"Takumi-san? Takumi-san, what's wrong with you?"
Miko hurried forward in a panic, helping the badly injured Takumi up.
"Miko-san…"
Takumi stared at the girl with extreme seriousness. After a long moment, he had no choice but to confirm that she was indeed a living human.
What's going on? The [Alice] that possessed her… left?
Could it be that because Miko hadn't completed [Alice's Grand Adventure Game], she couldn't leave the Teaching Building—so that Alice had no choice but to abandon her as a host?
But even so, there was no reason for Alice to leave her alive, right?
Or… could it be that once it succeeds once, it can re-possess her at any time—and this is just it laying a trap, planning to come back later to deal with him…?
"Do you remember how you got into the elevator?"
Takumi asked while thinking, his gaze fixed on Miko.
"Eh? Elevator? Huh—huh—huh? When did I end up here…? Weren't we just behind that glass wall…? Where did Yoshino-san and the others go?"
Completely unaware of anything being wrong, Miko only realized something was off after Takumi said that, looking as confused and helpless as if she had just woken from a dream.
Takumi didn't respond. He simply observed her more carefully.
At least for now, based on the perception granted by the blessing, the Miko in front of him was indeed one hundred percent human, held goodwill toward him, and was not some deranged Alice.
However, this state probably wouldn't last long. Although he didn't know why those Alices were fighting over the doll he had thrown out, he estimated that thing could only buy him a few minutes at most. So right now, he had to act fast—explore this Teaching Building as thoroughly as possible before that thing came back.
That meant the best direction for exploration now could only be the underground area of the building.
As Takumi thought this, he suddenly realized he had regained control over the rescue team member on the seventh floor. The Alice that had been pinned down and immobilized by that rescue member had already disappeared. Clearly, the attention those things gave to the doll had the highest priority.
Or rather… for Alice, were "friends" the most important thing? More important than anything else?
Either way, since he could move freely again, it was time to act.
Without hesitation, Takumi issued an order to the rescue team member, directing him to investigate the location of the principal's office.
Immediately after, Takumi summoned the first rescue team member—the one transformed from Tanaka—and ordered him to investigate this floor, find a map, and confirm the layout.
As for himself, he directly pulled Miko back into the elevator.
Then he noticed that the elevator buttons only went from floors 1 to 7—there was no basement level. So he took out the access card and pressed it against the card reader beside the buttons. The elevator doors immediately closed, and the screen displayed floor "-1."
If he didn't have this access card, he would probably have had to smash the elevator and jump down by force.
Thinking this, Takumi turned to Miko beside him. After a brief pause, he fabricated an explanation.
"You were possessed by something earlier, and you ran off from the group. I told Yoshino-san and the others to go back. Without you, they'd just be dead weight, so I didn't keep them with me. From now on, if you feel anything strange, you need to tell me immediately. Don't think 'maybe it's just my imagination.' Say it out loud—only then can I help you deal with it. Got it?"
He could have told her the truth, but given Miko's personality, she would definitely feel guilty and blame herself. That might lead to unnecessary complications—and more importantly, it would waste time.
"That… happened? I was possessed…?"
The girl couldn't hide the fear on her face. Realizing that something had controlled her body, her expression turned pale instantly, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
She didn't doubt Takumi's words in the slightest.
Seeing her reaction, Takumi simply reached out and patted her shoulder.
At that moment, a chilling cold rapidly filled the elevator.
Ding—
They had arrived at Basement Level 1.
As the elevator doors slowly opened, what appeared before Takumi was a concrete corridor—no tiles, no paint—just bare walls reflecting the cold light from the ceiling, making the entire space feel even more frigid.
"Let's move."
Takumi stepped out first, while Miko followed cautiously behind him.
At the same time, on the seventh floor, the rescue team member under Takumi's command had already entered the chemistry classroom. There was no need to describe the bloody scene inside—after seeing too much of this, Takumi had long since become numb.
Like the other classrooms, candles were placed throughout the room. But since more than an hour had passed since the second loop began, most of them had already burned halfway down and would soon extinguish.
Because the rescue team member himself was an aberration, he didn't trigger the candles to burn faster.
So under Takumi's orders, the rescue team member advanced quickly and soon found the corridor entrance at the back of the chemistry classroom—the path leading to the principal's office.
Through the rescue member's perspective, Takumi saw that the corridor entrance was sealed by a heavy metal door equipped with fingerprint and password locks. The security was extremely tight.
However, since the building had returned to its "dark" state, those locks had been completely destroyed. A gap had been torn open in the thick metal door—large enough for someone about 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall to enter without bending down.
Was this done by a past Alice?
Takumi considered the possibility as the rescue team member he controlled entered the corridor and headed toward the principal's office.
Meanwhile, the first rescue team member had already found a map in a hall near the elevator and confirmed that he was currently on the sixth floor. Not far from that hall was the entrance to the biology classroom.
Takumi still remembered what Miko had said about the biology teacher—Teacher Turtle—and the human model. Previously, since it wasn't on the way and he couldn't confirm whether the information was reliable, he had avoided investigating, worried it might be a trap set by Alice.
But now that the opportunity had presented itself, he naturally intended to check it out.
At worst, Tanaka would just die there once—nothing worth worrying about.
After issuing orders to both rescue team members, Takumi and Miko had already passed through the cold corridor and arrived at a wide open area.
"Not bad."
Takumi casually commented.
Inside one large glass container after another were either incomplete body parts or figures of men and women that looked as if they were sleeping.
Crude instruments and a dense network of pipes intertwined, creating a grotesque blend of old-fashioned machinery and ultra-modern technology. Surgical tables stained with blood were covered in sharp tools. Strange devices of unknown purpose were connected together, with tangled wires running everywhere. Transparent tubes carried dark red and pale green liquids that flowed slowly within.
At this moment, the place was completely empty. Not a single person could be seen.
Above ground, the Teaching Building of Fujihana Middle School was packed with countless aberrations—but underground, it had been completely cleared out, becoming an abandoned forbidden zone.
"Where… is this place…?"
Miko's confusion deepened.
"Think of it as a hidden area in hell. Let's go—this isn't the time to stand around."
Having already witnessed the destruction of two Instances, Takumi wasn't particularly shaken. After scanning the area briefly, he continued forward.
At the same time, he continued issuing commands to the other two rescue team members to explore.
Handling three lines of action simultaneously felt terrible—like his mind was about to split apart. But with Alice possibly returning at any moment, he had no choice but to push forward recklessly.
The sticky, skin-like feel of the sheep-head hood had already faded away.
It had probably completely fused with his head by now. If he wanted to remove it, he'd probably have to cut his head off.
Thinking of the three dolls—aside from his own, he had thrown one away, and one was still in his hand.
Maybe there was a way to turn the dolls back into humans somewhere here.
Takumi walked quickly. Miko had to almost jog to keep up.
'Why does Takumi-san seem so rushed?'
Miko felt puzzled.
She was still dazed, unable to understand what was happening. But Takumi's behavior gave her a strong sense of urgency—as if he were racing against something.
And…
This feeling is strange… what's going on…?
Miko rubbed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing.
Her heartbeat kept accelerating—especially whenever she looked at Takumi.
She had never felt this before. But now, it was as if something had altered her way of thinking. Every time she saw him, her heart raced uncontrollably, and a strange, unfamiliar fluttering sensation arose within her.
'This feeling… isn't right. Why am I suddenly like this…?'
Takumi ahead continued to speed up.
And the abnormality within Miko became more and more obvious.
'No…'
'I have to tell him…'
'What is happening to me…?'
Her consciousness grew increasingly blurry.
Everything around her seemed to grow darker and more terrifying.
Only the figure ahead of her could protect her.
Only by his side could she feel safe.
Only him… only him… yes, only him…
She suddenly accelerated, running toward Takumi and grabbing his wrist.
"Yotsuya-san?"
Takumi turned, his expression guarded as he looked at her.
But the girl paid no attention—she crashed directly into his arms.
And with that physical contact, the strange impulse that had been implanted into her thoughts completely spiraled out of control.
The blessing confirmed that she was still Miko. Then why had she suddenly become so abnormal? Did she sense something?
Holding her, Takumi lowered his head, carefully observing her condition, wary of the possibility that Alice might suddenly possess her.
Then he saw Miko's flushed face, her half-lidded eyes looking at him as if she were half-asleep.
She gave a foolish, almost dazed smile—like someone under a mental debuff—and stood on tiptoe, leaning closer.
In the next instant, the absent-minded Miko directly tried to kiss him.
Takumi: ???
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