Between Sawa’s fire magic and Mami Shimonosono’s wind magic, they were able to forcibly evaporate the puddle of melted Icewall water that Yuuma had been so worried about earlier, with relative ease. This obviously should have increased the humidity in the room, but whether it was because the air was dry to begin with or because the laws of physics inside Althea were just twisted now, the air didn’t feel particularly muggy afterward.

Either way, it only took about thirty minutes for them to restore what order they could to the shelter. The remaining students gathered in the open space in the center of the room.

There had been twenty-three students in total when Yuuma and the others returned to the shelter, but now there were only seventeen. Seven boys: Yuuma Ashihara, Kenji Kondou, Teruki Sugamo, Kai Kisanuki, Haruki Hokari, Shinta Aida, and Tomonori Tada. And ten girls: Sawa Ashihara, Minagi Sano, Tomori Shimizu, Aoi Soga, Sayu Kenjou, Mami Shimonosono, Chise Tsuda, Chinami Nushiro, Kimiko Nobori, and Mimi Hariya.

All seventeen looked exhausted. Yuuma and the others passed out bottles of mineral water, but half just held their bottles in their hands, too shattered to even untwist the caps. Some of the students even began to doze off as they leaned against the display cases.

Yuuma could hardly blame them. They had been trapped inside Althea at three in the afternoon on May 13. It was now technically the next day, May 14, fifteen minutes past midnight. They had been fighting to survive this ordeal for almost ten hours already.

Yuuma wanted everyone to get at least an hour of sleep, but that would require keeping his explanation of both their attackers and the demons to just fifteen minutes in total. He doubted either of those facts would be easy to swallow…but all he could do was try.

“That was Niki, Nunono, and Shizu…I mean, Metoki… Right?” Sayu Kenjou said, listing off their names without hesitation.

Yuuma stared in amazement. Sayu nodded. Her hair, which was gathered in a side ponytail by a fancy scrunchie, bobbed in time with the motion.

“We could hear you the whole time, from the other side of the ice wall… And we could see your HP bars, too,” Sayu added. “The names of the attackers were all glitchy, so we couldn’t read them at first, but they cleared up later… And Chise…”

Chise Tsuda, who had her hair in low pigtails, took over when Sayu glanced her way, her hands clasped firmly in front of her chest.

“I sit next to Niki in class, so I’m used to hearing his voice every day. That was definitely him… Besides, he always says later instead of goodbye.”

“Ohhh…”

Several of the students murmured in agreement. Yuuma didn’t know Niki well enough to be familiar with the things he often said, but now that Chise mentioned it, Yuuma was pretty sure he remembered Niki saying “later” when he’d retreated from the shelter earlier.

“But…but still…,” said Shinta Aida, scratching one of the shaved sides of his faux-hawk, his voice pained. “Why would Niki want to attack us? I mean, it didn’t seem like Nunono and Metoki were being forced to do it, either, right? Does it have anything to do with that turning-into-a-demon stuff you mentioned earlier?”

The other students began whispering among themselves, saying things like, “I can’t believe this…” or “What the heck is a demon…?”

Unfortunately, Yuuma had no more answers than Aida did. While it was true that Niki had used his vires—his demon exploit—it didn’t seem like the demon had taken over Niki’s body or anything like that. Based on his behavior and manner of speech, he still seemed to be acting of his own volition. On the other hand, Yuuma couldn’t say with absolute certainty that the demon might not be interfering with Niki’s decision-making somehow.

The students, who had been abuzz a moment ago, immediately grew quiet.

“Does everyone remember what happened when we were forced out of Actual Magic’s playtest…? I was in the boss room when I got swallowed up in red light, and then I couldn’t see a thing. The entire room from the walls to the floor disappeared, and I started falling and falling, down into the darkness…”

Most of the other students nodded. So far, at least their experiences had apparently been relatively similar. Yuuma steeled himself, getting to the important part.

“Between then and waking up in the real world, we were all inhabited by demons. Not just Misono and Niki… Every student in 6-1 is now possessed by a demon. Some of you may have even already heard a strange voice inside your heads…”

At this point, Yuuma paused to gauge his classmates’ reactions.

More than half were staring at their own hands or into their friends’ faces in partial disbelief. The only exceptions were Sawa, Nagi, Kenk, and Tomori. And Sugamo, who was still making a sulky face.

Usually Sugamo was quick to argue with anything that Yuuma said, without even hearing him out first, but he had seen Aria’s demon form and her Lightning Transformation with his own eyes. It would be hard to dismiss the existence of demons after that. In fact, he hadn’t just witnessed Aria’s transformation, he’d held her back with his own hands while she went berserk, so he knew it wasn’t some sort of illusion or trick.

Sugamo had sounded genuinely frantic at the time, too.

I can’t remember exactly what he said, but even with all his flaws, he honestly seems to care about Misono…, Yuuma was thinking when a student spoke up.

“Uh… Uhhh, Ashihara…?” said Tomonori Tada, who raised his hand. “When you say demons, you mean like monsters from Actual Magic…right? We didn’t encounter any creatures like this during the playtest, but RPGs always have enemies like lesser demons or silver imps. You mean something like that got downloaded onto our QRESTs, right? You’re obviously not saying that we’ve been possessed by real demons, are you…?”

Yuuma stared reflexively at Tada’s earnest face. A few hours earlier, Tomori Shimizu had asked almost the exact same question—not to Yuuma but to Valac, the demon possessing Sawa.

Yuuma could remember every last word of Valac’s answer perfectly.

“I don’t particularly care for being called a monster, but I suppose what you’ve described is more or less accurate. I usually remain half asleep inside Sawa’s heart and mind, but I can take over when she calls for me, and I can also grant her my vires—my power.”

There was something fishy about that “more or less” part. Besides, Valac proudly referred to herself as a demon. There was no guarantee that everything she said was even true. Right now, though, they had no basis for refuting her nor any real reason to do so. Yuuma nodded, choosing his words carefully.

“Yeah… I think it’s safe to think of the demons as high-level monsters from AM. They can speak like humans, and they possess unique powers. The demons refer to those powers as a vires, but earlier Niki called it a demon exploit. That’s what I’ll call it, too, since it’s easier to say and understand.”

“…”

Yuuma fell silent again for a brief second or two. Tada’s powers of deduction were a surprise, but come to think of it, Tada and Shinta Aida were both huge fans of trading card games. Yuuma remembered them sneaking actual physical cards into school once, which wasn’t allowed, and getting them confiscated by the teacher. Yuuma preferred video games, so he never interacted much with the two boys, although maybe there wasn’t that much of a difference between analog and digital when it came to a game’s rules and wording.

“I think so. I’ve started calling it Guaranteed Magic Proc, but Niki’s demon exploit seems to give any spell a one hundred percent chance of success, no matter how low its original proc rate was. Meaning that if instead of Petrify, Niki had used an instant death spell…”

…Oono and the others would be dead now. Yuuma left that conclusion unsaid, but Tada seemed to get the picture.

“That’s nuts…,” he muttered, turning white as a sheet.

“Guess that’s why they call it an exploit,” added Aida, who was next to Tada.

The other students also murmured uneasily among themselves, until a girl spoke up in a calm, levelheaded tone.

“So then when you and Aria resisted the petrification spell…that was due to a demon exploit, too, right?”

The speaker was Mimi Hariya, student number 15. Almost nothing about her was in disarray, from her hair, which was done up in a pristine bun, to her neatly buttoned uniform.

“Yes,” replied Yuuma.

As a hardcore gamer, Yuuma didn’t like revealing his own abilities, let alone revealing those of Aria and Nagi without their permission. But trying to hide things now would just invite the group’s distrust.

“Wow… Aria really stuck her neck out for us…,” Mimi said, glancing toward the eat-in corner. “Oh, and so did you and the class president,” she added a moment later, as if just remembering them.

“Me? No, I only got in a single hit against Niki…,” Yuuma replied.

Sugamo clicked his tongue softly. Come to think of it, Sugamo hadn’t even traded direct blows with Niki and his guards. All he had done was try to hold Aria back. But Yuuma wasn’t childish enough to purposely call Sugamo out for that. He decided to continue his explanation before he and Sugamo could make eye contact.

“Wait…,” Kenk interrupted in realization. He’d been silent so far, basically half asleep. “How’d you avoid being turned to stone, then, Sug? I thought you didn’t know about the demons.”

“…”

Yuuma froze and stared agog at Sugamo.

Now that Kenk mentioned it, Nagi’s rapid-cast Icewall had been impenetrable—no getting in or out—which meant that Sugamo couldn’t have been protected inside the barrier. But all the students who had been outside the barrier, including even Yuuma, had been exposed to the mist. Sugamo would have needed some sort of spell or item in order to resist Niki’s unerring petrification spell. That or a demon exploit.

Everyone stared at Sugamo, who scowled. “I was in the eat-in corner when that pip-squeak, Niki, attacked us,” he said flatly. “The eat-in corner stretches back pretty far. The mist never reached that deep… Isn’t that right, Kisanuki?”

“Y-yeah…,” Kai Kisanuki replied, slowly nodding.

Yuuma opened his mouth to ask more questions, but Sugamo beat him to the punch.

“Forget about the eat-in corner,” Sugamo said, his voice dripping with hostility. “You, he-twin! You just said you overwrote the petrification with a status ailment item… Care to explain?! I don’t remember you mentioning getting your hands on a thing like that. You were keeping it for yourself, weren’t you? Who cares if the rest of us get screwed, right?!”

“Don’t be stupid. I didn’t even know Niki could cast Petrify,” Yuuma replied, obviously fed up. “I used an item called the Tenderizing Needle of Human Transformation, which the lizardman boss we fought in AM had used to change into human form. For all I knew, jabbing myself with that thing could have done something even worse than turn me to stone, but under the circumstances, I had no other choice.”

“Hmph… I still think it sounds like you’re lying, but I’ll let it slide since you did well earlier,” Sugamo said disdainfully.

Sawa and Kenk took a step closer, clearly angry at Sugamo. Yuuma, however, held up a hand to stop them.

“The Tenderizing Needle of Human Transformation was a consumable item so it disappeared after use,” he continued, “but I’m proof that Niki’s petrification magic can be dispelled. I’m pretty sure there were items to remove petrification listed in the guidebook as well.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right… Crap, I wish we could check the guidebook out here,” Tada grumbled.

Yuuma had never tried it for himself, but apparently, just like equipment, the guidebook couldn’t be taken out of the inventory in the real world. Maybe the guidebook was classified in-game as a one-handed weapon. Yuuma did remember there being some sort of job class in older generation RPGs where the character attacked enemies with the corner of a big fat book.

“Uh… Um…”

A tiny voice interrupted Yuuma’s thoughts. Yuuma lifted his head.

A small girl, who had been huddled behind Mimi Hariya up until now, raised her little hand into the air to speak. Her short-cut bob, which was angled forward slightly, left her eyes almost hidden behind her bangs, but Yuuma recognized her. There were no other girls in their class with that hairstyle.

She was Aoi Soga, student number 8 and a good friend of Yukimi Yumura, who hadn’t made it down to the first floor. If Yuuma remembered correctly, Aoi and Yumura were in the cooking club together with Mimi Hariya.

“I read over the part of the guidebook on healing items several times, so I think I might remember a few things…”

“What are we wasting our time for, then? Just spit it out already!” Sugamo hollered, causing Aoi to recoil in shock.

“Don’t yell at her!” Mimi shouted back. The other girls stared at him reproachfully.

Sugamo sucked his teeth and scowled. This time, Yuuma urged Aoi to share what she knew, taking care to be less forceful than Sugamo had been.

“Soga, please tell us whatever you remember. It’s all right if you make a mistake.”

Aoi continued cowering slightly, her voice trembling. “Um… It mentioned elixirs, which completely heal HP and MP and cure all status ailments, as well as panaceas, which don’t heal HP and MP but still cure afflictions. But those were both high-level items. We probably won’t be able to get our hands on those yet… There was also an item specifically for curing petrification, though. I think it was called a Rubellite Needle…”

“No, I didn’t do anything…” Aoi shook her head in embarrassment before retreating behind Mimi once again.

Now they knew what to search for in AM. True, they probably could have gotten that information from the guidebook after diving in, but Yuuma appreciated the chance to think things through ahead of time.

Yuuma wasn’t familiar with the word rubellite, but he figured it was probably some kind of gemstone like alexandrite or iolite. So if they were going to search for it, they should probably check the mountainous regions rather than in forests or near the sea.

Another voice interrupted Yuuma’s speculations.

“Just a second.”

It was Tada’s fellow card game player, Shinta Aida. He glanced around at the other students with an extremely serious expression and finally made up his mind to keep talking.

“It’s anyone’s guess as to when Niki and the others will attack again. Yes, we definitely need to get our hands on something to cure petrification, but before we go exposing ourselves to more danger by searching for it in AM, shouldn’t we exhaust all our options first…?”

“What do you mean?” Yuuma asked.

Aida rubbed his hand on his pants, seeming nervous. “The demon exploits. We’ve all got them, right? Maybe somebody has the power to cure any affliction simply by touch or something like that. Ashihara… How do we figure out our own exploits?”

“…”

Yuuma stared at the swoop of Aida’s faux-hawk, speechless. That was the last thing he was expecting Aida to say.

However, as someone who had witnessed Sawa’s and Aria’s demonic transformations firsthand and who had cowered before their terrible auras, Yuuma wasn’t sure that using the demon exploits was such a great idea. Doing so required cooperating with their demons, and there was no guarantee that all those demons were as good-natured as Valac, Crocell, or the unknown demon inhabiting Yuuma.

Aida and the others hadn’t seen the way that Aria had gone mostly berserk after transforming. Yuuma was trying to figure out how to best explain the risk of borrowing power from the demons when—

“Using the vires does not come without a price.”

—someone spoke first. Although calm, her voice weighed heavy in Yuuma’s ears. She stepped forward from the other students, dressed in a black windbreaker with magenta stripes, her face buried deep within her hood. It was Sawa.

She stood next to Yuuma and spun around to face the crowd.

“By and large, the demons inhabiting us are plotting to take over our bodies completely,” she added, staring straight at Shinta Aida. “That was their whole reason for possessing us in the first place, after all.”

“How do you know something like that…?” Aida asked.

Sawa gave a nonchalant shrug. “Because I’ve spoken with my demon. Obviously.”

“You’ve spoken…with your demon?” said Tada.

Most of the other students glanced at their friends, looking uneasy. The idea that there were demons possessing them sounded like some sort of fairy tale. But it looked like reality was finally starting to set in.

Sawa paused for a moment before giving them nearly the exact same explanation she had once given to Yuuma.

“So you’re saying…that you and your brother already knew about the demons when you first joined us in the shelter? I’m not trying to accuse you of something, but why didn’t you tell us until now?”

Just like Aida said, his tone of voice was not accusatory. But there was one student who probably wasn’t going to let such ammunition fall into his lap without saying something.

Yuuma snuck a peek in Sugamo’s direction. Sugamo was still sulking, but surprisingly, he did not seem interested in butting in.

Maybe Sugamo was still feeling sheepish after the way Mimi Hariya and the other girls had glared at him, but Yuuma would have thought that this was too good for him to pass up…

“The reason Yuu and I didn’t say anything earlier,” Sawa said, interrupting Yuuma’s train of thought, “is because we figured if you didn’t believe us the first time, it would have been that much harder to convince you the second time around. Also…”

Sawa glanced around slowly at the other students and then leveled her gaze in Aida’s direction once again.

“…we were worried that people would want to try out their exploits. Or think that using them might be a good idea. Exactly like you just suggested.”

“But what’s wrong with using our exploits?”

“Let me repeat: The demons’ endgame is to completely take over our bodies… There’s no need to be frightened; that won’t happen so easily. As long as we weather this out safely, here in the shelter, I suspect it could all blow over with more than half of us never even hearing our demon’s voice in the first place. But if you call out to your demon yourself or begin answering when it speaks to you…your ratio will start to increase.”

It was during the mock school trial, when Yuuma had been accused of being responsible for Takeshi Moro’s death during the Tabanus Hellfly Larvae attack. Sawa had muttered something out loud after Teruki Sugamo banged his tiny hammer on the counter to silence the murmuring students.

“His ratio is increasing…” That was what she had said.

Kakeru Niki had mentioned the word ratio as well. It clearly referred to the degree to which a person had been taken over by their demon. And if Sugamo’s ratio had already been increasing back then, that meant—

“Our ratio? Is that like the kill/death ratio in a game…?” someone asked, interrupting Yuuma’s thoughts. Instead of staring at Sugamo, Yuuma turned his attention toward the speaker. It was Tada again.

Sawa nodded firmly. “Yes. Strictly speaking, it’s our demonization ratio… The degree to which the demons have taken us over. Everyone, pull up your status screens.”

The students hesitantly lifted their hands, pinched their fingers together, and then flicked them open. One after another, purple-colored rectangles materialized before them.

Yuuma performed the pinch-out gesture, bringing up the Actual Magic menu. The default status window was long and detailed. His name, level, and experience bar were listed at the top. Underneath that were his HP and MP bars. The lower half listed information such as ability scores, attack power, defense, and resistances.

As far as Yuuma could tell, nothing on the screen had changed since the last time he had looked. Obviously, there was no sign of this demonization ratio that Sawa mentioned.

“Sawa…?” Yuuma whispered.

Sawa pointed toward the empty space underneath Yuuma’s MP bar. She raised her voice so that everyone else could hear, too.

“People, keep your eyes fixed on the space below your MP!”

The letters DR were written to the left of the bar. Wondering what those letters could mean, he pressed and held the spot for a moment until a small pop-up window appeared with the words Demonization Ratio.

Yuuma wasn’t sure if demonization was a real word; he couldn’t remember learning it in school, but he assumed it meant transforming into a demon. He slid his finger over the bar and the display changed to a simple numerical format reading 21/100.

The meaning behind these numbers was also clear. It meant that Yuuma had now transformed 21 percent of the way toward demonization. That seemed surprisingly low, considering that he had used his Quick Action ability multiple times during his fight with Niki, but supposing that number never went back down, if he kept using his exploit at this pace, it wouldn’t be long before he surpassed 30 percent.

What about Sawa? How high was her demonization ratio? He was actually more curious about her number than his own, but Sawa hadn’t opened her window. He was still trying to decide if that was the sort of thing he could ask about directly when Sawa started speaking again.

No one spoke for a moment. Even Tada and Aida, who were usually so talkative, glanced furtively at each other. The way the system was set up—so that you couldn’t see other people’s ratios—almost seemed intentionally designed to make it harder to ask, the closer you were to a person.

When Yuuma glanced at his own window once again, the DR bar had vanished. Apparently, it only appeared while you kept your eyes fixed on it. After about ten seconds of silence, Kenk spoke up.

“Hey, Saps,” he said, his tone easygoing. “There’s no need to share our number with everyone else, is there?”

“None at all. Even if we did, there would be no way to tell if that number was real. Although to be safe, I would prefer if anyone over fifty percent would self-report. By the way,” Sawa added nonchalantly, “my demonization ratio is forty-five.”

The other students’ eyes went wide. Most simply seemed surprised, but a few shuffled backward, afraid.

Yuuma chewed his lip softly. It was understandable for the students to react this way, but if things went south, there was a chance they could even be kicked out of the shelter. Fortunately, Sugamo, the only person who seemed likely to immediately suggest such a course of action, continued to hold his peace.

Kenk was once again the one to break the uncomfortable silence.

“What happens if our ratio goes over fifty?” he asked Sawa.

“Valac hasn’t told me the details, but at forty percent, you begin to take on demon form…to transform, like Aria has. And once you get past fifty, depending upon the situation, the demon can sometimes hijack your mind and body.”

“Really…?”

As Yuuma listened to Sawa’s explanation, he recalled the first time that Sawa and Valac had “switched.” It was in Playroom 02, on the third floor, just after Yuuma and Kenk had been kicked across the room by the powerful Conehead Demolisher. Sawa had cried out, “Come, Valac!!” That must have been the key word for the switch. Part of Yuuma felt like the demons having the ability to take over on their own might not always be such a bad thing, considering how something could always happen in the future that would prevent them from saying the phrase when they needed it most, but there was no guarantee that all demons were as friendly as Valac. Some demons might even begin to rampage indiscriminately inside the shelter the moment they switched places with their host.

“Still…,” Tada began.

Yuuma lifted his head. He was expecting Tada to say something about Sawa’s ratio.

“…if you look at it the other way, there’s not really a downside to letting your ratio reach around forty, is there? Shouldn’t we check out our exploits after all, just in case?”

“…”

Sawa seemed to consider what he said for a moment before nodding hesitantly. “I also suspect that’s going to be necessary at some point. But there’s no guarantee that our demonization ratios will only increase a little bit at a time. I’m pretty sure I was already past forty when I exited my Caliculus capsule. And in Aria’s case…”

Sawa trailed off, turning toward Yuuma. He blinked a few times and then picked up where Sawa had left off, the memory of what had happened still fresh in his mind.

“In that case, Aria’s ratio must be over forty but below fifty,” said Sawa. “Her anger was probably what triggered the demon to make contact, and she must have accepted its invitation… Meaning, I think, that she made a pact with the demon.”

“A pact…?” Yuuma cocked his head.

Sawa appeared slightly hesitant. “It’s kind of like how in manga or anime, you see demons offering to give stuff like wealth or a long life in exchange for your soul.”

“Y-your soul?! Are you saying that Mibs gave the demon her soul…?” Yuuma croaked out.

The rest of the class began murmuring among themselves.

“Her soul?!”

“That’s crazy!”

Sawa quickly shook her head. “No, no, that kind of stuff is just in manga. The demons in AM don’t want our souls or anything like that. But they do offer us their power.”

“Their power…? You mean they’re willing to just make us stronger, without anything in exchange?”

“There’s still a cost. There’s always a cost,” Sawa answered before turning her gaze toward the other students. “If you accept the demon’s proposal and receive its power—in other words, if you form a pact—your demonization ratio will skyrocket, and you’ll be able to enter demon form like Aria. You’ll also be able to use your exploit whenever you like. For the demon, that in itself is a reward. After all, the higher your ratio, the closer the demon gets to its final goal of taking you over completely.”

“That explains it…,” Yuuma muttered, remembering the strange voice he’d heard in his head several times lately. It sounded like a young boy’s voice but likely belonged to the demon inside Yuuma.

In other words, the demon possessing Yuuma had urged him to use his demon exploit, and Yuuma had done as he was told. That sounded awfully similar to the pact Sawa was talking about. But somehow, Yuuma’s own ratio hadn’t actually increased that much.

Yuuma was still trying to figure out what it all meant when another one of the students began speaking. This time it was one of the girls—Tomori Shimizu.

“I agree with Sawa. I think we should be cautious about using our demon exploits.”

It was natural that Tomori would feel wary, seeing as she had spoken to Valac directly when Sawa and the demon had changed places, but she didn’t look afraid. What Tomori said next only confirmed that impression for Yuuma.

“Valac, the demon possessing Sawa, saved my life, so I don’t think we should be excessively scared of the demons or the demon exploits. But it’s also possible that Niki, Nunono, and Metoki’s behavior is being influenced by the demons. The same could happen to everyone else here, so I think we need to have a minimum safety plan in place before we investigate what our demon exploits can do.”

“A safety plan? What do you mean?” Aida asked.

Tomori replied immediately, having apparently already thought that far ahead. “There’s a mid-level holy spell known as Holy Bands, which is designed to prevent friendly fire. Players affected by Holy Bands can’t damage one another. I’m not able to cast it yet, but if Nagi, or Aoi, or myself could learn that spell and cast it on everyone, we might be able to avoid a worst-case scenario, even if one of our demonization ratios spiked suddenly.”

“Of course…! That might be a good idea.”

Tada and the other students agreed with Aida.

“All right, we’ll wait until one of the Priests learns Holy Bands before we check our demon exploits. Until then, I want everyone to avoid calling out to their demons, and do not, under any circumstances, answer your demon, even if you hear its voice. It may take some time to cure the people who have been turned to stone, but make no mistake, we are going to get our hands on a Rubellite Needle, so—”

“Hey. Ashihara.”

A low, hoarse voice interrupted Yuuma, mid-sentence.

It had come from Haruki Hokari, who’d been standing at the back. He pushed his way forward. His unruly hair, which was shaved up high on the sides and a little disheveled now, spilled down his face. His eyes were flinty underneath the cascade of hair.

“When you go into AM to search for the petrification cure, take me with you.”

“What…?”

Yuuma reflexively glanced toward Sawa, making eye contact. Sawa arched her eyebrow by a faint centimeter, as if to suggest, Why not?

Yuuma turned back toward Hokari. “I’d welcome the extra fighting power…but the world of AM is more dangerous than even Althea. There is no end to the number of monsters roaming about there, and if you die in game, I’m not sure you’ll be able to revive or log out. You might even disappear from both worlds entirely. Game over…”

Yuuma was horrified by the prospect, despite being the one to paint this picture. Hokari, however, did not back down.

“I know the risks,” he said. “I don’t mean to act like Sera is more important than everyone else, but I can’t just sit around here doing nothing while he’s sitting there turned to stone.”

“…”

If Yuuma remembered correctly, the skateboarding duo of Hokari and Sera were both Rangers. If Hokari joined the search party, it would greatly expand their repertoire of available battle techniques. The issue, however, was that a single party was limited to just four players. They could form raid parties of four plus one or three plus two, but even if that allowed them to see everyone’s HP bars, there was healing and buff magic that was still party only, which meant there was a risk they wouldn’t be able to respond fast enough in the case of an emergency.

Yuuma was still trying to decide what to do when—

“I-in that case…I’ll go, too!” one of the girls announced in a trembling voice, stumbling forward.

Slightly smaller framed than the rest of the female students, she had short hair that curled at the ends and was wearing a light pink hoodie over her school uniform. Her name was Chinami Nushiro—she was part of Aria Misono and Shouko Ezato’s clique. If Yuuma remembered correctly, her character class in AM was Thief.

They didn’t have a Thief in their party, so she was sure to be useful when it came to things like scouting or picking locks but only if she could fight properly as well. Hokari already had experience from facing off against the Conehead Bruiser when it attacked the shelter; would Chinami be brave enough to fight once the party encountered monsters?

“Erm…”

Yuuma wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. Chinami, however, seemed to sense his hesitation. She began to plead her case, a hint of desperation on her face.

“I was standing right next to Aria and Shouko, but when Niki used his wind spell, they both shielded me… It’s the only reason I was able to escape behind the ice. If Aria hadn’t protected me, she might not have been turned to stone. I need to help search for that item. For both their sakes.”

Nagi, who was standing nearby, smiled and nodded. Sawa and Nagi were both core members of the party. If they thought it was all right, then Yuuma was hardly going to disagree. Kenk probably felt the same, as well.

Besides, a six-member group meant they could form raid parties of three plus three. Yuuma still wished they had more than one Priest, but so long as they did their best to avoid battle, things would probably work out all right…

“And I’ll go, too, of course!” Tomori Shimizu said, quickly raising her hand. It looked like there was no need to worry after all.

They would now have two Priests, a Warrior, a Mage, a Monster Tamer, a Ranger, and a Thief. For the sake of balance, Yuuma would have preferred to have one more fighter on the team, but his first choice for the job, Youichi Oono, had already been turned to stone. He sized up the other students, trying to decide on the next best replacement, when—

“Shimizu isn’t going anywhere,” someone insisted, his voice loud and blunt.

Yuuma was wondering when the other shoe would finally drop. He cast a glance toward the speaker—Teruki Sugamo.

Sugamo was glowering like always, but Yuuma couldn’t interpret the emotion in his eyes. If Sugamo’s ratio really had increased, like Sawa said, then he must have already made internal contact with his demon, at the very least. So then why was he still keeping that to himself?

In fact, there was no guarantee that Sugamo’s interaction with his demon didn’t already go beyond mere contact. Depending on Sugamo’s ratio, he might already be able to use his exploit or even transform into demon form.

While Yuuma was still thinking, Sawa spoke up in his place.

“And why not?! With two parties, we’re obviously going to need two Priests. And Nagi and Tomori seem like the obvious choice.”

“…”

What Sugamo said was logical and surprisingly restrained. Not even Sawa could disagree. However, Tomori didn’t seem satisfied.

“The only spells Niki used were Air Blast, which has low attack power, and Petrify, which doesn’t cause hit point damage at all,” she countered. “It seems like his goal was to disable the shelter without injuring anyone.”

“So what? Next time he attacks we should just let him turn us all to stone?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. If we can understand what Niki was trying to accomplish, we can turn that against him. If their main focus is flashy crowd control, we can pull the rug out from under them by using fast frontline physical attacks and magic attacks that have fast casting times and projectile speeds. Of course, we don’t want to kill them, but if we can do enough damage to shut them down, we may be able to get them to cough up their reasons for attacking us.”

“Ohhh…!”

An exclamation of admiration escaped Tada’s lips.

“See, I knew she had those glasses for a reason,” said his friend Aida, in what Yuuma supposed was meant to be a compliment.

Tomori sounded a little desperate as she pled her case. Even Sugamo had to hear her out. After several seconds of thinking, however, his answer was still negative.

“No… I suppose not,” Tomori murmured with a sigh, apparently ceding Sugamo’s point.

Seeing the look on Tomori’s face, Nagi took a small step forward. “It’s fine so long as one of us stays in the shelter, though, right, Sugamo? Either Tomori or me. In that case, let me be the one to stay.”

“Absolutely not!” Tomori blurted out before Sugamo got the chance to reply. She turned toward Nagi and said, “Nagi, you should be the one to go with Sawa and the others. I know my level is a little higher than yours, but I’m not nearly as used to working with everyone as you are and I don’t have a fraction of your gaming skills…”

“That’s not true. I was just lying around unconscious while you supported everyone during the fight in the mayor’s mansion, remember?” Nagi said with an encouraging smile.

Yuuma was a little relieved to see that Nagi still had the same smile as always. Nagi had switched with Crocell during the fight against Constable Oeben, which meant that her demonization ratio must already be over 30 percent, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be affecting her personality.

But if she was the same old Nagi, that also meant that the softer she spoke, the less willing she was to compromise. Yuuma had a feeling they might be here for a while…

Suddenly, a sharp snap interrupted Nagi and Tomori’s battle of manners. It was Sugamo. He had lifted his hand high into the air and snapped his fingers to get everyone’s attention.

“Enough. If you can’t decide for yourselves, then I’ll decide for you. We stick with the original roster. Sano joins the search party, and Shimizu stays in the shelter. The second Priest for the search party will be Soga.”

“But…I—I can’t!” cried a feeble voice.

“I… I’m only level 6. I can barely use beginner healing magic…,” she stammered. “There’s no way I’ll be able to fill in for Tomori…”

“Well, your level can’t be much lower than Hokari and Nushiro’s,” Sugamo said, pointing at the two boys, who both nodded silently.

Now that Yuuma thought about it, the only students in the first-floor shelter who had leveled up much since the playtest ended were himself, Sawa, Kenk, Nagi, and Tomori. The other twelve—eighteen, including the students who had been turned to stone—were probably all at about the same level still.

But in a fulldive RPG, a player’s own skill and experience mattered just as much, if not more so, than their character level and equipment. As did their courage, of course. And while Yuuma didn’t consider himself particularly brave, he didn’t think Aoi, who was already cowering at the mere thought of diving in, was going to be able to stand her ground against the monsters in AM—especially now that they had grown so much more vicious than they had been during the playtest…

But wait, thought Yuuma. Deciding things for Aoi and purposely keeping her away from battle will only lower her chances of survival in the long run.

After all, there was no guarantee that the shelter would remain safe in the future. At some point, the time could come when Aoi had to fight to protect herself. And when that time comes, if she perishes because her level and experience were too low, it will have been Yuuma’s fault, for arbitrarily deciding that the battles in AM were too much for her to handle.

“It’ll be okay, Soga,” Yuuma said impulsively. “You read the guidebook very carefully during the playtest, didn’t you? So you have all the knowledge you need to be a good Priest, and the rest of us can cover for your lower level. It’s your choice whether you go or not, of course, but if you’re anxious that you won’t be a good enough Priest, I promise, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Even after Yuuma finished, Aoi’s lips remained pursed. Her eyes, which were difficult to see through her long bangs, glimmered slightly with a film of tears.

Mimi placed a hand on Aoi’s head, apparently feeling like she had to say something.

“Don’t worry, Aoi. I’ll go, too. As a Merchant, I probably won’t be as much help as a Warrior, though.”

Aoi rubbed her eyes and smiled awkwardly at her friend. “Thank you, Mimi… But it’s all right… I’ll be fine with Ashihara and the others.”

“Really…?” Mimi looked shocked. “You’re sure you don’t need me to come with you?”

Yuuma was as surprised as Mimi was, but Aoi just clasped her hands together and nodded earnestly.

“I’m sure. Yukimi is probably doing her best, wherever she is… And I need to get stronger, too, so that I’ll be ready to save her.”

“…Right.” Mimi nodded back with a smile, ruffling Aoi’s hair.

Despite all the twists and turns along the way, the seventh member of their search party had now been decided. If possible, Yuuma would have still liked to have one more Warrior. As he was glancing around at his classmates one last time, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a sneaker sole squeaking on the floor tiles.

“I’ll be number eight. You’ll need another Warrior beside Kondou,” Teruki Sugamo said as he took a step forward. Yuuma stared at him in surprise.

It wasn’t like Sugamo to put himself forward under circumstances like these. Yuuma half suspected that Sugamo was up to something, but surely not even Sugamo would try to undermine an expedition to save their petrified friends. In fact, maybe Aria being turned to stone by Niki had finally woken up Sugamo’s will to fight. Still, though…

“That won’t work, Sug,” Yuuma said.

“It’s not that. You’re the shelter’s leader, Sug. If you’re gone, who will take charge if something bad happens?”

“…”

Yuuma could hear Sugamo clench his teeth. There was a fierce glint in Sugamo’s eyes, beneath his disheveled bangs, but Yuuma didn’t sense any signs of demonic transformation. The fire burning deep in Sugamo’s eyes right now was just human anger…and perhaps pain.

“I know I can’t abandon my responsibilities as a leader… But…”

Sugamo’s right hand was clenched into a fist. He lifted it in front of his chest as he spoke, his voice strained. After several seconds of silence, he slowly relaxed his fist and let his hand fall to his side again.

“When I think about just sitting here for hours and hours, doing nothing, waiting for you all to return…I feel like I might lose my mind…”

Sugamo’s voice was raspy and barely audible. When was the last time Sugamo had opened up about his feelings this much? Maybe the shell that Sugamo had buried himself in ever since they had become trapped in Althea—no, ever since the student council elections last year—was finally beginning to crack.

“Sug…”

Yuuma took a breath. He wanted to let Sugamo know, as best as he could, that they were going to find what they needed. Sugamo just needed to trust in them and wait. Besides, there were plenty of other things that still needed to be done in the shelter.

Before Yuuma could speak, however, someone else beat him to the punch.

“I… I’ll go as number eight!”

The voice cracked slightly, a little high for a boy’s. The student who stumbled forward had disheveled wavy hair that hung down to about his nose. It was Sugamo’s friend—or rather lackey—Kai Kisanuki.

Kisanuki flinched. Yuuma couldn’t help but stare; he’d never had a chance to learn Kisanuki’s character class until now. He had no idea that Kisanuki was a Monster Tamer, too.

Like Sugamo said, the Monster Tamer class wasn’t generally geared toward close combat. While they could still be built for the front lines, that was only after their stats had increased a little. While at single-digit levels, Monster Tamers were incapable of equipping metal shields or armor.

But Kisanuki, though stuttering, held his ground.

“D-during the p-playtest, I tamed a Rock Slime. The Rock Slime can tank! It’s even expendable in an emergency! M-Misono is my friend, too…I think… I want to cure her right away, too… And b-besides…”

Kisanuki hesitated for a moment. Then he lifted his head and looked Sugamo in the eye.

“…I…I feel really bad about taking all the snacks in the eat-in corner for myself!” he said, louder this time. “I still have to make up for that!”

“…”

Sugamo blinked, apparently taken by surprise. He sucked at his teeth lightly and then looked away.

Yuuma held his breath, glancing back and forth between the two.

Yuuma was pretty sure that the incident that Kisanuki mentioned, when he had supposedly taken all the snacks for himself, had actually been just a farce staged by Sugamo. It was Sugamo who found the treasure trove of snacks in the eat-in corner, just after fleeing to the shelter, and then hid them inside his own inventory. He later transferred those snacks to Kisanuki’s inventory using the trade function and then had Kisanuki pretend to nibble on some in a corner, thus setting Kisanuki up as the culprit. But by voluntarily sharing in the blame, Sugamo was able to come off as a fair leader in the other students’ eyes.

Maybe Yuuma hadn’t given Kisanuki enough credit… He was more headstrong than he seemed. Plus, Rock Slimes had excellent DEF. If what Kisanuki said about taming one was true, it would be more than enough for a tank.

“Why not, Sug? I think Kisanuki would make a great choice as our eighth member,” Yuuma said.

“Fine…,” Sugamo muttered.

With a sigh of relief, Yuuma glanced in Kisanuki’s direction. As their eyes met, Kisanuki bowed his head slightly, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

Yuuma was promptly swallowed up by the gulf of sleep.

Five minutes later, he was shaken awake.

“Yuu… Psst, Yuu.”

Yuuma scrunched his face up. Someone was tugging at his shoulder and whispering into his ear. Yuuma was pretty sure he told the mysterious, murmuring voice to leave him alone, but the shaking only grew more intense.

“What now…?” Yuuma groaned, somehow managing to pry his eyelids open, despite the fact that they felt like they were glued shut. Orange emergency lighting flooded his eyes, causing him to blink several times and turn his head to the side.

As he did so, he was confronted by Sawa’s face, just ten centimeters away. She was supposed to be sleeping next to him, but it looked like she had been awake this whole time.

“Sorry, Yuu, but we can’t go to sleep quite yet,” she whispered.

“Okay, but…you’re not planning to go somewhere at this time of night, are you…?” Yuuma asked hoarsely.

“In a sense, but it won’t involve moving,” Sawa replied before inching closer and pressing her face against Yuuma’s.

Sawa was his twin; they had been together since birth, but this behavior was still strange enough to cause Yuuma’s heart to skip a beat.

“Wh-what are you—?” he started.

“Close your eyes and chant the words aperta ostium at the same time as me.”

“A-aper—?”

“Ready on three…two…”

““Aperta ostium.””

The strange spell-like phrase Sawa had just taught him rolled off Yuuma’s tongue with abnormal ease. He said the words in perfect sync with Sawa.

It felt like a spark jumping, where the skin on his face came into contact with the skin on hers.

Yuuma’s body disappeared. The world disappeared. In the deep dark, Yuuma began to plummet, down, down, in a straight line. It was like diving into AM in the Caliculus capsules, but in the capsules, everything went white. Here it was the reverse—infinite ebony darkness, like he had dunked his head into a vat of black ink.

Just as Yuuma was about to frantically shout Sawa’s name, he landed on his backside with a thump, on top of something dense yet soft. The sudden impact served to scatter the surrounding darkness.

Yuuma narrowed his eyes as bright light began pouring in. There was smooth white sand beneath him now, spreading out in an arc to his left and right. Before him lay an endless, sprawling blue sea. He seemed to be on a sandy beach, but not the kind where you might go to swim.

Looking up, the entire sky was stained an orangish red. Not like sunset. A color like the end of the world. It did not help that there were several massive balls of fire cutting a path across the sky, high overhead. The sight of the meteors as they fell toward the horizon, with their drifting tails of smoke, was unsettling, but for some reason Yuuma felt no fear. It was almost as if he had seen all this before…

“Huh… So this is your internus, Yuu,” someone said suddenly from behind Yuuma. He quickly jumped to his feet.

The moment Yuuma turned around, a strangled exclamation of surprise escaped his lips. He stumbled, almost landing on his backside again, but somehow managed to recover his balance.

Sawa was standing there about three meters away. Only, there were two of her.

Yuuma stared back and forth between the two sisters. He quickly checked that he was still wearing his own uniform and asked timidly, “Uh… Wh-which one of you is the real Sawa…?”

The demon Sawa cracked a faint smile.

“You mean you can’t tell…Yuumy?” she teased.

Meanwhile, the Sawa on the right—the one in the school uniform—made a show of frowning. “You know perfectly well that I never call you Yuumy anymore, Yuu!”

That settled it. Yuuma spoke to the Sawa on the right first.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure you’ve called me Yuumy about twenty times since we got to Althea.”

Then he looked at the other Sawa.

“You’re Valac…aren’t you?”

“Bingo!”

With another grin, the demonic Sawa—or rather the demon Valac—turned her head upward to face the crimson sky. The smile disappeared from her lips, replaced by a look of bittersweet sadness.

There was a lot that Yuuma wanted to ask, but something about Valac, as she stared at the ceaselessly falling meteor storm, seemed unapproachable at the moment. Yuuma couldn’t bring himself to speak to her. Instead, he took a few steps toward Sawa, who was standing next to Valac.

“What…is this place…?” he asked quietly.

Sawa cocked her head. “Valac called it the internus…the soulscape. I don’t really understand it myself, but I guess it’s some kind of inner universe or spiritual world.”

“Huh… So in other words, we’re probably inside Valac’s mind.”

Thinking back, there were scenes like this in many of the stories Yuuma had seen or read, when the hero was possessed by something, where the hero talked to the creature in some sort of strange world. Yuuma still had his eyelenses in, but the UI had vanished. Maybe that was because he was no longer in either the real world or the world of AM?

“So then…just why did you call me here? Or no, I guess you came to me. But still…”

“Isn’t it obvious? I wanted to meet your demon.”

“…”

It didn’t seem that obvious to Yuuma, but now that she said it, it was hard to think up another good reason for Valac to be here. Up to this point, Yuuma hadn’t spared much thought for the relationships between the demons, but Valac and Crocell seemed to have been on good enough terms when they met before, so maybe the same held true for Valac and the unknown demon inside Yuuma. Besides, Yuuma wanted to meet his demon, too.

He let his eyes roam along the beach once more, but there was still no one else present, just the three of them. If this space was the demon’s internus—in other words, its mind—then it had to be here somewhere. However…

“Umm… Maybe they’re somewhere else right now. Why don’t we go look for them…?” Yuuma suggested, turning toward Valac again, but the demon spread her hands out in exasperation.

“There is no somewhere else in an internus. It doesn’t matter how far you walk, wherever you are will always be the center of the world. Meaning, your demon must be here as well. They are merely hiding.”

“Hiding…?”

Yuuma glanced to the left and right once more and even down at his own feet, but he couldn’t see anyplace where a person might hide. It wasn’t like the demon could burrow into the sand or under the sea, was it?

“Okay, but where?”

In response, Valac lifted her right hand into the air. Her fingers were pinched together in a circle, as if she was holding something. A glass suddenly appeared between her fingers, as if out of the blue, triggering a reflexive gasp of wonder from Yuuma’s lips.

Yuuma’s mouth suddenly felt parched. He gulped loudly.

“This is an imago world,” said Valac. “Nothing is impossible if you wish hard enough. Obviously, the world itself cannot be altered in any way you wish, but making little things like this appear or disappear, or making it so that you cannot be found, is a simple endeavor.”

“So you’re…going to make that disappear?” Yuuma asked.

Valac sighed in exasperation and handed over the glass. “Enjoy, Yuumy.”

“…Th-thank you.”

Despite feeling a belated rush of embarrassment, Yuuma’s thirst got the better of him and he took the glass in both hands. It was cold like ice. It was hard to believe it was just a product of imagination. He brought the glass, which was filled to the brim, up to his lips, careful not to spill.

Sawa, who had been quiet until now, spoke up suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her. “Wait, is that—?”

But Yuuma tipped the glass back without hesitation. The liquid that gushed into his mouth was sour-sweet and bracingly cold. The mellow sweetness seemed to suggest citrus rather than pineapple, but that only made it even more refreshing than he had imagined. He slowly savored it on his tongue before swallowing with a gulp. For some reason, however, after swallowing, his throat suddenly began to burn—

“Ngh… Ngrh?!”

“See, I knew it!” Sawa shouted, while Yuuma choked slightly on his own cough. “Valac! That was alcohol, wasn’t it?!”

“Indeed. An American-style daiquiri, to be exact. But does that really matter? It’s not like the Yuuma out in Veras will get drunk from this.”

While Yuuma listened to the two interact, he timidly brought the glass to his lips once more. This time he took a smaller sip, rolling it around on his tongue. The bitterness that prickled at his tongue, underneath the sour-sweetness, was probably the taste of alcohol. One time during New Year’s, at his paternal grandparents’ house, they had let him have a little sip of the special holiday spiced sake, but Yuuma thought it had tasted terrible. Honestly, though, this wasn’t so bad—in fact, he kind of liked the taste.

After finishing the last gulp and letting out a sigh, Yuuma realized Sawa was saying something.

“…Make me one, too.”

“Fine, fine, but first…”

Valac lifted her left hand into the air and flicked it gently to the side, at which point a huge beach umbrella floated down from above, the pole burying itself deeply into the white sand. Four beach chairs also rose up from the dark patch of shade created beneath the umbrella.

Valac sat down in one of the chairs, which were arranged in a fan shape, and flicked her hand to the side again. The empty glass in Yuuma’s hand disappeared, and four new ones appeared on the circular table that was attached to the umbrella’s pole.

“Have a seat. Before your cocktails get warm.”

Dumbfounded, Yuuma and Sawa plonked themselves down in the beach chairs like Valac suggested. The chairs were completely different from the aluminum frame and polyester mesh outdoors chairs at Yuuma and Sawa’s house. These chairs were a more classic design, with wooden frames and canvas seating that felt wonderful to sit in. Yuuma wondered at first why she had made enough space for four, but she had probably included one for Yuuma’s demon as well, which was still hiding out somewhere.

“Um… Bottoms up, I guess,” Yuuma muttered, reaching for his glass on the table.

As he took a sip, the sweet citric flavor of orange immediately overtook his tongue, followed by a rich, florid fragrance and the tang of carbonation. Yuuma couldn’t detect any taste of alcohol this time—Valac seemed to have scaled it back in comparison to the daiquiri from earlier.

“Wow, this is delicious. What is it?” Sawa asked.

Valac swirled her own glass as she answered. “A mimosa. Long ago, it used to be called something different. A champagne à l’orange, I believe… It’s a fairly simple cocktail. You just add orange juice to champagne and stir. I thought it would suit you both better, as it’s not that strong.”

“Champagne? I first thought it was soda because of the fizz.”

Sawa seemed satisfied with Valac’s explanation, but something about what the demon said bothered Yuuma slightly. He glanced at Valac out of the corner of his eye.

If Valac was an AI-enabled NPC from the world of Actual Magic, she would’ve been born—or rather implemented—during AM’s development period in the latter half of the 2020s. But Valac had mentioned that the drink was called something else long ago. Yuuma had never even heard of a mimosa, let alone drunk one, but he was pretty sure it hadn’t been invented in just the last few years.

Yuuma took another sip before venturing a question, trying to come off as casual.

“Do you know any other cocktails?”

The demon nodded, as if the answer was obvious. “Naturally. The only recipes I know are from before the war… But I probably know a good dozen or two in total.”

“B-before the war…?”

Not that it was rare for food and drinks from the real world to show up in game. Pomegranate Pavilion back in Calcina had served sirloin steaks and coffee, so it wouldn’t have been that big of a surprise to see daiquiris or other kinds of cocktails on the menu…

While Yuuma was puzzling over all this, Sawa, who had already finished off her drink, leaned back in the beach chair and let out a long sigh.

“Phew… Valac’s internus is pretty, but yours is way more relaxing if you ask me, Yuu. Although I am a little freaked out that those meteors might hit the ground at some point.”

“They won’t,” Valac muttered, her eyes fixed on the horizon. “They’re headed for the land on the other side of the ocean.”

“The other side…? Is Yuu’s demon’s internus that big?”

Instead of answering Sawa’s question, Valac glanced at the empty glass in Sawa’s hand. “Forget about that. Why not have another drink instead?”

“Um… Yeah, okay. Thank you.”

“Actually, never mind. I think you’ve had enough.”

“What? But why?!” Sawa said, miffed.

Valac smirked at her. “A demon can ply you with whatever you wish in the internus. Food, drink, a home, wealth and treasures, even other living creatures. As a result, many hospes—hosts—never go back to Veras in the end.”

“Humph…”

Sawa stared at her glass even more reluctantly than before but dutifully placed it back upon the table. Yuuma started to feel a little uneasy as well but finished off the remainder of his mimosa anyway, figuring just two drinks wouldn’t do any harm. There was something exhilarating about the way the drink slid down his throat, in a way that differed from plain orange juice. He placed his empty glass back on the table.

“Hey, Valac, what happens to a host’s real body if they don’t return? Do they just…lie there?” he asked nervously.

For the first time in a while, the faint smile on Valac’s face looked appropriately demonic.

“Of course not,” she said. “Don’t be foolish. The body becomes the demon’s property…entirely.”

“I—I see…”

Yuuma flinched, taking another look around.

There was still no one else on the beach other than the three of them. Despite the chair and glass that Valac had provided, it did not seem as if Yuuma’s demon intended to show up.

Yuuma wasn’t even sure of his demon’s name, but was its ultimate goal, just like Sawa’s Valac and Nagi’s Crocell, to take over Yuuma’s body? Maybe even these two cocktails were all part of a groundwork the demon was laying…

It was a disturbing thought. Despite this, as he lay in the beach chair’s soft embrace, listening to the sound of the waves in his ears, Yuuma’s eyes began to grow heavy. He started blinking and glanced to the side to find that Sawa had already fallen asleep at some point.

“You can rest now as well. When you wake again, you’ll be back in the real world.”

Valac’s whisper seemed to coil pleasantly inside Yuuma’s ear, making him even drowsier. He clung to the last threads of consciousness.

“But we haven’t met my demon yet…,” he managed.

“Not to worry. Now that I’ve seen your internus for myself, I already know who is inside you.”

“You do…? What’s their name…?”

“You will have to figure that one out for yourself.”

“…”

Yuuma didn’t have the courage to press for an answer, but he still had other important questions.

Valac snorted briefly in exasperation. “I hate to tell you this, child, but I, too, know very little about the world of Algol… But if it’s a gemstone you’re after, I suppose it would make more sense to search the mountains than near the sea. I believe there is a village near Lake Sumiu. Why not try asking there?”

“Lake Sumiu… Where is…that…?” Yuuma said, trying to remain focused, but his eyelids lost the battle against gravity.

Maybe he had heard Valac’s answer. But if he had, the memory was already gone.

At the moment, Tomori was sitting against the wall a short distance away, holding an onigiri in one hand while deep in conversation with Aoi Soga. As the more experienced Priest, she was probably schooling Aoi on how to conduct herself during a fight. The other students had split into small groups and were eating breakfast as well, but everyone was far more quiet than they would have been during school lunch.

Most of the students had probably still been half expecting the adults to come rescue them once morning came. Yuuma was no exception. But all was quiet inside Althea now. There were no signs of any rescue squads coming to break through the exterior plate glass and rush in to save them.

Yuuma had been doing his best not to think about what might be going on outside, but it was still strange. According to Sawa, the exterior plate glass walls had been reinforced with powerful magic now, so that even heavy machinery would not stand a chance against them. But just because it was hopeless didn’t mean the police or firefighters would be standing around helplessly, biting their nails. They were probably out there with power hammers and buzz saws, doing everything they could to get in. So then why was it so quiet? It didn’t make any sense.

Yuuma chewed the inside of his cheek, wishing he had asked Valac about that while in the internus last night, although he was pretty sure she wouldn’t have told him the answer. If Yuuma wanted to know something, it would probably make more sense to ask his own demon than to ask Valac.

But Yuuma’s demon hadn’t even told him its name yet. Why? If Yuuma was persistent enough, would it eventually be forced to answer…?

“Phew, that hit the spot,” Kenk said, interrupting Yuuma’s reverie.

Looking around, Yuuma saw that Sawa and Nagi had also finished eating and were already cleaning up.

Yuuma’s plastic bottle of mineral water was now empty. He was about to crush it in his hands, so that it could be thrown away as well, when he suddenly stopped himself.

“Hey, everyone…put your empty bottles into your inventories, just to be safe. We might be able to use them as canteens over in AM,” he suggested.

“Oh, good idea,” said Kenk, who nodded and opened his window.

Nagi and Sawa stowed their plastic bottles as well, which were still half full. The four rose to their feet.

As they stood up, Haruki Hokari, Kai Kisanuki, and Chinami Nushiro approached from the other side of the room. The two boys had iron pipes in their belts, while a steel ruler poked out from the pocket of Chinami’s hoodie. Hokari was a Ranger, so he probably would have preferred a bow, but there was obviously no way to get his hands on something like that anywhere around here, and a bow was probably too difficult to make on their own.

“We’re ready when you are,” Hokari said.

There was no trace of the dismal look that had been on his face the previous night. Kisanuki and Chinami seemed to have slept well also.

“Understood,” Yuuma said, glancing to the left, but Tomori Shimizu and Aoi Soga, who had been there just a moment ago, were suddenly gone.

Yuuma panicked for a moment, but the door to the back room opened and he caught sight of the two girls. That must have just gone to the bathroom.

Aoi scurried toward them, bowing her head slightly toward the rest of the group.

“S-sorry, everyone, I got a little queasy suddenly…,” she said in her tiny voice.

“Aoi, are you okay? You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, right?”

Probably not even Sugamo would force her to join them if she wasn’t feeling well. Yuuma took a look around the room while waiting for her answer, wondering who they should ask to take Aoi’s place if she decided not to go, but Aoi shook her head lightly.

“I’m okay. I can do it,” she insisted.

Nagi hesitated for a moment but then nodded sharply and flashed Aoi a smile. “I see… Glad to hear it.”

Yuuma was still worried, but if Aoi said she was fine, there was no reason to exclude her.

“Once she gets inside a Caliculus, her actual physical condition won’t matter anymore,” Sawa whispered to Yuuma.

“Oh yeah… I guess you’re right,” Yuuma whispered back.

His sister was a realist, like always.

He took a step forward. “Okay, then… Should we get going? The four of you have already formed a party, right?”

“We have,” Hokari replied. “You’ll be leading the raid, right, Ashihara?”

“Before we get to that… I think you should call Sawa and me by our first names while we’re out on mission. In order to avoid confusion.”

“Oh… Yeah, that makes sense.” Hokari nodded awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Yuuma and Sawa it is, then.”

“I’ll call you guys Yuu and Sawa!” Chinami said.

“Me too,” Aoi added quietly.

“It’s settled, then.”

Yuuma tried hiding his embarrassment at being called by his first name by girls he didn’t actually know very well. He turned toward Kai Kisanuki.

“M-maybe I’ll just go with Mr. and Ms. Ashihara… I probably won’t speak up that much anyway…,” Kisanuki suggested softly.

Yuuma decided to go along with it for now. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Kisanuki sighed in relief.

Yuuma turned his attention toward Hokari again. “I’d like you to be the raid leader, Hokari.”

“What…? Why me?”

“I’ll explain after we dive into AM. But don’t worry, being leader doesn’t make monsters target you more or anything like that,” Yuuma replied before tapping his window.

Yuuma sent a party link request to Hokari. As the one who had sent the request, Yuuma was automatically assigned as raid leader once Hokari pressed OK, so he tapped his window once more to transfer leadership to Hokari. After switching to the trade tab and transferring three MP potions to Aoi, their Priest, their preparations were complete.

As Yuuma closed his window…

“We’re counting on you guys! Stay safe out there!” someone shouted.

Yuuma lifted his head to see Mimi Hariya standing nearby. She wasn’t alone; the other students were standing with her in a line, shouting out their own words of encouragement.

“What did I say? Leave it to us! We’ll find that item and bring it back in no time flat,” Kenk called, bringing a strained smile to Yuuma’s face.

Yuuma glanced around at his peers, wishing Kenk wouldn’t make such big promises. He suddenly realized there was one person missing. The shelter’s leader, Teruki Sugamo.

After taking another look, Yuuma spotted Sugamo in the eat-in section in the back right corner. He was standing near Aria Misono, glaring in their direction. He looked as grumpy as always, but at least he was seeing the party off. Yuuma nodded softly in Sugamo’s direction and then turned away.

With the entrance fully blocked again, there was no indication that the other students were even inside. Yuuma hadn’t felt any fear when they had stepped outside the shelter the previous night to set the Whistle Traps, but his palms grew sweaty now at the mere sight of the gloomy waiting area and the yawning main lobby beyond. This was probably due to the added pressure of having the lives of the other four, who were entering the world of AM for the first time, on his hands.

Yuuma would have preferred to wait until he had calmed down a little, but they didn’t have a minute to waste. After all, there was a chance that Kakeru Niki might attack the shelter again while Yuuma and the others were gone.

“…Let’s go, Yuu,” Nagi urged, her voice as cheerful as always.

“Yeah,” Yuuma muttered briefly, placing one foot in front of the other.

It took a whole ten minutes for them to traverse the waiting area and main lobby, pass through the elevator lobby, ascend the emergency stairwell, and arrive at Playroom 01 on the second floor.

They could have probably made it there in three minutes’ time if they had hurried, but since they had to walk in a single-file line along the wall to avoid triggering the Whistle Traps, that couldn’t be helped. Fortunately, at least, they didn’t encounter any monsters or other barriers along their route. Yuuma had been worried that Niki and the others would have done something to block the path to the second floor after they retreated last night, but it looked as if they hadn’t had the wherewithal for such tricks. Or maybe they had left the way open on purpose, so that they would be able to attack the shelter again next time.

The playroom was silent, and there were no signs of monsters. But Yuuma and the others couldn’t afford to be careless.

A total of 720 Nozomi City residents had been invited to Actual Magic’s launch, if Yuuma remembered correctly. Minus the forty-one students of Yukihana Elementary School Class 6-1, that left 679 people. There must have been about a hundred or so Althea staff members and IO-Tage (the company that developed AM) employees present as well. Based on that number, there could very well be twenty to thirty ultra-class enemies, like the Conehead Demolisher, still lurking out there.

As for why they had invited 720 guests in the first place, the answer was obvious. There were eighty Caliculus capsules in each playroom, and nine playrooms in total, and eighty times nine equaled 720. At first, Yuuma thought it was awfully generous of the company to invite the maximum number of players, free of charge…but if IO-Tage were the ones behind whatever was going on here, maybe they had just wanted to maximize the number of victims.

While these thoughts ran through Yuuma’s head, he began making his way clockwise around the outside walkway of Playroom 01. Although the damage at the front of the room was severe, the playroom was in relatively good shape the farther back they went. They eventually found a spot with eight undamaged Caliculus capsules standing side by side and, after checking out the area just to be safe, entered them one by one. They locked their lids and laid down on the gel cushion mats inside before reciting the voice command to dive in.

Once he opened his eyes, a sky of complicated hues filled his view. The cirrus clouds floating high overhead scintillated deep red, while the cumulus clouds drifting below them were a deep indigo. The snippets of sky that peeked out from between the clouds were a lapis lazuli gradation, fading from pearlescent to a faint blue. For a moment, Yuuma thought he was looking at a sunset, but that couldn’t be. The time in AM was the same as it was in the real world—sunrise.

A vast plain stretched all around him, and to the north, he could see a shadow that looked like it might be a forest. This was Yuuma’s third time diving in, including the playtest, but the world was so bright and vibrant compared to Althea, in which there was only dim artificial light, that it still took his breath away. Unlike the beauty of the internus, which somehow felt staged, AM’s beauty felt more real than even reality.

“It’s…so pretty…,” someone suddenly said.

Yuuma instinctively turned and spotted Aoi Soga, dressed in a cassock, eyes wide, frozen in wonder.

The other party members dove in as well, one after the next. Once Yuuma saw that all eight of them were present, he opened his window. He was confirming their present location when Kenk leaned over from Yuuma’s side, taking a peek at the map and doing a double take.

“Wait a second…! This is the same starting location as yesterday, isn’t it?! What are we doing here for…?” he exclaimed before suddenly grabbing Yuuma’s arm as if a new possibility had just occurred to him. “Oh crap! Yuu! What if the four of us wind up in the lord mayor’s mansion in Calcina again, while Hokari and the others spawn here at the original starting point even though we dove in together?!”

“Oh. Oh yeah,” Kenk muttered after glancing around and seeing that all eight party members were there.

Nagi chuckled slightly and turned toward Yuuma with a befuddled look on her face. “Why did we wind up here, though? According to the usual rules of the game, shouldn’t we have spawned in the way Kenk described?”

“Yes… But when me, Sawa, Kenk, and Shimizu dove in yesterday, we all spawned in together, right here. I think maybe, with the official launch…which I guess is what you could call this now. I don’t know… But either way, if any players are diving into the new AM for the first time, I think the system is probably set up so that everyone spawns in at the same location as the leader.”

“Of course, so that’s why you asked Hokari to be raid leader…,” Nagi said, nodding in satisfaction and looking toward their new members.

The other four were staring at the scenery, speechless. Yuuma gave them time, wondering who would be the first to notice. After several seconds…

“Wait… I can smell things!” shouted Nushiro, who was dressed in studded leather armor.

Aoi sniffed at the breeze. “You’re right…,” she agreed. “I can smell grass and flowers. During the playtest, there were no smells at all…”

“Does that mean you can taste things in here, too?” Hokari asked before plucking a single blade of grass from the ground and quickly placing it between his teeth. He immediately spat it out, coughing repeatedly. “Ugh, gross! It tastes like grass!”

“You idiot, don’t eat random grass around here. It could be poisonous!” Kenk said.

Hokari quickly tossed the blade aside. They watched as it turned into a particle of light and disappeared.

Kisanuki glanced to the left and right in worry, his eyes hidden behind his long bangs. He lowered his voice and asked, “Are you sure it’s not dangerous to be here right now?”

“Dangerous…? Why would it be dangerous?” Yuuma said, cocking his head.

There were no monsters in sight anywhere, and even if monsters did spawn in, they would be the weakest, starting at level 1. Before setting out, Yuuma wanted to double-check everyone’s level, equipment, and skills. However…

“Players always spawn here the first time they dive in, right? In that case, if I were Niki, I would station a party here, maybe more, to keep an eye out. If just one or two people dove in, the party would be able to kill them there on the spot. With four or more, they could track us, waiting for a chance to pick us off, one by one.”

“…”

Kisanuki was a tiny bit shorter than Yuuma. Yuuma stared into his face, surprised.

Yuuma hadn’t thought of that, but Kisanuki had a point. The group could be in danger here. In fact, Niki’s timing had been so convenient when he’d shown up yesterday that it was entirely possible he’d been tailing them all along, right from this location.

Yuuma took another look around. The grasslands, illuminated by the morning sun, extended for several kilometers in every direction, but there were plenty of thickets and hollows where four people could easily hide.

“You’re right… We should probably get moving,” Yuuma said. He started to nod in Kisanuki’s direction before suddenly furrowing his brow. “But if someone is tracking us from a distance, it won’t be easy to find them… They could be using magic or an item to stay hidden. They might even have a demon exploit they could use…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got an idea,” Kisanuki replied.

“This is a Lurker Slime that I captured during the playtest. Its stats suck, but it does have the Hide skill. Once we’ve walked a short distance, I can have it wait somewhere along the path and give it the Sneak Attack command. That way, if anyone is following us, the slime will attack.”

“But…even if it’s only one person following us, they’ll still be able to easily defeat a single Lurker Slime…”

Kisanuki had an answer for this as well.

“That’s fine; that’s actually what we want. If the Lurker Slime dies, I’ll get a system message about it. It’ll even tell me the cause of death, including whether it was killed by a monster or by another player. It won’t give me the player’s name, but we’ll at least know that someone is after us, right?”

“…”

Yuuma was left speechless once again. Not only because of how talkative Kisanuki, who barely ever spoke two words either at school or in the shelter, had suddenly become, but also because of the idea Kisanuki had suggested.

Lurker Slimes could change their color and patterning to match their surroundings, making them fairly difficult to spot. Once found, though, they were easy to capture. So long as the slime hadn’t been trained, disposing of one in order to confirm whether or not they were being followed wasn’t that big of a deal. If this had been a standard game, instead of fulldive, Yuuma might have had the same thought.

However, Yuuma’s own holster only held two cards. He gently cradled it with his left hand.

“After going through all the trouble of capturing a familiar,” he said, “it seems like a waste to just throw it away. We might still have other uses for it. So long as everyone’s careful not to stray too far from the rest of the party, we should be fine.”

“…”

“Okay… If you say so,” he replied in his usual standoffish mumble.

“It’s decided, then,” Yuuma said, nodding. He opened his map again and displayed the full view of Algol—the world of AM—and then placed his window flat so that the others could see.

Their current location was on the north bank of Cal River, about five kilometers east of Calcina. About two kilometers north lay the forest where most of the playtest had taken place, and beyond that was the ancient castle where Yuuma and the others had encountered the Varanian Axbearer. Yuuma was curious whether that mini-boss, as well as the treasure chest that had been located there, had respawned, but now wasn’t the time for detours.

Northern Algol was a mountainous region blanketed in snow. There was a lake near the tip of a mountain range that extended like a tail from the north. Could this be the Lake Sumiu that Valac had mentioned while in the internus? During the playtest, this area had been out-of-bounds, cordoned off by a wall of mist that blocked sight, let alone passage. Now all they had to do to reach this lake was to walk across the plains for about five kilometers.

Yuuma pointed to the lake, which was located due east of the forest and northeast from their current position.

“Since the item we’re looking for is called a Rubellite Needle, I think we’re more likely to find it in the mountains than in the plains or near the sea. Of course, I doubt we’ll just stumble upon one while searching around in the overworld, but based on topography, there might a village or something right here…”

Yuuma’s explanation sounded a little forced. He couldn’t exactly say that a demon had told him all this. But most of the others simply nodded. There was one person, however, who wasn’t fully convinced.

“I don’t know… Instead of searching for some village that might not even be there, wouldn’t it make more sense to gather information in Calcina first?” Hokari said.

“You’re kidding! Nice job!” Hokari said, flinging his arms out, genuinely impressed. “But you’re probably right; you might be wanted for questioning. In which case, Ashihara… Sorry, I mean, Yuuma… I guess we should pass on Calcina and head toward the lake, like you said. If our search comes up empty, we can always head toward this town instead.”

Hokari pointed toward Solieu on the northeast part of the map.

Solieu looked like it was more than ten kilometers away from the lake, but it was located right next to a mountainous zone, so it did fit with Valac’s suggestion that they search the mountains rather than the sea.

“Thank you. Is everyone else okay with that?” Yuuma asked, taking a look around.

The other members of the group nodded in unison.

Instead of avoiding monsters as they traveled, the party went out of their way to defeat them during every single encounter, to help Hokari and the others level up. Despite this, it still took only forty minutes to go five kilometers.

Whenever they passed through any high ground, they turned around to scout the area, but there were no signs of anyone following them. Just in case, they had Hokari, who was a Ranger and had the Make Traps skill, scatter a few dozen Vine Snare traps behind them to help put their minds at ease, but even if someone did set off one of the traps, they would only get knocked down. There would be no notification that the trap had been triggered. At least it would deliver the message, if anyone was following them, that Yuuma and the others were on to them.

To their right, the chalky cliffs that marked the end of the vast mountain range shone white in the morning sun. In the real world, it would be difficult to pinpoint an exact spot where a mountain range began, making this a sight that was unique to the virtual world.

To their left, the gloomy tree line of the castle ruins forest awaited. Yuuma wondered if that NPC merchant had set up shop south of the forest again today, but he doubted they had time to check.

A canyon about fifty meters wide continued northward, wedged between the forest and the cliffs. A narrow river flowed down the center of the canyon valley before winding its way around the outside of the forest and continuing to the southwest. Lake Sumiu must have been upstream.

As soon as they stepped foot into the canyon, the variety of monsters they encountered instantly changed. The unnaturally quick, insect-like creatures they found, which resembled massive long-legged crane flies, gave them some trouble, but by having Hokari and Chinami knock the creatures to the ground—Hokari with arrows and Chinami with rock throws—and then finishing them off with weapon attacks, they were able to get rid of the monsters while still preserving Sawa’s MP.

Yuuma sank into thought as he carefully led the party through the canyon. Once they got their hands on some Rubellite Needles and freed Aria and the others from their petrification, it might be a good idea to have the entire shelter dive in for some intensive leveling. They reached the exit of the canyon before 9:00 AM.

After winding their way around a strangely shaped rock, large and towering, almost like a gatepost, the landscape suddenly opened up. They saw a bluish, dark green marshland that reminded Yuuma of the Kodanuki Wetland located at the western foot of Mount Fuji, which they had visited once as a class as part of an outdoor study program. However, these marshlands were several times as large.

A thick fog hung over the marsh, but they could see the sparkling surface of a vast body of water in the distance as well. It had to be Lake Sumiu. A grayish-white cliff, at least one hundred meters tall, loomed over the eastern side of the lake.

“I wonder what that cliff is made of…,” Kenk muttered.

Chinami Nushiro spoke up. “I think it might be granite. There’s a cliff like that at Mount Kaikoma.”

“Wait… Do you go hiking or something, Nushiro?” Hokari asked.

Chinami grimaced, as if she had said something she hadn’t meant to. “No, not me, that’s my dad’s thing… But he does take me along sometimes. I mean, hiking’s pretty lame, right?”

“That’s not true!” someone shouted. It was Aoi. She stepped in front of Chinami and continued speaking, her voice growing a little louder. “There’s no such thing as a lame hobby! Mount Kaikoma is around three thousand meters tall, isn’t it? We learned that in social studies. I can’t believe you were able to climb a mountain that big, Chinami. That’s amazing. I think it’s cool!”

Chinami must not have been expecting that. She blinked for a moment before laughing, a little embarrassed. “Th-thank you, Aoi.”

Hokari, who preferred to spend his time skateboarding, seemed to have something to say as well. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but then…

“There’s a village over there,” someone interjected brusquely.

Yuuma turned around and saw Kai Kisanuki pointing toward the west side of the lake. Squinting, Yuuma could see what appeared to be the faint silhouettes of buildings through the drifting mist.

“All right! A village!” Kenk said, snapping his fingers.

Kisanuki grimaced, as if something about that gesture bothered him, but he began walking again without explaining why.

Yuuma made eye contact with his friends once more before following Kisanuki.

A path meandered through the marsh, but the ground was soggy and covered with lichen, which made it easy to slip if they didn’t keep their eyes peeled. This road was surrounded on either side by marsh water, teeming with suspicious-looking water plants, so if they were to accidentally step off the path and into the water, they would probably have worse to deal with than just wet shoes. Yuuma wanted to move carefully, but Kisanuki, who had placed himself in the lead, was already moving forward at a fast clip. They had no choice but to trust Kisanuki and follow.

Luckily, the party was able to make their way through the marshlands without anyone inadvertently plunging into the water. They soon arrived at the threshold of a village.

Kenk peered inside. “I wonder if this village has a restaurant…,” he said, apparently having had the same thought.

“You just finished eating breakfast at the shelter!” Sawa shouted, laying down the law.

Nagi giggled in response before quickly furrowing her brow. “It’s…oddly quiet, though, isn’t it?”

“You’re right…,” Yuuma said, nodding and listening closely again. All he could hear, though, was the sound of waves lapping at the pier and the breeze blowing in from across the marshlands.

Now that Yuuma thought about it, it was well past nine in the morning. It seemed strange that boats would still be tied up this late. Maybe they only went fishing very early in the morning and late in the evening, but if so, then there should have been signs of people, up and about—

“Well, we’ve come this far; there isn’t much we can do now but press forward,” Hokari said softly, looking at the others for agreement.

He was right. Yuuma doubted they would find a Rubellite Needle immediately in this village, but by asking around, they should at least be able to get their hands on some clues. But before they could ask any questions, they were going to have to actually step foot inside the village.

“Everyone, get prepared. We need to be ready for battle at a moment’s notice…”

The ground inside the village was elevated about five centimeters higher than the marshlands, and the roads were neatly paved with gray stone. The houses were well-made, from materials that seemed to be about half wood and half stone, and there were no signs of dilapidation. It felt like children might burst onto the narrow road at any minute to play, but the only movement was the continuous flapping of laundry in the breeze.

Yuuma and the others continued for about another thirty meters or so, more on guard than ever, before finally catching sight of a plaza. That was where they finally found the villagers, frozen in place, their backs facing Yuuma and the others, as if they had been running away.

Yuuma sighed and took another look around.

The plaza was almost a perfect square, about twenty meters long on each side. There was a pond in the center and a larger building to the north. From what they had seen so far, it was the only two-story building in the village, and it even had a bell tower on its steepled roof, meaning it was probably a church. It looked as if the villagers had been trying to flee inside.

Yuuma signaled to the others and began heading toward the church.

A similar scene awaited them inside the nave of the church. A dozen or so villagers had been turned to stone while huddling between pews or while in the process of trying to climb over them. Yuuma gritted his teeth, noticing how the faces of the villagers were all distorted in terror.

This was one of the few weaknesses with Niki’s petrification magic but also one of its cruelest features. Niki’s demon exploit ensured that anyone touched by the spell would be petrified eventually, but it could take anywhere from a few seconds to almost a minute, after first coming into contact with the mist, before turning entirely to stone. The villagers had probably been forced to watch as pieces of themselves started to petrify and then, driven by pure fear, had run for the church. But it seemed whatever god they prayed to had effected no miracle upon their behalf.

The one small saving grace was this was not the real world. The petrified villagers were frozen in mid-space, regardless of position. There was no need to worry that they might tip over and break off their arms and legs, no matter how unstable their position was.

All the same, Yuuma was careful to avoid bumping into any of them as he made his way toward the sanctuary. Sawa and Nagi followed, as well.

The reason for this immediately became clear. About seven or eight children were huddled behind the altar, already turned to stone.

Although they were all children, their ages ranged greatly from the oldest, who looked to be about middle-school age, to the youngest, who looked like preschoolers. The petrifying mist had taken them all, without discrimination. Yuuma felt anger well up inside as he stared at the children, much younger than himself, who had been petrified in the middle of prayer.

“Niki, that lousy jerk…,” Kenk growled.

Sawa spoke up as well, her voice scathing. “Do you think he attacked this village before he showed up at the castle or after?”

“I’m not sure…,” Yuuma answered, although he nonetheless had an idea of what had occurred.

After logging out at the castle, Niki had gone straight to Playroom 02 to destroy the four Caliculus capsules that Yuuma’s party had used. He then attacked the shelter that same night, so Yuuma doubted Niki would have had enough time to log back into AM and do all this. Meaning Niki must have turned this entire village to stone before ever making contact with Yuuma’s group. And yet Niki hadn’t given the faintest indication, when he spoke to them, that he had just committed a massacre.

It was hard to believe that the Kakeru Niki they knew, the same fresh-faced athlete who was popular enough to be voted in as student council vice president, could be capable of such calculated coldness. Was this the demon’s influence, or was it…?

Just then, Yuuma’s thoughts were interrupted.

“Wait… I hear something,” Aoi whispered, causing Yuuma to instinctively freeze in his tracks.

Yuuma took a quick glance around at the rest of his party, who were gathered around the altar, but none of them were in tears. Straining his ears again, he crouched down and peered into the dark space beneath the altar.

Yuuma could see something pale and white behind the petrified children. He immediately realized it was human skin. One of the children had apparently managed to escape being turned to stone and was now doing their best to stifle their tears and remain hidden.

With a flick of his eyes, Yuuma gestured for Nagi to take his place, figuring it would be better for someone other than him to handle this. Nagi nodded, switching places with Yuuma and crouching down.

“It’s okay,” she gently said to the child. “We’re not with the people who attacked your village. We’re here to help. We won’t hurt you. Would you come out from there…? Please?”

Even after Nagi finished speaking, the crying continued for a little while longer. The hiccups, however, gradually petered out, growing completely quiet after about a minute.

“You promise…? You won’t hurt me?” the child asked in a faltering voice.

Nagi’s voice was so full of gentle, embracing warmth as she answered that it made even Yuuma, who was standing behind her, feel more relaxed.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I promise.”

“…”

After nearly ten more seconds of silence, the owner of the voice seemed to shift inside their hiding place, crawling out from underneath the altar.

Nagi softly hugged the child, who had stopped crying, and whispered, “You must have been so scared… It’s okay now. If any more scary people show up, we’ll protect you.”

In response, the child clutched at Nagi’s cassock with both hands and began bawling at the top of their lungs.

After a few sips of the apple juice that Yuuma had given them, the child finally calmed down.

The juice, of course, had come from the back offices in Althea. The container, which had been a plastic bottle back in the real world, had transformed into simple glass when removed from his inventory in AM. The sight was still mind-boggling, but they knew from their experiments with the table salt that the contents would be the same.

The child turned out to be a boy, five years old, named Harlin. They all sat inside the small parish cafeteria, located at the back of the church, as the boy told them what happened as best as he could.

Last evening, a lone visitor had arrived at Thula—which was apparently the name of this village—and had asked them to hand over the relics enshrined in the church, the Masks of Deception. The mayor refused and told the brawny fishermen to chase the adventurer away. The adventurer, however, used magic, turning the fishermen and mayor to stone with a gray mist. The villagers, who were watching events unfold from the plaza, were also turned to stone, one after another. The children fled into the church, but the mist reached inside as well.

“My brother Taige, my sister Manoya, and Renee, and Sran, and Gao… They were all turned to stone… B-but I hid under the big table, just like my brother said to. While I was hiding, the adventurer came into the church and took all the masks hanging on the wall,” Harlin said in a trembling voice before taking a big gulp of his apple juice.

“Sawa, do we have anything to eat…?” Yuuma whispered.

Sawa answered that she had “something special stashed away” and opened up her menu.

The item she removed from her inventory was a small box made out of thick green paper. Sawa ripped off the lid and opened up the thin wax paper that protected the box’s contents, revealing a jumble of hexagonal bite-sized pie-biscuit treats poking out from within.

“Dude, it’s Pie Bites!” Kenk cried out from behind them. Yuuma elbowed him softly to shut him up.

In the real world, these were a pretty standard chocolate-filled snack, hugely popular with both children and adults, but Yuuma wondered if a child in Algol would find them tasty as well.

Harlin peered at the tiny box Sawa set in front of him, looking uncertain, until Nagi urged him to go ahead.

“They’re good,” she said.

Harlin timidly reached out and plucked one of the little treats from the box, peering at it for a moment before popping the whole thing into his mouth.

Harlin’s eyes grew wider and wider with each crunchy chew. He hadn’t even swallowed the first treat when he started reaching for a second and third.

As long as nothing had changed in this world, there should have been seventeen of the treats inside the box, but Harlin quickly polished off at least half of them. He chugged down his apple juice and let out a cute little burp.

“Thank you! That was delicious!” he said much more energetically.

“Of course!”

“The village’s treasure, these Masks of Deception—were they shaped like a wolf’s head, by any chance?”

Yuuma and Kenk weren’t the only ones taken by surprise. Hokari, Chinami, and Aoi gasped as well. Harlin blinked and then nodded enthusiastically.

“They were! A long, long time ago, there was a big, mean wolf that could change its appearance to look like people. One day, it took the mayor’s place and began eating a new villager every night. But the priestess used her magic to reveal the wolf’s true identity, and then Thula’s best fisherman used a harpoon to slay the wolf. With its dying breath, the wolf said it would come back someday to eat more villagers. So they skinned the wolf’s head and made a mask. And when anyone wears that mask on their head, no one can tell who they are anymore, not even their own family, but in turn, they can see through a monster’s disguise when it pretends to be a human…”

“Did…the wolf ever come back?”

“It sure did! The second wolf showed up ten years after the first wolf was slain. It killed another villager, but then a fisherman wearing the mask was able to find the second wolf and slay it. Ten years after that, a third wolf showed up and they slayed that one, too… That’s why there were three masks. But the adventurer took all three of them…”

“…”

Sawa turned her back and nodded softly. This whole story sounded vaguely familiar, but the important part right now was the masks.

As to how Niki had learned of these masks, that was still a mystery, but he had likely heard something in Calcina. In a town that large, there were probably plenty of NPC citizens who served as important sources of information, not just the waitress at Pomegranate Pavilion or the old man at the House of Stripes. Yuuma wanted to revisit Calcina again once they got a chance and listen to more dialogue, but there were other things they needed to do first.

Now that he was sure Harlin had calmed down a little, Yuuma crouched down to Harlin’s eye level so as not to scare him and began speaking.

“Harlin, the truth is, our friends were also turned to stone by the person who stole those masks. That’s why we came to this village. We’re looking for a tool to turn everyone back to normal. There’s a needle, made out of a gemstone, called a Rubellite Needle. Have you ever heard of that?”

“R-rubel…?” Harlin stared at Yuuma blankly before eventually shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like that… My dad said before that the mountain people dig for gems in the rocky crags across the lake, but I’ve never been there…”

The emotions Harlin had been holding back came spilling out, maybe because he had mentioned his father. He hung his head as fat tears began to drip down his face.

“Daddy… Mommy…”

Nagi, who was sitting next to Harlin, held him close and began stroking his back.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to turn your daddy and mommy and everyone else back to normal.”

“…”

Harlin nodded softly, but his hiccups continued.

“I know what you mean… I had the same thought so many times yesterday. But he’s definitely an NPC. I think it has to be a level 4 or higher self-evolving AI, though.”

“No way… During science class, didn’t Ms. Ebbers say it would take at least ten years before that kind of stuff becomes feasible?”

“I guess, but compared to technology that lets us use magic in the real world, AI hardly seems worth mentioning.”

“Good point…”

Hokari exhaled heavily, apparently satisfied. Meanwhile Harlin, who was done crying, wiped his tears on the sleeve of his tunic and spoke.

“I don’t know anything about any gemstone needles, but I do know about a medicine that might be able to cure people turned to stone.”

“You do…? A medicine…?” Nagi asked in surprise.

Harlin nodded deeply. “Yeah. I’m not supposed to tell people from outside the village… But I think you’re okay. There’s a white lotus flower that blossoms, um, in the swamp north of the village. If you pick it and place it in holy water, it turns into a medicine that can cure any illness. There are really strong monsters in the swamp, though, so we don’t go to pick the flowers unless a sickness comes that even Sister Ulu’s magic can’t cure…”

“A lotus flower…,” Nagi muttered, parroting Harlin before querying what seemed like an important key word. “You said there were very strong monsters in the swamp. Do you know what kind of monsters?”

“No…”

Harlin hung his head sadly, but then he suddenly gasped in realization. He looked up at Nagi again.

“But I remember something my dad said when he went to pick the flowers! He said, ‘Fire for red; ice for blue; fire, ice, and iron for purple.’”

On the other hand, there were also problems when it came to this so-called medicine that could cure any illness, supposedly made from a white lotus flower that bloomed in the swamp north of Thula Village. First and foremost, there was no way of knowing whether or not that medicine would actually work on petrification. And since Harlin had called it medicine, Yuuma was worried it might need to be drunk in order to have an effect—naturally, a petrified person would be incapable of eating or drinking. Yuuma was also worried about the very strong monsters that Harlin said lurked in the swamp. If they at least knew what breed of monsters were out there, that might help, but all they had been told was that the monsters were strong, meaning there was little they could do to prepare. There was also that mysterious phrase Harlin had taught them. It sounded like some sort of hint, but its meaning was unclear.

Honestly, in terms of both uncertainty and difficulty, the mountains and the swamp seemed neck and neck. Yuuma was beginning to wonder if they should just roll some dice to decide, when…

“I think we should go to the swamp,” Kai Kisanuki said quietly. He had been silent since arriving at the village.

Yuuma glanced at Kisanuki’s face. Even in Algol, it was almost completely hidden by his bangs.

“Would you tell us why?”

Kenk had been listening quietly up until now. “That’s some crazy-level metagaming…,” he muttered quietly, in a voice too low for anyone but Yuuma to hear.

Metagaming referred to when players predicted what would come next in a game, not based on information they had acquired within game but on meta information, such as what the developers were trying to do, what made sense for the scenario, or even the size and budget of the game. Many gamers avoided this style of play because it spoiled the role-playing experience. If Yuuma and his friends had to choose, they would probably consider themselves blind players, too. But now was hardly the time to be picky.

Kisanuki began speaking swiftly again, interpreting Yuuma’s silence as assent.

“Since we skipped the requirements, that probably means that the recommended level for the swamp quest is higher than our group’s average level, but even if the difficulty is a little high for our level, it was probably set with the assumption that the quest would be completed by a standard four-character party. With two parties, or eight people in total, our chances are probably pretty good. Under the circumstances, there’s no way to know when we will be able to form another raiding party of this size. So if we’re thinking long term, we should seize this chance while we can.”

“Huh,” Chinami said once Kisanuki finally finished speaking. “You sure seem to know a lot about games. So why were you so quiet yesterday?”

Kisanuki began to stammer suddenly, almost like a completely different person.

“N-no… I don’t really know that much about games…”

“It’s too late to get shy now, not after that whole speech you just gave!” Chinami said.

“For real, though,” Hokari added with a chuckle. Even though there was nothing negative about their reactions, Kisanuki lowered his head, shrinking into silence.

“I think…Kisanuki made some pretty good points. We can always visit the mountain people the next time we dive in, but if we pass up this chance now, even if we get our hands on the flower later, the event that lets us turn it into medicine might have expired. Besides, time keeps passing in this world even after we log out. I’d like to avoid leaving Harlin alone for days on end, with the village in the state it’s in.”

“That’s…a good point,” Aoi agreed in her tiny voice. Hokari and Chinami nodded as well. Yuuma already knew what Sawa, Nagi, and Kenk’s answer would be, even without looking.

“It’s decided, then. The swamp it is, right, guys?” Yuuma said, checking with everyone once more to be safe.

Six voices rose in agreement, but Kisanuki only nodded softly, remaining silent.

After following the road that circled around behind the church, they quickly arrived at the village’s north gate.

Like the southern gate, a wet marshland stretched out before the entrance, with a narrow path, about three meters wide, meandering deeper inside. But the thicker fog on this side and the bizarrely shaped water plants let them know, in no uncertain terms, that the monsters that appeared in this section of the marsh would be a step up in terms of difficulty.

Additionally, the road seemed to be covered in water in places. It still looked like they would be able to pass, but there could be deep sinkholes along the way. Yuuma summoned Squeak, his Horned Great Hare, and had it take the lead, issuing it the Avoid Traps command.

Unfortunately, the party’s two biggest sources of damage, Sawa’s fire magic and Nagi’s water magic, were ineffective against aquatic monsters. As they made their way deeper into the marshlands, they were forced to have Sawa focus on debuffs and Nagi and Aoi on buffs and healing. Kisanuki’s summoned Rock Slime tanked while Yuuma, Kenk, Hokari, and Chinami defeated the monsters with physical attacks.

With each new battle, their teamwork improved, and soon everyone rose another level as well. However, new problems also surfaced, not least of which was Aoi Soga’s performance. The starting weapon for a Priest was a crosier, a kind of iron staff with a dramatically curved head, that served as both a magic amplifier and as a blunt weapon. In other words, the Priest class was expected to be able to engage in close combat when necessary, but unlike Nagi, Aoi stayed far away from any monsters she saw, and if monsters did approach her, she quickly ran to hide behind Kenk or Hokari.

They had plenty of people in their raiding group right now, and the only pure backliner among the bunch was Sawa, so it wasn’t that big of an issue if Aoi stayed off the front line, but in MMORPGs, the unexpected was always bound to happen. There could come a time when the whole party’s fate rested on Aoi’s courage.

Should they camp the spawns here for a little while in order to let Aoi get used to close combat? Or should they prioritize their quest…? Yuuma was still trying to make up his mind when he realized their surroundings were beginning to change. He ordered everyone to halt in an area where the path widened out a little.

“Everyone, I think we’re getting close to our destination; we should take a little break!”

“Sure thing!” Nagi replied.

She cast Healing Circle, which gradually healed the HP of everyone within its area of effect. Kenk and Hokari pulled out their water bottles and began drinking, while Chinami and Aoi plunked down in place.

“Hey, Yuu, that thing that Harlin said earlier. Have you figured out what it means yet?”

“Harlin…? You mean with the ‘red for fire, blue for ice’ thing?”

“It was the other way around. ‘Fire for red; ice for blue; fire, ice, and iron for purple.’ But what could it mean…?”

“It’s hard to say…”

Yuuma took another look around.

The fog had grown thicker, and the marsh water looked even deeper than before. He squinted and peered around but couldn’t spot any signs of firelight. The water in the area, meanwhile, looked more black than blue.

As Yuuma was still casting his eyes about in search of some clue, he spotted Kisanuki munching on something in a corner of their clearing. His Rock Slime familiar, with its amorphous rock-studded body, undulated aimlessly at his feet.

Yuuma walked over toward Kisanuki. “Hey, Kisanuki, what do Rock Slimes usually eat?”

“Huh…? Well…,” Kisanuki murmured, glancing down at his feet. “Apparently, feeding them rare ore and gemstones raises their Loyalty a lot, but that would be kind of a waste. If you just want to heal their HP, though, any old rocks you find lying around will do. One of the perks of slimes is how cheap they are to feed.”

“Huh… But wouldn’t it still be better to raise its Loyalty stat if you can? I have a few gemstones on me, actually. Should we trying feeding it one?” Yuuma suggested offhandedly.

“W-well, I guess not, but…”

Unsure of what else to say, Yuuma decided to change the subject.

“By the way, Kisanuki, what do you think Harlin meant by that phrase fire for red; ice for blue; fire, ice, and iron for purple?”

“I think there’s no point thinking about it since we don’t have enough information,” Kisanuki said, short and to the point. He stared at Yuuma, from beneath his drooping bangs, with an accusatory look. “If you wanted to know that badly, why didn’t you wake Harlin up to ask more questions? Usually, when an NPC has information, you’re supposed to keep grilling them until they run out of dialogue and start repeating themselves.”

“…”

Yuuma was taken aback. Sawa interrupted from the side.

“Kisanuki! Harlin is just a child. He’s maybe five or six years old. It took a lot of courage for him to tell us everything he did, after all he’s been through. Of course we weren’t going to wake him back up, not after he’d finally fallen asleep.”

“A child…?” Kisanuki looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Sawa. There was a clear tone of disgust in his voice as he spoke, however. “That was just a very well-made NPC. One baffling hint was hardly fair payback for all those valuable treats you gave him!”

“It’s not a question of payback…!” Sawa shouted.

Yuuma yanked her backward by her robe and quickly stepped between them.

“Thank you, Kisanuki. I’ll take that under consideration. If you notice anything else or have any other thoughts, I hope you will let us know.”

Yuuma dragged Sawa away from Kisanuki, who was still pouting. He leaned in closer to his sister, who seemed dissatisfied, and whispered to her.

“Sawa, what Kisanuki said isn’t wrong. If our priority really is to escape Althea, we might need to start thinking the way he does.”

“…Well, I don’t like it.”

After about ten minutes, the party completed their rest and began moving again.

At some point, they realized that the characteristically marshlike spattering of algae and peat moss on the water’s surface had given way to massive floating leaves, swollen, volleyball-like water plants, and unpleasantly discolored deadwood and trees. The water was apparently shallower than they had thought at first. It looked to be about ten centimeters deep or so, but the bottom was caked with deposited mud and would undoubtedly be slippery. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the marsh was already dark and gloomy, the sun’s rays obstructed by the gray fog.

Yuuma took the lead along with Squeak. Chinami came forward from the rear to speak with him.

“Hey, Yuu, these large round leaves are all lotus plants.”

“They are? We should start looking for a white lotus flower, then.”

“Okay, but so far it doesn’t seem like any of the lotus plants are flowering.”

“I understand. I’ll keep my eyes peeled as well.”

Nodding, Chinami returned to her original position.

As the terrain shifted from marshlands to swamp, the types of creatures inhabiting the area changed as well. The frogs, water bugs, and other animal- and insect-type monsters disappeared, and spirit-type monsters, such as wisps, mists, and phantoms, as well as gelatinous-type monsters, such as blobs, oozes, and slimes, began to attack the party with fairly high regularity.

The other members lived up to their roles admirably as well, and the party was making steady progress. Aoi’s issue, however, still remained—if anything, it had only gotten worse since entering the swamp. The spirit- and gelatinous-type monsters seemed to freak Aoi out even more than the other monsters, and while she was able to function well enough as a Priest, so long as the monsters stayed far away from her, as soon as one came within a meter of her, she would just scream and cower in place.

She didn’t seem as bothered by Kisanuki’s Rock Slime, which was covered with solid matter all over its surface, so clearly the issue was mostly mental. But that was precisely what made it so difficult to overcome in a short period of time. Right now, Algol felt more real than even reality. The slightest brush with the transparent mist creatures left behind a slick chill that penetrated the skin and caused goose bumps, while the raw, gunky stench of the ooze, which the slimes splattered in every which direction, stuck to their faces, making them want to retch. Aoi had barely ever even played traditional games before, let alone VR. Yuuma knew it was a lot to expect her to get over how gross these things were, right off the bat… But seeing her get worse with every battle instead of better was starting to make him lose his cool. He wished she would at least try harder.

Yuuma was worried that Hokari was going to lose his patience before long… But surprisingly, the first person to break wasn’t Hokari. It was Chinami Nushiro.

“Are you serious right now, Aoi?” she said after their tenth fight since entering the swamp ended, wheeling about on Aoi in a fury. “What happened to all that stuff you said back at the shelter? Did you even mean it when you said you wanted to get stronger so you could save Yukimi? Look, I know Sugamo was the one to volunteer you, but you decided to come yourself in the end, right? No one’s asking you to step up to the front and fight, but can you at least do your job right as a Priest!”

“I…I know… I want to fight just like everyone else. But…my body won’t do what I tell it to to…”

Aoi hung her head, as heavy tears began to drip down her face. Chinami softened slightly and spoke again.

“You know that these spirits and slimes aren’t real. They’re just game monsters… Data created by a computer somewhere in Althea.”

“B-but…,” Aoi said, her voice growing fainter and yet somehow more earnest than before. “There really are demons now, right? So…the monsters in this world could be real, too.”

“Soga…,” Yuuma cut in reflexively. “You haven’t been hearing your demon’s voice, have you…?”

Aoi was silent for a second or two before nodding. “Last night…after we went to bed at the shelter, I heard a voice in my head. It said I’m not good enough to help Yukimi yet but that we could become stronger together. I covered my ears and said, ‘Go away, go away,’ over and over again… The next thing I knew, it was morning, so I thought maybe it was just a dream, but now I know that it wasn’t. Because…just now…”

Still speaking in a faltering voice, Aoi was about to say more…when a tepid breeze suddenly blew in from somewhere across the swamp, clearing away the surrounding fog.

Next came a pop, pop, like several large bubbles being burst, while Squeak, who was standing at Yuuma’s feet, began to squeal—the sound it reserved for its most dire warnings.

“Something big is coming! Everyone, get ready for a fight!” Yuuma shouted as he readied his Darkiron Shortsword in his right hand and thrust his left hand forward, preparing to cast.

“I’ll grab aggro!” he yelled.

A moment later he activated the weapon art known as Ground Wave. A shock wave emanated from his sword as he stuck the ground, rippling outward toward the approaching slime.

The damage from the shock wave was 60 percent physical, but also 20 percent wind and 20 percent earth damage, ensuring it would still have some effect against slimes, which were resistant to physical damage. It was also a full-strength attack from Kenk, who was second only to Sawa in terms of raw firepower. Yuuma kept his eyes fixated on the boss’s HP bar. He was hoping the attack would reduce the enemy’s HP by 10 percent…or maybe 5 percent at least.

The shock wave sped across the surface of the ground, making direct contact with the slime’s lower front half. The slimes in Actual Magic didn’t have a core, so damage would usually be the same no matter where a hit landed. The massive, semitransparent ball of slime jiggled, as concentric indentations rippled across its skin.

But that was all. Its HP did not fall, not even by a hair.

“Come on!” Kenk shouted in surprise.

The slime glared at Kenk, or at least it seemed to. Several jets of transparent liquid began spurting upward, vertically, inside its gelatinous tissue. It must have been sucking up water from the swamp. It took about two seconds or so for the water to compress into a single spot near the top of the slime.

Suddenly, a high-pressure stream of water squirted out of the slime like a hose, aimed straight for Kenk.

“Yikes!”

Yuuma tried not to think about how much damage the water beam might have done if it had hit Kenk directly. Nagi, however, immediately cast Healing Circle, which began to restore Kenk’s HP. Aoi cast Light Enhancement on Kenk’s breastplate, meanwhile, increasing its DEF value.

Sawa finished chanting her own spell at the same moment, releasing a Flame Arrow. The crimson arrow shot forward with a flaming roar, colliding dead center with the boss.

Yuuma smiled. This time there was no way the boss wouldn’t take damage. Yuuma lifted his left hand into the air, ready to follow up with his own attack.

Unfortunately, with a muted plop, the Flame Arrow was likewise swallowed up in the slime boss’s gelatinous mass. The magical crimson light fizzled immediately, and the ripples that spread across the surface of the creature’s massive body quickly subsided. Its HP remained unchanged.

“Wh-why aren’t we damaging it?!” Chinami shouted, venturing her own attack as well.

Two yellow balls of light flew from her hand as she swung her arm in an overhand throw. It was a weapon art unique to the Thief class, known as Stone Throw.

But the result was the same. Two small ripples appeared on the surface of the slime boss and then promptly disappeared.

“You’re kidding me… What kind of monster is immune to both physical and fire damage?!” Kenk whined before lifting his sword to guard once more.

The slime boss began sucking up more water from the swamp. This time, however, instead of concentrating into a single point, the water began to collect in five spots throughout the boss’s body. Yuuma flinched in horror, expecting the creature to shoot off five high-pressured streams at once. The slime, however, had other plans.

“It’s got minions!” Sawa shouted, but Yuuma was already casting.

“Tenebris! Astrum…Ignis!”

The purple orb that appeared before his hand contracted, forming a faintly glowing stone that darted forward. Both the casting and projectile speeds of the dark attack spell, Dim Star, were fast, and the projectile even came with a slight homing effect. It also had decent penetration and even split into a bursting attack upon impact, making it a great all-around damage spell.

In Actual Magic, the five natural elements of water, fire, wind, earth, and lightning and the four spiritual elements of light, dark, holy, and curse each formed their own separate compasses of effect. But there were no interactions, either resistances or vulnerabilities, between the two groups. Yuuma figured that even if the slime boss was immune to all natural-element magic attacks and to non-elemental physical attacks, there was still a chance dark-element magic might do the trick.

The purple stone traced a faint arc before piercing the slime boss on its left side.

A ripple spread out from the point of impact and disappeared. Nothing else happened. Not even an explosion.

“How can it be immune to all magical and physical attacks…?!” Sawa said with a groan.

A moment later, the five smaller slimes contracted their jiggling bodies and then sprang high into the air like rubber balls. The jumps weren’t random. The slimes were each aiming to land on someone in the party.

Although these slimes were much smaller than the boss, they were still almost fifty centimeters in diameter. Assuming they were the same relative density as water, each slime probably weighed over sixty kilograms.

“We can’t block them! We have to evade!” Yuuma cried.

Heavy thuds and loud splashing filled the air. One of the slimes landed in front of Yuuma. Instinctively, Yuuma expected it to bounce straight up again, but instead, it splattered flat like a pancake. It seemed like these bouncing body blows were designed to knock them flat and then stick fast.

With a quick glance around to make sure none of his friends had been hit, Yuuma swung his shortsword into the air. He struck at the Bouncy Blob while it was still trying to reinflate, but in the back of his mind, he was worried that the boss’s minions might be immune to damage, too. If so, they could be facing total party wipe.

Yuuma felt a springy slorp as his sword made contact, but fortunately, the blade didn’t bounce back. Yuuma’s strike nearly bisected the elastic creature in two, dropping its HP by almost a third.

“Physical attacks work against the minions! Everyone! Keep an eye out for the boss’s water laser but focus on removing the minions first…!” Yuuma shouted.

Before he could say anything else, however…

“Aiiieee…!”

There was a high-pitched scream, followed by pounding footsteps. Yuuma glanced up, only to see Aoi running…no, fleeing. The sleeves of her beige cassock fluttered in the wind.

Yuuma was suddenly racked with indecision, like his brain was being pulled in two. Just because the boss had appeared didn’t mean that all the other monsters in the area had vanished. If Aoi happened to run headfirst into a phantom, there was a chance she might be slaughtered.

On the other hand, Yuuma couldn’t simply abandon the boss fight. They hadn’t even figured out their strategy yet. Losing two members of their raiding group now would put their battle lines into total disarray. Yuuma listened to Aoi’s footsteps, growing more distant by the second, with one ear. He was clenching his teeth so hard it was a wonder they didn’t break.

That was all Yuuma needed to hear. He exploded like a spring, sprinting as hard as he could the moment he spun around.

Yuuma could just barely see a tiny human shadow weaving a path through the drifting fog ahead. He returned his trusty sword to its sheath and focused on chasing her, but he couldn’t seem to close the distance. Getting used to the virtual world takes time, Yuuma thought, annoyed. If Aoi could run this fast already, then surely she was made for fulldive. Just as Yuuma was about to call out for her to stop, he heard a tiny scream, which was soon lost in the sound of a loud splash. Aoi must have stumbled and fallen into the water.

Praying that the noise hadn’t attracted monsters, Yuuma sprinted for another three seconds or so before slamming on the brakes. He skidded to a stop, sending a cloud of dust flying into the air, and then shouted toward the shadow that he could see lying on the ground, past the water’s edge, on the left.

“Soga, are you okay?!”

The fog cleared slightly, revealing Aoi. She was lying face down more than three meters away from the path, half submerged in water. She must have barged into the water at such speed that she had lurched all that way.

Fortunately, Yuuma didn’t see any monsters nearby, but there was no telling when more might spawn. Aoi wasn’t moving. Yuuma waded into the water in order to help her up, stepping carefully so as not to fall over himself. He had taken about five or six cautious steps when Aoi suddenly sat up out of the water with a loud splash.

“Ugh… Aghhh… Aggghhh…”

A throat-rending sob escaped Aoi’s lips as she raised her right hand and slapped the surface of the water. She did it again. This time a spray of water splashed her in the face, mingling with the tears that were already dripping down her cheeks.

Yuuma knew how awful that felt, whether he wanted to or not. In the nearly full day that had already passed since they had become trapped in Althea, Yuuma had wished to be stronger more times than he could count.

But they couldn’t afford to waste more time right now. Yuuma steeled himself and approached Aoi.

“Soga, we have to go back,” he said, bending down to help Aoi up. As he did so, something unexpected happened.

One of the large volleyball-like floating weeds, which had drifted toward them along the surface water, was struck by Aoi’s palm as she continued to lash out at the water. A cloud of reddish smoke burst out of the weed with a strange poof. Apparently, the impact had caused some sort of powder stored inside the plant, probably spores, to burst into the air.

Poison?!

That was Yuuma’s first thought. He held his breath and grabbed Aoi by the arm, quickly pulling her to her feet. He tried to drag her away from the smoke, but for some reason, Aoi dug in her heels.

“Yuu, that’s it!”

“Huh…?”

Yuuma was confused. Aoi shook off Yuuma’s hand and dove for the ball-shaped plant, picking it up with two hands. As she smooshed it between her palms, more smoke squirted out. A bloody crimson color, which could only be described as venomous in appearance—

Yuuma suddenly remembered what Harlin had said back at the village.

“Fire for red, ice for blue.”

“…!”

The two glanced at each other and nodded in unison. Holding each of their plants firmly in their arms, they began racing back toward the others.

Even by outside estimates, they were gone for less than two minutes. However, two minutes was more than enough time for the course of a battle to alter completely. Yuuma could tell from the HP bars displayed in the upper-left-hand corner of his field of vision that no one had died, but he had no way of knowing if their battle lines were still intact. For all he knew, the other six members of their party could be fleeing in separate directions.

After about ten seconds of full sprinting, the individual HP bars of their teammates began to come into view through the shrouding fog. Nagi, Sawa, Chinami, Hokari…and then finally Kisanuki and Kenk. Even though their raiding group had been scratched together on the spot, the members had all stood their ground, maintaining formation even with two people were missing.

However, nearly all their hit points were half gone. Yuuma redoubled his speed and shouted, completely forgetting to keep his voice down.

“Everyone, we’re back!” he screamed, barreling straight into the middle of their ranks. The moment he entered the boss fight area, a white mist suddenly appeared.

There were only two Bouncy Blob minions left. However, the slime boss ensconced in the middle of the battle area, Mouria the Greedy Blob, was still completely unharmed.

“Yuu?!” Kenk shouted in surprise as Yuuma ran past him.

Yuuma just nodded tersely before coming to a stop in front of the boss. Looking closer, he realized that the water in a ten-meter or so diameter around the boss was frozen solid white. Nagi must have used her ice magic to freeze it. Even if the ice couldn’t damage the boss, it could still prevent it from sucking up the swamp water it needed to shoot its high-pressure jets or create more minions.

“Yuu, watch out!”

“Ah…!”

Yuuma waited for the right timing and then leaped to the side. The tentacle pierced the spot where he had had been standing just a moment ago, boring deep into the ground. If the strike had hit Yuuma directly, it probably would have torn through his leather armor like paper. The speed of the blob’s attacks, however, was not that different from what Constable Oeben’s had been.

Once Yuuma’s feet landed back on solid ground, he brandished the ball plant, which he held in his right hand, into the air. He flung it toward the boss, being careful not to throw so hard that the pod would be crushed. The slime boss completely ignored the plant as it traced a broad arc through the air. That plant was swallowed up with a splort as it connected with the creature’s semitransparent body. Just as before, the boss’s HP remained unaffected.

A second later, however, a brilliant surge of color began to spread through the blob’s body, like a wave chasing after the ripples that danced across the surface of the creature. The boss’s body began to turn blue before their very eyes.

“What the—?! Wh-what’s happening?!” Kenk shouted in surprise. But Yuuma still didn’t have time to answer.

“Nagi! Cast ice magic on the boss!” Yuuma cried.

“O-okay!”

Nagi was probably confused as well, but she didn’t waste a single second. She lifted her crosier into the air and chanted a spell.

“Glacies! Iaculum…Ignis!”

“Of course…! So that’s what Harlin’s words meant!” Sawa shouted. Yuuma nodded in response.

The meaning of Harlin’s phrase was clear now. Fire worked against the slime once it had turned red, and ice worked against it once it turned blue… In which case, fire, ice, and iron should all work against the boss if they could turn it purple.

“Soga was the one who figured it out. Soga! Use your plant, too!”

Aoi screwed up her face in determination. “O-okay!”

There were still two slime minions left, which Chinami and Hokari were currently dealing with, but Aoi weaved her way between them, racing straight toward the front. Solving the riddle all on her own like that must have given her the confidence and courage that she needed.

Aoi stopped in front of the slime boss and tossed the plant she was holding. Although her throwing stance was a bit awkward, the orb reached the boss without issue and was swallowed up inside its gelatinous mass.

Deep red accents began to bloom inside the slime’s previously blue form. A moment later the red mixed with the blue to create a purple hue that spread throughout the creature’s body. Now fire, ice, and physical attacks should all be effective. But it was unlikely that the effect would last forever.

Yuuma barked out orders in quick succession. “Kisanuki and Aoi! Go collect more of those ball-shaped floating weeds and throw them at the boss the moment its color changes back to normal! Sawa, you attack with fire magic! Nagi, prioritize healing but still attack with ice magic when you have the chance! Hokari and Nushiro! Once you clear out the minions, start attacking the boss!”

Kisanuki returned his Rock Slime to its card and raced off into the swamp without a moment’s hesitation. Aoi ran in the opposite direction.

Yuuma watched them go before turning toward Kenk, who was standing diagonally behind him.

“Kenk, you and me are up front! Are you ready?!” he shouted.

Kenk immediately sprang into action and dashed straight ahead.

Not one to be left behind, Yuuma activated the shortsword battle art he had recently unlocked—Shadow Pursuit.

The slime boss was hit with a double attack, first from Yuuma’s blade as he slashed diagonally upward, from the left, and then by the battle art’s phantom blade, which followed a moment later. Kenk bashed the boss with his two-handed sword art, Heavy Slugger, at almost the exact same time. Together, the combo shaved off more than 10 percent of the boss’s HP.

Yuuma and Kenk were temporarily immobilized after firing off their techniques. The slime boss took this opportunity to aim at them with its tentacles. Before the boss could strike, however, a scarlet beam of light streaked forward like a bullet, piercing the boss’s body and exploding with fury from the inside. It was one of Sawa’s fire spells, Gemburst. It reduced the boss’s HP by another tenth.

At that point, the purple color filling the slime boss’s body started to fade and then disappeared completely. The duration of the ball plant debuff was exactly ten seconds. Yuuma had expected it to last at least three times that long. He was just about to put distance between himself and the boss, which was now a milky semitransparent color again, but before he could—

“Sorry for the wait!” Aoi shouted.

A lush green bulb careened through the air and struck the slime boss on its right side. A moment later, a second ball, which Kisanuki must have thrown, hit the boss in almost the exact same spot. The red and blue mingled together immediately, spreading out into a vibrant purple color.

Chinami and Hokari joined for the second attack phase, having already taken care of the Bouncy Blobs. The water around the boss was still frozen solid, so it was unable to fire off its high-pressure jets or to create more minions. The only means of attack it had left at its disposal now were stabs or sweeps with its six tentacles. So long as they kept their eyes peeled, however, it wasn’t hard to avoid, either.

Despite being invincible at first, it wasn’t long before the boss’s HP had fallen below 20 percent and then to just 10. Yuuma was pretty sure they would be able to defeat it during the next attack phase. However…

“I… I’m sorry!” a quavering voice shouted.

The six attackers flinched, as if someone had just thrown cold water in their faces.

The voice had come from Kisanuki, who was standing in the swamp, at a loss, about ten meters away. He gestured helplessly with empty hands.

“We’ve already thrown all the ball plants in this area…!” he said.

“Ngh… You’re kidding!” Hokari cried, frantically glancing around.

Yuuma did the same, but there was nothing to see, just turbid swamp water. There wasn’t even a withered tree in sight, let alone any more of those ball-shaped plants.

The slime boss had turned semitransparent once again. In its current state, there was no way for Yuuma and the others to damage it. Even if Sawa let Valac take over, which she could do only once per day, and if Valac used her ultimate fire spell, Infernal Spear, it probably wouldn’t even scratch the boss, which seemed to have total immunity to fire.

“Where’s Soga?!” Yuuma shouted, scanning the area for some sign of her.

Just then, Aoi raced forward, out of the fog. Unfortunately, her hands were empty as well.

The slime boss began to move, almost as if it had heard her. Its more than two-meter-tall, massive domed body suddenly contracted like a pancake. This was new behavior from the boss, but it was the exact same motion its minions had carried out earlier. Yuuma had a feeling he knew what was coming next. He stared in horror, shouting at the others.

“It’s gonna jump! Everyone, get ready to dodge!”

In the next moment, the massive slime boss bounded into the air with a deafening bwong. Yuuma and the others crouched, ready to dash out of the way.

But the boss was only aiming for Kisanuki, who was standing separate from the rest of the party. Although Yuuma and the others had taken off a full 90 percent of the boss’s HP, Kisanuki had apparently garnered the most aggro with all the ball plants he had thrown.

“Run!!” Yuuma quickly shouted. Kisanuki, however, remained calm.

Instead of flailing about blindly, Kisanuki kept his eyes fixed on the creature’s massive gelatinous body, which looked large enough to instantly crush him to death. He watched the boss’s trajectory until the very last moment and then chose the shortest route to evade.

As the slime boss collided with the water, it emitted a tremendous shock wave, sending massive sprays of water into the air and creating a dense fog. The boss was completely lost from view, but its HP bar was still visible, so they would know immediately if it began to move again. Kisanuki must have been soaked, but he hadn’t suffered damage, either.

However, the situation was still at a standstill. If Kisanuki and Aoi expanded their search they would probably find more plants, but who knew how many minutes it would take before they returned. Meanwhile, the other six would have to keep staving off the now invulnerable slime boss’s attacks.

Yuuma gritted his teeth, still trying to decide whether to push forward or to retreat, when a strange sound reached his ears.

It was a glugging noise, like when large volumes of water spilled out of a wide-mouthed pipe. Yuuma’s teammates glanced at one another uneasily.

“Y-Yuu…?”

Just as Kenk started to speak, a tepid breeze finally blew away the steam that had risen after the slime boss had slammed into the ground.

When the party caught sight of the boss emerging from the mist, they all cried out in shock.

It had grown even more massive than before. It was now easily over three meters tall, a veritable gelatinous mound. The reason for this increase immediately became clear. Pockets of water, which even now continued to swell in size, had formed in at least ten spots throughout its semitransparent body. The glugging noise wasn’t the sound of water spilling; it was the sound of water rapidly being sucked up into the boss’s body.

Yuuma inhaled sharply, preparing to give the order to retreat.

Before he could open his mouth, however, clusters of water spouted from the slime boss’s body in quick succession, jiggling and bouncing as they plopped into the swamp. The boss had created more Bouncy Blob minions—twelve this time in total.

To make matters even worse, the boss immediately began sucking up more water. It was probably planning to shoot its water laser next. The best thing to do now would be to retreat, but if the boss shot at their backs while they ran away, there would be no way for Yuuma and the others to dodge.

“I’ll grab aggro from the boss and minions. Everyone else run!” Yuuma ordered.

“But—!” Nagi started to shout until Yuuma spoke over her.

“I can avoid the lasers using Quick Action! It’s fine; I’ll be right behind you! Just go!”

Sawa gritted her teeth but then spun around swiftly on her heel. She, too, must have known that it would be pointless to change places with Valac right now.

The other five party members, along with Aoi, who had just rejoined them, began to run toward the south. However, Kisanuki, who was still near the boss, didn’t move.

“Kisanuki!” Yuuma shouted.

Kisanuki ignored him. Instead, he pointed at the slime boss and shouted, “Rock! Self-Destruct!”

It was a command for Kisanuki’s familiar. The Rock Slime at Kisanuki’s feet—he must have resummoned it at some point—charged toward the boss, fearlessly throwing itself at the massive creature, even though the boss had to be several dozen times the Rock Slime’s size. True to its nickname—Greedy—the boss spread its stunted tentacles wide, like a mouth, as if to swallow the Rock Slime whole.

In that moment, the Rock Slime exploded with a blam. The numerous fragments of stone that covered the surface of its body scattering like buckshot, most of them striking the slime boss’s body. The Rock Slime’s, meanwhile, disappeared, its HP dropping to zero.

Despite supposedly being immune to magical and physical damage, this last-ditch suicide attack was apparently still effective because the boss’s HP decreased slightly, by just about 1 percent. In addition to the damage, however, the water that the creature had been storing up to fire off its laser began to leak out of the holes left behind by the stone shards.

The damage was enough to make Kisanuki, whose aggro was already high to begin with, the boss’s target once again.

After spitting out the minions, the boss was back to normal size, but it was still huge enough as it was. It began lurching in Kisanuki’s direction, wiggling and jiggling as it moved. Once he saw that the boss was on the move, Kisanuki glanced toward Yuuma and shouted in a much louder voice than Yuuma thought Kisanuki was capable of.

Without waiting for a response, Kisanuki spun around and began running westward, into the swamp. The slime boss followed at a much faster speed than Yuuma would have expected for something its size.

This was too reckless. Kisanuki knew as much about MMORPGs, if not more, as Yuuma did, so he had to know how risky it was to pull boss monsters. For instance, even if the boss wasn’t able to catch up with Kisanuki, it could still chip away at his hit points using long-range attacks, eventually killing him. If Kisanuki had some way of evading or blocking the water laser, it might be a different story, but Yuuma was pretty sure Kisanuki hadn’t accessed his demon exploit yet.

It was too late to tell him to come back, though. If Kisanuki turned around now, he would just wind up running smack-dab into the boss instead.

“Kisanuki… He must feel responsible for using up too many of the plants…,” Aoi whispered.

She looked like she was about to cry as she watched the silhouettes of Kisanuki and the slime boss disappear into the distant fog. Maybe Kisanuki did feel guilty, but if so, the blame lay as much at Yuuma’s feet for failing to tell Kisanuki to slow his pace.

“Let’s eliminate the slime minions as quickly as we can and then chase after Kisanuki,” Yuuma said, trying to keep his voice under control. The others nodded in unison.

The twelve Bouncy Blobs that the boss had left behind approached from the front, bouncing and jostling as they moved. Both magical and physical attacks worked against the Bouncy Blobs, but as boss minions, they were much stronger than they looked.

Yuuma and the others readied their weapons. Hokari nocked an arrow to his bow while Chinami held a dagger ready by her hip. Yuuma and Kenk assumed battle art stances, while Sawa and Nagi prepared to cast. Even Aoi raised her crosier into the air.

“They’re coming!” Kenk shouted.

Hang in there, Kisanuki! We’re on our way! Yuuma willed as he lifted his shortsword into the air, his thoughts directed toward Kisanuki’s HP bar, still visible in the upper-left-hand corner of his vision.

It took Yuuma and the others about five minutes to eliminate all twelve of the Bouncy Blobs.

The reason it took them so long, despite the fact that they were continuously firing off spells and techniques with no attempt to conserve MP, was that it was much harder to hit the slimes as they bounced around than Yuuma had expected. He was starting to understand why his party members’ HP had fallen so low by the time Yuuma and Aoi rejoined them.

The last slime had barely finished dispersing into particles, after being struck with Hokari’s Double Shot bow art, before Yuuma’s eyes returned to Kisanuki’s HP bar.

Kisanuki only had around 20 percent of his hit points left. When you considered the fact that he was still kiting a boss, that may as well have been critical condition.

Yuuma pulled Squeak’s card from the holster strapped to the right side of his chest and summoned the blue-furred hare. Squeak hadn’t even landed on its feet before Yuuma issued a command.

“Squeak, Find Party Member!”

This order, which Yuuma had unlocked by increasing his Command skill, caused the familiar to lead its master to whichever party member was farthest away at the moment.

“Squ-squee!”

With a small cry, Squeak began splashing across the water’s surface.

“Let’s go!” Yuuma shouted, following the familiar.

Trying not to slip and fall, Yuuma ran through the water at almost the same speed as Squeak. Aoi, Hokari, and Chinami were falling behind, but as long as they didn’t get too far away, that was just unavoidable.

Squeak moved northwest, sprinting hard. Yuuma squinted, trying to peer through the fog. There was a risk they might run into the slime boss first before Kisanuki. The pounding of his teammates’ footsteps behind him grew steadily fainter.

Yuuma started to slow his pace. Any more and their ranks would be too spread out.

An HP bar floated into view, far away, through the drifting fog. It was still too small for Yuuma to tell whether it was Kisanuki’s or the slime boss’s.

“Squeak! Follow me,” Yuuma said softly, switching his familiar’s command. Squeak let out a tiny squeal and slowed down.

Signaling with his hands for the others to slow down as well, Yuuma began approaching cautiously. The HP bar gradually grew larger, and a name eventually appeared. It read, Kai—it was Kai Kisanuki.

With a protracted sigh of relief, Yuuma checked their surroundings. The swamp spread out in all directions with no variation. There was no sign of the slime boss, let alone its HP bar.

If the boss had already been defeated, Yuuma and the others should have received experience as well. Kisanuki must have used some method to shake aggro and get away from the boss, once he was far enough away.

Kisanuki was breathing heavily, both hands on his knees. He lifted his head when he noticed Yuuma and the others approach. The smile that surfaced on his face looked tired but also a little proud.

“Good work…,” Hokari muttered from behind Yuuma, apparently revising his opinion of Kisanuki.

As Kisanuki rejoined the group, he briefly explained what had occurred.

Just as Yuuma had feared, the slime boss had attempted to hit Kisanuki from behind with its water laser while on the move. Kisanuki was mostly dodging the shots on instinct at first, but eventually, one of the shots hit him in the back, knocking him into the water. After struggling back to his feet, however, he continued to run for about another five hundred meters until something unexpected happened. The slime boss suddenly disappeared, almost as if it had dissolved into the mist.

“I think…because we got so far away from the boss arena, the boss must have reset to its original position,” Kisanuki concluded. He then downed the healing potion that Nagi handed him.

Yuuma made eye contact with Sawa before glancing back in the direction from which they had just run.

It was fairly common in games for boss monsters to disappear and then respawn in their original location, after getting too far away from their arena. If Kisanuki’s conjecture was right, then the slime boss had probably returned to the center of the swamp. But that meant there was also a chance that its HP, which they had reduced by 90 percent, had fully restored as well.

After turning her eyes back toward the others, Sawa furrowed her brow and spoke.

“GG, Kisanuki… We’ve got a problem, though. We don’t know whether we need to defeat this boss in order to get our hands on the white lotus flower.”

Nagi tapped the water at her feet lightly with the butt end of her crosier. “This is just a swamp, though, Kenk. There don’t seem to be any locked rooms or caves anywhere around here, and Harlin specifically mentioned a white lotus flower that blossoms in the swamp north of the village. In that case, I think it’s likely that it isn’t a drop and that we collect it directly from wherever it grows.”

Hokari, Chinami, and Aoi were listening intently to Kenk and Nagi’s conversation. They weren’t as used to games, so it made sense that they didn’t chime in with their own opinions. As for why Kisanuki didn’t say anything, despite evidently being such an accomplished metagamer… Well, he had just pulled a boss. Maybe after sprinting so hard he was more tired than he seemed.

Either way, Kisanuki was the hero of the hour. He had just saved the entire party from getting wiped. Yuuma would have liked to have given Kisanuki a chance to rest, but they could hardly sit themselves down in the middle of a swamp. Since they couldn’t fight the boss again anyway, not until those ball-shaped plants regenerated, Yuuma decided that if they couldn’t find the white lotus flower it would be best to just cut their losses and come back another time.

“In any case,” he told the group, “we should skirt the area where the boss may have respawned and investigate the north side of the swamp. If the flower is blooming anywhere, it will probably be there.”

“Agreed,” Sawa said. The other members nodded as well.

The first to detect the change was Chinami.

“Hmm…,” she muttered softly, bending down slightly to look at the ground. “Does the water seem cleaner here?”

“Hey… It does!” Aoi said. Yuuma peered down at the water around his feet as well.

The water itself hadn’t been very cloudy to begin with, but the grayish-brown mud that had accumulated at the bottom had now been replaced by whitish gravel. Their feet no longer slipped or kicked up particles of mud as they made their way through the water. Peering closer, Yuuma noticed schools of cute little fish, resembling killifish, zipping through the water.

“These fish don’t look like they’d make much of a meal, do they?” Hokari commented.

The girls glared at him.

“Wh-what? Bringing back food is an important part of our mission!”

“That doesn’t mean you need to share every little thought that runs through your head,” Sawa insisted.

Chinami and Aoi nodded in agreement. Yuuma suppressed his grimace, stepping in before the argument could develop further.

“If we can manage to cure the villagers, maybe they’ll split their food with us. Let’s just focus on searching for the white lotus flower for now.”

“Everyone, look over there!” Nagi shouted, a slight lilt in her voice. Yuuma quickly turned in her direction.

At some point, Nagi had moved ahead of the others. She pointed the tip of her crosier forward and to the left. Peering at the water, which was shrouded in fog, Yuuma was able to make out several leaves floating there in a fanlike pattern.

The farther they advanced in this direction, the more of the round floating leaves, which were about three or four centimeters in diameter, they encountered. In addition to the killifish, beautiful tiny blue and yellow fish also began to meander through the water below, while frogs about the size of their thumbs croaked with mellow voices from atop the floating leaves.

Eventually, they began to spot firm, spindle-shaped buds among the leaves. Lured by a faint fragrance floating in the air, the group made their way deeper into the swamp. The scattered buds gradually grew larger and began to split open at their tips—until, at last, a cluster of floating leaves, more glorious than the rest, faded into view.

Yuuma and the others came to a stop, staring at the flower stem that rose from the center of this gathering of leaves. At the tip of the stem, which was at least a meter in height, a single large flower bloomed with a magnificent profusion of unfurling ovoid petals. The petals were so white the color burned itself into their retinas. The flower seemed to sparkle with a light of its own, the only bright thing beneath the cloudy sky.

The eight members of the group turned to those closest to them to share in a round of high fives.

The remaining ovary began to dissolve as well, and silver orbs spilled out from inside. Instead of dissolving, these orbs glimmered at the bottom of the bowl, the light eventually infusing the water as whole. There was a bright flash, and Yuuma reflexively turned his eyes away. When he looked again, the orbs were no longer glimmering.

Harlin told Yuuma to gather some of the still faintly luminous liquid into a bottle. Yuuma was about to say that he didn’t have a container on hand, when he remembered that he had placed the empty bottle back into his inventory after finishing off his water back at the shelter. Scrolling through the item list, he quickly discovered an entry that read, EMPTY GLASS BOTTLE. Yuuma materialized the item.

Back in the real world, Yuuma was pretty sure that the bottle had been made out of polyethylene something or other, but here in Algol, it had become simple glass. No matter how many times Yuuma witnessed this change, he was still amazed. So long as they could stopper it, however, it didn’t matter right now what the bottle was made of. He scooped up some of the water using the silver ladle sitting atop the pedestal and then carefully poured it into the bottle, being careful not to spill any, before replacing the cork stopper. When he tapped the bottle again, the name had changed to PANACEA (3).

Yuuma cocked his head, feeling as if he had heard that word before. That was when he remembered. This was the all-purpose remedy that Aoi Soga had mentioned back at the shelter.

Yuuma expected Kisanuki to suggest just abandoning the villagers and taking all the panacea for themselves, but since returning to the village, he had been strangely distracted and quiet. Yuuma decided to just start treating the villagers and hope that everything worked out.

Kenk, Sawa, and Nagi had empty bottles as well, so they filled up all four, returned to the first floor, and made their way first toward Harlin’s parents, out in the plaza.

Harlin’s parents were huddled next to each other, petrified. Naturally there was no way to make them drink the panacea, but according to Harlin, the panacea would work whether it was drunk or applied directly on their bodies, so Yuuma and Sawa held their bottles close to the shoulders of Harlin’s parents and slowly, ever so slowly, began to pour.

After about one-third of the liquid in the bottles was gone, the bodies of both parents began to faintly glow.

Color began to return to the two gray bodies before their very eyes. Their hair and their clothing lost its stiffness, cascading downward softly, while light returned to their eyes, which had previously been like dead stone orbs. The two awkwardly blinked several times.

Harlin’s mother and father didn’t seem to know what had just happened, but once they saw Harlin standing nearby, their faces crumpled.

“Daddy! Mommy!” Harlin shouted, diving into their open arms.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Kenk asked, confused.

Sawa glanced up at the Caliculus capsule she had just emerged from before turning toward them again. “From the villagers’ point of view, we were supposedly staying at the inn and then just disappeared. Surely that would have to seem like an abnormal event to them, like being turned to stone.”

“That’s… Well, yeah, but…,” Kenk muttered, his expression doubtful.

Yuuma, who was standing next to Kenk, gave it some thought before answering. “That merchant in the forest, Elaine at Pomegranate Pavilion, and that old man at the House of Stripes all referred to us as something called adventurers. I think adventurers must be seen as a special presence of some sort in Algol, in a way that differs from NPC travelers and mercenaries. For them, maybe stuff like pulling items in and out of our inventories or logging out just resembles another kind of magic, one that only adventurers can use…”

“Oh, that makes sense…,” Sawa said, nodding.

Kenk, standing next to her, finally smiled. “I know another benefit reserved for adventurers: leveling up!”

“We can check our character sheets once everything else is settled,” Nagi said, admonishing Kenk as she descended her own walkway. She was the next to join them after Sawa.

Looking around, Yuuma saw that Hokari, Chinami, Aoi, and Kisanuki had logged out safely as well. They descended from their separate gangways carefully, one step at a time, on slightly wobbly feet.

Yuuma wanted to see his own stats as well. Since they hadn’t beaten the boss in the end, Yuuma’s party had only risen one level through combat, but for some reason, the moment they finished turning the villagers back to normal, a system message popped up, saying that they had completed the Holy Flower quest, and they suddenly jumped up two more levels.

Thanks to all the EXP they had gained, Yuuma, Sawa, and Kenk were now level 15; Nagi was level 14; Hokari, Chinami, and Kisanuki were level 12; and Aoi was level 11. Honestly, Yuuma would have been satisfied with just achieving their main objective for the dive, which was to acquire an item to remove petrification, but if Nagi’s holy magic skill had increased enough, they might even be able to reach their secondary goal of gaining access to the Holy Bands spell now, too.

Additionally, Aoi Soga, who had only been level 6 when they dove in, had risen all the way to level 11, putting her at almost the same level as Tomori Shimizu—a huge success. The Priest class was one of the most important roles at the shelter. Having three Priests who were now over level 10 was more encouraging than any weapon or piece of armor could ever be.

Aoi had also grown significantly as a person. When they first dove in, she had been timid and unassertive. She’d blanched in the face of trash mobs and had panicked and run away during the boss fight. But figuring out the gimmick of using the ball-shaped plants to change the boss’s color had given her new confidence, and she had carried out her duties as a Priest admirably after that, without fear.

Yuuma strolled over to Aoi’s side, after she made her way down the walkway, to express his appreciation once again. However…

“Soga…?”

…Aoi was staring at the floor. When Yuuma saw the tears in her eyes, he wasn’t sure what to say.

At first, he was worried that she had regressed back to the emotional state she had been in before diving, but Aoi wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform and spoke in a determined and forceful voice.

“I’m sorry. When I saw Harlin with his mom and dad, it just made me think of my own family. But don’t worry; I’m fine now.”

Chinami’s voice was cheerful, but her eyes were a little puffy as well. Even Yuuma had been reminded of his own parents when he saw Harlin sobbing in the arms of his mother and father. Even now, Yuuma’s parents were probably out there somewhere, on Althea grounds, beyond the unbreakable exterior wall, fervently praying that Yuuma and Sawa were safe. Just the thought made Yuuma’s chest feel tight.

Kakeru Niki, Ryuugo Nunono, and Shizu Metoki must have felt the same way. So then why had they tried to turn the students in the first-floor shelter to stone, instead of working together to help everyone get out of here? Their first attack had failed, but what if they were planning a second one—?

“We should head back soon…”

Yuuma lifted his head at the sound of Hokari’s voice. Hokari and Kisanuki were both standing farther down along the curved walkway, Hokari with his back turned to them, Kisanuki staring their way with an impassive expression on his face.

“All right. But remember, we’re not out of the woods yet. Let’s keep our eyes peeled,” Yuuma replied, grasping the cleansing steel chain that had been hanging from his belt.

On their way back, they encountered two of the giant caterpillar creatures known as Tabanus Hellfly Larvae, but between Kenk’s hammer and Yuuma’s chain, the monsters were barely an issue. Yuuma couldn’t help but recall his earlier suspicions that the creatures might have originally been human, but when he thought of what had happened to Takeshi Moro after being infested by one of the Hellfly pupae, he had no reservations about crushing them with his chain.

The display racks they were using as a barricade were still firmly in place, but Yuuma couldn’t help but picture the worst. What if everyone inside had already been turned to stone?

Yuuma approached the barrier, unconsciously muffling his footsteps as he walked. He knocked lightly with his leather-gloved right hand, calling out to the students inside.

“It’s us—we’re back. Open the barricade, please.”

After ten agonizing seconds, the display rack inched to the side slightly, and Shinta Aida peeked out through the gap. Yuuma sighed in relief. Aida’s face, however, was plastered with a mixture of worry and distrust.

“Ashihara… It’s you, right?”

“Who else does it look like?!” Kenk interrupted from the side, but the furrow between Aida’s brow remained.

“How should I know? You could be Niki or someone, using some kind of magic or demon exploit to trick us… We should have thought up a password or something for this…”

“Well, why not just ask me something that only students who were in the shelter yesterday would know?” Yuuma suggested.

Aida nodded, very serious, before suddenly disappearing from sight, as if someone had just shoved him out of the way. Teruki Sugamo’s sullen face appeared.

“Tell me the names of all the students who died or have been turned to stone…”

“Miura and Moro have died. Oono, Sera, Takio, and Wakasa…and Ezato and Misono…were turned to stone,” Yuuma promptly answered.

With a “humph,” Sugamo withdrew his face. The barricade immediately began to slide to the side, creating a space just wide enough for a single person to slip through.

The moment they were safe inside:

“Welcome back!”

“You’re here!”

“Is everyone okay?!”

They were greeted by a tumult of excited voices. Yuuma flinched involuntarily. Looking up, he saw that the students had gathered in the middle of the shelter to applaud their return. Even Sugamo, who was usually so quick to lose his temper, stood by with his mouth closed. Though, of course, he didn’t join in with the applause.

“Kenk, maybe you should say something…,” Yuuma whispered softly.

“Why me?!” Kenk whispered back but then lifted his right hand and raised his voice. “Everyone, sorry we kept you waiting! We managed to get our hands on an item to remove petrification, just like we said! And we brought back plenty of food as well!”

As soon as the students heard what Kenk had to say, they erupted into even louder applause.

Five minutes later…

Once the shelter had settled down again, three of the boys began a delicate moving process.

Yuuma was watching them work when Aida approached from the side and spoke to Yuuma in a small voice.

“Sorry I didn’t let you in right away earlier. We heard a few of the Whistle Traps go off about an hour ago… So we’ve been on our guard ever since.”

“Of course… The traps were set off by more of those giant caterpillar bugs that attacked us yesterday. We got rid of them, but more will probably spawn eventually…”

“Those things…,” Aida said, sounding disgusted. He pushed the hair of his faux-hawk back roughly. “Since we sealed the ducts, the bugs are probably no problem in here, but if another one of those giant freakazoids shows up…”

By “giant freakazoid,” Aida probably meant the Conehead Bruiser. That was true; there was no guarantee that more of those pinheads might not show up to attack.

If Yuuma was right and the monsters roaming Althea were adults now transformed, who had been inside the building when the anomaly occurred, so long as Yuuma and the others kept defeating them, surely the monsters would have to run out of raw materials at some point. But that conjecture was too gruesome to mention out loud. Yuuma was trying to think of something else to say when—

“Okay, let’s set him down!” someone shouted.

Yuuma turned his gaze back toward the others. The boys had laid the petrified Sera down onto a mattress spread out in the middle of the shelter. This time they had avoided chipping any of his hair.

The three boys who had moved Sera stepped back and turned their eyes toward Yuuma, in unison. Yuuma nodded silently in return and approached. The other students had gathered around in small groups, staring at Sera with a mixture of expectation and worry.

“Are you sure this stuff will—?” Sugamo started to say doubtfully, then quickly shut his mouth.

A moment later, Yuuma noticed as well—the translucent liquid inside the bottle was glowing faintly.

The girls gasped in restrained wonder. Yuuma tapped the bottle to display the item properties window and then, with the window still open, untwisted the cap.

Yuuma and the others had brought back three bottles with them—enough panacea for nine people—but they could not afford to waste a single drop. Yuuma was holding the bottle in his right hand. He steadied it with his left as well and slowly began to tip it over Sera’s face.

The pale liquid poured out in a thin stream, landing on Sera’s brow and creating a small spray. Yuuma moved the bottle sideways, letting the liquid spread to Sera’s face, neck, and chest as well. The game system was supposedly set up so that the panacea would work even if he kept pouring it all in one spot, but Yuuma couldn’t help but feel like it would be more effective to let it soak into different parts of Sera’s body.

As soon as the item name in the properties window changed from PANACEA (3) to PANACEA (2), Yuuma tipped the bottle upright again. A moment later, Sera sparkled with a flash of light and color began to return to his body, beginning with his hands and feet. Yuuma had already witnessed this phenomenon a few dozen times in Thula Village, but seeing stone turn to flesh here in the real world was a stark reminder of the situation they were in.

But unsettling or not, this was a million times better than not being able to turn Sera and the others back. Besides, if they could cure petrification, then Yuuma had reason to hope that he would be able to accomplish his other major goal in the end—of turning Sumika Watamaki back to normal…

The percentage of Sera that was petrified steadily decreased. Eventually, there was only a small area of stone left, near his heart. It vaporized suddenly, like water tossed into a hot frying pan.

The light returned to Sera’s eyes, which had been open when he was petrified. He blinked several times. Yuuma had expected this, since the same had been true for the villagers of Thula, but Sera had no memory of anything that had happened while he was stone. In other words, from Sera’s point of view, time had suddenly leaped forward from the point when he was hit with Niki’s petrification spell.

“Agh… Aghhh…!!”

Sera screamed and tried to jump to his feet, but Hokari held him firmly by the shoulders with both hands.

“Sera, you’re all right! They’re gone now!”

In response, Sera gave a startled tremble and then relaxed, staring up into Hokari’s face. The fear in his eyes gradually faded, and he was able to focus again.

“H-Hokari…?” Sera rasped. He glanced at his own body, gingerly running a hand over his chest and stomach. “I…could have sworn I was being turned to stone… But that doesn’t make any sense, does it…?”

“Actually, it does. You were turned to stone.”

Sera’s jaw dropped in exaggerated fashion, causing the other students gathered around to giggle under their breath.

Sera’s HP was almost full, so after a little drink of water, he was up and moving again. They still had him rest in a corner of the shelter, as they continued treating the others, just in case.

The problem, however, was the remaining student, Aria Misono. Somehow, they managed to carry her to the center of the room without damaging her, Sugamo yelling all the while not to drop her, not to shake her, not to bump her into anything. But Aria had been turned to stone while in the middle of attacking Niki, her left hand still raised high in mid-swipe. On top of that, she was still in demon form. Under the circumstances, she might not just panic. She might attack the very first student she saw.

Yuuma had figured that if Nagi’s skill level was high enough to cast Holy Bands now, that they could have her cast the spell on whichever student was tasked with grabbing Aria’s attention, but unfortunately, it seemed petrified characters were immune to almost all buff and healing spells.

Instead, they decided to load the waiting student with all the protective buffs that they could, just in case the unexpected happened, but that soon led to a new dispute. Both Sugamo and Chinami volunteered themselves for the role of calling Aria’s name, and neither seemed interested in letting the other have the honor.

In the end, they decided to go with a compromise. They would stand side by side in front of Aria and call her name at the same time. After the priestly trio of Nagi, Tomori, and Aoi finished casting their buffs and stepped back, Yuuma stepped forward in their place and began to pour the remaining panacea in the second bottle onto Aria.

The faintly luminescent liquid trickled along the zigzagging horns that extended from her temple, streaming down her face and onto her body. Eventually, the last drop of panacea hovered for a moment at the mouth of the bottle before plunking down onto the petrified girl’s face.

The boundary between stone and flesh passed over her shoulders, hips, and face, converging into a circle around her heart. There was a soft spray of light particles as the final remaining patch of stone evaporated.

“…aaAAGGGHHHH!””

A terrible roar immediately escaped Aria’s lips.

“Ria!”

“Aria!”

Sugamo and Chinami shouted her name at the same time, but their voices were lost in the tumult of Aria’s bestial scream. Her clawed left hand swept downward with full strength.

Yuuma dashed forward quickly, tossing the empty plastic bottle aside and grabbing Aria by her left arm. Sugamo and Aria rushed forward as well, latching on to Aria and trying to hold her in place.

ZAPPP!!

There was an explosive thunderclap, and a flash of yellow light quivered in the air. Yuuma felt shock blitz through his body. Out of the left-hand corner of his vision, he saw Sugamo and Chinami go flying. Yuuma had never felt anything like this before, but he knew, even before the Stun icon had even appeared on his HP bar, that he had just been electrocuted.

This was one of the bonuses given by Aria’s demon exploit, Lightning Transformation. Aria was still in demon form, so Yuuma should have anticipated that her exploit could still be running, but it was too late for regret now. If Yuuma let go of Aria now, there was a risk she might hurt one of the other students.

“M-Mi…sono…!!” Yuuma shouted, feeling like he was on the verge of blacking out.

“Gyaggghhh!”

An inhuman growl escaped Aria’s lips. Although nearly paralyzed, Yuuma managed to shove into her with his body, knocking her to the ground. Once she was down, he held on with all the strength he could muster.

“Yuu!!” Sawa shouted from behind him.

“Gyah!”

Aria sank her teeth into Yuuma’s left shoulder with a sudden growl.

It felt like electricity was being pumped directly inside Yuuma’s body—no, that was exactly what was happening. Yuuma’s vision flashed white for a moment, and his HP instantly dropped by more than half.

Aria took her mouth off Yuuma’s left shoulder and bared her teeth again, possibly planning to bite him on the other shoulder next. If Yuuma took another bite like that, it would be sure to kill him.

Yuuma, however, just squeezed harder, both arms still wrapped around Aria. He pressed his face close to hers and spoke in a ragged voice.

“Aperta Ostium!!”

There was a jolt where his skin touched hers. The sensation felt like the lightning crackling through his body, but something about it was decisively different.

Yuuma’s vision went black, and he found himself falling, straight down into an endless dark.

It was like he was being drawn into Aria… No sooner had the thought formed than he landed face-first onto what felt like flat, solid ground.

“Nrgk!”

Still lying face down on the ground, Yuuma shook his head several times and waited for the feeling of dizziness to pass. Finally, he lifted himself up.

A truly strange sight awaited.

Yuuma was standing smack-dab in the middle of a level platform, about ten meters across and ten meters wide, floating within an empty void. In the distance, a trail of dark cumulonimbus clouds overlapped across an indigo night sky, while yellow lightning writhed between the clouds like a snake. Looking up, he saw a waxing crescent moon that shone coldly in the night above, while more jagged clouds drifted past.

Yuuma looked down at his feet again. The platform was covered in vibrant golden tiles. The only item of furniture was a single delicate chair, which had been placed in front of him, at the very edge of the void.

And someone was sitting in that seat.

“…”

Yuuma caught his breath for a moment before cautiously stepping forward. In his head, he knew that distance in this world—in the internus—held no meaning. But he was still wary of getting too close.

Although there was only about five meters between himself and the person, the only light was from the moon. Even after approaching halfway, the person’s face remained shrouded in shadow. Yuuma hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was safe to get any closer…when the clouds obscuring the moon suddenly parted overhead, and the light grew clearer.

“Ah…?!” Yuuma gasped softly as soon as she came into view.

Yuuma almost glanced away reflexively but just barely managed to keep his eyes trained forward. He straightened up, bowed deeply, and spoke.

“It’s nice to meet you… My name is Yuuma Ashihara. First, allow me to apologize for entering your internus without being invited…”

“…”

The creature just stared at Yuuma without responding, the smile that played at the corner of her lips growing slightly more pronounced. Yuuma steeled himself and spoke again.

“You’re the demon possessing Mibs…Aria Misono…right?”

“You do like to ask obvious questions, don’t you…?” the demon with Aria’s face said.

It was the first words she had spoken so far. The voice sounded almost exactly the same as Aria’s, but mingled with it, there was a second phantom sound, almost an octave deeper.

The demon crossed her legs upon her seat and rested her chin in her hands, which were propped up by her knees.

“You did apologize for intruding, though, I suppose. And you released Aria from her petrification for me… I am Ose, the demon.”

“Ose…”

Yuuma couldn’t remember ever hearing that name before, but it was probably another one of Solomon’s demons, just like Valac and Crocell. Even though she looked exactly like Aria, something about the way the demon spoke felt masculine. Yuuma wondered if that was just the demon’s personality or if it was actually a man, but he didn’t want to upset the demon by asking.

If the demon was in here, did that mean the person rampaging out there in the real world was the real Aria after all? Had she been so angry at Niki that she had completely lost control?

Yuuma stood there, lost in thought.

“Well, Yuuma…? Aren’t you here to stop Aria’s rampage?” the demon Ose asked.

Yuuma lifted his head in surprise and nodded. “Y-yes… I am. So…it really is her going berserk out there?”

“Yes and no. Look behind you,” Ose said, unclasping her hands and pointing past Yuuma’s shoulder.

As Yuuma turned in trepidation, he realized there was another chair now, waiting at the opposite end of the platform. And of course, someone was sitting there. The chair was about ten meters away, but if Yuuma squinted hard enough, he could already tell who it was. The real Aria Misono.

There were no horns on her head, and she was dressed in her Yukihana Elementary School uniform, like usual. But she was slumped against the back of the chair, motionless, as if asleep.

Both Ose and Aria were here in the internus. So then who was going berserk out there in the real world…?

While Yuuma was still standing there, frozen in place, he heard soft footsteps patter toward him from behind. They stopped by his left side.

Yuuma turned to look, catching sight of the demon Ose’s naked form. He quickly turned away but not before he noticed something. Her body was that of a boy’s, not a girl’s. Yuuma didn’t know what was going on there, but he decided to put his questions about Ose’s body aside for now and turned his eyes back toward the real Aria, who was sitting before him.

Maybe Yuuma could negotiate with Ose, but the demon would probably want something in return. The only thing Yuuma had on him right now was the uniform on his back, and here in the world of imago, as Valac had described it, he wasn’t even sure if he could take his clothing off…

“I’m the one who granted Aria power, that’s true,” Ose said suddenly.

Yuuma glanced to the side again. “Is that…because she wanted power?”

“Naturally. I can’t stand heavy-handed drama. I don’t have the patience to listen to some litany of complaints, all because I forced something down someone’s throat.”

“…”

Yuuma knew he shouldn’t take a demon’s words at face value, but it really felt like Ose meant what she said. In which case, if this rampage wasn’t what Aria really wanted, maybe Ose didn’t care to let it continue, either.

“You were right earlier… I came here to stop Aria’s rampage. Would you tell me what I can do to wake her up?” Yuuma asked nervously.

Ose shrugged. “I would if I could, but I’m afraid it’s not that simple. At the moment, Aria has been consumed by the power of the vires. She won’t be able to stop until she exhausts its power. I warned her to be careful…”

“Consumed…? By the vires?” Yuuma glanced at the sleeping Aria. “Me and my sister have used our powers several times, though, and nothing like that has ever happened to us…”

“…”

Ose made a good point. Aria’s Lightning Transformation was a much more direct power than either Yuuma’s Quick Action or Sawa’s Magic Skill Boost. But Yuuma doubted this was the only reason for Aria’s berserker rage. Yuuma hesitated slightly before speaking up again.

“It definitely does seem like the power of the vires has consumed her…but I’m not sure that’s the whole story. Aria got so angry when her friend was turned to stone. Could that maybe…also have something to do with her rage…?”

Yuuma was worried Ose would be upset at him for speaking out of turn, but Ose simply nodded in agreement.

“It’s possible. But if so, that would make it even harder to wake Aria up. Anger and violence… Human reason can easily fall before that combination.”

“I…think I know what you mean,” Yuuma murmured quietly.

When Yuuma punched Kakeru Niki in the face, his fist wrapped in the cleansing steel chain, he hadn’t held back. Not even a little. Cleansing steel was a very rare material. Instead of just pulverizing Niki’s wolf mask, there was a chance he could have damaged Niki’s face beyond what even healing magic could fix. And yet, despite this, Yuuma had let his anger get the best of him and had punched Niki as hard as he could.

Maybe Aria’s anger had gotten the better of her as well.

“But Mibs…I mean, Aria…is actually a very kind person. A lot more than I am. I don’t think she really wants to be doing this. Even now, deep down, I’m sure she doesn’t want to hurt anyone.”

Ose listened to what Yuuma had to say and then let out a long, heavy sigh. She faintly murmured something to herself:

At least, that was what Yuuma thought he had heard. Before he could ask Ose to repeat herself, however, she began speaking again.

“I don’t want Aria to hurt her friends, either. It wouldn’t do me any favors for her to be locked up or exiled, after all… All the same, there’s little I can do now to help you wake her. The internus is like a tiny bit of flotsam floating within a corner of the host’s mind. And I am but a simple anima, trapped within.”

“F-flotsam…? This place…?”

Yuuma glanced around at the boundless sea of clouds and sky surrounding him, before remembering that the vastness of the internus was but an illusion. Still, Ose’s mention of being trapped here seemed odd to Yuuma. The demons were the ones who had possessed Yuuma and his classmates for their own selfish ends, weren’t they? It wasn’t as if any of the students had asked for this.

But bringing that point up now wasn’t going to get Yuuma anywhere.

“When you say there is little that you can do,” Yuuma ventured, turning his eyes back toward Ose, “that means there’s still something… Right?”

“I suppose. Neither of our voices can reach Aria in her current state, and pinching or smacking her would not do any good, either. She has been consumed by the vires power, and the Aria we see sleeping there is no more than a shadow.”

“A shadow… So the only one who chanted the Aperta Ostium spell was me. Mibs isn’t actually inside the internus right now…”

“Exactly. But even if the Aria we see is only a shadow, that does not mean it is not connected in some way to the real Aria. I will share a tiny bit of my animus with you now.”

“Your animus…?”

“The source of our vires is the power of the soul,” Ose said—Yuuma wasn’t quite sure if that constituted an explanation—before lifting her right hand into the air and pressing the tip of her middle finger against Yuuma’s brow.

After about five seconds, Ose removed her finger and pointed toward Aria with that same hand.

“Touch Aria’s face and communicate your deepest thoughts to her.”

“M-my deepest thoughts…? I don’t understand…,” Yuuma said uncertainly.

Ose’s yellow eyes flared. “I told you, she can’t hear you now. Your only chance of reaching Aria, in Veras, is to transmit your thoughts upon the animus.”

“But don’t you have that power yourself? You have an internus. Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to communicate with her—?”

“I can’t do it. I haven’t built that time with her. Enough hand-wringing. Go.”

Yuuma stumbled forward as Ose smacked him on the back. Yuuma wanted to tell Ose that he hadn’t “built that time with her,” either, but now that he thought about it, he met Aria Misono for the first time in his first year at Yukihana Elementary School. That meant they had been in the same class together for more than five years.

Yuuma couldn’t remember Aria saying much to him in the past year or two other than “shut up,” “leave me alone,” or “whatever,” but he had always thought of her as a friend. And even though she didn’t let it show, he knew she was actually a very warm and kindhearted person. When it came down to it, even this fit of rage was caused by her friend, Shouko Ezato, someone whom she cared about, being turned to stone.

Yuuma walked across the tile floor, beginning to hustle midway. He stopped in front of Aria, who was still sleeping in her chair.

Something about her looked a little younger than usual. Maybe because this shadow of her didn’t include the makeup she had started wearing to school last year. Yuuma wasn’t sure if that meant something, but he took another step forward and called her name softly.

He remembered that she couldn’t hear him. He wasn’t really sure how to communicate his deepest thoughts, whatever those were, but after five or so seconds of just standing there, he gathered up his determination and took another step closer.

Aria sat slumped to the right as she slept. After some hesitation, Yuuma extended his hand, brushing away the bangs that clung to her face. Naturally, she didn’t stir. Crouching down, he pressed his own face against hers, soft and white.

Yuuma felt a jolt, like static electricity. Now that he thought of it, he was also pressing his face against hers in the real world. That was how he had entered the internus. And now, here in the internus, he was doing the same thing in order to communicate with Aria back in the real world.

If anything, this felt like a long detour, but Yuuma could only have faith that this would allow him to reach her. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the point where their two faces touched.

He felt the faint warmth gathered in his head—the animus that Ose had given him—begin to flow outward toward Aria. He willed all his thoughts, all his feelings, onto that stream.

Mibs. You did well. Thanks to you, the shelter is safe. Ezato is back to normal now; they’re all back to normal. You don’t have to fight anymore. You can rest now and let us take over.

Those words—not truly words—formed a compressed image that seemed to flow into Aria. Just as the feeling of the animus was disappearing from his head, he felt Aria’s shadow stir slightly.

In a panic, Yuuma pulled his face away and opened his eyes. The shadow’s long eyelashes fluttered several times and then slowly opened.

ZAPPP!

A cacophony of light and sound suddenly surged forward, from all sides, and he squeezed his eyes shut reflexively. However, he nearly cried out loud at the intense pain that assaulted his left shoulder a moment later. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes once more.

He was back in the shelter, it seemed. The real world. He could hear other students screaming all around him, but he couldn’t see them.

That was because Aria Misono’s face was right there, just ten centimeters away from his own. Yuuma was straddling her, pressing her shoulders against the ground, but there was no way he would be strong enough to actually restrain her. Not in her demon form. Yuuma tensed all over, ready to leap away if she tried to bite again.

However…

“…Yuu…?”

Aria’s lips trembled, her voice ragged and broken.

Tears welled up in her open eyes. A few yellow streaks remained, but her irises were no longer glowing. The horns extending from her temples had shrunk to about five centimeters.

“Mibs… Are you back in charge of yourself?” Yuuma asked nervously.

Aria nodded almost imperceptibly. “Y-yeah. I got so confused when I was fighting Niki. I don’t have a clear memory of what happened after that… But I was somewhere dark, and then I heard your voice. Saying that I didn’t need to fight anymore… That was when I opened my eyes, and…”

“Of course…” Yuuma sighed in relief.

Aria’s gaze flickered to Yuuma’s left shoulder. Her eyes went wide for a moment, before she squinted in pain.

“Your shoulder… I did that, didn’t I?”

“It wasn’t you. It’s not your fault,” Yuuma replied, shaking his head. He wanted to explain what Ose had told him about why she had gone berserk.

“Agh…!”

Yuuma yowled, the pain enough to make him forget all about his shoulder for the moment. He desperately scrambled to place his weight on his feet. A moment later, the hand let go of Yuuma’s hair. Yuuma spun around, being careful not to step on Aria as he did so.

That was when he came face-to-face with Teruki Sugamo. Something blazed deep within Sugamo’s eyes. Anger…and something else…

“Sug!”

“What the heck do you think you’re doing?!”

Kenk and Sawa raced forward, shouting angrily. But before they could reach the two boys…

“Who said you could touch Ria?!?!” Sugamo screamed.

His right hand, bunched up into a fist, collided with the left side of Yuuma’s face.

“There’s sugar, too, if you like.”

“No thanks, but Nagi and Kenk might want some…and the others might, too.”

“I’ll just add the sugar for them.”

Yuuma opened his inventory and pulled out a small waxed paper sachet containing sugar that had been produced in Algol. The sugar was unrefined, but it had a less distinct flavor than the black molasses sugar of the real world. He removed the lid of the kettle and added the contents of the sachet before stirring with a long-handled spoon.

Yuuma poured just a little bit of tea into his own mug and tasted it. A rich, fragrant sweetness, like Royal Milk Tea, blossomed across his tongue. Yuuma had used his Still Fire spell as a heat source to brew the tea. The output of the flame was a little unreliable, but his utility magic skill had increased enough during their mission today to brew the tea without much issue.

As he set his mug down, Yuuma took a look around the shelter.

The register counter in the back had been cleared off, and Mimi Hariya and Aoi Soga, who were in the cooking club, were busy at work, with help from Tomori Shimizu and Chise Tsuda, preparing some of the food that Yuuma and the others had received from Thula.

Yuuma and several of the boys had offered to help. They had been taught in their home ec and civics classes that the idea that women were supposed to cook was prejudiced and outdated. But Mimi had chased them away, saying, “If you want to help, go clean instead!”

Mimi had a point. A fierce fight had taken place inside the shelter earlier, and there were still piles of trash and dust all over the place. Stuff like clothing and cutlery could be cleaned just by running it through their inventories, but that didn’t work on the room itself.

With no more work to be done, the students split back up into groups to rest. Yuuma and Sawa had set up camp near the entrance to the shelter and had decided to try making tea while they waited for Kenk and Nagi to return from the bathroom. The reason the tea turned out so much better than expected probably had more to do with the otherworldly tea leaves than it did with Yuuma’s hidden tea-making abilities.

“We’ve got something like milk tea here. Anybody who wants some, bring me your mugs!” Yuuma announced to the rest of the shelter.

Sayu Kenjou, Mami Shimonosono, and Kimiko Nobori immediately formed a line, as if they had just been waiting for the offer.

“Yes! Thank you! I’ve been dying for a cup ever since I smelled it…,” Sayu said, holding out her mug with a smile.

Sayu was part of a stylish clique at school that included Ren Fujikawa and Saki Chikamori. A group that Kenk liked to refer to as the Cutest Girls in 6-1 Brigade—naturally, Sumika Watamaki was in a league of her own. However, since Ren and Saki had fled to the fourth floor, Sayu was now on her own down here, without her other friends from the group.

Yuuma had been a little worried that Sayu would wind up isolated due to this, but Mami and Kimiko seemed to have made an effort to include her. Relieved, Yuuma carefully tipped the kettle, pouring milky tea into each of the three girls’ mugs.

Yuuma finished pouring the tea, while these thoughts ran through his head. The three girls expressed their thanks before returning to their original location.

The next group to approach was Shouko Ezato, Chinami Nushiro, and Aria Misono, another trio of friends. While all three had managed to flee to the first floor together, they had been through quite a lot since getting here, including Shouko and Aria being turned to stone and Chinami volunteering to join the search party into Algol to save them.

Yuuma poured tea into Shouko’s outstretched mug and asked, “Ezato, how are you feeling?”

“Me…? I’m already doing fine,” Shouko answered quietly. Despite her large size, she seemed to shrink a little as she spoke. “Ashihara, Sawa, thank you for getting the petrification medicine for us.”

“Petrification medicine? Don’t you mean de-petrification medicine, Shouko?” Chinami teased.

Shouko cocked her head. “But we call medicine for colds cold medicine and medicine for headaches headache medicine, don’t we?”

“Oh, true… But still…”

While Chinami was pondering this riddle, Yuuma filled her mug with tea and then held the kettle up in Aria’s direction.

“How about you, Mibs? Want some tea?”

“…Sure.”

Aria nodded slightly and took a step closer, hesitant. She glanced furtively toward the eat-in corner before holding out her mug.

“Nothing feels strange, does it? Physically?” Yuuma asked as he poured the tea.

A faint, uncomfortable smirk appeared on Aria’s face. “You mean other than the horns and wings?”

He must have been distracted because he accidentally filled Aria’s mug to the brim. However, Aria brought it to her mouth without spilling a drop, before taking an endearing little gulp.

“This is good…!” she said, her eyes widening.

Although Aria had been cured of her petrification, she remained in her demon form. Like Sawa, short horns now extended from her temples and miniature wings had sprouted from her back. She was also dressed in a swimsuit–like bodysuit—or so Yuuma presumed, at least.

The suit and those features were currently hidden by a black windbreaker with yellow stripes, which Sawa had given to her. Sawa had found it at the same time as her own windbreaker. It was the same design as Sawa’s windbreaker but with a yellow stripe, so whether intentional or not, they now looked like a duo. Earlier, Kenk had gotten a hard slap upside the head from Sawa for telling her, “You and Mibs ought to form a demon idol group once we get out of Althea.” Yuuma was glad he had witnessed that first; otherwise, he might have said the same thing.

Honestly, the reason the students were still as friendly with Aria as before, despite the fact that some of them had witnessed her rampage, probably had a lot to do with her cute new matching outfit. But surely Sawa couldn’t have seen something like this coming when she picked up the other windbreaker in a second color, could she have—?

Yuuma was still staring absently at Aria, as she sipped her milk tea, when he suddenly felt a set of sharp eyes upon him, snapping him out of his reverie. He turned his head slowly, trying to act casual, and cast a glance toward the eat-in corner on the other side of the room. No sooner had he done so than he made eye contact with Teruki Sugamo, who was standing there, leaning against the wall.

Even Sugamo must have realized he would have no chance of winning a vote under these circumstances. Why was Teruki Sugamo even so insistent on being shelter leader in the first place?

Was it that he felt responsible, as class president, for the other students’ safety? That clearly didn’t seem to be the case. After all, he had purposely stirred up trouble by framing Kai Kisanuki for stealing food—an absolutely despicable act—so that he could engineer the trust of the class by feigning responsibility alongside Kisanuki. Sugamo may have been used to having Kisanuki at his beck and call, but Kisanuki was part of the class, too. What about his protection? After exposing Kisanuki to such danger, it was impossible to believe that Sugamo really had his classmates’ safety at heart, rather than just seizing power.

“Hey, Ashihara, can we get some, too?”

Yuuma lifted his head, his train of thought interrupted.

Aria and the others had long since returned to their initial spot, replaced now by three tall boys—Youichi Oono, Takato Sera, and Haruki Hokari. Despite having just recovered from their petrification, Oono and Sera seemed to be doing well.

“It’s kind of like sweet milk tea. Still want some?” Yuuma asked, just to be safe. All three boys nodded in unison.

Eventually, the trading card game duo of Shinta Aida and Tomonori Tada, the two geeks; Masato Takio and Naruo Wakasa; and Nagi and Kenk (once they returned from the restroom in the back) all asked for tea as well. Just enough to leave the kettle empty. Yuuma returned the kettle to the four girls preparing the food.

The extravagant lunch, which had been made by Mimi, Aoi, Tomori, and Chise, consisted of a dried fish, potato, and tomato stew; spinach sauteed in bacon; and lightly toasted rye bread. Despite the size of the meal, they had only used up about one-fifth of the ingredients that Yuuma and the others had brought back from Thula Village. The villagers must have shelled out nearly everything they had, even emptying their own cupboards.

The cutlery they were all eating from, the pots and pans they had cooked with, and even the kettle in which Yuuma had made the tea had also all come from Thula Village (though, of course, they had paid for these items). That meant that if, just if, the search party had not been able to find the white lotus flower in the end and had been forced to log out with the villagers still turned to stone, Yuuma and the others would have had no choice but to return to the shelter with absolutely nothing to show for it. No panacea, no food, not even a single plate to eat off. When you looked at it that way, the real MVP of their mission had been Kai Kisanuki for pulling that slime boss all by himself back there in the swamp. Kisanuki was currently sitting on his knees at a corner of the table, meekly staring down at his own plate.

To the left of him sat Sugamo, who had finally left the eat-in corner. Apparently, hunger had beaten his need to pout. He sat with his legs crossed, looking sullen. Usually, the spot to Sugamo’s left would have been reserved for Aoi, but she was at the upper end of the table, with Shouko and the others, where all the girls were sitting. Oono was occupying her spot instead.

“Everyone’s gotten their food, right?” Aoi asked, holding a wooden ladle in one hand.

“Yep!” most of the other students replied.

“In that case, Mimi would like to say a few words. On behalf of the chefs.”

They barely had a chance to shout, “Let’s eat!” before a dull bang, bang, bang echoed throughout the shelter.

Yuuma reflexively began to rise to his feet, clutching at the cleansing steel chain hanging from his belt, but the voice that called out from the other side of the barricade a moment later mostly dispelled any fear of attack.

“Aoi!! You’re in there, right?!” a shrill voice cried. The ladle fell from Aoi’s hand with a thunk.

“Yukimi…!” Aoi murmured hoarsely.

Yuuma knew who it was intuitively, even before the name had left Aoi’s lips. That voice belonged to Aoi’s friend, Yukimi Yumura.

Aoi made a beeline for the barricade. Yuuma, Sawa, and a few other students quickly chased her.

The shelter’s simple barricade was only a barricade in name—little more than a disordered jumble of merchandise display racks, metal pipes, steel L-beams, pegboard, and refuse, all bound together with cable ties. When Niki and the others had attacked the other night, it had only taken them a single spell or technique to knock the barricade down, and it was probably even evident, from the outside, that they hadn’t done much to reinforce it since. In other words, it seemed unlikely that Yukimi calling out Aoi’s name like this was just a ruse to get them to open up.

However, Yuuma still stopped Aoi, who was trying to pull the barricade aside all by herself.

“Soga, wait! Before we open the barricade, we need to confirm that it is actually Yumura out there and that no one else is with her!”

“C-confirm? But how…?”

He crouched low and peered through a gap in the L-beams. He spotted a light blue jacket, likely the Yukihana Elementary School uniform, just ten centimeters away from the barricade.

As Yuuma’s gaze flicked upward, an HP bar appeared in his field of view. The name read Yukimi Yumura. As far as any of them knew, not even the Masks of Deception could make someone else’s name appear on an HP bar.

Looking straight ahead again, Yuuma peered to the left and right of the human-shaped shadow, which was apparently Yukimi. The adjacent waiting room was dark and gloomy, so it was impossible to scour the area closely just through the gaps in the barricade, but no other player or monster HP popped up.

As Yuuma returned to his feet, the fragile voice on the other side of the barricade spoke again.

“Aoi, are you in there…? Please, let me in…”

In a horror anime or manga, something like this would almost always turn out to be a monster in disguise. But Aoi seemed confident that it was the real Yukimi. She shouted her friend’s name and reached for the brace of the barricade once more.

“Soga… And you, he-twin,” a stern voice said from behind them. Yuuma spun around quickly.

Sawa and Kenk were waiting behind them on standby. And behind them stood Teruki Sugamo, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.

There was no way Sugamo was going to let Yukimi just waltz into the shelter. Not based on his behavior so far. Yuuma racked his brain, trying to think up some argument to cut Sugamo off at the pass, but Sugamo surprised him.

“It’s your responsibilities if this turns out to be another one of Niki’s traps, understand?”

“Of course!”

“Absolutely!”

“It has to be the real Yukimi out there! I just know it!”

“Then…do whatever you like,” Sugamo said before turning away.

Without another word, Aoi gripped the brace once more. Together with Yuuma and Kenk’s help, she pulled the barricade forward by about five centimeters.

The student who bobbed into view was undoubtedly Yukimi Yumura. Her hair was mussed slightly, and dirt and frayed patches stood out all over her uniform. She was about three centimeters taller than Aoi, but much like Aoi—or at least, like Aoi before Aoi had gone on the search party—Yukimi was one of the most quiet and timid girls in class. That impression seemed to hold true now as much as ever. It was a little hard to believe she had been able to make her way through Althea, evading monsters along the way, all on her own like this.

“Aoi…”

Yukimi reached out with both hands as tears began to spill from her eyes. Aoi hugged her firmly, tears welling up in her own eyes as well.

Yukimi’s hit points were nearly full, but her level of mental exhaustion was extreme. As soon as their hug ended, Yukimi slumped to the floor, perhaps out of relief at being reunited with Aoi.

Aoi lent Yukimi a shoulder, leading her to the center of the shelter. Mimi Hariya, who was in the cooking club with the two girls, immediately rushed forward and enveloped them in a hug.

The other girls spoke some kind words to Yukimi as well. Once the commotion had died down, Yukimi joined the table at Aoi’s urging. Her eyes went wide when she saw how much food was crammed onto the table.

“This is amazing… Is this how you guys always eat down here…?” Yukimi murmured.

Yukimi seemed completely exhausted at first, but after a spoonful or two, her hand picked up pace, and in just a few minutes, she had polished off about two-thirds of both of her plates. Waiting for his opportunity, Yuuma spoke to her once he saw her take a drink of water and let out a relieved sigh.

“Yumura, do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

Yukimi flinched, shrinking backward, but she must have known this was coming as soon as she arrived at the shelter. She lifted her head again, turned her eyes toward Yuuma, and nodded.

“Y-yes… Of course.”

“In that case, could you start by telling us what the situation is like up on the fourth floor…?”

The other students had all been engaged in noisy chatter. One by one, they fell silent. The only sound now was the restrained clatter of cutlery against plates. Yukimi began to speak in a soft voice.

“After the playtest ended and everyone left their Caliculus capsules…when Watamaki… Everyone knows about that, right?”

Most of the students nodded, like Yuuma. Oono’s face crumpled slightly, likely remembering how his friend Yukihisa Miura, aka Beloshi, had died. Yukimi’s gaze, which had lifted for a moment, dropped to the table again as she continued her faltering explanation.

“I ran away with Aoi at first, but the elevator wasn’t working, and there were already so many people trying to go down the stairs… That was when Teragami shouted that we should go up instead, so I followed her to the other stairway.”

Kyouka Teragami was the captain of the girls’ volleyball team and was also one of 6-1’s class representatives. Her trust among the girls was more ironclad than even Sugamo’s. There were probably plenty of students who would be willing to follow her.

“That’s what happened to me, too!” Aoi said, clasping Yukimi’s hand. “I thought you had come with me… But by the time I realized you weren’t there anymore, we were already down here, and there was no going back. I’m so sorry, Yukimi…”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” Yukimi squeezed Aoi’s hand before turning back toward Yuuma again. “The reason we skipped the third floor and continued up to the fourth was…because we could hear adults screaming, coming from the third-floor playroom… The fourth floor was quiet, though, and the fire door leading up to the fifth floor was shut, so we huddled quietly in the elevator lobby for a little while at first. That was when a horde of huge caterpillar creatures, about the size of Shiba Inus, came pouring out from the playroom…”

Yukimi’s entire body trembled in fear as she relived the memory. The boys, who had been listening quietly, murmured among themselves.

“Those things…”

“Imagine running into those before upgrading your character class…”

If Yuuma’s conjecture about the monsters in Althea originally being human was true…then the massive bugs that Yukimi and the others had encountered were probably the adults that had dived into Actual Magic from Playroom 03 on the fourth floor. Of course, Yuuma kept that thought to himself as he waited for Yukimi to continue.

Yukimi placed her left hand over her right, which was still gripping Aoi’s hand, and took a deep breath.

“There were about fifteen of us, but pretty soon, none of us could move,” she said. “Not long after that, though, Haizaki and Niki came up the stairs from below and defeated all the bugs for us with their bare hands and magic.”

Yukimi nodded. “Yes. None of us had any idea what was going on… If we could have had a chance to think about it later, we probably would have realized how strange it was that they had figured out how to upgrade their classes so quickly, but at that point, they just seemed like heroes. It felt like, so long as we listened to Haizaki and Niki, everything was going to turn out all right…”

“Yatsuhashi and Toojima were among the group that went upstairs, though, too, weren’t they? You’re saying they just quietly went along with whatever Haizaki said?” Takato Sera cut in.

It was a reasonable question. Kennosuke Yatsuhashi’s father was on the Nozomi City council while Shuutarou Toojima’s mother was a financial investment influencer, and both boys had pretty overbearing personalities. They were the type, to put it simply, who believed that money solved everything and, despite only being elementary school students, were constantly trying to wheel and deal their way to the top. But Haizaki and Niki only received normal allowances for their age. Yuuma doubted that Yatsuhashi and Toojima would give a rat’s behind about anything Haizaki and Niki might say.

Yukimi smiled slightly, apparently aware of what Sera was getting at. She nodded. “Yatsuhashi and Toojima screamed their heads off at the first sight of those bugs. I guess the balance on someone’s QREST doesn’t matter much at times like these.”

“Yeah, I guess not. Sorry for interrupting,” Sera said.

Yukimi shook her head gently. “After they defeated all the bugs, Haizaki and Niki had us move to the back of the elevator lobby… There was an automatic door on that side, too. It wouldn’t open, but Niki broke the glass… There was a large room inside with rows of sofas and recliners.”

The more Yukimi spoke, the steadier her voice became. Yuuma tried to picture Althea’s floor plan in his mind as he listened to her.

“Once we were all inside, Niki completely sealed the entrance with the Earthwall spell… We were all so relieved. Some of us even clapped… I can’t believe we were so stupid…,” Yukimi whispered.

Aoi stared at her, puzzled. “What do you mean, Yukimi…?”

“It was a trap… It was all a trap.”

A trap?

The other students began murmuring among themselves. Yukimi glanced furtively up at them, her voice growing more strained.

“After Niki sealed the entrance, he gathered us all in the center of the room and said he would make it so that we could all use magic here in the real world. Haizaki was the only one who stayed back, standing by himself in the corner… None of us suspected a thing when Niki began chanting his spell. Not me, not any of the others.”

Yuuma was already painting a vivid mental picture of what must have happened next.

The only thing required to allow the other students to use magic—in other words, to upgrade their classes—would be to tap the Actual Magic icon on their virtual desktops. That was all. There would have been no need for Niki to cast a spell on anyone.

“It was a petrification spell…wasn’t it?” Yuuma asked.

“The first step…?”

“Haizaki, he…”

As Haizaki’s name left her mouth, Yukimi began trembling more violently than ever before. She gradually got herself back under control as Aoi stroked her back. Her face, however, remained pale. Yuuma and the others clearly needed to know what happened next.

Yuuma waited patiently. Eventually Yukimi took a deep breath, finally getting to the real meat of her story.

“Haizaki waited outside the petrification’s area of effect. Afterward, he approached and began touching students on their forehead, one by one. He would hold his finger against a student’s head for a full minute, and then a blazing crest would suddenly appear where he touched them… Once the crest appeared, the person could no longer disobey Haizaki. It was his demon exploit, Guild Leader.”

“G-Guild Leader…,” Yuuma repeated. Many of his previous questions had now been answered, but just as many new questions had suddenly formed.

Ryuugo Nunono and Shizu Metoki hadn’t been complicit in the attack on the shelter as Niki’s bodyguards, despite their generally upright personalities, simply because they had been ordered to do so. They were under the mental control of Haizaki’s demon exploit. And yet there hadn’t been anything robotic about their expressions, once the wolf masks were removed. Yuuma had been able to see a clear glint of consciousness in their eyes.

Tomori Shimizu had not seen Nunono and Metoki directly, but she apparently had a similar question. She addressed Yukimi, speaking calmly.

“When you say they could no longer disobey Haizaki’s orders…what exactly does that look like?”

“…!”

The other students gasped in unison.

Sawa was right. Aria and the other five students who had been petrified, on the first floor, had no memory of what had happened while they were stone. Which would mean that Yukimi must have somehow avoided being turned to stone. But Niki’s demon exploit, Guaranteed Magic Proc, meant that his status effect magic always worked.

“I can explain that as well…,” Yukimi said in a faltering voice. She took her hand away from Aoi’s and glanced around at the other students. “Would somebody cast a debuff or disabling spell on me?”

“What…? But why…?!” Aoi exclaimed, concerned.

Yukimi, however, smiled softly. “Don’t worry,” she whispered.

Yuuma made eye contact with Sawa and Nagi before steeling himself and volunteering. “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you.”

Yukimi stood up and took two steps back. Yuuma stood up as well and pointed his left hand toward Yukimi.

“Tenebris…premis circumcludo.”

A purple orb of light appeared, before transforming into multiple tentacles that raced toward Yukimi, enveloping her body over the top of her clothing. The shadow magic binding spell Dark Bind caused no damage or pain. It did, however, completely prevent a person from moving both their arms and legs. The only way to escape the spell was to either grapple your way free through brute strength or to somehow cast a dispel on yourself even with your hands bound.

Yukimi’s eyes flashed with a dark beam of light, at which point the tentacles unraveled and disappeared without a sound.

The students let out astonished gasps, but silence returned with unnatural speed. They had all quickly realized what had happened. Yukimi had used her demon exploit to make Yuuma’s Dark Bind disappear.

“Y-Yukimi…?” Aoi ventured, still seated, her eyes wide.

Yukimi flashed an unguarded smile. “It’s okay, Aoi. My power can’t hurt anyone,” she whispered, before returning to her original spot at the table and flopping back down onto the floor.

She glanced up at Yuuma, who was now speechless, and then turned her eyes toward Sawa as well.

“That was my demon exploit, Anathema. It allows me to dismiss any debuffs, disabling effects, curses, or other similar statuses affecting me.”

It was a perfectly clear explanation, but it took Yuuma a moment to process what she was saying.

Did that mean…Yukimi could essentially cancel any status ailment applied to her? Since the ability couldn’t protect her from actual damage—for instance, from physical attacks or heat—it didn’t sound like that powerful of an exploit at first. On the other hand, however, depending on the enemy type, it could shut some foes down completely. After all, Niki’s Guaranteed Magic Proc had no effect on pure attack magic. The only thing it boosted was magic with a proc chance, such as petrification, sleep, or instant death effects. That would make Yukimi’s Anathema, with its ability to cancel out such effects, the perfect counter-effect.

“I see… So you basically nullified Niki’s petrification spell with your own demon exploit,” Sawa said, apparently satisfied. She now had another question, however. “But in that case, when did you get in contact with your demon? And why didn’t Niki and Haizaki realize that you weren’t petrified?”

Yukimi pressed against Aoi’s side, as if scared, but Aoi’s hand on her back seemed to calm her down. Her face relaxed, and she began speaking again.

“I heard the demon’s voice for the first time when I was already petrified all the way up to the neck by Niki’s spell. Everything suddenly went dark, and it felt like I was falling… The next thing I knew, I was in some strange kind of room, neither reality nor the game, which is where I met my demon…Amy.”

Amy.

Yuuma glanced furtively at Tomori as the name imprinted itself on his mind. Noticing Yuuma’s gaze, Tomori nodded faintly in response. Likely meaning that the demon Amy was one of the seventy-two demons of King Solomon.

“When I learned that Amy was a demon and that it was possessing me, I was scared out of my mind at first… But Amy said they were here to protect me. And they taught me about the vires…my demon exploit. Amy explained that I could easily protect myself from petrification by activating my Anathema ability, but that would have led to a fight that I had no chance of winning. Since the petrification could be broken at any time, Amy suggested I wait and see what happened.”

“Wait and see? But how…?” Yuuma asked.

Yukimi cocked her head to the side softly. “I’m not sure I know how it works, either, but Amy opened up a huge window, like a holo-window, that allowed us to watch what was happening out in reality. That was when Haizaki began touching the petrified students, one by one. Before long, it was my turn… I couldn’t actually feel anything there in that room, but I saw him press the middle and pointer fingers of his left hand against my forehead, and then after about a minute…I got this really strange feeling…”

Yukimi raised her left hand and pressed it against a spot near the center of her brow as she spoke.

“Your feelings disappeared…? What does that mean?” Kenk asked, taken aback, but Yukimi just shook her head vaguely.

“When I try to think of it now, that’s the only way I can explain it… All my anger and fear was washed away, and a great flood of faith and gratitude toward Haizaki swelled up in its place… Suddenly, I believed, deep down in my heart, that everything would be okay so long as I did what Haizaki said. That Haizaki could never be wrong.”

“And…that was Haizaki’s demon exploit, his Guild Leader power?” Kenk muttered, scratching his forehead several times.

Yuuma’s forehead felt a little itchy as well, but he resisted the desire to scratch and urged Yukimi to go on.

“When did you finally activate Anathema, Yumura?”

“After Niki had removed everyone’s petrification.”

“Wait… Niki removed their petrification? But he’s not a Priest.”

“I think he used the Green Breeze spell.”

“…”

Yuuma was left dumbfounded once again.

According to the guidebook, the wind spell Green Breeze was “an area of effect spell capable of removing nearly all negative statuses.” That description would make it extremely powerful, capable of putting most holy magic to shame. The problem, however, was its chance of success. Even against a low-level poison effect, it had only a 50 percent chance of success. For things like paralysis and weakness, that chance dropped to 30 percent. And when it came to the worst status effects—things like petrification, metallization, or blindness—the spell had less than a 1 percent chance of working. In other words, it was more of a Hail Mary, to use when your whole party gets hit by lower-level statuses such as poison.

“Of course, Niki’s exploit…,” he muttered.

“As long as a spell has even a 0.0001 percent chance of success, Niki’s exploit allows him to raise that chance to a 100,” Sawa said, picking up where Yuuma left off.

“Yes. He only had to use Green Breeze once in order to cure everyone of their petrification,” Yukimi said.

Her fear of Niki could be heard in her voice. She continued with her explanation, looking even more frightened than before.

“At the time I was under the Guild Leader effect as well, so it didn’t seem strange to me, either… But after being de-petrified, no one complained about what Niki had just done to them. We just assembled in front of Haizaki instead… That was when Haizaki gave his speech. He said he was going to lead the world to its proper form and that he wanted us to help him do it… And we all cheered and promised to serve him…”

“Lead the world…to its proper form…”

Yuuma felt like he had heard something like that before. He furrowed his brow, but it did not take him long to remember.

Niki had said something similar last night, just before retreating from the shelter.

“You will all understand soon enough…what is needed to rectify this world.”

At the time, Yuuma had assumed Niki was talking about returning Althea, which had been overtaken by the game world, to its original state, but if Shin Haizaki had said something similar, Yuuma wasn’t so sure anymore. And when Haizaki said “this world,” maybe he didn’t just mean Althea. Maybe he was referring to Algol, as well…

“But you freed yourself from Haizaki’s demon exploit right away, didn’t you?” Aoi asked.

“I wonder if Niki is under the Guild Leader power as well…,” Yuuma murmured, half to himself.

Yukimi cocked her head. “I don’t know… If he is, I think he must have already been under its effect by the time they cleared out the caterpillar creatures on the fourth floor. But those two were always close, even before all of this.”

“When did they transfer here again?” Kenk asked.

“In the third grade,” Hokari answered. “But they were practically a tag team from day one. Considering how close Haizaki and Niki are, I’m not so sure Haizaki would have needed to bother using his Guild Leader ability or whatever it’s called on Niki in the first place.”

The other boys nodded in agreement. Yuuma agreed—but that would also mean that, in the few minutes between when they had left their Caliculus capsules and when they had sprinted up the stairs to the fourth floor, Haizaki and Niki had already figured out the situation and put together a plan to put the other students under their control. Yuuma didn’t care how great those two were, that still seemed a little hard to believe.

“After finishing his speech, Haizaki had us all awaken and then announce our class, level, and skills…,” Yukimi added.

Yuuma returned his focus to what she was saying.

“I used my Anathema power once I was in the bathroom… If it hadn’t been for Aoi, I would have never been able to break free from the Guild Leader effect,” Yukimi declared, taking Aoi’s hand in her own once more.

Shin Haizaki’s Guild Leader demon exploit eliminated any feelings of antipathy toward him and replaced them with feelings of adoration. Honestly, it was a terrifying power, almost like mind control. No, more like brainwashing. Sawa’s Magic Skill Boost, Nagi’s Silent Rapid Cast, Aria’s Lightning Transformation, and Niki’s Guaranteed Magic Proc all worked by empowering skills or attributes found within the game, but Haizaki’s Guild Leader power extended beyond just the bounds of the game. After all, there was nothing akin to a brainwashing skill within Actual Magic’s original system.

In any case, Yuuma now knew why Niki had gone out of his way, when he attacked the shelter, to turn everyone to stone without injuring them. If he had been successful, Haizaki would have swept in afterward to use his Guild Leader ability on everyone.

Nagi seemed to have reached the same conclusion. “If Niki and Haizaki planned to use the Guild Leader ability on us as well,” she said, her voice tense, “I don’t think they’re going to give up just because they failed the first time. Next time they attack, they’ll probably bring a lot more people with them.”

“Sheesh… Speaking of which, how come they all had stuff like swords and armor?” Kenk asked. “I thought we couldn’t take weapons from AM out of our inventories.”

Yukimi hesitated. “I’m not sure, either…but I think it might have something to do with Toojima’s demon exploit. Apparently, it involves strengthening his inventory.”

“Yes. Haizaki ordered that all the food and drink in the lounge be placed under Toojima’s supervision. Toojima is a Merchant, so his inventory would have already been larger to begin with, but that still should have been too much stuff to store in one person’s inventory…”

“So if his demon exploit has done something to his inventory, that could mean he’s able to remove weapons from AM as well,” Kenk said, groaning, before glancing toward Yuuma.

Kenk didn’t need to say it out loud. Yuuma immediately understood what his childhood friend was trying to say with that look: We are officially boned. If Niki and the others attacked again, the problem wasn’t just that they might come with more people this time. They could be fully equipped, as well. Whereas the closest thing to weapons the first floor had on hand were Kenk’s hammer and Yuuma’s chain. Their other front liners were left to fend with things like iron pipes and steel bars.

Of course, for all they knew, one of the students on the first floor might also have an exploit related to their inventory. After lunch was over, they should probably check whether Nagi could use the Holy Bands spell yet, and if she could, they should get everyone to figure out what their exploits were without further delay. Yuuma steered the conversation back toward the main subject.

“It sounds like you used your Anathema ability to cancel out the Guild Leader effect pretty early on yesterday. Why didn’t you run away immediately?”

“The entrance to the shelter was being guarded in two-hour shifts. Haizaki was worried about intruders, not about someone trying to run away, but if anyone caught me trying to leave without permission, it would have made it pretty clear that I wasn’t under the Guild Leader’s effect anymore…”

“So…you had to wait for your chance to sneak away?”

“I didn’t exactly sneak away. It was finally my turn to take watch,” Yukimi said simply. Yuuma stared at her.

Yuuma wanted to ask Yukimi about the other students’ classes and demon exploits, in case it did come to war, but before he could get the chance—

“Um, Ashihara? Now that I’ve told you so much, can I ask you a favor as well?” Yukimi said urgently.

Yuuma agreed without thinking. “O-of course, as long as it’s something I can do. What kind of favor…?”

“I want you to bring Aoi and I to the town of Calcina, inside Actual Magic.”

“Calcina…?!”

It was Aoi. She stared at Yukimi, her eyes wide.

“Is there something you need to do there…?”

“No. But don’t you get it, Aoi? We can flee together to Calcina,” Yukimi said, a smile on her face as she took both of Aoi’s hands in her own. “You know, right? That when we enter AM, our bodies disappear inside the Caliculus machines. It’s safer there than it is here, in Althea. Aren’t you tired of being in danger all the time…?”

“…”

Aoi was Yukimi’s one and only best friend in the entire world, but even she seemed to have been surprised by this request. Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. After a few moments, however, she squeezed Yukimi’s hands in return, answering her in a firm voice.

“I’m sorry, Yukimi. But I can’t go to Calcina.”

“Why not? We promised to always be together, didn’t we? You’re not scared of Amy, are you? Don’t worry; Amy will stay in my mind. They’re not a bad demon.”

“No… It’s not that I’m scared of the demons,” Aoi said, shaking her head quickly before glancing around at the other students seated around the table. “Mimi, Tomori, and Chise are here, too… So are all our other classmates. I’m a Priest. I have to keep everyone safe. Of course, that includes you too, Yukimi. Why don’t you stay here? So we can help everyone? Together.”

“…”

Yukimi froze in shock. Mimi Hariya tried speaking to her in a gentle voice.

“Yukimi? I know you always felt like I was in your way whenever we did class events. That’s fine. But it doesn’t matter how much you wish it otherwise, you and Aoi can’t go on living in your own tiny world forever. Today, in just one day, Aoi has grown so much stronger than she was before. She’s not that same Aoi who used to tremble in the corner with you.”

Mimi was right. Yuuma wasn’t sure what the exact turning point had been for Aoi, but during their mission, she had transformed into an extremely competent and reliable ally. The difference was like night and day. Both in terms of her character level and mental fortitude, Aoi had probably shown more growth than any other student in the shelter.

However, Yukimi shook her head back and forth repeatedly, as if she couldn’t accept what Mimi was telling her.

“What would you know about Aoi…?” Yukimi said, her voice raspy, her lips trembling. “Ever since kindergarten, Aoi and I have been each other’s only real friend. Whenever I was sad, it was always Aoi who comforted me. And when Aoi cried, I cried with her. And that’s…that’s never, ever, ever going to change.”

“Yukimi, stop it!” Mimi shouted, grabbing Yukimi by the left shoulder, unable to stand back and watch any longer. “If you really are Aoi’s friend, then you need to accept that she’s changing!”

“You shut your mouth!!” Yukimi shouted, her voice echoing off the shelter walls. She let go with her left hand and swung it hard to the side.

“Ahhh…!”

Mimi let out a small scream and recoiled. Fresh drops of blood sprayed from the three cuts that had just been scratched onto the back of her hand.

Yukimi didn’t seem to care, not even when some of that blood splattered on her own cheek. She just shrieked again, her voice growing shrill.

“Aoi doesn’t change! Aoi doesn’t get stronger! She will always be my tiny, weak, adorable Aoi! Forever and ever and ever!”

“This is bad… Her ratio!” Sawa shouted.

“Quick, hold her down!” Yuuma shouted, racing around the corner of the table and diving onto Yukimi from behind.

He grabbed both of Yukimi’s shoulders and tore her away from Aoi, pressing her against the floor. Kenk, Oono, and Hokari joined on either side to help.

“Somebody, get the rope…!”

The nylon rope they’d used to secure Aria when she was petrified had been coiled up and left on one of the display racks near the eat-in corner. Yuuma took his right hand off Yukimi’s shoulder and pointed at it. The moment he did so—

“Kya… Agggrhhhh!”

Yuuma lifted his eyes, staring in shock while two curved black horns grew from Yukimi’s forehead as she swayed to her feet.

When Yukimi had first appeared at the shelter, there had been no sign that her demonization ratio was high enough to be dangerous. They knew she had used her demon exploit, so it must have been at least 10 percent, but that was true for Yuuma as well. How could a ratio suddenly skyrocket like this?

Let it stop at demon form. Don’t let her rampage, Yuuma thought, praying as hard as he could.

In order to stop Aria’s rampage, Yuuma had been forced to strong-arm his way into her internus, but he doubted he would be able to do the same with Yukimi. He had barely ever even spoken to her at school before.

But there was no need for Yuuma to worry about that.

What happened next went far beyond anything that Yuuma feared might happen. Yukimi slowly lifted her arms over her head in the shape of an X. Her arms bulged with thick cords of muscle.

“Hyaggghhh!!”

With a wicked shout, she swept her arms out to the side, causing the Yukihana Elementary School uniform she was wearing to explode into shreds.

A pair of obsidian wings flapped open on her back. Her body and her limbs were enveloped in a film of the same color, and her hair stood on end like flickering flames.

At last, a shadowy aura flared to life in her eyes. Yukimi—no, whatever this presence was that had been Yukimi up until a few seconds ago—bared a set of sharp-looking fangs. She spoke in a voice that dripped with delight.

She cracked her neck loudly, side to side, and held her right hand up to her face. The fingers were longer and thicker than before, their five claws glinting sharply like small knives.

The voice that came out of her grinning mouth was shrill and metallic.

“They’re not a bad demon… Ah-ha… Ah-ha-ha…”

She flicked her hand to the side dismissively, her tone suddenly growing cold.

“Whoever heard of a nice demon. You’d have better luck finding a rectangular sphere,” she said, mocking her host, Yukimi.

Aoi remained seated, her face contorting. There was still a desperate glint of hope in her eyes, as if she was still in denial.

“You’re the demon Amy, aren’t you…?” Yuuma asked stiffly. The demon glanced at him with shadowy eyes, a cynical smile appearing upon her face.

“What good will it do you to ask that? When you’re all about to die now anyway.”

“…!!”

Yuuma inhaled sharply. Many of the other students let out small screams as well.

Yuuma knew—instinctively, not through reason—that this was no idle threat. Yukimi’s consciousness was no longer contained within her flesh. Is this what could happen once past 50 percent…? Complete demonic takeover?

Panicking, however, was exactly what the demon Amy would want them to do right now. It didn’t matter how much her stats had increased, she was still just one person. Surely there was still a way to restrain her, without taking too many of her hit points, until they could wake Yukimi back up.

Yuuma spoke again. He needed to stall long enough for the other students to regain their cool.

“Friends…?”

Amy arched an eyebrow, her lip curling up on one side. It was a look of contempt. One that Yuuma doubted Yukimi had ever made before in her life.

“Those other laggards are no concern of mine. Besides, I smell the hardheaded stench of Bael upon the children here. You reek of his sect. I’m sure Lord Agares will be thrilled to do away with as many Baelites as we can.”

“B-Bael…? Sect…? Lord Agares…?”

Yuuma blinked several times. He was pretty sure he had never heard any of these terms before.

As Yuuma’s gaze wavered, he caught sight of movement in the distance. Someone had circled around behind Amy at some point and was now trying to sneak up on her from behind.

The student had long hair, which was pushed to one side in a swoop. It was one half of the trading card game duo—Tomonori Tada. He held the uncoiled nylon rope in both hands, probably planning to tie Amy up with it. But that was far too dangerous. What was he thinking?!

Yuuma almost yelled at Tada to stop, but that would have just made Amy notice him and attack. All Yuuma could do, instead, was try to hold the demon’s attention in order to increase Tada’s chance of success.

“D-do demons have sects? And does that mean…you’re part of the Agares sect?” Yuuma asked, his attention divided between Amy and Tada.

Amy burst into grating laughter. “Ah-ha-ha… Do we have sects? Even you little brats have already split up into two floors to fight among yourselves, and you have barely even been alive for a decade.”

“But that’s the demons’ fault, too, isn’t it?! The demons possessing Haizaki and Niki have been goading them on, haven’t they…?”

Just then, Tada, who was already within a meter of Amy, flipped the rope over his head like a jump rope, attempting to snag Amy with it. Yuuma tensed his right leg as he prepared to dash forward.

However, it was almost like Amy had eyes in the back of her head. She spun around on a dime, thrusting at Tada’s solar plexus with her right hand. Yuuma expected Tada to go flying as the punch landed and collide with the display racks behind him.

But that was not what happened.

SPLUD.

There was a dull, drenched splat, as Amy’s right hand pierced through Tada’s body like butter and came out the other side. Crimson droplets sprayed from the sharp, razor-like claws that adorned the tips of her aligned fingers.

“Nrghhh…”

Tada glanced down at his body with a groan, as if he couldn’t understand what had just happened. An alarming amount of fresh blood gushed from his gaping mouth with a sickly gurgle, staining his jacket crimson red. His arms fell limply to his side, the bundle of rope falling from his grip without a sound.

“T-Tadaaaa!!” Shinta Aida screamed, the sound seeming to set the hands of time into motion again.

Yuuma dashed forward for real this time, cursing his own naivete.

Amy wasn’t joking; she wasn’t making threats. She was going to kill them all. Tada’s wound was clearly fatal, but if they could cast a healing spell on him before his HP reached zero, there was still a chance to save him. They would have to subdue Amy as quickly as possible, though, if they were going to get that chance. Every last second mattered.

“Binding magic isn’t going to work on her! We have to damage her enough to cripple her!” Yuuma shouted as he brandished the cleansing steel chain in his right hand. Kenk leaped up from the table as well, wielding his Bruising Hammer aloft.

Although she had transformed into full demon form, her body was still flesh, not steel. She had more muscle than before, but the bones underneath had to still be the same size. On top of that, Yukimi’s level probably hadn’t changed since the playtest ended, whereas Yuuma and Kenk were already level 15. There was no way Amy was going to be able to block a full-powered swing from Yuuma’s chain and Kenk’s hammer at the same time without getting injured. Yuuma was certain of it—

Or at least, he prayed that he was certain, as he swung the cleaning steel chain through the air.

Amy blocked Yuuma’s chain with her right hand and Kenk’s hammer with her left. There was a sickening crack; both of her forearms bent into hideous angles, as if the bones had snapped.

Yuuma quickly checked Amy’s HP. It had fallen by about 30 percent. Amy’s demon exploit was useless against physical attacks, and she was a Priest, so she probably wasn’t capable of using any powerful attack spells, either. As long as Yuuma and Kenk could keep up the pressure on her, she would be incapacitated in no time.

“Ahhh… Ahhhh!!”

Yuuma’s anger—anger at this demon for toying with Yukimi and Aoi’s friendship and for mortally wounding Tada—transformed into a howl of rage as he brandished the cleansing steel chain once more.

Just then, Amy’s eyes pulsed with dark light, and her heavily depleted HP was instantly restored.

“Wha—?!”

Kenk gasped in astonishment. Next to him, Yuuma’s eyes went wide. The demon’s arms, which had definitely been broken a moment ago, were enveloped in an ash-gray aura, instantly healing as if time had just reversed.

Amy straightened up slowly, a sadistic smile upon her lips.

“Not bad for a bunch of little brats…,” she said, savoring her words and fluttering the fingers of her right hand. “My vires, Anathema—Delio Malus—allows me to cancel out any impediment that affects me. Before I manifest fully, it can only affect curses and similar effects, but in its true form, it allows me to ignore any and all impediments and obstacles. Naturally, that includes injuries and sicknesses as well.”

“…”

Yuuma’s eyes grew even wider. He didn’t have time to register the blood seeping from the wound on his chest, let alone the pain.

Yuuma wasn’t the only one left speechless. Kenk was still sprawled across the table. Sawa and Nagi were preparing to cast spells. The other students as well. They all froze.

If Amy could nullify injuries—HP damage—just like she could nullify debuffs and binding, she was essentially invincible now. Forget about Yuuma’s Quick Action skill. Even if Sawa, Nagi, or Aria used their demon exploits to cause a huge burst of damage, it would all be pointless if Amy could heal in an instant.

Amy dropped her smile. She looked around slowly at the room full of students and then shrugged lightly. “Have you lost your nerve already? What did I expect from children, I suppose…?”

With a bored look, Amy glanced down at Aoi, who was still sitting crestfallen at her feet, and then at Mimi, who was next to Aoi.

“Who knows? While I’m picking you off one by one, maybe some of the other demons will manifest as well. Unless you want to die, I suggest making your deals quickly,” Amy said, bending down and casually seizing Mimi by the collar.

“Ahhh…!”

“Agh…!”

Yuuma gritted his teeth and tried to scramble to his feet. Sawa extended her hand and began to chant, even though she knew it was pointless.

But Amy paid no attention to either of them. With a growl, she thrust her fingers, transformed now into a deadly piercing weapon, straight toward Mimi’s lower abdomen.

“No!!”

Aoi jumped to her feet with a shout, moving faster than seemed humanly possible and throwing herself in front of Amy’s hand. With a sickening crunch, Amy’s right hand tore sideways through Aoi’s tiny torso.

Yuuma watched in shock as Aoi’s HP bar turned yellow, and then red, and then disappeared. Aoi’s arms, however, continued to tremble faintly as she lifted them into the air to cradle Amy’s—no, Yukimi’s—face.

“Forgive me, Yukimi…”

Aoi’s voice was barely audible.

Her hand fell limply to the side, as if a string had been cut.

A moment later, Mimi, who had been hoisted into the air by Amy’s other hand, fell to the ground with a thud.

Amy didn’t move. She stared into Aoi’s face in amazement. Aoi’s eyes were closed; Amy’s were a little wide.

The demon suddenly began to tremble all over. She bent backward dramatically, her right arm still buried in Aoi’s flank. Her limbs convulsed, and a moment later, she plunged to the ground, her knees striking the floor.

Amy threw her head back toward the ceiling. There was no expression on her face, but her black horns gradually began to grow shorter. Her hair, which had stood on end like flames a moment ago, fluttered downward, returning to its original semi-long form.

“A-Aoi…”

She awkwardly traced her left hand along Aoi’s body, which was now draped over her knees. When she reached Aoi’s head, she cradled it, as if to support it from below.

Her face savagely contorted again, with her head still thrown back. The horns, which had retreated by about five centimeters, began to grow once more.

With a stuttering motion, Yukimi turned her head to stare at Yuuma. The voice that came from her lips was so strained it was a wonder that Yuuma could hear it at all.

“K-kill…me…”

“…”

Yuuma stood there, frozen, as another plea, even weaker than the first, fell upon his ears.

“P-please… I can’t…hold it back…”

A pale, flaming gray aura began to flash in Yukimi’s eyes. How long until Amy surfaced again? Five seconds? Three?

Yuuma tightened his grip on the cleansing steel chain, squeezing so hard it felt as if his knuckles might burst. He took a step forward.

The sole of his shoe squeaked against the floor. Just as he was about to make his move—

“Ignis!”

—Sawa’s voice rang out sharply from behind, and the air ignited with a crimson ray of fire.

The fire, compressed into a line like a laser, hit Yukimi in the middle of her chest and then exited out the other side in an explosion of sparks.

Like Aoi’s HP bar a moment earlier, the bar above Yukimi’s head changed color and dropped to zero. Yukimi’s upper body faltered unsteadily and then tilted forward, folding over on top of Aoi’s corpse.

Unlike Yukihisa Miura, the expressions on the faces of the three students who had fallen victim to the demon Amy were peaceful. Almost like they were sleeping. That was the one saving grace. But what they had lost was immeasurable.

“I’m a Priest. I have to keep everyone safe.”

Aoi’s voice still echoed in Yuuma’s ears.

Aoi had been in tears before leaving for Algol, insisting that she couldn’t do it. For her to utter such words of determination in the end. How much hardship and courage had it taken for Aoi to make such a change? When Yuuma thought of all the hard work Aoi had put in, he felt so disconsolate he wanted to scream.

His sadness was probably nothing in comparison to Mimi’s, though, who was currently sitting on her knees at Aoi’s side. She had just lost her two best friends from the cooking club in one fell swoop.

Mimi and Yukimi had apparently been feuding a little over their relationships with Aoi, but in any group of three or more, stuff like that was bound to happen. It would have resolved itself in time. But that future had been taken from them.

Yuuma needed to get to work, to ensure that the sacrifice Aoi had made for them wouldn’t go to waste, but his body felt like lead. It took all his strength just to stand. Part of him wanted to run away into his internus, but he knew that would just invite new self-loathing.

“You!” someone shouted suddenly, from behind Yuuma. Yuuma slowly turned to look.

It was Teruki Sugamo. Of course. There were dark circles beneath his unusually stern eyes.

“He-twin. Remember what you said? You said that you’d be the one to assume responsibility if Yumura’s arrival was one of Niki’s traps!”

“…”

If so, it would mean they had realized Yukimi’s demonization ratio was getting dangerous and had welcomed the chance to get rid of her before she could fully demonize—what Amy had referred to as manifesting—and go on a rampage. They might have even banked on Yukimi arriving at the first floor just as she was about to go berserk.

Sugamo took a step closer, while Yuuma was still lost in thought.

“Well?! Say something—!”

“They’ve already paid the price, haven’t they?”

Mimi Hariya answered him. She was huddled by herself, a little distance away. She lifted her head and stared at Sugamo with tears in her eyes. Her voice was taut and quiet.

“Aoi took responsibility with her own life. What more do you want?”

“…”

Yuuma could hear Sugamo’s teeth grinding together.

Why? Yuuma found himself thinking once again.

Why was Teruki Sugamo so dead set on remaining leader? It wasn’t the situation, as outlandish and extreme as it was. Sugamo had started behaving this way, both at school and elsewhere, long before they ever became trapped in Althea. For instance, at the end of the playtest, when Sugamo had run after Yuuma’s party, he had shouted all sorts of weird stuff like, “If anyone’s gonna enter that boss room first, it’s us,” and “Unlike you chumps, we haven’t just been goofing around.” It was as if he just couldn’t bear not to be first.

Sugamo already had it all. He was the son of the president of a construction company that was influential throughout Yamanashi Prefecture. He was smart, good at sports. He was even tall for his age and blessed with good looks. So what was driving him to behave in this way? Maybe this was just his personality—but Yuuma felt like there must be more to it than that. It was too obsessive, too frantic.

“Hey, Sug…?” Yuuma said.

Yuuma felt a little browbeaten, but there was no turning back now. Yuuma didn’t want to poke his nose into someone else’s thoughts and feelings, but if Sugamo kept pushing himself like this, there was a risk his demonization ratio might skyrocket just like Yukimi’s had.

If Yuuma was ever going to bring it up, it had to be now—while the purple bruise from where Sugamo had hit him was still fresh on his face.

“Why are you so obsessed with being leader, Sug? Everyone in class already knows you can do anything you set your mind to. So what possible reason could you have to be so insistent about it now, with things the way they are?”

Sugamo must not have been expecting that; his expression turned blank.

Aria, who was standing behind Sugamo and to the right, breathed in sharply. The other students grew tense as well.

“Whoa, hey now,” one of the boys muttered, but otherwise, total silence descended.

The veins bulged in Sugamo’s forehead, tracing minute wrinkles around his brow and the bridge of his nose. He bared his teeth, grinding them audibly, a sharp gleam in his eyes.

Sugamo took another step toward Yuuma, with a look on his face that could only be called madness. He spoke in a raspy whisper, like he’d lost his voice.

“What makes you think you know anything, Ashihara?”

His right hand, which he held half-heartedly in midair, trembled slightly, and he tried to hold it still with his other hand. He took another half step toward Yuuma, still in that strange pose.

“You waltz around here, like you don’t really care about anything, and then run and hide behind your sister and all your little friends the first chance you get. You think you have the right to shoot your mouth off? To me?”

Yuuma grinned. That’s right, Sug—get it all out.

“Yeah, you just know all about me, don’t you?” Yuuma said. “If you think I’m so useless, though, why not leave me alone to do my own thing? Why do you have to always needle me at every turn?”

“…You know what? Shut up,” Sugamo spat, his words dripping with venom. “This is exactly what I’ve always hated about—”

Suddenly, a sharp, shrill whistle filled the air. It came from outside the shelter, somewhere in the main lobby. A moment later, they heard it again. And then again.

Something was setting off the Whistle Traps scattered around the lobby.

Hokari frowned. “It’s probably just those worms again,” he muttered.

Yuuma figured the same as well, turning his attention back toward Sugamo. That is, until realization hit him like a bolt of lightning.

All the conjectures and “what-ifs” that had been forming in Yuuma’s mind up until now suddenly intertwined, instantly converting to solid conviction. A spasm of horror, like ice water, raced down his spine, and the hairs on both of his arms stood on end.

“It’s Niki—!!”

For a brief moment, as the name left Yuuma’s lips, Sugamo’s eyes went wide. A moment later, however, Sugamo’s expression doubled in ferocity.

If Niki and Haizaki had let Yukimi go—no, had sent her—knowing full well that she would transform… Amy’s rampage had caused serious damage, leaving three dead, including Yukimi herself. There was no way Niki and Haizaki were going to let this chance pass.

“Anyone who can fight, come with me!” Yuuma shouted, racing forward.

He glanced briefly at Aoi Soga as he ran. He couldn’t let any more harm come to the ideals—to the people—that Aoi had died to protect.

Directing his eyes forward again, Yuuma sprinted toward the simple barricade.

“Let’s pull it over toward us, Kenk!”

“Got it!”

Together, the two friends grabbed either end of the barricade poles and tugged as hard as they could, tipping the barricade over. They waited for a brief second before rushing outside, just in case someone was already casting attack magic out there.

There was no one in the waiting area yet, with its rows of benches. But they could see small human-shaped shadows out in the main lobby, which was partitioned off by a trusswork bearing wall.

Gripping his cleansing steel chain, Yuuma ran in between the benches at full speed. He could sense Kenk, Sawa, and Nagi close on his heels, but he was unsure of how many other students had followed them out of the shelter. He wanted to take a look over his shoulder to see, but even that was a delay they couldn’t afford.

There was no need to avoid the Whistle Traps at this point. They tripped them all, one after another, as they cut across the waiting area. Yuuma only hit the brakes once he was underneath the giant archway of the bearing wall.

On the other side of the over twenty-meter-wide main lobby, he could see a group of black-clad figures, standing in a line in front of the opening that led to the elevator lobby. There were nine of them in total.

The one difference was that, this time, no one was wearing headgear. As a result, Yuuma didn’t have to look at their attackers’ HP bars to know who they were.

There were four girls on the right, from Yuuma’s perspective.

The muscular girl on the end with the very short, naturally curly hair was Kanami Iida, student number 2.

The tallish girl to her left with glossy, wavy hair and gorgeous, florid features was Ren Fujikawa, student number 16.

The girl to Fujikawa’s left, with the clean-cut bangs and the confident look on her face, was Shizu Metoki. She had participated in the previous attack the other night.

Finally, the cool beauty next to her, who was probably around 160 centimeters tall and who wore her long hair in a ponytail, was Kyouka Teragami, student number 11 and 6-1’s class representative for the girls.

Looking closer, Ren and Kyouka wore almost no metal armor pieces on their bodies, and their jackets were a little longer than the others. Additionally, they were both carrying rods, Ren’s long like a staff and Kyouka’s short like a wand. It was impossible to tell for sure just based on that, but Ren was likely a Priest and Kyouka must have been a Mage. Kanami and Shizu both had metal armor and were carrying simple longswords, suggesting they were Warriors.

Next, Yuuma turned his eyes toward the left side of the group. Three boys were standing there.

The boy on the end, with hair that dramatically flipped outward and finely trimmed eyebrows, was Akihisa Kaji, student number 25. He came off as a real jokester and player.

To his right was Ryuugo Nunono, the kendo practitioner with the shaved head. Like Shizu, he had served as one of Niki’s bodyguards the previous night.

Judging from their equipment, the heavily armored, sword-wielding Nunono and Mukaibara were likely Warriors, while Kaji, who was holding a dagger, was probably a Thief.

After quickly assessing the left and right lines, Yuuma finally turned his eyes toward the middle. There were two more students left, standing side by side, slightly farther back than the other seven.

The boy on the right, who looked like he could be in a boy band with his fresh, youthful face and stylish asymmetrical haircut, was Kakeru Niki. The same magic knight who had turned six students to stone.

And on the left—said to be the greatest genius to ever pass through Yukihana Elementary School’s halls and voted in as 2031 student council president by an overwhelming majority—was Shin Haizaki. More striking than handsome, his neat mop top and metal-framed eyeglasses lent him an entirely intellectual air. He was not carrying a weapon, but his long black coat and matching gloves suggested a Mage.

Both Niki and Haizaki had transferred to Yukihana Elementary School in third grade. But despite it supposedly being their first time meeting, the two boys, whether because they had just hit it off or because their shared status as transfer students had brought them together, were soon like longtime friends…or at least, that was what Yuuma remembered thinking at the time.

Obviously, the two would pair up at a time like this. The problem, however, was just how far their demonization ratios had risen. Since they were both freely using their demon exploits, they had to be at least around 20 percent. But if they were already over 40 percent, there was a risk they might transform into demon form as well.

While Yuuma peered at them, still in thought, someone spoke up in a low voice from behind.

Yuuma knew it was Sugamo even without turning around. Apparently, he had followed without hesitation when Yuuma called for anyone who could fight, despite the risk involved.

Unable to resist any longer, Yuuma finally took a peek over his shoulder.

Sugamo and Kenk were right behind him. To either side of them were Sawa, Nagi, Tomori, and Aria.

But that wasn’t all. Behind them, the other students were standing huddled together in a line. Glancing from right to left, Yuuma counted fourteen students in total. Together with the other six, that made twenty. Twenty-one if you counted Yuuma as well. There were still two missing, Yuuma thought at first, until he realized the other two were Aoi and Tada.

That meant they had all come. Every last surviving student had chosen to fight in order to protect their friends.

There were only nine students from the fourth floor. That meant, in terms of simple numbers, the first floor had more than double their amount. However, the fourth-floor students were equipped with real weapons and armor, while the majority of Yuuma’s group were only holding steel bars and iron pipes. In terms of combat strength, they might be even, but it was important to remember that seven—possibly eight—of the fourth floor’s group were being mentally controlled by Haizaki’s Guild Leader power. If Haizaki ordered them to, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to use their weapons and magic against the first-floor students. But would the first-floor students be able to do the same?

Half of Yuuma was thinking rationally, but the other half was in desperate denial. Yukimi had explained Haizaki’s terrifying Guild Leader exploit in detail, but were Kaji and the others really that deep under his control? Maybe if Yuuma and the others tried hard enough, they could still reach them—

“Ren…!” someone cried tersely from behind Yuuma. “Ren, what are you doing over there?! And that outfit! You look ridiculous!”

Glancing over his shoulder, Yuuma saw that it was Sayu Kenjou who had just spoken. She and Ren Fujikawa were good friends; they liked to meet up with Saki Chikamori after school to talk about fashion and their favorite TV shows.

Sayu was the only one of the three who had fled to the first floor, so this was probably a welcome reunion for her. The same ought to have been true for Ren, but she remained in position, answering Sayu flatly, her expression almost completely unchanged.

“Don’t worry; you’ll understand soon, too, Sayu…what this world really needs.”

“The world…? You’ve never said anything like that before in your entire life! Can’t you see how weird you’re acting?!” Sayu pleaded, but Ren made no reply. The row of students simply continued to stand there, expressionless—no, emotionless.

Niki had said something almost identical last night, when he had fled from the first-floor shelter.

“You’ll all understand soon enough…what is needed to rectify this world.”

Did that mean that Niki was under Guild Leader control, just like Ren was? Or—

“Are we done talking yet?”

A voice echoed across the empty lobby; it was soft and smooth and yet it somehow pierced straight through their heads.

The voice belonged to Shin Haizaki. He took two slow, leisurely steps forward, his empty hands thrust into the pockets of his unnaturally drab long coat.

There were so many things Yuuma could have said right now: Why are you doing this? Why don’t we talk first? But he was fairly certain anything he said would be meaningless. For some reason, Haizaki wanted to put all of Class 6-1 under the control of his Guild Leader power—and he had decided he was willing to make a few sacrifices along the way in order to achieve that goal. Once someone like Haizaki made up his mind, Yuuma knew in no uncertain terms that nothing he could say was ever going to change that. Besides, nothing could erase the fact that Haizaki had sent Yukimi Yumura down to the first-floor shelter, like a ticking time bomb, to cause two—no, three—deaths.

“Yuu,” Sawa whispered from behind. “Nagi and I will protect the others. You and Kenk strike Niki and Haizaki. Strike them hard.”

“Yuuma, Kenk,” Nagi added, “if anyone can do it, I know it’s you two. Go out there and get them.”

Yuuma and Kenk nodded at the same time. As they were about to step forward, however, another voice spoke up from the left.

“I’m going, too.”

“So am I. I’ve got a score to settle with Niki.”

It was Sugamo and Aria. The latter had reached demon form and could now activate her demon exploit, Lightning Transformation, whenever she chose. She was currently the strongest out of everyone on the first floor in terms of combat strength. Sugamo, meanwhile, had almost no experience in actual combat. He was still a wild card. However, he was hardly the type to take no for an answer.

“Fine… Sug, Mibs, you handle Niki,” Yuuma whispered back.

As if he had been waiting for that moment, Haizaki removed his right hand from his pocket, raised it into the air, and shouted from the other side of the main lobby.

The four girls on the left and the three boys on the right readied their swords and staves in lockstep. Their movements were precise—no hesitation.

“Go!!”

Haizaki lowered his right hand, and the seven students began racing across the lobby in perfect formation. The four Warriors and one Thief rolled forward in a solid line, while the Priest and Mage lifted their staves into the air from behind. While bold, their charge was surprisingly straightforward. Maybe they assumed their armor was going to be enough to mitigate the first floor’s attacks. If so, they had another thing coming.

Show them what you’re made of, Sawa! Yuuma willed as Sawa’s voice boomed sharply.

“Ardor! Pulvis…! Fundis!”

The orb of fire that appeared in front of Sawa’s left hand transformed into numerous sparkling red particles. Sawa waved her hand, and the cloud of particles wafted upward, before showering downward in the center of the lobby in a gossamer aurora curtain. It was the high-level fire spell, Curtain of Sparks.

Each particle was no more than a millimeter in diameter, and the curtain was not too dense. If someone didn’t know any better, they might assume the spell was only meant to dazzle opponents. The four Warriors plunged in headlong, never slowing their pace.

Instantly, the particles ignited with a loud boom, like a barrel of firecrackers.

The Warriors were swallowed up in an orange explosion that split the lobby in half. Yuuma wanted to check to see how far their HP had fallen, but he didn’t have time to look right now.

Giving the go signal with his left hand, Yuuma dashed forward as fast as he could. Kenk, Aria, and Sugamo immediately sprang into action as well.

Bunched up tightly, Yuuma’s group barreled straight into the center of the blazing explosion. The raging flames licked at their hands and faces, causing them to instinctively hold their breaths, but there was no damage. They could barely see five centimeters in front of their noses, if that, which meant that Kaji, Ren, and the others—who were still running in the opposite direction to the left and right side—were unlikely to notice Yuuma’s group as they charged down the middle.

After two seconds of running through the incendiary zone, enveloped head to toe in fiery dust, they finally barreled out into the open on the west side of the lobby. Haizaki and Niki were only about seven or eight meters away now.

“Niii…kiiii…!!” Sugamo shouted, his voice saturated with hate as he brandished his steel bar in both hands.

After slipping past their damage dealers without being seen and getting this close to Niki and Haizaki, it probably would have been better if Sugamo had kept his mouth shut, but Yuuma understood how Sugamo felt.

Sugamo’s weapon was a three-centimeter-wide, ninety-centimeter-long, five-centimeter-thick piece of flat steel rebar, with nylon rope wrapped tightly around one end as a handle. Appearance-wise, it was just a simple, flat piece of steel with no bladed edge, but according to the markings, it was made out of SUS304-grade stainless steel. Almost completely rigid and unbending, it weighed over one kilogram. The bamboo fencing swords used in elementary school usually weighed around three hundred grams, and even adult bamboo swords apparently only weighed around five hundred grams, meaning that this bar would have been far too heavy to swing around so freely if Sugamo hadn’t upgraded his class.

Despite these thoughts, Yuuma almost expected to see Sugamo’s bar, as he swung it downward, split in two like balsa wood as it connected with Niki’s longsword. However, the two weapons locked together firmly with a loud metallic clang and a shower of sparks.

If worse came to worst, Aria could always use her lightning attacks, so it didn’t look like Sugamo and Aria would be overpowered. Not anytime soon, at least. Yuuma focused his attention forward, brandishing the chain in his right hand.

He was now less than two meters or so from Haizaki. As fourth-floor commander, there was no way Haizaki could have expected a blitz to reach him all the way back here. But the faint smile on Haizaki’s face, behind his glasses and toying at the corners of his mouth, remained virtually unfazed.

Yeah, but did you see this coming? Yuuma thought as he suddenly crouched down as low as he could go, his chain whipping in freefall through the air.

A moment later, he felt a hard thud as Kenk, who was just a step behind him, used Yuuma’s back as a stepping stone to leap high into the air.

“Hryah!”

With a fierce battle cry, Kenk swung his two-handed hammer downward. Kenk’s Bruising Hammer, which had dropped from the Conehead Bruiser, was a true weapon. It provided a slight boost to STR and was also imbued with magical splash damage.

There was no way Haizaki didn’t realize that as well, and yet he just stood there, making no attempt to move out of the way.

From the side, Yuuma saw a glimpse of hesitation cross Kenk’s face, but it was too late to pull back now.

With a snarl, the blunt end of the hammer made contact with the front of Haizaki’s head and—the black-garbed Haizaki wavered like smoke and disappeared.

“Augh?!”

Despite his shock, Kenk managed to maintain his midair stance, the hammer carrying through and smashing into the floor instead. There was an ear-shattering crash as the floor panels buckled to form a crater, the splash damage spreading outward in a wave.

The vibrations even reached Yuuma’s own legs as he crouched there, two meters behind, but the majority of the force was directed forward. The shock wave must have broken the paranormal illusion.

Yuuma was right. The space about two meters ahead rippled, and a human-shaped figure blustered into view. As soon as Yuuma saw the glossy shine on the figure’s black long coat, he knew it was the real Haizaki this time.

Haizaki had been using the shadow magic spell, Phantom Double. However, Phantom Double supposedly required a very high skill level to use. According to Yukimi, Niki was the only one on the fourth floor who dove back into Actual Magic after the playtest ended. Haizaki and the other students’ character and skill levels shouldn’t have increased at all.

“Yuu, get behind me!” Kenk barked.

Just then, Yuuma finally noticed.

Haizaki’s left hand, as he surfaced, was imbued with blue-black flame. Was it a special effect on his gloves—? No. He had already finished chanting the element and form words of power for a spell and was currently lining up his aim.

Yuuma jumped diagonally and to the right, hurling himself behind Kenk, who had already taken a defensive stance. At almost the exact same moment, Haizaki shouted the final word of his spell.

“Ignis!”

A shadowy ball of fire shot from Haizaki’s hand, which Kenk intercepted perfectly with the head of his hammer. Unfortunately, the moment the ball made contact, it exploded into a fan shape. This was another intermediate to advanced dark-element attack spell, known as Violet Sweep.

Yuuma tried to use his own body to catch Kenk as Kenk was pushed back by the force of the explosion, but he was unable to dig his heels in hard enough, and they were both sent flying instead.

In almost the same moment, Sugamo grunted in distress. Earlier, he had been in a grueling bind with Niki, but apparently, he had been unable to fend off Niki’s weapon arts. He bent back dramatically, Aria just barely managing to hold him up from behind with both hands.