The sound of emergency alarms echoed throughout the shopping mall.
The emergency lights dyed the entire seventh floor in a painful shade of red. Below, screams mixed with the sound of shattering glass and chaotic footsteps, layering into an oppressive wall of noise.
Kairi immediately shot to his feet.
"What the hell is happening?"
No one answered him.
Because at that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the end of the hallway.
The space there was warping.
Like a mirror being twisted from the inside.
The red light reflected across the distortion, making everything look like a twisted nightmare.
Then—
a figure stepped out.
Slowly.
Calmly.
The sound of shoes tapping against the floor echoed evenly across the tiles.
Kyouya instinctively took half a step back.
It was the first time since meeting him that he had shown such a clear emotional reaction.
"…Impossible."
His voice dropped lower.
"They shouldn't be appearing here."
Kairi immediately turned toward him.
"'They'?"
But Kyouya didn't answer.
His eyes remained locked on the end of the corridor.
And then—
more footsteps echoed out.
From the emergency stairwell.
From the hallway to the left.
From the darkened area farther away.
Figures dressed in black began appearing one after another.
Not rushed.
Not chaotic.
Each of them wore communication earpieces. Some carried electric batons and stun guns.
They were sealing off every exit.
Ginji cursed under his breath.
"…Don't tell me this is an entire organization."
"Nostra," Kyouya answered shortly.
A loud metallic clank rang out.
The fire door behind the food court slammed shut.
Their escape route vanished.
Yume's expression instantly changed.
"They're herding us into the center."
Kyouya immediately turned around.
"That way."
No one asked why.
The group instantly broke into a run.
—
Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway.
Behind them, Nostra's people began accelerating their pursuit.
Kairi ran close behind Kyouya, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
Something was becoming wrong.
The hallway ahead somehow felt longer than before.
The spacing between the stores looked subtly distorted.
A direction sign that had just been on the left—
was suddenly on the right.
Kairi froze for half a second.
"…What the hell, not again?"
"Don't stop moving," Kyouya said immediately.
His voice was far tenser than before.
This wasn't the same cold, annoyingly calm attitude he had at the food court anymore.
Right now—
he looked like someone desperately trying to escape.
Behind them, radio chatter echoed out.
"Target confirmed."
"Team B move to the eighth floor."
"Lock the elevators."
"Don't let them reach ground level."
Ginji glanced back and clicked his tongue.
"These bastards came prepared."
Something suddenly flew toward them.
"SWOOSH—!"
Kyouya immediately yanked Kairi downward.
An electric baton sliced through the air above his head.
The man in black who had lunged from the blind corner immediately charged again.
But Ginji was faster.
"BAM!"
A straight punch smashed into the man's face, sending him crashing into the glass wall behind him.
Cracks exploded across the surface with a piercing sound.
"Keep moving!" Ginji growled.
Nobody stopped.
—
The group rushed down the stairwell.
The alarms continued screaming endlessly overhead.
But the deeper they descended—
the stranger the atmosphere became.
Kairi started feeling dizzy.
He had the unsettling feeling that they had already passed through this area before.
A cosmetics advertisement.
A closed convenience store.
A cleaning cart tilted awkwardly in the hallway.
Everything…
felt disturbingly familiar.
"…Wait."
Kairi suddenly stopped.
Yume instantly turned around.
"What is it?"
"…We've already been here."
Ginji frowned.
"What?"
Kairi whipped his head backward.
The red poster was still in the exact same position.
Even the spilled soda can on the floor hadn't changed at all.
Yume's expression darkened immediately.
"That's impossible…"
"No." Kyouya cut in instantly. "Don't stand still."
He quickly moved forward again.
For the first time—
Kairi noticed his hand trembling slightly.
Very faintly.
But undeniably.
This guy…
was scared.
—
The group continued running.
A massive explosion thundered somewhere in the distance.
"BOOM—!!"
The ceiling shook violently.
The hallway lights flickered nonstop.
And at that exact moment—
the space ahead warped again.
Like an invisible ripple passing through the corridor.
Kyouya immediately turned his face away.
"Don't stare directly at it!"
Kairi reacted almost instinctively.
The moment he lowered his gaze—
a freezing sensation crawled down his spine.
As if something had just stood extremely close to him.
Very close.
Footsteps echoed ahead.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Steady enough to become unbearable.
Then—
a voice rang out.
"Found you."
A man's voice.
Calm.
Slightly distorted, like it was echoing through water.
Kairi immediately looked up.
At the end of the hallway—
that figure had appeared again.
The same man.
Standing motionless beneath the flickering red lights.
Not chasing them.
Not advancing.
Just watching.
But strangely—
despite the obvious distance between them…
Kairi felt as though the man was standing right in front of him.
"Run!" Yume shouted.
Immediately—
the entire hallway shook violently.
"CRACK—!"
Glass shattered simultaneously on both sides.
Nostra members surged in from multiple directions.
Radio chatter erupted frantically.
"Seal the front!"
"Don't let them reach the lower floors!"
"Cut off the right side!"
Ginji gritted his teeth.
"Fuck, there's way too many of them!"
Kyouya instantly changed direction.
"This way!"
The group sharply turned into a dark arcade area.
Arcade machines blinked faintly in the darkness.
Distorted electronic music echoed throughout the room, making the atmosphere even more unsettling.
Then—
Kairi suddenly froze.
A strange sensation flashed through his mind.
As if—
this scene…
had already happened once before.
Just for an instant.
Very fast.
But enough to make his heart skip a beat.
"Kairi!" Yume grabbed his arm hard.
"Don't stop!"
The group continued sprinting beneath the flashing red lights.
Behind them—
the figure standing at the end of the hallway never disappeared.
And even without turning around—
everyone shared the exact same feeling.
He…
was still watching them.