Nora walked down the corridor in a panic. Opening every door one by one, she peered inside. Catching her breath, she shut the last door on the floor and rested her back against the wall.
Slowly, she turned her head to the right and swallowed hard. Water was seeping out from beneath the door. With trembling hands, she took hold of the doorknob. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pulled the door open swiftly.
Before her stood Odasaku, gathering the broken pieces scattered across the floor.
"Odasaku?"
Odasaku turned his head slowly and chuckled.
"Yes?"
Nora swallowed with difficulty and involuntarily took a step back. Every single instinct inside her was screaming to turn and run.
"Um, I heard you got into a fight with Kafka…"
"Ah, you know me—I just lost my temper all of a sudden."
Nora gripped her own trembling hand tightly and forced a smile.
"I thought as much."
Having gathered all the fragments, Odasaku walked past Nora without tossing them into the trash bin beside them.
"I should apologize, shouldn't I?"
Nora had turned pale, almost blue. Every word lodged itself in her throat; her breath felt as though it would never come out again.
"Just to be safe."
Odasaku laughed and began walking down the corridor. Nora remained frozen, staring after him. On pure reflex, she reached out and grabbed Odasaku's neck.
Odasaku snapped his head around, every trace of his smile instantly gone.
"What are you doing?"
Nora pulled her hand back.
"…"
A smile began to spread across Odasaku's face, growing wider by the second.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing. Just… because."
"Oh, alright then. For a second, I thought you saw the red thread around my neck."
Nora smiled and waved her hand dismissively.
"A red thread around your neck? You're certainly trying out new things lately."
Odasaku clapped with the backs of his hands and drifted away until he was far out of sight.
Out of breath, Nora collapsed onto her knees, clutching her throat so tightly it was as if she meant to tear it open. She slammed her head against the wall repeatedly until she finally calmed down, then stood up, swaying on her feet. Covering her mouth with her hand, she stared blankly down the corridor.
"Oh…"
When Nora turned back to look into the room once more, she saw that the room was no longer behind her. Everything she saw was drawing her deeper into itself. She placed her hand against the wall where the door should have been, eventually finding a slight protrusion. Digging her fingernails into the gap, she managed to open a door hidden behind it.
The interior was in a truly wretched state. Woodlice could be seen crawling about; the curtains had been virtually eaten away by moths. One leg of the desk was long since broken. The entire place was smothered in dust and cobwebs. Nora stepped inside and looked down at the shattered flowerpot on the floor. As she knelt down and began gathering the pieces, someone bearing a massive smile suddenly shut the door behind her.
Kafka sat on the roof, watching the people down below. Everyone had their own troubles—some were scrambling to make it to class, while others were simply trying to have a good time. He let out a deep sigh and looked up into the sky. He remained motionless as a harsh wind whipped his hair into a frenzy.
If one looked into his eyes, thousands of chaotic thoughts could be seen swirling together inside them. Looking at people made his stomach turn. He rose slowly and descended from the roof. Making his way back to their dormitory room, he knocked on the bathroom door once more.
"You've been in there for hours."
His voice sounded thoroughly drained, carrying the tone of someone who wanted nothing more than to sleep all day. From inside came a trembling voice:
"It won't come off... the bloodstains won't come off..."
Kafka froze on the spot before the door. He placed his hand against it and rested his head against the wood. His hands were shaking. Slowly sinking to the floor, he spoke:
"It's alright. You can just wear gloves from now on."
From within came only the sound of rushing, splashing water. After a while, the door opened. Atheron emerged wearing a comfortable short-sleeved shirt and shorts. His skin was bright red, clearly bleeding in places.
"I think it feels much fresher now."
Plucked bits of skin could be seen scattered across the bathroom floor. Kafka smiled, trying his best not to look at them.
"I think so, too."
Kafka stepped into the bathroom and returned shortly after. Atheron had already gone back to the infirmary. Only he was left in the room. All four beds were empty. Kafka stared at the beds as if out of his mind:
He meticulously disheveled Odasaku's bed, made Nora's bed flawlessly, made Atheron's bed carelessly, and when he came to his own, he found himself unable to do anything. He placed his pillow in the corner, then changed his mind and put it back. He tried for hours. In the end, he folded his sheet, pillow, and blanket, placing them beside his bed. Smirking like a madman, he stared at his bare mattress. Then, spinning around the room like a meteor thrown off course, he began to dance.
Meanwhile, Atheron lay curled up in the infirmary. What had transpired refused to leave his mind. The King's applause and cheers echoed endlessly in his head. He stood up abruptly, exited the infirmary, and went down to the garden. Though little could be seen in the darkness of the night, walking around in the cold air brought him back to his senses.
As he passed by the flowers, he noticed someone sitting atop the fence in the distance. Their green eyes were unmistakably visible. Driven by curiosity, Atheron walked over. A small snake was slithering around the neck of that student. Rolling their eyes, the student hopped down from the fence, stared dead at Atheron, and said:
"If you have something to say, say it."
"Umm, well... why are you here?"
"Because the others were irritating me, so I came to school early. Apart from Nier, there isn't a single tolerable human being among the upperclassmen."
Even if Atheron could not see clearly in the dark, he instantly recognized the person from their voice.
"They say you've been acting strange ever since you returned from the mission, and that two of your idiots got into a fight. People say it was hard to break them apart."
"Things happened... I mean, I don't know what to say. What am I supposed to do..."
"Why are you even overthinking it? If things are meant to fix themselves, they will; if not, you just move on."
Atheron rolled his eyes.
"If only it were that simple."
"You need to know when to give up. How do you know one of them won't betray you in the future?"
"THEY WOULD NEVER DO THAT!"
"Have it your way, then."
The student straightened up from where they were leaning and began to walk away. Atheron remained behind, staring after them.
"Hey... Brother Gu."
"What?"
"Could you beat up our guys one more time? You used to stop us like that every time... maybe this time, too."
"I doubt it. I beat you up purely for my own amusement, not to make you better people."
"BUT OUR GUYS, ESPECIALLY ODASAKU, LOOK UP TO YOU AS A MENTOR. MAYBE IF YOU SAID SOMETHING..."
"You make far too much of me in your head."
Gu continued to walk away.
"KAFKA IS GOING TO COMMIT A MASSACRE AT THIS RATE!"
Upon hearing those words, Gu froze in his tracks. He turned his head slowly.
"What..."
"Nora doesn't understand any of this, her head just doesn't work when it comes to these things; as for Odasaku, you already know how he is, he doesn't believe in anything other than a beatdown; and as for me, everything I say only makes things worse... so please."
"There is nothing I can do. If you, as his friends, cannot stop him, I can only help eliminate him."
When Atheron heard these words, every response died in his throat.
"What are you saying..."
"If it is so obvious that he is going to do something, let him die an honorable death before he steps onto a point of no return. After he commits that massacre, will you ever be able to look back on your old days the same way?"
"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!"
Gu let out a bitter laugh.
"If you want some people to be happy, you must make a great sacrifice."
Atheron cursed under his breath, staring at the ground. Gu merely sighed.
"Tomorrow, Nier won't be able to stand it any longer and will come, too. He thinks like you on these matters..."
Gu walked away, leaving Atheron all alone. Atheron collapsed onto the ground, watching Gu depart. Every curse he uttered dissolved into the empty air.
Odasaku was wandering aimlessly through the school. He was laughing continuously, his voice echoing off the completely empty corridors. Entering one of the classrooms, he pulled a small pouch from his pocket, placed it behind the blackboard, and quickly left the room. Suddenly, a rift tore open right before him.
Emerging desperately from inside the rift was Nora, bleeding from every part of her body. The blood dripping from her arm had already formed a small pool on the floor. She looked at Odasaku as if she were staring at a monster. Nora gathered mana right where Odasaku stood, preparing to detonate it.
"Hey, Nora, hi? Where were you?"
"Where you came from."
Odasaku suddenly froze.
"Did you notice?"
Nora detonated the mana she had gathered in the air.
"No."
Out of breath, Nora waited for the outcome. Though she could see nothing through the cloud of dust, her limbs were trembling violently. Because everything was still the same. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING!!!!'^+%&/()!'^+!^&%!+^&!%^&(%ur(%/hgt+%/'%^&%+!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Nora released a scream that was utterly primal and horrifying.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Despite repeating "no" over and over again, it had not stopped. Once again, everything was returning to the way it was. Nora could no longer endure it—feeling the exact same way despite everything being different, time after time. In the end, she wrapped her own hands around her neck. Suffocating, she collapsed to the ground. Odasaku sat on the floor and began poking Nora with the tip of the sword at his hip.
When a faint trace of blood trickled down Nora's cheek, Odasaku sighed and stood up.
"Poor human..."
Odasaku brought his hands together and looked toward the heavens, beginning to pray. It was as if he were begging for mortals to be forgiven. After praying from the very depths of his heart, he raised his sword into the air. With a massive smile resting upon his face, he let his hand drop.
Suddenly, he hurled the weapon into a corner.
"He..."
Before him, the white rugs were slowly turning red. Slowly, painfully slowly... A mass of flesh, barely holding onto life, lay before him. It no longer even made an effort to survive; it simply existed there on the floor.
Odasaku could not bear the sight and stepped back, step by step. Only when his back slammed into the wall did he come back to his senses. Rushing to its side, he grabbed the hand of that mass of flesh.
"WHAT HAPPENED!"
He screamed for help in every direction, but it was all in vain. With every passing second, a foul odor grew stronger. The stench of rotting flesh filled the air. The mass of flesh no longer even deserved that title.
With a trembling hand, Odasaku touched that hideous thing.
"Nora?"
Instantly, everything snapped back to normal. Nora lay on the floor, saying nothing, merely staring in sheer horror. She opened her mouth slightly and began to stammer, muffled sounds coming out instead of coherent words. Fear had completely consumed her. Her mind was utterly incapable of functioning properly. Over and over...
Odasaku had no idea what was happening, nor did he possess the courage to say a word. The amber light streaming through the window flooded the entire corridor. The dust motes floating in the air were clearly visible. The silence surrounding them filled the heart with dread. Finally, Nora stood up and swept her blank gaze over Odasaku.
"Odasaku... you... came back, didn't you?"
"He..."
With trembling hands, Nora clutched her throat once more. Her eyes trembled, unable to focus even as a blank stare. Odasaku quickly delivered a sharp, heavy slap to her face.
"PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!..."
Odasaku began to shake Nora violently. Nora simply stared at him with empty eyes, then swallowed.
"I am pulling myself together..."
"THEN WHY ARE YOU ATTEMPTING SUCH STUPID THINGS!"
"I wasn't trying to kill myself or anything... I just thought if I fainted at least I wouldn't feel it."
"SO YOU WANTED TO DIE!"
Color was returning to Nora's blank eyes with every passing second. Perhaps for the first time since that door had closed on her, she felt real—as if she were not repeating the same loop again. She pinched her cheeks.
"It feels a little real..."
Incapable of making sense of anything, Odasaku continued to shake her. The red noose had emerged entirely from his neck now, no longer visible even close by.
"Hey... you, no, Odasaku, listen."
Neither Nora nor Odasaku could find anything to say. Odasaku remembered nothing, and Nora wanted to remember nothing. Suddenly, a massive explosion reverberated through the air, forcing them both to turn toward the window. A colossal explosion had occurred in the opposite building, followed by a relentless series of secondary blasts. From another direction, the screams of students erupted.
"WHY CAN'T WE GET OUT!"
"MY ARM! AHHH, MY ARM IS CRUSHED, HELP ME!"
"HELP US, HELP US!"
They scrambled to open the window and break out, but it was useless.
"Why won't this door open!"
Odasaku was punching the glass with all his might to break it. Nora rapidly scanned for other escape routes.
"No, we can't get out from anywhere..."
"HOW!"
"WE JUST CAN'T GET OUT!"
As Nora looked out the windows to see if anything was visible, she caught sight of a seal affixed to the building. She quickly covered her mouth, taking one last look at the seal. A scent capable of making one forget everything washed over their noses.
"Why does it smell like something's burning?"
Driven by fear, the two began rushing down the stairs. As they descended, the smell grew increasingly unbearable, accompanied by the chaotic, dancing crackle of growing flames. Reaching the bottom floor, they saw a towering blaze before the wooden door, aggressively consuming everything in its path.
The heat washing over their faces forced them to shield themselves with their hands. Odasaku stomped his foot hard against the floor and yelled at the top of his lungs:
"IS THIS HOW YOU'RE GOING TO KILL YOUR BEST FRIENDS, KAFKA!"
Nora covered Odasaku's mouth with a cloth.
"Don't talk, you're going to get yourself KILLED!"
As Nora uttered that final word, her voice cracked, making her look utterly pitiful.
The screams outside were still echoing. Nora tore at her sleeves and rushed into the restroom. As she wetted the torn fabric, she called out:
"ODASAKU, DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE AN IDIOT—GRAB THE CLEANING SUPPLIES OVER THERE AND GET THEM UPSTAIRS!"
Nora was incapable of speaking in a whisper. Even performing a simple task made her hands shake violently. Her breath kept catching in her throat.
Odasaku ran back and forth, carrying the supplies to the top floor. Meanwhile, Nora began ripping up the carpets on the upper floors one by one. A minute later, she shook her head and made her way to the highest level, her head spinning slightly. She pressed the wet cloth tightly against her nose and mouth, accidentally biting her tongue until the metallic taste of blood spread across her mouth.
The top floor was relatively better off. Nora dragged Odasaku along behind her, entering one of the classrooms at the far end. She shut the door and stuffed the wet cloths beneath it. Walking to the far side of the classroom, she collapsed onto her back on the floor.
"What are you doing lying on the floor! HELP ME BREAK THE WALL!"
"Don't be stupid—didn't you hear the screams outside? There are people stronger than us in this school, and even they couldn't get out; why should we waste our energy for nothing? Besides, lie down on the floor too; the closer your nose and mouth are to the ground, the better off you'll be."
Odasaku lay down on the floor and gestured toward the cleaning supplies, thoroughly displeased with the situation.
"Fine, but why did we bring these with us?"
"I thought I might be able to make something like a gas mask, but..."
Nora's head was spinning even more now. She could barely form coherent thoughts in her mind, slipping in and out of consciousness, failing and trying again.
"Why did Kafka use the seals I gave him like this... And those explosions... Is Atheron in on this, too?"
"Why should I care? If they've gone astray, a good beatdown will set them straight..."
"You don't even believe that yourself."
With determination, Nora forced herself back up. Though a profound reluctance showed in her eyes, her body moved against her will. The overwhelming exhaustion and dizziness weighing down on her slammed her from wall to wall.
"Bring the cleaning supplies, I'll make the mask. Tear down the curtains and break one of the desks to bring it over."
"Alright, but..."
"DON'T ARGUE, JUST BRING THEM!"
Odasaku quickly gathered the materials. He cut off a section of the fabric curtains and folded it four times.
"Burn those wooden pieces you broke."
"...Are you out of your mind?"
Odasaku set the wood on fire. The classroom, already warm, grew even hotter. Once the wood had burned completely, Nora extinguished it rapidly, barely managing to conjure a chunk of ice to throw the charcoal into. Once the charcoal had cooled, she placed it atop the folded fabric and finally added the wet cloth over it.
"Here, hold it so the wet side is against your mouth."
Nora quickly made one for herself as well, then stood staring at the cleaning supplies. Her own lungs were already burning. Forcing herself to her feet with great effort, she closed her eyes and clutched her chest as if she meant to tear it open. Every step felt as though she had taken it before. Barely holding herself together, she spoke in a low voice:
"You really are an idiot—do I have to do everything myself? Pour the detergent and liquid soap at the door!"
Odasaku poured them all over the wooden door, and at the last second, emptied the bucket he had filled over it. He began scrubbing the door to make it lather. The door was thoroughly covered in foam.
"Fine, but what good did that do us?"
"It means we've bought ourselves much more time."
Nora threw herself onto the floor.
"But it's only time... unless someone on the outside removes the seal from one of the windows, we're stuck here..."
"Look at you being so depressing—someone will definitely come!"
"I doubt it... Just listen to those screams. The teachers are probably trapped inside, too. And the upperclassmen are outside right now, not returning for another three days."
Odasaku began pounding his fists against the windows.
Nora, meanwhile, listened to the crackling and the screams echoing from the lower floors.
"You're just wasting your energy..."
"At least I'm trying!"
Nora let out a deep sigh and turned her head the other way, watching Odasaku out of the corner of her eye. The repetition of the past week flashed through her mind once more. Again, and again, and again...
Suddenly, the ticking of a clock began echoing through the room once more. Panicking, Nora snapped her head toward Odasaku. A red noose was slowly tightening around his neck. Nora pulled at her ears as if she wanted to tear them off. The sound of the clock...
Stumbling, Odasaku moved toward Nora, the noose wrapping ever tighter around his neck. With every passing second, his movements grew blurrier. Nora couldn't even take a step back. One of the windows rattled softly, and a tiny snake slithered inside. Crawling between the two of them, it let out a sharp hiss.
A deafening sound reverberated through the room, and with a sudden gust of wind, the seal on the window blew inside. A green-eyed shadow materialized behind Odasaku and delivered a heavy strike. Catching Odasaku before he could collapse to the floor, the shadow hoisted him onto his shoulder. Nora watched it all unfold, entirely frozen. Finally, a confident voice echoed forth:
"Seer Nier's rescue squad has arrived!"
Chapter End