Chapter 33 - "Classmates"

As we walked towards the altar something amazing had happened, at first when Saemi and I got here it was a narrow corridor that would allow at least 4 people to pass side by side, but strangely the place had expanded, probably now dozens of people could fit in there.

"Makoto, look"

As I looked around stunned that mysteriously the place had expanded while we were outside Saemi next to me called out, as I looked where Saemi was pointing I saw something glowing blue, in a matter of seconds the whole place started glowing blue causing Saemi and I to have to close our eyes so as not to be blinded by the strong glow, as soon as we opened our eyes again several people were in the place, either teachers or students, it seems that the whole school had been brought to Babel.

Amidst these people I spotted Shinji along with his henchmen, although everyone looked confused and bewildered Shinji had a smile on his face, Shinji began to look around as if looking for someone, as soon as he looked at where Saemi and I were his smile turned into a scowl, soon Shinji starts walking towards us, as soon as he got in front of us, he walked over to Saemi ignoring me completely.

"Saemi, are you alright? You suddenly disappeared from the classroom, I thought something had happened to you"

Said Shinji looking genuinely concerned, although I already knew it really seems like Shinji loves Saemi, Saemi was a little bewildered and looked between me and Shinji for a few seconds not knowing what to say.

"Ah... yes, I'm fine"

Saemi said.

"Are you sure, you look a little confused"

Said Shinji noticing Saemi's strange behavior.

"I'm fine, and I'm just... still trying to figure out what's going on"

Saemi said smiling, although Saemi's smile is forced Shinji didn't seem to notice and immediately hugged Saemi, I confess that made me uncomfortable but there is nothing I can do, ignoring this scene I start to look around trying to know which are the other people who have come to Babel, among so many people a pink hair stood out among many, she was also desperately looking around for something, and as soon as our eyes met, she cracked a relieved smile, noticing my look she quickly ran towards me while having a smile on her face.

"Makoto, I'm glad you're okay, I was so worried since I couldn't find you"

Said Aoi-sensei as she hugged me, as always, she was treating me like a son instead of a student.

"Ugh, I'm fine Aoi-sensei, but I can't breathe"

I said as I slowly felt my air vanish thanks to Aoi-sensei's breasts.

"Oh, sorry"

Aoi-sensei said as she let go of me, after that we both started looking around, everyone was quite confused not understanding the situation, some were scared, some were anxious, and incredibly there were also some who seemed excited about the situation.

In this environment I noticed that Shinji was talking to some teachers, in specific, with a slightly fat man who wore glasses, the name of this man was Ramon Tanata, the reason I remember his name was very simple, he was one of the people who made my life a living hell at school, he is a total suck-up for Shinji and does whatever he tells him to do, thanks to this he got the position of vice principal of the school.

"EVERYONE PLEASE BE QUIET, THE PRINCIPAL HAS SOME THINGS HE NEEDS TO SAY TO ALL OF YOU"

Ramon said, the principal was right next to him, he was a simple man with black hair who wore glasses, once everyone had calmed down the director stepped forward and began to make a speech.

"First of all, I want to congratulate everyone who made it here safely, I know the situation may seem hopeless but we need to stick together if we want to get home safe and sound"

Said the director.

(What a bunch of nonsense, he just wants to be able to control everyone so he can survive without lifting a finger)

I thought as I looked at the director, I knew very well how he does things, he prefers to leave the dirty work to others while he sits in the back watching everything unfold, that's the kind of person he is, while I was thinking about this he continued to speak.

"But you don't need to worry, in the midst of all this despair the gods still remembered us and gave us the strength we needed to survive"

He said with a smug smile on his face, although I don't like this guy, I must admit that he is good at making motivational speeches.

"So, our hope has materialized in the form of one individual"

He said with a huge smile, i looked confused at the situation trying to understand what he was trying to say, but this was soon answered as soon as Shinji stepped forward.

"I want to introduce to you the hero chosen by the goddess of light"

He said as he pointed at Shinji, I was surprised at his choice of words, but when I noticed Shinji with a cocky smile as he looked at me with a look of contempt, I realized that this was true.

"Shinji, the hero who will guided us to the top floor of Babel"

Said the director while clapping his hands bringing an excitement in all the people watching, i was simply staring expressionlessly at everything that was happening without understanding if what I was hearing was real or not.

***

While all this was going on there was an individual in the corner with no contact with the others, this person had a smile on his face but the smile was not the same smile the others were giving for knowing that there would be a hero they could trust and follow, such a person was looking at everyone who was present until the moment his gaze became alternating between Shinji and Makoto, before an even bigger smile made itself present on his face.

"Interesting"

Such a person let out these words that were not heard by anyone in specific.