Please note that this passage contains violent and intense scenes. Reader discretion is advised.
“Maito! Get as many people as you can and run!”
Upon receiving instructions from Suzumoto, I instinctively ‘transferred’ the panicked people nearby.
…Or at least, I should have.
“It’s no use! I can’t activate ‘transfer’!”
However, ‘transfer’ doesn’t activate.
And heartlessly, I can see monsters approaching us.
…There’s no time to escape. The people around me may have higher combat abilities than me, but they are less experienced.
The monster advances towards us, baring its fangs.
…All I have are a broom with a short reach, a kitchen knife, and a maid doll.
Well, and… I guess, courage!
I brandish the broom towards the monster.
But.
“What are you doing, you idiot? Courage and recklessness are different things.”
Hagasaki-kun appears and hurls a massive block of ice, striking down the monster.
“Hagasaki-kun! Behind you!”
As another monster approaches from behind Hagasaki-kun, Hariu leaps in and kicks it away.
“Don’t unnecessarily increase the casualties!”
…I’m sorry, but he’s absolutely right.
Courage and recklessness are indeed different. My job is… to survive.
…It’s been like this from start to finish.
The number of monsters is overwhelming, and only half of the students here can fight properly.
…It’s not just about the numbers. Each individual monster seems to possess the strength of a unique monster-class creature.
The monster that Hagasaki-kun sent flying seems to come back at us as if it’s not even affected, and the monster that Hariu kicked away attacks another student.
“This is tough, isn’t it?”
Even as Hagasaki-kun impales the monster with ice spikes, it continues to rampage.
And then, the monster wrapped its tail around one of the students, and the student’s form disappeared, leaving nothing but a single gemstone that fell from the gap in the tail.
…They’re dead.
As I look around, it seems gemstones are scattered here and there.
How many have died?
Is there any way to undo this…?
Just then.
“Yuto! Pull yourself together!”
A familiar voice pierced my ears.
…That’s right. If Carissa-chan and Shureira-san are gone, it will truly be a heavy loss.
In this world, where many things can be undone, even here, some things become irreversible!
Hagasaki-kun and Hariu seemed to have thought the same thing in an instant. They rushed towards the source of the voice.
And there, I saw the two familiar sisters clinging to someone who seemed to be Nishino-kun, as well as the attacking monsters.
And standing alone to face them, a dragonless dragon knight.
“Kadomi-kun.”
Kadomi-kun glanced back at us for a moment.
“Take care of the defense.”
With just those words, he turned his back to the sisters, raised his sword, and then…
With a single strike, he defeated seven monsters.
The power was tremendous.
In an instant, Hagasaki-kun created an ice wall, but the thick ice melted, and even through the dark curtain created by Hariu, I still felt the impact.
After the dark curtain disappeared, there was no one there.
Instead, there was a beautiful, translucent, silver-glowing stone on the ground.
…I’m not particularly sad. We won’t be stopped by something like this.
It is possible to bring them back. Kadomi-kun became like this because he believed in that possibility.
It’s not a problem.
Not yet.
There are still many monsters.
…Until now, I’ve never felt like I would lose while being with my friends in this world.
I always felt like somehow, somewhere, things would work out.
But now, that feeling is completely gone.
I don’t feel like we can win at all.
Another group of monsters approaches.
“Hey, this might be bad,” Hariu says, looking ahead.
Akashi is crushed by a monster.
“Success means we escape, failure means we’re wiped out, maybe.”
Hanamura, who protected Utagawa, disappears without a word.
Minohara cries out as she holds onto Mieda, who was actually Saida.
“Can we escape?” Hagasaki-kun asks me as he pierces another approaching monster with an ice bullet.
“Let’s try to get back to the school. Gather everyone.”
There’s no guarantee that this will make the monsters disappear, and it might have serious consequences, but on the other hand, it’s the only option left.
I kick the door open and rush into the nearest home economics classroom.
I left Carissa-chan and Shureira-san to Hagasaki-kun and Hariu.
In other words, the reason I came here is that I couldn’t be trusted with that responsibility.
The task is simple. Find the gemstones and get outside.
Even if the other classrooms were the same, I could just do the same thing in all of them.
When I entered the home economics classroom, there were crawling monsters on the floor.
A large number of them. The floor was covered. They were so disgusting…
They slowly and sluggishly approached me.
I may be weak.
I’m weak, but I don’t intend to be killed by such wretched creatures, barely the size of maggots.
The monster spews something at me.
I think it’s probably poison or something, but unfortunately, it doesn’t affect me, so I ignore it.
All the times I’ve been drenched in various poisons and acids have paid off.
My reach is also the opponent’s reach, but this foolish monster prioritizes senselessly spraying poison rather than biting me with its impressive teeth, so I manage to ‘clean up’ all of them.
Once I’ve completely cleared this classroom of monsters, I start searching for gemstones.
Under the desks, in the drawers, even between the fluorescent tubes and the ceiling.
…Nothing.
No matter how much I search, there are no gemstones in the classroom.
…Maybe because the entire school has been merged into one, the gemstones are now all in this school?
When I step out of the classroom, there are more crawling monsters in the hallway.
…It’s endless.
With creatures this slow-moving, I might be able to outrun them.
From then on, I continuously deal with the monsters as needed, but try to ignore them as much as possible.
I run around the entire school, slipping and falling while being bitten during the process, all while covered in poison.
But, there’s nothing.
I can’t find a single gemstone anywhere.
Finally, I searched the corner classroom on the 4th floor, but still couldn’t find any gemstones.
…So, it seems the merger of the school was irreversible. Or maybe, perhaps the gemstones are still here, and I just can’t find them.
I hear a noise, and when I look, something like organs hits the window and slides down.
And then, it disappears halfway.
I activate the ‘communication’ bracelet.
“Hello. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”
There’s no response. Either the situation is too dire, or they can’t reply.
Even if I can’t go back, it might be better than returning with people dead.
After all, there seem to be other ways to return.
“I’m going to ‘disassemble’ the school.”
I reach into the slit of my skirt and take out two knives, then thrust them into the floor.
There was clearly some resistance.
It seemed like I was being told that this wasn’t the right way, but I didn’t care.
I didn’t know if disassembling the school like this was the wrong way or if using culinary skills on something that’s not food was the wrong way.
Actually, I just didn’t care.
“‘Disassemble’!”
I shouted with determination and forcefully channeled the magic that wouldn’t flow naturally. After a sensation like an electric explosion, the floor disappeared.
Not only the floor but also the walls, ceiling, everything else vanished, and I knew I had succeeded.
As I fell, I watched the classrooms all turning back into gemstones and countless monsters disappearing.
For now, I had done my job.
I hadn’t really thought about what would happen after I fell, but I vaguely realized that someone caught me.
However, after being caught, it seems I lost my balance and ended up falling anyway.
“Maito-san, thank you for your hard work,” Kariya said, looking tired with his right eye crushed and his right arm missing.
“Thank you for your hard work” doesn’t quite cut it, does it?
I feel like I’m on the verge of running out of MP, but Kariya probably needs it more than I do.
I hand Kariya the MP recovery potion that I had left in my pocket.
Kariya had apparently been prioritizing healing others over himself, using the mass healing magic he obtained from the High Priest multiple times, which had left him on the verge of running out of MP as well.
After healing himself just enough to make his arm move and his eye see, Kariya went to attend to the injuries of others.
There must be other people with injuries, for sure.
…I understand. Right now, it’s crucial to ensure that as few people as possible die.
If they’re not dead, we can figure something out.
But if they’re dead, it’s a complicated process that we have to go through.
…So having bodies left behind is a good thing.
Since they haven’t turned into gemstones, there are many things we can still do.
For the person themselves, it’s probably better if they’re dead.
Carissa-chan and Shureira-san are safe.
Of course, not without injuries, but they are really, truly minor injuries.
“Maito, I’m sorry. For the sake of us… Hagasaki and Hariu…”
Shureira-san approaches me in a daze, but I hurriedly stop her.
“Don’t come closer. Right now, I’m covered in venom, so it’s better if you stay away.”
I had forgotten that I was covered in poison.
After cleaning myself with the broom, I take another look at Carissa-chan and Shureira-san.
Carissa-chan apparently fainted along the way and is now resting beside Shureira-san, who is sitting down.
Shureira-san has been continuously healing Nishino-kun with the ‘Heal’ spell she learned a long time ago.
…Thanks to that, Nishino-kun is still intact. Completely fine. He’s not crushed. Right now, he’s probably just sleeping. Given his condition, he should recover with time.
The problem lies with these two.
An ice sculpture that appears to be Hagasaki-kun and Hariu without legs.
I know I need to do something about Hariu quickly, but I don’t have a means to revert this.
The stage where I could have used the ‘Heal’ spell from the maid doll is long gone.
Perhaps it’s best to revert Hagasaki-kun and have him help heal Hariu.
I use ‘Clean’ to remove the ice.
We’ve been together for quite a long time. I can almost sense the boundary between the ice and Hagasaki-kun himself.
When the ice is removed, it seems Hagasaki-kun, while frozen, doesn’t have significant damage.
If that’s the case, maybe the maid doll’s ‘Heal’ spell can help.
“Maito-san.”
As I keep the maid doll working diligently, Katori is just barely intact.
“Can you help me heal Hagasaki-kun?”
“Yeah, I can still do it.”
Fortunately, with Katori and me working together, we managed to melt and awaken Hagasaki-kun relatively quickly.
With ‘Share,’ I wake him up and then have Katori assist with Hariu.
…In this way, we manage to wake Hariu as well.
We use our exhausted bodies to search for Toriumi.
“This and this… maybe this too?”
“If they haven’t turned into gemstones, it means they’re not dead, right?”
Even if they’re unconscious, there’s no doubt it would have been easier for them if they were dead.
What I can do is manipulate the maid doll, fetch and distribute the remaining MP recovery potions from the laboratory, and try to find the injured who haven’t turned into gemstones.
It’s frustrating.
We manage to heal everyone who hasn’t turned into gemstones to the extent that they won’t die if left alone.
However, there are still many who have turned into gemstones, and we’re left feeling helpless.
“…Kadomi-kun, President, and Suzumoto are not here,” Katori mutters, looking around.
“Suzumoto, I just healed a moment ago. He’s resting in the laboratory now.”
Though, even with that, it seems his condition was severe.
That it was worse than Toriumi’s condition… I don’t want to think about it.
I take out the silver stone I’ve stored away, and everyone’s attention shifts to the stone in my palm, and in an instant, they all understand.
“Kadomi-kun,” I say, although it might have been unnecessary to say it aloud.
“Ah, right,” Katori responds, gently caressing the surface of the stone.
“I found President too,” Hariu says, taking out an amber-colored stone and placing it in my palm.
We wrap it in cloth to prevent any further damage and store it away alongside the silver stone.
Looking around, the grassy field is illuminated by the sunlight, with numerous gemstones scattered, shining brightly.
Most of the students have either fainted or fallen asleep from exhaustion.
“…We need to pick them up,” Kariya mutters as he stumbles towards them, then suddenly collapses as if his strings have been cut, no longer able to move.
It seems he has reached his limit.
“…Let’s rest first,” I suggest.
“Yeah… You’re right,” Katori agrees.
I can’t help feeling sorry for the deceased, but right now, I just want everyone to forget everything and sleep.