Chapter 245: "Isn't This a Huge Success? Not a Single Soul Survived!"
...
The girls were utterly stunned. They hadn't expected Seito to pull out so many items for manifesting abilities—items that were essentially game-changing treasures.
"Seito-kun, why are you giving these to us?" Kaguya Shinomiya asked, keeping her voice calm despite the frantic beating of her heart. The sudden generosity left her brimming with curiosity.
"Because all the girls in our class are my wings, of course~" Seito replied, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world.
...Oh. The girls didn't quite know how to respond to that. But, after a second, they realized that this was exactly the kind of thing Seito would say.
Seito grinned. Setting aside his playful tone, he had a clear goal: every girl in this classroom would eventually join his pantheon. As for the boys? He thought of his "bro," Sora. Surely, Sora would be happy to have a whole squad of gamers to play with, Seito mused, feeling quite proud of himself for being such a thoughtful friend.
He figured he should probably hand out a few more Divine Orbs to other classes as well—Class 1-E, for instance—though not right this second. These things weren't exactly growing on trees.
Beside him, the students grabbed the Divine Orbs and activated them one by one. Whoosh, whoosh! The galaxies within the orbs faded as they were absorbed, leaving behind plain, empty spheres. Everyone opened their eyes, sensing the surging, unprecedented power within their bodies.
"I've never felt anything like this before," Kaguya said, clenching her fist.
"Indeed," Hayasaka agreed. "If I ran into that monster from before, I could take it down myself."
The rest of the class marveled at their newfound strength. Seeing them so delighted, Seito smiled and pulled out three Godhead fragments. The moment they appeared, the entire room fell silent. They could all see their status panels now; they knew exactly what those fragments were.
"Maple, this Earth Godhead fragment is for you." Seito handed it to her.
"Wow! Thank you, Seito-kun~!" Maple accepted the fragment, giggling with pure satisfaction.
Seito chuckled and turned to Sally. "Sally, this Shadow Godhead fragment is yours."
Sally walked up, beaming, and took the fragment. "You keep giving me such amazing things. What am I supposed to do about all the favors I owe you?" she joked.
"It's fine. You can just pay me back with yourself," Seito said, waving a hand dismissively.
"..." Sally's face flushed red. I shouldn't have opened that door! She stole a quick, shy glance at Seito before retreating to the side. Truth be told, she didn't dislike him at all—in fact, she loved being around him—but that kind of confession was something she just wasn't ready to voice yet.
Seito didn't dwell on it. He held the final piece, an Ice Godhead fragment, and his gaze landed on Yukino Yukinoshita. Seeing him look her way, Yukino instinctively averted her eyes.
Seito stepped forward, took her left hand in his right, and placed the fragment in her palm.
"Yukino, this Ice Godhead fragment is for you."
"Mmm," she murmured softly.
The class watched with intense curiosity as she held the fragment. Seito then turned to Shoko Nishimiya. "Shoko, I don't have a fragment that fits your affinity yet, so I'll have to hold off for now."
He was being honest; the best fits for Shoko would be Light or Life, neither of which he possessed.
"It's alright," Shoko said, smiling with her characteristic gentleness. Seito felt his heart melt. He loved girls who were gentle, especially when they were only gentle for him. It was incredibly healing.
Maple, Sally, and Yukino began absorbing their fragments. Under the watchful eyes of the class, ten minutes passed before they slowly opened their eyes.
"It feels like my body has changed," Maple muttered.
"Me too, but I can't quite put my finger on it," Sally added.
"Seito, do you know what's happening?" Yukino asked.
"I do, actually," Seito smiled. Having ascended, he understood the process clearly. "Think of it as the Godhead opening a 'divine sense' within your minds. You just don't have the perspective of a God to recognize the internal shift yet."
His eyes flashed with violet light as he scanned them. Just as he had experienced, they had all opened their "Sea of Consciousness." The only difference was that they had a Godhead fragment floating at the center, as their path to godhood differed from his own.
The three girls nodded, finally understanding.
"Right," Seito said, cutting the conversation short. "Now, back to the haunted house."
Five minutes later, at the base of the main building:
A crowd of curious onlookers had gathered. They stared at the five unconscious officials lying on the ground, exchanging bewildered looks. Beside them, Mayor Kiru and Chairwoman Minami stood next to Seito, their faces twitching violently.
"Don't give me those looks. Relax, they're perfectly fine," Seito said.
Fine? The officials were foaming at the mouth and twitching uncontrollably. If this was "fine," they shuddered to think what "bad" looked like.
"Forget it. That's enough for today," Mayor Kiru sighed, turning to Kazuko.
"Chairwoman Minami, Sobu High is excellent in almost every respect, but the haunted house program was... quite sloppy."
"Sloppy?" Seito looked genuinely puzzled. He gestured to the unconscious officials on the ground. "Isn't this a huge success? Not a single soul survived!"
Mayor Kiru: "..."
Chairwoman Minami: "..."
Onlookers: "..."
.....
Thank you for reading.