"Kai-kun, you're covered in injuries—are you really alright?"
Maki's gaze locked onto Takakai's wounds, her voice laced with concern.
"I'm fine. Focus on getting out first."
He waved her off casually.
Kaguya observed their interaction silently before looking ahead. Chika positioned herself on Takakai's other side, her eyes darting between him and Maki as she assessed their relationship.
Their mutual affection was obvious—Maki's genuine care, Takakai's natural responses.
So this is heartbreak.
Chika smiled wistfully.
Unbeknownst to her, Maki was conducting her own analysis:
Pink hair: Check
Slightly chubby cheeks: Maximum moe potential
Clumsy, animal-like demeanor: Check
Hips: Dangerously wide
Chest: Only marginally larger than mine
Her fists clenched unconsciously.
How did this pervert charm a politician's daughter so quickly?!
(She conveniently forgot her own rapid capitulation in White River Apartments.)
Kaguya, ever pragmatic, voiced dissent:
"Abandoning our research seems wasteful. We could have pursued a perfect clear—secured the core grudge item or even broken the dungeon."
"At what cost?" Takakai countered. "Two core grudges. Multiple timelines. How many retries would cracking this take? My resources aren't infinite."
The black watch wasn't a cheat code—each reset brought him closer to permanent death. The smarter strategy was tackling easier, stabilized dungeons first to accumulate blessings.
Kaguya bowed. "My oversight."
As they navigated the chilly [Stone Forest], realization dawned:
Traditional romance didn't suit players facing monthly mortality.
Perhaps...polyamory was the optimal survival strategy.
Kaguya Shinomiya felt deeply unsettled.
This realization embarrassed her profoundly—especially the thought of actively pursuing someone romantically. The very idea was unbearable.
Confessing? Dating? No...that's not for me. Being comrades is better.
Yet as comrades, they couldn't share memories across loops like Maki's telepathic link. In life-or-death situations where sacrifices were necessary, Takakai might prioritize others over her...
Unless he confessed to me first...
Her thoughts became increasingly tangled.
Unbeknownst to Takakai, all three girls walking beside him were currently preoccupied with romantic dilemmas—as if simultaneously cursed by some god of love into becoming lovestruck fools.
Their distraction wasn't entirely without reason. With their blessing's danger detection and the rescue team member summoned by the badge following behind, their safety was reasonably assured.
Takakai hadn't left the rescuer in the security booth.
After discovering the mangled guard corpse occupying the booth, he'd quickly claimed their group had mistaken the shift schedule—they'd arrived too early and would need the guard to continue working. Surprisingly, the entity had accepted this explanation.
It had to be said—these rule-bound anomalies that could communicate were much easier to deal with. As long as your words fit within their established rules, they wouldn't violently attack.
As for why he brought the rescuer out:
First, no matter where it was, it could use specific phrases to divert the core grudge guarding the entrance.
Second, even though they'd decided to leave this dungeon, Takakai still had some final experiments in mind. Not to mention, as the first group to clear the stabilized version of Nutty Putty Cave, the intelligence they possessed would fetch an astronomical price. Escape strategies for this extreme dusk-level dungeon would be highly sought after anywhere.
Therefore, Takakai decided to have the rescuer escort them to the entrance before returning to charge into the [Gentle Slope] while shouting [I'm human] to attract the guarding entity.
The bloodstained white-dress entity only appeared during the research base period—its true form existed in the final timeline. This meant during the earlier periods—the tourist operation era, the accident cover-up phase, and the disaster outbreak stage—the [Gentle Slope] should have been entity-free. Yet multiple rules warned against entering it, which was highly suspicious.
Could it be that because this entity became a core grudge, it retroactively altered previous timelines, making the [Gentle Slope] a death trap since ancient times? If it really had that kind of power, then thank you very much—Takaki felt such an overpowered ability, more fitting for the climax of a xianxia novel, had no business appearing on a mere dusk-level dungeon boss.
"Ready?"
Standing at the cave entrance stairs, looking up at the crescent moon and scattered stars above, Takakai turned to the three girls beside him with a serious expression.
After receiving their affirmations, he gave the order to the rescuer. Immediately, the ever-eager-to-sacrifice-itself rescuer sprinted toward the [Gentle Slope], opening its mouth to emit completely emotionless declarations:
[Ah, I am human]
[Ah, I am human]
[Ah, re-n-lei, human, human]
Following these robotic announcements, a sinister presence instantly intensified as a flash of white skirt passed by the rescuer.
Even though it was another entity being enveloped by this aura, Takakai still felt an intense chill through the badge's connection.
"Now!"
Without hesitation, he immediately dashed forward, breaking out of Nutty Putty Cave's boundaries.
Kaguya, Maki and Chika followed closely behind. The four of them stepped onto the moonlit ground outside the cave, truly leaving that dark cavern behind.
[Congratulations on clearing Dusk-level dungeon: Nutty Putty Cave]
The icy system voice rang in Kaguya's ears, in Maki's ears, in Chika's ears.
Their bodies began fading, starting the process of leaving this horrific place.
All except one person.
"Huh?"
Takakai collapsed to the ground as intense dissociation overwhelmed him.
He seemed to hear Maki calling his name, Chika's panicked shouts, and Kaguya's stunned murmurs.
What...was happening...
It felt like waking from a dream.
Everything grew increasingly indistinct.
At the last moment, he seemed to see two translucent hands reaching toward him—
But when he tried to grasp them, he realized he could no longer see his own hands.
Thud.
A security uniform fell to the ground.
Its wearer had vanished.
Takakai opened his eyes.
He awoke in utter darkness.
The stench of decay filled his nostrils.
He felt the overwhelming malice in the darkness, the terrifying, suffocating cold.
He also heard it—the sound of something foul dripping down from above him, carrying the metallic scent of blood.
Drip—
The sensation on his forehead was unmistakably real.
The hazy dream had ended.
In this lightless cavern where his body remained hopelessly pinned, Takakai had awoken from the dream.