left behind.

Next, it would be finished when they contacted Breaker.

It should have been––settled.

Ishounuma touched the Ring Gear on his left hand. A window opened.

There was an image of an apple with angel wings dancing––

 
 

Do you eat an apple?

Please touch, if it is as a wish!

 
 

Low toned laughter broke out.

Masaki looked at Ishounuma’s face and started to get a bad feeling when he saw the abnormal look in his eyes

“What did you do?”

“I’ll f.u.c.king kill you… and after that… I’m going to torment Sakurazaka until she goes mad with anger and despair…”

“You’re still saying things like that?”

“I’ll start now!!”

Ishounuma struck the apple in the window.

 
 

Yes! You ate an apple!

Welcome to “truth in the world”!!

 
 

His body was trembling.

Masaki put himself on guard in this troubling situation.

Shirley shouted out to the three frightened people in the corner of the cla.s.sroom.

“I have a bad feeling! Run away now!”

The men screamed and tried to open the door in front of the cla.s.sroom shaking it and making it rattle.

“Huh!? What’s going on?!!” “Hey, hurry up!!” “It won’t open!”

On that subject, tape was put on the doors to this cla.s.sroom outside. The tape on the front door wasn’t cut.

Ishounuma was bent backwards as he started to hum.

Happily.

It seemed happy.

Rhythmically.

And he looked calm.

His smile was so big that it seemed like something good was happening.

“Oi, Kusunoki.”

“Wh-what?”

He felt pressured but he didn’t take it upon himself to move back. Whatever att.i.tude he had, Ishounuma was Ishounuma. His Dialect was fireb.a.l.l.s, but his specialty was long distance. He should be safe if he was in arm’s reach.

“Are you possibly thinking that you have a chance at winning?”

“Don’t deny it… as soon as I got close to you, it was my win.”

“A moment ago, I wasn’t able to use it right in front of me––that’s what you said.”

“Yes…”

“Forget about it. The me from a while ago was weak and a piece of trash. Until a moment ago, right.”

“What are you… saying?”

Masaki instantly understood from his att.i.tude.

Shirley shouted.

“Masaki, run away!”

“!?”

He jumped back.

Ishounuma drew back his hands until they were a shoulder-width apart facing each other. He created a fireball with both hands at the same time.

All the people watching had their breath taken away.

It exploded.

The explosion that occurred was so big that it seemed like it would devour an entire body.

Masaki was blown away, having received the shockwave of it.

“Uaaa!!”

He fell onto the scattered rubble and pain shot through his shoulders and legs.

Shirley shouted something, but the thunderous sound overshadowed it.

The three men screamed.

It was fortunate that the cla.s.sroom’s walls and ceiling were no longer there. If the s.p.a.ce had been more closed, the occupants of the room would have been seriously injured.

The sound of loud laughter could be heard.

Ishounuma stood uninjured in the middle of the room where the explosion’s smoked had faded.

Self-confidence was pasted all over that face.

“Kuha! That power was incredible! But even though I got caught up in the explosion I didn’t get hurt at all! Perfect! Now my ability is complete!”

“What the h.e.l.l… do you mean?”

Masaki rose up from among the debris.

Since he was attacked in such a flashy manner, his shoulder and leg received blows. His uniform was torn, and he was also bleeding.

Shirley rushed over to him.

“Are you alright!?”

“I’m not unhurt, but I’m fine. Other than that, be careful. He started up that strange application again a second ago. That’s probably one of its effects… it’s like he has become another person.”

“Yeah, strong like a changed man! Maybe like a Level 7.”

She stood in front of Masaki in order to protect him.

Ishounuma laughed scornfully.

“Am I a Level 7 now ? No! I’m more than that! I’m now the ruler of the world!!”

He raised his right hand exaggeratingly.

Alice, who had only been watching from the doorway the entire time, came into the cla.s.sroom.

“…What a ridiculous thing to say.”

“What the h.e.l.l?”

Alice’s eyes and voice were cold.

Shirley also nodded.

“Levels don’t matter! Only an idiot would say that he’s a ruler or something!”

“Honestly” Masaki thought. You only hear about things like “Ruler of the world” in children’s programs.

Alice continued to talk.

“…A truly ridiculous lie… the King of this world is me.”

“Eh!?”

Masaki and Shirley’s voices overlapped.

Come to think of it, Alice was that kind of person. It was troubling that she a.s.serted it so seriously.

Ishounuma moved his open right hand towards Alice.

“Ha! If that’s the case, then I’ll blow you away before Kusunoki!”

“…Do you wish to challenge the King?”

“I’ve changed. I don’t need to be frightened by Level 7s anymore!”

“…I’ll teach this conceited fool his place. However much you change is inconsequential before my fairies.”

Alice took out playing cards from her pocket. When she spread them out the sound of trumpets started.

And out of nowhere the sound of a clock.

Gacchi, gacchi, gacchi…

A large number of footsteps could be heard. The sound of high-pitched chattering, laughter and crying gradually increased in volume.

And then the creak of a door.

Wonder Carnival had begun.

A huge cat appeared out of empty s.p.a.ce in front of Alice. It was a Cheshire Cat with a broad grin.

The six-meter long cat started a punch.

Ishounuma extended his right hand.

“Burst!”

The released fireball drove away the Cheshire Cat just before it’s cat punch hit its target.

The cat screamed in a un-cat-like manner and vanished in the same way as it had appeared.

No, only its smiling face floated in the air.

It opened its mouth.

Ishounuma held out his left hand let loose another fireball.

A second explosion occurred, and this time the Cheshire cat disappeared.

By that time, the card soldiers were already lined up in front of Alice.

“Gu~uns in position!!!!”

Geese were raised like guns. The word “BANG,” spelled out with letters, flew out of their open mouths.

Ishounuma responded to the attack with his fireball; the fireb.a.l.l.s and letters of BANG collided then exploded. Countless letter bullets were shot at the erupting blaze that was spreading out.

Flying fish were also flying around.

Gargantuan mice were crawling on the ground towards him.

Countless explosions occurred in retaliation to their attack.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooo––––––––––!!”

Ishounuma screamed.

It was a struggle for supremacy between the two. A Dialect war of attrition.

Can she overcome him? Masaki became anxious and looked over at Alice.

She sat on a giant tortoise and the card soldiers were fanning her with peac.o.c.k feathers. Certainly, due to the erupting blaze, the room temperature had risen quite a bit but…

“Are-are you okay Alice!?”

“…Do I need to make it known to Masaki-kun too?”

“Huh?”

“…Who do you think I am?”

“Then, can you win?”

“…Naturally.”

Alice pointed at Ishounuma. Maybe she had a trump card.

“…Shirley, attack him.”

“Huh!”

Masaki was the only one that was bewildered as Shirley raised her voice and gave an energetic “Alright!!”

“What, what are you going to do, Shirley?”

“Nihaha, leave it to me!”

She went into motion like a baseball pitcher.

“One, twooo!! Staaar–– Blaaaaast––––––!!”

The fairies were attacking and Ishounuma was intercepting them with his fireb.a.l.l.s ceaselessly. In the battlefield the dazzling flashes made it seem like the sun was falling.

It didn’t feel hot.

And yet, the fairies that came into contact with it were extinguished instantly.

Ishounuma spread out his hands and made fireb.a.l.l.s while screaming––they were completely swallowed up by the light without achieving any result and disappeared.

“Guoooo!?”

A flash of light came out of the side of Ishounuma’s head whose face was twitching.

Was he beheaded!?

Shirley ran in order to shorten the distance before the light disappeared.

“Teiiiyaaaa!!”

A flying knee kick sunk into Ishounuma’s flank.

“Aaaah!?”

It might have been that because she was light, but Shirley’s finishing moves were often high kicks and knee kicks. So he wasn’t surprised by the last attack but…

Masaki stared in wonder.

“Did you charge through the flash of light that you shot?!!”

Alice shrugged.

“…Star Blast’s effect is that it releases a flash of light. The outbreak time for the flash of light is 0.5 seconds. I’m not limited by it and can keep on shooting it repeatedly.”

“What the h.e.l.l!?”

“…Even if the fireball had become a little stronger… it was only a petty thing. That’s the truth.”

Masaki remembered him saying that his Dialect had powered up. He thought that he was simply trying to provoke him but…

“Did he really mean it? Even if it became easier to use at a short distance with the increase in power, it still isn’t much against Shirley’s Dialect.”

So she was the only one that could move through the light that could be created limitlessly and held an overwhelming amount of destructive power.

“…She wasn’t aware of it but… that was something like foul play.”

“Of course.”

Foam bubbled from Ishounuma’s mouth and he dropped.

Shirley crossed her arms, standing in a somewhat unclear victory pose.

Alice smiled.

“…Strong like a cheat… my 667th piece.”

“Wait a minute, isn’t she your friend!?”

“…Our friendship is wonderful.”

“You, you’re really broken aren’t you…”

“Hmph… the King doesn’t need mediocre things.”

“That’s worrying.”

At the edge of his vision he saw the three men trembling, grouped together at the corner of the cla.s.sroom.

They didn’t seem to be deeply involved with it. Masaki sighed in relief.

“Even so, you saved me… thanks. If it was just me, I wouldn’t have been able to beat up the powered-up Ishounuma. It’s all thanks to Alice and Shirley.”

“…It was nothing… Shirley won by herself.”

“You think? Shirley is strong, but it would have been difficult to protect me and the other three from the fireb.a.l.l.s by herself, right?”

“Hmm… well I guess that’s true.”

“Weren’t the fairies protecting them by acting as a shield?”

“Ah, them… I didn’t know since they came out and acted of their own accord.”

“Really? If your will wasn’t pa.s.sed onto them, don’t you think that it wouldn’t be strange if even Shirley and I were attacked?”

Alice blushed and looked away.

She was trying to hide her face.

“…Right. That might happen next time. Since it’s dangerous, I shouldn’t get close. I can’t guarantee my own safety.”

Masaki smiled wryly.

Masaki stopped talking as it seemed like she was starting to get angry.

In his mind, he thanked her once again.

Shirley took off Ishounuma’s bangle.

The jamming application appeared to have stopped and the transmission was restored.

Masaki retrieved his gla.s.ses from his breast pocket. Then put them on his face.

The other members of Breaker and the teachers who knew about the situation came running in, and at last the situation reached a resolution.
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