落とし穴１２０堀：そしてお約束は砕かれる (Part1)
**Pitfall 120: And So, the Clichés Are Shattered**
**Side: Solo**
As I suspected, this abandoned school was abnormal.
After all, there were ghosts everywhere!
At first, I thought it was just my imagination. But when Enora-san saw the same things I did, I became terrified. We couldn’t find a way out, and when we reluctantly resumed our exploration… they appeared.
They acted as if they were luring us in, standing in the classrooms with a look that practically begged us to come inside and try to catch them.
I suppose we should have just run away, but I didn’t want to pin the responsibility on my seniors. I thought that if we just subdued them, we could get out of here faster.
But that was naive.
Mikos-senpai and Enora-san charged into the classroom and held their own for a moment, but they were quickly chased out by the ghosts.
Seeing the appearance of those specters caused Kagura-senpai and me to faint. When I finally came to, we were hiding in some classroom.
"Mmm..."
"Good. You're awake."
"Enora-san? Where are we? Ah!! That’s right!!"
I woke up from my stupor, feeling a bit groggy at first, but the memory of those unforgettable ghosts came rushing back. As I frantically tried to look around, Enora-san covered my mouth and held my face steady, forcing me to look at her.
"Calm down. We’ve managed to shake those monsters off for now. Stay quiet, alright?"
I nodded up and down, and she released me.
"How are you feeling? Any physical issues?"
"...No. I don't feel anything out of the ordinary."
"That's a relief. When we left the classroom, you and Kagura fainted after seeing those monsters. I had to carry you both and run, but I didn't have the luxury of being careful with you, so I was worried you might have hit your heads on something."
"Oh, so I fainted. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. It would be stranger if you didn't faint after seeing that. Mikos and I were in the mindset of capturing them, so we kept our composure, but if you see that without warning, fainting is only natural. Even Kagura fainted, after all."
Yeah. It was shocking. Their eyes were sunken, reflecting nothing but darkness.
Even though I couldn't read their expressions through those eyes, I could feel the resentment and hatred overflowing from their entire bodies—it was more than enough to make me sick.
The fact that Kagura-senpai, a shrine maiden, fainted as well was proof enough of that... wait.
"Huh? Come to think of it, where are Kagura-senpai and Mikos-senpai?"
"Oh, they're over there."
I looked in the direction she pointed and saw Mikos-senpai apologizing to Kagura-senpai for something.
"Ouch..."
"I'm sorry. But I had no choice."
"Ah, that's fine. It's my fault for fainting. I'm just grateful you carried me. I just let out a sound because my head suddenly throbbed."
"I can't help it. I slammed your head into the corner of the hallway when I turned the corner. That's why your forehead split open."
"It's not like it 'split open.' The skin just tore and it's bleeding. But I'm feeling a bit dizzy, so let me rest a little longer."
True to her words, Kagura-senpai’s forehead was wrapped in a cloth that was stained with blood.
"As you can see, Kagura got hurt, so I was worried about you too, Solo."
"I see. But I'm alright."
"I'm glad. For now, we'll rest here until Kagura recovers."
Enora-san said this while keeping a watchful eye on the hallway.
"By the way, Enora-san, where is this?"
"A room I found when we rushed up to the third floor. For some reason, those things didn't follow us up the stairs."
"Why is that?"
"I'd like to say I know, but they likely have some sort of territory. Look, take a peek at the hallway. Be quiet, okay?"
Following her instruction, I peered into the hallway...
*Scritch, scritch, scritch...*
A blood-stained female ghost was crawling on all fours, scurrying about.
She radiated the same sense of revulsion as the ghost with the sunken eyes.
"Don't stare too long. Things like that can be quite sharp."
"...Yes."
Even though Enora-san warned me, I had already looked away. I wasn't strong enough to stare at something so grotesque.
I turned my gaze away from the hallway and approached Kagura-senpai to check on her.
"Kagura-senpai, are you okay?"
"Hm? Oh, Solo, you're awake too. Good. Don't worry about the injury. It's just bleeding a lot, that's all."
"Kagura, I'm truly sorry. If I don't treat this quickly, it'll leave a scar... Oh, if only I could use magic."
"Don't worry about it. I'm the one who was foolish for fainting. Yuki often says we should always be prepared for situations where we can't use magic... Still, I wonder if he'll be disillusioned with me because of this injury. Ahaha..."
Kagura-senpai gave a hollow laugh.
But that wasn't true at all.
"Yuki-sensei wouldn't be disillusioned with Kagura-senpai over something like that!!"
"That's right!! He's not the type of person to decide whether he likes or dislikes someone based on a scratch like that!!"
Mikos-senpai and I shouted in unison before we could stop ourselves.
"Hey! You two, you'll be found if you make that much noise!"
Enora-san scolded us in a voice that was small but filled with fury.
"S-sorry."
"My bad, Enora."
We apologized, but it was already too late...
*Rattle, rattle, rattle!!*
The door began to shake violently.
*“Ooooohhh... aaaaaahhh...”*
A voice filled with deep resentment drifted from the other side of the door.
"W-what should we do!?"
"What do you mean, what? This is the only entrance and exit..."
"We have no choice but to break through... Kagura? Can you move?"
Oh no, Kagura-senpai didn't have time to recover her strength!
But Kagura-senpai stood up as if nothing were wrong.
"No problem. If I become a coward over something like this, Yuki would truly be disillusioned with me."
"I see. Then, we won't hold back. We're going all at once."
"Yes. It's not like we're dealing with an opponent we can just leisurely walk away from."
Kagura-senpai and Enora-san smiled at each other.
I’m sure this is what they call being best friends.
They threw the door open and leaped out.
They led the charge, tackling the ghosts that were clinging to the door.
"Let's go!!"
"Don't look back!!"
I didn't need to be told; I knew that if I looked back, it would be the end!
So, I desperately followed behind my seniors...
We reached the rooftop—or rather, we were cornered.
"Wait!? Kagura, Enora!? This is a dead end!?"
"It couldn't be helped!! They came from the front, so we ran this way... ugh."
"S-seniors!?"
"Tch, were we being herded after all!?"
I dragged Kagura-senpai, who had collapsed to her knees, away from the rooftop door where the ghosts were sure to appear...
*Clang!!*
The sound of the dead end echoed.
Slowly, the door opened, and the woman with the black, sunken eyes walked toward us.
I no longer had the luxury of wondering where the other ghosts had gone.
Since Kagura-senpai couldn't move, we had no way to escape...
Still, I hoped there was some way out.
"Yuki, Yuki, please help us..."
"Yuki-sensei. Please save Mikos-chan and the others..."
"Hairen-sama, please, protect us!!"