Guiding the Survivors

When I returned to Class 2-C's classroom, it looked like a zoo cage in chaos.

"What do we do!? The police got killed too!"

"I told you to get away from the windows!"

"Mama, I wanna go home… sob…"

Girls wailing, boys shouting blame at each other, others just curled up on the floor shaking.

Homeroom teacher Satake had long since vanished. He'd rushed out saying he was going to contact the faculty room and never returned. Probably ran into something along the way.

A group without order is fragile.

At this rate, someone panicking would open the door on their own, and they'd all be wiped out from there. That was the only future I could see.

"… Tch."

I clicked my tongue and struck the floor hard with the butt of my rebar.

THUD!!

The heavy impact that shook the concrete floor instantly cut through the classroom's chaos.

Every gaze gathered on me, standing at the classroom entrance.

A hoodie splattered with blood. A brutal iron mass on my shoulder. And eyes drained of all emotion, frozen cold.

"—Quiet. Sound draws enemies."

I spoke without raising my voice, yet it reached every corner of the room.

It wasn't a request. It was an order.

"K-Kurose… you, that outfit…"

Matsunaga from the soccer club pointed with a twisted expression.

He'd apparently been trying to take charge as the class's top dog until just now, but his voice was shaking and his knees were wobbling.

Typical guy who's only tough in peacetime.

"Matsunaga, move. Don't stand in front of the door."

"Huh? Who do you think you—"

"If you don't want to die, obey."

I gave Matsunaga a single glance.

A slight leak of killing intent.

Hit with the fresh murderous aura from just having slaughtered goblins, Matsunaga let out a "Hih" from his throat and fell on his rear.

His instincts understood the difference in our caliber as living beings.

I walked to the center of the classroom.

Everyone was frozen, watching my every move.

"Listen up. We're going to do what it takes to improve our survival odds. If you have time to cry, put your hands to work instead."

I rattled off orders in rapid succession.

"Boys, stack desks and chairs at both doors, front and back. No gaps, up to the ceiling. We're making barricades."

"Girls, close the curtains. Then tape newspaper, textbooks, whatever over the entire window. Don't let anyone see inside from outside."

"Get mops and deck brushes from the cleaning closet. Snap off the heads and sharpen the ends with box cutters. Makeshift spears."

Commands that were extremely specific, delivered without a single stutter.

The students had been dumbfounded, but people in a panic tend to cling to clear direction when given it.

"What are you doing!? Do what Kurose says!"

The first to move was Sakaki.

He'd instantly grasped my intent and kicked a nearby boy into action.

That was the signal for the frozen class to start moving.

"Let's move the desks!"

"Anyone have duct tape!?"

"Lend me a box cutter!"

Everyone threw themselves desperately into work, as if to distract from their fear.

I supervised, checking the barricade strength and blind spots.

Minutes later.

The classroom had transformed into a dim fortress with windows completely blocked and doors sealed by walls of desks.

"… Wow. It really looks like a fortress."

"Does this mean we're saved…?"

A bit of life was returning to the students' faces.

The simple act of doing something was stabilizing their nerves.

I stood before the blackboard and surveyed the room.

First phase, cleared for now.

But this was only a stopgap.

"Kurose."

Sakaki, finished with his task, approached and lowered his voice.

His eyes were serious, holding a probing light.

"Everyone seems grateful for your leadership, but I'm not fooled."

"By what?"

"That skill. That weapon. You really did know, didn't you? That today would turn out like this."

Sakaki's gaze fixed on the rebar in my hand and the bulge in my pocket.

No way to dodge this.

No normal high schooler brings rebar to school and knows how to handle monsters.

I met Sakaki's eyes without looking away and answered briefly.

"Yeah. I knew."

"I'm not gonna ask why. Doesn't seem like I'd understand anyway."

Sakaki sighed and gave a bitter smile.

"But tell me one thing. Are we going to make it?"

I thought for a moment and answered honestly.

"Just holing up here, we'll slowly wither away. Water and food will run out, and if a big monster comes, it'll break through the barricade."

"Then what do we do?"

"We go on the offensive."

I peered through a gap in the barricade at the hallway.

Goblin presence approaching. Probably scouts that heard us.

"We make this classroom our base. To do that, we need to clear out the enemies around us."

I readied the rebar and gestured toward a gap in the barricade, just wide enough for one person to slip through.

"I'm going out. Lock up from inside and wait."

"Huh? You're going alone!? That's insane!"

"Not insane. Calculated."

I let myself grin.

A fearless smile, like the ones I used to share with old comrades-in-arms.

"Watch, Sakaki. I'll show you what a real 'fight' looks like."

I slipped through the gap into the hallway.

Behind me, I felt the students holding their breath.

Now then, time for defense operations. I needed to teach those green invaders who the ruler of this floor was.