"I won't let you!"

I thrust Dreamer towards the sword of meat closing in before my eyes.

Whether the opponent had hardened its body, sparks flew with a screeching sound as if clashing with metal.

Homesick's pulling force is powerful, and my arm strength alone cannot hold it back.

The only option is to crush this mass of flesh before it crushes and pierces me.

"You're gross and smelly up close—just break already!"

I unleash Dual Slash, taking a gamble.

Then the blade shattered, and the lump of meat deflated, spewing blood like a burst balloon.

It seems its durability isn't extremely high.

The others who were pulled in besides me—Marin and Hiyami san resisted with strength like I did, Rea crushed it after blocking with her shield... and Gii was avoiding it by transforming her body. So dexterous.

But even that response was only possible because of Shimakawa kun's sacrifice.

If we had been pulled in defenseless without knowing anything, we would have been skewered just like him.

Checking Shimakawa kun's HP—[9/30].

I knew he wasn't dead instantly because he was moving, but I guess he can't withstand another hit.

"Gu, gafuh... guuu, bro, ther...!"

Shimakawa kun is desperately trying to pull it out using his arm strength, but the lump of meat's gravitational pull won't allow it.

We have to defeat the enemy first.

I throw an Illusion Dagger.

Then a lump of meat sprouted from the ceiling a short distance away from Shimakawa kun, and I was drawn towards it.

"So it does things like that too..."

Judging from that feeling, even if I use magic, it might just get twisted away.

I have no choice but to go help directly—just as I thought that, Marin made her move first.

Running over to him, she uses a desk as a foothold to jump high.

Then, the moment she raised her sword, a lump of meat sprouted right beneath her.

"Tch, so you intend to keep me away at all costs!"

Marin's body went into a rapid descent, forcefully changing direction by an invisible power.

Seeing that, Hiyami san and I also dashed toward Shimakawa kun, fully aware we might fail.

As expected, Homesick created multiple lumps of meat, sealing our movements.

Hiyami san mutters with a sigh while smashing the approaching blade with her fist.

"No mercy for a lady. It's truly bad if he keeps exhausting his stamina like this."

His HP is gradually decreasing as he bleeds.

Then Shimakawa kun, still skewered, began operating his smartphone.

And he points his palm at the blade piercing his own abdomen.

"Fi, Fire...!"

A blazing fireball hits the lump of meat with a gooooh!.

However, the sparks scattering upon impact scorched his own body as well.

Even so, the only way to escape from there is to use his own power.

Shimakawa kun fired Fire continuously while his face contorted in pain.

Then, Homesick Replica's form finally collapsed, freeing his body.

Marin, who was closest, rushed over to catch him in his free fall.

But everyone must have thought it.

That there's no way the enemy would let this go.

Sure enough, countless lumps of meat sprouted in the room, and all of us were drawn towards them.

Our bodies floated up, rapidly accelerating and being sent flying in unexpected directions.

"Kyaaah! Again!?"

"You're way too persistent...!"

We figured out how to deal with it so it's not a problem, but with that body, Shimakawa kun will just get skewered again.

Then, while dancing through the air, Gii transformed a part of her body—or rather, her whip—stretched it out, and wrapped it around him.

"Nuoooooh!? I-I stopped...!"

"Gii. I'm counteracting the force pulling him in the other direction."

While crushing the lump of meat pulling me, I observe the two suspended in mid-air.

Just as Gii said, they've stopped because it's counteracting—but if my prediction is right, that state won't last long.

"I'll heal him now. Healing!"

"Oh... thanks. But if we stay stopped like this, at least there's no worry of being skewered, right?"

"That's—"

"Gii, let go quickly!"

Rea screams.

An anomaly was occurring on Gii's body—and exactly on her back, out of Shimakawa kun's sight.

A tear appeared and split wide open, and internal organs were about to be dragged out from there.

Receiving that voice, she immediately unraveled the tentacle she had entwined.

"So this is what it comes down to!"

"Guu... something's coming out of my body."

If that wasn't Gii, her insides would have burst out enough to kill her a long time ago.

It's really a good thing she's half slime.

She healed her body with Healing and easily avoided the next lump of meat.

Meanwhile, Shimakawa kun evaded being skewered by destroying the lump of meat with a continuous attack of Mirage Sting.

But just because we avoided damage doesn't mean we've made any progress.

Glaring at the male student sitting in the center of the classroom, whose face was still unseen, Rea raised her voice.

"What should we do about this. We can't get close to him at all."

"Long-range attacks don't work either... besides, we don't even know if defeating that will end it."

Honestly, I haven't come up with a good idea of what to do right now either.

"Our stamina is depleting too; we're at a disadvantage in a long fight."

"Moreover, unlike the red hallway earlier, it seems there's no place to run to here."

Just as Marin said—in that red hallway, if we ran in the opposite direction with all our might, we could have returned to the infirmary.

However, even if we open the door to this classroom, there's no guarantee it connects to the infirmary.

Rather, looking at the scene outside the window where a red giant seems to be writhing, there's even a possibility of being cornered further.

In the end, we have no choice but to defeat whatever that is, which looks like Shimakawa Yuya, right here.

"We just have to try what we can."

I started running towards the enemy alone.

Using desks as stepping stones, I rapidly approach the target while accelerating with the image of gliding.

But naturally, lumps of meat sprout to stop me—my feet lightly float up, and I'm pulled towards the ceiling.

At the same time, I activated a skill "accompanied by movement."

"If it's Sword Dance—!"

The target is, of course, Shimakawa Yuya.

When I activate the skill, my body automatically moves forward towards the aimed location.

Being pulled by an invisible force, yet forcefully shaking it off to go forward, forward.

"Gah, guuuuugh!"

Perhaps because I'm forcefully resisting Homesick's power like Gii earlier, a massive strain is placed on my body.

My bones creak, and the creepy sensation of my internal organs gathering towards my back—

"Take thiiis!"

I am steadily approaching the target.

But the maximum number of steps for Sword Dance was reached, and my feet stopped a few meters short.

From there, it's the same as always.

Rapidly drawn to the lump of meat, a sharp, pointed blade awaits me.

I destroyed that meat blade stuck to the ceiling, went into free fall, and landed on the floor.

[Monster 'Homesick Replica' killed. Congratulations, you have leveled up to 51!]

Simultaneous with landing, I feel heat on my back.

"E-Erika, there's blood on your back!"

Rea's voice was trembling.

When I touched it with my hand, my uniform was sticky and stained with blood.

It seems my internal organs were on the verge of being dragged out, and my back was split wide open.

"I'm grateful for the level up, but... to be almost killed by just that much is unbearable."

I heal the wound with Healing.

But that was close.

If I use a skill with a bit more movement distance, I might reach him.

However, judging by the characteristics of their weapons, Rea, Gii, Marin, and Hiyami san probably don't have that type of skill.

If anyone does—

"Looks like it's my turn."

Shimakawa kun, who uses a spear as a weapon.

He already possesses a skill accompanied by movement called Raid Sting.

And his confident tone—probably, if he learns a higher-tier skill, he can further increase his mobility.

"You might end up killing your brother yourself, are you okay with that?"

"I told you before, I want to set my brother free. Well, he looks more like he used to than I expected, so it's honestly tough, though."

Shimakawa kun had said before that if he saw his completely monsterized form, he could give up.

However, the current Shimakawa Yuya, even if it's just his back, is no different from when he attended school.

"Maybe just maybe"—piercing through while harboring such hope must be truly painful.

Even so, he steps forward.

"Here I go, Brother!"

Shimakawa kun breaks into a run, spear in hand.

Then, as if to obstruct him, a lump of meat sprouts right beside him.

"Mirage Sting!"

He calmly destroys that lump of meat first with a powerful continuous attack.

Freed from the gravitational pull, he resumed his advance towards his cousin.

Then immediately, this time a lump of meat is generated right behind Shimakawa kun.

The moment he was about to be pulled backwards,

"Raid Sting!"

He activated a skill accompanied by a charge.

He shook off the gravity and closed the distance with the opponent.

But with just that, it's the same as me earlier.

He will soon reach his limit.

"Not yet, the current me is a two-stage rocket!"

However, the skill he can use is not just one.

The second one—moreover, a higher-tier skill than Mirage Sting, accelerating him even further.

"Chariot Sting—This is the end, Brotherrrr!"

Generating a force field centered on the spear, Shimakawa kun charged just like the skill's name, like a chariot.

"Nuoooooooooh!"

Spewing blood from his back, his spearhead finally caught the enemy.

With a thwack, the spear pierced his heart from the back, and Shimakawa Yuya arched backward while vomiting blood.

Then, cracks appeared in the scenery as if a mirror was breaking, and it shattered.

◇◇◇

When I closed my eyes and opened them again, a different scenery spread before me.

Did we return to the original school building—I thought that for a moment, but it seems we were led to yet another different space.

"Is this... the gymnasium?"

It was the scenery of a perfectly ordinary gymnasium, without even being turned into an alternate world.

However, the outside of the windows was enveloped in pitch black, indicating we hadn't returned to the original world.

Furthermore, the area was enveloped in a stench reminiscent of zombies.

Rea, who had come next to me at some point, gave my sleeve a little tug.

"Erika, look at that."

In the direction she pointed, there was the figure of a massive monster stuck to the wall.

"Is that... the main body of 'Homesick'?"

"Maybe we finally reached the main target after breaking through layers upon layers of shells."

It had an abnormal shape—one too difficult to describe with words.

If I had to force an analogy, maybe a mural made of humans.

Zombies retaining human forms were embedded in various parts of the writhing canvas of meat, but they were depicted as if undergoing execution: hung by the neck, heads burst open, abdomens pierced, or bodies laid open on a table.

Moreover, all of those zombies were wearing school uniforms.

Among them, the one with its head burst open had physical characteristics reminiscent of Tatsuoka senpai, upon closer inspection.

"Shimakawa Yuya's will is clearly mixed in."

In the upper left, a mass of human internal organs imitating the shape of the sun was placed, and although it's just a hunch, I think it might be Meiji sensei's corpse.

And in the upper center, a human brain, eyeballs, mouth, and spine were embedded.

Unlike the other zombies, this one wasn't rotting; it was alive.

The eyeballs looked around with a glare, and stopped when they met Shimakawa kun.

"...You've got to be kidding me."

His voice trembled.

Even I could understand, there's no way he wouldn't.

"Is that what my brother looks like now?"

"Daichi... you were alive."

The male voice emitted from that mouth echoed throughout the gymnasium as if playing from speakers.

"I'm more glad that you're alive. If you have consciousness, you can come out of there, right?"

"Impossible. The physical body is meaningless."

"I can regenerate your body as much as you want with magic. That's right, just have Kuragane senpai let you join the party! Then even in the worst case, if your physical body meets its end, you can be revived."

"Death. Revival. Life is cheap, Daichi. Thinking that makes it much easier. Mom, Dad. It's easier."

"What are you saying. I was in pain too when my uncle and aunt died. I know you were in even more pain, Brother. That's exactly why you should live and be happy!"

"Everyone will be at ease. Thinking is useless. It's better to be at ease. Listen to me, Daichi, Meiji sensei is at ease too. Do you know what it means to be at ease? Being at ease means death. Don't you write 'ease' and 'death' with the same character?" (TL Note: This is a play on words/delusion by the character, the kanji for ease (楽) and death (死) are tottaly different)

"Sensei was saying something like that too... I can somewhat understand that feeling. But if we can return alive, nothing beats that, right. So, okay? Let's go home together, Brother."

"Daichi... Being at ease means it's meaningless. Both life and death are meaningless. What meaning is there in a person's life or death?"

"Brother?"

Unable to look away from that sense of wrongness, Shimakawa kun also tilted his head.

But Shimakawa Yuya didn't answer that question; he rattled off incomprehensible words rapidly.

"Isn't everything meaningless before Kaigyo? Everything ends the moment you're swallowed by Kaigyo. The Kaigyo will rot everything and devour it all equally, rururu. Ruー, rururuー, haha, it's so easy/deadly, Daichi! I love singing the brain from the head, Nanase saaan! Heeead saaan! Mom! Uwaaaaaaah! It's hooot! It's hoooooot!"

"W-What are you saying."

"Please listen to the song, the title is 'Our world was preyed upon by Kaigyo's 39,487,123,799,840th fang'. The fang that pierced the sky is but one of countless existing fangs, and before the immensity of its existence, humanity is already worthless. Meaningless. At that point. It is. Everything is. The fact that I am me, the fact that the sacrifice chose me, Meiji sensei's life and death, the sacrifice, Ikuna, everything in a miniature garden aaaaah it's irritating why is this miniature garden so small gagagaga, a, a, human life has no meaning!"

"Could you stop it already."

"Meaningless. Meaningless. Meaningless. Meaningleeeeeeess. Then what is this stage for? A musical for you? For Shimakawa Yuya? No, no, no! It's you, it's you, Kuragane Erikaaaaaaa! Aaaaaah, I'm sorry meaningless strings of characters information amount existence is meaningless yet I enumerate enumerate."

"Hey Brother, Brotherrrrr!"

"Enumerating a tiny burden on Kaigyo was meaningless was meaningless yay I hate it I'm glad we all die die die equally here we can die equally I don't want to die I'm lonely Moooommyyyyyyy!"

"Stop ittttttttttttttt!"

Shimakawa kun charged at the enemy with his spear, shedding tears.

I started running to stop him, but his full sprint was faster than I thought.

It seems he poured a massive amount of points into his Agility stat.

So that's why his skill power was low!

"Daichi, go home. Go home, you, go homeeeeeee!"

The zombies embedded in its body slithered out.

For some reason, their bodies were bound to crosses, and those crosses were connected to the main body by tubes.

As if manipulated by those tubes, the zombies leaped at Shimakawa kun from mid-air.

"Shimakawa kun, dodge!"

"Brotherrrrrrrrr!"

It's no use, the blood has rushed to his head and my voice isn't reaching him!

Do I throw a knife and cut off his leg to stop him? Or do I give up and bet on revival?

Just as I was forced to make a decision, an unfamiliar voice echoed from behind.

"Yuya kun."

It wasn't Rea, Gii, Marin, or Hiyami san, and of course not me either—a girl's voice.

The moment they heard it, the zombies about to attack Shimakawa kun dropped to the floor with a splat.

"...Why?"

And, Shimakawa Yuya was bewildered with a voice that suddenly felt rational.

Shimakawa kun also stopped in his tracks and looked in that direction.

"It's been a while. I came back because I wanted to repay you."

"Nanase..."

"Yes, it's me. Nanase Asami."

Nanase san, scattering a bright laugh that made it hard to believe she committed suicide.

Judging from the position, Gii probably transformed and is impersonating her.

But we... shouldn't have known Nanase san's appearance, voice, or even her full name, right.