Tenji Line hadn’t imagined he would face his own class in the midst of the Class Battle. Much less so did he expect that both he and the students would be as beaten-up as they were when their clash began. As the opportunity had presented itself, however, he thought it best not to dwell on the details but rather enjoy crushing what remained of their lives.

There were some who had not replenished enough of their energy to use their devas again while the wounds of others were still too deep to take part in the battle. Hence, only a few of the brats were fighting actively, Tenji deciding to target the inactive Earthlings who were must easier to dispose of.

King appeared in front of them with the high speed of his Daroid, carrying Yonira on his back, who had armed a part of his body in her earth deva, protecting him from the sadist’s elastic whips. The expressions on both the fighters’ faces were scarred by pain. And the Biology teacher could tell it wasn’t just physical agony that was tormenting them.

(King) ‘-You just aimed at defenseless students from your class with a killer intent. You really did.’

The way King’s voice broke after that was unlike anything the Nightsongs’ ally had heard from his student since he had met him.

(King) ‘- WHY, SENSEI?!! WHY SIDE WITH THE MARTIANS AND TRY TO KILL US?!?!!’

In truth, there was some joy in feeling the anguish in the glutton’s voice, but there was also irritation for the elastic whip deviant as he realized how tired he was of dealing with the whining of the brats in front of him.

(Tenji) ‘-Your existence is a bother for me. I just didn’t have the opportunity to relieve myself of your presence up until now.’

(Yonira) ‘-So all this time … the three years we’ve spent together … everything you’ve told us … all the lessons … all of that was a lie?’

(Tenji) ‘-I’ve pretended in front of students before. My hope is that you’ll be the last scum I’ll be forced to do that with.’

He shot one of his legs backwards as Vega jumped at him for a surprise attack, being protected from the coming kick with layers of metal shields. Those shields were courtesy of Exo who was carried on his back, the techno-genius also looking tormented while the drunkard was mostly furious.

(Exo) ‘-Why is it that you hate us so much? Won’t you at least tell us that?’

(Vega) ‘-Don’t bother asking this bastard any more questions, Ex. All I need to know is he’s an enemy of our class. I’m tired of being fooled and not being able to react fast enough. (he narrowed his eyes) So we’re just going to take him out preemptively.’

At least there was one among them who wasn’t simply weepy about having to fight their homeroom teacher, so Mr. Line thought he may still be able to have some fun while killing the Earthlings.

The traitor shot both his arms toward the healers and their patients again, at the same time King and Yonira coming in the way of that attack and Vega and Exo attacking from the side. That much he expected, Tenji actually pretending to strike at the defenseless group to lure the combatants closer to him.

Once they were in range, he increased the length of his neck, using it like a mace to hit Yonira on the head and push her off the giant’s back, his arms being wrapped around Exo, pulling him away from the energy warrior who carried him.

(Tenji) ‘-Pairing up against me was nice, but the fact that neither of you came at me alone means none can fight me without the other! (even with Yonira’s partial rock armor, she was thrown away and slammed in the ground, the organic mace that hit her quickly moving to eliminate its next target – the immobilized techno-genius) As long as I split you up, there’s nothing to worry about!!’

King was supposed to be the one to move fastest in such circumstances, but he was still too shocked by what was happening, Vega teleporting in the way of Tenji’s latest attack instead, spilling blood when the villain’s head hit the side of his face. The drunkard gritted his teeth through the blood coming out of his mouth with as wrathful an expression as ever, successfully managing to pull Exo away from the grip of the arms he was wrapped-up in with an energy-clad hand.

(Vega) ‘-Get a grip, King, or you’ll be of no use to me!! (the elongated arms launched at Vega now, being pushed away by the pale green energy whip resembling a devil’s tail that came out of the Earthling’s wrist) Our class nearly died once already during this Battle and I won’t allow that to happen again!! (his gaze now pierced Tenji Line, the fury in it being replaced by cold contempt) Least of all at the hands of a treacherous worm like him.’

The more he listened to the words of the most depraved among his students, the more the homeroom teacher wanted to laugh. He started to do precisely that while King went to check on Yonira, Vega seeming to barely be able to stand on his feet after the last technique he had used.

(Tenji) ‘-Is that so, Vega? I’m the traitor here?’

(Vega) ‘-If trying to kill the class you were supposed to be teaching and supporting is not treachery, I don’t know what is.’

(Tenji) ‘-And what about you, then? All of you. (his words confused Vega, Exo, King and the somehow still conscious Yonira who had climbed the Daroid user’s back once again) Is fighting for the ordinari who seek to enslave us and strip us of all our rights not a greater betrayal?! Not just to me, but to all deviants?!!’

(Exo) ‘-What are you saying, sensei?! We now have many more rights than you when you were our age! This is proof things will keep getting better! But for that to happen, we need to prove to the ordinari we’re worthy of those rights!’

Mr. Line focused his attention on the techno-genius with a mocking smile.

(Tenji) ‘-Well, I wouldn’t expect a coward like you to think any different, Exo, but just because you’ve read some old records doesn’t mean you have true knowledge of the lives of deviants from the past. One year they grant us more rights, the other they take those away and more. The ordinari won’t change. They can’t change. They lack the potential to do so. (Tenji used his arms as support now, shooting both his legs forward, but twisting them, so they could go around the fighting quartet and reach the rest of the Earthlings) We deviants have such potential, however, and your unwillingness to realize that potential is the biggest betrayal of all!!!’

Before the feet covered with spikes could reach their targets, large amounts of purple smoke formed around the sadistic villain, electric charges being run through that smoke as well.

Without having clear vision of the ones he was trying to kill, Tenji couldn’t strike accurately enough, so he retracted his legs, standing up on them again just when attackers came at him from all four directions, each attack being performed by a duo.

First, there was King’s sped-up fist, armored in spiky rocks by Yonira, then the long and wide metal blades formed over the back of Vega’s hands by Exo, enveloped in the drunkard’s pale green energy. On the third side came large projectiles of golden and silver energy that combined along the way and on the fourth were two girls who ran side by side, one of them being naked with steam rising from her skin.

(Tenji) ‘-Still not good enough, brats!! (he stretched his arms, legs, torso and neck at the same time, using the spikes on his knuckles and feet to cut the most dangerous attackers – Vega and King, wrapping the parts of his body around all eight students that came at him) People with a servile conviction like yours could never stand against a truly free man like me!!!’

The purple smoke started dissipating at that point, it being clear that the students could do nothing more in their current condition. All that remained was to decide in what order to kill them.

(Yonira) ‘-You seem to forget, sensei … (when the smoke had fully lifted, Mr. Line came to the shocking realization that all he held within the grasp of his body were replicas of the eight hot heads who had charged at him made of rock and metal) … we’ve proven you wrong more than once before!!! (the originals were sprawled on the ground nearby, the Biology teacher seeing Yonira’s confident smirk) Get him, girls!!’

A mass of light rays and acid had formed above the traitor, falling down on him very fast, but not fast enough to do sufficient damage. He quickly wound up his torso to make his whole body shoot away in a spring-like fashion, the strain from that action for his burned-up skin proving almost impossible to bear.

Yet when he opened his eyes, he saw he had landed a few meters away from where the attack had hit, shaking the earth with its might while its target returned the normal length of all the parts of his body. Just as he did that, one of his students was teleported to his side, elongating her tongue that had been clad in all her classmates’ elemental devas.

He hadn’t paid her any mind as he thought she was still healing the Earthlings whose condition was the worst alongside the other healer of the class. With her being next to him and the other attackers he faced being nearby, however, it seemed no one was left to guard the members of the group who were still not fit for battle.

In terms of attack speed, this whip-tongued student came second only to King, Hikaru and Tokura. Unlike all of them, however, the way she attacked was closest in terms of style to what Tenji Line did. Being as intelligent as he was, he knew he couldn’t possibly evade or block the coming strike.

Instead he focused all his might in his one hand that he clenched in a fist, going at a 100% output and sending that fist with the highest speed he could ever achieve at the prey he had been aiming for since the start of this battle.

(Tenji) ‘-I still win!!! Now die, so that all other deviants can be free!!!!’

Sprays of scarlet energy burst in the air as something stopped the whip-like attack before it could reach. It couldn’t possibly be King, however. He couldn’t match this speed in his current condition, let alone move faster than his homeroom teacher.

Just as his student’s multielemental whip-tongue smacked him with enough force to cut through his cheeks and dislocate his jaw, he saw the bloodied but smiling Graid Summerbolt had stopped the fist at the end of the elongated arm.

The spikes from the brass knuckles on that fist had dug very deep in the flesh of the arm the Octohorn Ring’s owner had used to block, the speed of the attack having partially ripped that same arm’s biceps. Losing consciousness from the pain of the injury his face was dealt, the Nightsongs’ ally grinned. He couldn’t kill any of the annoying brats, but crippling one of the annoying Summerbolts was the next best thing.

*

When he opened his eyes again, the sadistic villain couldn’t tell how long a time had passed as the sky above him was cloudy now. Then his ears registered something – a woman shouting nearby. Despite the pain, he managed to get up partially to find the source of that shouting. It came from the girl who had finished him off, now being thrown at the rest of Earthling Class #1 along with Iziya by one of the soldiers from Rale’s company. Most of the others combined the power of their anti-deviant arsenal to unleash a relentless barrage against all teenagers and the two adults by their side. The state of Graid and his sister was equally bad, both hardly being able to move while Rose was nowhere to be seen.

The troopers who were not participating in that group’s demise had fallen behind to check on Tenji, one among them having lost their helmet. Under that helmet was the face of a very beautiful woman with an electric-green hair tied in a ponytail and pale green eyes that looked around the Biology teacher’s age, currently smiling at him.

He wanted to say something, but wasn’t able to as the lower half of his face was burning with excruciating pain from the last attack he had been hit with. Luckily for him, this woman seemed perceptive enough to figure out what he wanted to ask.

(The female soldier) ‘-We’ve won. It took longer than expected, but now we’re finally starting to wrap things up. As for your performance, Line, you did good. Don’t worry. (she pointed her weapon at him, sending a drill of pale green lava right at his face) We’ll put you on the resurrection list.’