Junpei's eyes snapped open. He was lying on the floor, his head throbbing, his vision blurred and hazy.
With effort, he pushed himself up and leaned against the nearest wall, clutching the side of his head with his right hand.
"Did I stay up all night reading manga again?" That was the last thing he remembered. He let out a groan. "What a shitty ending… though it's my own fault for expecting anything more from a generic hot-blooded shonen."
Blinking repeatedly, he tried to clear his sight while staying pressed against the wall.
Between one blink and the next, his vision returned.
And he immediately regretted it.
In front of him stretched an ominous hallway, barely lit by flickering, failing lamps.
From where he stood, the corridor seemed endless.
The sepulchral silence made the hairs on his body stand on end. A wave of discomfort forced him to scan for… anything.
There was nothing. Beyond the primal instinct screaming at him to run, there was no one and nothing with him.
Gathering his courage, he took a step forward—and immediately felt an invisible pressure clamp down on his shoulders and neck.
It was like being strangled by phantom hands.
He swallowed hard and shook his head, refusing to give in to irrational fear.
He walked.
Each step made his body feel heavier. He noticed it too late, but his breathing had become labored and forced.
"No matter how you look at it," Junpei muttered between ragged breaths, a nervous smile tugging at his lips, "this feels exactly like I've fallen into a nightmare."
After what felt like an eternity—but was probably only minutes—he finally reached a window.
"How convenient…" He might have imagined it, but the pressure around his neck seemed to tighten. "Not like I have any other options."
Slowly, he approached and peered outside.
Blackness.
The deepest, most absolute darkness greeted him from the other side of the glass—like a velvet curtain pressed against the pane. He stepped back and took a moment to process the realization.
"Shit." A shiver ran through his body.
He understood now: he had no choice but to keep walking.
In this dark, silent world, only the sound of his own footsteps and the growing fear eating at him kept him sane.
"1… 2… 3… 4…" To stop his mind from spiraling, he began counting steps, timing how long it would take to see any change in the hallway. "…170… 171… 172"
He stopped dead.
Finally—a change.
A crossroads.
Junpei wasn't stupid. He could sense something deeply wrong and sinister about the situation.
Right or left.
His mind was still foggy, but one rule stuck: in these kinds of places, you always go right.
*CREAK!*
The moment he took a step, he heard something like wood splintering. Looking up, he saw a creature clinging to the ceiling—its eyes fixed on him.
It had an elongated, stick-insect-like body, pitch black, with six limbs anchoring it to the surface.
What should have been its head extended like a turtle's neck, bringing its featureless face directly in front of Junpei's.
"…" There was nothing there—just a smooth, blank white surface where a face should be.
Junpei wasn't an idiot. He spun around and sprinted back the way he came.
"AAAAAEEER!"
The thing let out a piercing screech. That was all it took—Junpei ran with everything he had, veering down the left corridor instead.
At some point he slipped on a slick liquid on the floor and crashed down hard.
He slid several meters before slamming into something that made him squeeze his eyes shut in pain.
"Sniff…" Someone was crying right beside him.
Junpei opened his eyes and saw one of his schoolmates curled into a fetal position in the corner, tears streaming down her face.
Terror was written all over her expression.
He didn't recognize her—probably a first-year. When he tried to stand, he realized what he had slipped in wasn't water.
It was blood.
His eyes widened in horror as he frantically searched for the source.
"Shit…" Junpei stumbled backward in fear.
Crouched in the opposite corner from the girl was another grotesque creature—vaguely grasshopper-shaped, jet black, covered in protruding spikes.
Between its front legs—used like hands—it held the body of another student. Her skull was half-devoured.
The monster didn't stop eating.
Junpei clenched his right fist so hard his knuckles whitened, a deep fury rising from his chest.
Then—
*CRIEKKK!*
The stick-insect creature came skittering across the ceiling, emitting horrible sounds.
Junpei stood, ignoring the blood and the other monster. He rushed to the girl, grabbed her hand, and pulled her along as they ran down the hallway.
She let herself be led, but her steps were slow and she kept letting out pained sobs. Junpei gritted his teeth—he knew he couldn't get far dragging her.
For a split second, he considered leaving her behind and—
"As if I'd do that," he growled to himself in anger.
He spotted the door to a classroom and instinctively headed for it. He flung it open and pulled her inside. "Stay quiet."
He clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her close. They pressed themselves against the wall beside the door, making no sound.
Junpei covered his own mouth too as he heard the creature's footsteps moving across the ceiling, drawing closer.
A chill ran through his body. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he tried to ignore the sounds outside.
The girl, pressed against his chest, trembled with fear.
This just keeps getting worse, Junpei thought as the creature approached.
Anxiety clawed at him. Even when he tried to detach his mind, the rhythmic—almost playful—footsteps dragged him back to reality.
The air inside classroom 2-B had grown thick, reeking of ozone and rancid meat. It turned his stomach.
"Think, damn it, think," he scolded himself, clenching his teeth until his gums ached.
Sweat stung his eyes, blurring his vision.
Only one of us can make it out of this. The realization hit him instantly. If he abandoned her, he might survive.
What a disgusting thought.
For some reason, a bitter smile crossed his face.
His mind—always inconvenient—dragged up an old memory.
"Two years?" Junpei had just woken up, his mind still foggy. He couldn't fully process what the nurse had told him.
"That's right." Her voice had been full of pity and compassion.
Junpei had felt hollow, drained.
"My friends… did they… visit me?"
The look the nurse gave him was answer enough.
Back in the present, he understood: life was one cruel joke.
He refused to become another anonymous corpse—an anecdote, a statistic in some "incident."
But…
"Listen," he whispered into the girl's ear, barely audible over the creaking door. "When I say 'go,' run with everything you've got. I'll distract that thing."
He refused to sink so low as to sacrifice someone else to save himself.
The girl stared at him with wide, terrified eyes, pupils blown wide. She shook her head frantically, clutching his jacket with rigid fingers.
He gave her a sad smile.
She shook her head again at his expression.
"Don't look back. Don't stop for anything."
Junpei didn't wait for her agreement.
He closed his eyes. A surge like electricity raced through his body. Something clicked into place inside him. He extended his right hand outward.
His fingers brushed something cold and metallic. His grip closed around an elongated object.
He looked at what had appeared, eyes doubtful.
It wasn't a sword—just a meter-and-a-half-long black staff with a faint blue line running along it.
When he glanced at the girl, he saw equal parts fascination and terror on her face.
Junpei gave her another smile—this one more resigned.
*KRASH!*
The classroom door didn't simply open; it exploded inward in splinters. The long, articulated neck of the stick-insect creature slid through the gap with unnatural fluidity.
"You're ugly as hell—and that's saying something when you don't even have a face," Junpei said. He felt the urge to flip it off, but decided to take this seriously for once.
He wanted to go out with at least a little style.
The creature's blank "face" focused on him.
Its neck retracted. Junpei grabbed the girl's shoulder and shoved her away.
"NOW!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The monster, distracted by the sudden movement, whipped its neck toward her in a blur of black flesh.
Junpei didn't think. He gripped the staff with both hands and swung it like a sword straight at the extended neck.
The impact rang out—dry and solid. The staff sank into the rubbery flesh, and steam hissed from the wound.
The creature released an ultrasonic screech that stabbed into his ears and knocked him off balance.
Forced to his knees, Junpei gritted his teeth against the pain.
The phantom pressure around his neck—that sense of imminent death that had haunted him since the assembly turned into a nightmare—exploded into sharp agony.
Finally the screech stopped. He looked up. His attack had hurt the thing.
A flicker of pride ran through him.
The creature dropped from the ceiling and approached rapidly, making strange noises as it studied him.
"Is that all you've got… you low-budget monster?" Junpei spat a mix of saliva and blood directly at its blank face.
The insect recoiled its head—then shot it forward again with grotesque speed.
The direct hit to his chest stole his breath and sent him crashing through desks until he curled into a ball, gasping.
He saw the neck retract once more. Junpei knew he wouldn't survive a second blow. He closed his eyes, accepting the end. At least he had saved one person…
But the attack never came.
A loud impact rang out.
Someone grabbed his hand and helped him stand.
"Get up… get up." It was a female voice.
Junpei opened his eyes. It was the girl from before—shaking, tears in her eyes.
"I told you to run," he rasped. It was insane that she had stayed.
She gave him a trembling smile. To Junpei, nothing had ever looked more beautiful.
"I didn't want…" She was clearly terrified, yet showed extraordinary courage. "I didn't want to die alone."
Something inside him cracked. When he tried to speak, another abominable shriek from the monster forced them both to their knees.
This time Junpei forced his eyes open. He watched the creature approach slowly.
To his horror, the grasshopper-like monster had slipped into the room too and was creeping toward them.
Gritting his teeth until they bled, he stood, gripping his staff in both hands.
He stepped in front of the girl, face filled with determination and rage. Behind them was a window. If he were more of a coward, he would have jumped out with her.
Death by falling sounded less painful.
But…
It might be useless, but at least now he would hold on to his will.
The monster stopped making noise. Junpei knew this was the end for both of them.
But—
"Come on." He tightened his grip on the staff with all his strength. "At least one of you… I'm taking at least one of you with me!"
He thought of his father and mother. He wanted to honor the people who brought him into the world with one final act of courage.
"AAAAHHH!" he roared, ready to die as the monsters advanced.
*TRAAAASSHH*
Something brilliant shattered the window behind him. A line of light pierced each monster at least seven times.
"Kriikk…"
"Drr…"
Both creatures collapsed like puppets with cut strings. Blood poured from their bodies. Whatever had attacked them stood with its back to Junpei and the girl.
Moonlight mystically illuminated the classroom. The golden glow slowly faded.
"…" Junpei couldn't help but smile. Their lives had been saved. He dropped to his knees. "Thank God…"
The figure of their savior was imposing.
Long black hair fluttered in the wind pouring through the broken window. His back was straight and heroic in that moment. In his right hand he held a long, golden spear that gleamed dangerously.
"No…" Still facing away, their savior spoke in a grave voice. "I arrived too late."
Then he turned. His face was expressionless, but his eyes glowed with an unnatural blue—reflecting years of experience and deep exhaustion.
To Junpei, this was the true face of Isamu Kuroda.
His silhouette stood out against the dim red light of the hallway. He was just another shadow—but denser, heavier.
"…" Junpei finally realized how utterly unnatural Isamu was.
He opened his mouth to say something.
*BAAAAMMM*
A tremendous impact from above shook the entire building.
"AAAAAAH!"
"NOOOO!"
"NO, NO, NO!"
Multiple screams echoed. Junpei felt a chill run through him as he focused on Isamu—who kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling.