This was the second time Yotsuya Miko had been possessed by [Alice].
However, unlike the first possession, Takakai—through Hilda's perception blessing—could tell that Miko's consciousness hadn't completely vanished. Instead, she was in a dazed, sleepwalking state.
Even so, the situation was far from ideal.
This kid got possessed by [Alice] again… Is it because her senses are too strong?
Her perception surpassed what most players could achieve, yet her mental defenses and willpower hadn't transcended human limits. This made her extremely vulnerable to overwhelming corruption.
But that also meant…
[Alice] could only possess someone if their will had already collapsed.
In the first loop, Miko had been corrupted by the black umbrella and Class 1-1. In this loop, the flesh mountain's corrupting power had shattered her sense of self. Only then had [Alice] been able to take over.
No one else across both loops had been possessed by [Alice], further proving that the possession had strict conditions.
And Miko, due to her unique nature, just happened to fit those conditions perfectly.
A complicated feeling rose in Takakai's chest—but his movements didn't slow in the slightest.
The Escape Begins
He kicked Miko in the stomach without hesitation, sending the girl he'd protected all this way flying across the disposal room.
Then, he sprinted in the opposite direction.
There was no way to confirm his exact location now. With [Alice] present, everything in his vision could be an illusion.
But the blessing's power remained.
If he abandoned his sight, ignored his own senses, and relied solely on the blessing to detect the positions of the flesh mountain and [Alice], he could just flee in the opposite direction. That was enough!
As for Kobayashi Chiharu and Shigeno Rika—he'd already warned them to run. Whether they survived was up to them now.
BANG!
Amidst the sound of shattering, Takakai felt himself crash through a wall.
He kept running—only to hit another wall moments later, smashing through it as well.
Then, he felt the pull of gravity.
Far away, [Alice]'s light laughter echoed.
I broke through the school building's outer wall.
He was now outside [Fujika Middle School].
He had violated the rules of [Alice's Game].
That thing had known he could use the blessing to track it and the flesh monster. So, it had positioned itself to trick him into running toward the exterior wall.
A method I worked so hard to find… turned against me.
Just how high is this thing's IQ?
As this thought crossed Takakai's mind, a sharp pain erupted along his arm.
Something had grabbed him.
No—not grabbed.
Something was biting him.
His arm was clamped in jaws, suspending him midair.
Even if he opened his eyes, he only saw himself still inside the disposal room. There was no way to discern reality.
But at this close range, the blessing's ability to distinguish human from non-human still provided feedback.
He could faintly sense that what held him was…
A giraffe-masked entity.
The "Giraffe Supervisor" mentioned in the game rules… Was it always outside the school building?
[Alice]'s Wrath
"Even teachers must follow the rules~"
"Now that you've broken them, Alice is very, very angry."
"Such a rule-breaking teacher… Alice can't be friends with you anymore."
[Alice]'s voice carried from afar.
A overwhelming sense of crisis flooded Takakai.
He knew—there was a very real chance he wouldn't make it out of [Fujika Middle School] alive.
But even if he'd prepared himself for that possibility, he wouldn't surrender. Not until the last moment. Not until all hope was truly lost.
"Hah—"
Death loomed near.
Yet Takakai's mind grew eerily calm.
He still couldn't see reality, still trapped in sensory deception.
But that didn't stop him from retrieving something from his watch—
A filthy stuffed animal.
Something he was certain [Alice] could never ignore.
The Distraction
Instantly, Takakai felt multiple gazes lock onto him.
Not just one.
Twelve in total.
Three came from behind him—inside the school building.
The remaining nine were divided into three groups, each from a different location.
So… each of the four areas of [Fujika Middle School] has three [Alices]? One for each grade level?
No—wait.
There were two more gazes.
Fainter. Harder to detect. And fundamentally different from the others.
Takakai recalled that in this dungeon, the [Playground] and [Swimming Pool] areas' [Alice's Games] had been locked.
Because the core Relics maintaining those zones had been taken by Crimson Moon-class players.
Now it made sense—those Relics must have been tied to [Alice].
The two additional gazes he sensed likely belonged to the core Relics of the remaining two areas: [School Building] and [Dormitory].
The true [Alice] of each zone.
If I take the [School Building]'s core Relic… can I lock this area's [Alice's Game]?
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Then—
"Go on, then!"
He hurled the stuffed animal with all his strength.
A shrill scream echoed in the distance.
All twelve gazes immediately shifted from Takakai to where the toy had landed.
His vision cleared.
He saw it now—the giraffe-masked head clamped onto his arm, its grotesquely elongated neck stretching into the darkness.
"So it's 'Giraffe Man,' huh?"
Takakai summoned his cleaver and hacked at the thing's skull, biting deep into bone.
Tch. Hard to put full force in this position. Didn't cut through.
The rotting giraffe head thrashed.
The next moment, Takakai was slammed into the school's outer wall—shattering it—before crashing through desks, chairs, and ghost students.
Then he was flung again.
Four walls. Three classrooms. A hallway.
Finally, the thing clamped onto his leg, dragging him back toward the window.
The Giraffe Supervisor's Past
Fragmented visions flickered in Takakai's mind:
A man with an unnaturally long neck, peering into classrooms through the transom windows.
The school's supervisor—equivalent to a dean.
With authority surpassing even teachers, he delighted in tormenting students. He would watch silently, selecting prey, savoring their suffering.
His freakish neck earned him the students' nickname: "The Giraffe."
Even in death, his killing ritual remained the same:
Display the torture to other students first. Then finish the victim.
This damn school really had every kind of变态 (biàntài: pervert/freak), huh?
The Counterattack
Takakai's enhanced body could still endure this.
He forced himself up, cleaver in hand, and struck again.
CRACK!
The blade bit into the other side of the thing's face—but still didn't sever the head.
BOOM!
This time, he was smashed through the ceiling, then slammed into the floor hard enough to crater it.
A man's mad laughter rang in his ears. Students' terrified faces flashed in his vision.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Takakai activated the blessing's power.
His eyes turned crimson.
He rose again.
A white chrysanthemum appeared in his hand—
And was stabbed into the thing's eyeball.
The entity's movements slowed abruptly, suppressed by the flower's power.
Takakai swung his cleaver down with all his might—
But the thing recovered just in time to yank its head away.
A spray of black blood.
Half the giraffe head went flying.
The force of the swing sent Takakai hurtling down the hallway—
Crashing through tables, walls—
Before finally smashing into an elevator door, denting the metal.
Aftermath
"Cough…! Kuh…!"
The consecutive impacts had taken their toll.
His arm and leg bore deep, nearly-severed bite wounds. Even with the rescue team badge's healing, he couldn't stand immediately—only managing to push himself up slightly with one arm.
Pretty damn狼狈 (lángbèi: battered/messy)… But at least I'm alive.
With [Alice] distracted by the stuffed animal, and the ram mask's protection (as long as he avoided the [Elephant Principal] and the flesh mountain), he should be safe for now.
If nothing unexpected happened, maybe he could—
Ding-dong.
The elevator behind him chimed.
The dented doors struggled open.
And out stepped—
Yotsuya Miko.
Her golden eyes locked onto him.