In the empty teaching building, there was only the sound of heels clicking on the floor.
Since it had only recently been built, many of the students' activity rooms hadn't been moved from the old building yet. The only parts in use were a few classrooms on the first floor, which served as activity spots for some clubs.
And today, there was no one.
The hallway was somewhat chilly, with a coldness radiating from the walls. The girl hugged her arms, her phone screen still displaying the recent chat log.
[Nishikido Shuichi: I see... then I'll go find Kasumigaoka-san.]
[Nishikido Shuichi: Since Kasumigaoka-san refuses to come over, I'll find you and tell you clearly in person.]
[Nishikido Shuichi: But that would be quite eye-catching, wouldn't it?]
[Nishikido Shuichi: Or will Kasumigaoka-san come to find me?]
Countless messages were pushed onto the screen, stacked on top of each other, showing that the other party had indeed sent quite a lot in his urgency.
[Kasumigaoka Utaha: I'll come to you. Also, please don't say strange things, or I'll call the Police.]
[Kasumigaoka Utaha: Nishikido-kun wouldn't want to be taken away by the Police for harassment in front of everyone, right?]
[Nishikido Shuichi: Ha. I'll wait for you.]
[Nishikido Shuichi: New building.]
Kasumigaoka Utaha rubbed her arms, shivering slightly. Even though it was already summer, this newly built teaching building was abnormally cold. After entering from the main entrance, an imperceptible mist permeated the hallways.
The girl gritted her teeth and cursed the Boy in her mind. This kind of pointless behavior was truly beyond Kasumigaoka Utaha's comprehension.
On her dialing list, she had already prepared the emergency number.
So annoying.
Clack, clack.
Turning up the stairs, she reached the second floor.
On this floor, the mist was even thicker.
"...Is someone cooking something?" Kasumigaoka fanned away the water-like steam, a damp layer forming on her palms.
A faint sound of flapping wings echoed; the hallway was empty.
Tap, tap, tap.
On the third floor, the mist was clearly visible to the naked eye.
Something's wrong... Kasumigaoka Utaha held the stair railing and took a step back.
Some kind of premonition stopped her progress—no matter how you looked at it, it was strange, right? Such thick mist on the third floor?
And there's not a single person?
The girl blinked, turned decisively... and started jogging!
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Her high heels stumbled down the stairs. After turning the corner and returning to the second floor the way she came, Kasumigaoka Utaha continued running toward the first floor.
Nothing jumped out of the mist.
Maybe she was overthinking it?
But the slightly warm weather outside, the noisy crowds—yet inside the building, it was silent and abnormally cold.
In this situation, she really couldn't help but feel afraid.
After a nerve-wracking journey of self-reassurance and fright, Kasumigaoka Utaha finally stumbled back to the first floor.
Phew... The girl relaxed her tense shoulders and let out a long breath... "Kasumigaoka-senpai?"
Suddenly, a male voice came from behind.
Semi-long hair covered his eyes as the frail-looking Boy stood not far away with his head down.
Nishikido Shuichi.
"Nishikido Shuichi?"
The Boy's appearance made Kasumigaoka Utaha regain her composure. Stamping her feet in dissatisfaction to dispel the chill, she held up her phone and spoke harshly to him: "Please stop bothering me, Nishikido-kun."
"I admit, compared to females, adolescent Boys have a vastly different understanding of the word 'desire'—"
"But that doesn't mean you can endlessly harass others."
Kasumigaoka Utaha curled her lip, expressionless: "Also, please take back your narcissistic thoughts, like saying 'dating me will make you envied'..."
"If you're mentally disabled, go get treatment."
After pointing it out mercilessly, the girl wanted to turn and leave.
"No... Kasumigaoka-san! Utaha! Utaha!" Nishikido Shuichi's voice sounded somewhat fragile: "I like you! Why, why won't you date me?!"
"I've liked you for a long time!"
Turning around, the girl looked at him with contempt: "I've liked St. Basil's Cathedral for a long time too, but it doesn't belong to me, does it?"
Gesturing the outline of the candy-colored cathedral with her hand, Kasumigaoka Utaha added in surprise: "You don't... know what I'm talking about, do you?"
Curling her lips, annoyance flashed through her wine-red eyes: "Read more books and get a haircut. Most things in this World will never belong to you."
"When you can't have something, be a man, nod gracefully, and turn to leave. Don't be clingy and persistent—"
Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow. "Don't cause trouble for others, don't you understand?"
The girl's venomous voice, accompanied by a low tone, echoed through the empty corridor.
"If you continue to send me those strange messages, I will call the police."
"Goodbye, Nishikido Shuichi."
Kasumigaoka Utaha tossed her black hair and left. In Nishikido Shuichi's sight, this curvaceous and alluring figure was gradually leaving his World.
Everything he had worked for shattered during those few minutes of conversation.
The rustling sound of crawling intensified.
"So, you don't like me?"
"No, you like me."
Nishikido Shuichi spoke to himself, his voice sounding as if something was stuck to his vocal cords.
"Stay and keep me company!!"
"Nishikido-kun, you—"
As the girl turned around in anger, she saw a hideous face—his eyeballs were gone, replaced by two colorful beetles!
They grew out of his eye sockets, their countless legs gripping Nishikido Shuichi's skin tightly, rooting deep inside. They wriggled bit by bit, trying to pull the back half of their bodies out of the Boy's brain.
The surroundings were already filled with dense... insects!
On the walls, the ceiling, the brick floor—countless cockroaches, centipedes, flies and mosquitoes in the air, multi-legged soft-bodied larvae—a black mass surged out from the gaps in the classroom doors and the light fixtures in the ceiling!
After passing the Boy with the bowed head, they quickly swerved around and crawled rapidly toward Kasumigaoka Utaha!
The insects chirped, and countless legs scurried across the floor. In the black ocean, there was a splashing sound.
It was the first time Kasumigaoka Utaha had clearly seen such an overwhelming swarm of insects.
It was also her first time experiencing the feeling of despair.
She had nowhere to run.
Kasumigaoka Utaha covered her mouth, swallowing a sharp scream. Before the writhing carpet of insects, her body felt weak... The young girl kept stomping on the insects with her heels, but cockroaches fearlessly crawled onto her shoes, their long antennae swaying as they scurried up the woman's black stockings!
Nishikido Shuichi's mouth was full of cockroach legs. As he chewed, black tentacles split from his muscle fibers, making a wet, hissing sound.
"Utaha."
"Let's be together, okay?"
"Come, open your mouth..."
"Enter the mist with me..."
The swarm of insects rushed forward.
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