The maintenance hut had become a tomb waiting to close.
Rain hammered the roof overhead while distant howls rolled across Mirekun City like thunder announcing the end of the world. The shattered gate lay twisted against the far wall where the Nightmare had torn through it moments earlier. Cold air drifted inside carrying the scent of rust, blood, and decay—the scent of this city itself.
And then—
Heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The Nightmare entered.
Shiori's entire body froze.
Up close, the creature was even larger than she remembered. Its massive frame nearly brushed both sides of the cramped structure, pale muscles shifting beneath scarred skin as it moved with unsettling patience. This wasn't a mindless monster.
It was hunting.
Carefully.
Methodically.
Its claws tapped against concrete.
Not randomly.
Testing.
Searching.
Learning.
Outside, distant howls echoed from the rooftops above. Other Nightmares answered in return, their voices carrying through the rain like wolves surrounding prey.
The pack was waiting.
The hunter inside was searching.
Shiori pressed herself deeper between the barrels.
Her fingers wrapped around Leon's machete so tightly they hurt.
The creature moved closer.
Every step felt like a countdown.
It lowered its head.
Sniffed.
The sound sent ice through her veins.
It wasn't merely smelling the air.
It was reading it.
Tracing fear.
Tracing life.
Across the room, Airi sat hidden inside the old cupboard, trembling so violently she feared the entire thing would shake apart. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks as she bit down on her sleeve to stop herself from making a sound.
The Nightmare paused before the cupboard.
Its head tilted.
Slowly.
Curiously.
The creature's muzzle touched the metal door.
Airi stopped breathing entirely.
The door creaked.
Just slightly.
Her eyes widened in pure terror.
Not now.
Please—
Not now.
The Nightmare sniffed once more.
Then moved on.
Airi nearly collapsed from relief.
Only to realize it had not left.
It was still searching.
Still hunting.
Daichi remained behind the rusted generator, every muscle in his body coiled tight. A claw swept across the machine above him with effortless force, carving deep grooves into metal that would have resisted ordinary tools.
His heart pounded.
One strike.
That was all it would take.
Against this thing—
Strength meant nothing.
He knew it.
And yet, if discovered—
He would still fight.
Even if it lasted only a second.
Across the hut, Haruto lay motionless beneath the old tarp, eyes fixed on the biomarker in his hand.
Red.
Pulsing.
Again.
His expression darkened.
The signal was changing.
Not fading.
Approaching.
Somewhere nearby—
Leon.
Or something connected to him.
The realization sent equal parts hope and fear through his chest.
The Nightmare continued its circuit.
Closer.
Until finally—
It stopped beside the barrels.
Shiori's barrels.
Her breathing ceased.
Her heart thundered so loudly she was certain the creature could hear it.
The Nightmare lowered its head.
Sniffed deeply.
Once.
Twice.
Its pale eyes narrowed.
Outside, the pack fell strangely quiet.
As if waiting.
Its clawed hand slowly reached forward.
Gripped the edge of the barrel.
And lifted.
Time stopped.
Shiori looked up.
For the first time since entering Mirekun City—
She found herself staring directly into the eyes of a Nightmare.
Only inches away.
Predator red met terrified blue.
The world held its breath.
And somewhere far beyond the rain—
Haruto's biomarker suddenly flashed bright green.
The world narrowed to a pair of crimson eyes.
Shiori couldn't breathe.
The Nightmare's face was only inches away now, its pale features twisted into something neither fully human nor fully beast. Its breath carried the scent of rain, blood, and decay so ancient it seemed woven into Mirekun City's very air. The creature had lifted the barrel effortlessly, exposing her hiding place as though peeling away paper.
For one endless second—
Predator and prey stared at one another.
Then it screamed.
The sound exploded through the maintenance hut.
Shiori's vision blurred instantly. Pain shot through her skull like lightning. Her ears rang violently as the Nightmare's howl crashed over her at point-blank range. The walls trembled. Rust fell from the ceiling. Somewhere outside, distant howls answered like an army responding to its king.
Death had found them.
CLANG!
A rusted can flew across the room.
The sound echoed sharply from the opposite corner.
The Nightmare's head snapped sideways.
Haruto.
Even beneath the tarp, he had acted without hesitation.
His voice came as little more than a breath.
"Diversion."
A pause.
"Go."
The creature moved instantly.
One moment it stood over Shiori.
The next, it launched across the hut with terrifying speed, crashing through debris toward the source of the noise. The force of its movement shook the entire structure.
Shiori didn't hesitate.
She grabbed Leon's machete and crawled forward.
Daichi emerged from behind the generator.
Haruto slipped out from beneath the tarp.
Only Airi remained hidden in the cupboard.
Then—
The Nightmare stopped.
Its head lowered.
Sniffing.
Searching.
Behind an old curtain in the corner of the hut lay something hidden in shadow.
A body.
Old.
Long dead.
Another victim of Mirekun City.
The creature descended upon it immediately.
The sounds that followed made everyone's blood run cold.
Metal scraped.
Concrete cracked.
Low growls echoed through the cramped space while the rain outside seemed to fall harder. The Nightmare fed with terrifying intensity, completely absorbed in its prize.
The noise covered their escape.
But it came at a cost.
Airi had seen everything.
From the narrow crack of the cupboard door, she had watched the hunter descend upon its prey only a few feet away. The sounds. The violence. The sheer indifference with which life ended in this city.
Something inside her quietly broke.
Her eyes remained open.
But unfocused.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
She didn't scream.
Didn't move.
Didn't breathe loudly.
She simply stared.
Frozen.
As if her mind had retreated somewhere far away where this world couldn't reach her.
Shiori crawled toward the exit and looked back once.
The cupboard remained closed.
No movement.
No sound.
Her heart sank.
No.
Please no.
"Airi..."
Her whisper vanished beneath the creature's feeding.
Daichi's face tightened, grief flashing through his eyes.
He lowered his head.
Not enough time.
Not enough choices.
Haruto's expression became unreadable.
Survival demanded cruelty.
And Mirekun City demanded survival.
"We move," he said quietly.
No one argued.
Because if they stayed—
They would join the dead.
The three of them slipped out through the ruined doorway and disappeared into the rain-soaked darkness of the rooftops.
Behind them, the Nightmare remained occupied.
Unaware.
Uncaring.
The hunt continued.
Shiori ran through the storm with tears mixing into the acid rain. Leon's machete felt heavier than ever in her hands.
Not because of its weight.
Because now she finally understood.
This world didn't just kill people.
It took pieces of them long before death ever arrived.
And somewhere beneath these same ruined skies—
Leon Mercer had survived this nightmare alone for years.
The maintenance hut stood silent once more.
Only the rain remained.
The Nightmare had finally left.
Its massive silhouette vanished into the ruined skyline, joining the distant hunt as answering howls echoed across Mirekun City. The sounds grew fainter with every passing second until only acid rain and trembling breaths remained inside the shattered structure.
For several moments—
No one moved.
The fear lingered.
As though the monster had left behind part of itself in the darkness.
Shiori was the first to stand.
Her legs shook.
Her hands still trembled around Leon's machete.
Yet she moved.
Because someone was still missing.
Her voice emerged barely above a whisper.
"Airi...?"
No answer.
The word disappeared into the empty hut.
Shiori's chest tightened painfully.
No.
Please.
Not like this.
She stepped forward slowly, every footfall echoing louder than it should have. Daichi followed close behind while Haruto scanned the surroundings, eyes constantly shifting toward the doorway in case the Nightmares returned.
The cupboard remained where it had always been.
Closed.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Shiori reached out.
Her fingers trembled.
Then—
Creak.
The door slowly opened.
Airi was inside.
Alive.
Relief hit so hard it nearly made Shiori collapse.
But it lasted only a moment.
Because something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Airi sat curled into herself, knees pulled tightly against her chest. Her clothes were soaked from rain and fear alike, but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes remained open.
Wide.
Unfocused.
Staring at nothing.
Not blinking.
Not reacting.
Just staring.
As if some part of her mind had remained trapped in the moment the Nightmare had begun feeding only a few feet away.
Shiori knelt immediately.
"Airi?"
Nothing.
Not even a flicker of recognition.
Daichi crouched beside her and gently shook her shoulder.
"Airi!"
His voice cracked with worry.
"Hey—snap out of it! You're safe now!"
No response.
Her eyes never moved.
Haruto knelt beside them and carefully checked her pulse. His expression darkened with each passing second.
"She's alive."
The words brought relief.
And dread.
Her pulse was steady.
Breathing normal.
Body unharmed.
Mind elsewhere.
Haruto lowered his hand slowly.
"Severe dissociation," he said quietly. "Extreme psychological trauma."
Even his voice sounded heavier.
"This world broke through her defenses."
No one argued.
Because they had all seen it.
The hunt.
The feeding.
The endless cruelty of Mirekun City.
They were changing too.
Airi had simply reached her limit first.
Shiori's eyes filled with tears.
She gently pulled Airi into her arms.
Their once-cheerful friend—the girl who joked, streamed, and brought laughter into every room—sat silent like an empty shell.
"Airi..."
Her voice trembled.
"We're here."
No response.
Only a whisper escaped Airi's lips.
Soft.
Broken.
Repeated endlessly.
"...blood..."
A pause.
"...heart..."
Another pause.
"...rain..."
The words looped quietly, detached from meaning.
Fragments.
Memories trapped in an endless cycle.
Shiori closed her eyes tightly.
This world didn't always kill bodies.
Sometimes—
It killed pieces of the soul.
Daichi lowered his head.
His fists clenched helplessly.
He could punch monsters.
Fight Nightmares.
Protect people.
But this?
This enemy had no shape.
Haruto stood slowly and adjusted his glasses.
His voice was calm.
But not cold.
"We carry her."
Simple.
Necessary.
The only answer.
Daichi immediately crouched down.
Without hesitation.
Without complaint.
He carefully lifted Airi onto his back.
She offered no resistance.
No acknowledgment.
Only silence.
The squad was whole again.
Physically.
But not completely.
One member now walked through Mirekun City with her body present and her mind somewhere far away.
Shiori tightened her grip on Leon's machete.
Her chest ached.
Not from fear anymore.
From understanding.
How many people had Leon failed to save here?
How many had survived—
Only to break?
Rain fell harder as the four of them stepped out of the maintenance hut and back into the nightmare beyond.
No one spoke.
Because in Mirekun City—
Survival carried scars deeper than wounds.
The rooftops stretched endlessly beneath the ruined sky of Mirekun City.
Rain fell without mercy.
The city never stopped breathing.
Never stopped hunting.
Never stopped reminding the living that they did not belong here.
The squad moved through the darkness like ghosts.
Not survivors.
Ghosts.
Their footsteps echoed softly across wet concrete while distant howls rolled through the night like thunder from another world. Far below, the streets writhed with endless Shades. In the alleys, unstable infected wandered aimlessly, their wheezing breaths blending into the chorus of a city that had long ago forgotten peace.
Mirekun City remained unchanged.
It did not care who lived.
Or who broke.
It simply endured.
And tonight—
It was winning.
Shiori walked at the front.
If one could still call it walking.
Her movements had lost purpose.
Lost energy.
The machete in her hand—the same blade Leon had carried across this nightmare—dragged lightly against concrete every few steps with a soft metallic scrape.
Once, that sound had brought comfort.
Now it only reminded her of absence.
Her eyes stared ahead.
Empty.
Not because she had stopped caring.
Because she had cared too much.
Every rooftop.
Every howl.
Every monster.
Each one had stripped away another illusion.
The illusion that courage was enough.
The illusion that friendship conquered all.
The illusion that they understood Leon's suffering.
They hadn't.
Not even close.
Her lips parted slightly.
The words escaped on instinct.
"Leon-kun..."
The name drifted into the rain.
No answer came.
Only distant howls.
Her gaze lowered.
Even now, she could still see his tired eyes. The way he always scanned rooftops before relaxing. The way his hands never strayed far from his weapons. The exhaustion hidden behind every rare smile.
How had he done this?
Not for hours.
Not for days.
Years.
The thought no longer inspired admiration.
It frightened her.
Because perhaps no human should survive this place.
And yet—
He had.
Behind her, Daichi carried Airi on his back.
Or perhaps carried was the wrong word.
He moved because stopping felt worse.
His once-confident posture had collapsed under the weight of reality. The strength he had always trusted now felt painfully small beneath Mirekun City's endless sky.
His fists no longer clenched.
There was nothing left to fight.
One swipe.
That was all it took.
One mistake.
One scream.
One moment of weakness.
This world did not reward effort.
It measured survival in luck and sacrifice.
He stared ahead with hollow eyes.
"One hit..."
His voice barely rose above the rain.
"That's all."
No anger.
No defiance.
Only truth.
Airi remained silent on his back.
Her eyes stared into places no one else could see.
Every so often, her lips moved faintly.
Fragments.
Broken pieces of memory trapped in endless repetition.
"...blood..."
A pause.
"...heart..."
Another pause.
"...rain..."
The same words.
Again.
And again.
And again.
She had survived.
Her mind had not.
Haruto walked at the rear, biomarker still clutched in his hand. The device glowed faintly in the darkness, its green pulse a fragile reminder that somewhere in this endless nightmare, Leon Mercer remained alive.
Alive.
The word had become strangely complicated.
Because survival in Mirekun City did not always mean living.
Haruto understood that now.
This city didn't merely kill people.
It reshaped them.
Some became monsters.
Some became survivors.
Some became both.
His gaze drifted toward the horizon.
Toward the darkness Leon had endured alone for years.
And for the first time since arriving here—
Haruto wondered if survival itself carried a price too high for anyone to pay.
The rain intensified.
A distant Nightmare crossed a rooftop several blocks away, moving with casual confidence as though it owned the world.
Perhaps it did.
Further below, unstable infected wandered through flooded alleys while endless Shades continued their slow march through dead streets.
The city remained hungry.
Always hungry.
Shiori's steps slowed.
Her foot slipped dangerously close to a rooftop edge.
For a brief moment—
She didn't react.
Because exhaustion had become heavier than fear.
Then her grip tightened around the machete.
Not for herself.
For him.
Her voice emerged as little more than a whisper.
"Your world broke us..."
Tears mixed with rain.
Still she kept walking.
Because somewhere beneath these same ruined skies—
Leon Mercer was still fighting.
And if he could endure this hell alone for years—
Then they could endure one more night.
Even if their spirits had already begun to crack beneath the weight of his world.
The rooftops stretched onward.
Endless.
Unforgiving.
And beneath the storm of Mirekun City, four weary souls continued forward—not because they believed victory was possible—
But because someone they loved was still out there in the dark.