I ran after Nemusia.

But she was slower than I thought, and I quickly overtook her.

Did she just not allocate points to Agility? Or perhaps she doesn't have an Ability at all?

At this rate, it'd be much faster if I just carried her and ran.

The collapse of the school building was accelerating, and I didn't even know if we could reach wherever Nemusia was heading.

"Nemusia, I'll carry you, so just point the way."

"What? Why must I be carried by a commoner like you—whoa! What are you doing! Unhand Me!" (TL Note: she talk in an old fashion)

"Stop thrashing around! Come on, where should we go?"

"Mgh... That way. Once I return to Our Adrasia Kingdom, We will have you judged for disrespect!"

...She actually thinks she can return.

Personally, I think it's a miracle she's even alive right now.

Anyway, for now, I run in the direction Nemusia guides me.

Eventually, we arrived at a warehouse-like place filled with various tools.

"In here? But a place like this will collapse immediately."

"Just go inside! Do you think I would say something incorrect? I am a Queen, you know."

"Yes, yes."

Well, I have no choice but to trust her.

I kicked down the warped, stuck door and entered the room.

The tremors were getting even more violent; not only was the floor cracking, but the ceiling was crumbling, and the walls looked ready to give way at any second.

Then, Nemusia hopped down from my arms.

She began to push a shelf sitting in the corner of the room.

I didn't know what she was doing, but I helped her anyway.

The shelf moved much easier than I expected—or rather, it seemed designed to move from the start, and hidden behind it was a ladder leading underground.

"There is a basement down here."

"Even if we escape underground, won't we just get trapped?"

"The air is not stagnant, and it is a place where neither monsters nor the 'rot' can reach. Besides, I have an idea on how to escape. Anyway, let's go."

Nemusia put her foot on the ladder.

Suddenly, a chunk of rubble fell from the ceiling above her.

I reflexively threw myself over her to shield her.

"Guh... ouch..."

"Y-You... are you alright after taking a hit like that!?"

"Never mind that, just hurry up and go. This room won't hold much longer."

"Umu—hm? Oh no, the ladder is rotten."(TL Note: she use Umu sound so much at first I tried to change it but that feel weird so I revert it and translate it as it is just think of it like Gii says "Gii" or "Guu" )

"Then just jump down."

I forcefully hoisted Nemusia into my arms and leaped into the hole.

"Ah, you did it again! You did not have to do this, I could have jumped down by mysel—uhyaaaaaah!"

Nemusia let out a pathetic scream at the sudden free fall.

The further we descended into the hole, the more the deafening rumbling of the earth faded away, until eventually, both my sight and hearing were enveloped in nothingness.

It felt as if we had been thrown into an alternate dimension.

But then, my vision suddenly cleared, and I landed in a brightly lit room illuminated by lights.

The floor was made of stone, but it was a different material from the school's floors.

It was much closer to natural stone.

Perhaps because we were underground, the drifting air was cool, but the lack of any rotting stench made it countless times better than the school building.

"Hey, Erika."

Nemusia pinched my cheek with a pout.

Ouch.

"Whaw."

"Put me down before you start observing. There is a limit to your disrespect."

"Yes, yes."

Such a cheeky girl, considering she was tearing up just a second ago.

Standing on her own two feet, Nemusia pursed her lips and shot me a light glare, muttering, "Good grief."

But whatever. We managed to escape to a safe place like this.

That's right, I'm alive.

"Inhale... exhale..."

"Taking deep breaths... you are completely relieved now. Well, this is a safe place where monsters will not appear. Rest and calm down for a while."

I was alive, so—I couldn't help but scream.

"Those bastards, don't fuck with meeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Hyaaah!?"

I slammed my fist into the wall.

The wall shattered. Sorry for startling you, Nemusia.

But I couldn't hold it in.

I proceeded to smash my forehead against the wall over and over again.

Imagining the wall as those pieces of shit, intending to beat them to death, over and over and over.

"I don't care if you're her mother or whatever, you hurt Rea! You killed Marin, and dragged Hiyami san down with her! I'm sick of myself for not being able to save them, but Ooki! I'll kill her! I'll absolutely kill her! I don't care what it takes, I'll kill her! Uwaaaaaahhhhh!"

"H-Hey, Erika, what has gotten into you so suddenly? Um, it would be better not to hurt your own body so much..."

"That woman Nakami too! Spending years betraying Rea's heart, it's disgusting! Those Kaisei kyou bastards, everything they do is so fucking disgusting! I don't care about Giraiguu or whatever, just do it on your own! If it's just make-believe, keep it to yourselves!"

"U-Ugh, you must have been holding in quite a lot..."

"Why are Shiromachi and Suguro still calmly living!? It's always guys like them who survive and even get their hands on power! This world is way too convenient for them! Just die! Why did Shiromachi kill Marin! You die! Turn into a miserable zombie and let me kill you quietly! Die! Die! Diiieeeeeeee!"

Including my anger toward myself—I continued slamming my forehead until a large hole formed in the wall and my face was covered in blood.

Instead of being negatively depressed, this was the first time I had ever gone so mad with rage.

That's just how infuriating that ambush was.

"Haaah... haah... don't fuck with me... don't fuck with me...!"

"Well, um... what is it, cheer up..."

"If it's just energy... haah... I have enough to die...!"

"So, um, did someone... pass away?"

"My little sister died."

"That is tragic..."

"I hated her guts, though. I still haven't paid her back for a lot of things, so it's a huge problem for me that she died!"

"You are angry for a reason like that!?"

"Since she was the party leader, Hiyami san, who was a member, got dragged down with her. She vanished without a trace."

"We do not quite understand this 'party' thing, but it means they die as collateral, huh. And they vanish, too. Strange things do happen."

"..."

"What is it? Why are you quiet? Did I offend you somehow?"

"No, I was just wondering if you didn't know. Unless I'm mistaken, Nemusia's world was attacked by Kaigyo too."

"Hm... yes, most likely... probably."

"For a Queen who should know the most about this stuff, why are you answering so vaguely?"

If, hypothetically, this Ability we obtained was given to all worlds attacked by Kaigyo—then Nemusia should know about it too.

The management medium might not be a smartphone, and it might not be a game-like system like this, but perhaps in some other form.

Come to think of it, when we met before, she gave a half-hearted reaction when I told her that zombie-like things resembling people from the Adrasia Kingdom were appearing in this school.

"Truth be told... it seems I do not have my memories."

"Your memories?"

"I remember my peaceful Adrasia Kingdom. However, I know absolutely nothing about this Kaigyo you speak of, or zombies, or anything of the sort. No—I did not know, I should say."

"Past tense... which means you're remembering a little bit now."

"While living here, I have been regaining them little by little. Originally, My country had a special skill called 'magic', exercised by using mana within the body. However, recently, individuals possessing unique abilities distinct from magic began to appear."

"At the same time the Gangrene—the zombies showed up?"

"My country is vast. As far as my memories serve, there had not yet been any reports of encountering such monsters. Though if I remember more, there might be such memories too."

True, this school building is huge, so humans and zombies encountered each other immediately.

If being attacked by Kaigyo "world by world" is the correct form, then it can't be helped if it takes time to notice the existence of zombies.

Then the question arises as to why only our world is so special, though.

"We named those humans 'Heroes' and were investigating them. The Heroes used books called 'Books of Adventure' and continuously acquired unknown skills."

That sounds faintly game-like... could it be the hobby of whoever made this system?

Also, in Nemusia's world, they managed their abilities with books instead of smartphones.

"In short, those are your memories from the day before your world rotted."

"The Adrasia Kingdom has not perished!"

Nemusia gripped both hands tightly and emphasized it with a desperate look.

I see—I finally understand why she was going around opening every classroom door when we first met.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. That's why you're looking for the location of the kingdom."

"Ah... I apologize as well. Even though you are a victim too. Regarding my objective, it is exactly as you say. If a national crisis is approaching, I, as Queen, cannot afford to be wasting time in a place like this."

"It's amazing you're a Queen at such a young age. You're about the same age as me, right?"

"The previous King passed away a short while ago, and my older brother has gone missing. There is no one else but me to inherit the throne."

"You've had a hard time..."

I wonder if her overly aggressive way of speaking is because of that.

Like, if she doesn't act tough, she'll be looked down upon.

"Anyway, I understand your goal of finding the Kingdom, Nemusia. So, getting back to the topic, I think those 'Heroes' also had a party—basically, the power to increase allies with the same power."

"Umu... now that you mention it, they did indeed. We believe they were called 'Apostles'."

"If you remember that much, then don't you also remember what happens to the Apostles when the Hero dies?"

"In short, you are asking whether they vanished or not, correct?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"If the Hero dies, naturally the Apostles lose their power, but they should not die. Nor should they vanish, of course. Though if they revert to powerless, ordinary humans in the middle of a battle, their chances of dying skyrocket."

"..."

"Why the silence? Ah, I see. Erika's little sister vanished, did she not... Does the mechanism differ from the Heroes in Our world? Or is there some other cause—"

"No... I figured out what happened, so it's fine. Don't worry about it."

I already knew she wasn't the type to show her full hand, but—as expected of Marin's best friend, Hiyami san truly is someone you can't let your guard down around.

"Good grief, I feel like an idiot for getting even slightly depressed for a sister like that. Seriously, they're such awful people! Haha."

I mean, even for dying, I thought it was way too sudden. But isn't that just how it is when people actually die?

I don't know what trick—no, what skill they used, but to judge that the situation was disadvantageous and pretend to be dead.

Talk about a high-stakes gamble.

If even one person present knew what happens to the members when the party leader vanishes, that bluff wouldn't have worked.

Moreover, the fact that she didn't tell me means that perhaps the one being deceived was me.

"I thought there was only one bomb for a counterattack, but if there are two, maybe I don't need to worry."

"Your expression is brighter than before."

"My heart feels a little lighter."

"A bomb... You have set some kind of trap, haven't you. Could it be that calling me 'Gii' earlier was also part of that setup?"

"There was a girl named Inuzuka, right? That only looked like Inuzuka san on the outside; the inside is my ally named Gii."

"She was in disguise? Or is it a technique similar to the one used by that Ooki woman and the one named Nakami?"

"It's similar, but different. Gii isn't human; she's a slime-like creature, so she can change the shape of her entire body."

"A monster capable of communication. So there are such lifeforms in this world as well."

There aren't, but well, let's just pretend there are for now.

Explaining it is a pain.

"So, it's a bit late for this."

"What is it?"

"What is this place?"

"You truly ask that question late."

Well, until now was the time to vomit out everything I had bottled up.

Now that I've calmed down, I can't help but ask.

This mysterious space that feels like ruins, yet looks relatively newly built.

"Even so, I'm the ones who should be asking that. Is this not the basement of your school building? For what purpose was such an exceptionally tasteless space created?"

"Bad taste... which means this really is a Kaisei kyou facility."

"You truly do not seem to know the details."

"That's why I told you before, I'm hostile towards them. Kaisekyou is offering ignorant students as sacrifices to an evil god named Giraiguu. We are on the victim side."

"Then those men you were facing earlier belong to the Kaisei kyou faction?"

"Probably. The majority of the school's teachers should be believers, so Ooki is definitely guilty. Nakami too. I wouldn't be surprised if Shiromachi kun and Suguro kun joined hands with them fully aware of the circumstances."

"I cannot comprehend. Their own friends might be offered as sacrifices, correct? Why join hands?"

"Those guys won't become sacrifices. The ones being offered are the weak humans on the oppressed side."

That's exactly why we are persecuted even more.

Because as long as they keep demonstrating the intention of "I am different from them," they won't become sacrifices.

In order to differentiate themselves like that, their actions escalate, eventually leading to death.

Normally, that's where the problem would be exposed to society and stop, but this school was an exception.

Everything was covered up, the teachers praised those students, and the malice amplified without end.

If this underground space is an altar made for Giraiguu, then this is, so to speak, the epicenter of malice.

There must be nauseating truths left behind here.

"The weak being oppressed is the same in every world..."

"Come to think of it, Nemusia, you already knew the names Kaisei kyou and Giraiguu when we met before. Was Kaisei kyou in the Adrasia Kingdom too?"

"Of course not."

"Then did you find documents or something left down here after all?"

"Indeed. I, who should have been in My kingdom, awoke in this place for some reason. Thus, I searched around to grasp the situation. The more We investigated, the more sickening things I found. However, what surprised me the most was not the documents, but when I looked in the mirror."

"A mirror? You mean your own face?"

"I was startled at first. After all, My face had changed into that of a complete stranger."

"...Huh? What are you talking about, this is the first I'm hearing of this."

Because Nemusia suddenly started saying weird things, my heart gave a heavy thump.

Because, if Nemusia isn't a lookalike of Yumemi chan from another world—then something doesn't make sense, does it?

"Come to think of it, I had not mentioned it. This face is not My face. You said you encountered zombies resembling the people of My kingdom multiple times, but fundamentally, my facial structures are different. It is an endearing face, so I'm quite fond of it, but as expected, I cannot shake off the sense of wrongness."

"W-Why are you acting so calm when something like that happened?"

"I'm not calm. After looking at this body for days, I have simply resigned myself to the fact that I must deal with it. More importantly, returning to the Adrasia Kingdom is my top priority."

"Then, whose... body is that? Whose is it?"

Nemusia looked away from me uncomfortably.

"I remembered after encountering you, but it is true there was a document here with the name 'Yumemi' written on it. It might be... that girl's body. If so, it would also explain why I'm able to communicate with each other in an unknown language like this. Though I do not know for certain."

My heartbeat grows even louder.

My body gets hot, and my breathing becomes shallow.

Why would Nemusia say such a thing?

It's impossible.

Absolutely, absolutely.

"There's no way that's true! Because Yumemi chan—there's no way Yumemi chan would be here!"

"Were you not the first to call me 'Yumemi chan', Erika?"

"That's true, but! I only called you that because you looked so much like her—but, if it was written in the documents here, does that mean Yumemi chan was here? This whole time?"

"Umu. However, this translucent golden hair like a goddess, and these beautiful jade-like eyes are undoubtedly inherited from my mother, you see? They should not belong to that girl named Yumemi."

"...I think, that's true. Yumemi chan had black hair, and her eye color was the same as a normal Japanese person's."

It's mixed could it be—fusion?

Are you saying the same phenomenon that happened to Gii and Inuzuka san happened to Yumemi chan and Nemusia?

No, but in the end, why is Yumemi chan here—because, the photos and videos sent to me were definitely sent from Yumemi chan.

Ah, but, I know. I know.

I just learned a moment ago that there were people close to me capable of that.

Ooki Ranko. Nakami Runa.

Or the believers of Kaisei kyou.

Those pieces of trash could have impersonated Yumemi chan and sent messages to my smartphone.

Then, where is the real Yumemi chan, and what is she doing?

"Erika, you look pale, you know?"

"...Of course I'd feel sick."

"I'll ask just to be sure, but what kind of relationship did you have with this girl named Yumemi?"

Relationship, huh.

What was it? That fluffy relationship where just being together made me happy.

A relationship where I felt I wanted to live together even if I threw everything else away.

I feel like I was afraid to give it a concrete name.

"More than best friends, less than lovers... something like that."

If I had put an end to that half-baked relationship sooner, would something have changed?

No—perhaps the wound would have only widened.

Because there was hope in my heart.

Since she cared about me enough to elope with me like that.

I thought we would probably become that kind of relationship in the near future.

Because I held such a sweet dream.

"I see. In that case... it might be better if you do not look."

"At the documents here?"

"You will undoubtedly be hurt."

"Then I definitely have to look."

I begin searching the basement.

The area at the bottom of the ladder was a hallway-like space, with a large double door at the end.

And on the left side of the passage, there were two doors.

I open the first one.

It was a room filled with a massive amount of books, files, and a PC.

Looking at the documents placed on the desk, there were large printed images of students' corpses.

"Three years ago... murdered and made to look like an accidental death. The body was swapped with a corpse gathered from outside the city, and buried in the school building. Five more people until the ritual is complete."

"Hey Erika, why do you do things that intentionally hurt yourself?"

"Because it's necessary."

"Um... I looked in the mirror and realized this face was not mine. However, even when I saw the image of the girl named Yumemi drawn on the paper, I did not even think it matched my face. Do you understand what that means?"

"I don't know."

"She was altered that drastically. Moreover, she had even undergone a craniotomy."

Craniotomy.

Her skull was opened, and her brain was exposed.

Yumemi chan was.

That Yumemi chan.

"The excised skull was replaced with a transparent, glass-like container. It was probably necessary to visually observe the brain."

I walked up to Nemusia and slowly lifted her bangs with my hand.

Then I observed her forehead.

"Can you... see something?"

"There's a seam."

"I see... Well, I suppose that is how it is."

The lost parts were supplemented with "Nemusia's" flesh.

In a sense, you could say Nemusia and Yumemi chan are fused.

It doesn't seem to be the exact same method as my skill, though.

"Are there any other parts in a similar state?"

"There should be identical seams on my arms and legs. However, I—intended to stop you by telling you this tragic truth."

"That's why I said I'm definitely going to look. No matter what you tell me."

"So you intend to bear the scars no matter what."

I lowered my hand and clenched my fist tightly.

The emotions overflowing from the depths of my chest were too vast; I couldn't help it.

My emotional pendulum has been swinging too wildly since a while ago, and my emotions are a mess.

"I always thought Yumemi chan betrayed me. We were supposed to escape together, but she left me alone and chose the easy way out. And by unilaterally contacting me, she was showing off how well she was doing, getting revenge on me for making her unhappy... that's what I thought."

"I do not know the detailed circumstances, but something like that happened, I see. But that too was a cover up by Kaisei kyou, is that it?"

"Even so, there's no way the me back then, who didn't even know Kaisei kyou existed, could have figured that out. Because Yumemi chan's face was definitely in the messages I received. I could only think I was betrayed and hate Yumemi chan."

The story about her getting plastic surgery so she wouldn't be recognized as a missing person sounded so vivid, too.

I believed it completely.

No, I had no choice but to believe it.

Yumemi chan's parents blamed me for her disappearance and condemned me.

If so, who was I supposed to blame?

There was no one else but the missing Yumemi chan.

"But, what if Yumemi chan was also a victim. What if she never betrayed me."

And yet, I had been resenting Yumemi chan.

"I was the one who defiled the Yumemi chan I cherished more than anyone else with my own hands! The one who betrayed her was none other than me!"

"It is not your fault. Are you not taking too much upon yourself?"

"No, that's not true. At the very least, no matter how much it hurts, no matter how much I suffer, I have an obligation to know every ounce of the pain Yumemi chan went through! If I don't—I won't be able to move forward to direct my hatred at those other bastards."

I must not remain stalled in self-reproach alone.

First, I will condemn myself.

If, hypothetically, there are people who hurt Yumemi chan—then I must kill them, for both my and yumemi chan's sake.

"It seems no matter what I say, it is useless. Very well, look at this. But if you feel sick, you must stop."

It seems Nemusia knew the location of the documents bearing Yumemi chan's name from the beginning.

She pulled a file out of the shelf and handed it to me.

I sat down on the chair placed in the room and opened the file on the desk.

There, from the circumstances of how she was taken to the underground, to the very day she was offered as a sacrifice, everything was detailed in the reports.

"This date... it's the day we were supposed to run away together."

The day I was assaulted by Shudou, Asanuma, and the others, and the video was filmed—the exact time I was convinced Yumemi chan had betrayed me.

"Yumemi chan didn't betray me. She was taken away before she could reach me."

The "other group" centered around Ooki, Shiromachi, and Suguro kidnapped Yumemi chan.

As I traced my fingertips over the words written there, my vision blurred with tears of anger and regret.