Arai hurriedly went down one flight of stairs.
Moments later, everyone saw him walking down from the upper floor again.
Kobeni let out a startled cry. "What's going on?!"
The gravity of the situation sank in for everyone.
"Bocchi-chan, can you give me a peace sign?" Himeno said. "I just want to confirm something."
"Uh… sure." Goto nodded.
Following her instructions, Goto raised both hands and made two V-signs.
Himeno walked downstairs again, and once more the group saw the same thing happen.
She had indeed confirmed that Goto's hand gesture hadn't changed.
Which meant this wasn't some trick of the eyes it was real. No matter whether they went up or down, they always ended up back on the same floor.
"I think… we might be trapped," Himeno said heavily.
"What kind of crap is this?!" Arai shouted.
"It's probably a devil's ability," Aki said, trying to keep a cool head, though sweat was already beading on his forehead. "This is seriously messed up…"
Only Power, with her head screwed on the wrong way, was still saying things like "Ha! How interesting!" with a smirk.
They tried several more times.
In the end, they reached the conclusion that there was no escape.
Whichever path they took, whichever door they opened, even if they jumped out the window, they always returned to the eighth floor.
The strangeness didn't stop there.
The clock's hands were frozen at 8:18, as if time itself had solidified.
"B-Bocchi-chan…" Kobeni said with a miserable expression. "I think we're trapped here. What do we do?"
"Uh…" Goto made a short, uncertain sound.
But at that moment, she couldn't bring herself to say anything reassuring, because she was terrified herself.
Was this… forever?
"Mom, Dad, Futari… I'm sorry. I might not be coming home."
"Being stuck here forever… it's basically the same as dying."
"Would Makima-san commit seppuku to apologize for this? If she really did, I guess I'd feel a little bad for her…"
"But she's the one who dragged me into this in the first place, so maybe I should just blame her instead?"
"Ugh… what do I do?"
Hearing this string of muttered thoughts, Kobeni's face crumpled.
Her cowardly nature hadn't changed.
With Goto as her temporary emotional support, she'd managed to hold on, but if even Goto sank into despair, she too would burn out completely.
"This is boring. I'm taking a nap~" an untimely voice chimed in.
They turned to see Power stroll into a room, flop onto a bed, and wave lazily. "Call me when it's time to eat~"
Arai muttered bitterly, "Man, I wish I had that kind of nerve."
"Actually, there's an even bigger problem," he added grimly. "If we really are stuck here forever… where will we get food and water?"
"Before we find a way out, we'll starve to death!"
Aki and Himeno exchanged a tense look.
With a "click," Himeno lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and said in the calmest voice she could manage, "Alright, let's not fall apart just yet."
"We're Public Safety devil hunters. If we let ourselves look this pathetic, the devils will laugh at us… hell, even other hunters would."
"Instead of thinking about useless things, let's search the place. We might find something helpful."
"Yeah. Himeno's right," Aki nodded.
"I get it, senpai," Arai said.
"As for Power… whatever, we'll leave her be for now," Himeno said. "Bocchi-chan, Kobeni, you two should help look too."
"I'm sorry… Mom… Dad… Futari…"
"Bocchi-chan?"
"What am I doing trying to be a devil hunter… I'm so out of my depth…"
Himeno froze. No matter how she called her, Goto ignored her, mumbling to herself without pause.
"Bocchi-chan seems… lost in her own world," Kobeni said. "Himeno-senpai, I'll keep an eye on her, but I probably can't help search right now."
Himeno sighed. "Alright then."
In the end, the only ones searching were Aki, Himeno, and Arai.
Thankfully, they discovered that the hotel's food and water supply was plentiful enough that they didn't have to worry about starving at least for now.
That eased everyone's nerves a little.
…
No one knew how long they'd been trapped on the eighth floor. Spirits were starting to fade.
"Still hanging in there?" Aki asked gravely.
Himeno frowned but said nothing.
She stubbed out her cigarette, reached for another from her pack… and froze.
"I'm out of smokes."
"Huh?" Aki's eyes widened. "I was just about to ask if you had any left… and you're out too?"
"Yeah… guess that's it for our last comfort," Himeno muttered.
"Food and water are running low too."
"Power's babbling about some kind of Nobel Prize, and Arai, Kobeni, and Bocchi-chan are all holed up in their rooms, looking half-dead."
"Are we really going to die here?"
Just then, a strange laugh echoed from the far end of the corridor.
"Heh heh heh heh heh…"
Squelch, squelch, squelch.
The front door swung open, and a grotesque lump of flesh covered in multiple human faces squeezed through as if oozing in from another world.
Aki and Himeno instantly went on guard.
Aki formed a hand sign toward the thing and quickly said, "Kon."
Nothing happened.
"Ha! Useless. This space is sealed outside devils can't enter," the lump of flesh cackled.
Which meant the Fox Devil couldn't be summoned.
Himeno gave a short scoff and raised her hand. Invisible arms shot forward, clawing wildly at the creature.
"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!" the thing yelped. "Hey, even if you hit me, I'm not letting you out, so quit wasting your energy!"
Himeno's brow furrowed, and when she realized the attack truly had no effect, she stopped.
The faces on the meat mass twisted into a grin. "Here's a thought how about we make a contract?"
"What kind of contract?" Aki asked.
"Let me eat that Bocchi girl, and I'll let the rest of you go immediately."
Both of them froze.
They knew exactly what "contract" meant when a devil said it.
Once made, a contract had to be honored or the price was your life.
Aki and Himeno hesitated.
If they handed over Bocchi-chan, they could all escape.
But even if she was the Chainsaw Devil, she was still a comrade in Division 4. Giving her up now would be nothing short of betrayal.
"I don't think we should do something like that…" Aki said.
"Yeah… I couldn't live with myself," Himeno agreed.
Just then, a huge commotion erupted from one of the inner rooms chaotic noises, shouts, and then cries of pain.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!"
The two of them rushed in, only to freeze at the sight inside.
"Kobeni! What are you doing?!" Himeno shouted.
Kobeni, gripping a blood-stained knife, spun around with an angry glare. "What else could I do?! This was the only way!"