“Wh-What? Itsuki, why did we end up back here?”

“…I wish I knew.”

We thought we had stepped out onto the school grounds, but then Nina-chan’s face appeared right in front of me. It made no sense. What was happening?

“We stepped outside, but then we were back inside…”

“Are you serious? Why?”

“…I have no idea.”

I really didn’t know. In all the stories I’ve heard about monsters, I’ve never come across one that traps people inside a school.

“Could we be… stuck in here?” Nina-chan asked nervously.

“Try it yourself, Nina-chan. Maybe it’s just me.”

“O-Okay.”

At my suggestion, Nina-chan hesitantly stepped toward the school entrance. The moment she walked out, though, she reappeared, walking back in through the door.

“Itsuki, why are you here?”

“Well… because you just came back too.”

Was “came back” even the right way to describe this? All I knew for sure was that we were trapped.

“What do we do? How are we supposed to get out?!”

“Let’s not panic yet. We’ll try other exits. There are more ways out than just the main entrance.”

“Y-Yeah, okay.”

I had to calm Nina-chan down. There were other exits in the school—the visitor’s entrance, the doors leading to the gym, and even an entrance connected to the nurse’s office from the outside.

We could check them all, one by one.

Just as I was about to start moving, Nina-chan pointed at the windows.

“Hey, Itsuki. Can’t we get out through a window?”

“Let’s give it a try.”

I stretched up to unlock a nearby window and pushed, but it didn’t budge. Instead, I was met with a stubborn, heavy resistance.

What the…? It wouldn’t move an inch. Rust? No, it wasn’t rust. It was way too stuck for that.

I pushed harder, but it wouldn’t open. Could I force it open if I used Body Reinforcement?

I examined the window frame. Nah, it’d probably break if I tried. Better not risk it.

I tried opening other windows, but they were all the same. Not one of them would open.

There’s no way all the windows could be rusted shut like this. It had to be the same mysterious force that was affecting the entrances.

If worst comes to worst, I could always break the glass and try climbing out. Though, I wasn’t sure if that would work, it was worth keeping in mind.

“For now, let’s try the gym,” I said, pulling Nina-chan along as we headed toward the gym’s exit.

But in the end, it was pointless. All the exits were blocked.

Not only the gym doors but also the ones connected to the nurse’s office and the visitor’s entrance. No matter which one we tried, it was the same result.

We couldn’t leave.

To make matters worse, outside the sun had begun to set at an unnatural speed, plunging everything into darkness. And to top it off, the lights inside the school weren’t working either. We were left wandering the halls by the dim light of the moon.

But strangely enough, the clocks in the school all still showed 4:45 PM, as if time itself had stopped.

Nothing made sense anymore.

I desperately wished my dad or Renji-san were here with us.

“…Wh-What do we do now, Itsuki? What should we do? Are we going to be trapped here forever?” Nina-chan’s voice trembled, teetering on the edge of panic.

“No, it won’t come to that. I’ll try breaking one of the windows. Stand back, Nina-chan.”

I aimed my Silveit toward a window that looked like we could slip through if we managed to break it. But just as I was about to use the magic to shatter the glass, a beam of light from a flashlight appeared down the hallway.

…What?

Reacting instantly, I extended my Silveit toward the source of the light, preparing to defend us. And then I saw the person holding the flashlight.

To my surprise, the face illuminated by the light was a familiar one.

“Itsuki-kun? Nina-chan?”

“S-Sensei?!”

It was our homeroom teacher, her face a mix of confusion and fear.

“D-Did you two also get stuck inside the school?!”

“‘Also’…? Sensei, are you trapped too?!”

“Yes! I came back to get something I left in the classroom, but then everyone was gone! The staff room was empty, and then suddenly everything went dark… My phone and computer aren’t working either… I have no idea what’s happening…”

Our teacher slumped to the ground, clearly overwhelmed.

I couldn’t blame her. Anyone would panic in this situation, especially someone who didn’t know about monsters and magic like we did. Even we, who had some idea of what might be happening, couldn’t make sense of it.

Honestly, considering everything, she was handling it pretty well, staying relatively calm.

“…What were you two doing?” Sensei asked, looking at us.

I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I should tell her the truth, but eventually, I decided honesty was best.

“We couldn’t find a way out, so we were going to try breaking the window.”

“B-Breaking the window? But… actually, that might work!”

With a glimmer of hope in her eyes, our teacher stood up, her flashlight illuminating her determined face.

“There’s a toolbox in the staff room! There should be a hammer in there. Let’s use that to break the window!”

Just as Sensei turned to head toward the staff room, her flashlight beam fell upon something in the hallway, and we heard the sound of footsteps echoing through the school.

Bare feet, slapping against the tiled floor.

Could it be another teacher or student stuck here with us?

I followed Sensei’s gaze down the hall, and what I saw made my stomach drop.

A giant figure, nearly two meters tall, was walking toward us, its entire body twisted and contorted like a wrung-out rag. It wobbled as it moved, swaying from side to side like a balancing toy.

“R-Right. Left. Right…” it muttered as it approached us.

As the flashlight beam hit the figure, Sensei stepped forward, standing protectively in front of us.

“Who are you?! Stay back!” she shouted.

…Wait. Sensei can see it?

Was she always sensitive to spirits? Or was this bizarre situation forcing her to see what normal people shouldn’t? Either way, Sensei stood her ground.

“Stay back! I’ll call the police!”

“Left. Right. Right again…”

She had said earlier that her phone wasn’t working, but I guess it didn’t matter. Bluffing wasn’t a bad idea in this situation.

While Sensei was distracting the creature, I extended my Silveit toward it, aiming to sever its head.

But then…

“…Huh?”

My Silveit didn’t undergo Attribute Change.

What the hell?

I tried again, sending out another Silveit thread.

The thread extended, and the basic thread magic seemed to work, but something was wrong. The thread wouldn’t change. It wouldn’t transform into a full spell, remaining just a thread of raw magic.

“Nina-chan, can you do it instead?”

“…Y-Yeah. I’ll try.”

Gripping my hand tightly, Nina-chan muttered a plea.

“Burn it.”

Her fairy responded to her wish, and the monster’s body ignited in flames.

“Wha-?! It’s burning!!” Sensei shouted in shock, watching the sudden burst of fire engulf the creature.

So Nina-chan could use magic.

But… why couldn’t I?

My confusion deepened.

Before I could dwell on it, though, I had to focus. The monster was still moving. Nina-chan’s fire wasn’t strong enough to finish it off yet.

The monster’s eyes and mouth were sealed shut, making it impossible for Nina-chan’s fairy to enter its body. We needed a different approach.

Just as I was wracking my brain for a solution, the school’s PA system crackled to life.

“A-Ahh, testing, testing. Can you hear me? If you can hear me, answer me, Kisaragi Itsuki!”

The voice was distorted and far too loud, and the tone sent a shiver down my spine. I recognized that voice.

“Finally caught you. You’ve got some nerve killing my precious little sisters, don’t you…? The verdict is death! I’ll twist your head off, chop your body into 5-centimeter cubes, and dump you in the river! Then I’ll polish your head into a perfect sphere and use it for bowling! I’ll gouge out your eyes and stick my fingers in them, so get ready, brat!!”

The PA system screeched with feedback, the high-pitched wail filling the air.

“Don’t think you’re getting off easy, Kisaragi Itsuki…! I’ve sent my precious sisters to hunt you down in this school. You’ll die powerless, knowing you can’t use your magic, you little wretch!!”

This monster had the filthiest mouth I’d ever heard.

More importantly, though, this situation was dire.

The monster had just admitted something crucial: it could create other monsters.

Only monsters ranked fifth tier and above can create others. Meaning, this was a ridiculously powerful monster, one that had been targeting me all this time.

No wonder this school was

always crawling with monsters.

But this was no time to be calmly analyzing the situation.

The monster’s voice over the PA made it clear that I was the sole target.

…Crap.

I really don’t want to die.

A cold wave of fear gripped my body.

I’ve worked so hard up until now to survive. I’ve pushed myself to get stronger, to avoid death at any cost.

“…Hah.”

I let out a deep breath.

My legs were trembling. It had been a while since I’d felt this kind of fear.

“Itsuki…?”

“Itsuki-kun, was that voice just now…?”

Nina-chan and Sensei looked at me, worried. The monster was still approaching, step by step, with its grotesque form swaying.

I had to deal with it. I had to explain everything to Nina-chan and Sensei. On top of that, we couldn’t stay here. We needed to find a way out of the school, fast.

My mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts, racing through my head at a dizzying speed. What should I do first? What was the best course of action? What should take priority?

–Oh yeah, I remember now.

When I was fresh out of school, the CEO told me something. “Your first task in any job is to prioritize.”

I inhaled deeply.

Then, I exhaled.

In that case, the first thing I needed to do was–

“…Shh!”

I silenced Nina-chan and Sensei, stepping forward decisively.

Back when I was training for close combat, my father always said, “Normal exorcists die because they only train for long-range magic or close combat, never both.”

That’s why he taught me both.

Ah… I see now. That’s exactly what this situation calls for.

“Hah!”

I took a deep step forward, launching myself into a jump. The monster, caught off guard by my sudden movement, froze in place.

What an opportunity.

If it were my father, there wouldn’t have been any opening to exploit. But since the monster had left itself vulnerable, I threw all my weight into a kick.

THUD!

It was like the sound of a car crashing into something. The monster flew backward, colliding hard with the hallway wall.

No surprise there.

The technique I used turns your entire body into a cannonball, delivering the heaviest possible impact. It’s called Body Shot, or Teidan for a reason.

The monster slammed into the wall with full force, its head knocking against it, rendering it unconscious. Its long arms and legs dangled limply, lifeless.

“…Nina-chan. Sensei. I’ll explain what’s going on later,” I said, trying to calm my racing heart while maintaining a facade of nonchalance.

“For now, let’s focus on getting out of here.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep