How many times have I been chased by anomalies since entering Shirasawa Elementary?
Listening to the urgent footsteps of Kaguya behind him, Takakai couldn't help but reflect.
Well… he'd lost count.
Like trying to remember how many slices of bread he'd eaten in his life.
Most of this dungeon's anomalies seemed to stem from children's imaginations—derivative horrors—so their rules often involved "chasing."
In previous dungeons, Takakai had only faced mass anomaly pursuits during the final collapse phase.
But in Shirasawa Elementary?
Every other encounter was a game of tag.
This time, though, it wasn't so bad.
The corrupted Kaguya wasn't particularly fast, so Takakai managed to lose her after a short sprint.
Using the Blood Key, he opened a yellow-marked classroom door, teleporting back to the room where Hayasaka had been hiding.
There she was—huddled in a corner, her condition far from ideal.
"Yo. Still alive?"
Takakai gave her a once-over, then waved casually.
"...Takakai-san? You're back. Where's… Shinomiya-sama?"
Hayasaka had hesitated to speak at first, but seeing Takakai's calm demeanor, she relaxed slightly—until she realized he was alone.
"We need to move. Can't stay here."
Takakai avoided the question, turning toward the door.
"..."
Hayasaka's pupils contracted.
She froze, her mind blank.
"Don't look like that. Shinomiya… well, her situation isn't great, but she's not beyond saving. I have a final plan to rescue her. But that plan has to wait until the end. First, we gather intel."
Takakai hesitated, then stopped short of revealing Kaguya's death.
His so-called "final plan"?
Suicide. A reset.
After blowing himself up multiple times with his watch, this wasn't a hard decision.
Kaguya was a comrade-in-arms, someone who'd fought beside him.
But her survivability in this dungeon was too low. He needed to find a way to bolster her defenses for the next run.
With his current Obsession Artifacts, that wasn't possible.
But if he reclaimed the ones he'd sold to Koizumi…
Yeah. He could do that after resetting.
Unethical? Sure.
But Shirasawa Elementary was too brutal. Some things had to wait.
"Shinomiya-sama… what… what happened to her?"
Hayasaka's shock ran deeper than Takakai expected.
As a professional maid raised in the cesspit of the Shinomiya household, she'd seen plenty of darkness.
Combined with Takakai's mediocre acting and lack of effort to fully conceal the truth, she'd pieced it together.
The horrible possibility.
"She'll be fine. Right now, we focus on what we can do."
Takakai shook his head, turning to the closed classroom door, hand on the knob.
Though he'd accepted the reset, he wouldn't throw his life away prematurely.
He'd maximize this playthrough, do everything possible.
If he could clear it this cycle, even better.
The next run would likely be harder.
No grief. No frustration.
Just…
"Ah. This run's a bust. Time for the next."
A sense of resignation.
Was it because he and Kaguya weren't that close?
Or because he'd seen her die before, making it easier to accept?
This line of thinking…
It wasn't healthy.
Takakai remembered Maki's words, her concerns before this dungeon.
Even with his ironclad will, even as he endured torture and agony without flinching…
The repeated deaths, the witnessed losses, the way death itself had become just another option—
It was changing him.
Annoying.
Takakai sighed internally.
But he'd remain himself. His goals wouldn't change.
Even if he ever grew indifferent to death, he'd never discard lives carelessly.
He'd remember his purpose, his desires, those who'd sacrificed for him, and the responsibilities he'd chosen.
That much, he could swear on.
Speaking of footsteps…
"Fast. She knew you were here, so she came straight back after losing me?"
Takakai frowned, muttering as Kaguya's face appeared in the door's small window.
"That sound…"
Hayasaka, already fragile, stiffened—recognizing the footsteps.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
[Takakai-kun, Hayasaka, you're in there, right? Why did you run away? Aren't we a team?]
Kaguya's confused voice accompanied the knocking.
She couldn't open the door.
The green-marked rooms seemed to repel anomalies, acting as safe zones.
Good. They could rest here.
Hayasaka had approached, her gaze meeting Kaguya's through the window.
[Hayasaka! Open the door!]
Kaguya brightened, calling out.
"That's not your Shinomiya-sama. Don't fall for it."
Takakai's reminder was flat, his attention already on the classroom.
A mundane room that resisted anomalies? There had to be a reason.
Finding it might unlock Shirasawa's secrets.
"That's… not Shinomiya-sama? Takakai-san, I—I apologize for pressing, but… is she really okay? Will she really come back?"
Hayasaka's unease hadn't eased with Takakai's calm.
"Stop asking. Knowing too much won't help you."
Takakai's tone cooled, shutting down the topic.
"I… I…"
Hayasaka trembled.
Left alone in this empty room, seeing only Takakai return, her already-frayed nerves were snapping.
The facade she'd maintained was crumbling again.
Shinomiya-sama is dead. And she's become one of them.
From Takakai's evasiveness, Hayasaka understood.
Why… why did this happen…?
Even Takakai-san couldn't protect her?
If not for me, Shinomiya-sama wouldn't have come here. Wouldn't have risked her life to save me.
Can she really… be brought back? Takakai-san seems confident, but if she's already dead…
BANG—BANG BANG BANG—
Each knock felt like a nail driven into her nerves.
The dungeon's horrors, the dog transformation, the maddening whispers, and now this.
For Hayasaka, it was too much.
Despair engulfed her.
For a moment, she considered dying.
[Knock knock~ Why won't you open the door?]
The "Kaguya" outside persisted.
Meanwhile, Takakai had searched the room, finding the source of its safety.
A crude charm, hidden in the teacher's desk drawer.
Folded from notebook paper, with the name [Chiyo] scribbled on the back.
This is what's keeping the anomalies out?
Takakai considered taking it, but decided against it.
The charm's power was likely limited. Better to leave it here, preserving this safe room.
Then—
WHOOSH.
Takakai blurred into motion, appearing beside Hayasaka.
He yanked her hair, pulling her into his arms, and forced a sip of blood down her throat.
Hayasaka's eyes widened, but she was powerless against his grip.
The blood burned.
But the madness receded.
For a moment, she hallucinated—back in the Shinomiya estate, commanding servants, living a normal life.
[Knock knock knock—]
The pounding continued.
But Hayasaka, now lucid, no longer considered opening the door.
She remembered Takakai's confidence, his certainty that he could save Shinomiya-sama.
"Calm down."
Takakai had let her spiral intentionally, waiting until she nearly broke before using the Obsession Artifact to reset her sanity.
Efficient.
He sucked at therapy.
"...Yes. I've recovered. My apologies for the trouble, and… thank you, Takakai-san. Is there… anything I can do?"
Hayasaka bowed deeply, then met his gaze, steadier now.
Good. No more hysterics.
With this mindset, she could keep up. Hopefully, she'd survive longer this time.
…Though, technically, she'd already outlived her master.
Huh. That's kinda dark.
Takakai coughed, maintaining his serious expression as he pointed to the boarded-up windows.
"Simple. The door's blocked, so we need another way out. Which means…"
He glanced at the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl in nothing but a borrowed men's T-shirt.
"We're gonna be bad kids and climb out the window."