Mission Results

"Where is this..." Nijika opened her eyes groggily. She moved her hand and found it had already been bandaged. Ryo pressed down on her head. "Lie down a little longer."

"How strange..." Nijika touched the bandage on her left hand. It had been made from strips of cloth torn from their clothes. She felt a draft through her sleeve. "Ryo actually knows how to take care of people... Though using a patient's clothes as bandages really is your style."

Starlight surged through Nijika's body as she healed herself. Through the faint glow, she saw that Ryo's expression remained indifferent. "We'll see how things go."

Now that Nijika was awake, she recovered quickly. The two set off again. When they rounded a corner, they saw firelight in the distance.

Firelight?

The two hurried forward. The tiny glow gradually became one flying fire butterfly after another, then transformed into a girl sprinting toward them.

"Senpai—" Kita threw herself into their arms and burst into tears. "Being alone was so boring— I'm so glad I found you—"

Seeing that carefree face lifted Nijika's spirits. However, they had not completely escaped danger yet, so the joy of their reunion was quickly suppressed as the three began discussing their respective situations.

"When I woke up, there was only a skeleton beside me. It scared me to death!" Kita gestured wildly as she described what had happened. "Everyone else was gone. I could still sense everyone's condition, but I was really scared— Oh, right, that skeleton! I saw some writing nearby that looked like Latin letters, and also..." Kita proudly dangled the rest in front of them.

Ryo wore a completely unconcerned expression. Only Nijika played along and asked, "What else?"

Kita's next words startled them both. "I found the way out!"

Kita led them to the place where she had awakened. It was much like the place where Nijika and Ryo had woken up, except that the exit was at a lower point, allowing people to come and go freely. The first thing they saw upon entering was a skeleton lying on the ground. It had lain there for who knew how many years. Ryo lightly prodded it with her bass, and it immediately crumbled into dust. Faint writing could indeed be seen beside it.

"Forget that for now. Look at this!" Kita waved them over. She pressed a certain depression in the wall, and a gap suddenly split open. A long stone staircase appeared behind it, and weak sunlight shone into the room.

"When I woke up, this door was already open. I tried going up, and it really does lead to the surface. I originally wanted to find everyone and come back together, but I was afraid I'd never find this place again if I left, so I put a few fires outside. Anyone passing by would definitely see them..." Kita had not spoken to anyone in so long that words poured out of her without stopping.

Before Nijika could react, Kita screamed, "Senpai, behind you!"

At the open entrance, a gigantic skeleton had appeared at some point and was about to squeeze inside!

There was no time to react in the cramped space!

"Sorry I'm late!" Shackles appeared out of thin air around the skeleton. Powerful pressure forced it to the ground, leaving it unable to move!

"...Hah!" With a barely audible shout, a vast wave of blood-yellow, filthy water wrapped around the skeleton and devoured it completely.

The three girls in the room were overjoyed. "Shiko! Wu-san! Bocchi! Gotou-san!"

"Yes, I am!" Shiko struck an exaggerated pose by the doorway. Behind her stood someone too embarrassed to show herself.

Saving people at the perfect moment really is the best way to make an entrance! Shiko swept back her bangs mentally. She would never admit that the entire scene had been a performance she had staged with Ichiri's willing cooperation.

Everyone welcomed Shiko and Ichiri without reservation, which instead made Shiko herself feel embarrassed. "First, I want to apologize for that reckless plan earlier..."

"What about?" Nijika thought for a moment before realizing. "Oh, that. It's fine. It was the result of me indulging you, anyway."

"We wouldn't have found the way out without Wu-san," Kita said, thanking Shiko instead.

"I agreed to it at the time, anyway." Ryo did not care in the slightest.

Regardless, the five-member team was finally together again. In reality, not much time had passed, but it felt as though they had been separated for years.

"There's an exit here too?" Shiko noticed the doorway beside Kita. "Actually, we found one too, so we came looking for you..."

"You did too?" Nijika looked at Kita, then at Shiko and Ichiri. Originally, all of them could have abandoned Nijika and the others and escaped first. Yet, without coordinating with one another, they had all chosen to wait for the others.

Nijika opened her mouth, wanting to say thank you. In the end, however, she replaced it with a radiant smile. "Then let's go! Back to CiRCLE!"

If it were me, I'd definitely wait and leave together with everyone else too!

Marina stood outside CiRCLE, waiting for the girls' return. A banner reading "Welcome Home Victors" had been hung over the entrance, and food and six pairs of bowls and chopsticks had already been prepared on the table. However, appearing on the horizon before the girls from Kessoku Band was another familiar figure.

Dungeon Settlement

Seven people—or six, if Shiko's passenger and the ash bag Kita was carrying were excluded—climbed upward, panting heavily. Their footsteps echoed through the narrow passage, and their senior's ashes rasped inside the ash bag, but nothing could dampen the five girls' current mood.

"Oh! My sun!" When the five of them stood beneath the sunlight again, Kita opened her arms toward the sun.

"I kind of miss the underground environment..." Completely opposite to Kita's excitement, Ichiri curled into a ball and refused the sunlight, like an underground creature accustomed to darkness.

This was no longer the entrance they had used before, but they had not strayed too far and could still find their way back. After taking one last look at the cavern behind them and comparing it to the surrounding terrain, Shiko shook the canvas bag on her back and was about to leave.

The canvas bag trembled.

Shiko froze. The canvas bag moved again.

"Waaaaah—" Kita threw away the ash bag in her hands. Her ash bag was shaking on its own too.

Shiko's heart jumped, and she hurriedly threw the bag on her back far away. The two bags thrashed on the ground like fish that had leaped out of a puddle.

"It's, it's, it's, it's haunted—" Nijika was already clinging to Kita, cowering behind the other three. Shiko had been left with some psychological trauma as well, and she shamefully hid behind Ichiri.

The two bags shook more and more violently. The skull of Shiko's fellow countrywoman jumped out first, followed by the rest of the skeleton. The moment it was exposed to the sun's scorching heat, it turned into stardust and drifted through the air. Before anyone could stop it, it plunged into Ichiri... and into Shiko's body behind her! The light vanished from Shiko's eyes, and she collapsed on the ground.

Kita, who was behind Shiko, hurried over to support her. At that moment, specks of starlight flew out of the other ash bag and entered the top of Kita's head. The shock left Kita unable to stand as well, and she toppled straight onto Shiko.

Shiko seemed to see a figure. It was a woman dressed in ancient robes. She gave Shiko a slight nod, left behind a jade slip, and slowly faded away.

"Wait!" Shiko ran toward the woman, but her hand passed through the woman's body, grasping only the jade slip.

The jade slip seemed to retain the woman's body heat. It was smooth and warm to the touch.

The three girls laid Shiko and Kita flat on the ground, while Nijika worked desperately to save them.

Shiko opened her eyes. The others helped her sit up, but she did not seem to notice and continued murmuring something. "What?" Nijika tried to hear her clearly. Only then did Shiko come to her senses. In the blink of an eye, the woman had scattered like foam, while her three teammates were still before her.

Shiko held her forehead and slowly digested the memories that had suddenly appeared in her mind. "I... learned some things." Just as she was about to explain, she noticed that Kita was still lying beside her. "Let's wait until she wakes up first."

In the place where the six of them now lived, another group of girls had existed thousands of years ago. They too had been sent there from the real world. Their inner radiance had granted them powerful strength, and they had searched for a way home through the dangerous wilderness. During their adventures, they encountered girls from other civilizations, became companions, explored together, and forged strong friendships. Through endless battles, some of them sacrificed themselves. The survivors carried their companions' wishes and pressed onward, eventually arriving before the Sky-Piercing Tower at the center of the wilderness. If they defeated the lone wolf at the top of the tower—the being that had sent them there—they would be able to leave. However, they failed. The girls' blood dyed the tower red, while mournful cries rang across the wilderness. Knowing they could not win, the remaining girls chose to sacrifice themselves, leaving their radiance behind for The Later Ones.

The cavern they had escaped from was one of their seniors' creations—Changyang Earth · Xingtian. It had fused the radiance of countless girls and devoured innumerable monsters, storing up its strength. When the preparations were complete, the headless giant would burst from the earth, wield its ax and shield, and become a tremendous aid to The Later Ones.

The two sets of remains they had brought out belonged to two of their seniors. They had exhausted their radiance, leaving the last trace of their spirits to the two girls before completely fading away.

"Our seniors..." After hearing Shiko and Kita's explanation, Nijika gazed emotionally toward the exit they had escaped through. It was only a small opening, yet it now seemed unfathomably deep.

"Our seniors sacrificed themselves so that we could succeed. As long as we defeat that wolf someday, we'll have done right by them." Kita instead began comforting Nijika. "Let's see what they left us first."

None of the monsters killed inside the cavern had left behind orbs. One of their original objectives—finding prey—could be declared a failure. All they could do was hope that, after who knew how long, the monsters driven away by that shadow would return.

"There seems to be... something extra on the panel..." Ichiri reminded everyone cautiously. When they all looked, a new line had appeared under [Additional]:

The Later Ones: Actions within [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] are unaffected by the special environment

"Is this a gift from those two seniors? Does it mean that even if we go back into the cavern now, we won't be affected by those inexplicable influences?"

But since there was no treasure or anything like that inside, they probably had no reason to return.

"There aren't any other changes besides this." Nijika looked at Shiko and Kita. "You two should have something else, right?"

The jade slip Shiko had obtained in her vision had already appeared on the panel.

[Tianhe Tongxuan Fumo Baolu]: Copies observed skills. After being copied, a skill can be used once.

This had originally been that senior's ability. Now that it had become a physical object, Shiko did not need to understand the jade slip's structure and could reproduce it directly. Of course, her abilities were limited for now. Maintaining five jade slips at once was the absolute limit.

After hearing Shiko's explanation, Nijika clearly looked envious. Especially after Shiko took out a jade slip. "When you healed me earlier, I recorded that starlight. Look—" Shiko snapped the jade slip in half. Starlight identical to the earlier glow descended from the sky, bathing Nijika in her own radiance. The sensation was rather strange.

If I'd had an item like this earlier... Never mind. I have my own uses too. There's no point envying others. Nijika put aside her dejection.

Ryo also asked for an identical jade slip. "I'll try it too—why won't it break?" She had started by applying only a little force, then gradually used more. However hard Ryo tried, the jade slip did not change at all. The others tried as well, and eventually discovered that only Shiko herself seemed able to use these things.

"Not understanding the structure does have its downsides. There's a limit to how many I can hold, plus all sorts of restrictions..."

"Good, then what about Little Kita?" Before Shiko could finish complaining, Nijika awkwardly changed the subject.

Kita proudly displayed her panel:

Kita Kita

Skills: SNS Account Operation Lv10, Electric guitar technique Lv2, Vocal Technique Lv6, [Dawn of Atonement] Lv10

The first thing Nijika focused on was not the skills. "You can change your name back now. We all know your real name."

"It's a girl's stubborn pride~ Anyway, look at the skill I got!"

Jehovah said, "The wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is grievous." —Gen. 18:20

Then Jehovah rained brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah from Jehovah out of heaven. —Gen. 19:24

Inspired by the destruction of Sodom, the unnamed senior created this skill. It adapted to Kita's abilities and transformed, bringing down divine wrath from heaven. Every sinner upon the earth would suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

"That's awesome." Shiko instantly forgot about her own skill. "So how powerful is it?"

This was a large-area AOE, but they had nowhere to test it, and even Kita herself did not know exactly how it worked.

A sound came from the distance. Judging by the noise, a monster was approaching.

Everyone's eyes focused on Kita.

"Should I chant some kind of spell?" Facing the monster that looked like a pile of kneaded modeling clay, Kita rubbed her hands excitedly.

"Use this!" Shiko's eyes lit up as she pulled out a sheet of paper.

Kita froze. The paper before her was covered in painfully chuuni incantations. But since they had made the request...

"Explode, reality!"

"Shatter, spirit!"

"My name is Megumi... Kita, the foremost genius of the Crimson Demons(?) and wielder of explosion magic."

"Let this endless night come to an end!"

"The Star of Creation that parts heaven and earth!!!"

The world turned red.

Fire descended from heaven. Judgment had arrived.

The ugly, the beautiful, the strong, the weak—every monster walking upon the earth would be destroyed together with the land that bore them.

Before Kita could see the results of her own work, she passed out.

"How... is it?" Nijika's efforts finally woke her. (I didn't expect this skill to consume so much. I can't use it recklessly.)

"You'd better see for yourself." Everyone else wore the strange expression of people who did not know how to put something into words. Kita looked toward the direction in which she had cast the spell.

"Eh?"

The earth was burning. Her entire field of vision was scorched red, and magma flowed everywhere. Where were the monsters? Even the orbs that should have been left behind had turned to ash. This was a miniature hell the size of CiRCLE.

"I... did this?" Kita raised both hands, still unable to believe that she now possessed such tremendous power.

Ryo placed a hand on Kita's shoulder. "You're in charge of hunting from now on. I'm never leaving the house again."

"No." Nijika immediately pressed down on Ryo's shoulder. "Kita, treat a skill like this as your trump card. You should only use it when I've given you enough support."

"So if Nijika's here, I can use it whenever I want. Why do I need to go outside?"

"Just no!"

Kita looked at the two girls bickering. Although she had gained a powerful ability, she was not very happy. Because...

Along the way, whether it was the two senpais or Wu-san and Gotou-san, they all seemed to have grown closer than before...

Was she the only one being left out?

Unaware of someone's little worries, Shiko put away a jade slip that had turned crimson. She had successfully copied the skill just now. Compared with creating a jade slip, the cost of copying one was practically negligible.

I'll call it [Ten Directions Illumination Sun Purification True Talisman]... Pretty cool.

On the way back, Nijika noticed that Ichiri repeatedly looked as though she wanted to say something but could not.

"What's wrong, Bocchi?"

Ichiri turned her head away and finally spoke. "Actually... I got something too..."

"Eh?" Even Shiko had not known about this.

"After assimilating a monster that looked like a slime, my ability changed..." As Ichiri spoke, she held a ball of water in her palm. With a thought, the water gradually turned blood-yellow. Ichiri sprinkled it onto the ground, and the filthy water instantly corroded the soil and stone while also depleting itself. Once all the filthy water had dissipated, a large pit had appeared in the ground.

Hitori Goto

Skills: Electric Guitar Technique Lv10, [Yomi Ferry] Lv1

[Yomi Ferry]: Transforms water into corrosive Sanzu River water, dealing bonus damage to living creatures.

In terms of destructive power, it was inferior to Kita's. In terms of versatility, it was inferior to Shiko's. However, this enhancement consumed nothing at all, strengthening the direct offensive power that Ichiri had originally lacked.