[Sensei noticed already, didn't you?]
Miko's face displayed an expression she would never naturally make - one filled with mocking amusement.
"You've already forgotten your good friend Kumami?"
Takakai spoke with complete calm, his very first words successfully choking Alice's response and stiffening her smile.
[Saying such things makes Sensei very unlikable, you know? It was Sensei who stole Alice's friend and let her die. Doesn't Sensei feel any guilt at all? Could it be Sensei is just like the others, thinking it's fine as long as it's someone else dying? Alice truly thought Sensei was different.]
Alice tilted her head slightly, her tone carrying notes of flustered irritation.
"I've been carefully counting the time from when your rooftop illusions were broken until we reached this platform. Just enough time for you to fully possess Miko after being constrained by the rules. I've made sure to understand this timing very clearly."
Takakai's voice remained steady.
During his second loop, he had used the friend rules to temporarily restrain Alice, forcing her into silence until the [Principal Elephant]'s mechanics sent him underground and released her back to her usual chatterbox state.
This time, after Kumami's sacrifice, he had been waiting for Alice to fully recover and make her move.
As for Miko...it was unfortunate. The brief moment of separation caused by Alice's illusions on the rooftop had been enough for possession. Takakai genuinely wished he could have prevented it, but realistically there had been no opportunity.
But it didn't matter now.
This third loop would end with him taking Alice's final artifact and completely destroying Fujika Middle School's false reality.
And even if he failed to clear the dungeon this time, he had already decided to suicide and start a fourth loop.
He would save them all - the reliable senior Kumami, Miko who had stumbled along with him this far. He alone would remember their painful experiences.
For now, as for Alice's actions, after multiple encounters Takakai was fully prepared.
Which was why, when descending from the rooftop, he had already ordered the rescue team member in the 0th floor to discard the veteran player doll and climb down the still-open elevator shaft. Maintaining distance, they were secretly searching this underground area for Alice's true artifact location.
His current role was to stall for time, delaying Alice's realization of this diversion tactic as long as possible.
Bzzzt—
The heavy iron door they had entered through began slowly closing.
Alice, wearing Miko's face, smiled at Takakai.
In the next instant, Takakai suddenly leapt straight up, landing upside-down on the ceiling where he gripped overhead pipes to suspend himself, looking down expressionlessly at Alice.
[Oh? Is Sensei performing acrobatics now?]
Alice put on an exaggerated look of surprise.
"Just preventing you from slipping puzzle answers into my hands."
Takakai replied matter-of-factly.
[That makes sense~ Alice can't climb around like Sensei, so as long as you stay up there, Alice can't become friends with you.]
Alice giggled without concern, but Takakai focused on her wording, detecting something odd.
Alice had said she thought he was "different from the other teachers" and was fixated on befriending him. This "difference"...could it relate to his identity? Like at Shirakawa Apartments and Nutty Putty Cave, did he have a hidden role here beyond just being a "student"? One that Alice had recognized?
Takakai recalled the execution list from earlier, particularly the final name - the teacher who likely hadn't been executed in time.
A sudden wave of danger flooded his senses.
Releasing his grip, he clenched both fists as he dropped from the ceiling. Alice's form had vanished, and a bloody gash now decorated Takakai's shoulder.
The [Very Bad Wolf] had appeared.
Tch. I lost track of it after Kumami's artifact pinned it earlier.
Completely invisible now under Alice's renewed illusions, with the chamber's only exit mysteriously sealed, the space had become an inescapable trap.
Takakai burst into motion.
His danger-sensing blessing activated - though the illusions obscured everything, having encountered the wolf-entity on the rooftop meant his blessing remembered its presence. Within a certain range, he could still evade.
BOOM!
His foot slammed down, sending stone fragments flying.
The pipe-filled chamber transformed into a sunny classroom where tiny students sat at every desk, all watching Takakai expectantly.
A blink later, the seats stood empty save for bloodstains, white chrysanthemums and red candles placed neatly on each surface.
"You think this would affect me?"
Takakai shouted deliberately while pushing the rescue team badge's power to its limits, moving at inhuman speeds to avoid the pursuing wolf.
[Alice just thought Sensei might feel nostalgic~ After all, Alice is also Sensei's student. Even though Sensei has been stripped of teaching credentials, Alice still treats you as a teacher.]
The girl's laughter echoed through the empty classroom.
"Call this 'teacher treatment'? Your lies are transparent. To me you're just another insane murderer—"
Unable to stop moving, Takakai suddenly slammed into an invisible wall. Though he dodged immediately, the wolf-entity still managed to inflict another wound.
The walls here couldn't be destroyed either.
On impact, Takakai sensed the 0th floor entity's presence seeping through cracks. Even this underground lab still followed dormitory rules - likely because the 0th floor's domain extended downward.
This complicates things. The rescue badge alone won't create enough distance, and using my blessing will burn me out fast...
Just like previous loops, once Alice seriously attacked, she could always push Takakai to the brink. The familiarity almost made him numb to whatever she might try next. He could already guess her backup plan - after all, he hadn't encountered this lab's native entity yet.
The question is when it will appear. Its creation wasn't tied to Alice, so she can't control it directly. My not triggering it yet might mean I haven't met its activation conditions. In which case, Alice could just fake those conditions with illusions. Damn, her abilities are so broken...
[So mean, Sensei~ But Alice is in a good mood, so you're forgiven!]
Between giggles, the wolf-entity landed another strike.
Crimson light erupted from Takakai's eyes as he finally activated his blessing.
Instantly, overwhelming force smashed him down, cratering the floor and shattering surrounding pipes. Something invisible tore a chunk of flesh from his back.
The lab's native entity - having dwelled in darkness so long it had forgotten its own form, becoming utterly imperceptible. It hunted by scent, and Alice had been suppressing Takakai's blood odor until this moment.
The wolf-entity pounced, severing Takakai's arm in one bite.
The disembodied limb rolled before Alice picked it up, prying open the clenched fingers one by one.
[Every bad child has a Very Bad Wolf watching them~ That's the fairy tale the Principal told Alice.]
Giggling, she placed a damaged toothbrush (likely belonging to some researcher) in the severed hand's palm.
"Then...are you the bad child?"
Despite his horrific injuries, Takakai's voice remained steady.
[Well, Alice asked the Principal one question: What kind of person could make the Very Bad Wolf afraid? Even make it obey like a good doggy?]
Alice covered her mouth, amusement dripping from every word.
I see.
The original Alice entity, though constrained by school rules, had constantly sought loopholes - likely manipulating the rule-makers themselves into creating one.
Alice's true "identity" in Fujika Middle School was probably this special role the researchers had unknowingly built for her, granting her current freedom.
[Now then, Sensei will finally become Alice's friend~]
As the words left her mouth, Takakai felt overwhelming invasive pressure in his mind.
Struggling up with half his back and organs missing, he gave Alice one last bloody smile:
"Yeah. Now...it's finally time for the counterattack."