The Desperate Escape
"I choose your mother!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Takakai cursed loudly and stomped hard on the ground.
A deafening explosion rang out as the floor instantly cracked and collapsed.
Takakai, holding Miko, landed on the floor below. Shigeno Rika and Kobayashi Chiharu, with no one to help them, fell straight down, crashing painfully onto the rubble. Covered in cuts and bruises, they looked utterly miserable.
But now wasn't the time to worry about injuries.
That thing was getting closer.
Shigeno could even hear Kinoshita Yuka's voice—her former friend screaming her name, spewing venomous curses, drawing nearer with each second.
Takakai scanned their surroundings. Like the 7th-floor observation area, this was a hidden corridor for teachers and researchers. Not far away, masked figures loomed.
"Move!"
He barked at the girls before breaking into a sprint, still carrying Miko in his arms. Her eyes remained tightly shut, enduring the worsening mental erosion.
The Bloody Path
Crunch!
The bloodstained cleaver swung down, bisecting a ram-masked figure at the waist.
Takakai pressed forward, cutting down every [Teacher] that approached like some horror himself. Soon, he was drenched in blood, looking like he'd climbed out of a slaughterhouse.
The flesh slurry seeped through the ceiling cracks, closing in.
One by one, the dismembered teachers were consumed, slowing the monstrosity further.
Before long, its speed dropped significantly, finally allowing the fleeing group—especially the limping Shigeno and Kobayashi—to catch their breath.
But they weren't safe yet.
[Alice] had reappeared.
And Takakai had no way to lock her movements this time.
Where is she? Following us? Could she be right in front of me, just invisible?
The uncertainty kept him on edge.
The second loop's advantage had been fleeting. Facing [Alice] again, Takakai confronted the harsh truth—he still couldn't restrain this entity. Direct confrontation remained disastrous.
The only silver lining? This time, he hadn't taken out the black umbrella, so [Alice] hadn't displayed the possession ability from the first loop. That human-skin umbrella was likely a Relic born from [Alice] herself, explaining its drastic changes in this dungeon.
Which made the [Women's Mask Gang] even more suspicious. Players of their level couldn't have obtained such a Relic—someone behind them must have provided it.
Someone who'd cleared [Campus Horror Tales], survived the [Fujika Middle School] area, and extracted Relics from it. Players of that caliber were vanishingly rare.
The list of suspects had narrowed considerably.
Assuming I get out of here alive. Which isn't looking likely right now.
The Hidden Corridor
The 6th-floor secret corridor mirrored the 7th's—glass walls on both sides. One side overlooked classrooms; the other was pitch black.
No, this floor was slightly different.
Though the opposite wall was equally dark, countless students hung suspended in midair—including the girl who'd stuck her head out the window and been dragged away earlier.
The classroom students all turned to stare at Takakai.
But the hanging students remained motionless, utterly still.
They...can't see us?
Takakai noted the discrepancy immediately.
The classroom students watched him, but the hanging ones—who'd chased him relentlessly in the first loop—showed no reaction.
What's the difference?
And why could the classroom students see him here? In the main building, the ram mask made ghost students treat him as a teacher without issue. But in this hidden corridor, they stared.
Was it because he wasn't a real [Teacher], leaving some flaw exposed? Or did this place have unique properties that resonated with him?
Pondering this while staying alert for hallucinations, Takakai soon reached the corridor's end—another heavy security door like on the 7th floor, requiring a card swipe to open.
Wish this had a keyhole. The blood key might've worked.
With the flesh slurry slowed, Takakai didn't rush. He set down the still-dazed Miko, waited for the door to open normally, ushered the girls through, then followed and resealed it.
Given how long the glass walls had held, this metal door should buy even more time. So instead of immediately searching for exits, Takakai took a moment to survey this new area.
The Disposal Room
Black body bags littered the floor—clearly human-sized.
The walls were lined with tools—brooms, mops, vacuums alongside far more disturbing items: saws, cleavers, guns.
Several meat grinders stood in the room, along with two electric chairs and three garbage chutes leading underground.
"This is where they processed dead students after they'd been...used up. Both 6th and 7th-floor bodies came here."
Miko, now somewhat recovered, leaned against the wall as she spoke weakly.
"From your hallucinations earlier?" Takakai asked without turning.
"...Yes. That monster chasing us started as leaked meat from here. It was an accident, but the higher-ups covering it up let it grow until...it moved on its own."
"It fears fire. Conventional methods can't destroy it now, but flames can stall it. If it catches up, try burning it."
Miko looked deathly pale, exhaustion etched into her features.
She'd already passed out once during their escape, forcing Takakai to carry her the entire way.
Meanwhile, Takakai approached a notice on the wall:
[Disposal Room Guidelines:]
Only "Bad Students" may be processed here.
Ensure "Bad Students" have ceased breathing before processing.
Prioritize processing "Bad Students" that remain mobile post-mortem. Record their class and name.
Unidentifiable mobile "Bad Students" must be dismembered until immobile before processing. Report immediately after.
If unable to neutralize a "Bad Student," enact emergency protocols.
Non-"Bad Student" materials found here must not be processed. Report for specialist handling.
The instructions were blunt and to the point, painting a clear picture of this room's original purpose.
"Seems this school had serious issues even back then."
The "unidentifiable" note suggested that during the school's operation, things had already begun blending in with the student body.
"I didn't see much, but I heard...after some time, students started appearing who couldn't be identified. Like they'd just...materialized out of nowhere."
Miko shuffled closer, her voice barely above a whisper.
"That explains a lot."
Takakai nodded, unsurprised.
"What does it explain?"
Miko looked up at him, puzzled by his reaction.
"I've been wondering one thing the deeper we go—how did this school keep running?"
Takakai closed his eyes, his tone calm.
"This is a large school housing over a thousand students. Yet from what we've seen, every year, every student from first to third year likely died without exception."
"That scale of attrition—one year is plausible. Two, three, continuously? Impossible. A thousand students mean a thousand families, tens of thousands affected. No organization could sustain that without consequences."
"So those 'appearing-out-of-nowhere' students are the answer. In its later years, this school probably stopped external recruitment almost entirely. It had started generating students automatically, like NPCs in a game."
A school that could spawn living humans to fuel its annual sacrificial rituals.
All that death and suffering, condensed into the enigmatic [Alice]—the so-called "Idol of Agony."
What exactly were those people trying to create?
Takakai turned, eyeing the still-intact security door, then the despondent Shigeno and curious Kobayashi against the wall.
Finally, he looked down at the girl gazing up at him.
"We've talked enough. How much longer are you going to keep acting?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Takakai-san?"
Miko blinked in confusion.
"Shigeno, Kobayashi, time to go. That thing's about to break through. My perception blessing from Shirakawa Apartments is weakened here, but at this range, I can still sense threats I've encountered before. And you—"
His grip tightened on the cleaver.
"No matter how well you hide, a psycho like you stands out to me. I might misjudge others, but never you."*
Especially after you killed me once already.
He left that part unsaid, simply gesturing for the two girls to move while keeping his eyes locked on the "confused" girl before him.
"So...should I call you Alice now?"
His voice was flat, but every muscle tensed.
The girl who'd looked so bewildered moments ago blinked again—then her lips curled into a smile as she mimicked Takakai's tone:
["Would you like me to be?"]