The darkness of the Shirakawa Apartments was gradually dissipating bit by bit.
The closer they drew to the moment of the ending, the faster time seemed to accelerate, as though something did not want to see them greet victory, and thus wished to obstruct them at the final moment.
But in the end, Takumi still arrived before that door.
A completely ordinary, unremarkable, old security door with some traces of rust.
It was merely such a door, bearing only a nameplate that read "309".
Takumi stopped his footsteps.
He reached out his hand and lightly knocked on that door.
Just like that child, who struggled to crawl to that door in the end, reached out a hand, and lightly tapped on the door.
[Hey, whose child are you? Why are you alone in the hallway so late?]
A young man with a youthful face opened the door, a toothbrush in his mouth, lowering his head curiously to look at the girl standing in the hallway.
[It's alright, come in and sit for a while. Don't worry, big brother isn't a bad person.]
[Do you want to eat some candy? This is what big brother brought back from a classmate's wedding banquet. Ah, ah, people really aren't the same these days. I haven't even figured out what job I want, and other people are already getting married.]
[Soft candy should be chewed when you eat it, but don't eat it so quickly or you'll choke. Come, have some hot tea. It's a pity I don't have the drinks children like here.]
Laughing, the young man led the girl into the room, seated her before the table in the small bedroom, turned on the heater for her, and brought her candy and tea.
[Whose child are you? I'm a newly moved-in resident. My name is Hayashi Kyosei; you can just call me Brother Kyosei.]
[You're welcome to come play at my place anytime in the future, although it seems like I don't really have anything children like to play with.]
[Haha, am I different from other people? Am I? Haha, maybe I'm just better at getting along with kids. My dad always says I have a child's temper.]
Sitting in the warm room, laughing as he casually spoke, the young man showed her a gentle expression.
[Mm, someone is knocking outside. Are those your parents? Ah, you don't want to go out to meet them?]
[These injuries… hide here first. It's alright, I'll go talk to your parents. I won't let them hit you two, I won't let them come in.]
[How can anyone treat a child like this? Today I really have to meddle in someone else's business. Don't worry, you'll be absolutely safe here with me.]
And the one who left her inside the room, went out alone to argue with the father and mother, and in the end got into a fight.
[Big brother…]
[Big brother, are you home…]
[Big brother… big brother…]
…
[I'm here.]
[Of course I'm here.]
[I said it before, you're welcome to come anytime.]
…
Behind the slowly opening door was that familiar room.
Takumi slowly stepped inside, walking forward.
The door of that small bedroom also opened along with it, revealing the little table inside, and the candy and hot tea placed on the table.
It was as though that day had returned.
She walked into this small room, and big brother closed the door of the small room and, outside, argued with the father and mother until it turned into a fight, never allowing anyone to come open this door.
She stayed inside this warm little room—very safe, very comfortable, without needing to fear anything, without being scolded or beaten.
[It's alright, you can stay as long as you want.]
[You can treat this place as your new home too.]
It was as though she could hear big brother speaking like that.
No, big brother was indeed here, had always been right here; she simply could not see him.
She could finally see now—finally see big brother.
[Um, can I really stay here?]
[Of course you can.]
[Can I eat more candy? The candy is really tasty.]
[Eat as much as you want, but it seems like you can't right now since you've eaten them all, haha. I'll go buy some more for you later.]
[You won't scold or hit me? Everyone says I'm a disgusting dirty child.]
[What dirty child? Who's spouting nonsense? Don't mind people like that; you won't be scolded or beaten here.]
[Then can I stay a little longer? Just a little longer is fine.]
[Stay as long as you want. Don't be so restrained. Do I look like a restrained person to you, hahaha—]
…
A white light shone from within the door of the small bedroom in the room.
"…This is it. Go in from here, and you… can leave this place. The core… of this apartment has already collapsed. This place will soon… be completely destroyed. We… have to leave as fast as possible."
Takumi, who had collapsed powerlessly onto the ground, spoke with difficulty. As the core collapsed, the stitches on his mouth had disappeared, but the wounds were still there, making his speech broken and intermittent. The burns on his body were the same; although they would not continue spreading, the wounds that had already appeared could not heal immediately.
"Takumi-kun, are you alright?"
Also enduring burns, Maki crouched down to support Takumi. On the other side, Kaguya let out a breath, staring in some astonishment at the door that had opened before them.
This door inside Room 309, which originally should have led to a small bedroom, was now shining with white light inside, making it impossible to tell what lay beyond it. But merely by standing before the door, Kaguya could feel the warmth coming from within, as well as an unprecedented sense of reassurance.
"Th-this is it? The emergency exit?!"
Green, who had been the first to catch up, swallowed hard, wanting to enter immediately yet also too worried to dare step in.
"This is it. As long as we go in, we can lea—huh?!"
Supported by Maki, Takumi panted as he stood back up. Just as he spoke and was about to step into the door, he suddenly became acutely aware something was wrong.
[Sss—]
Boiling water poured down in an instant.
Having no time to dodge, Green was immediately drenched head to toe in the scalding water, rolling on the ground with a wretched scream. Next, stitching marks began to appear out of thin air across his body, and in the midst of violently convulsing struggles, his twisting form was forcibly sewn into a ball, rolling on the ground drenched in blood and unable to move.
[She's my damn kid. I'll treat her however I damn well please…]
In that eerie voice, a man with torn clothes and a bent arm—like someone who had just come out of some mediation room—grinned, mouth full of blood, slowly emerging from one side of the room.
[There're rats in the house again…]
On the other side, the woman holding the kettle of boiling water, her expression dark and lifeless, also followed out right after.
They seemed afraid of that door, not daring to approach it.
But they still blocked the path of everyone present, intending to cut off their final escape route and stop them from fleeing successfully.
The hideous-faced man, the gloomy deathly-pale woman.
The source of all the disasters in the Shirakawa Apartments appeared at this final moment, seeking to stop the people present from escaping this place.
[Rumble—]
Outside the main door of Room 309, the ruins were collapsing more and more severely. In the extreme distance of the ruins, one could already see everything sinking into complete darkness, falling into a void where nothing existed. And the darkness covering the entire ruins was also little by little disappearing. Time was already approaching its end, already near the end of the third day. If they continued delaying any further, it was certain they would not be able to escape.
Therefore, they could not afford even the slightest hesitation.
Every minute and every second now could not allow even the slightest hesitation.
"Shinomiya-san, use the Blood Puppet on that woman!"
Takumi shouted loudly, and right after his voice fell, he had already turned toward the man.
Hearing this, Kaguya did not hesitate in the slightest and threw out the Blood Puppet. One flesh-and-blood mechanism puppet after another appeared out of thin air, violently dragging the woman and rendering her unable to move for the moment.
And at the same time, Takumi was already facing that hideous-looking man, shouting at him in a loud, full-voiced roar: "Takeda Yūsuke, pay back the money!"
Following those forceful words, the hideous expression on the man's face wavered in an instant, and he even shrank back somewhat.
"I-I don't have money. My salary hasn't been paid yet. I don't have money…"
Muttering such words, the man simply stopped where he was, completely motionless.
"Maki, go in quickly."
Takumi immediately spoke to the girl beside him.
"No, I can't go through this door…"
Maki originally wanted to say something like "you go first," but Takumi glared at her, and the girl clenched her teeth and still tried to step through the door—only to find herself blocked by an invisible wall.
"Can't get in? No, it's these two people. We have to get these two things out of the room, otherwise this door can't be used!"
The unexpected situation made Takumi momentarily freeze, but he immediately understood the reason. To the little girl, this door was a barrier capable of blocking all harm. Thus, as long as in her eyes the parents who would harm her were near this door, the door would be unusable.
'We must get these two bastard things out!'
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