[...]
For the first time, [Alice] did not immediately respond to Takakai's words with her usual endless chatter.
She stood motionless, her expression completely blank—like a wooden doll.
At first glance, she seemed frozen.
But Takakai could see the subtle tension in her face—the veins faintly bulging at her temples, her small hands clenched so tightly they trembled.
Beside her, the flesh monstrosity that had pursued him relentlessly had also stopped moving.
This confirmed two things:
[Alice] could control the monstrosity.
Takakai's strategy had worked.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? If you beg nicely, I might return your friend."
A smirk curled on Takakai's lips.
[...Is sensei really this mean?]
Alice tilted her head slightly, her expression now tinged with genuine confusion.
This was the first time since entering Fujisaka Academy that Takakai had seen her look like this.
Honestly… it feels great.
(Though he had to admit, his tactic had a certain… Japanese internet meme energy to it.)
Alice's hesitation grew.
Takakai's words had paralyzed her—preventing her from killing him outright.
And he wasn't about to waste this chance.
With his recovered stamina, he leaped upward, smashing through the ceiling with a brutal headbutt.
CRASH—!
Debris rained down as Takakai forced his way through concrete and dirt, emerging onto the first floor.
The crimson glow in his eyes faded as he surveyed his surroundings.
A small meeting room.
Dozens of figures—wearing sheep, duck, turtle, and other animal masks—sat in chairs, all turning to stare at him.
A chilling aura locked onto him.
"You think this is enough to stop me?"
Unfazed, Takakai stood, a machete materializing in his grip.
Heddal's Berserk Blessing activated once more.
He could feel the teachers' curses pressing against him—
—but with his blessings and relics, he charged forward without hesitation.
Slash.
Hack.
Rend.
No battle cries.
Just silent carnage.
By the time the door creaked open, the room was a bloody ruin, not a single intact corpse left.
"Hah… hah…"
Takakai staggered into the hallway, his breath ragged.
Ahead, rows of students blocked his path—their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths sewn shut.
And behind them…
[Alice] stood silently, watching him.
No smile this time.
Just cold, empty eyes.
Heh. Guess I really got under her skin.
"Calling out this many puppets? Guess you don't care about your friend after all."
Takakai spat out a broken tooth, grinning.
[...]
No response.
Only the twisted students shuffling closer.
Takakai turned and ran—
—only for a [Duck Teacher] to spot him.
The moment it quacked, his limbs turned to lead, movement becoming agonizingly slow.
Without the sheep mask's protection, fighting these [Teachers] head-on was suicidal.
The [Students] were numerous but mechanically simple.
The [Teachers], however, had unique curses.
So Takakai pushed through, relying on his superhuman physique and sheer willpower.
He decapitated the duck, sliced its throat, hacked off its legs and one arm—
—then stumbled onward, his vision swimming.
His mind was reaching its limit.
After resisting countless curses and mental assaults, his body could still move—
—but his consciousness was fraying.
Don't pass out…
Gritting his teeth, Takakai forced himself forward.
Click.
A light flicked on in the hallway.
BANG!
Takakai hurled a pebble, shattering the switch.
(He'd grabbed a handful of stones while escaping the basement—Heddal's blessing let him launch them like bullets.)
Soon, he found the stairs.
Behind him, over a hundred [Students] filled the corridor, their mutilated bodies evoking zombie hordes.
And [Alice]?
She still didn't approach, just watched from afar, her face devoid of emotion.
What's her game now?
Wary of traps, Takakai pressed on.
The Trap
The second floor's layout mirrored the first—but Takakai couldn't afford illusions.
Every step was measured, his senses hyper-alert.
(Not ideal when his mind was already collapsing, but he had no choice.)
His goal?
Reach the dormitory before death claimed him—scout the next zone.
But fate had other plans.
Ding-dong~
A chime echoed, and all the lights flared on.
Takakai slammed through a wall, crashing into the cafeteria—
—only to feel an overwhelming gaze lock onto him.
The [Elephant Principal].
Shit.
The cafeteria had surveillance cameras.
And he'd just broken in—another violation.
Before he could flee, his body froze.
The principal's control was taking hold.
[Disciplinary Report:—]
SCREEEECH—!
The intercom screeched—
—as Takakai rammed his machete through his own shoulder, pinning himself to the wall.
The machete's curse overrides the principal's… but goddamn, this hurts.
His body struggled against the blade, tearing the wound wider.
The cafeteria was empty—just tables, chairs, and…
[Alice] at the door, watching silently.
She's still not approaching.
Something's wrong.
The [Alice] he knew was a sadistic, chatty monster.
This one felt… hollow.
Did my ultimatum break her?
Forcing her to [protect a friend] while her nature demands [killing friends]…
Did that crash her logic?
But Takakai couldn't ponder long.
The principal's control was tearing his mind from his body.
He felt himself sinking into darkness, countless hands dragging him deeper.
Don't… sleep…
Never… sleep…
For twenty minutes, he fought unconsciousness—
—until darkness returned, and the principal's grip vanished.
Gasping, he yanked the machete free.
[Alice] still hadn't moved.
Staggering to the hole in the wall, Takakai emerged—
—straight into a [Lamp Woman].
Before he could react, its headlamp morphed into a gaping maw—
CRUNCH.
Its jaws clamped onto his skull, nearly biting his head off.
SCHING!
Takakai's machete severed its head, then dismembered its body.
Half his face gouged open, his skull partially caved in, Takakai swallowed three more pills.
His wounds knitted shut—but slower than before.
The relic's weakening.
The more I use it, the less effective it gets.
Of course.
Limping forward, Takakai found himself surrounded by [Students].
No escape.
So he activated Heddal's blessing, reducing their curses' potency, and hacked through them.
"Hah… hah…"
Emerging from the carnage, Takakai collapsed, then forced himself up.
His machete had fused to his hand—unremovable now.
While cutting through the [Students], he'd seen flashes—
—students fleeing, a bloody machete swinging, the dying gasps of victims.
This blade… it's replaying the school's past massacres.
The more I use it, the more it binds to me… until it consumes me entirely.
I thought the bloodlust was the downside. Turns out, that was just the start.
Standing again, Takakai immediately fell.
Only then did he notice—his right leg was gone, severed at the thigh.
Ah. One of the [Students] grazed me.
Their class had been tortured—legs cut off, forced to crawl races until they bled out.
Since he'd only been brushed, he'd lost one leg.
Other injuries piled up:
Skin flayed from his back (burning agony).
Chest charred black (numb now).
Ear pierced by bamboo (worms wriggling inside—mostly itchy).
Teeth ripped out, stomach stapled shut, fingernails torn off…
All echoes of the students' deaths, inflicted on him through their touch.
The End of the Road
After crawling, Takakai finally reached the hallway connecting to the dormitory.
"2… 2…"
A faint, familiar voice echoed—but he ignored it.
The door opened.
The path to the dorms lay ahead, under a dark sky.
Takakai dragged himself forward—
—and hit an invisible wall.
…Huh?
[You've been here over two hours.]
A mutilated [Alice], stitched together from shredded flesh, stepped past him.
[Those who don't leave Fujisaka Academy within two hours… become part of it forever.]
Another [Alice] crawled in front of him, her body riddled with stab wounds and gunshots.
[Little Miko knew… but she couldn't tell you, sensei~]
A third [Alice] dropped from the ceiling, giggling.
[Soon, you'll be assimilated. Your mind will dissolve. Maybe you'll last three hours… but in the end, you'll belong to this place.]
Takakai glanced back.
The expressionless [Alice] still stood far away, silent.
"Hah…"
Closing his eyes, Takakai slammed into the barrier again.
THUD.
He bounced off, rolling across the floor.
The three [Alice] clones burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, [Students] and [Teachers] closed in.
Some [Teachers] were ones Takakai had dismembered earlier—now mostly regenerated.
Non-derived horrors can't be permanently killed.
Even this machete just temporarily disables them.
"Hah…"
But Takakai refused to surrender.
He knew there was no escape.
Yet giving up was unthinkable.
Never grow accustomed to death.
Never rely on respawning.
Even in hopeless situations…
Struggle until the moment of true death.
With a final roar, Takakai lunged—
—as one of the [Alice] clones flipped the lights on.
Click.
Light flooded the hallway.
And in that brilliance…
Takakai hung midair, trapped.