1

For the most part, the plan went on without a hitch. Shiki cannot believe that he had all the luck in the world on his side. He did not expect to make it this far, but here he was, rolling on the ground and tussling with the purple-haired man.

Don't think that you can count us out! We can't leave the fighting to you two, can we?

He grunted and gasped as his hands tried their hardest to dig deep into the visor. He could smell the sulfur from the magical flames, and his face hurt from the heat. Despite that, he kept his grip.

Even as his muscles and bones screamed at him to stop, he would not let go for as long as his body would allow him to.

While the struggle continued, he heard more eruptions coming from the distance, melding with the frustrated shouts of the purple-haired man and the masked man.

All according to plan.

Despite the pain and the struggles, Shiki found it in himself to crack a small smile while recalling the conversation they had a while ago.

This was the result of a huddle consisting of three girls and an awkward guy. Not the most fluid team, but they made it work nonetheless.

"They can't do it on their own. It's looking really bad right now," worriedly said Amamiya.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"How am I supposed to know, Misawa?"

"Then don't bring that up! You'll just scare me all the more," whimpered Misawa.

"It's that scientist-looking guy," calmly interjected Bloomenfled. "He's the one calling the shots. If they can find a way to take him out or distract him, they can win. I have a feeling that the thing on his head has a lot to do with it."

"But how are they supposed to do that?"

"That is where we come in! It's time for us to do our part and help them by jumping into the fray and taking that guy out!"

Shiki stood up after those words, and everyone looked at him. Rightfully so because none of them were at their best shapes, and only a madman would consider such a plan.

Luckily, Shiki knew that he was one such madman, especially in a situation involving two people he cared so much about. He had done a lot of crazy things before, so what's jumping into the fire in order to help save two people?

"Look at yourself, Shiki," responded Amamiya, exasperation in her voice. "You won't last a second in there!"

Shiki scratched his hair while revealing a toothy grin.

"Awww, someone's worried. Come on, would it matter if I were to die here? That's one less pervert and one less joker at school. You were so mad yesterday, too."

"Not funny," said Bloomenfled.

"Ah, I thought I should crack something to make everyone loosen up a bit. We're all beaten up and exhausted enough as it is."

"A while ago, you mentioned something about the things on the ground, right? Mind telling me more about them?"

Now, it was Bloomenfled's turn to be curious. Shiki then pointed at the floor as he prepared to talk.

Back at the present, Shiki crashed back-first on the ground after the purple-haired man finally shook him off. He tightened his body with every tumble and roll that continued to aggravate his bruises and injuries.

However, he was not worried about himself.

The mere idea of leaping headfirst into the storm initially scared him, and the plan was as audacious as it could get. However, for the sake of his friends...

"What are you getting all dazed up for? Pull yourself together, Shiki!"

Getting dragged along was never a fun feeling for Shiki, but seeing the flame pillar burst up from where he was a second or two ago made him like it a lot more.

"Thanks, Amamiya," he said with a smile directed at the tired girl. "I would have been toast."

More pillars erupted, trapping the scientist-looking person in the midst of an inferno.

Will that be able to put an end to him and the other one with the mask?

Highly unlikely, and the answer came sooner than later as a large spear of flesh shot through one of the subsiding flame pillars.

"Gotcha!"

Shiki only heard Misawa's shrill voice in the midst of the chaos before more abrupt explosions consumed the spear.

Phase two of their plan.

In the midst of the chaos, Misawa was to sneak past everyone, dodge the flames, and recover the sack of small firework materials that had rolled to the back.

It was the last weapon that they had, but there's no better time to use it than now.

Hearing the frustrated cry of the masked man was music to Shiki's ears, and he cannot stop himself from grinning from ear to ear.

More explosions rocked the field, shaking the floor and causing him to then cover the top of his head right as some debris began falling.

"You know, I'd never ever expected myself to be in this spot. Guess heroics aren't really for me. Never again."

"You're damn right they're not. I'm still shaking. If I messed up a while ago..." followed Amamiya, a sense of relief in her voice as they approached cover. "I don't know what I'll do if you just died in front of me, Shiki."

"But you didn't screw up. Heh, I know you wouldn't fail. After seeing you at the sports festival and the past weeks, I know that I can trust you."

Shiki saw the girl's lips purse a bit, and he wasted no time changing the topic.

"L-let's all get through this so that we'll have an adventure to remember when we get back to our world. I'm sure we can talk about this for ages with Arata and the others."

Saying those words didn't feel right in the slightest. What about Tomoda and the others? Would they be turned back to normal?

Those thoughts came in late for Shiki, but what's important now was the matter in front of them. Before they can get to the petrified people, they had to defeat those two.

The sound of walls crashing and a cut-off scream caused him to finally lose control. His legs lost all sense of coordination, sending him and the girl sliding down the floor.

The last he saw before falling was the pillars of flame subsiding and the tentacles from beyond them. Like a bundle of whips, they swung wildly with little coordination.

Shiki cannot believe his eyes.

"He avoided the entire flame trap?" he coughed as he saw the looming shadow of the man. Pieces of his broken mask continued to drop to the ground in his advance.

The pale woman was gone, but now, tentacles from his right arm spread out and multiplied. Each of the strands danced in the air before aiming at him and Amamiya.

Is this the end?

He braced himself, but upon feeling the shaking female hands that had clung to his arm, his resolve was steeled. The clouds of doubt parted, and he shot a glare back at his impending doom.

"Instead of focusing on us supporting actors, why don't you fight your real opponent?" he said confidently after seeing a figure racing towards the tentacle arm man.

2

"Nice assist! I'll take it from here, Shiki."

The rush of adrenaline made it extremely difficult to focus, but with a well-timed step, Kazuki managed to screech to a halt.

Pointing his Armament forward, he took aim at Satoru.

What used to be a shield on his left hand had transformed thanks to his Armament's ability.

Now, he felt the weight of a large gauntlet covering his entire arm. Part of his trustworthy shield had transformed, finishing as an oval plate over his fingers. Where two of his knuckles were, multiple prongs pointed outward.

An orb on the back of his hand shone as the prongs began charging power.

"I won't waste this chance. Shiki, Kimura, everyone, lend me your strength!" he shouted in conjunction with the strengthening of the orb's glow. Tiny specks of energy then flowed into the prongs.

With his panting and the heavy gauntlet making his arm wobbly, the whole thing was just a set up for disaster. It was the same thing that made the crossbow form of his Armament such a risk at this juncture.

Luckily, he did not need precision for the type of attack he's about to launch.

"Get lost, Satoru!"

His whole field of vision shook. The world around him dissolved into a blurry mess thanks to the power that shook him to his very core. Fighting the urge to throw up, he forced himself to hold his hand forward as the prongs emitted pulses of energy.

Sonar vibrations that were high-powered enough to create tremors and chip some bits off the surrounding rock formations – the new power brought about by his heart resonating as one with Kimura's.

A sound-based ability with such widespread destructive power seemed just right to represent the combination of his and Kimura's powers.

It also happened to be the perfect weapon to use in this situation, being an area-wide attack that would surely make its mark.

Touya Satoru, despite being a couple of meters away, turned back too late.

The waves bore through the side of his body, and the once-indomitable man flopped as he was sent flying in the air. Kazuki squinted before seeing Satoru crash against a nearby wall.

He held his breath for any signs of life.

For a moment, there was, but the minute movements were snuffed out by the collapsing wall and rubble.

Kazuki finally exhaled. That would not do the job, not with someone like Touya Satoru. However, as far as buying time for them to escape, Kazuki hoped that the debris and the hole on the man's side would do the job.

His knees buckled, but a hand hooked around his, helping him stay up.

"Thanks, Kimura," he weakly said. Firing off that attack had taken a lot from him, and he worriedly looked at his Armament which had reverted into its base form.

"Just tell me before you'll do anything like that next time, okay? Geez, you're so reckless, Darling."

With the coast clear for now, all the schoolmates converged near the center of the room.

Weary, scared, relieved... all their faces told different stories.

Kazuki had no idea what transpired, but he had nothing but gratitude for them. It was thanks to their effort that they're all alive now. Without them, everything would have been a lost cause.

"Victory for teamwork!" Misawa broke the silence. She stuck out a V-sign and put out a smile of confidence, but her bruised body said otherwise.

"We're not out of the woods yet," countered Kazuki while he furiously skimmed the environment, looking for signs of both Satoru and more importantly, Dr. Kagami.

"Slippery as usual..." he said, remembering how the doctor had also escaped from their previous confrontation months ago. "Let's get the hell out of here! I'll explain everything later."

As if to agree with his suggestion, the ceiling of the room groaned. Shaking noise followed, and next came some rock particles dropping en masse.

"This is bad!" said a worried Bloomenfled.

Shiki pointed at a passage where none of them came from. "There!"

Nothing more was needed to convince the entire group to run straight into that path.

Leaving behind the place full of hellish memories, Kazuki never looked back. That place deserved to be buried away to the tune of the cave-in that filled everyone's ears.

3

Akane Fujiwara was not sure which was worse: the petrified people, some which she knew personally, or the constant growling noises that seemed to come out of the walls of the structure. Whatever the case, she strained herself to not let any weakness slip on her face.

Walking carefully near a side of a wall, she tiptoed up the stairs, taking care not to leave her companion too far behind. If only this was an ordinary environment, she would have had no problem scaling a flight of stairs.

However, this place was anything but normal. The atmosphere alone exuded a heavy and dreary blanket over her, hampering her senses and strength. It was a situation that would have driven any ordinary person insane, but she fought against it.

She cannot afford to fall. Not when she's tasked herself with the all-important role of leading her childhood friend out of this hell.

"Reijy, I can see the end of the stairs," she said, pointing upward.

Brighter light awaited them at the end of the stairs, a contrast from the dim light given by the walls' luminous gems and glyphs.

To her disappointment, her friend did not turn his eyes on her. Instead, the gray-haired youth continued trudging up the stairs while being caught up with muttering under his breath.

"Hey, earth to Reijy!" she grumbled. "Snap out of it!"

As if to echo her, growling sound came from the walls, startling both people.

"W-woah!"

Nearly falling over, Fujiwara found her back on the cusp of Reijy Ishida's hands. He pushed her up, allowing her to regain her balance.

"T-thanks."

Still, Reijy wouldn't look her in the eye. It was something that visibly bothered her ever since his initial outburst, and she can only look at the poor boy solemnly before they got over the stairs.

Passing by several pathways, crevices, and structures, the most notable being two gigantic doors that were sealed shut, they soon found themselves in a spacious location.

Fujiwara was not sure what to make of it when the two of them had entered, but she quickly noticed the rows of seats and a big symbol in the front.

Somehow, its interior reminded her of a makeshift cathedral.

She then clutched her forehead to fight a migraine that quickly developed when she began thinking about the room.

The place strongly reminded her of those dreams she had. She slowly felt her strength leaving her, and the world around her seemed to spin.

She was positive that neither the stench nor the heavy pressure of the air grew inside the room. It seemed that it was her remembering something drove those heavy emotions to overdrive.

Where had she seen this scene before? Should there be more people here?

The gap in her memory was causing her head to spin.

She tried grabbing onto something, but nothing was in range. With her senses losing their grip on reality, her world faded into black.

She did not know how long she was out for.

When she came to, she lay horizontally on an elongated seat.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Akane."

As Reijy sat near her head and gently stroked her ponytail, he talked in a calm voice.

She blinked repeatedly. The gentle strokes of his hand sent feelings of nostalgia that brought a small smile to her face. Today had been a wild ride full of surprises, and she was feeling as nauseous as ever. However, for just this time, she allowed herself to get lost in the moment.

It had been so long since she felt this level of warmth from her childhood friend – a complete 180 from the overly formal and hard-laced person he had become when they finally reunited in this city.

He still had the weary and strained look on his face, and his eyes still darted back and forth once in a while.

But for this time, he managed to overcome everything. Was it all just for her?

"I'm so glad you finally came around."

No reply.

"It hurts me just a little bit, Reijy. Do I have to get hurt repeatedly for you to finally drop the act?"

"I-it's not that, Akane! It's just that..." he stopped. With his fingers fiddling, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

The girl sat up, and taking a look at Reijy, she found in him an uncharacteristic blush that set her heart at peace.

She moved her eyes around the room to see that nothing had changed. The noises that made both of them uncomfortable were absent the whole time, and despite the still-heavy air, the room gave off the feel of a safe haven.

Indeed, it was a sanctuary in the middle of pandemonium.

"Now that you've calmed down a bit, mind telling me what you've been up to?"

"Akane, I –"

"I feel that I know why you've been overworking yourself for weeks. I had a feeling why you wanted to cut yourself off from everyone. Seriously, what happened to you, Reijy?"

She looked at Reijy's blank stare and saw a remorseful and reflective boy behind the mask of a lunatic.

"You can't imagine how overjoyed I was when you reached out to me finally. I looked forward to meeting the greatest person who made my childhood. After all those years, I had finally become a star who can shine in front of you, someone who could support you strongly in the goals that you left that park with. But you changed."

"That's just how life is. That's what growing up is. You need to learn to let go and focus on the important matters in life."

"To what point? Look at yourself, Reijy. You look miserable, all because your hard work did not pay off."

"I can still turn it around. Ignore everything that happened, and I'll teach Yuichiro and Father a lesson."

"Stop it," pleaded the girl. "That's also why... I figured that maybe reconnecting you with your old friend... Maybe, maybe, if only you could find someone to help you relax and open your mind a bit..."

As she choked on her words, Reijy snapped, catching her off-guard.

"That's complete foolishness, Akane. I cannot stand him. What good do we have to get in associating with a loser who wastes his time with whatever crap, oblivious to the real important things? What do we get from someone who just doesn't give a damn about the negative reputation he's getting? It's people like him who never move up in life. Because of people like those friends of his, he never learns to right his path and stay with the good guys."

"You mean your partner-in-crime whom you betrayed for your own benefit? Sorry, but those words sound so arrogant. Also, when did you become so stuck-up with hustling and all the serious business? Are those all that mattered?"

Instead of the further confrontation that she expected, she saw the boy lunge at her. Taken aback, she gasped, only to ease herself in the embrace of her childhood friend.

"I changed and became like this for you, Akane. Everything. Taking control over the company is the only way I can free us. By being on top, I can finally change the culture of the family. I can finally stop those people from looking down on people like you. We can finally get together and spend our lives together, nothing to separate us like that asshole of a father I have. You remember how we felt that last day, don't you?"

Fujiwara wanted to say something, but the words never came out. The shock of the revelation caused those words to be caught in her throat, and all that she produced were choked noises.

With all that she could muster, she reciprocated the anguished hug of her friend. Those words of hers finally came out in quivering sobs.

She never thought that this person could be harboring such feelings inside. Never did it cross her mind.

He had given up everything into a goal, and it must feel devastating to see his work not pay off. Meanwhile, a former friend of his with all the flaws and wrinkles got off scot-free. For him, nothing must have felt more unjust.

Fujiwara knew it was not the case. She knew of the struggles that Kazuki Arata, or anyone else, had been going through, marching to the goal. It was something that Reijy, in his stubbornness, refused to see.

She had set her mind on being angry at him for his self-centeredness, but the revelation of his purpose shook her resolve a bit.

He's been doing everything for her all along.

It was as if time had stopped. It felt like everything she had been feeling in this dreadful world had been snuffed out just in this moment.

"Reijy..."

"You understand now, Akane? Everything was for you. I kept grinding, all for the fleeting chance to leave everything behind. I wanted to start anew and secure a bright future for the both of us."

The girl softly released her hold on Reijy's back.

"I appreciate everything. I really do, but..." she said while hurriedly wiping tears. "You cannot live like that, Reijy. It will only lead to misery."

She lightly pushed him away before managing to recompose herself.

"I would never accept a world that comes as a result of your suffering and hatred. Reijy, such a world would never make me happy. Once we get out of here, promise me that you'll be a good boy and make amends with everyone, okay? Step back a bit and let others help. There is more to life, and you're missing out."

"Make amends?" Reijy bit his lips.

"It is hard, but that is the way we move onward. We cannot get hung up in grudges or prejudice and try to learn from each other. Together, we overcome hurdles despite all the fighting we do with each other. That's how people should be, right?"

She held her breath as she awaited his answer.

It was an answer that never came before powerful tremors shook the room. With a bang, the objects in front was overturned, and cracks appeared on the ground.

The two friends held hands as the shaking threatened to violently separate them. Clutching each other by the fingers was not enough to prevent them from being tossed into the air.

She closed her eyes, bracing herself for whatever more horrors this place had in store for them.