Howard Smith.
A pivotal figure in Nutty Putty Cave's history. Present through multiple phases until Fernen imprisoned him in the research base's darkest depths.
His ultimate fate?
Unknown.
Until now.
Takakai had considered that such a special individual might not die easily—but he never expected to encounter him now.
The man before him still retained human rationality, yet Takakai's blessing sensed it clearly: he was no longer fully human, but something caught between humanity and aberration.
It was unclear how long this state could last. Through his blessing's perception, Takakai detected that the malicious aura of an aberration within this man was intensely present—and growing stronger. His human side seemed fragile by comparison, the two forces locked in precarious balance, liable to tip at any moment. But for now, at least, the man before him still possessed self-awareness and reason.
"You were..."
[Locked in D4 this whole time. Those black stones that rolled out when you opened the door? That was what remained of my corpse. As for what I am now... honestly, I don't know. But I doubt it'll last much longer. Don't worry—when I'm about to fully turn into one of those things, I'll jump straight into the abyss.]
Brusque and to the point.
Howard spoke without hesitation, leaving Takakai momentarily speechless. After a brief silence, he made his decision—he would trust this former firefighter.
"Do you know how to kill Forne?"
Takakai met Howard's gaze directly.
[I'd like to guarantee a solution, but I can't promise my idea will work. Still, I think your best bet is getting back to Shegira's office. You can't deal with Forne as he is now, so you'll need another angle.]
Howard wasted no time laying out his thoughts.
"You mean using Shegira's authority as 'General' to issue Forne a command? Ordering him to split apart directly might not work, but... if I force him to obey something his aberration half would do that his human half could never accept, it might tear him apart."
Takakai's mind raced. Howard had only hinted at the idea, but he'd already grasped the implications.
Forne's desperate survival gambit relied on maintaining both [Human] and [Aberration] identities simultaneously. By merging with his aberration half, he'd suppressed his human side entirely—ensuring Heldar couldn't kill him, but also shackling himself to an aberration's rigid behavioral rules.
Yet this was only a facade. Forne undoubtedly retained the ability to split again, resurfacing his human identity.
So they needed to force that split.
Aberrations blindly followed rules. If a command fit their parameters, they'd obey without question. But humans resisted. Humans had limits—things they could not tolerate. If they could exploit that dissonance...
[The office is that way. Good luck. I'll get these people out—saving lives is my specialty. If I'm still sane afterward, I'll come back and see if I can assist.]
After pointing out the office's location, Howard turned toward the other players.
Takakai gave a curt nod, then relayed the plan to Maki-sama through their mental link.
{Ordering him from the office? That sounds risky. With the dungeon collapsing, can't we just throw Forne into the void below?}
{Bad idea. We've no idea where that darkness leads, and aberrations don't "die" from falling. If he's stuck in endless freefall, I'll be trapped here forever. Stay sharp—I'm moving out.}
Maki-sama had already noticed the aberrations swarming the floating debris. The thought of Takakai navigating that gauntlet alone clearly worried her, but her proposed alternative wouldn't work. Even as they debated, Takakai was already moving.
{...Fine. But be careful, Takakai-san.}
{I've survived worse.}
With that wry remark, Takakai leapt onto a jagged rock fragment and broke into a sprint, weaving toward the flickering lights of Shegira's half-collapsed office.
Enhanced by his blessing, the treacherous terrain posed little challenge. Were it not for the aberrations, this might have felt like a casual hike.
If only these damn things weren't here—
[Please... take me with you...]
A sobbing tourist, body grotesquely swollen, reached for him.
[Where... is my heart...?]
An explorer impaled by stalactites lunged at terrifying speed.
[Your ticket... please present...]
A shriveled, waterlogged staff member shrieked, missing Takakai by centimeters.
"What are you people—zombies? Freerunning aberrations? Did I stumble into Dying Light?!"
Ducking under another attack, Takakai rolled beneath a railing, then sprang upward—
Crack!
His fingers barely caught a rock ledge. The blood-scissors flashed, severing an emaciated arm jutting from the stone. He kicked off the wall, twisting midair to grab a protruding rebar rod, then used it to swing himself onto the next platform.
Without Andres' grudge anchoring them, the cave's lesser aberrations had lost their kill conditions—reduced to superhumanly fast, mindlessly aggressive monsters.
Then the sky screamed.
Takakai looked up to see half of an ornate office building—the very one where Welby and Petty had once planned the cave's tourism infrastructure—tumbling toward him.
BOOM—
Debris rained down as he dove forward, ignoring the glass shards slicing his skin.
Shit.
Ahead, the next platform floated just beyond his maximum jump range.
A bloodied figure slammed into him from the side, hurling him into a stone wall hard enough to crater it.
Takakai's scissors flashed—bisecting the creature's arms and torso—but it kept crawling toward him.
Gritting his teeth against the pain in his ribs, he sprinted and leapt—
Too far.
His fingertips scraped the ledge but found no purchase.
SNIKT!
The blood-scissors stabbed into the rock face. Takakai used them as a foothold to propel himself upward, hauling onto the platform.
He allowed himself exactly three seconds to breathe before looking toward the office—now barely 30 meters away.
Then the shadow fell.
Takakai turned to see the massive brass statue of the park's founder, Oswald, hurtling toward him at terminal velocity.
"...Okay, that's new."
He ran.
It wasn't enough.
The statue clipped him at 70 meters per second, sending him crashing through floating debris before skidding to a stop in the remnants of a park.
Cough—!
Somehow, he was alive.
Bones fractured, left leg dangling uselessly, he wiped blood from his nose and forced himself up—
—just as a group of cheerful tourists shuffled toward him.
[We finally get to visit Nutty Putty Cave today!]
[But we don't have a guide... If only someone could show us around~]
[Oh! There's one right there! Hello, handsome—would you mind giving us a tour?]
Their pallid faces stretched into identical smiles as unnatural cold radiated from them. This was a lethal encounter—one he'd normally evade without hesitation. But with a broken leg and shattered ribs, Takakai couldn't even stand properly.
Another reset?
After coming this far?
[RESCUE PROTOCOL INITIATED!]
A figure in rescue gear dropped from above, grabbing Takakai's shoulder and yanking him skyward.
Kaguya hauled them up via safety rope, her expression unreadable as she pressed a badge against Takakai's chest. Rescue uniform fabric spread across his body, his wounds knitting shut at visible speed.
"Your recklessness is astounding."
"Shinomiya-san? Why are you—?"
Takakai's surprise faded as he noticed her torn clothing. She'd clearly fought through hell to reach him.
"I anticipated complications. This collapse is nothing like Shirakawa Apartments—the aberration density is unsustainable, and the terrain shifts constantly. You needed backup."
Kaguya's voice remained level, but something flickered in her eyes.
"My physical capabilities surpass Maki-senpai and Fujiwara-san's. My reflexes and mobility were already exceptional; with Twilight-tier enhancements, I operate at peak human limits."
"Neither of them could keep pace with you in this environment. I could. So they continue monitoring Forne while I assist you."
Her crimson eyes locked onto his.
"In short: I'm the only one who can help right now. We'll reach your destination faster together."
Takakai didn't hesitate.
"Perfect. Let's move, partner—we're burning daylight."
He was already running before "Hai!" left Kaguya's lips.
They moved in sync—Takakai's scissors decapitated a bloated tourist while Kaguya's scalpel bisected two others mid-lunge. They leapt onto a swaying safety line, using its momentum to launch past grasping hands that tumbled into the void below.
The office was close now—just thirty meters and a dozen floating platforms away.