Death Notice

In a dark basement, an old man wearing sunglasses stood under the sole light source, carefully wiping a metal card.

The metal card was identical in shape to the beast cards on the Grongi's belts. Under the faint light, a faint yellow streak could be vaguely seen.

At this moment, a series of undisguised footsteps echoed from behind the old man in sunglasses.

The old man in sunglasses calmly turned his head. The person approaching was the white-clothed youth Hozer had met before.

Still in his all-white attire, but without the warm smile on his face, he walked forward with an expressionless demeanor.

The two had no communication. The old man in sunglasses respectfully offered the yellow beast card to the white-clothed youth with both hands.

The white-clothed youth took it, glanced at it, smiled, and then suddenly grabbed the old man's neck.

With a snap, the old man's throat shattered. The white-clothed youth gently released his hand, and the old man fell directly to the ground, without a sound.

Then the white-clothed youth transformed into his monster form, which was Grongi Number 0, whose whereabouts the police station had been unable to find.

Grongi Number 0 placed the yellow beast card on his hip, his entire body radiating an astonishing aura.

"Who will be the final opponent?"

In the instant he turned around, Grongi Number 0 reverted to his human form and directly left the basement, his eyes showing no fluctuation from beginning to end.

Grongi without power were no different from humans in his eyes, to be killed at will.

...

"Yuri, let's go fishing by the river later."

In a second-year classroom at Midorikawa High School, a pale male student invited his deskmate, a slightly darker-skinned, tall male student.

"Are there others?"

"There's also Yazi, Hoshino, Kanna, and Akai."

The tall male student's eyes flickered when he heard Kanna's name, and he nodded in agreement.

The pale male student showed a "I'm a loyal friend" smile, which made the tall male student a little embarrassed.

School hours in Japanese high schools were very relaxed. Classes started at 9 AM, and usually ended at 3 PM in the afternoon. Afterward, students could participate in club activities or arrange their own outings.

At 7:17 PM, it was already dark. Six people, four boys and two girls, sat on the riverside grass near the school, laughing and eating their bento boxes, then preparing to go home.

"Yuri, aren't you going..."

The pale male student nudged his best friend, nodding his chin towards the two girls beside them.

Just as the tall male student was feeling embarrassed, a cold voice suddenly rang out behind the six of them.

"Your lives only have four days left."

The six people suddenly turned around, only to see a man in black, arms crossed over his chest, holding a folding fan in his right hand. A sinister smile played on his lips, and his eyes mockingly looked at the four male students.

The man in black's gaze made all six of them feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Who are you? You're the one who's about to die!"

The tallest male student, the one the pale male student called Yuri, quickly stepped forward, glaring angrily at the man in black.

The man in black had black lipstick and dressed very much like a delinquent. Yuri only dared to step forward because of his tall stature, but he didn't dare to make the first move.

The man in black merely gave him a cold smile, then turned and left.

"Is this guy sick?"

With the man in black gone, the six people's earlier happy mood from fishing and playing also vanished. They immediately went their separate ways home.

The next day, the six people arrived at school. During break time, they told the story to other students in their class. It turned out that not only them, but three other people had also encountered this man after school and were also informed that they had four days left to live.

A group of students naturally dismissed it as encountering a psychopath, treating it entirely as a joke during break.

The third day.

"Did you guys also encounter that psychopath?"

"Yeah, that guy's eyes were really unsettling. As soon as he saw us, he said something like 'your lives only have four days left.' I almost called the police then."

Among the students, quite a few had strange expressions.

"You too?"

"What do you mean, you too?"

The students looked at each other, then immediately began counting. It turned out that yesterday, twelve people in their class had encountered the man in black and also received the death notice.

"Is this guy watching too many urban legends and gone crazy, thinking it's cool?"

"Should we call the police? I think he's like a pervert."

Most of the male students seemed indifferent. At this age, they were in the phase where the world was their oyster, and they were the best.

Especially in front of female students, they subconsciously wanted to show off, so even if they were a little worried inside, they didn't want to appear timid.

The female students, however, had no such burden and chose to report the incident to their teacher after school.

Because it was just a malicious joke giving a death notice, without any actual harmful actions, the police couldn't be called. The teacher could only inform the school security to increase patrols nearby and instruct the students to try to go home together and be careful.

On the fourth day, the first thing the students did upon entering the classroom was to immediately ask if anyone had encountered the man in black.

The count showed that yesterday, nine more people had encountered the man in black and received the exact same death notice.

Moreover, this wasn't just happening in their class. During break time, some informed students went to other classes and found that students in other classes had also encountered the man in black.

This time, the students' curiosity was piqued. Several energetic male students ran around to all the classes in the school. Finally, everyone gathered and shared the information they had collected.

On the first day, which was the day Yuri and his friends went fishing, a total of thirty people throughout Midorikawa High School, including twenty-four male students and six female students, received the notice.

On the second day, it was twenty-two male students and five female students.

On the third day, it was twenty-three male students and three female students.

At the same time, all these students were second-year students; no one from other grades had encountered him.

"Today, after school, someone will definitely encounter him again."

"Should we block him and give him a beating?"

"Good idea. After school, we..."

The male students discussed how to teach the man in black a lesson, while the female students whispered among themselves, all feeling a bit scared.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, the male students who had planned ahead immediately grabbed their school bags and rushed out of the classroom, ambushing near the school.

They actually managed to spot the man in black.

At this moment, the man in black was standing in front of two male students, having just uttered that death declaration.

"Stop, don't run."

The man in black looked at the students rushing towards him, gave a cold laugh, and turned into a small alley.

But when the students rushed into the alley, they found it was a dead end, yet there was no one there.

The plan failed, and the male students finally had to dejectedly go home.

The fifth day.

"Look, Yuri and his friends are all here. I told you that guy was a psychopath. What death notice? Ridiculous."

"If I see that guy again, I won't let him off without a good beating."

It was already the fourth day, and Yuri's group showed no abnormalities. Seeing this, the students all felt it was just an over-the-top prank.

Some female students who had been worried also felt relieved, and the classroom returned to its usual cheerful atmosphere.

However, some more cautious female students vaguely felt that something was wrong, as if they had overlooked something important.

"Yuri, you guys go home early after school."

"No, the club has activities after school today; I have to participate."

"Yeah, I also have plans to hang out with someone."

The kind-hearted female student pursed her lips, saying nothing more. That death notice was indeed a joke; why was she worrying unnecessarily?

A day of school ended, and Yuri and everyone else left the classroom one after another. Soon, no one was left in the classroom.

And at this very moment, on a bridge opposite Midorikawa High School, the man in black leaned his arms on the railing, watching the students enter and exit the main gate, a slight smirk on his lips.

"It's about to begin..."