"Wait, what on earth just happened?"
As an 'outsider', Umiri Yahata finally snapped back to reality at this moment, hurriedly asking Tomori beside her in anxiety:
"What was that black hole thing?"
"How did Uika and Taki disappear in an instant?"
Umiri Yahata wasn't familiar with the others, so the people she was concerned about were mainly Taki and Uika.
"That was a spatial vortex leading to Otherworld." Tomori's small face was pale, her fingers nervously pinching the hem of her clothes, her tone fraught with worry, "Mutsumi fell into Otherworld, and to save her, everyone was swallowed in together."
Tomori had wanted to step forward to help just now as well, but she was too far away, and the incident erupted far too quickly; in the end, she could only watch helplessly as Kitahara and the girls plummeted into Otherworld.
"For Mutsumi to actually do something like this..."
Soyo covered her lips, filled with deep self-reproach alongside her disbelief.
"It's all my fault..."
"If only I had paid more attention to Mutsumi..."
During this period, Soyo had been busy taking care of her mother while working hard for the band's live performance; even whenever she had free time, her mind was occupied only with Sakiko and Kitahara. Even though she attended the same school as Mutsumi, she had never paid attention to Mutsumi's state.
Now that Mutsumi had suddenly turned dark, Soyo was naturally filled with self-blame.
"It's not Soyo's fault, nor is it Mutsumi's fault." Kita clenched her delicate fists, "If anyone is to blame, it's Mutsumi's second personality for being far too extreme... If there's something she wants, she could have just said it directly!"
Humans grew mouths not just for eating—anyone who bottles up their grievances inside is an idiot!
"Although I don't know what kind of place the 'Otherworld' is, isn't it super dangerous?" Umiri Yahata looked over in worry, "Nothing will happen to Taki and Uika, right?"
"Calm down, don't panic."
At the critical moment, Nijika stepped forward, stabilizing the situation with a solemn face. Though she was the shortest, her words brought an inexplicable sense of reassurance:
"Although Otherworld is dangerous, Kitahara-kun will definitely be able to take good care of everyone!"
After saying this, Nijika took a deep breath, glanced at Shimizu Rin who made no further moves, and stated decisively:
"Let's go summon Hana first to see if Hana can get in touch with Kitahara-kun."
As for Shimizu Rin standing alone beside them, even though they were very angry, Kitahara was nowhere to be seen, and they clearly were no match for her on their own.
Shimizu Rin remained expressionless, suddenly speaking up:
"The final judgment is about to begin. When the mist descends, you had best hide at home and not go outside."
"What does Shimizu-san mean by those words?"
Kita looked over vigilantly.
"..."
Shimizu Rin did not answer, merely turning around in silence and walking away.
"It's likely a kind reminder." Ryo crossed her arms over her chest, possessing the calmest expression as she analyzed softly, "That girl targeting Kitahara is nothing more than 'the master's mission'. We have no conflict of interest ourselves, and according to Kitahara, that girl actually gets along very well with Sakiko."
"As for the so-called mist..." Ryo pursed her lips, a faint glint in her eyes, "It feels like she's referring to the mist incidents that have been breaking out across the country from time to time lately."
"The site of the first mist outbreak was in Kamakura. Back then, even during the daytime, the mist lingered without dissipating, and it was only after Kitahara cooperated with official operations that the mist was finally eliminated."
"Since that time, mist has broken out across various regions from time to time, but it has never broken out in Tokyo, and every time it appeared late at night, disappearing once dawn broke—super consistent."
Ryo said softly:
"Looking at it now, Shimizu-san should be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes."
Hearing this, Kita knitted her small brows:
"She wants to manufacture a mist incident in Tokyo?"
"The mist incident is not the goal, but the means." Ryo's expression quietly turned grave, "The fact that she's warning us now indicates that this matter is most likely related to Kitahara... With Kitahara absent, no one can pinpoint the source of the mist accurately. In other words, the mist that appears next might very well never disperse."
"Shimizu-san doing this clearly has some ultimate objective... It feels like it's connected to that unspeakable, invisible god."
A flash like lightning struck across Soyo's mind; she widened her beautiful eyes in shock, blurting out:
"Wait, Shimizu-san wouldn't be planning to summon the descent of an Evil God in Tokyo, would she?"
"..."
Umiri Yahata's mind was completely blank, her face full of bewilderment.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What on earth are you all talking about?
It was clearly a very ordinary school festival, so suddenly talking about the 'Descent of an Evil God'... I don't understand a single thing, okay!
Meanwhile.
The Astronomy Club activity room.
Inside the quiet activity room, Anon was wearing the Pure White Bride and the Fox Spirit Mask on her face, happily playing a gacha mobile game.
"Ehehe, seven golds in a ten-pull!"
"From now on, please call me Lady Gacha Emperor!"
"With the wedding dress, I never have to worry about being plagued by bad luck again!"
"Eh, wait—"
An indistinct telepathic sensation drifted over; Anon abruptly sat up straight, turning her head toward the window in confusion.
"Strange, why does it feel like Makoto suddenly appeared at the end of the world?"
[Item: Pure White Bride]
[Current Status: Optimized]
[New Affix: Flawless. When you wear the bridal dress, no debuffs can be placed upon your body unless they exceed the upper limit of the Pure White Bride's tolerance]
[New Affix: Kiss of the Covenant. Kissing a member of the opposite sex while wearing the bridal dress will forge a sacred covenant; no matter how far apart both parties are, they can clearly sense each other's presence]
Once the affix [Kiss of the Covenant] was activated, it would exist permanently, though one could only sense each other's location after putting on the Pure White Bride.
Just now while pulling cards, Anon could clearly feel that Kitahara was not far from her, but in merely a split second, Kitahara seemed to have appeared at the very end of the world.
"Could something be wrong with the wedding dress?"
Anon tilted her head and sensed carefully, discovering that Kitahara's location hadn't changed; he was still at the end of the world, and that incomparably vast sense of distance made Anon very uneasy.
"Speaking of which, none of those previous mystical items have ever had an issue..."
A faint sense of unease quietly wrapped around her heart. Anon pursed her cherry lips, closed the game, opened the chat interface, and sent a message to Kitahara.
"Makoto-kun, I miss you."
"..."
Several minutes passed, and the message remained in an 'unread' status.
"The performance clearly ended already, so why hasn't he replied at all?"
The unease in her heart quietly grew stronger. Anon hesitated for two seconds, then sent a message to Tomori:
"Tomori-chan, is Kitahara-kun with you guys?"
On the other side.
The auditorium restroom.
A yellow 'Under Maintenance' sign was placed at the door of the female restroom to prevent anyone from walking in, while the truth was that Nijika, Kita, and the others had 'reserved' the entire restroom.
"Hana, please come over quickly."
Nijika walked up to the mirror, calling out Hana's name silently in her heart.
Ripples soon appeared in rings across the surface of the mirror, and the white-haired, red-eyed beast-eared girl crawled out from the mirror:
"Mama."
With the situation critical, Nijika had no time to correct Hana's way of addressing her, asking anxiously:
"Hana, can you contact Kitahara-kun?"
The girls held their breath, all looking over in anticipation.
Hana tilted her head, saying expressionlessly:
"Cannot."
Kita squatted down in front of Hana, her face filled with anxiety:
"Hana, Kitahara-kun and everyone were pulled into Otherworld, can you bring them back?"
As Kita spoke, she extended her right hand:
"The reward is one hundred cupcakes!"
Hana shook her head; although she really wanted the reward, she wouldn't lie:
"Cannot bring back."
Although they had anticipated it, hearing Hana's answer with their own ears left the girls utterly disappointed.
Evidently.
The telepathic link between mount and master had distance limitations; having been banished into Otherworld, Kitahara had no way of contacting Hana anymore.
"Don't lose heart, everyone," Nijika clenched her delicate fists, cheering them on, "Kitahara-kun is so wonderful, he can completely return from Otherworld on his own."
Who knew that Hana would shake her head again:
"Master, cannot return."
"Eh?" Nijika looked over tensely, her voice trembling slightly from anxiety, "Why does Hana say Kitahara-kun cannot return?"
"Otherworld, deep inside, spacetime chaotic, I, will get lost."
Hana's speech was as fragmented and sparse as ever, but it did not prevent them from understanding.
Only at this moment, the girls wished they couldn't understand.
Spacetime deep inside Otherworld was chaotic; even for a 'native' like Hana, falling into it would mean getting lost as well.
Although Kitahara was formidable, he wasn't a native after all, so there was a high probability he would lose his sense of direction in the chaotic spacetime and be unable to return.
"Everyone, don't scare yourselves," Kita gave a strained smile, "Kitahara-kun still has the Book of Answers with him, so he can definitely ask for directions, right?"
"That's right, there's still the Book of Answers," Soyo bit her lower lip, "Kitahara-kun is so capable, he will definitely be able to find the correct path back and return together with Sakiko and the others."
"There is no path," Hana Hana said expressionlessly once more, "Directions, every single moment, are changing."
"..."
Hearing Hana's words, the air quickly fell quiet, the atmosphere suffocatingly oppressive.
Directions were changing at every single moment, but the Book of Answers only offered five questions per day, which seemed completely insufficient no matter how one looked at it.
"Tomori-san, is it possible that Taki and Uika... won't be able to come back?"
Umiri Yahata clutched her chest, looking tensely toward Tomori beside her.
Tomori parted her lips, but unfortunately could not make a sound, though moist mist quickly welled up in her eyes.
Soyo, Kita, and even Ryo all fell silent at this moment.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Right at this moment, the faint vibration of a phone suddenly shattered the dead silence.
Tomori took a deep breath and looked down at her phone, her vision already blurred, though she could barely make out the message on the screen.
"It's Anon..."
Seeing the message from Anon, Tomori remained silent for a brief moment, truly lacking the energy to explain, and merely sent her location:
"Anon, come over quickly."
Anon: "Um, I'm still here in the club activity room. I was pulling gacha just now when I suddenly felt like Kitahara-kun appeared somewhere super far away, and he isn't replying to messages either. It felt really weird, so I wanted to ask Tomori if Kitahara-kun is with you."
Tomori blinked her eyes, then suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, replying to the message with nervous anticipation:
"Anon can sense where Makoto-kun is?"
Anon: "That's right, I can definitely sense it."
"..."
After confirming repeatedly that Anon was not joking around, Tomori suddenly looked up, her voice excited:
"Everyone, let's go to the club activity room!"
"Tomori, what happened?"
Soyo's eyes were reddish as she bit her lower lip, looking over with worry.
Tomori took a deep breath, clenching her delicate fists:
"Anon just sent a message telling me that she can sense Makoto-kun's location."
"Eh?"
"Where is Anon?"
"Let's go ask and make sure!"
"..."
The deathly silence was swept away completely. The girls' spirits were instantly lifted, and after clarifying Anon's location, they quickly rushed to the club activity room.
A moment later.
Bang.
The door of the activity room was pushed open abruptly.
"Eh, eh, eh?"
Anon nervously clutched her chest, only to see the girls pour in all at once.
"Why is everyone here?"
Seeing that they were all familiar faces, Anon breathed a sigh of relief, though her pretty face still blushed slightly. Sneaking around wearing the wedding dress only to get caught red-handed was naturally very embarrassing.
"Anon, can you really sense where Kitahara-kun is?"
"Anon-chan, you're not lying, right?"
"Please, you absolutely cannot be joking."
"..."
Looking at the girls quickly surrounding her, Anon was naturally completely baffled:
"Everyone don't rush, speak slowly one by one... first tell me what on earth happened!"
"Kitahara-kun... has fallen into Otherworld..."
Kita sniffled, explaining with teary eyes.
"S-So many things actually happened?"
After listening, Anon felt her entire world collapsing.
She had merely hidden away to secretly pull some gacha, so how did the whole sky fall down?
"Anon, you said you can sense Kitahara-kun's location—you weren't just saying that for fun, right?"
Soyo clasped her hands before her chest, looking over tensely.
"Rest assured, I'm not joking," Anon snapped back to reality, hurriedly raising her right hand to swear, "I really can sense boyfriend's location!"
"When we soaked in the onsen that night, everyone wore the wedding dress and knows that the wedding dress can establish a bond, right?"
"I can still clearly sense boyfriend's presence right now..."
Listening to Anon's description, Kita's eyes sparkled brightly, hurriedly raising her small hand:
"Me, me, me! Anon-chan, hurry up and let me wear the wedding dress!"
Anon hesitated: "Um, changing clothes right now?"
"That's right," Kita could no longer wait, "I can't wait a single second longer!"
Anon's pretty face blushed faintly: "But there are so many people..."
Kita: "Everyone here is a girl, what does it matter!"
In the end, Nijika stepped forward:
"Don't panic, everyone. Anon definitely wouldn't joke around at a time like this... Everyone wait outside first and let Kita and Anon change in the activity room; we'll take turns changing later."
"..."
Regarding Nijika's suggestion, the girls naturally chose to agree.
Although they were anxious, the wedding dress was right there and not a single-use item, so wearing it a little later wouldn't be too late.
A moment later.
Anon opened the door, calling out softly:
"Kita-chan has finished changing into the wedding dress, everyone can come in."
The girls waiting in the hallway rushed inside quickly, looking with anticipation at Kita dressed in the bridal gown.
Without needing anyone to ask, Kita spoke up excitedly:
"I can sense Kitahara-kun!"
That was a bond acting upon the soul; regardless of crossing how many distant mountains and seas, they could clearly sense each other's presence.
"Not only that, but I can also sense Kitahara-kun's current emotions..."
Kita's eyes were teary as she covered her mouth:
"Although it isn't spoken words, just emotions, Kitahara-kun's emotions are super stable, just like whispering beside my ear: 'Wait for me to come back'."
"..."
Next was changing time.
Although they received definitive confirmation from Kita, the other girls naturally still wanted to experience it firsthand.
"I can really sense Kitahara-kun."
"It feels so wonderful."
"Mm, the distance is shrinking, though it's minuscule... Kitahara-kun is working hard to return."
After experiencing the bond effect of the Pure White Bride, the girls finally put their hearts at ease.
Although they did not know how long it would take for Kitahara to return, having hope was a good thing.
"Ryo, why are you taking off the wedding dress only to put it back on again?"
Looking at Ryo's odd behavior, Nijika could not resist asking out of curiosity.
"Well, I'm testing something..."
Wearing the Pure White Bride for the second time, Ryo wrapped her left arm across her chest:
"Looks like everyone will have to take turns wearing the wedding dress from now on."
"Eh?" Kita looked over curiously, "Why do you say that, Ryo-senpai?"
"Hana said earlier that deep inside Otherworld is extraordinarily chaotic with no sense of direction, but after putting on the wedding dress, we can sense that Kitahara is moving toward our direction," Ryo said in a calm voice, "Just now I put it on and took it off, and took it off only to put it back on, precisely to make a comparison."
Ryo let out a gentle breath:
"Taking off and putting on the wedding dress twice, I could sense that Kitahara's position clearly became chaotic... So Hana wasn't wrong: deep inside Otherworld is indeed super chaotic, but we are the hope."
Pausing for two seconds, Ryo said in a serious tone:
"After putting on the wedding dress, we are Kitahara's lighthouse and anchor in the real world. Only by relying on the bond between us and Kitahara will Kitahara not lose his way in Otherworld."
"I see," Kita breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "Good thing Ryo-senpai is clever; I didn't notice it at all."
"Do we need to keep wearing the wedding dress constantly to become Kitahara-kun's anchor and lighthouse?" Soyo clutched her chest with her right hand, her eyes shimmering brightly, "Turns out I'm not completely useless after all."
Tomori's gaze grew firm: "I want to help too."
"Everyone, don't worry," Nijika's voice regained its brightness, her golden side-ponytail swaying gently, "Let's first arrange our respective schedules before deciding the order for everyone to wear the wedding dress."
"Besides that, we also need to notify Sister and Mai to help together."
"Lastly, there's one more thing: with Hitori, Taki, and the others suddenly missing, their families will definitely be super worried."
"Not only do we need to act as Kitahara-kun's lighthouse, but we also need to help everyone resolve their worries at home..."