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DanMachi: Is It Wrong for a Mafia Boss to Go to the Dungeon?
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Chapter 36: Getting Fired Up
Suyan looked at Saeko, his voice steady. "Are you ready, Senior Saeko?"
"Is it finally time?"
Saeko's purple eyes darkened with intensity. She clenched and unclenched her hand in the air, cracking her knuckles with a sharp, rhythmic pop-pop-pop.
She let out a long breath. The corners of her mouth curled up into a smile filled with eager anticipation. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"
With those words, an indescribable aura erupted from Saeko's body.
At that moment, the purple-haired girl no longer felt human. She felt like a demonic, bloodthirsty blade, just unsheathed and practically vibrating with the need to kill.
"Good."
Suyan nodded. He glanced at Rei and Saya, who were still inside the infirmary, before turning his attention to Shizuka. "Shizuka!"
"Here!"
Shizuka stood at attention, offering a cute, exaggerated salute.
"I'm leaving these two in your care," Suyan instructed.
Shizuka patted her chest proudly. "Mission accepted! I won't let you down!"
Suyan turned back to Saeko. "Since that's settled, let's go, Senior Saeko."
Without waiting for her response, Suyan turned and hopped onto the windowsill.
Without a second's hesitation, he leaped out into the void.
"Suyan?!"
Seeing him jump straight out the window, Rei shrieked in absolute terror.
She scrambled to the window and threw herself over the ledge, her eyes frantically scanning the ground below, expecting the worst.
The Fujimi Academy infirmary was on the third floor. That was a drop of nearly six meters! For him to just jump out like that... how could she not panic?
But her panic was short-lived. A moment later, she spotted Suyan standing perfectly unharmed on the ground below.
Not only was he fine, but he even looked up and casually waved at her.
Seeing him safe, the heavy knot of anxiety in Rei's chest finally loosened.
"Miyamoto, you haven't been exposed to Nen yet. Just stay back and watch carefully."
Saeko patted Rei on the shoulder, offering a reassuring word.
Then, she effortlessly hopped onto the windowsill herself.
Before jumping, the purple-haired girl looked down and called out, "Suyan, I'm coming down! You'd better catch me, or I'm going to be very angry with you."
Suyan chuckled.
It was only a three-story drop. Did a Nen user like Saeko really need him to catch her?
The answer was... absolutely.
A three-story drop was nothing to her. With her body reinforced by Nen training, she could survive that fall without a scratch even if she didn't actively use her aura.
But she wanted Suyan to catch her.
Was that reason enough?
More than enough.
Suyan dusted off his hands and opened his arms. "Don't worry, I've got you."
Hearing that, Saeko brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her eyes locked onto Suyan below. Rising slightly onto her tiptoes, she spread her arms and dove gracefully from the window.
She descended like a fluttering butterfly. Incredibly, despite the speed of her fall, her long skirt didn't flip up in the slightest.
It was a blatant violation of the laws of physics—the kind of logic-defying descent that would make Isaac Newton roll over in his grave.
Suyan braced himself. A sweet fragrance washed over him just a split second before a soft, warm weight collided with his chest.
He caught Saeko securely in his arms.
"You really didn't lie to me, Suyan. I'm very satisfied, so I think you deserve a little reward."
Saeko wrapped her arms around Suyan's neck, leaning in to whisper seductively into his ear.
Suyan glanced around the schoolyard, his expression impassive. "No rush on that. We can talk about it later."
Their dramatic exit had already drawn the attention of the surrounding zombies. The rotting corpses were beginning to shamble toward them from all directions.
With that, Suyan released his hold on her, setting her down.
"You really know how to ruin a mood, don't you?"
Saeko noticed the encroaching horde as well. She pouted slightly, clearly displeased at the interruption. "Fine. I'll just hold onto that thought for now."
"I'll deal with you all right now!"
Saeko reached her hand into the empty air.
In a flash of light, Reizan—a beautifully crafted longsword etched with intricate purple patterns—materialized in her grasp.
She gripped the hilt with one hand, running her other hand gently along the flat of the blade.
"Reizan..." Saeko murmured softly, "I imagine you've been thirsting for this day just as much as I have, haven't you?"
It sounded like she was talking to herself, but at the same time, it felt like she was speaking directly to the sword.
And miraculously, Reizan seemed to answer. The blade vibrated faintly, radiating a faint, hazy purple mist.
It was as if the sword had a soul of its own, eagerly responding to its master's call.
"Alright, monsters. Are you ready to be my whetstones?"
Saeko's gaze snapped to the advancing zombies. Her grip on the hilt tightened.
If one looked closely, they would see that the girl's entire body was trembling slightly.
But it wasn't from fear.
It was a deep, primal excitement vibrating in her very bones.
To put it in slightly dramatic terms, Saeko's blood was completely boiling.
Saeko threw Reizan forward.
The blade shot out like a bolt of purple lightning, its razor-sharp tip burying itself completely through the skull of the leading zombie.
Without missing a beat, Saeko lunged forward, closing the distance in a single step. She grabbed the hilt and wrenched the sword free from the skull.
She instantly flowed into a flawless, lethal battojutsu strike.
Swish!
The entire front row of zombies was decapitated in a single, fluid arc.
Their severed heads hit the pavement in unison.
In the blink of an eye, an untold number of zombies had already fallen to her blade.
Saeko licked her lips. The bright, crimson blood splattered across the concrete was striking, but it couldn't hold a candle to the terrifying beauty of the girl standing amidst the carnage.
She cast her gaze over the relentless wave of zombies still pouring toward her.
Euphoria! This is pure euphoria!
The freedom to slaughter without restraint, without guilt.
This was exactly what she had been waiting for.
Under the pale moonlight, the girl's form was breathtakingly beautiful.
It didn't look like a massacre; it looked like she was performing a graceful, intricate dance.
Every time she shifted her position, multiple bodies hit the ground.
Before the battle, Saeko had felt like a vicious, tightly coiled weapon ready to snap.
But now, amidst the slaughter, that raw, explosive edge had vanished.
She looked less like a weapon and more like a pure white spirit dancing wildly in the moonlight.
Elegant, beautiful, and unspeakably lethal.
Watching Saeko's moonlit waltz, Suyan felt a shiver run down his spine.
And he wasn't just stunned by her beauty.
With every zombie she cut down, Suyan could feel a steady, endless stream of Nen flowing into him through their Contract.
In just a few short minutes, the aura he absorbed eclipsed months of arduous training.
The sheer rush of his power skyrocketing at breakneck speed was intoxicating.
Suyan could confidently say that the euphoria he felt right now was absolutely on par with the ecstasy Saeko was experiencing from the slaughter.
Watching her fight made his own hands itch for action.
However, he deliberately chose not to steal her kills.
For one thing, his desire for combat wasn't nearly as primal or consuming as Saeko's.
Secondly, the zombie virus was highly infectious. While he suspected a Nen user's enhanced physique might offer some resistance, he absolutely refused to gamble on that assumption.
Even though he had explicitly warned Saeko to be careful, who knew if the thrill of the kill would make her reckless?
So, Suyan's primary role right now was to hang back, monitor her condition, and serve as her ultimate safety net.
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