The Black Class (黒組; Kuro-gumi) is a special sort of class whih exists at the Myojo Academy and is sponsored by Meichi Yuri. Such a class has the aim to prove if a member of the clan which Meichi and Haru Ichinose are related to by blood as well as worth to take over certain clain duties and even to take the position as the clan's leader at one point later on in their life. This proof is the awakeneing of the Queen Bee abilities which both, Meichi Yuri and Ichinose Haru are stated to posses.
The purpose of the 10th year Black Class (10年黒組; Jū-nen Kuro-gumi) which is featured during the main storyline of the manga and anime series Akuma no Riddle was simply to see if Haru Ichinose could survive the trial of 12 assassins targeting her, in order to know if Haru had what it took to carry the future of their clan. If Haru survived the trial, then she would be allowed to live a normal life without being targeted as well as being accepted as a member of their clan.
The class accepts enrollments at irregular intervals, and multiple Black Classes have existed since its founding. Before the proper activation of the Black Class in the series, Tokaku Azuma changed her role in the game from a competing assassin to Haru's protector, which made it 11 assassins targeting Haru and 1 protector protecting her from the others.
Rules of the Game
- Each of the 12 assassins are given one warning letter to be sent to Haru before their assassination attempt. An assassin can only send a letter once in the game. The inclusion of the assassin's name within the letter itself is not a requirement.
- An assassin is given 48 hours after Haru receives the letter to assassinate her. Multiple letters can be received at a time, therefore the 48 hours allotted to each assassin may overlap. Failure to succeed within those 48 hours will result in immediate expulsion from the class.
- Outside parties such as other students or teachers cannot be involved in the competition, although assassins within the class may freely involve one another in their assassination attempts. Involving outside parties, whether intentionally or otherwise, will result in immediate expulsion from the class.
- If an assassination attempt is successful, that assassin will be rewarded with any one thing they desire. If the reward requested does not solely benefit the assassin herself, then the reward will still be given regardless of whether the assassin is killed in the process.
- For example, Haruki Sagae requested for her family to be fed for the rest of their lives, therefore even if she were to die, her family would still receive the reward
10th year's Black Class members
Teacher
Students
- No. 1: Azuma Tokaku
- No. 2: Inukai Isuke
- No. 3: Kaminaga Kouko
- No. 4: Kirigaya Hitsugi
- No. 5: Kenmochi Shiena
- No. 6: Sagae Haruki
- No. 7: Shutou Suzu
- No. 8: Takechi Otoya
- No. 9: Namatame Chitaru
- No. 10: Hashiri Nio
- No. 11: Hanabusa Sumireko
- No. 12: Banba Mahiru
- No. 13: Ichinose Haru