Inside the house, a deathly silence fell.
Ai Hayasaka calmly shifted the muzzle of her gun, aiming it at the boyfriend.
This guy, who looked no different from a monster, turned to run the moment he saw the gun pointed at him.
Bang!
A gunshot.
This time, everyone saw it clearly.
There was no muzzle flash, just a faint white glow.
But in the next moment, the boyfriend exploded and turned into a gray-white mist, disappearing without a trace.
It turned out that fear came from lack of firepower.
When you're holding a high-caliber lethal weapon in your hands—
A horror game instantly turns into a standard first-person shooter.
Hayasaka's move immediately turned the once-chaotic house into a library-like silence.
The remaining three stared at Hayasaka dumbfounded, their minds blank.
The cute high school girl who had been fleeing with them just a moment ago had suddenly pulled out a gun and blasted away the monsters.
This kind of development was hard for any normal person to process.
However, even after taking down two monsters, Hayasaka didn't lower her weapon. Instead, she shifted the barrel toward the delinquent guy.
Seeing this, the delinquent quickly raised his hands and begged for mercy.
The high school girl also hurriedly tried to intervene:
"Please don't, no matter what he's still our companion..."
Before she could finish, Hayasaka pulled the trigger.
With a flash of white light, the delinquent exploded into gray-white mist and vanished.
Once again, silence fell in the house.
Hayasaka then moved the barrel toward the other two women.
Getting shot by this gun wouldn't turn a person into gray-white mist.
This was a hybrid energy-physical firearm issued to Foundation field agents. A real human being struck by it should've exploded into blood and flesh.
Which meant—the delinquent was also made up of those gray-white particles from the start.
"How did you figure it out?"
The high school girl asked, her demeanor now completely different—no more panic, no more gentleness.
"Terrible acting. One look was all it took."
Hayasaka answered casually and then pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
The high school girl and the girlfriend turned into gray-white mist and vanished too.
At this moment, the sound of drums fell silent again.
Hayasaka stepped out of the house and looked toward the train station.
When those people first appeared, Hayasaka hadn't noticed anything strange.
Until the sound of drums began.
With the first drumbeat, although those people were also screaming and running, Hayasaka could immediately tell—it was all an act.
As a highly-skilled maid proficient in performance, Ai Hayasaka could easily see through bad acting.
So, from the first beat of the drum, she knew those people weren't real.
However, she did find it strange that without the drumbeats, their acting became extremely convincing.
As if—
"That drumbeat turns people into monsters...?"
Hayasaka guessed.
She walked deeper into the town.
Though she had called her scummy student council president, she wasn't sure if her plea for help had gone through—or when rescue would arrive.
Until then, she needed to actively search for a way to escape and investigate the anomaly.
This was a basic duty of a Foundation investigator.
However, even after exploring deeper into the town, Hayasaka found nothing useful.
No clues, no way out.
This town was like a ghost town.
Strangely, the houses still bore signs of recent use.
As if everyone in the town had left without any warning, abandoning everything behind.
Thinking about this, Hayasaka recalled the passengers on the train.
Did it all happen in an instant?
While she was lost in thought, the sound of drums returned. Hayasaka noticed that the drumbeats came at irregular intervals.
No discernible pattern in duration or frequency.
Every occurrence so far had been completely random.
Meanwhile, in the direction of the station, numerous blood vessels began crawling toward the town.
Without hesitation, Hayasaka opened fire.
The energy shots were effective at suppressing the blood vessels.
But whether due to insufficient power or some other reason, she couldn't completely eliminate them.
Shooting only slowed the spread.
Worse yet, once the blood vessels entered the town, they climbed buildings and trees rapidly. Everything in sight became a part of the creeping tendrils.
The sight was despair-inducing.
Hayasaka had no choice but to fire as she retreated.
But beyond the town lay no roads—only a towering mountain.
A mountain she hadn't seen from the station. It only appeared once she passed through the town. Like a map boundary that only loads when approached.
With the mountain at her back, Hayasaka was nearly cornered.
This time, the drumbeat lasted a particularly long time.
Although her gun had no ammo limit, prolonged fire caused the micro-ark within to overheat.
If overloaded, it might explode.
The intervals between shots grew longer and longer.
Hayasaka looked at the encroaching blood vessels and sighed helplessly.
"I haven't even spent my dowry yet…"
Muttering softly, Hayasaka closed her eyes.
She had already compiled the information on the anomaly at Kisaragi Station on her phone—anyone who finds it can access it.
As a Foundation investigator, she had completed her mission.
Death was terrifying.
Especially when it came in such a grotesque and unknown form.
Her body trembled involuntarily.
But then—a sharp sword cry rang out.
Hayasaka quickly opened her eyes.
Before her stood a boy she hadn't seen appear.
At that moment, Hayasaka's lips quivered, tears welling in her eyes.
Even the almighty Ai Hayasaka could feel fear.
Golden sword light swept through, clearing away the grotesque blood vessels.
In Haruto's eyes, the world was fragile and easily shattered—radiant colors swirled like a rainbow.
He sliced through the death lines, and with a shrill explosion, the blood vessels shattered piece by piece.
They disintegrated back to the source and vanished completely—uprooted.
After it was all over, Haruto turned around anxiously.
"Ai, are you okay? I'm sorry, I should've gotten here earlier…"
His words were cut off.
Ai Hayasaka threw herself into Haruto's arms, stopping him from saying more.
Haruto sighed softly and casually put away his Divine Sword, embracing Hayasaka in return.
He gently stroked her golden hair and spoke softly:
"It's okay now. You're safe."
Before seeing her, Haruto had imagined how Ai Hayasaka might react. Maybe with a complaint, or a teasing remark.
That was always her style.
But he didn't expect such a girlish response this time.
After all, hero-saving-beauty was a cliché—and Hayasaka had always acted more mature than a typical girl.
After a long moment of quiet comfort, Hayasaka finally regained her composure.
She looked up—and saw a girl nestled in Haruto's other arm.
It was her lady, Kaguya Shinomiya.
However, Kaguya was unconscious.
Hayasaka quickly took Kaguya into her arms, checking her condition with concern.
"She's fine," Haruto explained. "Just like when you first arrived—she's adapting to the time shift and fell unconscious."
"She'll wake up soon. She insisted on coming to find you."
Hearing this, Hayasaka smiled brightly—though tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes.
"Even though my lady is a bit of an airhead, a tech-illiterate, totally helpless at life, and an emotional mess—
She really is kind to me. She might not say it, but she shows it in her clumsy way."
Hayasaka had always pampered Kaguya like a younger sister, and Kaguya, in her own way, saw Hayasaka as one too.
It was just that as a proud lady, she wasn't used to expressing her feelings verbally.
Haruto chuckled softly at that but said nothing.
However...
Kaguya, who should have been unconscious, was now curling her toes in embarrassment.
When Hayasaka had tearfully thrown herself into Haruto's arms, Kaguya had been jostled awake in a daze.
Seeing Hayasaka so close, crying—
Kaguya decided to pretend to stay asleep.
If her maid wanted a moment to cry, she could "lend" Haruto to her for a bit.
But then... they started talking about her!
Now, Kaguya was in an awkward position—awake, but unable to reveal it.
Fortunately, Hayasaka soon got back on topic.
"This is the investigation record on the anomaly here."
She handed her phone to Haruto, pulling up the document.
Haruto accepted it, nodded after reviewing.
Truthfully, after entering Kisaragi Station, he had already grasped most of the situation.
"Let's get out of here first. We'll deal with the rest back in the main world. This place... is dangerous."
Haruto said gravely.