The bullet struck true, sending a student crumpling to the ground.
The figure curled up, clutching its knee, writhing in apparent agony as dark blood pooled beneath it.
Takakai frowned.
Gunfire actually worked?
That was unexpected.
Anomalies—even those mid-transformation into something inhuman—typically shrugged off bullets. Take Kawano from Red Nut Gray Cave's second run: after his grudge item went berserk, he'd tanked multiple gunshots and fatal blows, even fighting on with bullets lodged in his skull.
Are the students outside just ordinary people? Controlled by some force to stand there?
If so, taking them all down might clear an escape route...
[Ehehe~ Someone's about to become a bad child~]
A girlish giggle whispered in his ear.
Click.
The living room lights died.
Darkness swallowed the space in an instant.
Though twilight still lingered outside, no light penetrated the room—as if the windows had become voids.
Footsteps echoed.
Clear, deliberate, human footsteps, entering from the hallway.
Takakai felt its gaze lock onto him.
The malice was palpable.
Boom—!
An explosion ripped through the room.
Flames erupted, shattering the wall between the living room and hallway. The windows burst outward—but beyond them wasn't the street.
Only an endless black corridor, its depths untouched by the fire's glow.
Dragging Miko down, Takakai flipped the sofa as a shield.
A small, bloodied hand lashed out from the dark, grazing his back—opening a gash before retreating into the shadows.
He'd seen it in the explosion's flash:
A student in a filthy sailor uniform.
Headless.
Neck a mangled ruin.
It had lunged the moment the lights cut out. The blast had barely slowed it.
Without his reflexes, he'd be dead.
"An upperclassman, huh?"
Takakai eyed the darkness.
The thing hadn't stopped because of the explosion—but the light.
It only moved in absolute darkness. Sustained illumination kept it at bay.
Sounds easy to counter, but...
"Still not working?"
He glanced at Miko.
"...No. It's completely dead."
She shook her head, fiddling with the flashlight.
After the lights died, all electronics had failed.
Realizing this, Takakai hadn't hesitated—he'd tossed one of Old Guo's explosives, using the blast's flare to buy time.
Now, he tore a burning curtain, wrapping it around a table leg to fashion a crude torch.
A second one went to Miko.
Torch in hand, Takakai stepped forward—
—and froze.
The room was packed.
Headless students.
Dozens of them.
"I'm all for guests, but this is just rude."
He eyed the headless figures—necks crushed, as if bludgeoned repeatedly.
Twenty-six total.
Likely an entire class.
"What... do we do now?"
Miko's legs trembled violently. She was running on sheer willpower at this point.
"Fear is your worst enemy. Stay calm. That's rule number one."
Takakai stepped toward one figure, studying its motionless form.
His back stung, but the wound was already clotting. With his Blessing, it'd heal fully in days.
But that's not the priority.
He reached for his watch, considering summoning the scalpel—
—and aborted the thought instantly.
If he tried, what emerged wouldn't be a tool.
But the anomaly latched to it.
It would berserk the moment it materialized.
No question.
The watch's warning was absolute.
So [School Horror Stories]—even manifesting in reality—can instantly corrupt Twilight-tier grudge items.
Meaning it's 100% Scarlet Moon-tier.
What kind of fucking joke is this?!
How did the [Sacrifice Game] downgrade this to Gloomy Night?!
What part of this hellscape qualifies as "low-difficulty"?!
Thud!
Takakai kicked out, sending five students sprawling. They collided with others, toppling like dominos.
Miko gaped.
"First rule of anomalies: they operate on strict rules."
He turned to her, unfazed by the headless bodies.
"Break the rules, and they'll slaughter you without mercy."
"But if you don't trigger their conditions, they can't touch you—no matter what you do."
"Memorize that. You'll need it."
Miko nodded numbly—
—then blinked.
"You'll need it"?
Does that mean... I'll face these things again?!
"Let's move."
Gripping her hand, Takakai led the way through the crowd, stepping into the hallway.
It had transformed.
Black stains smeared the floor and walls—blood, claw marks, gouges as if raked by blades.
Drip. Drip.
Something dripped from above.
A boy hung from the ceiling, bound in barbed wire.
His skull was crushed, one eye bulging from its socket, brain matter oozing between the coils.
Miko glanced back.
The headless students stood silently in the dark, watching.
"Can we... escape?"
Her voice wavered.
"Probably not. Mentally prepare to die and join the headless club."
Her face went blank.
Meanwhile, Takakai knew the truth:
His apartment's location had been marked.
Multiple players had reported seeing a blood-red moon above it.
The dungeon's invasion of reality was nearing completion.
He had, at most, an hour to flee—or be dragged into [Fujika Middle School] prematurely.
Trapped there for ten days until the official run began.
My month-long break just started!
It hasn't even been half a month!
Is my luck really this shitty?!
Suppressing the urge to scream, Takakai pressed on, Miko in tow.
They reached the stairs.
One set ascended, bathed in twilight.
The other descended—into a darkness that hadn't existed until today.