rslcontracting Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Chapter 60: Faceless One
Rose High School, Sports Ground
【04:44:44】
Tick-tock~
Tick-tock~
Amid the sound of rain, a set of footsteps and labored breathing drew near from a distance.
Guo Shuai rushed onto the sports ground right on schedule, not even bothering to wipe the rain from his face, and immediately leaned close to Jiang Nan's ear.
He relayed everything—Kujo Shiyan's true identity and every single detail of what had happened.
After hearing his subordinate's report, Jiang Nan's expression remained calm. He gave only a slight nod.
He wasn't surprised.
From the very first time Lu Shiyan had tried to show off in front of him, he'd known something was off about the guy.
After warning him, he'd simply let it go—it was nothing more than wanting to use him as a whetstone.
Just a way to sharpen these subordinates' alertness and adaptability.
After all, not long ago, they had all been nothing but students living inside an Ivory Tower.
And as for Jiang Nan himself…
'Heh. 2 lifetimes of clawing through the mud—what kind of monster haven’t I seen?’
'When it came to dealing with arrogant, underhanded types like that, I have plenty of ways.'
'Well done.'
Jiang Nan reached out and patted Guo Shuai's still-trembling shoulder.
He said nothing—but that simple gesture was already the greatest affirmation Guo Shuai could have received.
"YES!"
Guo Shuai cheered inwardly, pumping his fist. The body that had been on the verge of breaking down instantly surged with renewed energy.
He straightened his chest and took his place at the far left of Jiang Nan's row, right beside the tearful Sakura Nation girl, Hoshino Hikari.
"Phew…"
Seeing him return safe and sound, Hoshino Hikari finally let out a breath of relief, a smile of having narrowly escaped disaster spreading across her face.
"Thank goodness… Does that mean I don't have to die?"
However.
The next second.
Ring-ring-ring!!
That spine-chilling bell rang out again, right on schedule!
【04:44】
The hour had come.
"Good morning, students~ Good morning, teachers~"
Beneath the flag-raising platform, Shariki Sanae opened her massive mouth wide.
"Thank you all for braving the wind and rain to arrive on time at Rose High School's sports ground~"
"Before we begin our thrilling morning reading and morning exercises…"
"Let us give the warmest round of applause to welcome…"
"The great Principal! Lord Wu Wo! Who has personally come to inspect us!!"
It was only then that everyone realized—it hadn't been using any broadcasting equipment at all. That voice had been purely belted out through its own enormous mouth!
Clap… clap… clap…
A sparse, half-hearted round of applause broke out.
Guo Shuai, Liu Yuqing, and the others stared wide-eyed.
They fixed their gazes on the empty flag-raising platform ahead, desperate to catch a glimpse of just what kind of entity this legendary Principal actually was.
However.
A full 1 minute passed.
The rain kept falling, the wind kept blowing.
On the flag-raising platform—not even a ghost hair in sight.
"Where is it?"
Liu Yuqing muttered under her breath: "Oh, wait… where's the ghost??"
Standing beside Yu Shishi, Yekaterina had already activated her Dragon Eyes.
She scanned the surroundings, brow furrowed, murmuring to herself.
"How is that possible?… I can't see it either. Not a single energy fluctuation."
Dead silence fell over the entire grounds.
Only Jiang Nan.
In his ever-calm, unreadable eyes, something suddenly shifted.
He seemed to have realized something.
Whoosh!
His left hand suddenly shot toward the empty air to his left!
There was clearly no one there.
And yet.
Smack!
His hand had actually caught a forearm that was about to come down on his shoulder!
"Hm?"
Jiang Nan turned his head. His gaze cut through the curtain of falling rain and landed on the "thing" that had appeared at his side without warning.
The feel of it…
Was warm?
‘Why would a ghost have body heat?’
But this thing's appearance…
Didn't look human, either.
It was a tall, slender figure dressed in a fitted black suit.
It had the silhouette of a man, with skin that gave off an uncanny, ashen gray.
But the most spine-chilling feature was its head.
That head…
Had nothing on it.
No eyes, no nose, no mouth—not even ears.
Like a ball of grayish-white modeling clay that had been crumpled up.
Where the facial features should have been, there was only a chaotic mess of black burn scars.
Like scrawling lines doodled by a child with a pencil.
The Faceless One.
'What the hell is this thing?'
Jiang Nan's mind stirred with confusion, but his movements didn't hesitate for a single beat.
'Even if you have no killing intent toward me—the moment you get too close…’
'I can always decide that you do.'
“Word Spirit·Abyss Court Heavy Domain”
Boom!!
A terrifying hundred-ton gravity field erupted in an instant, centered on Jiang Nan—like a sudden allergic reaction bursting through the air!
Every drop of rain within a 10-meter radius vanished, forced flat against the ground!
And the Faceless One didn't even have time to let out a single grunt.
Its entire body was pressed flat into a thin sheet of paper, plastered against the waterlogged rubber track!
"What the—?!"
Chen Tong, Guo Shuai, and the others nearby were startled by the sudden development, and looked belatedly down at the ground.
"What just happened?"
"What… is that thing?"
Jiang Nan paid no attention to their shock. He simply crouched down and reached out.
He wanted to peel this "paper" up and examine it—the same way he'd peeled back the Starving Wraith's skin before.
However.
The very next moment.
Something he hadn't anticipated happened.
Whoosh~
That paper sheet, pinned flat beneath a hundred tons of gravity, drifted up—like a weightless feather floating inside the gravity field!
It drifted out of the gravity field's range.
Then, as if someone had blown air into it, it instantly reverted back to the suited Faceless One.
It stood up nonchalantly and patted down its slightly wrinkled suit.
Then it spoke in a tone that was nearly the complete opposite of its terrifying appearance.
"Oh my~ Little bro~"
The black burn scars on its featureless face twisted and contorted, conveying something that looked like grievance.
"I was just trying to say hello to an excellent student, that's all~"
"Why must you go attacking people like that~"
"You nearly gave my poor little heart a fright~ thump-thump-thump~"
As it spoke, it reached out again, about to drape its arm over Jiang Nan's shoulder.
Bang!
The response it got was a hole blown clean through its head.
Jiang Nan held his Finger-Gun Shape pose, expression cold and indifferent.
He had absolutely no interest in flirting with a freak like this.
However.
The Faceless One still didn't fall.
It felt around the hole in its head, seemingly feeling no pain whatsoever.
Instead, like a sulky grade-schooler, it struck a JoJo Pose, pointed at Jiang Nan, and launched into a loud protest.
"Hey!! You!! Don't you know when to stop?!"
"I really was just trying to say hello!!"
"Is this any way to treat a principal? I'm the Principal! I have a reputation to uphold!!"
Jiang Nan didn't respond.
But he had already put away his finger-gun.
At the same time, the little finger of his left hand had quietly pressed against the already-scabbed wound on his left wrist.
Hiss.
The scab split. A single drop of vivid red blood seeped out.
'If gravity and physical attacks won't work…’
'Then it's time to play the trump card.'
The Faceless One's eyeless face seemed to catch Jiang Nan's movement.
Whatever it was thinking, it suddenly switched moods once again.
It began to squat on the ground with a dejected air, both index fingers poking together in a gesture of grievance.
"Honestly…"
"I really was just trying to say hello to an excellent student~"
"Why does no one ever believe me? Wuuu…"
Right at that moment.
An abrupt voice rang out from within the crowd.
"Principal!! I believe you!!"
Everyone turned to look.
It was the last surviving Sakura Nation boy—Sakurai Jun—his face lit up with excitement as he raised his hand.
"Jun! What are you doing?!"
The girl beside him who had been supporting the delirious Natsuki—Sagawa Seki—stared in wide-eyed, absolute disbelief at her boyfriend:
"That's a ghost! What are you saying?!"
But Sakurai Jun looked like he'd been possessed. He shook off his girlfriend's hand and strode toward the Faceless One.
"Seki, you don't understand!"
"Sure, the Principal looks terrifying, but look at how kind-natured it actually is! It's crying from being wronged!"
"This has to be a test! As long as we set aside the prejudices between humans and ghosts, I'm certain we can…"
Splat!
His words weren't even finished.
A grayish-white hand punched through his chest and burst out the other side.
Clutched in it—a still-beating heart.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
The Faceless One let out a shriek even more wretched than Sakurai Jun's.
It frantically yanked its hand back, stared at the blood and heart in its palm, then flung itself across Sakurai Jun's corpse and burst into sobs.
"Ahhhhh!!"
"Why did this happen?!"
"I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to kill you!!"
"It's all because you suddenly cut into my conversation and startled me! Wuuu…"
Black tears streamed down its featureless face.
"……"
Everyone present stood there, completely dumbstruck.
‘This thing…’
‘Could it be a ghost with split personalities?’
However.
The next moment.
An even more shocking scene unfolded.
"Baka!! You killed Jun!!"
The girl called Sagawa Seki watched her boyfriend die right before her eyes—her already-strained nerves shattered in an instant.
Screaming, she charged forward and kicked the Faceless One as it crouched over the body!
Thud!
"You monster!! Give me back my Jun!! I'll fight you to the death!!"
Crying and cursing simultaneously, she threw every ounce of her strength into punching and kicking the Faceless One.
The Faceless One simply endured it—curling up on the ground, covering its head, issuing a nonstop stream of apologies:
"Wuuu… I know I was wrong… stop hitting me…"
"I really didn't mean it…"
"It's all because he startled me while I was saying hello to the excellent student… it's his fault… it's all your fault…"
As it kept talking.
The Faceless One's voice changed.
Its skin, which had been grayish-white, instantly turned pitch black.
And the black burn scars on its face inverted into a ghastly white.
A suffocating aura of dread blanketed the entire sports ground.
"It's all… your fault…"
"Why… must you force me…"
The next second.
The Faceless One stopped crying.
It slowly rose to its feet. Though that black-and-white inverted face had no features, its presence was an entirely different creature.
Zero-Frame Startup.
Smack!
Its black hand instantly seized the head of Sagawa Seki, who was still pummeling it.
"Assaulting the Principal violates school rules. You will now be punished."
Splat!!
Sagawa Seki's head exploded in an instant.
Red and white matter sprayed across the Faceless One.