Heads Will Roll
The surrounding scenery blurred into a smear of colors. Strands of hair, severed along with her neck, scattered like flower petals as Lucia's head rolled across the floor of the bus. Bouncing a few times, roll, roll, roll.
With every spin of her disoriented vision, she caught glimpses of her classmates' horrified faces. My, everyone's turned completely pale. Some are even tearing up.
Is this your first time seeing a classmate get decapitated? You can't lose your cool already. Who knows what kind of gruesome things you'll have to witness in the future?
Ah, they're all watching. They're looking at me. Looking at me being decapitated.
They're watching my head roll miserably like a soccer ball, completely separated from my body.
Lucia, reduced to such a pathetic, wretched state...
'My heart... my chest is tingling... though I don't actually have a chest anymore...'
Right now, I'm just a ball. Please, everyone, feel free to kick me.
My rolling head didn't go far before bumping into something and coming to a halt. Since my head had stopped moving, I rolled my eyes instead.
What had stopped me was someone's foot.
Oh my, are you really going to use me as a ball? I looked up at the owner of the foot with a gaze full of anticipation.
It was Aris.
She hadn't stopped me on purpose; my head had simply bounced and rolled until it bumped into her foot. Ah, our eyes met. *Hi there, Aris! How've you been?*
"Ah... ah... aaah..."
Aris let out an incoherent whimper. Large, glassy tears welled up in her wide eyes.
Oh dear, you poor thing. I want to wipe those tears away. But I don't have hands right now. No feet either. No body at all, actually. All I have is a head.
"Lu... cia..."
Was the shock of seeing her only friend decapitated too much to bear? Aris couldn't even finish her sentence before foaming at the mouth and rolling her eyes back.
She fainted. I really hope this doesn't traumatize her.
"How is it? Do you like it? If you don't, just raise your hand. I'll swap it for something else."
Astaroth giggled, her voice sweet and dripping with malice.
Do I like it? Hmm, that's a tough one. It's a bit lacking. You only cut off my head, you know?
Personally, I think decapitation is best saved for the very end.
There's a world of difference between a simple decapitation and one that comes after a proper build-up.
How about chopping off the limbs first, and then, once I'm completely helpless, slowly sawing the head off?
Or maybe toss me a dagger and threaten me: "Slice open your own stomach and commit seppuku, and I'll let the other students live!"
And then, when I'm forced to—absolutely, utterly forced to—slit my own belly and spill all my gruesome innards, you laugh in my face and reveal it was a lie all along as you cleanly take my head. That would be the absolute best.
But to just chop my head off right off the bat? There's no romance in that, none at all.
Hmph. I give it a 4 out of 10. And that's only because I gave you a 1-point bonus for it being my first decapitation, so you'd better work harder next time.
Yeah, I definitely can't say I like it. I'd like a refund, please. Swap it for something else.
"...Eh?"
I raised my hand.
Grabbing the shoulders of a bewildered, head-tilting Astaroth, I shoved her with all my might.
Thud!
Astaroth and the headless Dullahan, Lucia, tangled together and crashed right through the side of the bus, tumbling outside.
Whew, thank goodness. That actually worked.
In the original novel, Lucia had been decapitated once.
Even though her head and body had bid each other farewell, Lucia had calmly picked up her head and popped it back into place.
She had moved her body despite being decapitated. If the original Lucia could do it, shouldn't I be able to as well?
I hadn't been sure. The only reason I had avoided letting my neck get severed while happily chopping off my limbs was because I lacked that certainty.
I mean, obviously, right? If I cut my neck and my body refuses to move, I won't be able to put it back on.
If a new head just grew back, that would be fine. But if I fainted because blood stopped flowing to my brain—like when I was hung by a rope—it would be incredibly troublesome.
I'd just be a living corpse until someone came along to stick my head back on.
Lucia hadn't fully grown yet. It hadn't been long since she entered the academy, and she hadn't had a major breakthrough to make her abilities skyrocket.
That was why I had been avoiding decapitation... but at least this solved my curiosity.
I can indeed move my body even when my head is detached. Though I have no idea how the mechanics of that work.
If I had to guess...
No, wait, now is not the time to be thinking so leisurely.
There was no way I had the luxury to daydream with Astaroth right in front of me.
First of all, what is Astaroth... doing?
Ugh, I can't see. What's happening outside the bus?
Someone pick up my head and throw it out the window! Like a baseball!
"..."
Mouth opening and closing. *Ah, no sound is coming out! Right, I only have a head right now!*
"Haha, kyahahaha! What is this? How are you moving? You don't even have a head!"
Astaroth burst into delighted laughter.
Fortunately, I had successfully drawn her aggro. To someone like Astaroth, who craved stimulation, a human who could still move after being decapitated was more than enough to pique her interest.
There were monsters that didn't die even when their heads were cut off. But humans weren't like that. Cut a human's neck, and they die.
To the current Astaroth, I was a fascinating specimen. It was like a human marveling at a clever crow using tools.
Good, I just need to keep Astaroth's attention on me as much as possible. I'll be the sacrificial lamb so she doesn't look at the other students!
Thud. Even though I couldn't see it, I knew my body had collapsed.
Huh... my body won't move...
Ah, I see. There's a time limit on how long I can move my body after it bids farewell to my head. And because I'm still inexperienced, that limit is incredibly short.
Oh, oh no! I was relieved that my gamble paid off, but now I'm in immediate danger again. At this rate, I won't be able to draw her attention at all. It'll just end with me being normally decapitated.
"Are you alive?"
Just then, a small pair of hands lifted my head. I blinked.
Aris cupped my cheeks tightly, forcing me to meet her gaze. Since Aris had just fainted from shock... this had to be Frey.
"Super Regeneration... Right. You don't die even if your head gets cut off, do you?"
I wanted to nod, but I couldn't because I was just a head. I wanted to answer, but again, no voice came out. So, I rapidly blinked my eyes instead.
"Just wait. I'll stick it back on for you."
Frey tucked my head under her arm like a basketball and leaped out through the gaping hole in the side of the bus.
Once we were outside, I could finally see what was happening. Astaroth was poking my headless body with the tip of her parasol.
"What? Did you die after all? Did you die as quickly as that man earlier?"
I appreciate you wanting to put me back together... but what are you planning to do? Frey, I know you're strong, but your opponent is a Main, okay? To put it bluntly, the gap between you two is like an elephant and an ant. Can't you just back away? If anything—by some horrible chance—happens to you, I won't be able to take it.
"You raised your hand, didn't you? I have to give you a different present now... Hmph, no fun."
"Hey."
"...?"
"Move."
Frey's deep navy hair fluttered as if struck by a sudden gale. The release of her supernatural ability. A sharp light flashed in her heterochromatic eyes. A blue eye, deep as her hair, and a rose-red eye, its polar opposite. Of the two, her right eye—the red one—smoldered like a blazing sun.
In terms of pure destructive power, Aris's ability boasted the highest class among the academy students. Her supernatural ability, Heat Ray. The point of release was her right eye. Which meant...
"Haaaaaaah!!"
It was a literal eye beam. A flash of light erupted. A crimson beam, hot as a furnace, scorched the atmosphere, erasing everything in Frey's line of sight from existence. Her target was Astaroth's head. As if to pay her back in kind for cutting my neck, she unleashed the heat ray without hesitation.
"Heh? What's this? Playing with fire?"
Of course, it had no effect. Even if Frey was a member of the Golden Generation and would eventually become one of the strongest heroes, she was still too young. Far from reaching her peak, she was only at the beginning of her journey, making her no match for a transcendent being like a Main.
Without even needing her parasol, Astaroth grabbed the heat ray with her bare hand. With a simple twist, she bent the beam, sending it veering off in a completely different direction.
Yet, as if she had already anticipated her attack would fail, Frey showed no signs of panic. Well, maybe a little, but she merely bit her lip and held her ground. She had drawn Astaroth's attention. That alone seemed to be enough.
"Seven Stars."
An afterimage dashed forward, whipping up the wind. The dust cloud rose only after a delay. A flash of light, slightly slower than the speed of sound, dug into Astaroth's left flank.
"First Form: Alkaid!"
Speed is power. Accelerating again and again, it was a strike aimed at Astaroth at a speed that transcended human perception.
"Oh, you're fast."
It was Leo's trump card, delivered with absolutely no restraint and carrying a clear intent to kill. Yet, without even tilting her head, Astaroth caught him with her free hand—the one not blocking the heat ray. She lifted Leo by the scruff of his neck as if he were a mere infant.
"Wh-what...?"
"But you're slow. How pitiful. To be so fast, yet so slow. You can't control your own ability at all, can you?"
Astaroth squeezed her grip. Just as she was about to snap Leo's neck in an instant—
"...Hup!"
A crimson slash plunged down from Astaroth's right side. It was Yujin's Sun Sword, its blade imbued with intense heat to maximize both its power and cutting force.
With one hand blocking Frey's heat ray and the other holding Leo, Astaroth had no way to block it.
"You're weaker than the little girl in terms of power, and slower than this boy in speed. You're completely mediocre, big brother."
So, she didn't bother blocking. Yujin's sword couldn't leave even a single scratch on Astaroth's red fox mask.
Perhaps he hadn't expected to be stopped so effortlessly; Yujin's eyes widened in shock. Releasing her grip on Leo, Astaroth brought her hand to Yujin's forehead. She curled her index finger and lightly flicked it.
"Gah!"
Yujin was sent flying like a cannonball. Of all places, he crashed straight through the bus, piercing through to the other side. He bounced off the ground, shot into the air, and then crashed back down, dragged by gravity.
...No, this is definitely wrong. Something is seriously, terribly wrong.
The strongest students in the class had stepped up, and they couldn't even scratch her. The other students didn't stand a chance.
"Clone."
The silver-haired girl clapped her hands. Anastasia's clones materialized one after another, forming a defensive line to protect Class A, but it would likely be futile.
A single attack from Astaroth would annihilate all the clones along with the students. They wouldn't even serve as decent meat shields.
Why is Astaroth showing up already? Where on earth did things go wrong?
In game terms, this is like the final boss appearing in the prologue. It's like a Level 1 hero just leaving their starting village to begin their adventure, only for one of the Four Heavenly Kings to suddenly block their path.
Gods of the Four Seasons! There's an error here! Someone come and patch this bug! There are four of you, so surely at least one of you can show up!
Yujin is going to die! Aris too! We're all going to die!
"Keep your hands off my students, you miserable bitch."
There was no god, but there was an adult.
Lighting a half-broken cigarette, Angelica strode forward.
Her snow-white hair was now soiled with dust and dirt. Her bloodshot eyes and the veins bulging on her forehead made it clear just how furious she was.
The ground surged upward, shaping itself into a spear. Without breaking her stride, Angelica snatched the stone spear out of the air.
"Heh? You're not dead?"
Astaroth spoke, mildly impressed. She brushed off Frey's fading heat ray as if shooing away a bug, and stepped on Lucia's headless body lying on the ground.
She probably hadn't done it on purpose. She had simply turned toward Angelica and accidentally stepped on it.
Squelch. The abdomen caved in, and a fountain of blood erupted from the severed neck.
And that was the final straw that triggered the homeroom teacher of Class A's ultimate wrath.
"..."
When a person is pushed to the absolute limit of anger, they lose the ability to speak. The blood vessels in Angelica's eyes ruptured, staining her sclera a deep, bleeding red.
As an academy teacher who truly cherished her students, seeing a student decapitated and murdered, only for her corpse to be desecrated, was a sight she could not tolerate.
But, Miss Angelica... I'm not actually dead yet.