When Yuigahama Yui collapsed tiredly on the cold ground, this feast filled with desire and violence finally neared its end... She curled up, her messy pink hair sticking to her sweat-dampened forehead; her once lively and agile eyes now held only emptiness and confusion.
Kanjuro turned coldly, his gaze falling on the last remaining one, Yukinoshita Yukino.
She still maintained her kneeling posture, the collar of her kimono slightly open; but those eyes that always held pride and detachment were now filled with tears.
"Why... why do this?" Yukinoshita Yukino's voice carried an unbelievable tremble; she gripped the sleeves of her kimono tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, "I thought you were only with Yuigahama... I didn't expect you to be with so many people... Kanjuro, stop, we can start over."
Kanjuro let out a sneer and suddenly raised his hand, slapping her hard across the face.
The crisp sound was exceptionally piercing in the silent room.
Yukinoshita Yukino clutched her burning cheek; the force and angle of this slap actually gave her a strange sense of familiarity.
"You and Yuigahama, compared to those women just now, are simply far inferior." Kanjuro lightly patted her cheek, his tone full of mockery.
"You!" Yukinoshita Yukino glared at him with hatred, "Then those sweet words you said to me before were all lies?".
"Take a guess?" Kanjuro grinned hideously, took out a black cloth, and blindfolded her, "Soon, you'll know the answer."
Not far away, Misaka Misuzu subconsciously wrapped her white researcher's uniform tighter.
This top student, who always prided herself on being rational, could not help but curiously observe Kanjuro: "I didn't expect this man to enjoy this kind of play."
"Hmph." Aozaki Sakuya let out a cold snort.
Although she had to admit Kanjuro's strength and charm, this man's actions were those of a complete and utter villain.
She keenly sensed that Kanjuro had specifically left Yukinoshita Yukino for last, and there must be a special reason behind it.
Yukiko was completely captivated by Kanjuro's figure.
She dreamed of becoming a star and had extremely high standards for physique and appearance; Kanjuro's robust muscles, handsome face, and that dangerous aura were simply the most fatal temptation for an adolescent girl like her. Thinking back carefully on everything that had just happened, she even felt that she was the one who had benefited.
Eri Kisaki pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, trying to use this habitual action to hide her inner panic.
Compared to Kanjuro, her childhood friend Kogoro Mouri was like a firefly to the bright moon; although neither man was much in her eyes, if she had to compare, Kanjuro was undoubtedly superior—especially when she saw the 'Blood Rose' on the ground, her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
The moment Kanjuro and Yukinoshita Yukino became closely united, a strange resonance suddenly arose between the two.
That stinging slap, that almost barbaric treatment, that way of acting as if purely venting... all of it felt inexplicably familiar to Yukinoshita Yukino.
At the very moment of their union, she suddenly understood something—that familiar feeling, that terrifying aura... "Now!!" the President exclaimed in ecstatic joy; the power of the dark bible in her hands was gathering on a massive scale.
Black light increasingly enveloped the surroundings.
She never expected that the true sacrifice would actually be Yukinoshita Yukino! Otherwise, the power of the dark bible—
Black mist suddenly surged around Kanjuro; the dark bible burst forth with a dizzying black light.
At the moment Kanjuro and Yukinoshita Yukino reached perfect fusion in the stone coffin, a mournful wind suddenly howled throughout the school building; countless eerie runes emerged on the surface of the dark bible.
The President, holding a blood-dripping black crucifix, slowly walked toward the stone coffin.
The crucifix had a twisted shape and was trembling slightly, as if it were some kind of living thing.
"What's happening?" Kanjuro asked calmly; he could feel the power of the dark bible surging into his body like a tide.
Yukinoshita Yukino also sensed something abnormal; she discovered with horror that something extremely terrifying seemed to be gestating within Kanjuro's body—a weapon condensed from the darkest side of humanity.
The President raised the crucifix high, aimed it at Yukinoshita Yukino's abdomen, and stabbed down fiercely!
"No!!"
Blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing all over the inner walls of the stone coffin.
Yukinoshita Yukino let out a heart-wrenching scream: "Kanjuro, you beast! Scum! Degenerate! The one who raped me before was also you, wasn't it?!"
She finally recognized him: this man she both loved and hated was the culprit who had taken her purity!
Yuigahama Yui was dumbfounded; it turned out that all of this was a meticulously designed scam by Kanjuro.
Kanjuro began to recite a Hebrew incantation with an expressionless face; the surrounding women also echoed in prayer-like postures:
"Sacrifice to the darkness, let the raging fire burn, with tentacles of blood, awaken the ancient god..."
This was the content of the final page of the dark bible, the incantation to awaken the true power of this grimoire.
Blood flowed like a river from Yukinoshita Yukino's abdomen; Kanjuro felt an unprecedented power awakening within his body—that power surged continuously through their point of connection, nearly causing him to burst.
At this critical moment, the President's eyes suddenly sharpened, and she abruptly pulled the crucifix out of Yukinoshita Yukino's abdomen!
She turned away coldly; the black light of the dark bible suddenly dissipated at that moment.
Kanjuro discovered with shock that the power about to break through his body had come to a grinding halt.
Yukinoshita Yukino lay in a pool of blood, her breath faint.
Aozaki Sakuya frowned in deep thought: "That seemed to be an existence even more terrifying than the Root... why did the dark bible's power suddenly cut off?"
Kanjuro looked at the President with a complex expression.
It was obvious that this woman had interrupted the ritual at the final moment.
"It failed," the President announced icily. "Among tonight's sacrifices, none were capable of truly awakening the dark bible."
Kanjuro suppressed the anger in his heart; he knew clearly that the President must be hiding some important information.
He glanced at Yukinoshita Yukino, who had lost her utility—her face was covered in blood, and the kimono beneath her had been dyed deep red.
"Call an ambulance!!" Yuigahama Yui pulled out her phone in a panic, wanting to call the police.
The President turned to leave; the moonlight only illuminated half of her face—that half was filled with hatred and jealousy: Why could Kanjuro, an outsider, touch the power of the dark bible while she, the legitimate successor, was still unable to fully control it?
"Fortunately, I interrupted the ritual at the last moment..." she thought. "Otherwise, once Kanjuro successfully awakens, even if he doesn't become the true host of the dark bible, he will surely become my greatest threat."
Kanjuro watched the President leave with the dark bible, falling into deep thought.
"President, are you alright?" Takashiro Hiroko asked with concern.
"It's nothing." The President forced a slight smile. "Kanjuro, you performed excellently today. But we still need to continue searching for the true sacrifice."
Kanjuro nodded expressionlessly, ignoring the dying Yukinoshita Yukino beside him. The other women stepped forward to check on Yukinoshita Yukino's injuries; Aozaki Sakuya even performed Healing Magic to stop her bleeding.
"We should leave as well." Takashiro Hiroko leaned gently into Kanjuro's embrace.
Kanjuro gave a soft "mm," but his gaze still followed the direction the President had gone.