The atmosphere changed the moment they crossed the boundary into Zone 3.
The purple sludge and floating garbage vanished. In their place was a sight that struck fear into the hearts of the bravest warriors:
Cherry blossoms. Falling at 5 centimeters per second.
And the smell. It smelled like floor wax, chalk dust, and teen angst.
"No," Kazuma whispered, recoiling. "Not this. Anything but this."
"A school?" Tanjiro blinked, looking at the massive, pristine white gate ahead. "It looks... peaceful."
"That's the trap, you country bumpkin!" Kazuma hissed. "This is a Rom-Com Dimension. Physics here run on embarrassment and misunderstandings. A stiff breeze can cause an accidental pervert moment that leads to a slap loud enough to break the sound barrier!"
"School..." Vegeta gritted his teeth. "Trunks goes to school. I have seen the homework. It is... torture."
[SYSTEM EVENT: UNIFORM MANDATE]
Poof.
White smoke engulfed the raid party.
When it cleared, their armor was gone.
Goku was wearing a gakuran (high collar uniform) that was already torn at the biceps.
Vegeta was wearing a pristine, rich-boy blazer.
Tanjiro wore a standard middle school uniform, looking wholesome.
Anos... Anos was wearing a version of his Demon King uniform, but somehow it counted as "school appropriate" because he willed it to be.
Saitama was wearing a PE tracksuit.
"Why am I Gym Teacher?" Saitama tugged at the whistle around his neck.
"Where is my armor?!" Darkness gasped. She was wearing a sailor fuku that was slightly too tight. She hugged herself, face turning beet red. "Forced to wear a short skirt... unprotected... everyone looking... this shame is..."
"Stop enjoying it!" Kazuma slapped her arm.
"Attention, Transfer Students!"
Standing at the school gate was a bear. Half white, half black.
Monokuma.
"Upupupu!" Monokuma laughed, covering his mouth. "Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy: Infinite Crossover Edition! Killing is permitted in the hallways, but please change your shoes at the genkan first!"
"A bear?" Mash walked up. He tapped Monokuma's head. "Are you a mascot?"
"I am the Headmaster!" Monokuma extended claws. "The Reality Anchor you seek—The Toast of Tardiness—is located in the Student Council Room. But to get there, you must survive... The Festival!"
The gates swung open.
Inside, chaos reigned.
In the courtyard, Mob (Shigeo Kageyama) was accidentally bending spoons with his mind while a crowd cheered.
Komi-san was shaking violently in a corner, cat ears popping out of her head.
Sakamoto was performing gravity-defying cleaning duties on the windows.
"It's huge," Midoriya muttered, scribbling in a notebook. "Danger Level: High School. Heroes usually aren't allowed to use Quirks in hallways."
"I sense evil," Goku said. He looked past the comedy antics. "Real evil. Near the cafeteria."
Location: Corridor 1-A
The group split up. It wasn't a choice; the hallways simply stretched between them, using "anime labyrinth" logic.
Asta, Kazuma, and a new addition—Subaru Natsuki (who was crying in a locker when they arrived)—were walking down the hall.
"So you died?" Kazuma asked casually.
"So many times," Subaru looked dead inside. "But I have a checkpoint here. If I die, I restart at Homeroom."
"That sounds rough."
Suddenly, the air turned cold. The windows frosted over.
A girl stepped out from the Art Room.
Pink hair. Dead eyes. Knife in hand.
Yuno Gasai.
But something was wrong. Ice was creeping up her arm. She wore a General's hat.
"Esdeath?" Kazuma paled. "Wait. Is that... Yuno fused with Esdeath?"
Boss: General Yuno
Type: Ice-Yandere
Passive Ability: "If I Can't Have You, I'll Freeze The World"
"Yukki..." Yuno-Esdeath murmured. The entire hallway froze instantly. Icicles formed jagged spikes on the ceiling. "Where is Yukki? Are you hiding him?"
She looked at Asta.
"Are you... Yukki?"
"I'M ASTA! AND I'M GONNA BE THE WIZARD KING!"
"Not Yukki," Yuno-Esdeath decided. "Die."
She snapped her fingers. A glacier erupted from the floor.
"Black Hurricane!" Asta spun, his anti-magic shattering the ice. "SHE'S STRONG! BUT SHE'S SCARY!"
"Of course she's scary! It's a Yandere with a Dictator's moveset!" Kazuma grabbed Subaru. "You! Be the decoy!"
"WHY ME?!"
"Because you have respawn!"
As they argued, a shadow moved along the wall.
A boy with generic black hair sat at a desk in the background of the hallway. He was reading a book. He looked utterly forgettable.
Cid Kagenou. (The Eminence in Shadow).
Excellent, Cid thought. Protagonists fighting a boss. I am the perfect background character A. I will simply turn the page of my book and ignore the ice shards flying past my head.
An icicle flew straight at Cid.
Without looking up, Cid 'accidentally' dropped his eraser, ducking to pick it up. The icicle missed him by a millimeter, embedding in the wall.
All according to plan.
"Yukki!" Yuno-Esdeath screamed, summoning a giant ice meteor above the hallway.
"Okay, that's too big!" Asta braced himself.
"I Am Atomic," Cid whispered.
No, wait. Too flashy.
He couldn't use his ultimate move here. He had to remain a Mob.
So instead, Cid threw a chalkboard eraser. He infused it with just enough magic to shatter a continent, but compressed it into the soft felt.
The eraser hit the Ice Meteor.
The Meteor shattered into snow. It looked like a romantic effect.
"Huh?" Yuno-Esdeath blinked. "My hatred... turned to snow? Is Yukki doing this?"
Asta stared at the eraser. "Did the teacher throw that?"
Cid was already gone.
Location: The Roof
Team: The Alpha Squad
Vegeta stood on the roof fence, looking down at the school grounds.
"Disgusting," Vegeta scoffed. "Adolescent hormones everywhere."
"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku waved, mouth full. He had raided the Home Ec room. "These yakisoba breads are awesome! Mash found them!"
Mash Burnedead was sitting next to Goku, eating a mountain of bread. "Carbs."
"Where is the Anchor?" Vegeta demanded. "Monokuma said Student Council Room. That's the tower."
He pointed to the central clock tower.
"Let's fly over," Goku suggested.
"Stop!"
A voice came from the door.
A tall, stoic teenager with eyes like a dead fish walked out. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. Next to him was a shorter boy with a headset. Yu Ishigami.
"Flying is a rules violation," Ayanokoji said flatly. "If you fly, the Disciplinary Committee attacks."
"And you don't want that," Ishigami shuddered, pulling down his collar to reveal bruises. "The President... Kaguya... she has the Red Stone of Aja now. She's unbeatable."
"Kaguya with the Red Stone?" Goku tilted his head. "Is she strong?"
"She became the Ultimate Lifeform to force a confession," Ishigami whispered. "Don't make eye contact."
Vegeta stepped down. "A lifeform, you say? Interesting."
Suddenly, the roof door burst open.
"BEHOLD!"
A young man with bandages wrapped around his arms struck a pose. The wind whipped his cape.
Kaido "Jet-Black Wings" Shun. (Saiki K).
"The Dark Reunion has gathered here!" Kaido declared. "And I have brought backup!"
Behind him, a skeleton in luxurious robes stepped out.
Ainz Ooal Gown.
The Overlord of Death looked incredibly out of place holding a Japanese schoolbag.
Inner Monologue (Ainz): Eh? Why am I here? I was just practicing my acting skills in Nazarick! And who is this bandaged chuunibyou kid? He thinks I'm his summon? What do I do? I have to look cool!
"Indeed," Ainz said, his voice deep and terrifying. "I am the Sorcerer King. This school... is now my domain."
"Cool!" Goku clapped. "You look strong, Skeleton-Man! Let's spar!"
"Ehhhh?!" Ainz shrieked internally.
Location: Student Council Room (The Boss Room)
Tanjiro and Anos reached the doors first.
Tanjiro could smell it. The scent of... burning toast.
"The Anchor is inside," Tanjiro said, gripping his sword.
Anos pushed the doors open.
Sitting at the massive desk was not Kaguya Shinomiya. It wasn't a normal villain.
It was a girl with blonde hair, sharp teeth, and blood-red eyes.
Toga Himiko.
But she was wearing a Senketsu (Kill la Kill) uniform.
Fusion: Life Fiber Toga.
And next to her?
Light Yagami. But he was floating. He had spectral wings. He had written his own name in the book, but merged with a Shinigami.
God-Mode Kira.
"You're late," Kira smiled, his voice distorting. "Class is in session."
On the desk, glowing with golden light, was a single slice of toast.
[Reality Anchor #3: The Toast of Tardiness]
Item Effect: Whosoever holds the toast gains infinite speed, as long as they are late for something.
"I want that blood!" Toga screeched. Her Senketsu outfit pulsed, turning into needles. "Cute blood! Hero blood!"
"Anos Voldigoad," Light Yagami adjusted his glasses. "I have written your name. You should be dead."
Anos walked into the room. He didn't stop walking.
"You wrote my name?" Anos asked, amused. "And who decided that writing my name would kill me?"
"What?" Light stepped back.
"I am the Misfit," Anos declared. A magic circle, deep crimson and complex, expanded to cover the entire room. "Logic does not apply to me. Death does not apply to me. And school rules..."
Anos snapped his fingers.
"Venuzdonoa."
The Demon Sword of Reason-Destroying materialized.
"...Don't apply either."
"ATTACK HIM!" Light shouted.
Toga lunged, turning into a tornado of red ribbons and knives.
"Water Breathing: Third Form! Flowing Dance!" Tanjiro intercepted her. He flowed through the ribbons, deflecting the blades. "Anos-san! Grab the Toast!"
"Very well."
Anos walked toward the desk.
Light Yagami screamed. He summoned Shinigami logic barriers. "NO! STOP!"
Anos simply walked through them. They shattered like glass.
"Impossible! I am the God of the New World!"
"A small god for a small world," Anos said, reaching the desk.
He picked up the Toast.
CRUNCH.
He took a bite.
[REALITY ANCHOR 3/7 ACQUIRED]
The room began to dissolve. The Sakura petals turned into binary code.
"It's buttered," Anos noted calmly. "Exquisite."
"YOU ATE THE PLOT DEVICE!" Light screamed, fading away as the Zone collapsed. "WHO DOES THAT?!"
"Me," Anos swallowed.
Below them, the school grounds erupted in light.
Saitama, still in his PE tracksuit, looked up from the track where he had been accidentally breaking world records.
"Did we win?" Saitama asked.
"We got the toast," Genos confirmed, appearing with a smoking cannon arm.
"Does that mean..." Saitama's eyes lit up. "Lunch break?"
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[ZONE 3 CLEARED]
[WARP GATE OPENING TO ZONE 4]
[WARNING: Massive Energy Signature Detected]
As the white light of the school faded, a dark, oppressive heat hit them.
They weren't in a school anymore.
The sky was orange.
Strange, floating rock formations dotted the landscape.
Vegeta froze. He knew this sky. He knew these rocks.
"This is..." Vegeta whispered.
A high-pitched, terrifyingly polite laugh echoed across the barren wasteland.
"Ohohoho! Welcome, monkeys. I've been waiting."
Standing on a cliff, in his final golden form—but fused with Cell and Kid Buu—stood the Emperor.
Perfect Golden Frieza.
"We are in the Namek Wastelands," Goku got serious, dropping his battle stance.
"Finally," Saitama cracked his knuckles. "A normal bad guy. No more romance. Just punching."
"Don't get cocky, Baldy," Frieza pointed a finger. "This isn't just my transformation. I have acquired a Reality Anchor."
Frieza tapped his chest. Embedded in his purple armor was a glowing red orb.
[Reality Anchor #4: The Power Core of Escalation]
"This time," Frieza smirked. "This isn't even my final form... multiplied by infinity."