Although he had held a sliver of expectation for Kakeru Ryuen previously.
However, what responded to him, in the end, were merely some disappointing counterattacks.
Is it the case that he needs to go and add a handful of fire himself?
After the great fire has passed, what will Ryuen's true color be?
Subaru looked at the gradually darkening night and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Late at night, Class C camp.
The surroundings were pitch black; only the weak bonfire that had been raised dispelled the immediate darkness.
At this moment, Ryuen was resting inside his tent, though he had been unable to fall asleep.
He was thinking about his plans for the days ahead.
Within his own class, several students had already been forced to withdraw from the exam. Daichi Ishizaki had also been heavily injured; although he was unwilling to withdraw at first, he was eventually ordered to do so by Ryuen.
All of this was Natsuki Subaru's doing.
This caused Class C's class points to be heavily discounted now.
The heavily injured Ishizaki had told Ryuen exactly what had happened to them, detail by detail.
The three or four of them were simply no match for Subaru.
Now, Ryuen could only try to find a way to uncover the identities of the other class leaders while minimizing further point losses as much as possible.
To this end, he had also reached a temporary agreement with Class B.
Class A consisted of goody-two-shoes, so they were nothing to fear. He had dispatched a mole to infiltrate their class, so tricking the identity of their leader out of them shouldn't be difficult.
The only opponent was Class D.
As a mole, Kikyo Kushida should be fanning the flames within their class right now.
Ryuen could feel that Kushida truly wanted to destroy her classmates.
He intended to use this very point to whittle down Class D's strength.
If Subaru really was the Leader, then he would have to pay the price for his actions.
'If three or four people aren't enough, then I'll dispatch more. No matter what Subaru wants to do, I must completely destroy him.'
Ryuen thought this, and in his heart, he had already begun fantasizing about the sight of Subaru kneeling before him.
But just at this moment, Ryuen heard the sound of light footsteps coming from outside his tent, accompanied by someone gently tapping on the ground a few times.
"Is that Albert? What is it? Speak if you have business."
The Class C students should all be sleeping now, with Albert and a few others responsible for the night watch.
Ryuen himself was also a bit exhausted at this moment and was preparing to rest for a while.
But right then, a voice rang out.
"So, are you preparing to rest just like this?"
The instant he heard that voice, Ryuen felt an incomparable horror.
Because...
This was Subaru's voice.
"What?!"
Ryuen hurriedly rushed out of the tent.
And the owner of that voice, the expressionless Subaru, was standing right in front of him.
"You... why are you here? Where is Albert?!"
Ryuen immediately questioned him.
"Relax, he's not dead."
Subaru extended his hand and pointed to the side.
Albert was lying unconscious on the ground, seemingly having lost consciousness long ago.
In the deep of night when almost everyone was sound asleep, Subaru chose to take the initiative and come to the Class C camp.
For this, he had started over quite a few times.
The first few times, he was discovered midway, which led to some unnecessary conflicts.
This also couldn't avoid several students losing their lives as a result.
After that, there were a few more times just to deal with Albert.
Suffocating the opponent for a few seconds could make them faint, but if the time was too long, the opponent might die, and the watch would also sound an alarm.
For this reason, Subaru had to try several more times before he grasped the right amount of force and time, letting him merely faint without alerting the school.
"You... came here to do what?"
Ryuen feigned calmness, squeezing a cold sneer onto his face.
If Subaru had made a move while he was sleeping, he feared he wouldn't have even had the chance to resist.
But the other party didn't do that; instead, he deliberately attracted his attention.
"I just feel that your previous actions were a bit too boring," Subaru said expressionlessly.
"Boring? That's truly an arrogant statement."
"I said it before. I don't feel anything about you attacking others. If you want to make a move, then come at me personally."
Subaru's tone was somewhat icy.
"If you still maintain your current tempo, I will be very disappointed."
"Disappointed? Are you still taking that high and mighty attitude?"
"Perhaps. I just expected you to be able to give me a little surprise. I originally thought Kikyo Kushida could do it, but in the end, she was nothing more than that."
"What?"
Ryuen was suddenly stunned.
"What happened to Kushida?"
"She has already withdrawn from the exam. As the mole collaborating with you, she could be considered diligent and responsible, but it still wasn't enough. She lacked the resolve to amaze me, and even more so, she lacked color."
"What exactly are you saying...?"
Ryuen's brows furrowed tightly.
He realized that the person before him was terrifying.
From start to finish, did Subaru know of Kushida's actions?
Just to what extent had this guy planned?
"Tomorrow, I will be alone, waiting for you at this place."
Subaru took a map and marked a point on it.
"Oh? Is this a trap you've set up, waiting for me to walk into?" Ryuen said with a cold sneer.
"If that's what you think, then you are also a boring person, Ryuen."
Ryuen looked into the eyes of Subaru before him.
He saw only a void, as if it wanted to completely swallow him up.
If the other party wanted to make him withdraw from the exam, he could have done it with ease.
However, Subaru did not choose to do so.
This indicated...
He was acting as if he were playing a game.
"Natsuki Subaru, I will completely destroy you."
"That's more like it, Ryuen."
A smile appeared on Subaru's face.
"You... what color will you be?"
After saying this sentence, Subaru disappeared into the dark night.
Only Ryuen was left looking at Albert on the ground, falling into silence.
What exactly is this guy thinking?
But no matter what, I must completely crush him.
Ryuen looked in the direction where Subaru had disappeared, then looked down at Albert, who was still unconscious on the ground, the veins on his forehead throbbing violently.
The night wind blew through the camp, bringing a chill, yet it was far less than the mixture of anger, humiliation, disbelief, and a trace of... trembling that he himself didn't want to admit, rising from the bottom of his heart.
He bent down to check Albert, confirming that the other party was merely unconscious, breathing steadily, with no issues regarding vital signs.
Subaru's control over his strength was terribly precise. This was more shocking than directly injuring someone—it meant he had the ability to come and go freely in the Class C camp, and even make anyone withdraw from the exam, but he simply "didn't want to" or "felt it was boring."
"This monster..."
Ryuen cursed in a low voice and kicked the support of a nearby tent hard, making a dull thud.
A few students in the camp were awakened, poking their heads out in a daze.
"What are you looking at! Sleep!" Ryuen roared in a low voice, and the awakened students immediately shrank back.
He took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the churning emotions, and his brain began to operate at high speed.
Kikyo Kushida has already withdrawn from the exam?
When did it happen?
Just now?
Subaru not only knew she was a mole long ago but also allowed her to act, finally exposing and destroying her completely at her proudest moment?
Could it be that Subaru spending points without restraint earlier was precisely to allow her to withdraw from the exam?
To prevent Kushida from having even a final chance to take revenge on the class points?
This kind of composure, holding the opponent completely in the palm of his hand like a cat toying with a mouse, made Ryuen feel a chill down his spine more than any direct display of military force.
He recalled the one-sided conflict during the day, Subaru's skill that was close to superhuman, and those eyes that disregarded pain... Thinking about it now, the other party probably hadn't even used half his strength back then, merely "dealing with it."
"Disappointed... Boring... Color..."
Ryuen chewed over those baffling yet shudder-inducing words Subaru had just said.
The other party simply didn't care about the exam victory or defeat, didn't care about class points, and possibly didn't even care about the life or death of people like himself.
He was like a high and mighty observer, or a player seeking stimulation, merely wanting to see "interesting" reactions, to see the so-called "color"?
"Treating me as a toy? As a test subject?"
Ryuen's teeth gritted loudly, and a raging fire of anger ignited in his eyes.
From childhood to adulthood, it was always he, Ryuen, who toyed with and dominated others. When had he ever been so slighted, treated as an object for amusement like this?
However, besides anger, a stronger, almost instinctive sense of excitement also began to surge in his blood vessels.
Subaru's power and irrationality conversely aroused the most primitive desire for conquest and destruction deep within his heart.
What meaning was there in defeating an ordinary person? Only by destroying a monster like Subaru could he prove that he, Ryuen, was the true "Dominator"!
He picked up the simple map Subaru had left on the ground and looked at the marked location.
It was a relatively open clearing in the forest in the middle of the island, a certain distance from both camps. Easy to defend and hard to attack? No, it was more like... a natural gladiatorial arena.
"A trap? Heh..."
Ryuen sneered.
Given the strength Subaru displayed and his ability to infiltrate the camp tonight, if he really wanted to set a trap to harm people, there was no need to go to such great lengths to give notice.
This was more like an invitation, or rather, a provocation—a stage built specifically for him, Ryuen, one he had to attend.
"Tomorrow..."
Ryuen stared at that marker, his gaze changing indefinitely.
Subaru wants to play a one-on-one game?
He wants to see what surprises I, Ryuen, can bring out? To see my color?
"Fine... Natsuki Subaru, since you want to play, I'll play with you to the end!"
A smile bordering on hideous appeared on Ryuen's face.
Fear and anger turned into fuel at this moment, igniting all his fighting spirit and calculation.
He could not lose, especially not in front of Subaru. This concerned not only Class C's points but also Ryuen's dignity and meaning of existence.
But, he absolutely could not foolishly go to duel alone.
Subaru's strength was unfathomable; the odds of winning in a head-on confrontation were slim.
He had to use the rules, use the environment, use everything that could be used.
He thought rapidly.
Subaru asked to meet him tomorrow; this gave him time to prepare.
Regarding tomorrow's appointment, naturally, he wouldn't go alone.
After Albert wakes up, he must immediately gather all the core members who can still fight, including Mio Ibuki.
No need to mobilize everyone, but he must select the few who are the most elite, the most unafraid of death, and the most obedient. They didn't need to participate directly in confronting Subaru, but rather lie in ambush nearby, waiting for an opportunity.
"Opportunity..."
Ryuen's eyes flashed with a cold light.
No matter how strong Subaru was, he was still human. Being human meant he would have flaws, would get tired, and would be careless.
He wanted to use numbers and the environment to create chaos, wear the other party down, and find a chance to defeat him.
Or... the goal didn't necessarily have to be defeating Subaru personally.
His thoughts drifted toward the Class D camp.
Subaru would leave the camp to attend the appointment tomorrow, so the Class D camp would inevitably be empty. What if he could stall Subaru, or even just pin him down, and then send another team to raid the Class D camp?
The goal could be destroying the base, snatching supplies, or... capturing that Airi Sakura who seemed a bit special to Subaru?
This could not only strike a blow to Class D's morale but might also become a bargaining chip to force Subaru into submission.
Of course, this was very risky. Subaru might anticipate this point, or have left a backup plan at the Class D camp.
But risk and reward coexist.
Finally, and most importantly—himself.
How should he deal with Subaru?
Ryuen's heartbeat accelerated, his brain heating up somewhat due to high-speed thinking and intense excitement.
He felt he was planning a hunt in the true sense, and the prey was a powerful existence never seen before. This made him feel fear, but even more so, incomparable stimulation.
He carefully put away the map marked with the location, then squatted down and patted Albert's cheek hard.
"Wake up! Trash!"
Albert moaned, slowly opening his eyes, looking at Ryuen blankly.
"What happen, Boss?"
"That Natsuki Subaru just strolled around our camp like he was visiting his own home."
"What?"
Albert's face, which was about to merge into one with the dark night, revealed an expression of incomparable astonishment.
Ryuen lowered his voice, his tone allowing no doubt.
"Don't tell anyone about what just happened. Now, go wake up Ibuki and the others with decent combat ability. Immediately, right now!"
Although Albert was still a bit dizzy, he habitually obeyed Ryuen's orders and struggled to crawl up.
Ryuen stood up, gazing at the heavy night color outside the camp, which had just swallowed Subaru's figure.
His fists clenched tightly, his fingernails almost embedding into his palms.
"Natsuki Subaru... you want to see my color?"
He whispered to the darkness, his voice hoarse and filled with determination.
"Then I'll let you see enough... in the most vivid, most unforgettable way!"
"Tomorrow, we'll be there or be square."
"I will definitely destroy you, completely."
____
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