How long has this hazy feeling lasted?
Everything seems so normal. Nothing feels out of place.
Yet I'm exhausted—as if I've been wandering here for an eternity.
But… didn't I just enter this dungeon? Didn't I just start exploring?
Why do I feel this way? Is something wrong with me?
No… everything is normal. What I see, hear, feel—it's all normal.
So where is the problem…?
Kaguya opened her eyes again, sitting up in bed.
The bedroom door wouldn't open.
She turned to the only remaining option—the window.
She walked over, unlatched it, and pushed it open.
Kaguya opened her eyes again, sitting up in bed.
She was so tired.
As if she'd repeated the same dull task dozens of times.
Was it because I hadn't rested properly since Hayasaka disappeared?
No… that doesn't seem right.
But I can't remember. I can't pinpoint anything wrong.
Hmm. The door's locked. Guess I'll try the window.
"Don't worry. We'll find a way."
Her companions reassured her.
Kaguya turned to the window and reached for the latch.
Maybe this is the way out.
She pulled it open.
Then—
Her vision blurred.
When it cleared, Takakai stood before her.
Something's different.
Though she couldn't articulate why, the sight of him triggered an instinctive realization.
This Takakai carries traces of… abnormality.
His clothes were splattered with blood. A grotesque mixture of red and white clung to his shoulder. The metallic stench was overwhelming—yet somehow nostalgic.
Back in Shirakawa Apartments, when we first met… he looked like this too.
How strange that I'd find comfort in that memory.
Wait… what is he doing?
Her confusion grew as she watched him.
He sat beside her, deep in thought, pressing a pistol against her chest—then her abdomen—then her thigh—as if debating where to shoot.
"What are you doing?"
Finally lucid, Kaguya couldn't help but ask.
"Deciding where to shoot you. Somewhere non-fatal, but enough to snap you out of this."
His tone was deadly serious. His finger hovered over the trigger.
"Sh-Shoot me?! Wait, explain yourself!"
Kaguya bolted upright, staring at him in alarm.
Had the dungeon's corruption warped his mind? Was he one of them now?
"You think everything here is normal, don't you?"
Takakai kept the gun trained on her.
Half a minute ago, he'd opened the door to find Kaguya leaning out the window—only for her to reset back to the bed the moment he blinked.
When he focused on her, he'd felt it—a force trying to invade his mind, to impose her distorted perceptions onto him.
But it failed.
Because Takakai currently had no brain.
The Rescue Team badge had only repaired his skull. His cranial contents remained mush, occasionally oozing from his ears and nose.
His thoughts were sustained solely by blessings—supernatural forces acting as makeshift neurons.
Cognitive blocking couldn't touch him.
"Though I have to admit… the more blessings I collect, the less human I become."
A brief lament—then back to business.
A headshot was out of the question. Kaguya's body couldn't handle that.
A body shot? Too risky. This pistol was designed for Crimson Moon players. Even with his enhancements, Takakai barely qualified. For Kaguya, a direct hit would be catastrophic.
"Guess there's only one option."
He adjusted his aim.
"You… you are Takakai, right?"
Kaguya glanced around nervously.
Yoshitaka and Takai had backed away, wary. Miyazawa Hana had scrambled under the bed.
And a second Takakai now stood across the room, aiming a gun at the first.
"Put it down!"
Even faced with two Takakais, Kaguya's cognition remained unshaken.
She didn't question why he'd point a gun at her.
Didn't consider he might have a reason.
She just coiled her muscles, ready to flee.
"Something's wrong with him. I need to escape—then figure this out."
Her eyes flashed crimson as she lunged—
—only for Takakai to intercept her effortlessly.
He read her movements, countered her push, and shoved her back onto the bed.
With his enhanced reflexes and Berserk Blessing active, she stood no chance.
Before she could recover, he raised the gun—
—and fired.
Kaguya's breath caught.
Yoshitaka and Takai rushed forward—
—then pixelated mid-stride, dissolving into static before vanishing entirely.
As if Takakai's mere presence erased them.
Gunshots rang out as the second Takakai unloaded his clip—but every bullet phased harmlessly through the first.
Meanwhile, the real bullet—the one meant for her—streaked closer.
BANG.
A flash.
A strand of hair fluttered to the ground.
And—
Her perception shattered.
Memories flooded back. Forgotten loops. Lost realizations.
The truth crashed into her like a tidal wave.
"So hair counts as 'part of the body' too? Huh. Guess shooting myself in the head was overkill. Or maybe I'm just too soft?"
Takakai smirked, relieved to see clarity return to her eyes.
"This… I… ugh. That was awful."
The mental whiplash left Kaguya reeling—but she steadied herself quickly.
And once she did—
"We need to go."
She sprang up, bolting for the door.
CRASH.
Behind her, the window shattered.
Something black slithered in from the rain.