"Who, who's there?"

Ramon said. Aoi couldn't believe what she was hearing, she knew this voice, but it sounded different than usual – hatred was quite visible in the tone.

(Makoto?)

It was the only person Aoi could think of at the moment. She would never forget that sweet yet firm voice. While these thoughts were going through Aoi's head, a black tentacle emerged from the ground and slammed heavily into Ramon, causing him to be thrown towards a tree. Aoi couldn't understand what was happening.

(But... that voice... I'm sure it wasn't Fujiwara-san)

Thought Aoi, still trying to understand the situation.

"Aoi-sensei, are you okay?"

Her thoughts were interrupted when a quiet voice echoed from her side.

“M-Makoto?”

Said Aoi after seeing the figure of the person who was in her thoughts. Seeing Makoto, Aoi's heart was relieved before a feeling filled her chest. It was a feeling of relief. With this feeling tingling in her heart, tears began to fall from Aoi's eyes. Before she knew it, she was hugging Makoto like a scared little child. In the arms of the person Aoi considered her younger brother, she felt safe.

***

While Aoi-sensei was hugging me, my field of vision was still on Ramon-sensei. As soon as he regained his senses, he looked at me with hatred, which soon changed to doubt.

"You? That's impossible... you're useless. How could you use Fujiwara's power?"

He seemed to be muttering something, but from where I was standing, I couldn't hear it. But that wasn't important. He had crossed the line, and I wouldn't let Aoi-sensei face a danger like that again. That's why I will get rid of him once and for all.

"Please wait for me here, Aoi-sensei... this will be over in a moment"

I said while showing a soft smile to Aoi-sensei. I could tell that Aoi-sensei was not understanding the situation very well, but she still nodded and let go of my shirt. I smiled at her again and turned my gaze to Ramon-sensei. As soon as he looked at my face, he jumped back. I paid no attention to it and started walking slowly towards him. The closer I got, the more he crawled backward. As I walked, a black shadow materialized from my arm and descended to my hand, transforming into a black sword. As soon as Ramon-sensei saw this, his look became even more desperate. He seemed to know what was going to happen to him.

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"W-Wait, do you think you'll get away with doing that? Shinji will go after you, is..."

Before Ramon-sensei finished his sentence, I cut him off and said.

"You don't have to worry about that"

with a smile on my face.

"Since they will be meeting you soon"

As soon as I said that, with one swift movement, Ramon-sensei's head flew off his body, falling right next to me. A geyser of blood gushed from the cut point, spreading blood everywhere. Strangely enough, I did not feel bad or guilty for having killed him. If I had to describe the feeling, it would be like when you kill an ant – maybe you feel sorry for a few seconds, but you soon forget about it and move on.

(I don't know exactly what happened to me, but this will help me in the future. I am not so naive as to think that I won't need to kill more people in the future)

Putting these thoughts out of my mind, I extend my arm towards the body and use my ability.

"Gluttony, devour him"

I said. As soon as I said this, my ability kicked in, and after a few seconds, a sound that I hadn't heard in a while rang in my head.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE ACQUIRED THE SKILL (MERGER)

I was visibly confused by the skill since its name, although easy to understand, doesn't say much about how the skill works. Putting these thoughts out of my mind, I turned my attention to Aoi-sensei, who was looking at me in surprise. She didn't seem to be afraid, even though I did something scary in front of her.

"Aoi-sensei, are you okay?"

I asked as I extended my hand to her. Even though Aoi-sensei was confused, she didn't hesitate for a moment to take my hand. Although her face was red for some reason, as soon as she stood up, she looked at the place where Ramon-sensei's body had been devoured and then looked at me again.

"Makoto... what really happened to you?"

Aoi-sensei asked. Her question was something I had been expecting.

"Well... it's a long story"

I said as I looked up at the sky. The night still looked like it would be long.

"The night has just begun"

Her said with a smile, drawing a laugh from me.

"Yeah... I guess you are right"

I said as I sat down on the floor, followed by Aoi-sensei who also sat down. After that, I told the whole story I had been hiding from Aoi-sensei – about the contract I made with a suspicious goddess, about having arrived here long before the others, together with Saemi, about my true powers, about my secret relationship with Saemi and Fujiwara, and also about my revenge plan against Shinji. Hearing my words, Aoi-sensei simply looked up at the sky and said nothing.

"You're not going to stop me?"

I asked, confused.

"If I asked you to stop, would you stop?"

Her asked.

"No"

I said, looking at her seriously.

"Then I won't stop you. Besides... I trust you... I finally understood that there are people who don't deserve forgiveness"

Saying that, Aoi-sensei stood up with a smile on her face.

"Okay, I've made up my mind"

Her said, looking at me immediately afterwards.

"I will help you with your revenge"

Said Aoi-sensei, looking determined.