It was not yet dawn, and early morning Osaka was in a state of not yet being officially awakened.
Less than twenty-four hours after the Fog Incident, time—or rather, the efficiency of City Hall—seemed unusually slow here.
The only heavily damaged building in the fog stood in the district. The previously neat outline of the building's top had been destroyed, with the uppermost floors completely collapsed due to The Birdwatcher's attack, steel bars exposed, and concrete fractured, as if a section had been violently cut off.
The collapsed portion caved inward, forming an irregular void, with its internal structure directly exposed to the air.
The site was still cordoned off, with red and white striped tape appearing particularly glaring in the dim light.
Although the road surface had undergone an initial cleanup, it was clearly not yet completely clear. Rubble, glass, and peeled-off exterior wall materials were scattered everywhere, and some areas were temporarily covered with wooden planks to prevent further collapse.
The air was mixed with dust, a charred smell, and dampness; breathing clearly caused discomfort in the throat.
Distant emergency lights were still operating, their light steady and cold white, illuminating the debris clearly.
As the saying goes, criminals always return to the scene of the crime. Although Asakura and his group were not the culprits of this incident—rather, they were pure victims—at Asakura's instruction, everyone still returned to the vicinity of the building in the early hours of the morning, when the police guarding the scene were least vigilant.
"Have you seen Osaka at 4 AM?"
Asakura looked at the night view of Osaka around them and muttered softly.
"But it's not even 4 AM yet?"
Haruno said softly.
"I'm just talking to myself, don't mind me."
Asakura abruptly stopped talking.
Rescue operations had already been carried out once.
A large piece of machinery, brought in by the fire department, whether a ladder truck or something else, was temporarily parked to the side, its tracks covered in gray mud and dust.
On the side closer to the building, one could see the cut concrete sections, neat yet shocking, showing traces of overnight work. Some window frames still hung high up, the glass long shattered, leaving only deformed metal edges.
Partitions that once belonged to offices, filing cabinets, and outdoor air conditioning units were squeezed together, layer upon layer, making it difficult to discern their original positions.
When the monster first appeared and attacked the building, due to the considerable distance and the obstruction of the fog, Ruri hadn't clearly seen many of the events.
Now, as they got close enough, the shocking devastation caused by the monster's destruction was clearly displayed before her.
If she had been more decisive then, and her Magic Spells more proficient, would the resulting disaster not have been as terrifying as it was now?
"Don't be sad, you've done well enough."
At this moment, Asakura seemed to guess her thoughts and gently ruffled the girl's small head: "Even if it were me, I couldn't have done any better than you."
Of course, it was a comforting lie. In reality, Asakura's Magic Spell [Candle] was quite suitable for dealing with that eerie mist. If it had been Asakura, he probably would have acted immediately upon noticing the abnormal environmental changes.
But putting himself in Ruri's shoes, Asakura felt that if he were in her position, with only the Magic Spell [Beast], which was clearly ill-suited for the situation, it would indeed be difficult to do any better.
Near the roadside, there were temporarily erected tents, likely for information registration and emergency medical treatment. Even without getting close, Asakura could sense human presence from those tents.
Not just the injured—in fact, most of the injured had long been sent to hospitals. Those remaining here were mostly firefighters participating in cleanup work and police maintaining basic order.
Unlike the main building, the surrounding structures looked much more intact, but a closer look revealed that many windows were missing glass, and exterior walls were covered in cracks, looking quite dismal, giving the impression of dangerous buildings. It was unclear if this was collateral damage from The Birdwatcher's attack on the building, or residual effects from the battle between the monsters in the fog and the Great Beast.
Outside the cordon, occasional figures lingered, their silhouettes stretched by the morning fog and streetlights. Perhaps they also saw Asakura and his group, but they showed no intention of approaching, no conversation, and no unnecessary movements.
Asakura didn't feel any threat from those people, nor any magical energy. They were probably just curious thrill-seekers who came to play an exploration game under the cover of night.
Of course, they could also be social media bloggers or something.
However, Asakura had already activated his Domain Expansion, so there was no need to worry about anyone recording the features of their group with phones or other devices.
"The outside doesn't look special. It seems we'll have to go inside to investigate."
Asakura couldn't find any useful information from the building's exterior, so he continued.
"Is it really okay?"
Haruno asked worriedly, "Of course, I'm not questioning your judgment, Asakura, but this building doesn't look very safe..."
"It's fine. Even if it really collapses, Ruri and I have ways to leave."
Asakura said.
Haruno had a 'what about me' expression.
Asakura patted her shoulder in a rather comforting manner.
Haruno felt completely uncomforted.
The sky seemed to be slowly brightening, but Asakura knew this was just an illusion. As Haruno said, it wasn't even four in the morning yet.
The group pushed aside the cordon and entered in single file.
The building was mostly without power, but signs like emergency exits still functioned normally due to their self-contained batteries.
At this moment, the glowing green light fell upon the silent corridors of the building, making everything clearly visible while also casting a strangely terrifying atmosphere.
As an office building, the first floor had nothing peculiar. Besides the basic guest registration lobby, property management office, and security room, there was only a convenience store similar to Lawson.
In short, it was very bright and showed no strange features at all.
It seemed the problem wasn't on the first floor either.
"No electricity, so no elevator... as for the stairs..."
Asakura came to the stairwell and looked up to see that the internal stairs of the building had broken, with distorted rebar, as if forcibly pulled apart.
Although it wasn't completely impassable, the safety factor didn't seem very high. They would probably trigger a collapse soon after stepping onto it, like Lara Croft in ancient tombs or Nathan Drake in ruins.
"What should we do now?"
Ruri asked softly, nervously rubbing her fingers, but Asakura immediately stopped her.
"Your magic power hasn't recovered yet. This is just a slight relief from the portion I replenished. During this time, try not to use Magic Spells."
Asakura instructed Ruri, whose small hands were restless, seemingly wanting to turn the broken stairs into some kind of Stitched Monster to lead them upward.
"Oh."
The girl put down her hand, a little aggrieved.
Actually, Asakura was also a bit troubled.
Even though the top few floors of this dozen-story building had been damaged and collapsed, there were still many floors left to explore. Searching floor by floor would be too time-consuming. If they didn't move quickly, the firefighters and police downstairs might resume their cleanup work in the building.
So, should they give up here?
Anyway, this matter didn't seem to have anything to do with Haruno and Ruri. They were just caught up in the event, and it could even be seen as a natural disaster.
For a natural disaster, it's good enough to get through it safely, there's no need to delve into why it happened.
I'm not a scientist, after all.
Asakura shook his head.
Indeed, he wasn't a scientist, but he was a magician.
If there were no clues at all, it would be one thing, but with such obvious clues right before his eyes, it felt wrong to give up.
Otherwise, try searching up two floors. If nothing is found, retreat directly when dawn breaks, then come back at night and continue, repeating this cycle until something is discovered?
Asakura wandered around the first floor of the building, trying to find other emergency escape stairs while casually pondering.
This building once held a multitude of daily and concrete lives and work, and now these traces were compressed within the remaining structure.
Office supplies were scattered on the lobby floor, haphazardly placed, not deliberately moved. Clearly, rescue personnel were already busy enough with their work and hadn't bothered with such minor details; a corner of the bulletin board still had an expired notice, its writing blurred.
Asakura: "...Hmm?"
He stopped in front of the bulletin board, looking at the notice he'd glimpsed from the corner of his eye.
[Announcement.
Due to routine inspection and maintenance required for the basement's backup generator and power distribution room equipment, to ensure subsequent electrical safety and system stability, related work is scheduled for July (illegible writing). During the inspection period, the backup power supply will be temporarily suspended, and individual areas may experience brief lighting or equipment debugging impacts. All units are requested to make arrangements in advance and avoid using high-power electrical appliances.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation for any inconvenience caused.
This announcement is hereby issued to all building users.
Building Property Management Office]
"Basement?"
Asakura murmured, "This building has a basement?"
"Most buildings have them, don't they?"
Haruno didn't find anything strange about it. She said, "Power distribution rooms, fan rooms, and such are usually put in the basement. Some places even use them for parking lots, since there are so few parking spaces in the city."
"But the stairwell just now didn't have stairs leading to the basement," Ruri said meaningfully, seemingly understanding Asakura's implication.
"But the stairwell just now didn't have stairs leading to the basement," Ruri said meaningfully, seemingly understanding Asakura's implication.
"Maybe there was a design flaw in the layout, or perhaps people usually just took the elevator directly down, so the stairs were a design oversight?"
Haruno guessed, somewhat uncertainly.
"Whatever the situation, let's find the stairs leading to the basement first."
Asakura immediately made a decision.
However, the three searched the building for a long time but couldn't find the stairs leading to the basement.
Finally, Haruno found the building map in the lobby, which finally revealed the location of the stairs to the basement.
These stairs were not part of the regular traffic flow. Their entrance was hidden behind an inconspicuous fire door, which bore faded markings and showed signs of repeated pushing and pulling along its edges.
"Judging from these marks, I'm afraid your earlier guess, Miss Yukinoshita, was wrong."
Asakura observed for a moment and said, "The wear and tear is so severe, it indicates that the elevator also can't go to the basement. Otherwise, generally, no one would choose to walk the stairs instead of taking the more convenient and effortless elevator."
"Perhaps," Haruno said, now less certain.
"Perhaps," Haruno said, now less certain.
In any case, this situation was indeed a bit strange.
Once the door closed, the sounds from outside were noticeably muffled, leaving only a sense of hollow echo.
The descending stairs were narrow, and the steps were steeper than the main staircase. The concrete surface had been polished smooth, with small aggregates exposed in places.
The handrail was cold, hard metal, its paint peeling, with a thin layer of dust accumulated at the joints.
The indoor lights were sparsely distributed on the walls, all dark due to the lack of electricity. Strangely, even the emergency exit lights, which should have been illuminated, were also off here.
Haruno had no choice but to use her phone for illumination.
But this intermittent light clearly couldn't illuminate the entire staircase, and the lower sections remained perpetually in shadow.
She looked at Asakura and Ruri, and found that neither of them seemed much affected by the darkness, walking quite easily. Especially Ruri, whose eyes were like a cat's in the night, emitting a faint, somewhat eerie glow, looking subtly unsettling.
Are the vision of superhumans so good that they can see clearly even in such a place?
Damn, that's too cunning!
The walls were painted with light-colored paint, but in this light, they appeared in gloomy tones. Water stains from an unknown source flowed down the wall, forming irregular marks.
The air in the basement was noticeably more humid than upstairs, carrying a mixture of metal, dust, and engine oil. Footsteps were magnified here, the echoes bouncing back and forth in the stairwell, sounding exceptionally clear yet impossible to gauge in terms of actual depth.
The further down they went, the lower the temperature of the entire space dropped, and the ventilation ducts emitted a low, continuous hum.
"This is too strange. Wasn't the power supposed to be out? Why do the ventilation ducts seem to still be working?" Haruno muttered to herself.
The stairs turned midway, and the wall at the corner was completely swallowed by shadows, leaving only outlines visible.
A faint, cold white light shone from below, like the reflection of emergency lighting in the basement, yet the end remained impossible to see.
The entire staircase seemed to have been cut away from the building, serving only the function of leading to the basement, with no connection to the everyday spaces upstairs.
But before this, even before truly stepping into the basement area, one could already smell a thick scent of rust in the air.
"Hyouka," Asakura said.