Current Location: Gotou Residence, Real World
Hitori Gotou - her disheveled pink hair in tangles, face drained of color - felt as though she might perish on the spot at any moment.
Her room now contained five girls: Shijo Maki, Fujiwara Chika, Shinomiya Kaguya, and Aoyama Nanami, in addition to herself. The overcrowding had transformed her once-comfortable space into something cramped and oppressive.
Shijo Maki and Fujiwara Chika were pressed close against Hitori to maintain their shared control over the remote avatar. Aoyama Nanami, summoned by Ojiro, sat vigilantly nearby, prepared to intervene should anything go wrong.
In the corner, Shinomiya Kaguya sat radiating palpable anxiety about her missing maid, her gloomy demeanor adding to the already tense atmosphere. The socially anxious Hitori had already imagined multiple scenarios in which she might be bullied by these unfamiliar visitors.
Too many people...so many strangers...my safe space...completely invaded...
Hitori's gaze darted longingly toward the cardboard box in the corner - her usual refuge - but she had been forced to abandon it earlier when the connection to Takakai's group nearly severed. Now, her desperate eyes turned toward the trash bin.
If she could just crawl inside, perhaps that unbearable feeling of being watched would disappear...
"Ani-chan, what's the situation over there?" Nanami's voice snapped Hitori back to reality.
Before Hitori could formulate a response Maki answered first:
"Kai-kun successfully rescued a veteran player named Kumami. She's currently guiding him and a girl named Yotsuya Miko - someone with innate supernatural perception capabilities - through their investigation. We're discussing potential ways to support them."
"Kumami? She's still alive?" Nanami's voice carried notes of surprise and nostalgia.
"Is she really that impressive? Kai-kun seems to hold her in high regard," Chika interjected, opening her eyes. The two pink-haired girls sitting side by side could almost be mistaken for sisters - despite their diametrically opposed personalities.
"Exceptionally capable," Nanami adjusted her glasses. "Kumami-san served as vice-captain of China's [Slackers' Guild]. She possesses multiple high-grade Obsessions and practical Midnight-tier Blessings. More importantly, she's both resilient and compassionate - always willing to help newcomers and take risks for others' sake."
Not to mention an undefeated drinking champion who once consumed a ton of pure industrial alcohol during player gatherings, Nanami mentally added. And after fusing with the [Bronze Eye] Obsession, she earned the moniker [Kumami of the Blue Eye].
(The card game enthusiasts she knew always made peculiar faces upon hearing that title, as if recalling some obscure in-joke.)
But such anecdotes could wait until everyone returned safely.
If they returned at all.
Having witnessed countless tragedies over the years, Nanami couldn't suppress her doubts.
[School Horror Stories] - with four confirmed zones and one unverified area, rumored to contain eight core Obsessions - ranked among the most lethal Crimson Moon scenarios. Being trapped there during its dormant phase? Survival would constitute nothing short of a miracle.
Yet Takakai's team had already achieved the impossible twice: resolving [Shirakawa Apartments] and breaching [Nutty Putty Cave] on their first attempt.
So Nanami focused on recounting Kumami's most impressive feats to reassure Maki and Chika, keeping her darker speculations to herself.
Perhaps miracles do exist after all.
Or maybe Takakai himself is special - judging by Ojiro's intelligence reports, every scenario he touches becomes abnormal. Now encountering a Crimson Moon-level challenge on only his third attempt? It's almost as if...something has specifically targeted him.
At that moment, Maki suddenly frowned mid-psychic conversation and turned to Hitori.
"Gotou-san, would this be possible?"
Takakai had just inquired about expanding the mental link to include Kumami and Miko. Hitori nodded nervously before producing a slightly bloodstained music box.
As she turned the key, a tiny ballerina figurine emerged - silent to observers in the real world, but broadcasting eerie music (accompanied by a girl's sobs) directly into the minds of those connected within the scenario.
[Takakai]: Now you can safely share what you couldn't say earlier, Miko.
Meanwhile, Kumami - unfazed by the psychic phenomenon - strode to the broken window and froze.
Through the glass of a distant ward, the now-hospitalized Touyama Akira stood motionless...
...staring directly back at her with unsettling intensity.