Vrrrm—
The heavy metal door slowly slid open.
Takakai, accompanied by a visibly despondent Yotsuya Miko—still shaken by Kumami's death—stepped into the underground research facility beneath the dormitory.
The air was thick with the stench of decay.
Holding a candle aloft, Takakai swept its flickering light across the surroundings.
The elevator door behind them was covered in deep claw marks and dents, as though something had repeatedly tried to break through.
A few steps forward revealed dozens of withered corpses clad in lab coats. Most were severely emaciated, but closer inspection showed that while some had clearly been murdered, others appeared to have starved to death.
Many of the bodies bore clean, tool-cut wounds, while others had jagged, bite-marked gashes—some even embedded with human teeth.
Takakai could piece together what had happened here.
Behind him, Miko's face was pale. The sight of the shriveled corpses made her shrink closer to Takakai, carefully avoiding stepping on the remains.
Scattered weapons—clubs, knives—along with bloodstains on the walls and the corpses' contorted poses painted a clear picture: They had turned on each other.
Some died in the initial violence. Others resorted to cannibalism, prolonging their suffering until infection or starvation claimed them.
Unlike the Classroom Building, this place showed no signs of Alice's influence. The researchers' deaths were horrifyingly mundane—no supernatural force had intervened.
The entrance to this lab was absurdly hidden—accessible only via a rooftop elevator. Was this place always meant to be a sacrificial zone? Somewhere they could lock down and abandon at a moment's notice?
As he moved deeper into the corridor, Takakai stole a glance at Miko—and the elevator behind them.
Kumami's sacrifice had stalled the three Alices in the dormitory.
With no chance to revive the second Crimson Player, Takakai could finally focus his efforts elsewhere.
"..."
Silence stretched between them.
Further ahead, beneath a particularly mangled corpse, Takakai found a meticulously preserved diary:
[Day 1]
The elevator's been locked from the outside. We're trapped.
Since when could this lab be sealed externally? Were we always just expendable?
[Day 4]
The lead researcher keeps saying to trust the higher-ups, but something's wrong.
No contact for days. They've forgotten us.
I'm hiding some of today's rations.
[Day 9? 10?]
I've lost track.
Food's running low. The lead researcher looks unaffected.
Others are getting twitchy.
[Day 16]
The lead researcher's dead. Someone cut meat from his legs.
I…
[Day 28]
Nakamura and Sawada were chosen.
I can't let anyone know I've saved food.
I have no choice.
[Day 33]
It doesn't feel as disgusting anymore.
[Page 52]
The ones who pick who gets eaten look healthier than the rest.
Do they have hidden supplies?
Matsumoto killed himself. One less mouth to feed.
If they look at me like that again… I'll strike first.
[Page 54]
I did nothing wrong.
[Page 60]
I shouldn't have shared so much.
I deserve more for organizing this.
[Page 67]
Another suicide today. Good.
[Page 69]
Today's "ration" fought back. Ungrateful.
[Page 73]
So hungry. Tanaka mouthed off. He's next.
[Page 89]
Only 8 of us left.
Out of 60… that's not bad.
Power's been out for weeks. No fuel left.
But I won't burn this diary.
Looking back, I see how I became a monster.
I used to think the students we experimented on were fools.
But I'm no better.
We've been abandoned.
This lab is our grave.
I won't run anymore.
If this is our fate, I'll choose for the rest.
Tomorrow… it ends.
I've got my weapon.
Whether they want to live or die, I won't be here to see it.
Damn it all…
I was an elite researcher.
How did I end up like this?
The diary was brief, but it painted a ghastly picture.
Nearly a hundred researchers, reduced to cannibals and slaughterers before dying off one by one.
Under such extreme despair, an aberration should have formed. Yet Takakai had encountered only corpses. That meant the last survivor likely absorbed the collective hatred.
He glanced at Miko, who was still visibly distressed.
"You holding up? Sense anything?"
"…No. But, Takakai-san… Kumami-san, she…"
Miko's voice wavered, grief tightening her expression.
"What's done is done. She didn't sacrifice herself so we could wallow in regret."
Takakai turned away, pressing forward.
Soon, they reached a central chamber—similar in structure to the Classroom Building's lab but heavily modified. Research equipment was piled haphazardly against walls, and tables bore blackened stains and slash marks.
Deeper in, they found machines designed for torture:
A chair studded with barbed spikes.A bed fitted with rotating saws and electrified needles.Skinning knives and bone scoops neatly arranged.
This wasn't a lab.
It was a factory for breaking humans.
Some rooms were execution chambers—reserved for researchers accused of "treason" or "sympathizing with students."
In one open chamber, Takakai found an execution log. Over a dozen names were listed, each marked as "completed."
Reasons varied:
"Disrespect toward superiors.""Suspected treason.""Exhibited undue pity for test subjects."
At the bottom of the list was one name—blacked out.
His crime: "Attempted to shield three delinquent students."
The method of execution was left blank.
Was this person about to be killed when Alice's massacre began?
Did they die here… or escape?
Before Takakai could ponder further, Miko tugged his sleeve urgently.
"I… I just saw someone walk past over there."
Her whisper was tense.
Cautiously, Takakai followed her gaze—finding only a hanging headlamp flickering weakly near a pipe.
No aberrations.
But the pipes were a lead. They'd lead to Alice's artifact.
"Good catch. Stay alert—we're in danger the moment we let our guard down."
He moved swiftly, tracing the pipes through the darkness until they reached a massive door—identical to the one in the Classroom Building's lab.
The card reader beeped.
The door groaned open.
Inside, a central platform linked to countless pipes stood empty.
Nothing was there.
Tap—
Behind him, Miko's footsteps echoed louder than before.
Takakai turned slowly.
The girl who had been trembling in fear mere moments ago blinked up at him—
—and smiled.