Chapter 144: LAST PLACE

"The System’s back!?"

Haru tapped it.

[LOCKED]

It was only a notification, along with another one about the Core.

"Well... at least it’s good to know the System’s almost back."

"...No. That’s not exactly good."

"If this academy is packed with Gamers, then the System coming back means it’ll force us to kill each other."

"Damn. That’s a lot to think about."

His memories of what had happened while his consciousness had been trapped in the desert were still fragmented.

"In any case, I don’t plan on dying here and now. I’ve already died once. My priority now is staying alive at any cost."

"I want to die old... with my harem complete."

The bell kept ringing.

Haru ran toward the courtyard. He expected a crowd, but what he found was even more chaotic than he’d imagined.

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but people were carrying bags, buckets, cups, and every kind of container imaginable, each one holding glowing spirit cores of different sizes and colors.

"I passed out early." He realized. "That’s why everyone else is doing this and I’m not."

Suddenly, the container of someone nearby began to evaporate, the core inside dissolving into mist that flew straight toward Haru.

"Huh!?"

He stepped away from the edge of the crowd.

Luckily, the owner didn’t notice. Everyone was focused on the professor who had just arrived.

"My body was clearly absorbing his core." Haru realized. "Without me wanting it to. Like something inevitable... Something natural."

"Attention." the professor said. "I see all of you collected the cores that were left behind after the exorcisms."

He explained that the night before, the students had focused only on exorcising spirits, leaving the cores behind without realizing they counted toward the test. When the faculty noticed, they allowed everyone time to go back and collect them.

Everyone had gathered as many as they could, stuffing them wherever they could.

Except Haru.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one without a single visible core.

"I’m screwed."

"Here."

Haru turned.

It was Lilithine.

But Haru knew.

By her aura.

By the way the air around her behaved differently.

That wasn’t Lilithine.

He looked at the core she was offering.

It evaporated.

Flowed into him.

"Lilith?"

"That’s why I like you." She smiled. "You’re the only one who calls me by my real name."

"You... you..."

"Shh. They’re about to announce the results." she interrupted.

Haru just stared at her.

As if he’d seen a ghost.

Unable to fully process what he was seeing.

Then a holographic screen appeared in the air.

Names ranked from best to worst.

This time every student’s remaining cores evaporated completely.

The official final count.

"First Place: Lilithine."

Whispers spread through the crowd.

"Not surprising."

"She’s a Saint. Of course she understands spirits."

"I heard she’s Father Elias’s daughter."

The list continued.

Farther down, names highlighted in red.

Those who had failed twice.

Those who would be leaving the academy.

And at the very bottom:

"Haru Mizuki — 0 Spirit Cores."

"Wait." Isabela blurted out. "He’s dead last?"

Genius simply watched, calculating.

"Is he planning something?"

Golden only stared.

"But I exorcised so many..." Haru began.

"Correction." Lilith said, looking at the rankings. "You subdued them."

She turned toward him.

"You didn’t exorcise them."

"You consumed them."

"You made them part of yourself."

"That’s why there aren’t any visible cores in your hands."

Haru looked at her again.

Far too curious.

Far too confused.

Wanting to ask a thousand questions.

"Shh. The professor’s about to say something." Lilith interrupted before he could.

The professor called several names.

Finally:

"Haru Mizuki."

"You will undergo a recurrence test after the rankings have been announced."

Pause.

"Those whose names remain in red and whom I did not call... unfortunately will not be joining Eldrath this year."

"For Eldrath."

He vanished.

Kira turned her head the instant the professor left.

She had caught Haru’s scent.

She headed toward where he had been standing.

The crowd dispersed.

But Haru was no longer there.

"Master?"

Silence.

...

Some random alley inside the academy.

Haru was shoved against the wall.

Then kissed by force.

With every kiss...

He felt his strength increasing.

"Hey... hey, hey..."

He tried to speak between kisses.

"Who are you...? What did you do with..."

Another kiss.

"...with..."

Another kiss.

"...Lilithine!?"

Haru grew a little irritated.

He grabbed Lilith by the shoulders, trying to create some distance.

The two stared at each other.

"Who am I kidding?" he thought. "To hell with who you are. I actually want to keep getting kissed. Hahaha."

Another kiss.

A few moments later, they stood there breathing heavily, their foreheads nearly touching.

"Now..." Haru tried to say.

"Shh."

"I am Lilithine." she said.

Silence.

"No... not as a separate entity. It’s not possession in the usual sense."

"She and I are one... yet separate."

"Our energy is different."

"I am one of Nyx’s daughters."

"Daughters of wha... Lilithine is two people..." Haru tried to process it.

He wanted to doubt her.

But after everything he’d already seen in this world...

Doubting her felt foolish.

She gently brushed a hand across his face.

"And I’m probably the reason you didn’t go insane."

"What do you mean... go insane?"

"You consumed far too many spirits all at once." she said. "Your body had a limit."

"You exceeded it."

"I..." She began explaining what had happened the previous night.

Something about transfer mechanics.

Energy resonance.

Concepts that even Haru, with all the accumulated knowledge of the Knights, couldn’t fully understand.

She looked at him.

"In short..."

"I gave you even more spirits."

"I stabilized what was spiraling out of control."

"And how did you do that?"

Lilith smiled.

"I really hope there isn’t another method besides..." Haru chuckled softly. "Hehehe."

She became serious.

"I like you, Haru." she said.

"I feel there’s something inside you."

"Something that goes beyond this world."

"As if my Goddess, Nyx, had already told me about you before I even knew who you were."

Pause.

"And I’m not the only unusual one."

"You’re the only person who calls Lilithine ’Lilith.’"

"The only one who calls me."

She began walking away.

"What about Lilithine!?" Haru called after her.

"She’s fine."

"She’ll be back soon."

She stopped.

"But first..."

"I need to make sure you survive until classes begin."

She turned her head with a faint smile.

"Do I really look that weak right now?"

Haru didn’t answer.

He wasn’t supposed to.

She left.

Haru remained alone in the alley.

Silence.

He smiled.

"Hahahahaha."

He laughed quietly to himself.

"I’ve got two girls in one body."

"Hehehe."

He leaned against the wall, looking up at the sky as dawn slowly brightened it.

"I hope Lilithine doesn’t come back just yet."

"Or takes over now."

"Or... whatever this is."

He laughed again.

"I’m not a lip-virgin anymore!" he shouted into the empty alley.

"I’m not kissless anymore!"

"AHAHAHAH!"

He stood there laughing to himself for another moment.

Dead last in the rankings.

Still not fully understanding everything that had just happened.

But genuinely happy in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with points...

...or tests.

...

It was like—

"Wa!"

"Wa!"

"Waaah!"

Seline moved through the air, recreating every movement, every dodge, every strike she could remember.

Then—

"Tah!"

And another—

"Waaa!"

"Hey, calm down already." Blandina said, raising an eyebrow.

Blandina had returned from the central courtyard after hearing the results.

The previous night, Seline had been found unconscious by one of the Dragloaf twins and carried back to her room, not regaining consciousness until dawn.

The very first thing she did after waking...

Was remember that Gamer’s swordsmanship.

Now she stood in the middle of the room, recreating every movement.

Blandina placed several papers on the table.

The complete list of everyone who had passed the test...

And everyone who had failed.

She had requested a physical copy.

But Seline couldn’t stay still.

"What is wrong with you, girl!?" Blandina finally shouted.

"You should’ve seen the way he fought."

"My God, come look at these lists." Blandina insisted, tapping the papers.

Seline came over.

Still refining one final movement in the air before finally sitting down.

She started reading.

Then began crossing out names.

One after another.

Fast.

Decisive.

The two of them had been doing this together.

Trying to identify which students might be Gamers.

Comparing behavior.

Displayed abilities.

Patterns that didn’t match their supposed backgrounds.

Eventually they reached the failed students.

Seline crossed out every single one.

"That doesn’t make sense." Blandina said, staring at the crossed-out names. "A Gamer leaving Eldrath? When this place is the center of so much mystery and power?"

"Not getting in and staying outside is understandable." Seline replied without stopping her writing.

"But getting in... and then leaving?"

"That isn’t."

"Unless..." Blandina thought aloud, "...they leave to do something outside. And once they’re gone, they’re no longer our problem."

"That’s possible too." Seline agreed.

"But even then... most of them wouldn’t have any reason to abandon such an advantageous position."

Blandina stared at the crossed-out names.

"What if someone’s pretending to be weak?" she asked.

"On purpose."

"So they can stay unnoticed."

Seline stopped her pen.

"Then they’ll become trapped in the act." she said slowly.

"Constantly pretending to be weak has a cost."

"And until they decide to stop pretending..."

"They won’t reveal their true strength."

She looked at the final list.

Crossed out the last name:

Haru Mizuki.

"These." she said, tapping the crossed-out names.

"Are definitely not Gamers."

Pause.

"And if they are..." she continued, putting the pen away.

"Even better."

"They’ll be easier to kill."

Blandina looked at the list.

Then at Seline.

"You should be more worried about whoever knocked you out that easily, don’t you think?" Blandina said.

It wasn’t a question.