The atmosphere in the classroom felt incredibly strange from the moment morning self-study began.
It wasn't the kind of eerie atmosphere that comes with exams looming and everyone feeling the pressure.
Rather, it was the kind of eerie silence that's akin to having full-strength Wi-Fi in the spirit world.
Kazama Rei had barely stepped into the hallway when he caught a faint metallic odour. It wasn't blood, but it smelled like blood that had been diluted to the point where you could barely detect it.
Ashiya Kaito, clutching his backpack, followed behind, frowning. 'Dude, I think the whole building needs a ritual to ward off evil spirits today.'
Rei was about to retort, but before he could utter a word, a scream erupted from the stairwell ahead.
A boy slammed his chair against the wall; his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in years. He grabbed a classmate by the collar and yelled, 'Were you talking about me behind my back?! Admit it!'
Two teachers rushed over, but they couldn't hold him back.
The boy's strength was unbelievable; it was as if he was amplifying his emotions to the maximum.
Kaito whispered, 'This emotional fluctuation is so typical of Gen Z, it's off the charts.'
But Rei's attention was drawn elsewhere — behind the boy's neck, something that looked like black smoke was wriggling.
A sinful aura.
And it was alive.
Rei froze.
For the first time, he clearly saw the aura of sin clinging to a living person in broad daylight and in a crowd.
It was like a living organism, sucking and gripping as if gnawing at emotions and amplifying emotional reactions with violence.
Rei had just taken a step forward when, as if sensing something, the aura of sin suddenly hissed and dispersed!
As if startled.
The shadowy figure had actually run away.
Kaitu: '?' Why did it run away when it saw you? Are you the bane of canned insects?"
Rei didn't answer. He stared in the direction that the aura of sin had disappeared in, feeling his heart pound abnormally.
It wasn't fear, but a strange instinct was being ignited.
It was as if he was never meant to be chased.
But rather, he was the one who would chase.
The next second, the school's public address system suddenly burst into static.
'Attention all students: all classes are suspended. Please return to your classrooms immediately. Do not linger in the hallways.'
Beneath the noise, a barely audible whisper:
'Sin Index rising... Infection has spread...'
Kaito's reaction was relatively calm: 'Oh no, this is bad. This announcement doesn't sound like a game update; it sounds like the server is about to crash.'
The students began to stir; some cried, some shouted and some pushed and shoved. Their emotions were amplified as if the entire school was experiencing PMS simultaneously.
Rei took a deep breath and looked down the corridor one last time. At least three students were emitting an aura of sin, resembling black parasites.
Some were thin; others were almost humanoid.
When they saw him, they all reacted in the same way, retreating and trembling as they fled.
Not as if he were a victim,
but a hunter that those things were born to avoid...
Kaito: 'Rei? Your face looks like mine when my Wi-Fi connection drops. What did you see?'
Rei couldn't easily answer him.
In that instant, he understood: the disappearance of the Summoning Research Society, Mio's prophecy, the Mirror's vision and the current infection were all connected.
These weren't isolated incidents.
Someone was spreading 'Sin Marks' on campus.
The infection was spreading rapidly.
The worst part wasn't the sin aura fleeing.
It was that, as they fled, they didn't look anywhere else.
They were only staring into his eyes.