When the morning sunlight arrived and the clock struck 7:00, Takakai inexplicably felt a prickling sense of unease.
Something bad had happened—but he couldn't immediately pinpoint what.
The strong intuition made him frown. Without hesitation, he strode into the now-unlocked dormitory, heading straight upstairs while sharing vision with Howard, the Rescue Team Badge summon left in Room 203.
Hayashibe Kenta and Katabuti (Hard Crackers) were gone.
In their place, the room was filled with three unfamiliar male students.
So it's come to this.
Takakai had anticipated this scenario, but seeing it unfold still left him grim.
He proceeded to the fifth floor, ignoring the shocked and wary gazes of the female students, and checked Rooms 503, 508, and 511.
As expected—all the players had vanished, replaced by strangers.
This was beyond mere communication barriers caused by differing intel.
This was something worse.
The dungeon had escalated from preventing players from sharing knowledge to preventing them from even perceiving each other.
Right now… am I simply unable to recognize my teammates?
Or have I already been isolated in a separate space, effectively stranded somewhere else?
Takakai exhaled slowly, standing outside Room 508.
After a brief hesitation, he activated Hachiya Chiyo's blessing, tapping into its mental manipulation ability.
If this is just visual deception, then this should restore normalcy.
But if it's something deeper… this might backfire horribly.
Tch. No other options. Gotta try.
He sealed away all memories of last night's operations, temporarily erasing them from his mind.
The sensation was profoundly disorienting.
In an instant, Takakai felt a wave of vertigo, acutely aware that he had forgotten something crucial—yet utterly unable to recall what.
It was like staring at a familiar exam question but blanking on the solution, a gnawing void of "I should know this, but I don't."
Unlike actual exam panic, though, Takakai knew he could restore the memories at will.
The mental block was self-imposed—flimsy by design.
The real question was:
Would this change anything?
"Haah…"
Takakai took a deep breath and looked again into Room 508.
This was the dorm shared by Miko, Hayasaka, Nanami, and Kumami.
If erasing his memories could reconnect him to the original timeline, he should see them now.
At worst, he'd find an empty room—which would at least mean they were still somewhere.
But what he saw were still three unfamiliar girls, now whispering suspiciously about the "creepy guy" loitering outside.
The hallway had gone dead silent, the gathering crowd of female students staring at him with hostility.
The atmosphere was rapidly deteriorating.
After a tense pause, Takakai turned and left, rejoining Miko and Bocchi, who had also noticed the anomaly.
Without a word, the trio hurried downstairs and regrouped outside.
"What do we do now?"
Miko, out of ideas, looked to Takakai for guidance.
"I-I can't reach Nanami… the connection's not broken, but she's not responding…"
Bocchi's voice trembled. The Obsession Artifact linking her to Nanami was still active, yet no replies came through—as if Nanami could no longer hear her.
"Even after erasing memories, we can't return to where they are?"
Takakai's frown deepened.
Yesterday, Bocchi had used an Obsession Artifact to erase her own memories, bypassing the dungeon's hostility.
But now, even after he did the same, he still couldn't reconnect with the others.
What's the difference?
Why did it work for her but not me?
Moreover, Bocchi had been able to explain the situation afterward, allowing the team to discuss countermeasures.
But now, the three of them were completely cut off from the other nine players, unable to see or interact with them.
The deeper we delve, the worse the isolation becomes.
This is…
Maybe I didn't erase enough.
If he sealed all memories from last night to this morning, including realizing the others were gone, perhaps he could reset his position.
But now wasn't the time to test that theory.
They needed to leave. Fast.
Takakai's instincts screamed danger.
The students passing by had begun staring at them—every single one.
Expressionless. Empty-eyed.
Their gazes locked onto the trio with unnerving intensity.
Something was very wrong.
These students… their attention was escalating.
"Move. Now."
Takakai gripped Miko and Bocchi's arms, pulling them away.
Some students had stopped walking entirely, standing motionless, watching them.
The atmosphere was shifting.
To these student-shaped entities, the trio's "identity" had changed.
Right now, they were just staring.
But if this continued…
If the trio stayed in one place too long…
Things would get much worse.
They needed to avoid high-traffic areas—especially the dorm entrance during morning rush.
The more students saw them, the more "noticeable" they became.
They moved along the path between the main school building and the indoor gym.
With every step, more students stopped, turning to stare.
The chatter and noise of the schoolyard faded, replaced by an eerie silence.
Under the morning sun, the campus seemed unchanged—but the oppressive weight of the gaze was undeniable.
"..."
Miko didn't dare speak, keeping her head down as she hurried after Takakai.
She could feel those stares.
Each one like a needle jabbing into her back, her skin, even triggering phantom pain.
And it wasn't just the students nearby.
Even those they had already passed, who should've been out of sight, were still standing there, still watching.
And the main building…
Miko could sense eyes on them from the windows.
Why?
We haven't changed visibly.
Why are they treating us so differently now?
Is it just… because we know too much?
Takakai led them toward the pool area—closed before classes, making it temporarily safe.
Behind the pool was a forested zone, a potential fallback point if things escalated.
Assuming these things can be outmaneuvered.
The outdoor pool had two sections:
A small pool (25m long, 1.2m deep).A large pool (50m long, 1.4m deep).
Both were shallow, likely due to being student-only.
The area was fenced off, accessible only through a two-story building housing:
Changing rooms and lockers (1st floor).Swimming theory classroom, infirmary, and staff lounge (2nd floor).
Right now, the place was deserted—no students, no teachers.
Takakai glanced back, confirming the watching students hadn't moved yet, then used the Blood Key to unlock the entrance.
Once inside, he relocked the door.
"They're… still watching us."
Miko, though relieved to be indoors, kept her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah. This is bad."
Takakai nodded, then flinched as a surge of emotion came through his mental link with Maki.
She had noticed something was wrong.
[I'm here. Stay calm.]
He sent the reassurance, but Maki's response was frantic, confused—no coherent words, just distress.
Then, after a long pause:
[You… you're… Kai-kun? I… I can't quite remember…]
Her voice was hesitant, uncertain.
Her memories are being suppressed.
And the effect is bidirectional.
[It's me, Takakai. Your memories are being affected. Can you still recall who I am? If you can, try talking to Nanami—see if she's experiencing the same. Are you still with the others?]
"Let's go to the second floor. We need an escape route—this might get worse."
Takakai spoke aloud and mentally simultaneously, multitasking between Maki, Miko, and Bocchi.
His sense of foreboding was intensifying.
Unseen by the trio, the motionless students outside began moving.
One by one, they turned, walking toward the pool building.
[...]
No words.
No breathing.
No heartbeats.
Under the sunlight, the campus was silent save for the mechanical footsteps of dozens—no, hundreds—of figures, their faces blank, their movements puppet-like.
Had anyone been observing from above, they would've seen:
The annex building and cafeteria areas unchanged, students still chatting and laughing.Everywhere else—a converging tide of bodies, advancing relentlessly toward the pool.