3:45 AM – Six days after the disappearance.
A piercing scream ripped through the darkness.
"Ahhh!"
"Ren, you're going to get us all killed!" Mio hissed, clinging desperately to the edge of the platform.
"I can't look…" Nakayama whispered, turning his face away.
"Guys, the rope!" Kaiya called urgently.
"Here!" Yui tossed it up without hesitation.
They quickly secured the rope to a sturdy beam. Kaiya steadied it and began descending toward Ren, the rough fibers biting into his palms.
When he finally reached the lower level, he clamped a hand tightly over Ren's mouth. Heavy, unnatural footsteps echoed from the forest outside — slow, deliberate, growing closer.
"Shhh…" Kaiya whispered, eyes wide as he glanced up at the others still above. "Not a sound."
---
**Two minutes earlier**
"We need to be ready to run if it comes to that," Yui said, voice low and steady. "Ren's screams will lead that thing straight to us."
"Okay, get ready," Kaiya said. "Nakayama, help me lift him once we're clear."
"No," Matthew cut in, his voice grim and final. "It's not going to let us leave alive. Either we kill it, or we wait for sunrise. If neither works… we're dead."
Frustration rippled through the group like electricity.
"How do we even kill that thing?" Nakayama asked.
"I have a plan," Kaiya replied, eyes hard. "There's another way — fire."
"Fire?" Yui echoed.
"Yes. Remember the school incident?" Kaiya said, looking at Matthew. "Fire is a weakness, right?"
"Never tried it," Matthew admitted.
"We'd better hope it works," Mio muttered, "or we're finished."
---
**Two minutes later**
Nakayama finally climbed down. Together, they carefully lifted Ren back up to the others, his broken leg dragging uselessly.
"Is it ready?" Kaiya asked.
"Yes," Nakayama confirmed, voice tight.
The rest of the group had already descended. Yui held Riko tightly while the others clenched their teeth, braced for what came next.
"You ready?" Kaiya asked Ren gently.
"Have you done this before?" Ren asked through gritted teeth, sweat pouring down his face.
"Saw my mum do it at work when I was younger. You're in good hands," Kaiya said with a small, reassuring smile that didn't hide the fear in his eyes.
Nakayama stuffed a balled-up sock into Ren's mouth as Kaiya twisted the dislocated leg back into place with a sickening *pop*.
A muffled scream still tore through the gag.
Seconds later, the spider-like creature reached their location.
But they were already gone.
"Come out, wherever you are…" the monster hissed, its voice a wet, distorted growl. It dragged one of its six long legs across the tower's metal frame with a metallic screech that set teeth on edge. "Kaiya… let's plaaay."
Then a loud, pained scream rang out from the top of the tower — Ren's voice, deliberately loud this time.
The creature smirked, a grotesque imitation of Haru's smile, and lunged upward, shattering the front glass in a spray of glittering shards.
But the platform was empty.
Its legs were stuck. All six spider-like limbs glued firmly to the metal frame by the thick industrial adhesive they had hastily spread earlier.
"What the hell is this?!" it roared, thrashing wildly and managing to free one leg with a violent crack.
*Glue,* Kaiya thought from a safe distance, a cold, determined smile forming on his lips.
"Now!" Kaiya shouted.
Nakayama dropped the lighter.
The group scattered.
The flame followed the trail of gasoline that had been carefully spilled across the floor, racing toward the open gas cylinder on the lower platform.
The creature noticed too late. It thrashed wildly, freeing a second leg.
"You son of a bi—!"
The tower exploded in a deafening roar.
A massive fireball lit up the night sky, engulfing the grotesque creature in roaring flames. The blast wave hurled debris in every direction as the old structure collapsed in on itself.
---
**5:48 AM – Six days after the disappearance**
Many tense hours later, the group finally emerged from their hiding spot among the trees, coughing and singed but alive. Ren was hurt but conscious, leaning heavily on Nakayama and Mio for support. They stumbled up to the road and waved desperately at the first passing vehicles.
A car slowed and stopped.
It was a police car.
Kaiya and Yui froze as the officer stepped out — the same one they recognized from the library incident — and leveled his gun at them.
"You're under arrest for the destruction of Mizukiri High School Building A."
"You've got to be kidding me…" Ren groaned, half-laughing through the pain.
To be continued…