Inside the observation room behind the wall of Classroom 1 on the 7th floor of the Teaching Building, Takumi once again obtained the identity keycard that allowed him to enter various hidden areas.
Originally, Takumi had thought that after the Teaching Building lost its Obsession Item and became sealed, this place would also disappear and become inaccessible. So he had only come here with a "just in case" mindset. But although there were no longer any Teachers inside the observation room, the identity keycard was still left in its original place. Because of this, Takumi suspected that it might be due to his use of the black watch's guidance function that allowed this item to remain even within a sealed Instance area.
"Takumi-san, do you know what this card is used for?"
Standing beside Takumi, Kobayashi Chiharu asked with a hint of curiosity. On the other side, Miko was equally curious. Only Yoshino Rika and Ogawa Kyoko, who stood a bit farther away, still harbored some fear toward Takumi and didn't dare step forward to ask.
The development of this third loop wasn't much different from the start of the second loop. However, this time Takumi didn't put on the Sheep-Head Hood and instead showed himself with his real face. Unexpectedly, his deterrent effect on those students dropped quite a bit.
Even so, after he casually chopped off the blonde girl's arm as usual, the girls immediately fell silent, not daring to act recklessly anymore.
Incidentally, to better control the situation this time, Takumi had also secretly tossed a scalpel to the teachers' side and used his machete to demonstrate the process of "cooking" an aberration in front of the students—further intimidating them.
However, with the Teaching Building now sealed, there were no aberrant students he could command. So how long these students would remain intimidated before doing something stupid again—Takumi himself had no confidence at all.
Of course, he had already done more than enough. He had no interest in babysitting these young people. So he only brought along the three who had performed relatively well over the past two loops—Yoshino Rika, Ogawa Kyoko, and Kobayashi Chiharu—along with the most important one, Miko, and headed up to the seventh floor to retrieve the keycard.
"I haven't figured out its exact function yet, but I'm certain it'll be important," Takumi said as he put away the magnetic card. Then he looked out through the window toward the Residential Wing next to the Teaching Building.
Staying here wouldn't be a bad option, but the black watch wouldn't let him off easily. And there was no guarantee that the Alice in the dormitory wouldn't come over. Next, he had to head to the Residential Wing to investigate and try to obtain Alice's final Obsession Item.
"Ha…"
Takumi let out a long breath, feeling a trace of fatigue in his heart.
He had already died twice in this eerie school, yet the root of Fujihana Middle School was still nowhere to be found. He didn't know whether this third loop would be enough to completely resolve the problem here.
So, before officially taking action, it was time to run a test.
"Miko, take the others and put some distance between us. What I'm about to do might be a bit dangerous."
As he spoke, Takumi remained alone in Class 1 of the third year, while Miko and the others returned to the hallway, keeping a straight-line distance of about ten meters between them.
He moved aside the desks and chairs to clear an open space, then sat down on the spot and reached into the watch, taking out a dark red chunk of flesh.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a piece of tender, pinkish meat.
But on closer inspection, it was actually minced flesh forcibly stuck back together. Mixed within were fragments like human fingernails and teeth, and it was still writhing slightly—as if alive.
This was a piece of the flesh from the amalgamated monstrosity Takumi had encountered in the second loop. Back then, he had suffered considerable damage just to get past it. Yet after resetting, the black watch had given him a portion of that creature's flesh—apparently, its Obsession Item was its own body.
The function of this Obsession Item was simple: it could absorb aberrations and suppress them. However, since Takumi only had a small piece, it could probably suppress at most two or three weaker aberrations.
In a place like Fujihana Middle School, where aberrations were everywhere, this Obsession Item didn't seem particularly useful.
But when combined with the other Obsession Items Takumi possessed, the situation became entirely different.
"I hope this works out."
Muttering softly, Takumi took out the bottle of pills from the watch. The moment it appeared, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed it. Then the figure of a man emerged in front of him.
[Why won't you let me die?!]
The aberration let out a shrill roar and lunged at Takumi.
"I don't have a choice—I'm just too kind. Let me send you on your way."
Takumi already had his machete in hand. Without the slightest hesitation, he charged forward to meet the aberration.
In a little over ten seconds, the aberration's dismembered remains were completely absorbed by the seemingly small lump of flesh, disappearing without a trace.
Although this aberration wasn't part of Fujihana Middle School and thus didn't suffer the machete's special effectiveness, the difference in strength between a Dusk-level aberration and a Red Moon-level Obsession Item was simply too great. Takumi dismantled it with hardly any effort—only slightly more troublesome than cutting down the Teachers.
After confirming that the aberration had been fully suppressed, Takumi picked up the pill bottle from the ground, opened it, and verified that there were only nine pills left inside.
In that case… I can split them into 4, 4, and 1. Just not sure whether four pills will be enough to achieve what I want.
Takumi felt somewhat uncertain, but this wasn't the time to hesitate. After checking his surroundings once more, he finally took out a stuffed toy from the watch—an animal plush that sealed a player inside.
In an instant, he felt as if something was watching him.
All the Alices within Fujihana Middle School—whether in sealed areas or active zones—sensed the doll in Takumi's hand at that moment. They all detected the location of this lost "friend."
The gazes from within the Teaching Building showed no sign of movement, and there was no presence from beneath it either. It seemed that after losing the key Obsession Items tied to those areas, those Alices had become unable to act.
In that case, the only one he needed to worry about was the Alice in the Residential Wing. The other three areas could be ignored.
Takumi's thoughts raced, but his hands moved just as quickly. He raised the machete and sliced open the doll's belly, tearing apart its outer fluffy layer.
Bright red, faintly writhing flesh emerged from the opening.
He couldn't take that flesh out—the person inside was alive only because of the doll's own aberrant power. Once separated from that medium, the person would die.
Clatter—
Takumi shook out four pills from the bottle.
Reaching in, he pressed them directly into the flesh inside the doll's abdomen, forcefully stuffing all four pills in.
Whether this would work or not… honestly, Takumi had no idea at all.
But combined with the items he already had on hand, this was the only plan he could come up with.
After stuffing in the four pills—
The flesh inside the doll suddenly trembled violently, faintly showing signs of swelling.
Rip!
Takumi didn't hesitate. He tore the doll open directly and pulled out the chunk of flesh on the spot.
As the internal structure was destroyed, the doll's own aberrant power rapidly dissipated. Alice's gaze vanished along with it, no longer able to perceive the situation.
And the flesh—which should have died quickly after losing the doll's protection—continued to swell further after Takumi threw it onto the ground. Within just a few seconds, it began to grow bones, nerves, and organs, forming the structure of a human body.
Limbs, torso, head…
In about half a minute, the mass of flesh had already grown into a rough human outline. On that basis, it continued to refine itself—skin gradually formed, and hair and nails began to grow as well.
Even though Takumi had mentally prepared himself for this scene, witnessing a lump of flesh rapidly grow into a human still made him inwardly marvel at the incredible power of Obsession Items.
After one minute, what lay before him was no longer a chunk of flesh, but a naked woman lying on the ground.
In terms of appearance and figure, she would probably rate around a 70. Honestly, Takumi felt nothing at all looking at her—he had no such mundane desires.
He tore down a curtain from the classroom and covered her body.
Holding his machete, Takumi stepped back a few paces and carefully observed this player he had successfully "revived" through the combined use of several Obsession Items.
She lay there quietly, completely motionless, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.
But Takumi, who had once experienced being turned into a doll during the first loop, knew that people trapped inside dolls could never sleep—they would remain conscious the entire time, suffering endlessly. The fact that this person lay still without moving meant she had probably already awakened and was pretending to sleep.
"Kumagai-san… it's about time you woke up, isn't it? The longer you delay here, the faster Alice will find us."
So Takumi tapped the wall lightly with his machete and spoke slowly to the woman not far away.
"…You… who are you?"
In the next moment, the woman opened her eyes and sat up. Still clearly weak, she forced herself to remain composed.
One of her eyes was a normal human eye, while the other was unmistakably a mechanical prosthetic—its metallic structure reflecting a bronze sheen under the candlelight.
"I'm Takahashi Takumi. An unlucky player trapped in the Fujihana Middle School Instance, currently looking for a way out. And you're Kumagai-san, right? Your name was written on the doll that held you."
As he spoke, Takumi glanced back—and, as expected, saw Miko and the others peeking curiously from just outside the door.
"Kumagai… yeah… I'm Kumagai Mai. You… actually managed… to bring a doll out from that place… Are you… a newcomer from some Red Moon-level player team?"
As the woman gradually regained awareness, she let out a long breath. Despite her exhaustion, the shock in her expression was impossible to hide.
And as this veteran player recovered, Takumi also began to sense that faint, unusual aura emanating from her.
Among all the players he had encountered—aside from the mysterious Kogawa Shu whose background was unknown—this woman was probably the strongest. Someone like Tanaka wasn't even comparable in presence; they weren't on the same level at all.
What kind of power did this woman named Kumagai Mai possess?
As he pondered this, a strange signal suddenly reached Takumi.
Through the perspective of one of the rescue team members he had stationed earlier at the passage between the second floor of the Teaching Building and the Residential Wing, Takumi saw a blurry figure—a girl with golden hair and a delicate, beautiful form—slowly walking toward them.
Alice had already arrived!
Takumi clearly recognized this fact.
"Alice… that thing is already here…"
At the same time, Mai's expression changed drastically. Cold sweat seeped from her pale face.
She caught on to the enemy's speed a split second earlier than Takumi.
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