The girl, who didn't dare to breathe, pressed her back against the wall and covered her mouth.
Hearing the sound of footsteps fading, she slowly leaned out to peek.
After confirming there was no one around, she finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She still couldn't believe what she had just seen.
She remembered going to bed early yet, inexplicably, she ended up here. She didn't know if this was reality or some bizarre dream.
Her logic told her it had to be a dream. She distinctly remembered changing into pajamas before sleeping… but now she was in her school uniform.
And just moments ago, she'd watched a man kill a monster using a method straight out of fiction.
Someone controlling shadows in the real world? Impossible.
That alone screamed dream logic.
But the way those mutant beasts moved those grotesque, bloody maws, it all felt far too vivid. Even knowing it might be a dream, her body had instinctively frozen in fear, forcing her to hide.
"Phew… almost spotted…" she muttered under her breath.
"You've been spotted."
A warm breath brushed against her earlobe.
Her whole body locked up. Slowly mechanically she turned her head, only to find Yami Tsukishiro's smiling face just centimeters away.
Her mind blanked out completely. Instinct kicked in, and she tried to raise her pistol
but Yami had already caught her wrist and pinned it against the wall, making it useless.
"Relax. I'm not a man-eating monster," he said casually, eyes scanning her from head to toe.
The familiarity of her face made him pause there was something about her that tickled his memory.
She, however, felt as if he were stripping her bare with his gaze. Combined with this compromising posture, a very bad scenario flashed through her mind.
Even in a dream, she wouldn't tolerate that. Her eyes sharpened, and she hissed,
"I warn you don't get any funny ideas, or… I'll bite my tongue and die right here!"
In her mind, if she was going to be violated even in a dream, it was better to just end it.
"Pfft."
Yami actually laughed at her seriousness.
"Biting your tongue? Hate to break it to you, but that's not an instant death. At best, you'll bleed out over time."
His grin widened.
"And in that time, if the guy was quick enough, you know how many rounds he could go? And even if you did die, the body doesn't cool instantly. If it's still warm… well, let's just say most people wouldn't feel much guilt."
"…"
The girl's head was buzzing.
Every word he left unsaid still seemed to pierce her heart.
"Forget it, I'm not teasing you anymore. Can't you see my school uniform? We should be from the same school."
Yami Tsukishiro let go of her wrist and gestured to the uniform he was wearing.
This virtual world sure had its quirks before bed, he'd only been in underwear, yet here he was, fully dressed. Automatic wardrobe service, apparently.
After his reminder, the girl's panic eased a little, but her tone still carried suspicion.
"…Are you also a student at Gōkon High School?"
"Yami Tsukishiro, second-year Class B, Gōkon High School."
The girl hesitated for a moment before replying,
"Kasumigaoka Utaha, second-year Class C."
Thought so.
Yami confirmed his suspicion.
Full, voluptuous curves. Long, straight black hair. Dark red eyes.
A tall, graceful beauty in a white hairband the very image of Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"I don't even know you… so how do you know my name in a dream?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"What if it's not a dream?" Yami said, voice laced with amusement.
"…Not a dream…"
The color drained from Utaha's face as the thought sank in.
"If it's not a dream… then if I die here—?"
"Who knows? Maybe you'll die in reality, too." Yami shrugged.
Her eyes flickered with unease. She clearly understood his point, plan for the worst, and survival becomes priority number one.
Seeing her deep in thought, Yami decided not to linger.
These mutant beasts and the magic stones they dropped weren't going to farm themselves.
"Good luck," he said, turning to leave.
But Utaha's voice stopped him.
"Yami… if this place is that dangerous, shouldn't we team up? You don't have a weapon. I have extras."
She'd already noticed he was unarmed.
And while she was carrying a pistol, she didn't actually know how to use it. Giving one away would cost her nothing.
More importantly, Yami was very calm. In a world like this, that made him worth sticking close to.
And just now...
She hadn't forgotten the scene of him killing the mutant tiger with impossible precision.
Even if this was a dream, Yami Tsukishiro was nothing like an ordinary person.
She didn't bring it up. Instead, she pretended ignorance, thinking, If I can get on his good side, my chances of surviving go way up.
"Oh?"
Yami caught on to her little scheme instantly but didn't expose her.
Instead, he manipulated her shadow, pulling the pistol straight from her side.
"!!!"
Utaha froze, horrified.
Her shadow… moved.
It took out the pistol as naturally as if it were a living hand.
Thinking back to the way Yami's shadow had skewered the mutant beast earlier, she realized he truly wasn't an ordinary person.
"Can you even use a pistol? And can it actually kill mutant beasts?"
"Uhh…"
Utaha was caught off guard. She had never fought one, never even tried.
Yami shook his head, placing the pistol back in her hand as the shadow slithered back into place.
"Goodbye."
Then the shadow rose up, swallowing his body like a black, writhing pool.
In the blink of an eye, Yami Tsukishiro was gone, vanished without a trace.
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