My disa.s.sembled cells were rea.s.sembled inside the labyrinth.

Zuhkihn, Zuhkihn, a pain a.s.saults my head numerous times. This always happens whenever I get teleported into a labyrinth. On top of the cursed song overflowing in my brain, the forceful disa.s.sembling and rea.s.sembling of my brain is terribly painful.

Colors start flooding into the darkness of my vision.

White light. Red colors. Blue, yellow, green, black.

The pain in my head stops.

My consciousness clears up.

I can see my surroundings.

Right now, I am inside the labyrinth brought forth by the girl.

"You"re late Shinnosuke! What"s with your sluggish movements!?"

After entering the labyrinth, I got yelled at.

It"s Shiro.

I look at him and smirk.

"Well, I"m scared."

"Don"t screw around with me!"

Beyond his yell, I can hear the shouts of Gunjou. Pointing her slender finger to her front,

"Goooooooo!"

Leading her cla.s.smates, she starts running with everything she has. Towards the goal of killing the diseased girl.

I look in their direction.

The place we are in is as expected, the corridor of a pretty normal school. The scenery matches the scans done by the scouting corps beforehand. The labyrinth brought forth by the girl does indeed have the architecture, decors, and atmosphere of a school.

There are a few soft-toy teddy bears in the wide corridor.

Soft toys that are pink, green and orange. The guards for protecting the diseased girl.

The soft toys saw us materialize; they raise both their paws and extend their claws.

"Teddy!"

They howl as if to mock us, then, just as they are about to come attack us, Gunjou has already activated her magic and proceeds to mow them down.

"Shut up! Beasts like you should know your place and not interfere with me!"

Gunjou raises her hands, swings and crosses them over. Upon doing that, the cutters of her 『Sea Moon Wheel Switch』 that have already been activated slice the teddies apart accurately and precisely.

Furthermore, the rest of the students are also good in their own way. Four people who are probably on full-defense roles are standing on both flanks of Gunjou and protecting the sides, and another four behind them are probably on support roles.

One of the girls on support says.

"Mizuiro-san! Eight meters ahead of you, diagonally across your left above is a trap."

"What type?"

"Flame-type......"

"Tanaka! Make a defensive wall! I"ll charge through! Yamamoto will destroy the trap in the meantime. Kagiyama"ll fill Tanaka"s gap and protect me."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Two of the girls who were ordered replied.

"Then, charge!"

Shouted Gunjou.

While calming her allies, Gunjou advances forward with a tremendous amount of vigor.

Shiro grabs my arm and yells angrily.

"Don"t just stand there. We need to get moving too!"

He drags me into a run. Well, there"s a need to run, I supposed. After all, there is a time limit on us.

"But, we can"t really advance through that crowded corridor right?"

I said as I pointed at the sixteen cla.s.smates that excluded us, all crammed into the corridor.

Shiro says.

"We"re slow because you were late. And I originally wanted us to just charge ahead before Gunjou got her group together."

"Really? I thought since Gunjou has the numbers on her side, it would be wise to just let her go ahead, and we can then just reap the rewards of their effort at the end."

"That"s something we can do if the labyrinth has a high difficulty level but --- the labyrinth this time has a difficulty level of 0.4. After seeing how weak those teddies were earlier, there"s no doubt that it"s really a rank 0.4 labyrinth. In other words, we can just forcefully push through and clear it like that."

"Aah, I see. Then, you can just go ahead without waiting for me right?"

Shiro looks at me in exasperation and says.

"Huuh? Don"t screw with me. I paid you six million, didn"t I?"

"Ah-haha. You rather lose and get your money"s worth? No no, you aren"t such a fool, are you?"

"Nah, it"s all your fault. I"m going to cut three million from you and have you take responsibility."

"Ah-ha, don"t screw with me. Besides, since I arrived till now, you aren"t the least bit anxious. You already have some other strategy right?"

With a few faltering steps, I turn around to look in the direction of Himi at the side. Casting her eyes down, Himi seems uninterested in what"s going on around her, and is moving her right finger urgently, using some kind of magic.

Fuh-fuh-fuh, she lets out in shallow breaths.

And then ---

"...... PicnicDetour switch."

She murmurs the trigger code needed to activate the magic. A magic circle appears in front of Himi"s eyes and she looks at the world through that. And then, completely different from her earlier timidness, her face has a delighted look on it.

"Aahh, aahh, now now, which place is more fun, I wonder?"

She says.

I gaze at her with half-opened eyes, and ask,

"What"s with her? What kind of magic is this?"

Shiro then answers.

"It"s the type of magic that the scouting corps use."

Following that, Yousuke says from the side.

"Picnic switch is loaded with a path-finding magic that is akin to --- Himi takes a detour with a playful mood while heading to her destination and it turns out to be the better route."

"What"s with that roundabout kind of magic? Probably a defective product, I suppose."

"Haha, it"s indeed roundabout but, its power is inversely proportional to the constraints it has."

Said Shiro.

"Himi. How is it?"

"Ah, yes, I found an interesting looking place."

"Where?"

"It"s just beside here. Beyond this wall is a cla.s.sroom. If we break down the wall, we can reach the schoolyard from that cla.s.sroom in the shortest route even without heading to the infirmary."

I look at where Himi"s pointing. There is a wall. Just a wall. If we don"t have the power to break down the wall, then in the end, this would just be a futile detour however.

Shiro says.

"Alll~right, well done. Switch to trap detection magic. Check out what"s beyond the wall. I"ll take it from here."

"Yes!"

Himi dispels her current magic. And starts activating her next one.

Shiro taps the wall with his palm and c.o.c.ks his head to the side.

"I wonder how thick this is. Should I slice it apart, or open up a hole?"

Yousuke replies.

"Hmmm. I think it"s fine to just open a hole that"s big enough for people to pa.s.s through."

"Well then, a hole it shall be. All right."

Shiro"s finger dances. But, Himi then says to him.

"Please slice it apart. There are three obstacles on the other side of the wall."

"Are they the teddies from earlier?"

"I don"t know about that but --- if we go through a narrow hole, then it will become a choke point for them to attack......"

But Yousuke cuts her off and says.

"If it"s at the level of the obstacles earlier, I"ll take care of the defense. Shiro. Just go with that magic. Make a hole."

Yousuke snaps his finger and starts tracing it in the air.

"Ok ~ then, let"s do it."

To etch the rhythm into his mind, Shiro dugs in his heel soundly. Dancing his finger in the air, he activates his magic.

"--- Thousand Deities Flash Of Light switch."

A spear appears in his right hand. The tip of the spear is rotating like a drill. Shiro puts his left foot forward,

"Piieerce it throouuugghh!"

In a hurling motion like that of a baseball pitcher who"s giving everything he has, the tip of the drill strikes the wall. Together with a burst of light, a spiral appears in the center of the wall, and the tip of the drill explodes. But a new tip appears. And explodes. Appears. Explodes. Repeating at a blinding speed, a hole that"s large enough for a person to pa.s.s through starts appearing in the wall.

Before long, parts of the wall fell off. And a cla.s.sroom appears on the other side. Shiro then pa.s.ses through to the other side.

And just like what Himi said, on the other side were teddies. Three of them.

"Teddy!"

"Teddy!"

"Teddy!"

They come attacking Shiro all at once. Shiro is unable to take any countermeasure.

"Yousuke!"

He yells.

"I got it! Rather, I"ve already activated my magic! Reverse-Force switch!"

I know of that magic. The forces in the targeted area will be reversed for an instant. Only an instant. Just for one instant. However, even if it"s only for an instant, a magic that"s able to reverse forces requires great power.

The bodies of the teddies that were attacking Shiro fell back. The teddies are surprised but, it"s all over. Shiro takes up his stance again. He didn"t throw his spear immediately. Even in this precarious situation, Shiro is completely calm, and as if he is adjusting his angle of aim, tohn, tohn, tohn, he ascertains his footing.

"It should be here."

And he hurls the spear in one stroke.

The spear pierces through one of the teddies. And at the exact same time, the other two stop in their tracks. And then,

"End it."

Shiro takes up his stance again.

In the next instant, the tip of the drill exploded. All three teddies were scattered to the four winds simultaneously. Shiro"s movements were wonderful. The enemies were easily defeated not because they were weak. With his movements just now, even if they were many opponents, they could have been taken care off without a glitch.

"All right, it"s over ~. You guys can come over now. We"re going to get to the outside!"

"Yes!"

"Orh!"

Himi and Yousuke pa.s.s through the hole.

They are quite a good team, it seems. Both Himi and Yousuke trust Shiro, and Shiro answers with the same trust. If not for his numbers, what Shiro said about being able to win against Gunjou might just be true.

I slowly pa.s.s through the hole. Shiro looks at me and said.

"Aren"t you slacking off?"

"Haha, I"m actually a NEET at home."

Though I don"t even have a home.

Shiro smiles and says.

"I wonder whether it was really a good idea to have paid six million to hire such an unmotivated fellow."

I smirked but did not reply. I merely ascertained the state of the cla.s.sroom with half-opened eyes.

A cla.s.sroom without anyone.

Desks.

Blackboard.

In a small corner of the blackboard, a message written in chalk went like this.

『Every one of you, I"ll kill all of you. Every one of you, I"ll kill all of you.』

The same line was repeated twice.

I look at that with half-opened eyes, and say.

"The words "every one of you", means the same thing as the words "all of you"......"

Every one of you, I"ll kill all of you.

Every one of you, I"ll kill all of you.

The composition was as ridiculous as falling down the a.s.s of a horse.

Were the brains of Asahi Momo filled with moss, or, was there a special reason for her to make them rhyme in a meaningless way?

The cursed song that plays while activating magic via the 《Headphone Fuzz》 emphasizes on the rhyme to stimulate the brain. That"s why users of the 《Headphone Fuzz》 become hardcore at using rhyming words in their daily lives. But, a 《Headphone Fuzz》 isn"t available to a normal civilian. Normal civilians aren"t allowed to use them.

And, the diseased girl this time --- Asahi Momoka should have been a civilian. If she had been a pract.i.tioner of magic, this fact would definitely have been in the reports from the scouting corps.

The reason is because, there had been many a times, that a labyrinth brought forth by a diseased magic user had a high level of difficulty and a really nasty nature.

Every one of you, I"ll kill all of you.

Every one of you, I"ll kill all of you.

There isn"t any light --- rather, it"s a dark cla.s.sroom that has no fluorescent lamp installed.

I looked intently at the blackboard for a while ---

"...... hey Shiro. Wait a minute."

I say.

Shiro and the rest are just about to exit from the window into the schoolyard.

"Hn?"

From behind me, on the other side of the wall, I can hear the soft voice of Gunjou.

"We broke into the infirmary. Now, let"s get out into the schoolyard! Let"s just finish this off!"

The other team seems just about to get to the outside area as well.

Shiro says.

"d.a.m.n! They already got out huh...... hurry, let"s overtake Gunjou here!"

Himi says.

"The window here is nearer to the school gate."

Yousuke says.

"As expected of Himi. Let"s win this time, Shiro!"

"Yeah, of course!"

Shiro puts his hand on the window.

It"s bright outside the window, and the wide area of the schoolyard"s visible. It has a calm, peaceful, tranquil scenery with the afternoon sun shining down.

But it"s strange.

It"s clearly strange.

Gunjou"s team should have exited into the schoolyard.

But no sign of them could be seen through the window.

And at that moment, I notice the change that is taking place on the armband I"m wearing.

Below the 『Cla.s.s 5』 that was written on it, there were twenty ☆ marks. They were stars that indicated the number of cla.s.smates.

But those stars have started disappearing.

Potsunh, Potsunh Potsunh, three of them disappeared in one go. They have either escaped, or,

"......"

Are dead.

"c.r.a.p."

I open my eyes wide, and yell.

"Shiro! Don"t open the window!"

But it"s too late.

Shiro has opened the window.

"Eh?"

It"s night outside the window. More like, it has the color of darkness.

Plains that are colored with darkness.

A red moon.

Blue clouds.

An abnormal scenery.

A scenery made by an abnormal creator.

In other words, the school yard we had been looking at was fake. It was a lie shown to us by Asahi Momoka.

However, according to the reports from the scouting corps, there should have been a schoolyard before us.

In other words, even the scans done by the scouting corps were a lie made by Asahi Momoka.

This is a high rank labyrinth that was masqueraded as a labyrinth with rank 0.4.

Right now, even the real difficulty of the labyrinth is unknown to us.

It might even be at rank 100.

"d.a.m.n, she got us."

I moan.

But it"s already too late. Khiiiih, I can hear an unpleasant howl from something in the darkness outside the window. I don"t know what it is. But there is no longer any time to idle around and grin foolishly with half-opened eyes.

I have already activated my magic. Waving my finger. The cursed song flows out from my 《Headphone Fuzz》 and fills my brain.

【In an instant ♪   In a flash ♪   In the time of a flash ♪

The flash of time, the flash of an instant ♪   In an instant ♪   In a flash ———】

"Acceleration switch!"

I yell. Clink, a switch flips in my body. My magic activates. I can tell that my body has accelerated. I have only a second"s worth of acceleration.

But, just one second wouldn"t cut it!

"Shiro, get away from the windoooooowww!"

I close the interval between Shiro and me in one go. And grab the back of Shiro. Planting my feet into the ground, I pull Shiro to me with all my might.

"Uwah."

Shiro"s body flies back into the cla.s.sroom.

And at the same time, a strange being enters from the window. It is a snake-like creature that looks like a plastic toy with four sections.

Khiih, Khiiih, the snake howls as it comes flying in.

"...... kuh."

I twist my body to dodge it.

However, the snake"s target isn"t me.

It"s aiming for Himi.

"Eh, eh......"

Himi couldn"t even react. At any rate, she"s on all-support. So in the first place, she doesn"t possess any magic that can deal with it.

"d.a.m.n!"

I yell. I re-activate my magic, but won"t be able to make it.

Grabbing the shoulders of Himi, Yousuke yells.

"Dodge it Himi!"

Yousuke has already activated his magic.

"...... Spider Legs switch!"

With that, he steps up to stand in front of Himi. And holds out both his hands. From the center of both his hands, something resembling the eight legs of a spider appears, and threads start dancing out, creating a barrier of threads in front of Yousuke.

The toy snake crashes into that barrier. Khiiih, it screams. And the barrier was easily broken.

"...... huh."

By the time Yousuke uttered that, the snake has already penetrated the center of his left breast.

"Gah-hah."

Yousuke throws up blood and collapses.

All that happened in a moment.

Yousuke might already be dead.

I look at the scene.

With a teary face,

"Noooooooooooooo!"

Screamed Himi, but there isn"t any time for that. I start activating my next magic. At any rate, we have to deal with that snake but ------

At that moment, Shiro jumps.

"Penitence Severance switch!"

He screams angrily. A huge knife appears in his hands that have already been raised upward.

And as the snake is just about to spring up for the second time, he slashes down at it --- slicing the floor apart --- no, the s.p.a.ce apart.

That packed a tremendous amount of destructive power.

The snake was destroyed.

But, Yousuke is on the verge of death.

Shiro yells.

"Yousuke!"

Himi is already by the side of Yousuke. She"s using her magic. A magic used for closing up wounds. A magic used to stop bleeding. However, she doesn"t have a high enough level of magic that can close up such a big wound loaded in her 《Headphone Fuzz》.

Himi is crying.

"T-The bleeding isn"t stopping...... the wound won"t close...... what should we do...... i-it"s all my...... my fault......"

"Gah, ah...... kuh, this is bad, d.a.m.n."

Said Yousuke. But it isn"t just bad. At this rate, he"s going to die.

Those who are weak will die.

This is such a place.

Shiro too goes up to Yousuke.

"Sorry Yousuke! I, I let my guard down!"

He shouts.

But it isn"t the time for him to be shouting. A time limit exists here. There isn"t time to be concerned with the wounded.

I look up, and say coldly.

"...... Yousuke should be escaping right? Let"s leave him and move on."

"F**k you!"

Shiro says, but I reply with half-opened eyes.

"What? More like, you should also say your thanks to me. I saved your life. When we go back, promise me that you"ll pay me another 20 million or so."

"............"

Shiro glares at me.

Yousuke grabs Shiro"s arm and says.

"...... i-it was my mistake. Don"t fight. Besides, it"s like what the transfer student said. Go on ahead, Shiro. If we stop here, the 3 million people in Yokohama city will die."

I smile and say.

"...... see, the one who"s dying has the soundest words, doesn"t he? Let"s go."

Shiro narrows his eyes.

Yousuke appears to have started his Escape magic. His 《Headphone Fuzz》 has been activated. If he gets out of here, he might be saved. Or he might just die. While I have no clue as to what would happen, at the very least, there isn"t anything that can be done here.

The smell of overflowing blood.

Haah, haah, his breathing is sounding ragged.

Yousuke says to Shiro.

"...... h-hey Shiro. You have a goal right. Then win. Get the better of Gunjou, kill the girl and save the world."

Somehow, it seems like Yousuke knows about Shiro"s secret. I look down at Yousuke, then Shiro, and the crying Himi.

What in the world is the relationship between the three of them? Why has these three grouped together in a cla.s.s whereby nearly everyone is a subordinate of Gunjou?

Well, right now, I don"t have the time to think about such things.

"...... would you guys stop your melodrama here? We don"t have much time."

Yousuke then looks at me. With a wound in his chest, and mouth smeared in blood. Maybe he won"t make it.

"...... h-hey, transfer student."

"What?"

"...... s-say, can you come over here for a sec?"

"Huuh? Just hurry up and escape."

"...... p-please. It"s hard for me to raise my voice."

Yousuke"s voice rasps from the blood in his throat.

"How troublesome."

Without a choice, I move to beside Yousuke. And he grabs my arm. And pulls me to him. And tells me.

"...... I, have a favor to ask."

"Hn?"

"S-Shiro, is an amazing guy...... so, please protect him...... in my place."

"...... I"m fine with that, so you will be paying me?"

"Fuh, ha-haha, fine. I"ll pay you. But...... I already know this. That you are...... you"re a pretty nice guy."

"Aah?"

Yousuke is saying some s.h.i.tty, heavy stuff.

"Earlier, you were...... frantically protecting Shiro right......?"

"............"

"That"s why I"m entrusting it. To you...... I"m escaping but...... p-protect, Shi......"

I cover Yousuke"s mouth with my hand to shut him up. And say.

"Are you an idiot? You"ll really die you know? Hurry up and just escape."

Yousuke looks up at me and smiles.

"See, you"re a nice guy, aren"t you?"

"Shut up."

"Anyway, please, Shinnosuke. Well then everyone, I"m sorry. I"m going first. See you later...... Escape switch."

In an instant, Yousuke"s body disa.s.sembles and disappears.

He was teleported out.

With a brooding face, Himi looks down at where Yousuke had disappeared from, and says.

"...... w-will Yousuke-kun...... be saved?"

I didn"t answer.

Shiro says with a pained look.

"Don"t worry. He"ll definitely be saved."

That"s a lie. With that kind of wound. He has clearly prepared himself for Yousuke"s death. And even while on the verge of death, Yousuke was worrying about Shiro.

What was behind that drive of his? What in the earth happened between this three?

Shiro stands up.

And looks out the window.

"...... d.a.m.n. Is this a high level labyrinth?"

I nod.

"Probably."

"What level do you think this is at?"

"Hmm. To show us the kind of lie that instills hope in us, it should be above rank 10, I guess? Maybe around rank 15."

"Then, lots will die."

"Yeah."

"But, we have to stop it. We have the lives of 3 million people in our hands."

"Well, an ally of justice will think that, I suppose? I"m going to escape if things get rough."

Shiro looks at me.

"Then, you can just escape now, you know? Why won"t you escape?"

"Well. I guess I can still continue with this."

"Hmmmh."

"Besides, if we clear this labyrinth, there"ll be an astounding amount of money right? I"m sure of that."

"Money again? You"re always about that."

"Yeah. I"m all about that."

Shiro looks hard at me.

"...... what did Yousuke tell you?"

"Nothing. He asked me to protect you."

"...... ha, what a joke. He"s a fool. Still worried about me when he"s dying."

"Yeah. The trust between you guys is creepy. What happened between you guys? Don"t tell me it"s love?"

Shiro did not answer. Thus, I turn my eyes toward Himi,

"You know right? The three of you share a secret?"

"............"

Himi too didn"t answer. In other words, a "yes".

"What"s this? I"m the only one left out of the group. Doesn"t matter though."

I have never intended to become friends with them, so I don"t feel hurt or anything.

But, Shiro says.

"No, you"re one of us. And besides, you saved my life."

"Then pay me for that."

"Like I said, we"ll be real comrades once we survive this and return. I"ll tell you my secret then."

"Huh? Why are you misunderstanding this and think that I even have any interest in you? Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are?"

"Your father."

"Shut up."

"Then, let"s go. No matter how high the rank of this labyrinth is, we have to clear it. Otherwise, 3 million people will die."

Shiro once again looks out of the window.

Then, we jump out into what used to be a schoolyard, into the plains of darkness.

♦

The scenery outside is a harsh one.

It"s completely different from the reports from the scouting corps.

In the first place, there isn"t any school. What"s standing there is just a building whose corridor we were in earlier.

The rest is made up of a vast amount of empty plains of darkness.

Red moon.

Blue clouds.

There"re seven broken toy snakes, the same kind as the one that attacked us.

And......

Three dead bodies of what used to be my cla.s.smates just a while ago.

Two girls.

One guy.

"............"

They were probably Gunjou"s comrades. I can recognize their faces.

Even after how she cried about not letting anyone die while she was barfing from her nervousness, her comrades got done in just like that. Of course, this is a situation that can"t be helped. Even though it"s something that can"t be helped, I wonder what kind of face did she have then? Was she on the verge of tears, or did she put up an unaffected front, desperately still doing her best, I wonder.

However, it"s pointless to try imagining that, so I look at my surroundings.

Behind me, some distance away, a gigantic castle towers. A huge, castle in Gothic style. I don"t know how many floors that castle is made up of. At any rate, it"s huge. Trying to find the diseased girl in there would be like searching for a needle in the haystack. No, in the first place, it isn"t even certain that she"s inside that castle. The distinction between truth and lie isn"t clear.

I say.

"Himi."

"Hyauh!? Eh? E-E-Er-Erhm, y-y-yeess......"

She utters in strange surprise. For some reason, her face is red.

I c.o.c.k my head to the side, and ask.

"Eh, why"re you so surprised?"

"...... erm...... w-well, this is the first time...... that you called my name."

"Huh?"

"Erh no, you told me that I"m depressing and not to talk to you, so, I"m really happy."

"Haah, I see...... more like, isn"t it strange to have that kind of reaction under such circ.u.mstances?"

"I-I-I"m sorry."

"Never mind. Do you have Mapper-cla.s.s magic loaded?"

On hearing my question, Himi ponders with a thoughtful look on her face before replying.

"...... are you asking me whether I have any magic that can be used to locate the location of the diseased girl?"

"To make it short, yes."

Himi answers.

"Please forgive me. I don"t have any magic that can be used to explore the entire labyrinth given its vastness."

"Tch. You"re really useless."

"...... I"m sorry."

Shiro then says.

"Don"t blame Himi. In the first place, we never expected such a turn of events. Besides, a thing like the diseased girl deceiving the scouting corps has hardly ever happened before ---"

It is just like what he said.

Therefore, a team which is only made up of three members, Shiro, Himi, and Yousuke, cannot afford to load up such a pointless magic. The three of them can only have up to eighteen slots of magic in total. They cannot afford to load up a magic that is used for exploration of the labyrinth when it should have already been done.

If there is someone who can afford to have such a magic, then it would be the Miss n.o.blewoman who have plenty of free slots available.

"Then, among those in Gunjou"s group ---"

But, at that moment, Himi says from the side.

"I"m already on it."

"Hn?"

"Sumi-chan --- ah, I have a friend by the name of Sumioka Sumi-chan, and she should have been tasked by Gunjou-san to fully load up with map exploration magic ---"

"Horhh."

"And I"ve loaded a magic that allows me to detect the position of my friends into my 《Headphone Fuzz》. And have already activated it."

Himi uses her finger to trace a trail of light as she manipulates her 《Headphone Fuzz》.

I look at her.

Seems like she"s a pretty smart girl. Even though she wavers meaninglessly at pointless things, right now, in this hard-pressed situation, rather than feeling fl.u.s.tered and fretting, she is dealing with it precisely and rationally.

Himi points her finger up at the sky of darkness and says.

"...... Intimate switch."

I sputter involuntarily. The name of the magic that allows one to know the locations of friends is 《Intimate switch》. Of course, the one who named the magic wasn"t Himi. The one who developed the magic should normally give it a name that is most efficient in getting a reaction from the brain to activate it but --- this particular developer must have a pretty bad personality, I suppose. We might click well together.

Himi activates her magic.

A three-dimensional grid model appears in the air, and beside it floated two arrows that form a cross. One of the arrows is pointing north while the other is pointing to the sky.

Furthermore, in the center of the three-dimensional grid model, the words 『Himi』 can be seen.

Beside that is 『Shiro』.

In front of them, probably in the direction of the castle, is a group that is made up of around ten people. In that group, the words, 『Sumi』, is moving.

"Found it! They are really in that castle!"

Himi says happily.

But I"m bothered by something else. Beside the words 『Himi』 and 『Shiro』, 『Shinnosuke』 is written.

I ask in displeasure.

"This magic should only display friends right?"

"Ah, yes."

"Then why is my name there? I don"t remember becoming your friend."

Once again, Himi"s face flushes red in embarra.s.sment.

"E-E-Erm...... it"s because that just now, you called me...... by my first name."

Seems like that"s the condition behind this magic. Anyone who calls the user by her first name gets marked as a friend.

I see, that could be seen as intimate.

"Don"t make that face as if I"m really your friend."

I say but, with her face still red, Himi continues.

"I-I"m sorry. But erhm...... normally, my magic gets activated whenever I want to add a friend...... but it doesn"t recognize the other person as a friend unless that person accepts me from the heart --- so, just now, when it recognized you, I was really shocked."

"Aah?"

My face couldn"t have been more sullen than what it is now. Indeed, just now, for an instant, I might have more or less felt some sort of meaningless sympathy for her. When Yousuke was wounded, both Himi and Shiro wavered. But, to have sympathy getting taken advantage of and marking me as a friend without my permission is unbearable.

With a grinning face, Shiro puts his hand on my back,

"Somehow, I don"t hate you that much anymore......"

"Don"t touch me, idiot."

I brush away his hand.

But Shiro continues to smile.

Himi, with her face still red,

"Y-Y-You know! I"m really happy to become friends with you, Shinnosuke-san!"

"Huuuuuuuuuh? Don"t screw with me."

I groan and clutch my head.

"Whatever. It"s tiring to be around with you guys. Let"s move on. We don"t have time for pointless stuff like this right?"

"Yeah. That"s right."

Shiro nods and starts running.

I too, start running and follow after him.

We are heading towards the castle.

The place where the diseased girl is.

♦

The gates to the castle are open.

There is no one inside.

The gray floor and walls are made of cold stone.

There is a vast amount of s.p.a.ce and the pillars are tall.

There should be stairs that lead down and stairs that lead up, and according to Himi, Gunjou"s team should be on the upper levels, so we need to find the stairs that lead to the upper levels. However, there are no stairs in sight.

"Where are the stairs? Shall we split up and search for them?"

Said Shiro. Naturally, that option is not recommended. With just a team of three people, we can"t have one person too many if we get a.s.saulted by the enemy.

However, even so, we don"t have the time to search for the stairs at a leisure pace.

"Fine."

I say.

"In the first place, I don"t need any friends anyway. Shiro and Himi will head to the right. I will head to the left."

Shiro looks at me.

"...... will you be fine by yourself?"

"Of course. I"ve a.s.sumed that people won"t brazenly become friends with me and have a balanced slot configuration of magic just for that."

"Ah......"

Himi utters as she looks at me, but I ignore her.

Shiro then continues.

"I see. Then, we"ll search for three minutes, and we"ll meet back up here if we don"t find anything. Get it?"

But I smile.

"What kind of plan is that? Are we girls who need to go pee in a group? There"s no need to meet back up here. The group that finds it will continue upwards. There"s no time. The group that"s on the wrong path will follow after the group that got it right. Am I wrong in that?"

Shiro immediately nods.

"...... you"re not wrong. We"ll go with that. Hey Shinnosuke."

"Uhn?"

Shiro looks straight at me --- with his red eyes and says.

"...... don"t you die okay? I hate to have my friends die on me."

Are you referring to Yousuke? I wonder whether Yousuke"s already dead? With that kind of a wound. It"s possible. Or, are those words that came from experiencing someone else"s death?

Anyway, Shiro seems to hate having his friends die on him.

I look at Shiro with half-opened eyes, and smirk.

"Ohhh. For someone like me who doesn"t have any friends, I don"t know much about such feelings."

"You"re lying, aren"t you? Your words may be irritating, but you"re really a good guy. Even though you"re acting like a solitary guy, you really want friends. Am I wrong?"

"Huh? You can go to h.e.l.l."

But Shiro grins and says.

"I don"t want to. I won"t go to h.e.l.l. That goes the same for you. It"s a promise."

Upon saying that, Shiro lightly hits my chest twice with his fist, and smiles.

"Anyway, let"s stay alive and clear this labyrinth!"

With that, Shiro starts running towards the right. Himi too, looks at me with a worried face,

"Please be careful, Shinnosuke-san."

She says.

I"m a stranger, and yet you make such a worried face. It"s like you are forcing those feelings of friendship down my throat.

I look at her with half-opened eyes, and then, while running off to the left, murmur.

"...... even if you tell me to be careful."

In this c.r.a.ppy, rotten world, what should I be careful of, and how careful should I be?

While running, I twirl the tip of my right finger.

Twirling, twirling, tracing a trail of light in the air.

I"m keeping the tip of my finger fluid so that I will always be ready to activate my 《Headphone Fuzz》.

"Hn, Hnhn~ hn, hn ~"

While matching my utterances to the rhythm, I adjust the reaction speed of my brain.

In order to fight alone.

In order to live without any friends.

In order to be able to laugh mockingly at the weakness and coziness of the thing called friends.

"............"

Following that, I survey the inside of the castle with half-opened eyes.

This castle is indeed huge. On top of that, I have no idea where the diseased girl is at in this castle.

"Perhaps, it"s impossible to save the 3 million people of Kanagawa Prefecture."

Of course, since I"m not an 《ally of justice》 in a manga or a special effects film, seeing 3 million people whom I"ve never seen nor known dying is nothing than looking at a fire burning on another island.

Thus, I"ve planned to escape immediately if my life is in danger. Even if my allies were to die before me, I would escape with a smile.

More like, such a strength is needed and called for in such a place.

Since if you die, everything will be over.

And if I die, it will be over for my little sister.

Because I don"t think that anyone in this world would save my little sister.

"...... but yet, comrades? Friends? Don"t make me laugh."

I grin foolishly.

As I"m grinning, I see the stairs from the corner of my eye.

A short distance away, I can see a staircase winding around a huge pillar.

"...... found it."

I mutter, and just as I"m about to raise my voice to shout out to Shiro"s group about the stairs,

"............"

I stop.

Reason being, I can see a person flying out from behind the pillar with the stairs. What"s flying out is merely the upper half body of a person. His upper body is wearing the same 《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》 uniform as me. He has an armband that said 『Cla.s.s 3』. He"s not my cla.s.smate.

Furthermore, from the shadows of the pillar, the one that had sent the upper body of that guy of the same school year as me flying appears.

It"s a huge monster that stands about three meters tall. It has horns protruding from its head, and wings like those of a bat. With a muscular bulk and black skin.

In other words, it is the standard model for what is known as the devil in this world today.

That devil is holding an ax. The ax has blood on it. Clearly, from more than a single person. Since my armband is only showing the number of students left from 『Cla.s.s 5』, I have no idea how many students of 『Cla.s.s 3』 had been killed by it.

But, for now.

"............"

I just look at that "devil", and give up on telling Shiro about my location.

More like, the "devil" has not noticed my presence. If so, I should just ignore it and head upwards. There might be other students from 『Cla.s.s 3』 behind that pillar but, I"m not obliged to help them, nor do I have the time.

Well, if they don"t want to die, they can just escape immediately. If they were to develop superhero symptoms and finally die from exhibiting their meaningless sense of heroism, then they shouldn"t complain about it ---

However, at that moment, a voice rings out.

"Ah, d.a.m.n, it"s fast...... hey monster, that"s enough...... aah jeez!"

It"s a voice that I know.

It"s the voice of a certain girl whom I met at the interview, as well as in the corridor today.

Kiryuu Kiri.

Kiri appears from behind the pillar. With long madder red hair. Large pupils. A slender body, and b.r.e.a.s.t.s that seem ready to burst open her sailor uniform.

In her hand, she is gripping a sword that looks like a j.a.panese sword, born out of magic. With that sword, she is receiving and stopping the gigantic ax of the devil.

"Kuhh, this is heavy jeez!"

While grimacing, a tight smile surfaces on Kiri"s face.

Gahn, gahn, gahn, with her sword, Kiri blocks the blows from the ax, which clearly, is being swung with a force that no human can receive.

"Guh...... ah, jeez."

The performance of the magic she"s using looks to be pretty high. A second-rate magician would definitely have died by now. But, even so, it seems like she won"t be able to hold out for long.

The devil raises its ax high up. Kiri readies her sword with both hands. And receives the blow. Endlessly.

"Uwah, this is not good......"

Kiri says but still a smile surfaces on her.

"Kidding. This opening is a feint ~. Aihara-san, Satou-san, please use your reinforcement magic now ---"

But, her words stop there.

The reason is because, for some reason, on the other side of the pillar, the rest of the 『Cla.s.s 3』 students have all started activating their magic simultaneously.

And the magic they are using is ---

"Escape switch."

"Escape switch."

"Escape switch."

Kiri"s cla.s.smates are escaping one after another.

"Wha, wait wait wait, this can"t be happening right! We, we"re definitely friends right! Hey, didn"t we promise one another!"

Then, a girl answers.

"S-Sorry Kiri-chan. B-But, such a scary place, it"s no longer possible for us."

"Huh?"

"If we don"t get out of here, we might not be able to get out of here anymore...... so, sorry!"

With that, all the students disappeared. On the armband of Kiri"s slender left arm, the ☆ marks disappeared at once, and in an instant, only one remained. Meaning that Kiri is the only one in her cla.s.s remaining in this labyrinth.

Kiri readies her sword with both hands.

"Wait...... you must be kidding me. Uwaah, c.r.a.p......"

The monster swings its ax down. Kiri swings her sword up right away. Gahn, a loud sound rings out,

"Hnah, fuhwah...... I can"t absorb much of the power anymore......"

Gahkun, Kiri"s knees buckle under the weight.

"c.r.a.p, the power absorption magic seems to be reaching its limit...... my n-next magic...... my next magic, I won"t be able to make it...... ah."

But I grin at that.

I grin foolishly.

I grin in delight.

They would never think of saving others.

All of them live only for their own gains.

All of them live only for themselves.

In that case, if one can"t bear the weight of words like "comrades" or "friends", one should not go too far in fooling around others.

And right now, Kiri has been abandoned by such friends and is on the verge of getting killed.

"Ha, haha, hahahaha, this is how it should be. This is what humans are like."

Laughing, I activate my magic. The song of magic flows from my 《Headphone Fuzz》 and fills my brain.

【In an instant ♪   In a flash ♪   In the time of a flash ♪

The flash of time, the flash of an instant ♪   In an instant ♪   In a flash ———】

"...... Acceleration switch."

I accelerate my body. The magic activated and accelerated my flesh. I can accelerate for just one second. Within that second, I proceed to use another magic.

Dancing my right finger. Selecting a song. The song flows into my head. The cursed chant flows.

【Sliced, shredded light ♪

Shredded, ripped-up light ♪

Abnormal, ruthless, extraordinary light ———】

"Demon Sword switch ---"

I take a knife out from my pocket. From the center of the knife, a sword with the color of darkness starts extending. This magic will confer its magic to any object touched, and transform it into a demon sword.

The power that would be conferred is dependent on the nature of the object that is touched. One would not know what kind of power it is unless one tries it. That is why this is a magic that is extremely difficult to use but, because it is possible to invoke all its different powers by changing the target object each time, if one has the time to test this general purpose magic, it could possibly make up for the limitation of having only six slots of magic.

However, there is no time now.

Thus, I chose this knife, which I had already tested the conferred magic beforehand.

Two special properties are conferred to this knife.

One is giving it the blade of a normal sword.

And the other is to allow the user to find the point where one can deal a fatal blow to the opponent with the strength of this sword,

"...... a.s.sa.s.sination property."

I order the knife to see through the weak point of the devil. Upon doing that, a red target point appears before my eyes. The point is at the center of the back of the neck of the devil. It seems like there is a soft spot at the back of its neck. I jump towards there.

The devil notices me. Its golden eyes catch sight of me jumping in mid-air, and its eyes widen in surprise but,

"Ha, you"re too slow."

I am holding the demon sword in a backhand grip. I step onto the left shoulder of the devil with my right foot, and stab my sword into the back of its neck in one stroke.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?"

The devil screams out in agony but, while twisting the sword, I say,

"You"re annoying. Shut up for a bit."

I push the sword across and slice half of the devil"s neck, then pull the sword to slice the other half of its neck.

Its head falls off. The devil collapses.

Just before the place where it"s collapsing, Kiri, while remaining crouched, looks at me in surprise.

"...... y-you."

For some reason, she"s looking up at me with a red face, and smirking, I say to her.

"Oh ~ my, isn"t this the popular Kiri-san? Don"t you have a ton of friends you made with your prided large b.r.e.a.s.t.s ~?"

Kiri"s eyes widen in mute amazement. Following that, she makes a troubled smile. Even though she has been entirely covered in blood and stained with dirt, she is still beautiful. She had supposedly proclaimed that she would make many allies with her beauty --- but, right now, she has no friends.

Kiri stands up, pats herself and brushes the dirt off her skirt, then gazes at me and says.

"Jeez. What"s with that? And to think that I have fallen in love in an instant with that prince-on-a-white-horse entrance...... I wonder whether we can do something about that trashy way of talking of yours."

"Ha, if you believe in such fairy tales, you should just go back to reading picture books."

"Ah-haha. But, Mr. Aloof b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"What is it, Miss Breast-Only Girl."

But Kiri smiles.

She says happily.

"Thanks...... for saving me. I thought I would be done in for sure...... so I"m really happy."

A few teardrops gather in her eyes. She might have really been scared. Or, perhaps she is feeling hurt after getting betrayed by her friends.

I look intently at her with half-opened eyes and turn my back towards her. It"s not like I"m asking for such a development. I didn"t save her to please her, but to make fun of her.

I say.

"Of course it"s not free. After we get out of the labyrinth, I"ll have you pay me a saving fee."

"Ah-haha. A prince who"s corrupted by money huh. How unpleasant."

"And also, hand me all your intel. Among your cla.s.smates ---"

But, that alone was enough to convey everything to Kiri, it seems

She is a left-brain type.

A rational, composed type.

A sharp-minded type.

"There was one. One who had labyrinth exploration magic loaded."

I smirk and say.

"That person too, must be your friend of course?"

On saying that, Kiri"s eyes roll around, puff out her cheeks, and puuh, she then gushes out and says.

"Again that obnoxious talk. You won"t make any friends if you keep doing that, you know?"

"A lot say that."

"But yeah. She did say she was my friend. But she was one of those who readily abandoned me and escaped just now."

"It must be because you have a bad personality so she ran away from you."

Kiri smiles.

"Fufuh, maybe. Well, even for me, it"s impossible to make a friend who"s willing to risk her life for me in just one day."

"Because of your bad personality."

"Ah-ha, I"m going to kill you, you know?"

"Eh? You want to kill your savior me? You really have a bad personality huh."

I say but, for some reason, Kiri still gazes at me and smiles happily.

"Fufuh, hey Shinnosuke-kun."

"What?"

"I think I just found a cute side to you."

"Ah?"

I say with a scowl but, Kiri quickly goes on to ascend the stairs.

"But right now, it"s not the time to think about such things, so let"s save it for later ~. Let"s go on ahead. Our destination is the third floor. The leftmost path of a three-p.r.o.nged branch. It seems like our diseased girl is at the deep end of that path."

It seems like Kiri has no intention of escaping. Following after her, I say.

"...... didn"t you see what"s on your armband? The only person left in your cla.s.s is you, you know?"

Kiri gives a small tap to the armband around her slender arm and nods.

"Ah, yeah. You"re right."

"Then, you should be escaping right? Didn"t you get the instructions? Once four stars disappear, the chances of success will be low, so escape."

Kiri turns around, and smiles.

"Of course, I heard those instructions."

"Then, disappear. Someone who doesn"t have any friends here is a hindrance."

"Ah-ha, you too don"t have any right?"

"I have a lot of them. Since, I have already made a hundred friends in this school."

"Fuh, fufufuh."

Once again, for some reason, Kiri looks at me with an affectionate, gloomy, smiling face. She gives a small tap on my chest and says.

"I don"t really need a hundred friends. I"m actually really bad at getting close to others. But Shinnosuke-kun. If I"m with you...... I feel that we can save the world."

I smile with half-opened eyes. I think I see her ulterior motive and make a poke at it.

"What"s up with you? So, that"s what it"s about? Making an advance on me to use me?"

However, on hearing that, Kiri"s eyes widen a little in surprise.

"...... eh?"

Following that, she folds her arms in a troubled manner, ponders to herself, and in a soft voice,

"...... ah, ah, so that"s it ~. You"re seeing it in that way huh. I see. Well, after all, I"m no good at showing a cute side when I"m not acting. I have to be more careful."

She started muttering to herself but I couldn"t hear her.

"What"re you muttering about?"

She shakes her head hastily on hearing my question.

"Er, nothing. Just forget about what just happened. Let"s redo this. Let"s go with this. Let"s work hard together and clear the labyrinth without escaping, so as to leave behind good results in our school records; we"ll go with this direction."

"Huh?"

"All right, let"s just go with this. And so ~, let"s head to the third floor. I know the way."

On hearing that, I turn around, troubled as to whether I should call Shiro. This should be obvious but, cellphones don"t work here. There is also no transmitting tower in the labyrinth, and any kind of scientific-based radio waves are cut off. Thus, unless one has a contacting magic loaded in one"s slots, one would have to use the primitive method of calling out to another directly. And, if Shiro is still on the first floor, then he should be able to hear my shouting voice from the staircase here.

But of course, if I raise my voice, then the wandering devils might notice me, I suppose. Based on the one I encountered earlier, together, Kiri and I should be able to take care of just one or two of them but, we have no time to engage in pointless battles. Besides, Himi possesses the 《Intimate switch》. If she knows that I"m already on the upper levels, they should come after me, I suppose. At any rate, we are friends.

"...... hah."

I laugh mockingly, and move my finger. The time limit gets displayed in my mind.

Thirty-two minutes have pa.s.sed.

According to the plan, we are supposed to be killing the diseased girl by now. But, there are still two more floors. We have way exceeded the appointed time.

"Hey Shinnosuke-kun, what"s wrong?"

Turning around, Kiri asks me.

"Nothing."

"Ah, don"t tell me that you have friends below?"

"I don"t have any friends."

"Fuuhn. Hey."

"Hn?"

"Is it a girl?"

"Like I said before, what"s up with you?"

"Aah, nothing, sorry. I made a mistake again. This is difficult. Puhh-puuh."

For some reason, seemingly discontented about something with herself, she went puhh-puuh. I don"t get this girl.

"............"

I look at her with half-opened eyes, and sighing, ascend to the second level.

♦

We are running desperately in the castle.

We have probably covered a distance of more than a kilometer.

Killed three devils. It was easy doing it together with Kiri. But, the stairs to the third floor has yet to appear. According to Kiri, we still have about five hundred meters or so.

"............"

I take a quick glance at the armband I"m wearing. The armband that has 『Cla.s.s 5』 written on it. I notice that the ☆ marks below suddenly start disappearing rapidly.

They either died or escaped. One, two --- disappeared, and then three people at one go. With this, the students in 『Cla.s.s 5』, including me, are left with only nine people.

Now, does this disappeared group include Shiro or Himi --- or even Gunjou? If Gunjou"s comrades had died, would she be crying helplessly?

Grinning stupidly...... was something I did not do this time. With a somewhat tired face, I look up at the high ceiling.

"I really suck at running."

"Haha, what did you get for your 50-meter dash?"

"I don"t have, the practice of keeping track of such useless stuff."

"Ohh. Me too."

"...... where were you from?"

"What about you, Shinnosuke-kun?"

"A normal middle school."

"Then, me too."

"Die."

"Ah-haha."

It seems like somehow, she isn"t going to come clean, so talking to her would be meaningless. Well, it"s the same for me though.

While running, Kiri points straight in front.

"After the bend around the corner ahead, we will come out into a large hall, and in the center of that hall will be a spiral staircase. At the top of it, should be the floor where the diseased girl is."

"Fuuhn. I see."

I look to the front.

And at the same time, just ahead along the corridor, a flash of light appears from around the corner.

The sound of explosion follows.

"Noooooooooooo!"

Someone, a girl screams.

"Ayumi! d.a.m.n, what should we do about this!?"

It"s the yelling voice of a young man.

And finally, Gunjou"s voice sounds.

"Everyone fall back! I"ll deal with it! And also, don"t waver! It"ll be fine! If you guys just leave it to me, I"ll get rid of them in no......"

However, cutting her off, the young man"s voice rings out.

"Don"t f**k with us Gunjou! How many people have already died! In order to fulfill your ego of wanting to clear this labyrinth, how many people have already died!?"

"T-That is......"

"We are at our limits! I"m going to Escape!"

"Me too!"

"Me as well!"

"W-Wait! Just a little bit more!? Just a little bit more, and we"ll save the 3 million people of Kanagawa Pre......"

Gaaaaaaaaaaaahh, that howl of the "devil" which we have already heard several times drowns out Gunjou"s voice.

Several other howls follow. There seem to be a few of those devils on the other side.

"Uwaaaaahh."

"Sa-Saitou-kun"s dead!? It"s over, let"s bail!"

"Escape switch."

"Escape switch."

Then, Gunjou says in an anguished voice.

"d.a.m.n! d.a.m.n! What the h.e.l.l...... don"t screw with me, useless s.h.i.t! Even though we are just a few steps away...... just a few steps away from killing the girl!?"

The stars on my armband disappear again.

Two people escaped.

One by the name of Saitou-kun escaped from his physical body for good.

Kiri, who is running beside me, says.

"My, what do you think? Do we pa.s.s them and leave them? Honestly, we don"t really have time to save anyone."

I narrow my eyes, and reply.

"...... incidentally, those who are fighting there are my cla.s.smates, you know?"

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yeah."

"...... so? Are you the type who would save your cla.s.smates?"

I stare at Kiri with half-opened eyes, and once again look to the front. A thin smile then surfaces on my face.

"Now. I wonder what kind of face that always high and mighty, arrogant, vomit lady is making now?"

"Eh?"

I reach the end of the corridor. I kick the wall with my left foot, and change my direction.

To the right.

Before me is a huge hall.

The number of devils --- the black-skinned devils number three. There is one red-skinned devil that I have not yet seen before.

The surviving students are a guy and a girl.

"Ah, aaah, it"s over......"

"W-We"re also going to die......"

The two of them have completely lost their will to fight. The girl is sitting down on the floor. Of course, I couldn"t blame them. After all, this is a high-level labyrinth. There are those weak-hearted ones who, after seeing their comrades, their cla.s.smates, killed before their eyes, can no longer move from the fear.

But, there is one more who didn"t give up on fighting.

Protecting the guy and the girl, a girl who is short like a child, with a slender body, fair skin and blond hair, is the sole person standing between the two cla.s.smates and the four huge devils, and yelling.

"...... don"t screw with me! Who do you think I am! I"m that Mizuiro Gunjou, you know! I will definitely not lose! There"s no way...... there"s no way I"ll allow myself to lose here! Come forth, Sea Moon Wheel switch!"

She shouts. And raises her left hand. Jellyfish appear around her and start spinning. The devils swing their axes down on them. And slice the jellyfish apart. As an ax bears down on Gunjou,

"Kuh!"

One more jellyfish appears at her foot and using that as a foothold, she jumps into the air and dodges the blow.

And she then shouts.

To the guy and girl who are no longer able to move, and who are sitting down on the floor,

"You guys are no longer useful so just escape! I"ll buy you time......"

At that moment, the red devil jumps. The red one is overwhelmingly much faster than the black ones. And just as its ax falls towards her ---

"D-Defensive Tyrant switch!"

Gunjou shouts with her hands crossed over one another. Before her hands, a current of water comes forth as if to surround Gunjou. It"s probably a defensive magic. That water current strikes the ax of the red devil. Depending on the type of defensive magic, it"s possible to cancel out the force of an instant killing blow but --- this is a type of wide-area defensive magic. With this, it wouldn"t be able to completely neutralize the force fr