Royak and the others watched everything that had happened at the school gate unfold from the infirmary window.
"Ms. Juri, I'm heading out for a moment."
As he spoke, Royak subtly signaled to Ross and Saffi with his eyes. They immediately understood and followed him.
Juri Kyoko, her face full of concern, chased them to the door, calling out loudly, "Ah! Yoru, do you need the restroom? Do you need toilet paper?!"
Royak facepalmed internally—Seriously, lady, do you not realize you're holding a sanitary pad?
"I really don't get how you're so close to Juri Kyoko. I heard you call her 'Ms. Juri' just now?" Saffi remarked with a slight sneer. In Japan, acquaintances usually addressed each other by their surnames. Using the given name was reserved for those explicitly recognized as close friends. Though a subtle distinction, it clearly indicated that this player known as "Nightmare" had secured significant favor with the story NPC, Juri Kyoko. Had his cover identity not been a student, but a teacher at Fujimi Academy, he could probably have confessed his feelings to her successfully by now.
Royak had no desire to discuss irrelevant matters. Confirming no one was nearby, he turned to Ross, the leader of the Winged Seraph squad, his voice low and serious. "You saw what happened at the gate just now?"
Ross's expression turned equally grave as he nodded. "I recognized that man with the spear. He's part of the Chinese player contingent... They're being reckless. Saving those doomed story NPCs? Aren't they afraid of triggering a butterfly effect?"
Royak was silent for a moment before replying calmly, "Perhaps… triggering the butterfly effect is their goal." "What?" Ross and Saffi exclaimed simultaneously. "What's their objective in doing that?"
Royak didn't answer immediately. He quickly pulled up the surveillance feed transmitted by his [USS Micro Recon Drone] in his field of vision. During fifth period, he'd discreetly tasked the drone to monitor Takashi Komuro on the emergency escape stairs, precisely anticipating unforeseen plot deviations like this.
"Damn it…" Royak's pupils constricted sharply, his expression visibly darkening. In the original storyline, witnessing the instructors being attacked by the corpses prompted Takashi to rush to the classroom, forcibly extract Rei Miyamoto, inadvertently bringing along his friend, Hisashi Igo. Crucially, Takashi's unusual actions made Takagi Saya, who trusted him, sense danger. She grabbed the otaku, Kohta Hirano, and slipped away before the full chaos erupted, narrowly escaping the initial wave. However, due to the spear-wielding player's intervention, the teachers destined to die at the gate were unharmed. Takashi, though witnessing the events, didn't recognize the significance of the attacking salaryman. He remained frozen in place, passively observing, rather than springing into action.
"Nightmare? What is it? What's wrong?" Ross pressed. "It's as you feared," Royak's voice grew even grimmer. "The butterfly effect is manifesting. Takashi hasn't gone for Rei Miyamoto…" The reason behind the spear player and his squad's actions clicked into place for Royak. It was brutally simple. Seeing other squads securing early advantages through various means, and finding themselves unable to gain traction, they chose to flip the table. They were deliberately muddying the waters, forcing all squads—especially those who had gained a foothold—back to square one. It wasn't inconceivable. The notion of "cooperative clearing" was often just lip service. Once inside an Instance World, different squads with conflicting objectives routinely sabotaged each other. It was the norm. Compounding this was the Ranking System, which inherently pitted players against each other, demanding they use every trick to climb the leaderboard. As a veteran player seasoned through multiple instances, Ross grasped the severity the moment Royak explained. If Takashi Komuro remained inert, the peril facing Rei Miyamoto—whom he was meant to save—became critical.
"Ross, you and Saffi stay here and protect Juri Kyoko. I'll be right back." Logically, players targeting Takagi Saya and Kohta Hirano shouldn't idly stand by while their classmate Rei Miyamoto faced mortal danger. Yet, drawing on his seven years of accumulated experience across lifetimes, Royak knew better than to rely on the assumed morality of Instance players. Gambling mission success on vague probabilities like "probably," "possibly," or "maybe" was a recipe for disaster. He needed to handle this personally. With the Winged Seraph duo guarding Juri Kyoko, she should be safe, at least for the immediate future.
Screeeeech—!
A piercing squeal of feedback erupted from the speakers lining the halls and classrooms, followed by the strained voice of the school administration: "Emergency announcement to all students and staff. A severe violent incident is occurring on campus. Please follow your teachers' instructions and proceed in an orderly fashion to the gymnasium for evacuation... Critical Notice: If anyone exhibits abnormal symptoms during the evacuation, immediately distance yourselves from that individual! I repeat: Immediately distance yourselves from anyone showing abnormal symptoms!"
Before the broadcast cut off, a guttural, beast-like growl ripped through the speakers, accompanied by a woman's high-pitched scream. Then, only silence remained. Royak exchanged a tense glance with Ross and Saffi. This announcement differed significantly from the original plot. Clearly, spurred by the warnings from the spear player and his team, Fujimi Academy's leadership had taken preparatory measures. Some things, however, were inexorable.
"AAAAHHH—! HELP! Someone's killing people! Call the police!" Almost simultaneously with the broadcast's end, terrified screams and frantic cries erupted from every floor of the building. A flood of panicked students surged down the staircases, shoving and trampling each other in their desperation. Some were splattered with blood, casting terrified glances backward as if monstrous pursuers were on their heels. Like countless apocalypse narratives, the true horror of the Corpse Virus lay not just in transmission through bites, but in its initial dormancy within every host. When the mass onset finally triggered, no sanctuary remained. Students who had somehow resisted the first wave of the virus stampeded wildly for the exits. Behind them, newly transformed corpses flung themselves onto the stragglers. Horrifying screams tore through the air as victims were dragged down and torn apart. Every staircase instantly transformed into a choked spillway during a flash flood. Even with Royak's double-normal human strength, fighting against the torrent of hundreds of escaping bodies was impossible. He was slammed back down the stairs repeatedly by the relentless tide.
"Goddamn it!" After the third futile attempt, Royak abandoned the stairs. He vaulted onto a windowsill, grabbed the decorative ledges protruding from the building's exterior facade, and began scaling the wall hand over hand.