1

"The Class B has appeared already? Not too far from here, too."

Sayaka Uehara, taking a momentary break from her run, turned her head. On her right hand was a katana with a blade of blue light on its tip.

The long-haired girl resumed her walk. She silently prayed that she made it in time. Closing her eyes, she could sense it. She sensed two other people inside this dimension, and he's on the move.

She took a better look at the surroundings before picking up her pace before fully breaking off into a run.

Just as we thought, a Fragment has indeed materialized in Aria Alley tonight.

She continued her run, moving swiftly through the mazelike roads of the ancient city. She pressed on relentlessly before two shadowy humanoid figures materialized in front of her.

Seeing those two, Sayaka Uehara did not stop, nor did her deadpan expression change. Instead, she ran onward, tightening her grip on her sword. In no time at all, she closed the gap on the two and briefly paused some inches away from them.

Two diagonal slashes.

One from beneath and another from above. She delivered the two slashes in seemingly one quick, fluid motion.

Finishing in a bent pose with a regal air, she gave one more glance at those shadowy figures that have dissipated into the air. Seeing that her job was finished, she continued her run.

"I should get the Class B ASAP. Perhaps I could even find the perpetrator and put an end to this for good," she said to herself as her eyes continually glanced at each dilapidated structure that she passed through.

She was not on the lookout for those shadowy humanoids. For someone like her, those are nothing more than small fry. Instead...

"Not here either."

Her tight grip on her katana as well as her stern expression remained unchanged as her feet continued pushing her through this hellhole of a world. She was approaching those two. To her surprised, the two presences were not too far away from each other, but one of them remained stationary while the other continued running.

She turned another corner after going past a row of ruined structures, and after another effortless disposal of another similar shadowy figure hiding in wait, she stopped.

She approached a clearing near one of the people she had sensed, and something caught her attention.

As something loud registered into her ears, she moved to take cover behind a ruined pillar. She peered from behind her cover "It's here, huh?"

The first thing her eyes saw in the clearing ahead of her was a gigantic shadow monster. Bearing the shape of a huge insect that is roughly twice as tall as a typical human being, it had its back turned and was seemingly fixated on something.

"That's the Class B alright."

She softly spoke to herself before moving in. Then, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped involuntarily. The insect monster was not alone. In fact, in front of it was...

Uehara was caught by surprise at what she saw. The girl, changing away from her unfazed expression for the first time, gasped when she saw what seemed to be a body hanging from one of the insect monster's scythe-like arms. "I'm too late..."

As if hearing her, the monster tossed the lifeless body aside on cue, and the resulting sound confirmed that it was thrown into something.

The girl shook her head, but in a moment, her eyes turned to the main target: the gigantic insect enemy that was tagged a Class B.

Breaking off into another run towards the clearing, her eyes remained fixated on the enemy. Covering a distance of roughly 500 meters was not too hard. In the span of several seconds, she found herself within strike range.

"Haaaah!"

Using the momentum from her run, she jumped and brought her sword down, aiming to bisect the monster diagonally from behind.

But it was not meant to be.

Seemingly sensing her approach in the exact last second, the Class B turned around and blocked her attack with its scythe arm. The impact of the block sent the girl back, but she managed to press her feet against the ground to mitigate the momentum from the clash.

She expected this. A Class B would not be one if it were to get taken out that quickly. It was a gamble that she took in order to get the battle over with without wasting time.

She found her attention divided between the monster in front of her and the person that got tossed. If she can finish quickly, perhaps there would still be hope for the person, however small it may be.

Undeterred by the turn of events and the resulting screech from the monster, Uehara got back up. Sword in hand, she prepared to move in once more. Despite now having the full attention of the Class B, getting in close was not much of a problem.

On the contrary, it was the Class B that began closing in. Letting loose another screech, it advanced upon the girl with both scythes raised.

Gripping her sword, the girl calmly chanted, "Crimson Lust!" to which her sword glowed red in response. The katana's bluish hue gave way to a crimson light that radiated with an ominous presence. She felt her body temperature increase as well as her arms tingling with a sensation of burning.

Next, she sensed the same old red runic marks appearing in her arms, and like veins or roots, they soon spread all over her body, appearing on her neck and cheeks.

Her vision strained, and her line of sight became dyed with a red tint. However, the enemy in front of her appeared in a messy concoction of blue and green colors.

This was a natural effect of activating Crimson Lust just like the burning sensation all over her body.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Sayaka Uehara, and she felt magical strength welling up in her body and her blade.

The whole process took no more than a few seconds, and those few seconds were enough for the two combatants to close the gap once more.

The first scythe arm was brought down, but the girl preemptively dodged it. A second attack followed, but instead of dodging it sideways, the black-haired girl ran forward, rushing past it.

Her eyes narrowed upon hearing the thud of the missed attack mere inches behind her.

"Gotcha!"

Finding herself under the two arms that just missed their target, Sayaka jumped and swung her sword in a crescent arc.

With the sound resembling actual flesh being cut, she confirmed that the attack found its mark onto one of the scythe arms.

Cut off from the main body, the arm fell down with a thud before dissipating into thin air and along with it, the Class B let loose a screech of pain.

Recovering from her own attack, Uehara leapt forward. With a horizontal motion, she went after one of the mantis-like monster's legs. The first of the stocky front legs went down as quickly with another sound of flesh being cut.

She knew that she was getting there, and she pushed herself to resume her relentless assault.

Ignoring the noise and the chaos going on around her, the girl resumed her assault, going after the leg right behind the one she cut and culling it off with ease with another horizontal swing.

With its center of gravity severely displaced, the Class B wobbled, and its last feeble swing at the girl with the sword using its remaining arm missed completely right before it crashed to the ground.

Another slash destroyed the remaining arm, and the Class B was left completely defenseless on the ground. It struggled to get up, but as it futilely tried to get back up somehow, Uehara had found herself on top of its head.

Glaring at the fallen enemy with her expression devoid of mercy, she held her sword high.

"Farewell."

Sayaka Uehara uttered those words nonchalantly as she drove her sword down the head of the Class B. She then brought the sword out in a firm and violent motion before jumping off.

The gigantic body of the Class B twitched violently and convulsed. As it released one last screech of agony, its entire body slowly turned into fragments, bits to be carried by the wind.

Uehara took a deep breath, and as she released it, the runic markings on her body slowly disappeared. This was followed by her blade turning back to its old, bluish tint devoid of the ominous magical energy. It took little longer, but she also felt her body slowly stabilizing and cooling down in response to the end of Crimson Lust.

Having taken care of her enemy, her mind quickly returned to the next task at hand.

Frantically looking around, she finally found it: the body of the poor victim that has been mercilessly thrown aside.

Running to the body's side, she knelt and examined it. Its limbs were contorted and in positions that no human being would be in. Eyes wide and gazing into nowhere were the next things she saw on that familiar-looking face.

There was no doubt that she knew this person. Just a day ago, she had seen this particular person in school. However, he also had an expression haunted Uehara. The form, the position, and even part of his appearance caused some memories to flash back inside the girl's mind.

Unfortunately, it really was hopeless. A dark cloud loomed over Uehara's mind when something caught her eye.

Lying just a few feet away was a card. It was something that she recognized immediately. Without a doubt, she knew what it was before even picking it up.

The silver rose was a dead giveaway, and when she picked it up and looked at its back, everything started making sense now.

She stared at her photo before looking at the body of a familiar face that she did not even have the chance to know.

It was a wild guess, but the black-haired girl tried piecing together the sequence of events that led to this.

He could have gotten here by pure coincidence, but if he did not, he must have overheard her conversation yesterday. It was absurd beyond degree, she agreed.

Still, that possibility stung her. She had stormed off from the coffee shop without being careful, and her actions could have unintentionally set off the chain of events.

The realization made the girl feel even sadder, and she started to feel water in her eyes.

If she had remained calmer and had paid more attention to what was happening last night, none of this would have happened. 

Her classmate would have not been dragged into this mess, and more importantly, he would still be fine and come to class next day, blissfully unaware of the disappearances, Mu, and those shadowy monsters.

The loss of life inside Mu has been something that Sayaka had grown used to seeing, yet each victim, each casualty inside this place felt as if it tore part of her heart away. Even with the casualty being someone she barely knew, she found the feeling unbearable.

For this moment in particular, she knew that it was due to her knowing that in a way, it was partially her fault for being careless.

More memories of the past played back at the sight of a black-haired teen lying lifeless in front of her, fallen inside this cursed place.

Despite it all, a soft, weak groan suddenly escaped from her classmate's gaping mouth. Following that, his fingers twitched.

The shocked girl quickly found a glimmer of hope, if for a short moment. She looked at her classmate intently. She sensed it – the will to live emanating from her classmate, much like from that other person in her memories.

"You still have the will to live, huh?" she said as she returned her attention to the practically dead body of her classmate.

To which, the body on the verge of death twitched. His mouth opened weakly, mouthing something that the girl understood.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, she stood up. Her lips quivered, but she was resolute.

"This time, I have the power to change fate, if only for a moment."

She had made up her mind.

2

Waking up, Kazuki sat up in one quick motion. It would be more accurate to say that he jerked his way up. Following a heavy yell, he drew heavy breath after another.

"Whoa!"

Recognizing the startled voice, Kazuki slowly spoke in a bewildered tone. "Hikari?"

He rubbed his eyes clear in time to see his little sister come into view. Still recovering from her brother startling her, she had her hands on her hips and a pout on her face.

"You shouldn't keep scaring your little sister like that!"

Kazuki's sister started skipping toward him.

He closed his eyes and prepared for a scolding of sorts, but he instead found two hands tightly wrapped around his chest and his back. In spite of his sister's pouting and complaining, he felt warmth in Hikari's hug, a genuine one from someone who was filled with concern and uncertainty.

"Welcome back, Big Bro!"

Only after blinking his eyes repeatedly did Kazuki realize that he's not at home.

White wallpaper lined the walls, and an unfamiliar fragrance filled the room. Beside him was a table with a vase of flowers, and he discovered that he was seated on a bed with fresh linen and soft pillows. In front of him, a TV set, and from a distance, he can see an open door to the toilet.

A hospital room? Glancing at the window, he can see deep orange light radiate and seep past the curtains, a telltale sign of late afternoon.

"H-hey, Hikari, what happened?" he asked, wondering what was going on.

"So you really didn't know, huh?" sighed Hikari, finally releasing the hug. "Last night, you were found unconscious in Aria Alley."

"I what?" Kazuki wondered out loud.

He knew that he had gone to Aria Alley in order to return Uehara's ID. That realization hit him like a truck, and he immediately went for his pocket. "Where is it?!"

"Huh?"

"The ID! I went to Aria Alley to return it to a classmate. Where is it?" frantically asked Kazuki.

If he had lost it, who knows what fate awaited him? His classmate could probably get a replacement, but all that effort would have not been necessary had he been more careful and less curious about the issue in Aria Alley.

"Hmmm..." Putting her finger on her chin, Hikari looked up and was in deep thought, it seemed. She then followed up with a worried expression. "Could it be related to that Sayaka Uehara?"

"Y-yes! Exactly! You know her?"

"Nope!" answered Hikari. "But the name is familiar. She did bring you in and pay the bills for your overnight stay here in Aspira Hospital. I dunno how she figured out how to contact me though."

She what?

Kazuki's mouth opened slightly. He then took another good look at the hospital room. It does not take a genius to figure out how much staying in this room should cost per night.

Truly an amazing turn of events.

At least with the way things had turned out, Uehara probably got ahold of her item already, and his job can be considered done, somehow.

"Oh, and Dr. Kagami dropped by to check on you a while ago. He's nice as usual, and he gave me candy. He also asked me if I was well. Oh, and did you know that Dr. Kagami also likes Yuki-tan? He asked me some things about the country's greatest idol... But he said that Yuki-tan does auto-tune! The nerve of that doctor." continued the Hikari, whose voice began sounding more and more irritated as the topic shifted to the doctor and Yuki-tan.

Her voice trailed off as she returned to her habit of talking long sentences then suddenly breaking into somewhat non sequitur.

"Back to topic, he was taking a good look at you, and he looked like he was gazing at you from all corners, leaving no place untouched."

The image of the eccentric chief pharmacist scrutinizing every corner of his body was not a pleasant one for Kazuki. He never really liked him, but he was apparently one of the best in Shiroki City as far as medicine and vaccine development goes.

As they say, the real nutcases are the hidden geniuses.

A chime sounded, interrupting his thoughts, and he heard several knocks from the other side of the door.

"Hold on!" excitedly shouted Hikari. She bounded all the way to the door before opening it.

With their parents on a trip abroad, Kazuki knew only two people who would voluntarily visit him at this time of the day.

Just as expected, the two people were waiting in front of the door in their school uniform.

3

"The great Shiki-sama and the lovely Amagi-chan have come to bless you with our presence! We have –"

"Stop talking like that, Shiki," interrupted Kazuki, completely no-selling the hyped introduction and putting all of his friend's efforts in talking and posing to waste.

Still seated on the bed, he watched as his male friend made himself comfortable in no time at all. With a loud crash, Shiki landed on the sofa and began motioning for the remote.

"Please excuse us," said Amagi politely as she slowly entered the room and softly closed the door behind her.

"Who's up for some drinks?"

That next voice came from Hikari, who somehow produced a tray with four glasses of juice in such a short time. "We got more in the fridge if you want some more!"

"Hell yeah, that's what we're talking about!" responded Shiki, grabbing a glass and gulping down its contents within seconds. "You know, you should learn a thing or two from your cute little sister."

For some reason, that statement hurt Kazuki a bit more than he would have liked.

"Here, take one," said Amagi. On her hands were two glasses of juice, and she sat down on the bed right as she offered one to Kazuki. "We were wondering what happened to you this morning."

"To tell you the truth, I do not even remember much. I remember going to Aria Alley, but anything after that I'm not sure to be honest."

"Aria Alley?" Amagi had a look for surprise for a split-second before returning to her gentle demeanor. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard, Arata."

"Really?" asked Shiki with a raised eyebrow. He had returned to reclining on the sofa after finishing his second take of the drink moments ago.

"You know I wouldn't lie to you guys," answered Kazuki.

"What were you doing anyway?" asked Shiki. "I know you like to be that brooding cool guy and all, but Aria Alley seems off-character or something. So when did you become one of those cool kids that party and get caught doing some sketchy things in that place?"

"I just wanted to return something, but she was not at school..." Kazuki's voice trailed off as he abruptly stopped himself, realizing that he slipped a bit and told Shiki that he was going to see a girl.

"Whoa, talk about dramatic. Why not just wait for the person to get back to school? Wait... she?"

Shiki got up from his prone position on the sofa in a hurry. With wide eyes, he mouthed his last sentence, as if completely shocked that his friend went out to meet a girl. It did not help that they met in quite one of the more sketchy areas in Shiroki City.

"Yo yo yo, when did my apprentice get so bold, huh? You have guts trying that without telling your master about it."

He had approached the bed, and he carried with him a look of surprise and curiosity. At least that was how it appeared to Kazuki, who saw the big smile on his friend's face.

"Big Bro?"

Hikari had a glare that certainly was not reassuring.

"Arata..."

Not good. Even Amagi has that look on her face that I do not like.

"Hey, you two better not misunderstand things. I just felt that I wanted to take a look at Aria Alley after hearing Uehara talk about it and—"

Damn! He's gonna have a field day with this.

Kazuki had stopped himself too late again, and he knew that things just went to a completely new level of awkward.

"Oh! You getting off to a good head start with the transfer student, huh? And Aria Alley of all places, huh? Now tell me a bit more about that overhearing thing."

Shiki finally sat on the bed with force and placed his arm over Kazuki's shoulder.

"H-h-hey, it's not what you're thinking about, okay? Especially you, Shiki!"

Kazuki quickly glanced through and saw the disapproving gaze of Hikari. After knowing that he would find no ally in her, he shifted gears and looked at the one other person in the room.

"You understand, right? Amagi?"

Amagi had a big smile on her face. Her arms were clasped together, and her eyes were shut despite sporting a grin on her face. Adding to the tension of this moment was how her fingers seem a lot more fidgety than usual.

"Y-y-yeah." She chuckled. "You certainly are not up to anything suspicious, Arata. I-I-I swear that I am not concerned. I'm not too eager to know what happened either. Hehehehe."

She's obviously lying.

Dreading the amount of explaining he had to do in the coming moments, Kazuki just hung his head back and placed his palm over his forehead.

"Give me a break."