1

Kazuki fumbled and struggled to get a solid footing upon taking his first steps on this place. The place felt oddly familiar, but a few things were very different.

First off, this was not the exact spot he found himself in a few days ago. The area also looked like an ancient city that experienced a calamity or war, but structures still stood. As for this one...

Kazuki touched a rock structure, seemingly a remnant of a wall that has since broken down. With one touch, it wobbled, and the bricks that composed of it creaked and threateningly rubbed against each other.

The houses that stood the test of time were gone, replaced by faces and walls that were chunked down by something.

Also, the smell that ravaged his senses the last time felt a lot more toned down this time. Whereas his previous trip here got him attacked by those scents that would drive any normal person mad, the ominous air felt a bit more subdued this time.

Scanning his surroundings, the wary teen also figured out one thing.

The tower that seemed to extend skyward was gone. The one notable thing he can recall from his previous entry to the world dyed in red had disappeared. However, more important to that was this nagging feeling that kept knocking on the figurative door to his mind.

Ever since he entered this world, for the last few seconds, a new sensation seemed to want to break out in his mind.

Responding to this new instinct that he did not know of until now, Kazuki shut his eyes and focused. He was astounded. He didn't have this power before. Yet he felt their presence, like vibrations or ripples in his mind.

One. Two. Three...

Four of them.

He sensed four presences within this godforsaken world, and two of them were on the move, one far more quickly than the other.

He barely had enough time to think before it happened again.

Kazuki felt the hair at the back of his neck stand all at once as a chill ran down his spine. Even before hearing that unpleasant sound, his body had reacted preemptively.

As if there was any doubt that he was back in that world.

The low growls and screeching that made his previous trip to this world a nightmare echoed all around him once again. He tried to pretend not hearing them, but he ultimately knew it was futile. Mind over matter does not work here, and he felt his feet getting ready to break off into another run.

It's time for another game of hide-and-seek. Hopefully, he would come out on top on his second try.

2

Several minutes had passed ever since Kazuki entered this world. To him, it felt like hours, given that he had been on the run again.

From his minutes spent running, he had noticed some things different this time around.

The city had changed. He had a tough time figuring everything out easily, but the place seemed a bit more modern for him. Compared to the first trip where the city ruins featured houses that resembled those from the olden days, the houses here looked a bit more familiar and modern in terms of structure.

He had passed by a lot of those that resembled broken down remains of convenience stores or daycare houses that he had grown familiar with. The clearings were few and far between, but the roads looked more structured and organized as they took him through the city.

The winding roads stretched to forever.

Damn it! Is this all there is for me?

Kazuki tried his best those frustrations to himself. The last thing he wanted now is for those thoughts to distract him from the task at hand. Seeing the monsters materialize from behind him, he put his full attention on running.

He turned a corner just as one of the shadowy monsters seemingly phased out of the very same wall. Caught by surprise, he stumbled back but managed to pick himself up in time to run through another route.

Not long after, he found himself blocked again. This time by newly-spawned monsters that materialized from the ground.

Holding back a scream of fear and frustration, Kazuki sucked it up and began running whichever way possible. To his relief, he noticed that not every shadow monster that he saw trailed him.

If that were the case, an entire horde of those things would be on his tail at this moment. He shut the rest of the world off to the point that he can only hear his footsteps and the emerging growls that point to him places to avoid.

Still, he conceded that continually running a futile attempt in delaying the inevitable.

Deep inside, he cursed his weakness. He had always taken the easier way out. Instead of facing problems head on, he had withdrawn, sank into the comfort of solitude. To the comfort of detachment.

It was this attitude that drifted him away from his old friends, till only two remained. It was also what drastically altered the course of his life several years back.

Deep inside, he knew that it won't cut it this time around. Why did he do something so uncharacteristic and recklessly come in here in the first place?

Wasn't it to save his friend?

For as much as he resolved to make himself detached to the world, was it not himself that jumped headstrong into that portal all for a chance at saving a dear friend?

Such was the paradox that he internally wrestled with: running away yet having that desire to protect those dear to him.

Will he just find Amagi, drag her out, and pray to whichever god would listen that he would find a way out of this solemn world? Will he just leave it to fate, chance, or whatever entity out there to right things.

No, that won't work. Not this time.

Time passed by in a hurry, and he only now realized that he had stopped his run and stood in the open.

It was inevitable. He could keep running or finding a place to hide, but without facing this challenge head on, nothing will change.

"No more..."

He yelled and turned around in a snappy motion. Placing his feet firmly on the dusty ground, he looked at the one monster that trailed him straight up. He heard some more of them to the left and right. It seemed to be a coordinated attack, with this one in front sizing him up.

"If I keep running like this... How am I supposed to protect Amagi?"

Kazuki knew that he's not exactly the most athletic specimen for a high school student. He cannot throw a punch as well as most strong people, and he knew little in the way of actual martial arts.

However, a sensation within him seemed to assure him. Time seemingly stopped as the one monster facing him inched closer and closer. He felt his heart pounding, and it felt as if a jumbled mess of emotions welled up inside.

Gripping the part of his chest where the heart is with his left hand, he felt a surge of power coursing through his body. That shocked him, as he had never felt this kind of sensation before. Moreover, his hand glowed, and a sigil manifested itself on the back of his hand.

He was not sure what to make of it, but if there's anything that his nerdy interests have taught him about this phenomenon....

"Come!" He raised his left arm, knowing full well that he would materialize a cool weapon. Bracing himself for the sudden added weight of a sword or a gun, he pulled his hand back in a pose that would allow a quick strike.

He yelled in preparation for the materialization of the weapon, the thing that would symbolize the very core of his soul in this world.

That heavy object did not materialize. He did not feel a heavy weight pulling his hand forward even as the fizzling sound that indicated the summoning of a weapon finished.

"Huh?"

Dumbfounded, he stared at his left hand, and to his surprise, a sword or a gun was nowhere to be found.

Instead, resting on his left forearm was a large silver shield, polygonal in shape and looking as tough as it can be. It eventually grew and covered his hand from the forearm onward.

"A... shield?"

Kazuki Arata, having expected a cool weapon such as the edgy swords that he had been exposed to, instead found himself staring at a shield. Nevertheless, it would have to do, and he could sense some power within it.

The plate shone with bright light, to the point that it visibly disturbed the shadow monster in front of him.

With this, I can finally...

His hand trembled, and he found himself unable to pull his eyes away from the equipment on his arm.

He had no idea how much time passed, but he swung his arm in a way that exuded confidence as he turned to the enemies.

He put his all in harnessing the power surge out of the object on his arm with a yell.

Seizing this chance, Kazuki charged forward. He did not know how to throw a punch, especially from his non-dominant hand, but with this shield, maybe something could work. He felt the sensation of power gather in his left arm as he closed the gap.

The satisfying rush of adrenaline overcame him the moment his large shield connected with the face of the humanoid monster. He did not throw a strong punch, but it was as if the shield greatly enhanced the strength on his left arm.

It was a first for Kazuki, but the feeling of power was thrilling. The feeling of being able to assert his will for once consumed him with excitement.

He did not hear the thud of a monster flying forward like he expected, so he turned back to see the fading body of what used to be the monster.

Its headless body remained standing as it faded into particles.

Kazuki had just blown its head off with the shield bash.

A second enemy, having seen its fallen comrade, leapt from the top of a ruined structure.

Seeing his, the teen parried its clawed hands. The shield held strong despite the added impact height gave to the attack.

Looking at the shield, it did not seem to be one for blocking blows. Instead, it was sleek and built more for deflecting attacks. Nonetheless, it got the job done as an aura materialized at the shield's edges, giving it the extra width it needed to complete the block.

Power surged in his hand just as before, and after shaking the second monster off, he easily blew the monster's head off with another shield bash.

With two enemies downed in an instant, he listened intently for the follow-up growl, figuring out where the next monster would strike.

It never came.

The enemies seemed to have left him, and with the danger gone for the time being, he let out a breath of relief.

"It may not be what I wanted, but this could come in handy, regardless," said him, giving the shield an admiring look. Patting it several times, he began his walk forward, much more confidently this time.

He took a few steps before slipping and falling down his knees.

"Looks like..." he smirked, remembering the limits of his frail human body compared to those characters he looked up to so much. "I need to still get used to this."

With no enemies nearby, he eased himself and found a gap between the damaged walls and broken down houses to pass through.

Several meters ahead of him, he noticed a change in the surroundings. The ruined buildings slowly gave way to a rocky wasteland.

Moving on, the ruined structures became less and less clustered.

Reaching the heart of the wasteland, more and more of the second part of the city came into view. What seemed to be a megacity at one point has been bisected by this wasteland which he was now traversing.

"That place..." he said with astonishment. In the distance, there was a large structure that, in contrast to the numerous ruined ones he had been seeing, looked surprisingly intact. It was by no means in good shape, but at least it maintained its overall shape unlike these broken down walls he had gotten sick of seeing.

It rested on top of a slope, standing out from the rest of the cluttered rocks it was surrounded with.

However, the most striking one for Kazuki is the fact that at the top of it all was a huge purple cloud. Instead of seeing its supposed roof, all he saw was the mass of purple clouds.

He closed his eyes once more, and the felt those ripples in his mind again. Four people. All four people are in that area.

He now knew his next destination.

3

The next destination for Kazuki Arata was the gigantic structure at the top of the slope.

The purple cloud that formed at the top gave off an ominous premonition for him, but his experience from video games have made him know full well that the answers he want lie at the top of that structure.

Getting through there would not be easy, and there would be more of these shadow monsters along the way, that is for sure.

However, he was no longer the helpless and lost weakling that he was back then. With this shield by his side, protecting Amagi from those things is finally a possibility. Deep inside, he prayed that if she was indeed here, he would make it in time.

Such thoughts powered him to run at top speed. In no time at all, he made it past the street and made it to the base of the structure.

Thick fog enveloped the structure, but he could see the outlines of what it was supposed to be.

In front of him stood a gate, or at least what used to be. The two doors that were used to keep the structure off-limits to outsiders have been flayed apart. The ruined doors now lay on the side, and to Kazuki, it seemed as if they have been forcibly broken through.

It's a bit too quiet for my liking.

With fog slightly hindering his vision, he treaded carefully past the broken down gate and found himself in front of what he interpreted as the remains of a tall building, something that looked at least five-storeys tall from his perspective.

He cannot help but notice the structure of the area. The wide empty area where he stood reminded him of a school field.

Come to think of it, this place does look like a post-apocalyptic remnants of a school.

The entrance soon came into view while he wandered the field, and he made his way to the entrance without much trouble.

Running through the corridor inside the ruined building, Kazuki continued having this feeling that he cannot shake off.

Where are they?

The monsters that he had prepared for were nowhere to be seen on this floor. He would have expected an enclosed area like this to be prime hiding spots or ambush points for those creatures, but he found none even as he traversed a large area of the floor.

He slowed his pace down and began taking a better look at the abandoned rooms from the outside. One by one, he inspected the rooms from afar.

Fog hindered him a bit, but he was able to make out some key pieces.

Inside each room were what looked like ruined desks, chairs, and tables, all tossed around and showing signs of decay.

This all but confirmed his theory that this structure was modeled after an abandoned school: one abandoned for hundreds of years after a major cataclysm.

Still, none of the shadow monsters he expected came into view. The growls, screeches, and other sounds he anticipated were not present, and he did not feel any of those monsters' presence ever since entering the schoolhouse.

While he continued walking through the corridor, a stairwell entered his view.

He now quickened his pace, his feet making loud tapping noises on the rough floor. With no enemy in sight, the way should be clear, and he can proceed to the next floor. He just had to go past that last corner and he'll be able to move on.

It was then that he heard a whirling sound behind the corner.

He froze in place, stopping himself right on the spot in an instant right as the sound registered into his ears.

When he came to, he felt glad he had the awareness to do so, and he did not have to look any further to see why.

The sharp edge of a blade lay mere inches away from his neck. Kazuki realized that any further and he could have run himself into an untimely end. Trying to get enough composure to identify the enemy that wielded the blade, Kazuki turned to his left, right at the source of the blade.

"You gotta be kidding me," he said, trying to piece everything together.

He slowly backed off at the sight of the katana wielder to the point where he fell backwards on his butt. As he sat, he shook his head in disbelief. Just when things couldn't seem to get any wilder, this just had to happen.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Kazuki, addressing the one who now appeared in front of him.

Without another word, Sayaka Uehara put the blade down and exhaled.