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“Eeek…”
“You two stay back. This is my job.”

While Ms. Hoshikawa and I huddled together, trembling, Master stepped forward and crouched down, reaching for one of the skulls at her feet.

But the moment she touched it, the bone crumbled like sand—it was so brittle she couldn’t even pick it up.

“No good. They’re far too degraded. Be careful not to breathe any of it in—there could be curses clinging to all the accumulated grudges and hatred.”
“S-something like that can really happen…?”
“Be careful too, Laika!”
“If it’s just naturally occurring curses, I know how to handle it. Still… there’s no place to even step.”

Just like Master said, the bones were packed so densely that trying to walk around them would be next to impossible.

The thought of stomping right over them made my stomach turn. It honestly felt like the kind of thing that would bring divine punishment.

“Master, couldn’t you just fly over it with magecraft?”
“I could, technically. But the only way I can do it is by using wind to physically lift myself. That much force blowing downward would turn the bones underneath into a disaster.”
“…Okay yeah, we should think of a different approach.”
“Ah—Momo, look over there! That one spot doesn’t have any bones!”

Ms. Hoshikawa pointed toward the center of the room, where there was indeed a patch of visible floor, almost like a hole had opened up among all the bones.

It was close enough that I might be able to reach it with a running jump—or maybe…

“All right, Momo. Throw me over there. With your strength, you should be able to make the distance.”
“Ugh, I had a feeling you’d say that… But are you sure it’s safe?”
“Even if you miss, the bones will break my fall. And I’ll handle the landing with magecraft, so don’t worry—just throw me.”
“…All right. I’ll throw you carefully and responsibly.”

There was no way I could let Master end up buried in bones. I’d thought about jumping instead, but I probably wouldn’t be able to make sense of anything once I landed.

Her body was lighter than it looked. I picked her up and gave her a few big swings to build momentum.

If I went all-out, she’d probably fly clear across the room and hit the far wall. I needed to hold back—just enough power to get her right to the center.

“Momo, you kind of look like a big sister trying to entertain a little kid…”
“Haha, you’d better choose your next words carefully.”
“Y-yes! My apologies!!”
“Enough chatter—we’re doing this! Okay—one, two… three!”

Master’s body arced through the air in a clean parabola, sailing straight toward the open space in the center of the room as if drawn there.

No risk of crushing any remains—my control was perfect.
The problem… was Master’s athleticism.

Even from here, I could clearly see her botch the landing and crash face-first in the most spectacular way possible.

゜ 。
　　　o

“M-Master!!”
“It’s plain… white!!”
“Ms. Hoshikawa!? Now is not the time for that! Are you okay, Master!?”

I called out, but there was no response. Master didn’t move—she just lay there, facedown.

I could feel the blood drain from my face. Maybe she’d landed badly? Hit her head?

What should I do? I needed to run over there and give first aid— But if it was a head injury, moving her carelessly could be even more dangerous… If only Ms. Roche were here right now…

“Wh-what do we do, Ms. Hoshika—…Ms. Hoshikawa?”

I reached out toward her for help—but grasped at nothing.

She was gone.

Ms. Hoshikawa, who had been right beside me, had vanished without a sound. So had Daigorou, who had been watching our backs the whole time.

There was no way they could’ve gotten separated in this wide-open hallway. I could see everything. And yet… they were gone.

“M-Ms. Hoshikawa!? Daigorou!? Where are you!?”

No answer.

And before I even noticed it, Master had disappeared too.

From the end of the hallway, a pitch-black darkness was creeping in, closing in on my world like it was swallowing the light itself.

The skeletons scattered across the floor began to clatter and tremble, as if they were all laughing at me.

“Wh-what is this…!? S-somebody help me—!?”
**“―――――Woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!!!”**

゜ 。
　　　o

“Zzz… huh—wha!? D-Daigorou!?”
**“Woof woof!! Awooo!!”**

As soon as I *opened my eyes*, Daigorou pounced on me, smacking me in the face with his paws over and over.

My head and back ached. For some reason, I was lying on the floor, like I’d just collapsed and passed out right there. How much of what I’d just seen had even been real?

“Ugh… nngh… Stop it, Laika… If you’re nice to me like that, it totally breaks character…”
“Ms. Hoshikawa! Please wake up! Something is definitely wrong—we need to pull back!”

I shook her awake as she mumbled in her sleep, still stuck in whatever nightmare she was having.

There’s no way the two of us would’ve just dozed off in a place like this. Maybe we’d triggered another ancient trap without realizing it.

“Stop… I still haven’t printed my summer con booklets… Huh? Momo…?”
“Oh thank goodness, shaking you worked! Now—what about Master—!?”
“—Momo! Get down!!”
“Hogyaaaa—!!”

A blast of air ripped through the room.

The impact hit me full force, and I got a faceful of shattered bone fragments. The taste of divine punishment spread across my tongue like chalk and ashes.

It looked like Master had woken up before us—and clearly something had gone down before I came to.

“Geh—koff—gah—ugh—hwehh—cough—my eyes!! MY EYES!!”
“…Tch. If you’d just stayed asleep, it would’ve been so much easier to kill you. Lucky for you, that golem woke you up.”

The voice that drifted through the haze wasn’t Master’s.

As the dust began to settle, I saw her— A girl, *floating* in the air, with vivid red hair and piercing red eyes.

Her hair, which fell all the way down to her waist, didn’t pick up a single speck of dust. Bathed in the light pouring down from above, it shimmered like embers.

Above her, a large gaping hole opened up to the surface—a direct path to the world above.

“So, nice to meet you, human. I’m Theo. I’m the calamity who’s about to kill you in the absolute worst and most glorious way possible. Make sure you remember my name—right before you die.”