Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

But now that someone else is doing it for him, he's naturally happy to save himself the trouble.

So he withdrew his gaze, and the light from his fingertips was once again aimed at Shindai Seiyan.

"two."

The illusory pages of the book behind me rustled as they turned.

The moonlight at the fingertips suddenly intensified.

"three."

The last number was uttered.

"Buzz—!!!"

The moonlight, compressed to its extreme, transformed into a slender yet incredibly solid pure white beam of light that seemed capable of piercing through time and space, and shot out!

Just as this fatal blow was about to hit, Tsukimi suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

The surrounding air rippled violently, like water on which a pebble has been thrown!

At the same time, the boundary between reality and the sea of ​​consciousness overlapped in an instant!

Immediately afterwards, an enormous dog's head suddenly emerged from it!

It opened its blood-red maw and swallowed Shen Dai Qingyan whole.

The dog's head retracted and disappeared in the next instant.

The distorted space quickly smoothed out, as if the horrifying scene just now was merely an illusion.

"BOOM—!!!"

Tsukimi's attack, having lost its target, struck the mountain directly.

The terrifying, earth-shattering sound caused the entire fissure to tremble.

"Tsk."

Watching helplessly as Shindai Seien escaped his fatal blow, Tsukishiro removed his [God of Moon Scrolls] armor and reopened the romance novel in his hand.

It wasn't that he couldn't chase the other person into the sea of ​​consciousness and kill them completely; it was just that it was his off-duty time.

Tsukimi stretched and said with a hint of complaint:

"It's really...tiring."

"I probably... will never want to work overtime again in my life."

……

The earth-shattering noise coming from the distant cliffs made the students of Class 8 instinctively look in that direction.

However, before they could react to what was happening, a streak of blood-red light shot towards them from the horizon.

They were moving so fast that it wasn't until they were right in front of them that everyone could see them clearly.

It was an arrow formed from congealed blood!

The target was precisely locked onto within the crowd—

Crystal!

As if due to the excessive activation of the Echo earlier, Liuli stood there blankly, without making any movement.

He was about to perish in the next moment—

"Ruri-kun! Watch out—!!"

A startled cry suddenly came from beside me.

It's Bai Lili!

Bai Lili, who was closest, was the first to make a move.

—Don't worry, Ruri! As long as I'm still here, I will never let you get hurt!

Bai Lili recalled the words she had just said.

Before she could even think it through, her body had already reacted.

Liuli was pushed away forcefully by Bai Lili.

Bai Lili herself, however, was completely exposed to that arrow of blood.

Liuli collapsed to the ground, looking up in disbelief at the figure who had taken her place on the path to death.

She doesn't understand.

Why is this guy...?

Does she have a death wish?

I wouldn't even call myself a friend to her, would I?

Rather, it's more accurate to say that people like Bai Lili are exactly the type that Liuli hates the most.

Mingming was born into a so-called "aristocratic family" just like her.

But Bai Lili's childhood seemed to be soaked in a jar of honey.

This is also directly reflected in Bai Lili's personality—

She is innocent, gentle, kind, and has goodwill towards everyone, as if she has never seen the darkness of this world.

Only two weeks after enrolling, Liuli had already seen Bai Lili's parents come to the academy gate to pick her up several times.

At those times, Bai Lili's face would radiate an undisguised happiness, like a little bird returning to its nest, rushing into its mother's arms.

She freely acts spoiled, chattering away as she shares the day's little happenings with her family...

Every time Liuli saw that scene, she would feel an uncontrollable sharp pain in her heart, as well as a malice to curse the other party.

She didn't understand that Bai Lili, as the next generation of a prominent family, had already been admitted to Echo Academy and was no longer a child!

How could her parents still pamper her like a flower in a greenhouse?

Shouldn't all families be like the Kamishiro family?

Cold, cruel, and making the most of everything.

Not all fathers should be like her scoundrel father, right?

Treating children as tools, bargaining chips, or pawns that can be sacrificed at any time.

Why is Bai Lili an exception?

Why should she have that glaringly disgusting "happiness"?

Why?!

Therefore, in this class, the person Liuli hates the most is Bai Lili.

……

……

Chapter Forty: When He Removed His Mask

For glass—

Bai Lili was like the complete opposite of her, the "bright version" that she longed for most yet hated deep down.

Although she always managed to respond politely to Bai Lili with that top student-like smile, deep down, she never stopped hating her.

So why...

Why, at this critical moment of life and death, would this guy she hated the most, who seemed the weakest and most in need of protection, rush out regardless of his own life, push her away, and put himself in a life-or-death situation?

Liuli couldn't understand.

She stared blankly at Bai Lili's figure exposed to the blood arrow.

She saw Bai Lili's profile at that moment, terrified to the extreme, even to the point of crying.

The high wall in my heart, built with disgust and fake smiles, seemed to have been violently struck by something.

Are you... an idiot?

She even wanted to rush up and confront the other person.

Since you're so afraid of dying...

Why save one...?

Do I want to die?

In that instant, facing death, two thoughts uncontrollably arose in Liuli's mind at the same time.

One is liberation—

She could finally end all this disgusting thing.

so good……

The other was an expectation that even she herself felt a little ashamed of—

She was indeed hoping someone would save her at this moment.

But it shouldn't be Bai Lili.

That person should be wearing a pure white mask and a black trench coat.

While holding her protectively in his arms, he deliberately acted cool and said things like, "The safest place is beside me."

It's incredibly cringeworthy, yet you just can't bring yourself to dislike it.

So, why is it Bai Lili?

Bai Lili, I knew it, you're the one I hate the most...

At the same time, the comments section was also filled with surprise:

"Holy crap! A new couple?!"

"Seriously? You can ship these two?"

"Just take it, just take it, just take it!"

"Yuri is the best!!!"

"Bai Lili, no! If you do that, you'll disappear!!"

"Relax, upstairs~ Don't you understand the true value of a prison sentence?"

"Saki is here, no surprise (laughs)"

As the comments on the screen said, Saki had already reacted the moment the blood arrow appeared in the sky.

However, he sensed an echoing fluctuation from that arrow of blood that far exceeded its usual level, and a premonition began to grow within him—

Even with a "3Max" physique, he couldn't withstand this attack with just his physical strength.

Ultimately, this is the world of the Echoers.

Echoes are the most powerful force in this world.

The physical body has its limits!

Therefore, the moment the blood arrow appeared, Qi Ji raised one hand without hesitation and covered his mask.

Indecisive

[Blurring between reality and illusion]!

However, just as he made a move, Bai Lili pushed Liuli away.

Saki was stunned for a moment, but didn't have time to think about it further.

He swiftly stepped forward and pulled Bai Lili, who had lost her balance after using all her strength to push away Liuli, into his arms!

The soft jade embraced her, carrying the unique warmth and fragrance of a young girl, and a slight tremor caused by fear.

In the blink of an eye, the blood arrow arrived!

With a piercing shriek that tore through the air and a terrifying pressure that distorted space!