Takeshi stepped out into the hallway.
The noise of the school hit him all at once. Voices, footsteps, the sound of lockers opening and closing, groups of students moving in different directions.
No one looked at him or seemed to notice that he had just come out of an empty classroom with the expression of someone who had no idea where he was standing.
He stopped at the entrance to the hallway and looked both ways.
He had no information. The deity had told him that Yuki had summoned him to some place, but she hadn't given any additional details.
He didn't know if it was inside the building or outside, he didn't know what part of the school, he didn't know anything beyond the girl's name and the image of a black dagger with purple details.
The chat appeared in his field of vision.
[he doesn't even know where to start]
[hahaha]
[guess the place Takeshi]
[first clue: it's not here]
[lol]
Takeshi ignored the messages and started walking to the right. That was as valid a starting point as any.
The hallway ended at a staircase. He went down to the first floor and stepped out into the main courtyard. It was an open space with concrete benches scattered around and a few students sitting in groups. He scanned the entire courtyard, looking for the sign with Yuki's name floating above someone's head.
Nothing.
He crossed the courtyard toward the opposite side of the building. There was a basketball court and, beyond that, an area with tables under a metal roof that was probably the cafeteria. He looked in every direction. No sign, no black hair, no visible daggers.
He kept walking.
He reached a side corridor that connected the main building with a smaller one. He followed it to the end, which led to a door with a laboratory sign. He pushed the door open. Inside were long tables with chemistry equipment and no one around.
He stepped back and continued searching.
He passed the bathrooms, a multipurpose room with chairs stacked against the wall, a hallway with lockers that smelled of shoes and paper. In none of those places did he find Yuki Tachibana.
Time ran out without him realizing it.
There was no warning or sound. Just the feeling of something moving behind him, and when he turned, Yuki was already there, stepping out of a shadow beside the lockers with both daggers in her hands. She looked at him with her pinkish-violet eyes without saying anything.
Takeshi opened his mouth.
The dagger in Yuki's left hand moved toward his side while the other came from the opposite direction, stabbing him multiple times until he died from severe blood loss.
Black screen.
[LOADING SAVE POINT]
Takeshi opened his eyes at the desk in the back.
The white ceiling, empty classroom, and the backpack on the seatback.
He took one breath and opened his stats.
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 80%]
[Points: 0]
He stood up.
The chat was already active.
[it lasted longer this time]
[at least it lasted the full fifteen minutes]
[progress]
[HAHAHA]
[he already knows what's coming and he can't do anything about it]
He stepped out into the hallway without stopping to read any more messages.
This time he went left. The hallway led to a library and a computer room.
He checked the library first: rows of shelves, a few students sitting with open books, no floating sign above anyone's head.
The computer room was locked.
He went up to the third floor. There were classrooms on both sides of the hallway and a small terrace at the end with a view of the back courtyard. He poked his head out onto the terrace just to see some wooden benches.
He went down to the second floor and walked the entire hallway, checking every door.
Time ran out on the staircase.
Yuki came down from the floor above without making a sound, daggers already in her hands. Takeshi saw her appear above him and managed to take one step back before the right dagger pierced his neck.
Black screen.
[LOADING SAVE POINT]
Takeshi opened his eyes at the desk in the back.
He didn't say anything.
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 70%]
[Points: 0]
He stood up and stepped out into the hallway.
The chat greeted him.
[again]
[how many is that now]
[three]
[it's three]
[someone's keeping count]
[me, it's three]
This time he didn't run. He walked slowly down the second-floor hallway, taking in every detail—the layout of the classrooms, the location of the staircases, the corridors connecting to other sections of the building. He was building a mental map little by little with every loop he made.
He knew the main building had three floors, that the main courtyard was at the front, and that there was a sports area on the right side. He also knew there was another courtyard behind the building that he still hadn't checked in detail.
He headed toward the back courtyard.
It was bigger than he had expected. There was a running track marked on the ground, a grassy area, and farther back, what looked like a training field with some wooden structures.
He walked the entire perimeter, but he didn't find any sign that said Yuki.
Time ran out while he was checking the training field.
Yuki appeared from behind one of the wooden structures. This time Takeshi saw her in time and ran toward the building without looking back. For three seconds he thought he was going to make it to the door.
He didn't.
He felt the edge of a dagger in his lower back and the ground rushed up toward him very fast. All he could feel was a dagger piercing his heart.
Black screen.
[LOADING SAVE POINT]
Takeshi opened his eyes at the desk in the back.
[so close]
[SO CLOSE]
[he got farther than before]
[six more steps and he would've been home free]
[it wasn't six, it was four]
[doesn't matter, he didn't make it]
He stayed seated for a moment with his hands on the desk while he looked at his stats.
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 60%]
[Points: 0]
His mental map was fairly advanced, but he had already checked most of those places and hadn't found Yuki in any of them.
He stood up.
What he still hadn't ruled out with certainty was the training field, but on the last loop he had walked that entire space and found nothing.
That left very few places.
He stepped out into the hallway and started walking toward the stairs, but halfway there he stopped.
There were students in this school. Students who knew the place, who knew Yuki Tachibana and might have seen her.
Takeshi looked around at the hallway.
The strategy of searching alone wasn't working. He needed information he didn't have, and he wasn't going to get it by walking in circles until time ran out.
'I need to ask someone.'