Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

"Saki-kun truly lives up to his reputation as a genius; he actually came up with such a method!"

In that instant, Huomu felt as if he had been shown the direction.

"Thank you, Saki-san. I understand completely now!"

Tsukimi-sensei had previously said that he might never be able to awaken the echo, which made Haki quite depressed for a while.

But now, his hope has been rekindled!

He had already realized that Saki was trying to teach him—

The way to awaken!

He must seize this opportunity!

Although the immortality of spirits can also be achieved in the sea of ​​consciousness.

The problem is that without an awakened echo, one cannot enter the sea of ​​consciousness, and without a deep spiritual experience of life and death, awakening is impossible.

It went into a vicious cycle right away!

The Tide Contest is his only chance!

Of course, ordinary death is not enough to meet the conditions for awakening. Otherwise, so many ordinary people would sign up to try their luck in every Tidal Competition, but very few would actually awaken and resonate afterward.

However, Saki-san had already told him the correct method—

That is to die in a sufficiently powerful, sufficiently unique echo!

Experience the echo between life and death!

For a moment, if it weren't for the light barriers surrounding the arena, Huo Mu would have rushed up to hitch a ride on Qi Ji's awakened form.

"So, you mean that Saki is currently in Hybel's 'Time of No Return,' awakening her own echo?"

After Huo Mu said that, although everyone still looked incredulous, they vaguely felt that there was some truth to what Huo Mu said.

"But according to you, shouldn't the competition be over by now? Shouldn't Hibel have already won?"

Looking at the match results that hadn't appeared on the big screen yet, Liuli raised her question.

After all, to experience life and death, a spirit must actually die once.

Once the spirit body disintegrates, the sea of ​​consciousness will immediately determine the winner.

"Huh? It seems that's really the case... Could it be that Saki-kun entered the 'Time of No Existence,' and his spirit is still alive?"

……

At this very moment, in the time of non-existence.

It's morning.

Saki sat in a spacious and bright classroom.

With a math textbook spread out in front of him, he stared at the formulas on it, his eyebrows furrowed as if he were reading gibberish.

No, he only missed one summer vacation, how could he have forgotten all the knowledge the teacher taught him?

No, that's not right—

Besides mathematics, it seems he forgot something even more important...

Just as Saki was scratching his head, trying to figure out what he had forgotten, it was lunchtime.

Hibel walked up to him and slammed a challenge letter onto Saki's desk.

"Don't leave after school, come to the grove."

The school bell rang.

As Hibel disappeared into the grove, five figures suddenly leaped out in front of her!

Saki was in the center, with Hōki, Ryūri, Setsuna, and Hakuri spreading out to the left and right, forming a standard encirclement formation.

Hibel was stunned: "Wait, why did you bring so many people?"

"You challenged me to a fight, but I'm not allowed to call for backup? What's the point of fighting if I don't call for help?!"

At this moment, Qi Ji still remembered a sentence, though he didn't know who had said it—

Those who think they are powerful enough on their own are not qualified to be powerful.

"Who wants to fight with you? I like you! I'm here to confess my feelings to you! Didn't you see the love letter I wrote to you?"

"Huh? Isn't that a challenge?"

"That's a fucking love letter!!!"

Huo Mu, who was standing nearby, was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Boss, are we still going to fight?"

"Attack!" Qi Ji didn't fall for it and immediately waved his hand, calling his brothers to grab their weapons and attack. "These kinds of people are the most cunning. If you can't beat them, just say it's a love letter."

Liuli was the first to respond, rushing forward to pull Shibel's hair.

However, something terrifying happened—

Liuli's movements suddenly seemed to slow down countless times.

The arm moved forward inch by inch, which looked very strange.

"What the heck, are they filming a movie?!"

Although he felt something was amiss, Saki was a loyal friend, and upon seeing the situation, he immediately rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to help.

However, being mere mortals, the five of them were no match for Hybel, who possessed the power of time, and were whipped into spinning tops one by one.

Saki lay sprawled on the ground, staring blankly at his mask that had been knocked to the ground for a long, long time.

Something seems off—

mask?

Why would I wear a mask?

Why would I wear a mask when I'm so handsome?

Isn't that stupid?

Hiding such a handsome face from others is a sin against heaven!

Something's wrong! Something's very wrong!

Besides the mask, there are many other, even bigger, things that are not right!

So, what exactly is that feeling of unease that's been lingering since just now?

Wait, what is this?

"Holy crap! Look! It's a mask! The 'Lockless Mask' fell out of the ball of light!"

"It's over, even the main body has been destroyed. It seems like Lao Ji is really gone this time!"

"So, where's the flashback? Why isn't the flashback coming out yet?"

Looking at the lines of comments scrolling by, Qi Ji thought he was seeing things and blinked hard.

But with each blink, his blurred vision seemed to worsen—

Not only did the barrage of comments keep increasing, but a small window also appeared in the corner of my field of vision, playing a video.

In the scene, there is also a Shibel, a Firewood, a Ruri, Setsuna, and Shirai Riri.

And there was also a mask.

Qi Ji's attention was subconsciously drawn to the small window, which suddenly appeared larger.

In the video, Huomu is excitedly shouting:

"I see! Saki-kun, you are awakening your own echo by using Hybel's 'When It Does Not Exist'!"

[When it ceases to exist]?

Awakened?

echo?

!!!

Suddenly, it was like a bolt of lightning ripped through the night.

Suddenly, Qi Ji remembered everything!

This is the time of Hibel's [non-existence]!

He entered this place to awaken his own echo!

The moment I realized it, the absurd campus world before me shattered like a mirror.

The challenge, the grove, and the four little ones lying on the ground all turned into specks of light and vanished.

All around was plunged into pure darkness.

That's right, this is the "Time of No Return" of Hybel!

A blank space that has never existed on any timeline and should not exist.

And at this moment, [he who shouldn't exist] exists within it!

That's right, absolutely right!

In an instant, Qi Ji sensed the ritual within his body vibrating wildly!

An existence that should not exist exists within the very thing that should not exist.

Ritual One, fully accomplished!

Next up is the much-anticipated blind spot—

Without a doubt, Hibel's "When He Is Gone" is the only "blind spot" on the ring where everyone's eyes are focused, a spot that no one can observe.

Ritual Three, accomplished!

In addition to the already completed Ritual Two.

All three rituals are complete!

It's now!

Use "miracles"!

On the system interface, Qi Ji's "9.1" accumulated over nine years was instantly reduced to zero!

All the miracles accumulated over nine years were released without reservation at this moment!

In the depths of darkness, the core of the desolate echo begins to transform.

First, the ritual begins.

[An existence that should not exist].

"I should never have existed."

The moment the words fell, a pure black background spread from Qi Ji's body, like ink dripping into a clear spring.

Black is the origin of nothingness.

It is negation, it is dissolution, it is returning to nothingness.

Because he comes from nothingness, he controls nothingness.

Next comes ritual two.

[A falsehood believed to be true].

"I am a fake genius, but the fake itself is also my truth."

A pure white radiance burst forth from his chest, standing in stark contrast to the pure black background.

This is the origin of the word "having".

It is creation, it is manifestation, it is giving existence.

Because he created the truth through nine years of lies, he has the truth.

Finally, the third ritual is launched with a roar at the critical point where black and white intertwine!

[The Blind Spot That Everyone Is Watching]