The classroom smelled of dust, broken glass, and something darker.
Yuma stood between Serena and the Malwisp, his breathing uneven, every muscle in his body screaming in pain. The steel bar in his hands trembled, barely glowing anymore as Stud's energy flickered weakly along its surface.
Behind him, Serena tried again to sit up.
Her arm shook.
Her legs refused to obey.
"…Yuma… stop…" she whispered through clenched teeth.
Yuma didn't turn around.
He couldn't.
If he looked back—even for a second—he knew he might hesitate.
And hesitation meant death.
The Malwisp dragged itself fully into the classroom. Its massive claws gouged lines into the tile floor as it moved forward slowly, deliberately. The glowing orbs around its body pulsed like warning lights, each one radiating the same crushing defensive energy they had seen on the roof.
Stud hovered beside Yuma's shoulder, his tiny tentacles twitching nervously.
"…Kid," he muttered, voice unusually quiet, "…I really hate to break this to you…"
The Malwisp lifted one claw.
"…but you're not winning this one."
Yuma tightened his grip on the bar.
"Didn't ask."
The creature struck.
Yuma threw himself sideways as the claw smashed into the floor, sending tiles and desks flying. The shockwave knocked him off his feet and he rolled across the classroom floor, slamming into a row of overturned desks.
Serena gasped.
"Yuma!"
The Malwisp turned toward her again.
Yuma forced himself back up.
"HEY!"
He swung the steel bar with everything he had.
CLANG.
The impact echoed through the room.
The Malwisp barely flinched.
The steel bar bent slightly from the force.
Stud winced.
"…Yeah… that's about what I expected."
The creature's tentacles snapped forward.
Yuma tried to dodge—but he was too slow this time.
One tentacle struck his side and launched him across the room.
CRASH.
He smashed into a cabinet near the wall, glass shattering around him.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Stud rushed toward him.
"…Kid?"
Yuma groaned.
"…Still alive."
Barely.
Across the room, Serena clenched her fists helplessly.
Her eyes burned with frustration.
I can't move.
I can't help him.
The Malwisp turned fully toward Yuma now.
Slow.
Unstoppable.
Stud floated anxiously between them.
"…Okay, new plan… new plan…" he muttered rapidly. "Think, Stud, think…"
Yuma pushed himself to one knee.
Blood dripped from his forehead onto the floor.
He could feel his strength fading.
But he still raised the bent steel bar.
The Malwisp hissed and lifted both claws.
"Come on…" Yuma muttered under his breath.
Stud suddenly froze.
"…Wait."
His tiny eyes widened.
"…WAIT."
He zipped over to Yuma's shoulder.
"Kid… do you trust me?"
Yuma coughed.
"…Not really."
"Perfect," Stud said. "Because this is going to hurt."
Before Yuma could ask what that meant, Stud suddenly dove straight into the steel bar.
Green energy exploded along the metal.
The bar vibrated violently in Yuma's hands.
Stud's voice echoed faintly from inside the weapon.
"Alright, kid! I'm going full possession mode! I can't fight—but I can force this thing to become something stronger!"
The steel bar straightened.
Then sharpened.
Green energy carved a glowing edge along the metal like a blade.
Yuma stared at it.
"…You can do that?!"
"Temporarily!" Stud yelled. "Very temporarily! So stop asking questions and swing the thing!"
The Malwisp lunged.
Yuma roared and charged forward.
Their attacks collided.
BOOM.
The glowing weapon actually cut into the Malwisp's armored claw this time.
The creature screeched.
Behind him, Serena's eyes widened in shock.
He actually hurt it.
The Malwisp staggered back, one of its glowing orbs flickering violently.
Yuma took a step forward.
Then another.
Despite his injuries.
Despite the fear.
"…I told you," he said hoarsely.
"This fight…"
He raised the glowing weapon again.
"…is mine."
Inside the blade, Stud muttered nervously.
"…Kid, I admire the confidence."
The Malwisp roared and all its orbs lit up at once.
"…but we might still die."
Yuma swung anyway.
And the classroom exploded into battle once again.
The classroom trembled as Yuma raised the glowing steel bar again, Stud's energy humming through the weapon like a living pulse. Across from him, the Malwisp steadied itself after the last strike. One of the glowing orbs on its body flickered violently where Yuma had cut it.
For a moment… it just stared at him.
Then the creature spoke.
"…You… wound… me…"
The voice was distorted and hollow, like several echoes speaking at once.
Yuma froze.
"…Wait."
His eyes widened.
"You… can talk?"
Stud nearly popped out of the weapon in shock.
"WAIT—YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT?!"
Yuma blinked.
"…What?"
Stud's voice echoed from the weapon.
"Most humans can't understand poltergeist speech! It's like listening to static! Don't tell me—"
Before either of them could process it, the Malwisp suddenly roared.
"YOU… WILL… DIE."
Its claws shot forward.
Too fast.
Too close.
Yuma tried to raise the weapon—
But he was exhausted.
He couldn't react in time.
The massive claw came crashing down toward him.
Then—
CLANG.
A flash of steel cut across the air.
The Malwisp's claw stopped inches from Yuma's face.
Something had intercepted it.
A blade.
The sound of calm footsteps echoed through the destroyed classroom.
"…I'm proud of you, Yuma."
Yuma slowly looked up.
Standing between him and the Malwisp was Alumna.
His coat fluttered slightly from the impact of the blocked strike, but the man himself looked completely relaxed.
He glanced over his shoulder briefly.
"You stood your ground."
Then he gently pushed Yuma back with one hand.
"But that's enough."
His voice remained calm.
"Rest now. Watch carefully."
The Malwisp hissed angrily.
Alumna turned his gaze toward it.
"This fight…"
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"…is beyond your level."
The creature screeched and attacked immediately.
Both claws and tentacles lashed forward in a violent frenzy.
Alumna moved once.
Just once.
A blur.
SLASH.
The Malwisp's tentacle fell to the ground.
Yuma stared in disbelief.
"…What?"
Stud whispered from the weapon.
"…Oh."
The Malwisp recoiled, furious.
All of its glowing orbs began spinning violently.
The creature let out a horrifying scream.
And suddenly—
The floor, walls, and broken windows began leaking dark mist.
More poltergeists crawled out.
Dozens of them.
Serena's eyes widened from where she lay on the floor.
"…It's calling reinforcements."
Stud panicked.
"Oh great! Fantastic! This is exactly what we needed—A SWARM!"
The classroom filled with writhing shadows as poltergeists poured in.
But Alumna simply sighed.
"…How noisy."
The first creature lunged.
SLASH.
It disappeared instantly.
Another attacked from behind.
SLASH.
Gone.
Three rushed him at once.
SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.
They vanished before they could even reach him.
Yuma could barely follow the movements.
Alumna wasn't fighting.
He was erasing them.
Every step he took cut down another poltergeist.
The classroom became a blur of steel and dissolving spirits.
Within seconds—
The swarm was gone.
Only the Malwisp remained.
It stared at Alumna now.
Fear visible in its glowing eyes.
Alumna slowly lifted his blade.
His voice was quiet.
"You attacked a school."
The Malwisp trembled.
"You endangered children."
The creature attempted to summon another barrier.
The glowing orbs spun desperately.
Alumna stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
"Unfortunately for you…"
His blade flashed once.
"…I don't tolerate that."
The strike happened faster than sight.
The Malwisp froze.
Then its body split cleanly down the middle.
The glowing orbs shattered.
The entire creature dissolved into drifting black mist.
Silence filled the destroyed classroom.
Yuma stared in shock.
Stud slowly peeked out from the steel bar.
"…Well."
He floated out.
"…That was humiliating."
Alumna turned back toward them.
His expression softened slightly.
"You both did well."
His eyes moved toward Serena.
"And you protected each other."
He then looked at Yuma.
"But next time…"
He smiled faintly.
"…call me sooner."
Yuma collapsed backward onto the floor, exhausted.
"…Noted."
Stud floated beside him.
"…Kid."
"…Yeah?"
"…You might want to process the fact you just understood a poltergeist."
Yuma blinked.
"…Wait."
"…That's not normal?"
Stud groaned.
"…Oh boy."
And somewhere far away—
Something in the shadows had been watching the entire fight.
And it had just learned something very important about Yuma.