"Ah… I see what happened."
Mahiko's expression shifted into one of exasperated resignation. "This kid injected the wrong dosage."
It was probably because this was only his second time using the ability — his hands had been shaking. The doses he'd injected were each larger than what Mahiko had originally calibrated for him. Take the first muscle-enhancement agent, for instance: Mahiko's intended result had been a powerfully built guy around 190 centimeters tall. She had absolutely not anticipated it turning Junpei into something resembling a half-formed Hulk.
After all, in a real fight, being too massive just made you a bigger target. Sometimes the tradeoff simply wasn't worth it.
"Might as well head over and start cleaning up the mess." Mahiko stood.
She had designed roughly ten different toxins for Junpei, each with a distinct effect — and each paired with its own corresponding antidote. The muscle-enhancement agent had an antidote too. The problem was, if the initial dose was too large, the antidote might not be able to fully counteract it — which meant Mahiko would need to go assess the situation and lend a hand.
Meanwhile, inside the classroom —
BANG!!
A violent crash rang out through the room. It was the sound of the ticket-snatching boy's body being hurled across the classroom and slamming hard into the storage lockers in the corner.
The metal locker doors caved inward with a dent. Everything inside clattered and avalanched to the floor. The boy who'd been thrown lay crumpled in front of the lockers, unable to pick himself up for a long moment.
Every person in the classroom felt their breath seize.
He'd actually done it. He'd actually thrown someone.
The whole class was terrified. Some students went weak in the knees and collapsed to the floor. Others ran to the door and yanked at the handle, crying for help — only to find it wouldn't open. That was because Mahiko had laid a Curtain over the room.
Junpei didn't know Mahiko had set up the Curtain for him. As for the students trying to flee who had nothing to do with the bullying — Junpei couldn't be bothered with them. His attention remained fixed on Ito's little clique in front of him.
— He really had injected too high a dose.
It was never supposed to be this much. But having overdone the first injection, he'd had no choice but to overshoot the subsequent ones as well. The result was that he had become a miniature giant. Right now, the boy had a peculiar sensation, like the top of his skull had gone sharp and pointed.
Fortunately, his willpower was stronger than most. Propped up by the stimulant, he was managing to bear the strain of this colossal body.
He even felt a tiny rush of exhilaration.
Though also because of the stimulant, he noticed his personality had shifted just a little. For instance, right now he felt absolutely overflowing with power.
So he struck a bodybuilder's pose in front of everyone.
The entire class: ...?
Honestly, the situation unfolding before them was so surreal that most of their brains had simply crashed. They all knew perfectly well that Junpei was here about the bullying — so they quietly, wordlessly began inching backwards.
And as the crowd retreated, Ito — who had been sitting in his throne of a chair like the center of the universe — was left exposed.
Ito was breaking into a cold sweat.
He was starting to wonder if he had food poisoning. Maybe he'd eaten some bad mushrooms and was hallucinating. Because the person he'd always casually pushed around — that nobody — had somehow evolved into a terrifying, impossible-to-look-at monster and was now standing right in front of him.
Was this a dream? What on earth was this?
His fingers were trembling faintly. But he clenched his jaw and told himself: don't panic. He was Ito. He was the center of this class. Everyone was watching him. If he showed fear right now, everything he'd worked so hard to build in this class would be finished.
He was stronger than everyone else here. He could still fake composure.
"Junpei, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Ito let out a dry, forced laugh, trying to play it friendly. "You seem a little… different from usual?"
Damn it, I've seen real trouble before. How am I going to let a scene like this shake me?
It's just some muscle freak. What, do you think you're the Hulk? You're not actually going to kill anyone, are you??
Ito desperately rallied every scrap of courage he had, forcing himself to stay calm. His plan: stall the guy, then call the police.
He reached into his pocket for his phone.
But in the middle of fishing it out, his hand brushed something damp.
He was startled. Had he sweated through his entire body from fright?
He couldn't help himself — he raised his hand and sniffed at the moisture.
There was a distinct, pungent smell.
And so he felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Oh thank god, it's just pee. I thought for a second it was sweat. I was about to say, how could something at this level actually make ME sweat — hahaha—
CRASH! A desk was knocked over, sending stationery scattering across the floor.
While Ito had been standing there in a daze — fumbling around in his own crotch and apparently sniffing his fingers about it — the hulking figure had already crossed the room and was now standing directly before him.
Looming over him from above.
"Ito, sweetheart," Junpei said, one eyebrow raised, his expression cool and cutting. "Weren't you the one who was bullying your classmates?"
In that moment, Ito's jaw clenched tight.
Maybe the spike of danger had jolted his brain back online. Or maybe having already wet himself had relieved enough pressure that his head was clearer. Either way, Ito's mind suddenly sharpened, and the terror coursing through his body dropped a notch.
He glanced sideways.
All his classmates were watching.
The bullying was a fact — he was definitely going to get beaten up for it. But facing a monster like this, he needed to act like a ringleader. He had to rally the whole class, use them as leverage, and fight back together.
So he could not back down!
He had to step up bravely! Go on the offensive!
"It was all his idea!" Ito jabbed a shaking finger toward the boy who had just been hurled into the lockers moments ago. "He's the one who did everything! It has nothing to do with me!"
The uninvolved classmates: "..."
The involved classmates: "..."
The boy Ito had just pointed at stared blankly and pointed at himself. "Huh? Me?"
BANG! A tremendous impact, followed immediately by the sound of shattering glass.
Junpei stood before Ito, puffed out his chest — and his massive pectoral muscles launched Ito clean off his feet. Ito flew backwards, smashed through the window, and began to fall.
"AAAAAAAH!!——"
Ito screamed in absolute horror.
He was certain he was dead. He flailed his arms wildly, grasping at nothing — but Junpei casually took two steps forward, flexed his pecs, and clamped down on Ito's hand, catching him. Ito was left dangling with one arm trapped, hanging helplessly outside the window.
Holy— holy— HOLY SHIT!!
This guy is actually serious!!
Cold wind rushed in through the broken frame. Ito craned his neck and looked down —
Three floors up.
This bastard is actually willing to kill someone!!!!
Ito's mind went completely blank.
Fssst —
Another stimulant needle entered the back of his neck. Junpei let out a slow, quiet breath.
"Oh really? It wasn't you?" Junpei narrowed his eyes, his expression turning cold and severe. "You think I'm easy to fool?"
"IT WAS ME!! I'M SORRY!! I SWEAR I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!! DON'T KILL ME!!" Ito screamed, all composure obliterated.
The sight was pathetic beyond words. But Ito had no other options left. He was genuinely terrified out of his mind — all he could do was confess, over and over.
"Heh. You miserable little punk — so to save your own skin, you'll even say 'it was all me,' huh?" The hulking figure let out a cold snort. "Still lying even now. Then you might as well die."
Ito: ?
You're just looking for an excuse to mess with me, aren't you!!
Ito was about to scream in outrage — but in the very next second, he realized the hulking man had released the grip of his pecs.
His pupils shrank.
With nothing supporting him, his body began to fall, completely out of his control.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH——!!"
Thud.
He landed.
Ito realized, only then, that the hulking man had just been scaring him — at the last moment, he'd been yanked back through the window and deposited on the classroom floor.
But that one scare had completely blown every last gate wide open. His pants were soaked through, thoroughly and noisily. Ito sat slumped on the floor, trembling all over, his face a mess of tears and snot, every shred of dignity gone.
Junpei let out a cold snort. "If I ever hear that you've bullied anyone again — watch yourself. Next time I'll actually let you drop."
He turned, picked up the ticket from the floor, placed it back into the hands of the boy it had originally belonged to, then walked straight out of the classroom without looking back.
He moved quickly down the corridor, because he was in a bit of a hurry.
For the same reason as before — he'd used the wrong dosage on himself. The strain on his body was starting to feel overwhelming, which meant he had to keep injecting more stimulant to stay upright. He needed to get to the bathroom fast and administer the antidote.
Pat.
Suddenly he felt someone tap his shoulder, and then two sets of clothing smacked him in the face.
"Can't even inject your own doses without screwing it up — could you possibly be any more hopeless?" A familiar voice sighed, utterly done with him.
"Miss Mahiko." Junpei immediately recognized who it was, and felt the tension leave his body in a long exhale.
Fssst —
A clear, bright current circulated through his body. Junpei's massive frame shuddered and began to deflate, shrinking back down to his normal size. Every effect and side effect of the agents was wiped away in an instant.
Junpei hunched his shoulders sheepishly. "Did I… make too big of a scene?"
In truth, Junpei had only needed a very small dose of the enhancement agent — just enough to boost his strength without any physical swelling at all.
Mahiko shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I already passed by and wiped the memory of your mutated form from everyone's heads on my way over."
Afterward, all those students would remember was that Junpei had beaten them up. The memory of the transformation itself would be gone entirely.
"That's a relief…" Junpei let out a long breath. Mahiko had mentioned she was being tracked. He didn't want to cause her any more trouble than he already had.
"So? How do you feel — head clear, chest light, brand new man?" Mahiko smiled and gave Junpei's shoulder a pat.
Junpei let out a quiet laugh. "Feels… pretty good, actually."
The boy had no way of knowing what fate awaited him in the original story. He had no way of fully grasping just how much Mahiko's arrival had salvaged his life — how drastically she had changed its course.
But what Junpei did know was that Mahiko had helped him. Enormously. More than he could say.
It bore no relation to the literal meaning of the word, but somewhere in his heart, the boy had already come to hold Mahiko in a place of importance equal to that of his own mother.
How can someone as good as Angel Lady even exist in this world… Getting to meet her — that really is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me…
"...Hm?"
Mahiko suddenly turned her head.
Then raised an eyebrow. "Oh my."
She had sensed something — an unusual presence materializing somewhere within the school.
A… Cursed Spirit's presence.
A Grade 1, by the feel of it. And absolutely saturated with malice.
In the original story, no Cursed Spirit had ever appeared at this school. That it was appearing now was likely some fragment of the butterfly effect in motion.
Was it one of Kenjaku's Cursed Spirits?
No — it didn't feel like Kenjaku's.
This Cursed Spirit hadn't arrived from somewhere. It was more like it had just… been born here, on the spot. And Kenjaku had no reason to send a Cursed Spirit her way at this particular moment.
This was getting interesting.
A torrent of thoughts raced through Mahiko's mind, and the girl's focus snapped to life in an instant.
"Roughing up some ordinary people just now was just the appetizer," Mahiko said to Junpei with a smile. "Now it's time to use your real abilities — for a proper fight."
The eyesore display from when they were dealing with the bullies earlier had been an accident, after all. The ability she had designed for Junpei was not meant to turn him into some bizarre freak.
It was supposed to be something cool. Something awesome.
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