"It's already past the agreed time, why hasn't Taki sent a message yet?"
Kitahara raised his eyebrows slightly, keenly sensing that something was wrong.
You have to know that Taki is a very serious and earnest person who is not only strict with others, but even stricter with herself, and usually never goes back on her word unless she encounters an unexpected situation.
"Let me send a message to ask first..."
Kitahara walked over to the sofa and sent a message to Taki.
Three minutes passed, and the message was still in an 'Unread' state.
Kitahara pondered for a moment and called her directly, but unfortunately there was only a dial tone inside, and it was similarly impossible to connect.
"Something's very wrong..."
Kitahara frowned slightly, and sent messages to Tomori, Sakiko, and others, asking if anyone knew Taki's whereabouts.
But just like him, no one knew Taki's whereabouts either.
Tomori: "Taki hasn't replied to the message."
Soyo: "When everyone rehearsed songs together yesterday, Taki said she was taking today off and didn't need to work part-time."
Sakiko: "I'm feeling a bit worried..."
Kitahara made up his mind to use today's last question opportunity:
"Question: What happened to Taki, and why can't she be contacted?"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
The Book of Answers quickly began to flip its pages rapidly...
At the same time.
Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy.
In the dim corridor, the breathing sounds of three girls were rapid and oppressive.
"Huff... huff..."
"Why... why can't we walk out of here still?"
"The classroom building clearly only has five floors, but whether going up or down, we've climbed at least over ten floors and still can't find the exit..."
"Could we... have encountered an anomaly?"
Misumi Uika bit her lower lip, her face pale, finally voicing the fact she was least willing to face.
Yahata Umiri's face was equally pale. Hearing this, she clenched her fists, looked around nervously, her voice dry and raspy:
"Although I really don't want to admit it... there's a high probability that we've run into one."
To this day, official organizations around the world have announced the existence of anomalous entities and conducted corresponding popular science... An endless staircase that you can never walk out of, no matter what, is undoubtedly a standard anomalous event.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."
Misumi Uika bit her lower lip, leaning her back against the wall, apologizing in a low voice.
After school, she was kept behind by the teacher to handle class affairs. Taki and Yahata Umiri chose to help out together, and by the time everything was done, it was already sunset and twilight.
The three girls went to the restroom together as a group, and after coming out, they prepared to leave the academy, only to encounter a staircase that they couldn't reach the end of no matter what.
Whether going up or down, added together they had walked past dozens of floors, yet still hadn't found an exit.
Not only that, in their rushing up and down, the three girls hadn't encountered anyone other than themselves, and the lights in the staircase were quietly dimming, gradually flickering with a yellowish tint.
"It has nothing to do with Uika." Taki had a serious expression as she looked earnestly at Misumi Uika. "It's not like we haven't left the academy at dusk before, it was always normal. The reason we encountered an anomalous event today is just our bad luck, so Uika shouldn't take all the responsibility onto yourself."
"Taki..."
Misumi Uika looked up over at her, mist quietly welling up in her eyes.
"Taki is right." Yahata Umiri crossed her arms over her chest, her brow tightly knit. "What we need to consider now is how to walk out of the staircase, not wallow in self-pity."
"Are you all done resting?"
"Once we've rested up, let's keep walking down and look carefully for clues to escape."
Clearly, Yahata Umiri was a standard person of action who would never give up until the very last moment.
Only in the next second, Taki's voice suddenly rang out:
"Everyone doesn't need to walk anymore, let's just stay here and wait for rescue."
Yahata Umiri shook her head upon hearing this:
"We already tried just now, there's no signal inside the staircase. Whether it's phone calls or text messages, none of them can be sent out. No one will know we're trapped in the staircase, so..."
The words following that went without saying.
So there definitely wouldn't be any rescue.
However, Taki gently shook her head, her expression resolute and her tone confident:
"Someone will definitely come to rescue us."
"Hmm?"
Yahata Umiri crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head in confusion upon hearing this.
"Is Taki hiding something from us?"
"I..."
Taki parted her lips, and to soothe the tense emotions of her two good friends, she decided to tell the truth after all, her small face burning hot as she said in a low voice:
"The guy who was messaging and chatting with me at noon, he's an officially certified exorcist. If he can't get in touch with me, he'll definitely come looking for me."
"An official exorcist?" Yahata Umiri suddenly knitted her brows, a hard-to-describe complex expression appearing on her face. "Could it be... a middle-aged uncle?"
"Ehhh?"
Misumi Uika raised her hand to cover her mouth in shock, her gossiping heart instantly overriding her feelings of guilt and panic:
"Taki's boyfriend is actually a middle-aged uncle?"
"It's not!" Taki's small face flushed red, and she subconsciously refuted in flustered anger, "He's a high school student! How could I possibly like a middle-aged uncle!"
Yahata Umiri was clearly still a bit skeptical:
"Boys in high school nowadays are all super childish. Wanting to get a girl's attention, they don't even have the courage to strike up a conversation directly. Can a high school student like that really become an exorcist? Could Taki have been tricked?"
Taki helplessly raised her hand to cover her forehead, knowing that talk was cheap and that only seeing Kitahara with their own eyes could clear her two good friends' doubts:
"Let's not talk about it anymore. Let's rest well and save our strength. When Kitahara comes over, you'll naturally know I wasn't tricked."
"..."
At the same time.
The Book of Answers happened to stop flipping pages, and text quietly emerged on the blank page.
[Taki is currently trapped in the 'Endless Staircase']
"She encountered an anomaly?"
Kitahara raised his eyebrows slightly. Knowing that Taki had run into danger, he simply grabbed his backpack and strode out the door.
Arriving at the entryway, Kitahara changed his shoes while pulling out his phone to call his exclusive liaison officer, asking her to help check Taki's last known location.
The question limit for the Book of Answers had been used up, but information could still be obtained through the Management Bureau.
The liaison officer did not disappoint Kitahara. Just three minutes later, she called back to report the news:
"Kitahara-sama, after retrieving the footage, we found that the last time Miss Taki appeared on video was at 5:25 PM at Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy. The camera was located on the east side of the third floor of the classroom building. Miss Taki came out of the restroom with two female companions and entered the staircase, after which she did not appear again."
"Thank you."
Kitahara thanked her softly.
Only a fool wouldn't use power when available; for something that could be settled with a single phone call, only an idiot would think there was more accomplishment in gathering clues through various means to find Taki in the end.
"The location is clear now, next is to go find Taki..."
Kitahara put away his phone, preparing to take a taxi to Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy.
There was no helping it; Hana had not been to Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy before, and without coordinates, fast traveling there was impossible.
Just as he walked out the door, a stretched black sedan suddenly stopped in front of him.
The car door was pushed open, and a extremely familiar cute face leaned out—it was Sakiko:
"Kitahara-kun, get in."
"Okay."
Kitahara stepped over, bent down, and sat beside Sakiko:
"How did Sakiko happen to come over?"
Sakiko answered softly: "When Kitahara-kun sent me a message, I felt something was wrong. After all, Taki is super serious and always keeps her word on things she promised. I was a bit worried, so I had the driver uncle drive over, thinking maybe I could help... Kitahara-kun already knows what Taki encountered, right?"
"I've already asked the Book of Answers..."
Kitahara nodded gently, naturally holding nothing back and telling Sakiko everything as it was.
"Eh, Taki encountered an anomaly?"
Sakiko sat up straight, her expression instantly becoming serious:
"Where?"
"Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy." Kitahara said softly, "The timing is just right; if Sakiko had come a step later, I would have taken a taxi there."
Sakiko bit her lower lip with her white teeth and decisively gave the driver uncle instructions to head to Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy.
"Taki still has the ability I shared with her, so there shouldn't be any danger in the short term."
Kitahara's voice was steady.
"I know..." Sakiko let out a soft breath, holding Kitahara's right hand nervously, "but as expected, I'm still worried."
Silent all the way.
The sedan pressed against the maximum speed limit and quickly arrived at the entrance of Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy.
"Sakiko, wait for me in the car." Kitahara said straightforwardly, "I move faster acting alone."
Nourished by the Fruit of Eden, although Sakiko's physical fitness exceeded that of ordinary humans, it was still far behind Kitahara's. She couldn't keep up with Kitahara's speed at all, and insisting on coming along would only drag down the rescue operation.
Sakiko nodded gently, not insisting on acting together, but only soft-spokenly instructed:
"Kitahara-kun, stay safe. I'll wait for you to bring Taki back."
"Leave it to me."
Kitahara turned his head to look at Hanasaki-gawa Girls' Academy outside the car.
The sun was setting.
The evening clouds were yellow and dim.
There were still security guards on duty at the school gate, and groups of two or three students could be seen walking toward the main gate under the setting sun; clearly, not the entire school's students had encountered the anomaly.
Snap.
Kitahara lightly snapped his fingers, activating his domain to enter a state of 'invisibility', then pushed open the door, got out of the car, and quickly breached the academy grounds.
Several girls at the school gate only felt a gust of wild wind sweep past them, their skirts and hair instantly fluttering. They gasped in surprise one after another and hurriedly covered their skirts with both hands, but turning to look around, there was no sign of wind at all.
In less than a minute, Kitahara had crossed the entire campus and entered the classroom building.
"Third floor of the classroom building, women's restroom east of the hallway... arrived."
Kitahara arrived at the spot where Taki last appeared on surveillance, gazing toward the emergency exit route not far from the restroom.
"She probably encountered the anomaly on her way downstairs."
Kitahara stepped up to the staircase, then straightforwardly walked down.
Under supernatural vision, it could be seen that negative aura was indeed drifting endlessly in the staircase.
However, before long, Kitahara walked unimpeded all the way out of the classroom building without encountering any situations during the process, nor seeing any trace of Taki.
"So, is it an alternate space similar to the Thirteen Steps?"
Kitahara pondered for a moment, decisively turned around, walked into the restroom, came to the mirror in front of the sink, and called out:
"Hana, come here for a moment."
Supernatural vision could see through illusions and mist, but finding the entrance to an alternate space was beyond its capability, so it still relied on Hana to take action.
As his call fell, ripples quickly appeared on the surface of the mirror, as if stones were thrown into water, followed by a little head poking out—it was Hana Hana.
"Hana, I have something to ask for your help with..."
Kitahara briefly explained the situation:
"Help me find the entrance to the alternate space."
Hana raised her head and extended her fair, delicate little hand:
"Cupcakes."
Kitahara promised a reward: "When we go back, I'll have Taki buy you ten cupcakes."
Having received the promise, Hana quickly entered her working state. Following Kitahara to the staircase, her nose sniffed east and west, quickly stopping in her tracks at a corner of the staircase. Immediately after, she raised her small hand and snatched at the empty air; the vacant air quietly shattered, revealing a dim and gloomy stretch of staircase.
"Nice work."
Kitahara rubbed Hana's little head, then straightforwardly raised his leg and strode into the alternate space.
Afraid?
The ones who should be afraid were the monsters hiding inside the alternate space.
The mission for [Tokyo Exorcism] wasn't completed yet; now that a monster was delivering itself to his doorstep, it was killing two birds with one stone.
At the same time.
Inside the dim and gloomy staircase of the alternate space.
Taki was together with her good friend Yahata Umiri, hugging Misumi Uika's arms on the left and right respectively.
"Uika, hold on!"
"Stay conscious!"
"Hold on a little longer, Kitahara will come save us very soon!"
Taki's tone was firm, without a trace of panic or despair on her small face, as she continuously cheered her friend on.
In contrast, Yahata Umiri's face was pale, with a faint look of despair surfacing on her face:
"Taki, will your boyfriend really show up?"
"Kitahara will definitely come to rescue us." Taki had a full face of earnestness, not doubting in the slightest whether Kitahara would appear. "Umiri, trust me!"
Meanwhile, Misumi Uika, who was held by the two girls on her left and right, had lost the highlights in her eyes, and her entire person had fallen into a state of breakdown.
The endless staircase was not safe.
When they first entered, there was no difference between this place and the staircase in the real world, except that no matter how they walked, they couldn't find an exit.
However, as time went on, the lights in the staircase began to quietly dim, flickering intermittently, while creepy calling voices of indistinguishable gender came from deep within the staircase, blatantly calling out the names of the three.
Once her name was called, the girl who was called would fall into a brief state of trance, as if her loved ones were at the deepest part of the staircase waiting for her to reunite with them.
Among them, Misumi Uika was called the most times, so her condition was the worst; Yahata Umiri came second, and Taki was called by name the fewest times.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's my fault... It's all my fault..."
Misumi Uika had already fallen into a shut-down state, turning a deaf ear to the calls of both Taki and Umiri, wanting only to obey the calling voice and head toward the deepest part of the staircase.
If Taki and Yahata Umiri hadn't been holding her arms tightly on her left and right, she would have long vanished into the darkness under the Charm of that voice.
"Why does that voice keep calling Uika's name?"
Yahata Umiri knit her brows tightly, completely bewildered.
"Maybe it's related to Uika herself..." Taki had been to the inner world before and had faced evil spirits directly, making her somewhat experienced. She bit her lower lip and guessed, "Uika seems sunny and cheerful, but perhaps she carries a heavy pressure in her heart that none of us know about, which is why she became the main target of the anomaly."
"Taki...?"
A shout came from right above the three girls' heads.
Taki suddenly raised her small face, looking toward the top of the staircase with a face full of pleasant surprise.
"Taki, what's wrong?"
Yahata Umiri asked in confusion.
"It's Kitahara." Taki took a deep breath and responded loudly, "I'm here!!"
"Is it that boy who's dating Taki?"
Yahata Umiri reacted quickly, furrowing her dark eyebrows, her eyes vigilant:
"Taki, don't be rash. It might be a monster disguising itself as someone you're familiar with and then calling your name."
"It's not a monster." Taki's eyes sparkled brightly as she looked up with her small face. "The previous calls would make one's spirit fall into a trance, but the call just now wasn't uncomfortable at all... It's definitely Kitahara who came."
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of footsteps quickly became clear.
Before long, Kitahara's figure appeared in the eyes of the three girls.
"Wh-Why did you only arrive now?"
In front of her two good friends, Taki was super strong and steadfast in her resolve, constantly comforting and encouraging her friends.
Yet at this moment, with Kitahara's appearance, a misty haze quickly welled up in Taki's eyes; if she weren't still supporting Misumi Uika, she would have long been unable to resist throwing herself over to him.
"Sorry, I'm late."
Kitahara walked briskly down the stairs, quickly arriving in front of the three girls. He extended his right hand and gently rubbed Taki's little head, his voice warm and gentle:
"Leave the rest to me."
"..."
Yahata Umiri remained silent, secretly sizing up Kitahara.
(This boy... couldn't be an idol from an agency who hasn't debuted yet?)
(He's wearing a high school uniform, looking indeed like a high school student and not some middle-aged uncle.)
(To be able to brave danger to come look for Taki, his character seems pretty good...)
"Hello." Kitahara looked at Yahata Umiri with a smile on his face, greeting politely, "I am Taki's boyfriend-kun. Nice to meet you for the first time, please take care of me."
"I haven't agreed to it yet!"
Taki's small face turned red, and she glared at Kitahara in flustered embarrassment.
"...Nice to meet you for the first time, I am Yahata Umiri, Taki's friend."
Yahata Umiri's breath paused slightly, and she tightened her face to respond in a low voice.
It could be clearly felt that Kitahara possessed an indescribable aura that made people involuntarily want to get close to him, coupled with a level of appearance that could allow him to debut as an idol... Yahata Umiri clearly felt that her heartbeat had suddenly sped up just now.
(No wonder Taki, who previously never gave boys a pleasant look, suddenly got a boyfriend...)
Yahata Umiri quietly let out a breath, a word suddenly popping up in her mind:
(Succubus...)
(Taki's boyfriend, isn't he practically like a legendary male succubus?)