Begining Of Round 2! - I

ACADEMI EXAMS - ROUND 2 ARC

A couple of days had passed, and everyone had spent the time resting in their homes.

Meanwhile, in another village...

“Team 2 and Team 1, huh...?” Deadsnami muttered thoughtfully.

His expression darkened.

“Enough of this crap... Canenba and Jimari can’t accomplish anything on their own.”

He paused.

“After all... the only thing I want is Hinichat.”

---

Canasha and Aria stepped through the massive gates of the arena.

Aria clenched her fists excitedly.

“Let’s do this!!!”

The nine remaining qualifiers stood together at the center of the arena.

Moments later, Capashi appeared before them.

“EVERYONE!!! Welcome back!”

His voice echoed throughout the arena.

“So, without wasting any more time... you all know that Round 2 has officially begun!”

The contestants immediately fell silent.

“For this round, each team will be sent into a village. Once you enter, you are forbidden from leaving its boundaries until the exam is over!”

Capashi raised one finger.

“If even one member crosses the village boundary, their entire team will fail the exam!”

Everyone listened carefully.

“Your objective is simple: return with three stones—two red and one blue.”

He held up a blue stone.

“We will provide each team with one blue stone. However, you’ll have to find the two red stones yourselves.”

His smile widened.

“And there are only five red stones hidden throughout the entire village.”

Shayan immediately raised his voice.

“Then how many teams can qualify?!”

Capashi glanced toward him and smiled.

“Only two teams can possibly qualify.”

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

“Any team that returns with all three stones passes the round.”

Capashi’s expression then turned serious.

“And aside from that... There are no restrictions on how you deal with the other teams. Betrayal, fighting, abandoning teammates—the choice is yours.”

He pointed toward the stones.

“Now go! Pick up your stones!”

Everyone immediately rushed forward.

Everyone...

Except Deadsnami.

He simply walked toward the stones without the slightest trace of panic.

“Three stones, huh...?” he muttered.

“I wonder why exactly three...”

Each team collected its blue stone before rushing toward the village.

---

“EVERYONE!!!”

A cold female voice suddenly echoed throughout the village.

Every contestant stopped.

“I’m Hashite.”

“I’m here to give you a hint about the location of the stones!”

Captlox immediately narrowed his eyes.

“Wait.”

Shayan and Aria looked toward him.

“This could be a trap. They might be trying to lure every team toward the same location.”

Before anyone could respond, Hashite’s voice echoed again.

“To the northeast side of Higimashi House!”

Aria quickly turned toward Captlox.

“Captlox, you have a map, right?!”

“Yeah,” Shayan added. 

“I saw him carrying one earlier.”

Captlox: “Yup! I’ve got it!”

Aria: “Then check whether there’s a house called Higimashi!”

---

Elsewhere...

“Higimashi House, huh...?” Hiragaru murmured.

Itono suddenly raised his head.

“I think I know where it is!”

Hanan looked at him.

“You do?”

“It’s an ancient house... Wait!”

Itono suddenly froze.

Hanan frowned.

“What happened?!”

Itono stared ahead.

“Higimashi House... is located in Shikira Village.”

---

Meanwhile, Team 3 had reached the same conclusion.

“Higimashi House, huh?” Canenba said. “So we’re in Shikira Village?”

“Possibly,” Jimari replied.

Deadsnami glanced toward them.

“Tell me something. Do either of you know this village?”

“Actually, yes,” Canenba replied. “Shikira is an ancient village. I’ve studied quite a lot about it.”

---

Captlox unfolded the map.

“There isn’t any house named Higimashi here.”

Aria leaned closer.

“What?”

Captlox studied the map again.

“According to Hashite’s hint, we should be in Shikira Village.”

Aria pointed toward the map.

“But according to this... we’re in Hibimani Village!”

Shayan narrowed his eyes.

“Then one of them is wrong.”

He looked toward Captlox.

“Either the map is lying to us... or Hashite is.”

Captlox crossed his arms.

“Think about it. Why would they give us a hint in the first place?”

Aria frowned.

“But then... why deliberately give us the wrong one?”

---

Elsewhere, Itono continued observing his surroundings.

“This village looks exactly like Hibimani!”

His eyes moved across the buildings.

“I know almost everything about that place.”

---

Canenba suddenly pointed southeast.

“The house should be that way!”

---

Hanan immediately stepped forward.

“Then what are we waiting for?!”

“Yeah!” Hiragaru replied. “Let’s hurry!”

“Let’s go!” Itono shouted.

The three immediately rushed southeast.

---

Back with Shayan’s team...

“Something about this feels wrong,” Aria muttered.

Suddenly, another team dashed past them.

Shayan’s eyes widened.

“Yo, guys!!!”

Captlox and Aria turned toward him with confused expressions.

“What?”

“Did you see that?! They’re heading southeast!”

Shayan pointed after them.

“I think they figured something out!”

Aria immediately moved.

“Then let’s follow them!”

---

Hiragaru glanced behind them while running.

“Did you guys see that?!”

“Yeah,” Hanan replied.

“Team 3 is heading southeast too!”

Itono’s expression became serious.

“Then we might run into them.”

---

Deadsnami noticed the movement in the distance.

“Team 1 and Team 2 are both coming.”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“I guess it’s time.”

Jimari looked at him.

“Time for what?”

“The plan is simple.”

Deadsnami looked toward the approaching teams.

“We capture Shayan... and force one member from each opposing team outside the village.”

Canenba’s eyes widened slightly.

“I see...”

“So we lure both teams to the same location, then force one member of each team across the boundary?”

“Exactly,” Jimari said. “That’s what he means.”

---

Captlox continued running.

“So... we’re going to face Team 3.”

“I guess so,” Aria replied.

Shayan clenched his fist.

“If Deadsnami gets in my way, I’ll take him down myself!”

---

Meanwhile...

“Our main problem is Deadsnami,” Hanan said.

Hiragaru looked at him.

“Why only Deadsnami?”

“Because Team 2 is full of my friends.”

Itono shrugged.

“Fine by me.”

---

Aria suddenly spotted someone ahead.

“Guys, look!!”

“What?!” Shayan asked.

“It’s Hanan!”

Captlox smiled.

“Then let’s join up with them!”

---

Suddenly—

SHING!

A sharp blade struck the tree where Team 1 had been standing.

Hiragaru immediately stepped backward.

“Stop, guys!”

Hanan turned around.

“What happened?!”

Before she could answer—

Shayan landed on a nearby branch.

“Relax, guys! It’s me!”

Hanan blinked.

“Where did you even come from?!”

Suddenly—

WHOOSH!

A massive log came flying toward Shayan.

He spun around—

But before it could reach him, Aria intercepted it with her knives.

“You’re not scared, are you... lost child?” she asked calmly.

Another log came flying toward them.

BOOM!

A violent gust of wind erupted.

“Woah!” Captlox shouted.

Hiragaru launched herself into the air, leaning slightly backward as one leg shot forward in a powerful flying side kick.

Her foot slammed into the incoming log and knocked it away, while her other leg remained bent for balance. One arm stretched outward as the other guarded her face and chest.

The impact sent a burst of air through the trees.

Smoke filled the area.

Then...

A figure emerged from it.

Deadsnami.

He walked toward them without the slightest urgency.

“We meet again.”

His eyes settled on Shayan.

“Give me Shayan... and I’ll let the rest of you go.”

Aria immediately stepped in front of him.

“Why do you want him?!”

“None of your business.”

Aria’s eyes sharpened.

“ITINISHA!”

Her web shot outward and attached itself to the surrounding logs.

She tightened her grip.

Then—

SWISH!

Aria swung away through the trees, taking Shayan with her.

Captlox stepped forward.

“Fight me, you gunky Dead!”

Deadsnami moved to chase after Shayan—

THUD!

The tree beneath him suddenly vanished.

Deadsnami dropped out of sight.

“Let’s go after Aria!” Itono shouted.

Everyone immediately rushed forward.

Captlox grinned.

“Good job, Hanan!”

But the moment they reached Aria...

Canenba and Jimari emerged from behind the house.

Then—

Itono disappeared.

Captlox froze.

Deadsnami slowly looked toward him.

“I already told you.”

His voice was cold.

“Give me Shayan... and I’ll let you go.”

Captlox’s eyes widened.

“Was... was that—?”

“Exactly.”

Deadsnami smiled.

“The moment I fell, I transformed into Itono.”

“And before any of you realized what happened... I got rid of him.”

Captlox suddenly looked around.

“Wait!”

His expression changed.

“Where are Hanan and Hiragaru?!”

Canenba smiled.

“The person you thought was Hanan...”

His appearance began to change.

“...was me.”

Jimari stepped forward.

“And the Hiragaru you were following?”

She smirked.

“That was me.”

Both pointed behind the nearby houses.

“And the real two are with our Dangedan.”

---

Elsewhere...

Aria finally stopped.

“We should be safe here.”

Shayan immediately looked around.

“But what about everyone else?!”

Suddenly, Hiragaru landed on the tree beside them.

Shayan’s eyes widened.

“Guys!!! Where’s Captlox?!”

---

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER

“Good job, Hanan!” Captlox said.

“Thanks!” Hanan replied.

THUD!

Hanan spun around.

“What happened?!”

Jimari had restrained Hiragaru.

Canenba stared directly at Hanan.

“Don’t say a word.”

His expression hardened.

“Or your friend gets hurt.”

Hanan froze.

A sudden attack struck him, forcing him down.

“HANAN!!!” Hiragaru screamed.

Hiragaru looked toward Captlox and Itono.

“We have to leave them here! We’ll come back for them!”

“But...” Hanan muttered weakly.

“We don’t have another choice!” Hiragaru replied.

She looked back.

“Forgive me... Captlox. Itono.”

Captlox stared toward Itono.

“Do you know why Deadsnami wants Shayan?”

The disguised Deadsnami shook his head.

“I don’t...”

---

PRESENT

Shayan stared at Hiragaru.

“So... they can switch bodies?!”

“No,” Hiragaru corrected him. “They can transform.”

Aria immediately turned around.

“Then we need to hurry! Captlox and Itono could still be in danger!”

“R-Right...” Hanan replied.

Aria looked toward Hiragaru.

“Hiragaru, stay here and take care of Hanan.”

“But—”

She hesitated.

“...Okay.”

Aria prepared to leave.

“Wait!!” Hiragaru shouted.

Aria stopped.

“What happened?!”

“You shouldn’t take Shayan with you. He’s the one Deadsnami is after!”

Aria stared at her.

“Are you serious? Deadsnami fell from the tree!”

Shayan scratched his head.

“To be honest... I kind of forgot about that too.”

---

Meanwhile...

Itono slowly regained his bearings.

“Where did everyone go?!”

He looked around in frustration.

“Why would they leave me here?!”

He sighed.

“Ugh... what a drag.”

Then he stopped.

“Wait...”

His eyes moved toward the surrounding buildings.

“Isn’t this the exact location where Higimashi House is supposed to be?”

He looked around again.

“But there’s no Higimashi House here.”

His expression became serious.

“In fact...”

“This house belongs to Hibimani Village.”

---

Elsewhere...

Deadsnami had already knocked Captlox unconscious.

Canenba looked toward him.

“Why didn’t you finish them off?”

“Exactly,” Jimari added.

Deadsnami remained calm.

“Because Shayan will definitely come looking for Captlox.”

A sinister smile crossed his face.

“And he doesn’t know I’m still here.”

He glanced toward Canenba.

“That’s also why I told you to leave Hanan alive.”

Then—

Footsteps.

Shayan entered the area where Captlox had been left.

Deadsnami smiled.

“Welcome.”

He slowly rose to his feet.

“We’ve been waiting for you.”

Shayan froze.

“You?!”

Deadsnami stared directly at him.

“What?”

“You thought I was gone?”

His smile widened.

“The person you thought was Itono...”

“...was me.”

Aria’s expression twisted with anger.

“You absolute jerk!!!”

Canenba immediately rushed toward Aria.

A sudden strike echoed through the area.

Then—

Silence.

Everyone froze.

Jimari stared in disbelief.

“Did... did you just—?!

Her expression turned furious.

“How dare you?!”

Shayan could barely process what had happened.

“You...”

“You attacked your own—”

“Yeah,” Deadsnami interrupted coldly.

“My own teammate.”

He looked toward the others without a trace of regret.

“You’re all useless to me now.”

“DEADSNAMI!!!” Jimari charged toward him.

But Deadsnami reacted instantly, striking her down before she could reach him.

Aria stood frozen.

“...”

Deadsnami slowly turned toward the others.

A disturbing laugh escaped him.

“This exam is getting more entertaining by the second.”

“One after another both of my useless pawns died