In the end, Maki reluctantly agreed to stay behind.
After seeing the bullet-riddled devastation on the second-floor hallway and understanding the implications of the earlier attack—and the possibility of a second wave—she'd wrestled with her decision before finally resolving to remain with Chika. Together, they would contact Gotou Hitori to prepare defenses against further assaults.
Both Maki and Chika had families and friends to protect. If they followed Takakai and Kaguya into the dungeon, there would be no one left to guard against threats in the real world.
Only someone like Kaguya—whose family bonds were practically nonexistent—could afford such recklessness. With Hayasaka as her sole "family" now trapped in the dungeon, Kaguya wouldn't bat an eye even if retribution fell upon the Shinomiya household. She might even applaud it.
"Are you really going to be okay?"
Maki paused at the mansion's entrance, her voice barely above a whisper as she turned back to Takakai.
"Completely okay? Well... I can't promise that," he admitted with a faint smile. "But at least I'm better prepared than when Fujisaki Academy swallowed me whole."
A sigh escaped Maki's lips. "Just... be careful. I know your ability means you alone bear the weight of retries and suffering. There's no way for me to share that burden. But even so, Kai-kun... I don't want to see you hurt. I don't want you to endure pain endlessly."
Her arms wrapped around him as she continued softly, "Even if some things are unavoidable, don't let them become routine. Don't add more weight to your shoulders than necessary. Cherish yourself. Don't grow accustomed to the pain, don't start thinking 'As long as I can reset...' as if your suffering is just currency for chances. Don't let that become normal."
Her embrace tightened slightly. "Maybe I'm overthinking this... but I fear relying too much on that power might... distort who you are. I don't want to see that happen."
For all her usual tsundere bluster, faced with Takakai's impending departure into danger, Maki laid bare the tenderness she so rarely showed.
Takakai returned the embrace, his lips brushing her ear as he murmured, "I know. Don't worry—I'll be fine. Fighting tooth and nail to survive? That's my creed."
I will never lose myself.
Not when this world holds someone like you—someone who genuinely cares for me.
As long as you're here, as long as Chika and all the others who've accepted me remain... I won't lose sight of who I am. I'll cherish myself, and everything I've gained.
Because that's the truest reason I've fought this far.
These thoughts remained unspoken—some truths about his reincarnation weren't meant to be shared. Yet he couldn't deny how profoundly this world's joys and sorrows had marked him. The bonds he'd formed here—with Maki, with Chika, with others—had rooted him in reality, making him feel truly of this world. Without them...
Would I have become some isolated, cold wanderer? Maybe even stronger than I am now?
But given the choice, Takakai would pick his current connections every time—even if they made him vulnerable.
Splash—
The car carrying Maki and Chika vanished into the rain-soaked distance. Through the rear window, Takakai could still see Maki's unwavering gaze and Chika's cheerful wave until the vehicle turned a corner.
He raised his hand in farewell before turning back to the mansion—and to Kaguya, who stood waiting.
"Nervous? Scared?" he asked.
She shook her head at first, then after a pause admitted quietly, "...A little. Are we going now?"
After hearing Takakai's accounts of Fujisaki Academy, Kaguya understood exactly how perilous Crimson moon dungeons were. The knowledge coiled like ice in her stomach—yet thoughts of Hayasaka trapped in such a place steeled her resolve.
I will save her.
One final time, Takakai checked his phone. They remained within Kumami's optimal entry window—the earlier attack and Maki's intervention had cost little time.
Remembering Shirakawa Apartments' phone-related horrors, both left their devices behind. After verifying their gear one last time, Takakai produced the eerie doodle, gesturing for Kaguya to join him in pressing their fingers against its distorted figure.
[I will enter Shirasawa Elementary.]
A creeping chill filled the air as the scribbled lines began to writhe, the artwork morphing grotesquely. The world around them blurred, pixels dissolving into static as darkness seeped outward.
From the tangled black strokes, crimson pigment oozed forth—forming a grinning face far more unsettling than the original doodle.
It watched him.
He felt its smile.
Then the lines contorted again, reshaping into something with blood-dripping fangs—a toothy maw that chuckled though it had no eyes, that saw him despite having no gaze to meet.
A dull hum resonated through the room—
—and they were gone.
Splash—
Rain still pounded against the windows.
Takakai awoke to the scent of mildew, the creak of aged springs beneath him as he pushed upright on a narrow single bed.
The room was small—faded bedsheets, a weathered nightstand, a bookshelf against the far wall. An antique wardrobe and wooden door stood opposite, while a bulky CRT monitor and tower computer dominated the desk beside him.
A computer?
Takakai stiffened.
Shirasawa Elementary's history dated to the 1940s. This machine belonged to the 1990s at earliest.
Before he could investigate further—
Tap. Tap.
Knuckles rapped against glass.
[Big brother... big brother...]
A young girl's voice, urgent and sweet, called from the window.
Every instinct screamed don't look—yet an irresistible compulsion wrenched his head around.
Lightning flashed.
In the stark white glare, a figure stood outside, fingers tapping the rain-streaked pane.
[I'm home, big brother. Let me in.]
Her smile stretched too wide.