In a Civilized Manner

Edris faced the two men on the right of the alleyway. One’s eyes that darted from one side to the other, and the other gripped hard at his blazer.

He smiled at them.

"Found you."

No. 35 and No. 49 glanced at one another. The former faced the dark-haired man and straightened his back.

No. 111.

No. 2 had informed them about this man. Of the people associated with the top student, he seemed to be the one the young man held the most attachment towards.

Meeting the man up close, however, No. 35 felt all his previous assumptions disperse into oblivion.

He'd expected a figure of menace, but instead was confronted with a young man who looked like he hadn't gone outside in days.

Looking like that, he could probably be taken out in a single hit.

"It's me. So what?" No. 35 stepped forward at his statement. "What are you going to do about it? You're ranked over the 100s. You think you can survive after opposing us?"

Other than a peculiar demeanour and a pretty face, No. 35 couldn't see anything special about him.

The dark-haired man's silence brought upon a surge of confidence, and No. 35 took another step forward, closing their distance to less than a meter.

"Play smart and don't mess with me, you low ranker. Leave while I'm in a good mood," No. 35 sneered. "Just because physical violence is prohibited here, don't think I'll go easy on yo—"

His sentence was cut halfway by a sudden pain that struck his right arm.

No. 35 stumbled a few steps back. He stared down at his arm, only to see a gash the size of his entire forearm. The blade had dug right through his arm, creating a cut so deep that blood poured out uncontrollably, revealing the protruding bones.

No. 35 stared dazedly at his arm, then at the dark-haired man in front of him. The latter, twirling a knife around his fingers, returned his gaze with a gentle smile.

"My apologies, you were yapping so much like a dog, I couldn't understand a word you just said," Edris said. "Would you mind repeating them again?"

The man's harmless smile, along with the knife in his hands, put No. 35's mind on pause.

The next moment, an excruciating scream echoed throughout the alleyway.

"It hurts! My arm!" No. 35 was on the ground. His body scrunched together as he held on to his bleeding limb. Edris paid no attention to his screams.

Edris examined the knife in his grip. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Quite a nice knife. It really does cut through everything."

The moment the knife sank into No. 35's forearm, the light interface in his view had automatically been updated.

SLOT 3: Fruit Knife

USAGE: With this knife, not only can you peel fruits with ease, but it can also be used once to slice through anything.

"A brick wall? Watch me slice it like pudding!"

# OF USAGE REMAINING: 0/1

The card [FRUIT KNIFE] has been exhausted! It is now your typical knife.

[SLOT 3] is now empty.

He stepped toward him again, and No. 35 shook his head desperately.

"I-it's not me. I only grabbed onto the girl. No. 49 was the one that pushed her! I swear on my life! No. 49 is the one you should be targeting!"

His voice sounded deranged from the pain, intermixed with both cries and gasps.

However, his words seemed to have reached the dark-haired man as he paused in his steps. Edris stared at the twitching man on the ground for another two seconds, pivoting toward the remaining three behind him.

"W-what's with this psychopath?" No. 35 cried as her legs grew weak. "Stay away from me!"

"Aren't you afraid of being punished?!" No. 16 said, maintaining distance as the dark-haired man stepped closer. "You just stabbed him! It's against the rules!"

However, Edris strode right past him. He was heading straight toward the trembling No. 49.

Seeing that he wasn't the man's target, No. 16 swerved around and yanked No. 30 to her feet. The two of them exchanged a frantic glance and dashed in the opposite direction. They needed to get away from the psychopath, as far away as possible.

No. 35's downfall happened so quickly, by the time No. 49 came to his senses, the dark-haired man was already heading in his direction.

He scrambled backwards, tripping over his own foot and landing bottom first onto the ground.

"I was forced into this! No. 2 ordered me to do everything. I didn't want to hurt her! All I did was threaten her. I didn't expect things to turn out like this!"

The man who he thought was a frail-looking vase had just sliced through No. 35's arm without a moment of hesitation.

He didn't expect No. 111 to be so merciless!

Edris tilted his head. "So you're saying your threats caused her to end up with a bleeding arm?"

"I only told her to behave if she didn't want to end up like her roommate, but she didn't listen and spat at me!" No. 49 blabbered on, "So, so the anger rushed to my head and I just pushed her. But I only pushed her lightly! She was the one that toppled over the brick and hurt her arm!"

Words streamed out of his mouth like a waterfall, moving faster by the second. But the more he said, the more he realised how ridiculous he sounded.

"Roommate?" He raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying you're also the one who framed No. 39?"

No. 35 dropped onto his knees, smashing his forehead against the ground. "I'm sorry! I really am! I was being ordered… Yes, No. 2. Go find No. 2! He's the one behind all this!"

However, his pleadings went unheard as Edris lowered onto one knee, so they were at eye level. With his left hand, he moved No. 39's chin to see him upfront, then slowly traced his fingers downwards so they were caressing his neck.

This entire time, the gentle smile had never left his face, but the more one looked, the more frigid and distorted the smile became.

No. 49 could only stare in horror as a single thought surfaced in his mind:

He is set on killing me.

I am going to die.

Edris lifted the hand with the knife and, without a moment of hesitation, plunged downwards.

"Edris."

A deep voice sounded from the other end of the alleyway, followed by a trail of footsteps.

Edris blinked upon hearing his name, and the knife in his hand—the one that was about to pierce right through the throat—steered sideways and plunged into the empty space between No. 35's neck and shoulder.

The blade, having lost its previous capabilities, bent over itself and snapped into two. The pieces flew apart, sliding across the ground.

"...What a shame."

With one hand still gripping the man's neck, Edris turned his head to the group of people standing behind him.

By the alleyway entrance stood the professors and Alton. They'd made their way here just to see No. 49's pressed against the ground. A few meters away was No. 35, twitching by the walls while groaning in pain.

The dark-haired man remained by the end of the small alleyway, figure lowered into the darkness.

Despite the shift in the atmosphere, Edris remained indifferent to approaching figures. Taking in No. 49's horrified face, he smiled. "It's the professors."

Upon hearing his words, No. 49's eyes bulged in excitement. The professors had arrived, which meant everything No. 111 was doing would soon be exposed to light. The man had missed the chance of killing him, and no way he'd dare continuing with his actions in the professors' presence. By violating Rule #5, No. 111 would surely be punished severely.

He was saved!

Although Edris's hand was still on his neck, it didn't stop the man from wildly flailing his limbs against the ground. As he was about to cry for help, instead of a complete sentence, all he could hear was the sound of something cracking.

The next moment, his vision went dark.

Edris released his grip on his neck. He wiped his fingers with No. 49's school uniform, then watched as his body slumped backwards. No. 49 plopped to the ground, eyes rolled back and limbs twitching.

With his wrist, Edris attempted to wipe No. 35's blood that had splattered on his face from earlier, only for some to smear off to the side.

With a light sigh, he rose back to his feet and turned to the alleyway entrance. His skin looked translucent under the sunlight, but that paired with the dash of red on his lips added eeriness to his overall appearance.

He smiled. "Looks like we're all here."

Sky and Aureolin took in the scene in shock, Moss gazed toward Edris with a disapproving look, and Magenta merely leaned by the wall in amusement.

Ace stood behind all of them, gaze stoic as he stared into the shadows.

Edris locked gazes with Alton, who stood beside Magenta.

"No. 111. Did, did you do all of this?" Alton looked at him incredulously, his eyes squinted as though he was the one stabbed in the neck. "Of all the people, I didn't expect you to…"

"I apologise, but…" Edris chuckled out loud. "Do I know you?"

His bluntness choked back whatever else Alton had planned to say, and the man fell silent.

Magenta gave him a side glance, then stepped forward.

"Student No. 111 has been caught inflicting violence upon his peers. This is a blatant violation of Rule #5, an act which cannot be tolerated."

"Magenta, but he's..." Aureolin grimaced.

"Not even from someone on the Donor's List is allowed to test the absolute authority of our rules." Moss turned toward Edris. "Especially you, No. 111. You have been testing our patience for a long time with your abuse of privilege. Do not think your actions have gone unnoticed.

"I suppose not even [DETENTION] is enough to teach you a lesson."

"Hey," Sky called out to Edris. "Aren't you going to say anything to defend yourself?"

The latter stood in silence, thinking. His thoughtful gaze made his way to the white-haired man amidst the professors, who happened to be staring back with an intense gaze.

Averting his gaze, Edris gave the group a shrug of a smile.

Standing in the back, Ace's eyes narrowed.

"…You."

"Huh? Professor 004?" Aureolin said. "Did you say something?"

Ace didn't respond.

The next moment, Magenta strode up to Edris. With one hand, she yanked his tie to close their distance to mere inches. His ruby-like pupils bore into his with intense concentration, as though confirming something. Edris received her gaze with cold, frenzied eyes.

After a short silence, Magenta released her grip and walked around, returning to the group as though nothing had happened. Behind her, Edris casually fixed his tie, the gentle smile returning to his face.

"What was that?" Aureolin blinked in puzzlement, her eyes shifting between the two.

"Skip the [DETENTION]. Notify his parents immediately," Magenta said with a flick of her wrist. "In the meanwhile, take him to the Principal's Office."