The sign was still there.
B-2 — 120 m
Sota looked at it one more time before continuing forward.
One hundred and twenty meters.
At any other time, it would have taken less than two minutes.
Now they moved slowly.
Ishida took the lead, checking every door and every intersection before taking the next step. Mei and Sota supported the wounded hunter between them. The man could still move his legs, but much of his weight rested on the two of them.
The corridor was narrower than the previous one.
The walls were intact.
There were no signs of a major fight.
At first glance, it looked like one of the few sections of headquarters that had not yet been reached by the attack.
At first glance.
Ishida raised a hand.
Everyone stopped.
Mei did not ask why.
She had already learned what the signal meant.
Ishida tilted his head slightly.
Something was making noise farther ahead.
Not human footsteps.
The difference was small, but obvious.
One step.
Then another.
Too far apart.
No steady rhythm.
Something scraped against a wall.
Sota felt the wounded hunter's arm tense across his shoulders.
Ishida motioned backward with two fingers.
There was an open door a few meters away.
They went inside.
A storage room.
Shelves.
Boxes of training equipment.
Protective gear.
Tape.
A folding table.
Mei helped lower the wounded hunter against the wall.
Ishida closed the door almost completely.
He left only a narrow gap.
"Don't make a sound," he whispered.
Sota swallowed.
Outside, the noise drew closer.
One step.
A dragging sound.
Another step.
Mei opened one of her fans with nothing more than a faint click.
Ishida looked at her.
She understood.
Do not attack unless necessary.
The wounded hunter breathed slowly through his nose.
One hand pressed against his side.
Sota looked at the bandage.
A red stain had appeared.
Small.
But spreading.
The footsteps reached the door.
Stopped.
No one breathed normally.
Sota could hear his own heartbeat.
The sound in the corridor changed.
Something was right outside.
For an instant, through the gap, Sota saw part of its body.
Dark.
Human only in its general shape.
Arms too long.
Its head tilted to one side.
A remnant.
It did not look like any of the ones he had heard mentioned during the attack.
It had no name.
Nothing distinctive.
One of the weaker ones.
That did not make Sota any less afraid.
The remnant continued on.
One step.
Another.
The sound began to fade.
Sota released his breath very slowly.
Then the hunter coughed.
Once.
Dry.
Short.
Ishida's entire body tensed.
The sound in the hallway stopped.
Mei tightened her grip on the fan.
The wounded man pressed his forearm over his mouth.
Trying to suppress another cough.
Sota looked at him.
Then at the gap.
Nothing.
Five seconds.
Ten.
The remnant did not move.
Ishida prepared a chain.
He did not fully materialize it.
Only a thin line of mana around his wrist.
He waited.
The sound returned.
But it did not come closer.
It continued moving away.
Farther.
Farther.
Until it disappeared.
No one moved immediately.
Mei was the first to lower her fan slightly.
Ishida waited a few more seconds.
Then he opened the door just enough to look outside.
Empty corridor.
He closed it again.
"We need to check the wound."
Sota was already pulling out the first-aid kit.
The bandage was worse than it had looked.
The wound had not fully reopened.
But walking had made it start bleeding again.
Hina had left them enough medical supplies before they split up.
Sota took out fresh gauze.
Mei knelt down.
"Tell me we don't have to start from scratch."
The hunter grimaced.
"No."
"Good."
"Probably."
Mei looked at him.
"You're spending too much time with us."
The man almost smiled.
Sota carefully removed part of the bandage.
The smell reached him before he could avoid it.
Blood.
Heat.
Wet fabric.
For one second, the room disappeared.
Not completely.
He could still see the shelves.
Still hear Mei.
But another place overlapped it.
More blood.
A voice.
Someone who did not get back up.
Sota stopped moving his hands.
"Sota."
Ishida's voice.
No response.
"Sota."
He blinked.
The room returned fully.
Ishida was in front of him.
He was not touching him.
Just looking at him.
"Can you keep going?"
Sota looked at the gauze between his fingers.
Then at the wound.
His breathing had changed.
"Yeah."
Ishida did not look away.
"I didn't ask if you wanted to keep going."
Sota understood.
He could say no.
For the first time since they had left, someone was giving him that option without treating him like he was useless.
He looked at the hunter.
The man said nothing either.
Sota took one breath.
Then another.
"I can."
Ishida nodded.
Nothing more.
Sota returned to the bandage.
This time his hands did not stop.
Mei held the gauze while he helped secure it.
The hunter gritted his teeth throughout the change.
"Tighter," he said.
Sota pulled the bandage.
"Like this?"
"A little more."
Sota adjusted it.
"There."
They finished.
Ishida looked at the floor.
There were three small drops of blood near the door.
Then a fourth, out in the corridor, visible through the gap.
He stared at them.
Mei noticed too.
"We're leaving a trail."
The hunter looked down at his side.
"Yeah."
Ishida opened the first-aid kit.
He took out some old gauze.
"We can't clean the whole corridor."
"And even if we could, it would take too long," Mei said.
Sota looked at the drop outside.
Then at the direction the remnant had gone.
"Can they follow blood?"
Mei looked at him.
"I don't know about the blood itself."
Ishida finished the thought.
"But we don't need to find out."
The wounded hunter tried to sit up straighter.
"There's a training shower area before the next intersection."
Ishida looked at him.
"Water?"
"If it still works."
Mei let out a breath.
"That phrase again."
"It is what it is."
Ishida thought for a few seconds.
The plan changed.
They could not simply follow the shortest path while leaving drops behind them.
"We go through the showers."
The next stretch was even slower.
Ishida moved first.
Sota and Mei supported the hunter.
Now, every few steps, they checked whether the new bandage was still dry.
The first intersection was empty.
Ishida raised a hand.
Waited.
Nothing.
They crossed.
The entrance to the showers appeared on the left.
The door was open.
Ishida looked inside.
Lockers.
Benches.
Mirrors.
No one.
They entered.
The place was dark except for one emergency lamp near the rear exit.
Ishida tried one of the taps.
Nothing.
Mei leaned the wounded hunter against a locker.
"Of course."
Ishida tried another.
A thud sounded inside the pipes.
Then water came out.
Not much.
Mixed with air.
But water.
Sota looked at the floor.
He understood.
The three of them soaked some towels they found on a shelf.
They could not erase the entire trail they had left behind.
But they could clean the most recent drops and, more importantly, avoid leaving an obvious line from that point onward.
Mei wiped the soles of her boots.
Then Sota's.
Ishida checked the wounded hunter's footwear.
One drop had reached the side.
He wiped it off.
"Is this really going to help?" Sota asked.
Ishida wrung out a towel.
"I don't know."
Mei looked at him.
Ishida added:
"But it costs almost nothing to try."
That was enough.
The rear exit from the showers led to a small parallel corridor.
The hunter recognized it.
"This also connects to B-2."
Ishida looked at him.
"Longer?"
"A little."
"How much?"
"About thirty extra meters."
Ishida did not need much time to decide.
"We take this route."
The main corridor was more direct.
It was also the obvious place to look for someone heading toward the shelter.
The parallel one was not prominently marked on the larger signs.
It was not a guarantee.
Just a slightly less obvious option.
Right now, that meant a lot.
The side corridor was even darker.
Sota could barely see as far as the next emergency lamp.
They moved in a tighter line.
Ishida in front.
Then Sota and the hunter.
Mei at the rear.
They had changed positions because the passage was too narrow for two people to comfortably support the wounded man from both sides.
Sota carried most of his weight.
Mei helped from behind whenever the man lost his balance.
After about twenty meters, Ishida stopped.
So quickly that Sota nearly ran into him.
He said nothing.
Raised his fist.
Hold.
Sota listened.
Nothing.
Then.
A very faint sound.
From a side door.
Like nails scraping the floor.
Mei shifted the fan in her hand.
Ishida pointed toward a narrow gap between two structural columns.
They moved into it.
Not enough to fully hide four people.
But the darkness helped.
The hunter leaned against the wall.
Ishida stood in front.
Sota behind him.
Mei covered the opposite angle.
The side door opened.
Not suddenly.
Slowly.
Something came out.
Another minor remnant.
Different from the first.
Smaller.
It walked hunched forward, sometimes placing one hand on the floor to keep its balance.
It did not seem to know they were there.
It stepped into the corridor.
Ishida remained motionless.
The remnant stopped.
Sota stopped breathing.
The creature turned its head.
Not directly toward them.
Close.
Ishida moved one hand slightly behind him.
Don't make a sound.
He did not need to say it.
Sota understood.
The remnant took one step.
Then another.
Coming closer.
Mei opened her fan slightly.
Ishida still did not attack.
Five meters.
Four.
Sota felt the hunter's hand tighten on his shoulder.
Three.
The remnant stopped.
Turned.
This time directly toward them.
It had seen them.
Ishida moved first.
A chain shot from his hand.
Not to strike.
It wrapped around the remnant's neck and one arm before it could make a sound.
Ishida pulled.
The creature lost its balance.
Mei came out from the other side.
One fan cut through the space.
A clean slash crossed the remnant's torso.
It did not fall immediately.
It tried to move.
Ishida tightened the chain again.
Mei struck a second time.
The creature broke apart before fully hitting the floor.
Only a dark residue remained, slowly fading away.
Silence.
Ishida released the chain.
He leaned against the wall for a moment.
Mei saw it.
"Bad?"
"No."
She did not push.
This time there was no need to call him a liar.
The chain had only lasted a few seconds.
But Ishida was already tired.
And it showed.
Sota stared at the place where the remnant had been.
It had happened so quickly.
Not like training.
There had been no starting position.
No one gave a signal.
No one counted.
The creature simply saw them, and one second later Ishida and Mei had to kill it.
Sota realized something he did not like.
He had done nothing.
His body had stayed behind Ishida.
He knew that was exactly what they had asked him to do.
Still, the feeling returned.
Standing still.
Watching.
Waiting for someone else to act.
His fingers curled.
The wounded hunter noticed.
"We keep moving."
Sota looked at him.
The man had not said, "You did well."
He had not tried to comfort him.
He had simply given him something to do.
Sota put the man's arm back over his shoulders.
"Yeah."
They moved on.
They did not get far.
They had barely gone another fifteen meters when Mei tapped the wall twice.
Ishida stopped.
This time, the sound came from behind them.
One.
Then another.
Footsteps.
Faster than the first remnant's.
Ishida looked ahead.
The next junction was about twenty meters away.
There were no open rooms before it.
"Move," he whispered.
They did not run.
With the wounded hunter, they could not.
But they picked up the pace.
Sota felt the weight on his shoulder increase as the man tried to help with his legs.
The footsteps behind them sounded again.
Closer.
Mei walked backward for stretches, watching.
"One," she whispered.
Ishida did not turn.
"You sure?"
"For now."
The intersection was fifteen meters away.
Ten.
The hunter's breathing became uneven.
Sota felt his strength fading.
"Don't fall."
"Great advice."
Five meters.
Ishida reached the junction first.
Looked left.
Then right.
Pointed left.
"There."
An open door.
They went inside.
Mei was last.
Ishida pulled the door almost shut, leaving only a narrow gap.
No automatic lock.
A maintenance room.
Dark.
Filled with tools and shelves.
Sota helped the hunter sit.
Mei stayed beside the door.
The footsteps arrived.
Closer.
Then another sound appeared.
A second rhythm.
Mei raised two fingers.
Two.
Ishida breathed slowly.
He did not want to use his chains if he could avoid it.
They had no idea how many more were nearby.
The remnants reached the junction.
One continued on.
The other stopped.
Mei watched through the gap.
Her eye moved slightly.
Ishida waited.
Sota felt that pressure in his chest again.
The same as before.
He wanted to breathe less.
Move less.
Exist less.
The hunter beside him tried to shift position.
There was a metal tool beside his boot.
He had not seen it.
Sota had.
The man's foot began to move it.
Sota reacted.
He lowered his hand and caught it before it fell.
The metal stopped between his fingers.
Only a few centimeters from the floor.
The hunter looked at him.
Sota did not move.
Did not make a sound.
Outside, something scraped against the door.
Mei tightened her grip on the fan.
Ishida had a chain ready in his palm.
The remnant stayed there.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Then it continued.
The footsteps faded.
Sota was still holding the tool.
He did not realize it until Mei fully closed the door.
"You can let go of that."
Sota looked at his hand.
He lowered it to the floor as carefully as possible.
Ishida looked at the tool.
Then at Sota.
"Good."
One word.
Sota looked away.
But this time, when he took hold of the wounded hunter again, his hands were not shaking.
Less than fifty meters remained.
The sign appeared on the next wall.
B-2 — 45 m
Mei pointed at it.
"I like that number a lot more."
No one answered.
They were too tired.
Ishida still led, but he had slowed down.
Every time he used mana, even briefly, it took longer for his breathing to return to normal.
Mei switched the fan from one hand to the other every so often.
The muscles in her arm were starting to feel heavy.
Sota's shoulder hurt from carrying the wounded hunter.
The hunter was worse off than all of them.
His face had lost color.
Even so, he kept walking.
One step.
Another.
Ishida raised his hand.
Again.
Mei closed her eyes for a moment.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
Then she became alert again.
Ishida pointed at the floor.
Stains.
Not blood.
Something dark.
Remnant residue.
Farther ahead, slash marks on a wall.
Mei moved closer.
"This isn't old."
Ishida studied the floor.
"No."
The wounded hunter looked up.
"Hunters?"
"Maybe."
No bodies.
No remnants either.
Only the marks.
A quick fight.
And someone had continued ahead.
Ishida looked toward B-2.
"We move."
At thirty meters, they found the first human sign.
A body.
Partially hidden behind an overturned bench.
Hunter uniform.
Sota saw it first.
He stopped.
The wounded man's weight shifted suddenly.
Mei caught him before he lost his balance.
"Sota."
The boy did not answer.
The body lay on its side.
They could not see the face.
One hand extended across the floor.
Dry blood around it.
Sota did not need to see more.
The corridor vanished for an instant.
Another hand.
Another floor.
A voice.
Toma.
Masa.
No.
Not there.
Not now.
"Sota."
Mei this time.
The boy drew in a sudden breath.
Too fast.
Ishida took one step toward him.
Sota raised a hand.
"I'm fine."
Ishida stopped.
"You don't have to—"
"I'm fine."
He was not.
All three of them knew it.
But Sota looked at the hunter he was supporting.
Alive.
Wounded.
Depending on him.
He adjusted his grip.
"Let's keep going."
Ishida looked at the body.
Then at Sota.
He said nothing.
They passed without getting any closer.
The shelter was only a short distance away.
The final stretch was the quietest.
Not because the danger was gone.
Because no one had the energy to talk.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen.
Ten.
They turned the last corner.
And there it was.
Two metal doors.
Thicker than the corridor doors.
A sign.
AUXILIARY SHELTER B-2
For the first time in several minutes, Sota felt his shoulders lower slightly.
Mei let out a small breath.
"It exists."
Ishida did not answer.
He was looking at something else.
Beside the door was an independent control panel.
A small green light was on.
Green.
Sota saw it.
After so many yellow lights.
Red ones.
Dead ones.
That tiny green light looked too bright.
"It's active," he said.
The hunter raised his head.
"You should be able to open it from there."
Ishida still did not approach.
He studied the corridor.
The floor.
The walls.
The door.
No blood.
No marks.
No signs of combat.
There was no X either, the mark they had agreed to leave if the place was compromised.
Of course, no one from their group could have arrived earlier to mark it.
But Ishida checked anyway.
Mei looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Is that good?"
Ishida took a moment.
"For now."
Mei almost laughed.
She did not.
A sound came from the corridor behind them.
Very small.
Everyone went still.
A scrape.
Far away.
Then another.
Ishida raised a hand.
Mei opened her fan.
Sota adjusted his grip on the wounded hunter.
The green light remained on.
The shelter was less than five meters away.
The sound came again.
They could not tell whether it was one of the remnants they had avoided.
Another one.
Or simply something shifting somewhere inside the damaged headquarters.
Ishida looked at the door.
Then the corridor.
They had to open it.
But if the mechanism made too much noise, they could attract whatever was behind them.
Sota watched Ishida's hand move toward the panel.
And without realizing it, he whispered the same words he had heard so many times during the journey.
"Don't make a sound."
Ishida looked at him.
Then at the mechanism.
"Let's hope it doesn't."
He placed his hand on the control.
The small green light stayed on.
Behind them, something moved again in the darkness.