"Gulp!"
The reaction from Avad and the rest of the Senior Alliance was as transparent as it could possibly be. Yugo stared at them, his face a mask of pure exasperation.
Deciding there was no longer any doubt, he pressed his advantage.
"You did it while I was in the bath, right? Which means the guy who splashed water on me in the dining hall was an accomplice, too. Just how many of you are in on this?"
"I—well, uh, I’m not sure what you’re talking about..."
"Stop the act. It’s pathetic. One look at this Blaster is all it’ll take to prove it."
"Ugh..."
Even if Avad kept playing dumb, Yugo held the physical evidence. If he took this and the testimony from Fee and the others to Uno, the instructor would definitely take action.
Avad finally seemed to realize that further feigning ignorance was a lost cause. As his shoulders slumped, Yugo tossed another question their way.
"Why even do something like this? I mean, I can probably guess..."
Most likely, the original Yugo had done something to earn their hatred before the current soul had taken over his body. They must have seen him moving into their dormitory as the perfect chance to get some petty revenge.
In their plan, Yugo—stripped of his real Blaster—was supposed to lose this "warm welcome" match. Instead, he’d won with ease, throwing their entire scheme into disarray.
Honestly, Yugo didn’t care about their motives.
"Whatever. What’s done is done. Just apologize properly and give me back my Blaster, and we’ll call it even. I don’t want to be at odds with my own dorm mates."
Recovering the Blaster was his top priority. It wasn't just some magic item; it was a one-of-a-kind treasure that embodied his bonds with the friends he’d met so far. He refused to lose it.
While the swap was an unforgivable insult, the root cause was likely his own past behavior, so he felt he should be the bigger man here. He was ready to settle the matter with a simple apology and the return of his gear... but Avad’s voice was trembling as he spoke.
"I-I’m sorry... but your Blaster isn't here right now."
"Huh? Not here? Then where is it?"
"To tell you the truth, someone else took it. They’re currently—"
"Hey, Avad! Shut your mouth!" one of the senior students barked, panicking. "Keep talking and we'll be the ones getting purged!"
Yugo didn't know the specifics, but judging by the outburst, these guys were just errand boys. Someone else was pulling the strings, and that person had his gear.
Yugo let out a slow breath and shifted into a combat stance.
"I really don't like doing this, but if you won't give it back, I don't have a choice. Who’s the genius behind this? They have my Blaster, don’t they? Tell me now, or things are going to get painful."
His words and his expression were those of a quintessential villain. He was the victim trying to recover stolen property, but his overwhelming aura of intimidation suggested otherwise.
The seniors flinched under the weight of Yugo’s pressure, but then their faces twisted with desperate resolve.
"Dammit! We’re screwed either way! Yugo! Sorry, but we’re gonna have to put you in the hospital!"
"S-Senpais!? That won’t solve anything!" Avad cried. "Just tell him the truth!"
"Shut up! We know that! But if we don’t beat him down here, that person is gonna destroy us!"
Avad had clearly surrendered, but the second-years hadn't. Driven by pure desperation, they drew their magic items and prepared to swarm him.
Counting the spectators who were now joining in, there were over ten of them. Dealing with those numbers while using a fake Blaster was going to be a headache.
Why does everything always have to go the hard way? Yugo wondered. He sighed, remembering Melt’s warning that he might be cursed.
The seniors surrounded him, shouting threats.
"Yugo! Nothing personal, but we need to save our own skins! You’re getting a beatdown!"
"Wait, nothing personal? Then why go this far—?"
"Shut up! We’ve got our own problems—gah!?"
"!?!?"
The student at the center of the group suddenly let out a bizarre shriek.
As everyone froze in shock, the boy collapsed with his eyes rolled back. Behind him stood a petite girl.
"Amazing Assault Assassin... My new technique worked perfectly. All that practice paid off."
"Misery!? What are you doing here?"
"Forgive me, Master. The situation looked tense, so I took the liberty of intervening. I hope I wasn't too forward."
Misery spoke calmly as she slowly reclined the stinger of her Wasp Needle. She had just rendered a student unconscious with a single blow.
She stepped up beside Yugo, her chest puffed out with excitement.
"I didn't think the day I’d get to fight by Master’s side would come so soon. These opponents are a bit lackluster, but I suppose they'll do as warm-up dummies for the real thing."
"Warm-up dummies!? Hey, we're your seniors! Show some respect!"
One of the boys dared to complain, but a few seconds later, he was the one flying through the air, his consciousness fading before he even hit the ground.