Crack—crack—
The world was shattering.
Every surface fissured, crumbling into floating debris.
The warped colors spread like a disease, consuming all in their path.
Even the Black Shadows—the creatures that once triggered cognitive suppression—now drifted aimlessly, their power fading as the dungeon's logic collapsed.
Kaguya saw their origin:
A failed experiment from Shirasawa Elementary's first year.
Researchers had tried to create a monster that killed without suspicion—one victims would forget upon seeing.
They drugged children, rewrote school rules with subliminal cues, and staged break-ins to implant the idea of "Black Shadows" in their minds.
One child was murdered, his death framed as a Black Shadow's work.
Months of gaslighting birthed these cognitive hazards—weak, bound by belief, useless against non-believers.
Dubbed [Supreme Sovereign: Phase 1], the project was scrapped, deemed too limited.
The Butcher met the same fate—relegated to punishing unruly students, ignored by researchers.
"Hah… hah…"
The golden retriever—Hayasaka—slowed, tongue lolling.
The husky—Kaguya—panted heavily, her canine body overheating.
This hallway wouldn't end.
Running blindly won't save us.
I need to think.
Kaguya forced her mind to focus.
Clues:
Hayasaka chose this path—likely because Takakai had been here before.
She avoided the glitch voids—meaning escape lies elsewhere.
The photo in her mouth resonated with the dungeon's memories.
The answer is here.
She pressed forward, walls fracturing around her, revealing floating ruins—echoes of the rain-soaked labyrinth they'd crossed earlier.
Then—voices.
A girl, knife in hand, ambushing a bully.
The boy's shock, pleas, final whimpers.
The Butcher dragging his mutilated body away.
[That's right. I'm a shrine maiden. I ordered the Black Shadows to kill Junji. Believe me? Hahaha—try writing on my desk again tomorrow!]
The next day, her tormentors hesitated.
Teachers watched, amused by her crude performance.
[I have to protect myself… The others… They must still be alive in the underground facility…]
The girl's voice wavered—exhausted, desperate, but unbroken.
[Even if I don't do this… they'll disappear anyway… This isn't my fault…]
[Uncle… Auntie… Ryouhei… Where are you…?]
[Can anyone survive this…?]
[No… Don't give up… The Butcher is still with me…]
The photo trembled in Kaguya's jaws, resonating with these memories.
This girl… is she the Core Obsession?
Her head throbbed—thoughts scattering, human cognition slipping.
No… can't… lose myself…
Before I turn into a real dog…
I have to—
BOOM—!
The ceiling ruptured, chunks of the surface layer crashing down.
Kaguya recognized it—the window Hayasaka had dragged her through, the Butcher's domain.
In the memory fragments, the Butcher had helped the girl.
Is he… connected to the photo?
Is he the key?
A suicidal gamble—but the only path left.
"Bark! Woof!"
Kaguya leaped, scrambling over floating debris, Hayasaka following eagerly.
They returned to the surface—now half-consumed by glitching voids.
There, the Butcher stood, a small, blurred figure beside him.
Lethal danger radiated from them—
—but Kaguya charged forward anyway, the photo clenched in her teeth.
Elsewhere…
Takakai froze.
Something had shifted.
The Butcher's corpse in his grip began rotting, unleashing a blood-soaked nightmare.
No—this isn't just decay.
It's resonating.
He looked up—
—as **chunks of the dungeon collided, merging violently.
"Oh for fuck's—"
CRASH—!!
Walls, floors, rooms—slammed together, forming a grotesque patchwork.
Takakai tumbled through the chaos, landing hard as—
—two puppiesdropped from above: a golden retriever and a husky.
Hayasaka? Kaguya?!
Before he could react, the **Butcher's corpse jerked upright, fusing with a spectral shadow—
—transforming into a hulking, fur-covered monstrosity.