It was a direct threat from Alfred with a wide smile, to the extent that part of it showed behind that mask. Naturally, Halcon changed his standing position, suggesting seriousness and readiness for any potential attack. Alfred advanced with insane speed towards Halcon.
Halcon: His speed changed significantly from what it was before. It seems his threat wasn't just to confuse me but was serious in every letter coming out of his mouth.
Halcon opened his hand that was clenched and directed it towards Alfred to grab him, but as soon as he extended his hand, something unexpected happened.
Alfred retreated a distance backward, then grabbed his arm and prepared to hit it with his knee. He was about to strike his hand with his foot, but Halcon's reaction timing was quick enough to stop Alfred's knee with his other hand. Then Alfred directed a punch to Halcon's face, which made him retreat backward, holding his face with both hands from the pain. Only moments passed until Halcon found Alfred advancing with his knife saying, "It's over for you." Halcon closed his eyes, surrendering to his fate, but strangely nothing happened. He opened his eyes to find the knife on the ground and the window open. He rushed to see the window and saw a rope, then looked at the knife and found it was a rubber knife. He began clenching his fist and said, "I promise you, masked one, I will find you and crush you with both my hands." Halcon went downstairs and examined the rope, saying he doesn't know that his fingerprints are now on the rope. Then he smiled wickedly and said, "It's only a short time until I find you and crush you with my hands," but he noticed there was a paper thrown on the ground. He picked it up to find written words stating:
"Don't try to look for fingerprints as I was already wearing gloves."
Halcon hit the wall with his leg and said loudly, "You masked one!"
The break ended, and the students began to enter.
Alfred entered the classroom, and as soon as he sat down, Olivia started asking questions: "Did you find him? Did you find anything suspicious? Come on, answer me!"
"Easy, easy, you're talking as if you were the one who was deceived."
"Sorry, I got too excited. Well, can you tell me what happened?"
"Unfortunately, I didn't find him."
"It's okay, in the coming days, you'll have the opportunity."
"I hope so."
Halcon entered the classroom and sat in his seat, showing signs of displeasure, while Alfred remembered the fight that broke out between them. Then he took a deep breath and said, "It's good that I escaped; I almost lost control of myself."
"Flashback"
"Please leave me alive, I didn't do anything to you to have a grudge against me, please spare my life."
"Sound of cutting"
"No."
After my fight against Halcon, he seems like a person with a formidable physical build and his disturbing calmness that raises suspicion in the person addressing him. In my view now, the possibility that it's him has decreased because, simply, if he were really the perpetrator, when fighting against him, he should have at least had cold sweat or done something suspicious when he saw me, but none of this happened at all. Olivia interrupted my thoughts by saying she would organize a study group and invited me to join. I agreed naturally since I was preoccupied with the person who deceived me and never listened to the teacher at all. After the end of my school day, I headed to Olivia's house since the study group would be there. I knocked on the door, and she welcomed me to find some of her female classmates as well as male classmates, and I noticed someone sitting behind Olivia lying on the couch. From the first look, it was clear he was her brother due to the obvious resemblance between them, and he was reading one of the books. I sighed, then sat down, and the group had already started studying until one of the boys made a rumbling sound from his stomach and said with embarrassment mixed with shyness, "Oh, sorry." Olivia answered him that she would bring something for us to eat during the study, and she indeed brought some nuts and placed them, and we continued the time studying until it was 8 o'clock, then everyone went home. I passed by one of the shopping centers to buy something to eat, but I remembered that my bank balance had already run out. After thinking, I can't believe I spent all that money in a month.
Then I started biting my lower lip as an expression, "I'll catch you and make you regret it, you scoundrel, for deceiving me. You've played with the wrong person." I returned home and went straight to sleep to preserve as much energy as was still left in my body.
"After a while"
Ugh, how painful this is. Why is my body so heavy? With difficulty, I felt something wet in my bed and found that I had wet myself. "Huh? Are you kidding me?" Then I hit my forehead and said, "Oh my goodness, I hope that was a dream." Then I got up, but no more than two seconds passed until I fell to the ground. I looked at the clock and found that there wasn't much time left until it was time to go to school. But the strange thing is the reason for the sudden heaviness of my body; usually, I sleep more than this. Literally, five minutes had passed, and I was trying to get up from the ground, and with difficulty, I succeeded in doing so. I showered and brushed my teeth, but the strange thing is that my teeth had a disgustingly strange smell. I didn't have dinner; what's the reason for this sudden smell?
I went to school dragging my body as if I were dragging a piece of steel. I arrived at school after a long struggle to find several students whispering among themselves. I didn't care about them, but what caught my attention was the voice of a student who was talking to someone and said:
"Did you hear what happened today?"
"No, what happened?"
"Something has been happening recently, which is that some students are being beaten by an unknown person, and the problem is that all the students who are attacked are from all three years."
"Huh? Do you mean that first-year students were also victims?"
"Yes, that's right, and the problem is that the damage they suffered is very severe. The least person in terms of damage left with a broken hand."
"I think you're exaggerating the matter."
"No, I'm not exaggerating, and you can check for yourself."
Alfred:
I continued my way and went towards the classroom and found that a student from my class had also been attacked, and some students were surrounding him, and one of them said:
"Were you also a victim?"
"Yes, he practically didn't leave any part of my body that he didn't hit."
Another replied: "What did he look like?"
"I'm not sure, but he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and covering his face with a black mask hiding his features."
Alfred: I sat in my seat, saying to myself, "How ridiculous this is. This is one of the strangest days I've lived in my life."
Olivia: "Hello Alfred, how are you?"
"Fine."
"Have you heard what's happening currently in the academy?"
"Yes, and to be honest, the matter is suspicious."
"I share your opinion. Be careful; who knows, maybe you'll be the next victim."
"Why me specifically, and you excluded yourself?"
"From what I've noticed, he only attacks boys."
"Boys, then."
I put my hand on my chin and started thinking, trying to connect the events together.
"Olivia."
"What?"
"Explain to me what this person looks like."
"Hmm, well, from what I learned from the students, he wears a long-sleeved shirt with pants and somewhat tall shoes, similar to the shoes people wear in muddy places and rainy days, and his physical build is normal. That's all I know."
I sighed, then asked her:
"What are the most common places where the attacks occurred?"
"There's no specific location; the academy is indeed large, so he has the ability to move freely whenever he wants."
"And what about the students? Which year has been attacked the most?"
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but all years have the same number of attacked students."
"Well, which class has been attacked the most? And I want you to give me the answer according to all classes for each academic year."
"I'm sorry to say that it's also the same number, which is 1. That person attacked one person in each class from all academic years."
Alfred's internal monologue:
That scoundrel did it deliberately to make it difficult to uncover him. I was at least going to advance a step by deducing which class he holds a grudge against through the number of attackers, but it seems he has calculated for that.
I found it!
I got up from my seat and went to the injured student and immediately started asking him: "Where were you when you were attacked?"
"I was near one of the gardens and was practicing running, but I didn't pay attention to myself until I found the time had gotten late. I was returning home until I found someone blocking my way. I ignored him and was about to continue my way, and as soon as I passed by him, I found him beating me, and then I got up to find myself in the hospital. That's all."
I left the classroom and interrogated the rest of the people who had been attacked, and they all agreed on one point, which is that they had been attacked at a late time. But the problem is, how will I lure him? In the end, he doesn't seem like a naive person who can be lured through provocation.
Attacks usually occur at late times, an attack on one student from each class from all academic years. Are these attacks random or planned? Trying to find a lead to catch him is almost impossible.
Alfred, be rational. In the end, what matters is that you weren't harmed in any way. Stop trying to engage in a conflict where you don't gain anything.
I returned to the classroom, sat in my seat, and sat with the study group exchanging conversations.
"Hey guys."
"What?"
"Until now, not everyone in our group knows each other's names, so each person will say their name. As for me, my name is Shido, and you?"
"I'm Meryl."
"I'm Olivia."
"I'm Frey."
"I'm Alfred."
"I'm Lucy."
Shido: "Wait a moment, someone is missing."
Olivia: "Do you mean Sai? He's in the bathroom. But wait, why has he been gone for so long?"
Alfred:
Impossible!!
I left the classroom running to the bathroom, talking to myself:
True, most attacks occur at late times, but the thing I didn't account for is that the reason for the attacks at a late time is because at that time, the place is empty.
I hope my deduction is wrong.
I opened the door, and what I feared happened.
Someone wearing a mask was holding Sai by the neck and choking him.
I closed the door and started talking:
"So you're the reason for these attacks?"
That person threw Sai to the ground and turned his back towards me, saying, "And who are you?"
I showed a wicked smile from ear to ear and said to him, "You talk too much for someone who's about to die." Then I started advancing towards him and let out a hysterical laugh and said, "Today, instead of being the hunter, you'll be the victim."