The forest exploded into motion.
Before he even knew it, Kana was already on Daiki's neck.
She didn't dance.
Didn't feint.
Didn't hesitate.
She drove forward like a battering ram, boots tearing grooves into the dirt as she swung again.
Low.
Vicious.
Meant to fold him like a lawn chair.
Daiki brought his forearms up just in time.
CRACK.
The impact slammed through his bones, rattling his teeth.
He could feel it.
Surge flared instinctively, adrenaline spiking, muscles screaming to retaliate....
But he didn't.
He slid back instead, shoes digging in, and putting his guard back up.
He needed to wait for an opening.
He couldn't just recklessly rush at anything in front of him.
"Oh?" she laughed. "You're being careful."
She came again.
Faster.
Her second punch came flying for Daiki's shoulder.
And then.....
Ayame stepped in front of it, catching Kana's fist with shocking strength for her build.
The impact released a gust of wind that blew the grass and vegetation around them.
Daiki's eyes widened.
Ayame's eyes were blood-red, a sharp contrast to the blue they had been.
"Kana. Leave the church in the village."
Kana's grin turned upside down as she immediately snapped her fist from Kana's grip.
"Why are you getting in my way...?!"
"Because..."
She looked back at Daiki, and then Ren and Yui.
"This interaction is over. We've gotten what we need from them."
Veins visibly popped from Kana's forehead as she kept her fists clenched.
"... You're overthinking it again."
But then...
She crossed her arms.
"But fine. I'll stop."
Ayame clapped her hands together pleasantly and smiled.
"Perfekt! Haruto, let's get going."
Haruto looked at Ren and bowed before returning to his group.
As they began walking away, Ayame waved a hand and said one final thing:
"....This forest changes faster than we students ever could. Don't lose before understanding that, klar?"
And then they left the same way they had come.
Finally, Daiki could let out a breath of air.
But it definitely wasn't fresh.
He didn't feel like he survived at all.
It was more like he'd just been inspected.
For a few seconds, no one moved.
Unsurprisingly, Ren was the one who broke the silence.
"...What the hell was their problem?!"
Daiki's head snapped toward Yui and Ren instinctively.
"You guys okay?"
Yui nodded hesitantly.
But Ren looked furious.
"No, I'M NOT okay. The audacity they have to start a fight and then not finish it."
Yui turned her head toward Ren.
"...There's probably a reason for that, Ren."
Daiki nodded in agreement.
"Yeah," he said. "And the thing that the weird-sounding girl said at the end..."
Ren interrupted immediately.
"'This forest changes faster than we students ever could'. What the hell does that even mean?"
Daiki let out a deep sigh.
"Definitely nothing good."
They stood there for another moment before Daiki finally began stepping forward.
"Either way..." he muttered, "we're not learning anything standing around here."
Hesitantly, Ren and Yui followed.
And as they moved deeper into the forest....
It got even louder.
Branches cracked somewhere far to the east.
A burst of Reiki flared and vanished to the west.
The air vibrated faintly with distant impacts.
You could hear stone splitting, trees snapping, and someone yelling before being abruptly cut off.
The Inter-Division Exchange Event was in full swing now.
Every step they took felt like potentially walking onto a landmine.
Every sound felt way too close.
Every direction felt like they could be walking to their demise.
Daiki frowned slightly.
And then, suddenly....
Something felt off.
A strange pressure hit their shoulders at once.
Hard.
Violent.
Unrelenting.
Even Surge felt strange inside his body.
Not weaker.
Just....
Unstable.
It almost made Daiki fall.
"...What the hell?!"
It felt like the forest around them was thickening. Trunks crowding closer together, roots twisting up from the ground like fingers trying to grab at you.
It was almost like the forest itself was leaning in to watch.
Then—
"HEY!"
A voice came from ahead.
Wild. Desperate.
All three of them froze.
Three figures rushed at them from a short distance away, obscured by trees.
They hadn't bothered hiding.
They were either courageous or stupid.
Probably both.
Ren stepped in front and shifted into a stance immediately.
A trio of three boys came rushing out from a bush.
Their uniforms were filthy and tattered.
Sweat.
Mud.
Blood.
They looked less like students and more like survivors of war.
And then the boy in front lunged first, a katana tight within his grip.
In a flash, he thrust his blade forward at Ren's chest.
Ren reacted instantly.
His foot dug into the ground as he activated his Ketsugojin.
But then.....
Nothing happened.
It didn't work.
For some reason.... It didn't work.
His eyes widened.
"...What?"
Before the blade could connect, Daiki exploded forward.
THUD.
Daiki's foot crashed directly into the attacker's chest and launched him backward into the dirt.
"ENOMOTO!"
One of the other boys shouted immediately.
Another voice came in right after that.
"WAIT—!"
The second boy threw both hands up desperately.
"We don't need to fight! We just need one talisman!"
Daiki snapped his head toward them furiously.
"YOU COULD'VE SAID THAT BEFORE TRYING TO KILL MY FRIEND..!"
Ren looked genuinely confused now.
Not angry anymore.
Confused.
"...What the hell is going on....?"
Daiki sharply turned his head toward him.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!"
Ren stared at his hands.
"...I can't use my Ketsugojin."
Daiki blinked.
"...What?"
And then they snapped wide open like his entire world had been shattered.
"...WHAT?"
Yui's head suddenly lifted.
Her voice came out surprisingly louder than either of theirs.
"He's right...!"
She looked down at her trembling hands.
"...I can't summon anything either..!"
Silence hit them for half a second.
And then Ayame's word replayed in his head like clockwork.
This forest changes faster than we students ever could.
His stomach finally dropped.
She wasn't joking.
She wasn't exaggerating.
The forest itself was changing the rules mid-game.
Which only meant one thing.
If they didn't adapt...
This place was going to kill them.