Mahito stared.
Left.
Right.
Left again.
Rows.
And rows.
And rows.
Variants stood everywhere.
Mahoraga wheels turning.
Adaptation already beginning.
Mahito slowly raised a finger.
"…This feels targeted."
Takeru crossed his arms.
"…It is."
Silence.
Then—
every wheel rotated once.
SPIN
Mahito's eyes widened.
"…WAIT—"
BOOOOOM
Everything moved at once.
Fast Naoya blurred forward—
HIT
Mahoraga Nanami appeared beside him—
CRACK
Higaruma slammed down—
BOOM
Hana's light erupted—
Megumi's variant summoned another Mahoraga.
Then another.
Then another.
Mahito twisted his body—
ducked—
slipped—
jumped—
Only to see more waiting.
Punch.
Kick.
Counter.
Impact.
Impact.
Impact.
The station floor shattered apart beneath the fight.
Pillars cracked.
Walls collapsed.
Mahito actually managed to escape one direction—
Only for Takeru himself to appear there.
"…Going somewhere?"
Mahito immediately turned around.
"…NOPE."
He ran the other way.
Straight into another wall of variants.
"…NOPE."
Outside the barrier area, everyone stared.
Yuji blinked.
"…I think he's panicking."
Megumi looked at the battlefield.
"…I think he passed panic five minutes ago."
Hakari pointed.
"…THERE ARE MORE OF THEM THAN THERE WERE BEFORE!"
Meanwhile—
Mahito dropped to one knee.
Covered in damage.
Breathing heavily.
"…How…"
cough
"…how many ARE THERE?!"
Takeru looked around thoughtfully.
"…Good question."
Mahito:
"THAT WASN'T RHETORICAL!"
Golden light appeared around Takeru's hand again.
That absurd RCT.
Mahito's eyes widened immediately.
"…No."
The damage began closing.
Bones repaired.
Energy returned.
Mahito stared in horror.
"…NO."
Takeru looked down calmly.
"…You're staying conscious."
A pause.
"…We're not done here."
Far away, Fred slowly lifted a sign:
"Mahito status: respawn disabled."