Chapter 87: The Hanged King's Tragedy and Megumi's Resolve

(T/N: Ah shit, I overslept.

Sorry..)

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Following Haruto's instructions, Megumi temporarily left the classroom, leaving the door open so she could observe from the hallway.

Thankfully, school was already over.

Most teachers and students had left.

Those who stayed behind were mostly in the activity rooms behind the main school building, participating in club activities.

Gripping her phone tightly, Megumi nervously watched the eerie play that continued inside the classroom.

The faceless king who had suddenly appeared stood quietly in the corner of the stage, completely motionless.

As if he, too, was watching the performance.

At this point, the play had reached the middle of the third act.

Most plays consisted of five acts.

If nothing unexpected happened, this eerie performance was already halfway through.

As Megumi anxiously observed—

A series of rapid, synchronized footsteps echoed through the hallway.

She turned toward the sound and saw several teams of people quickly approaching.

They were clearly well-trained and armed with firearms.

Megumi's eyes widened.

Were these the people Haruto had mentioned?

As an ordinary high school girl, Megumi had never seen such a scene before.

The squads stopped outside the classroom and scanned their surroundings.

Realizing they were looking for her, Megumi quickly stepped forward.

"Excuse me, are you the people Haruto mentioned? The ones here to handle this incident?"

The squad captain, startled by the sudden voice, nearly raised his gun.

However, he had been briefed in advance about Megumi's involvement.

Quickly regaining composure, he replied,

"Yes, we're professionals sent to deal with this anomaly. Is this the location of the outbreak?"

Megumi nodded and pointed toward the eerie play continuing inside the classroom.

Then, she hesitantly glanced at the armed personnel.

She had no idea how they planned to handle something so supernatural.

They wouldn't just start shooting, right?

"Bring in the D-Class personnel and have them make initial contact with the anomaly."

The captain issued the command.

This was standard procedure for the Foundation.

Megumi tilted her head in confusion.

D-Class personnel?

Were they some kind of special operatives trained to handle paranormal events?

Her curiosity quickly turned into shock—

Five individuals wearing bright orange uniforms, each marked with an identification number, were brought forward.

They wore strange collars around their necks that occasionally flashed red.

Megumi blinked.

Uh… why do those uniforms look like prison jumpsuits?

"D-181, take the lead and enter the anomaly site. Begin initial containment procedures."

The captain ordered.

D-181 looked like she was on the verge of tears.

This was her third anomaly mission this month.

Even death row inmates weren't treated this badly.

In reality, most death row prisoners weren't used this way—

Because very few D-Class personnel survived long enough for a third mission.

Typically, deploying D-Class meant a total loss.

Still, she had no right to refuse.

D-181 could only put on a miserable expression and step into the classroom.

The five D-Class personnel cautiously entered, their eyes scanning the stage.

"Report your status, D-181!"

The captain's voice came through the communicator.

"This is D-181. Currently executing containment procedures. So far, all I see is a strange play being performed."

"Reporting in—D-181 does not see any faceless individual in the corner of the stage, as described in the briefing."

Megumi's eyes widened in shock.

What? They couldn't see him?

The faceless man was standing right there!

"Proceed with the containment protocol! Attempt to remove the civilians from the anomaly zone!"

The Captain Issued an Order.

"D-181, attempt extraction…"

The loud report gradually fell silent.

Before their very eyes, the five D-Class personnel in the classroom stood motionless at the podium, watching the play unfold.

"D-181! Execute the mission immediately, or you will be terminated!"

The captain's cold voice echoed.

However, there was no response.

"D-341, D-469!"

The captain called out two more D-Class designations.

As expected, there was still no response.

The captain's expression immediately turned grim.

"Preliminary assessment: This anomaly possesses cognitohazardous properties, capable of affecting the perception of individuals within a small area. D-181 has a cognition level of 4, ranking in the top ten percent of all human cognitive abilities. This anomaly exhibits a strong cognitohazard effect!"

At that moment, the play reached the fifth act.

The faceless king, who had been ignored by everyone until now, stepped onto the stage.

As part of the performance, he played the role of the king.

And in this act, the play depicted the rebels assassinating the king.

Thus, he suspended himself in midair.

Blood gushed from his neck and face, spilling onto the surrounding area.

Simultaneously, all the students in the classroom, along with the five D-Class personnel who had entered, began slaughtering each other.

The student playing the rebel, wielding a steel blade, cut down anyone in his path without mercy.

"Requesting authorization from the Director of Operations to neutralize all cognitohazard-affected personnel."

The captain made his decision immediately.

If even someone with a cognition level of 4 was compromised, and the anomaly posed a fatal threat, it had to be contained immediately.

At that moment, Megumi Kato stood helplessly, watching the bloodbath unfold before her.

In a panic, she called Haruto.

The call was answered immediately.

"Haruto!" Megumi hastily explained the situation.

After hearing her report, Haruto pondered for a moment.

Truthfully, Haruto agreed with the captain's judgment.

A highly potent cognitohazard anomaly.

Anyone who enters is immediately affected.

The Foundation had not yet developed effective countermeasures or drugs against cognitohazards.

Using extreme measures to prevent a larger outbreak was reasonable.

If Haruto were there, it would be easy—he was immune to cognitohazards. He could simply walk through it.

But the problem was… he was in the City of Rome right now.

Even if he took the fastest flight back, it would still take time. Neutralization and containment were the only options.

Then, Haruto thought of Megumi.

Why was she the only one unaffected by the cognitohazard?

Recalling Megumi's abnormal ability to be ignored, could it be that Megumi was some kind of anti-meme?

Memes and cognitohazards often had resistances against each other.

Haruto spoke in a serious tone,

"Megumi, listen to me. Right now, you're the only one who can save everyone."

Megumi's eyes widened in shock.

"If you're brave enough, hand your phone to the nearest armed personnel. They will give you a crowbar."

"You need to take the crowbar and enter the classroom."

"Gently tap the back of each performer's head."

"… You don't need to use much force. You just have to complete the action. But this is dangerous."

"Megumi, you must decide for yourself."

Hearing his words, Megumi's hesitation disappeared.

Her eyes filled with determination.

Without hesitation, she handed her phone to the captain beside her.

The captain was momentarily stunned but quickly understood and took the call.

Soon after, an amnesiac crowbar was placed in Megumi's hands.

Looking at the chaotic, blood-soaked classroom, Megumi gripped the crowbar tightly.

Her fingers turned white.

Her arms trembled.

Even though she was terrified, she still charged into the classroom without hesitation.

As always, no one noticed her presence. In the midst of the carnage, Megumi was ignored. For the first time, Megumi felt that her low presence was a blessing.

Holding the crowbar, Megumi approached Yui Yuigahama and Yukino Yukinoshita. She lightly tapped the back of their heads.

Without exerting any force, both of them immediately collapsed, unconscious.

Seeing this, Megumi sped up her pace, moving towards the other students. Within seconds, Megumi had knocked out half of the performers.

On the stage, the faceless hanged king, suspended in midair and bleeding profusely, began to fade.

The only difficult one left was the student wielding the steel blade.

He swung it around wildly, without skill.

But because of that, it was hard to approach him.

After suffering a cut to her arm, Megumi successfully knocked him out.

The moment the last performer collapsed, the hanged king vanished completely.

The classroom fell into complete silence.

Of the five D-Class personnel, four were dead.

The sole survivor lay unconscious on the floor.

Even though they had been driven mad, they were not mindless killers.

They still fought using basic instincts and logic, but their only goal was to kill each other.

Students had no combat ability—they could only throw wild punches.

But D-Class personnel were different.

Some were murderers.

Even the ones who weren't had been in prison long enough to learn how to kill.

When turned against each other, they died quickly.

After the situation stabilized, the captain immediately sent in another team of D-Class personnel.

Upon confirming that no further cognitive contamination occurred, the armed unit cautiously entered the classroom.

Incident Contained.

The "Ghoul-3 Solution" was administered to injured individuals in an attempt to treat them.

Unfortunately, three students could not be saved.

They had been brutally dismembered by the blade-wielding performer.

The solution's regenerative properties were limited—it could save someone as long as their organs weren't completely destroyed.

But reassembling a person was simply impossible.

As for the D-Class personnel?

Their lives didn't count. Their bodies were simply disposed of.