Akira and Kana pressed through the school's corridors. The air grew thick, heavy with a damp, acrid stench that stung their noses. Somewhere, water dripped, its faint echo mingling with distant, guttural growls.
Kana clung to Akira's shadow, her grip tightening on the hem of his uniform. Her fingers were tense, trembling.
Akira's face remained a mask of indifference as he scanned their surroundings, his steps measured.
"Hostile entities approaching. Distance approximately twenty meters. Multiple targets confirmed," he said, his voice a quiet hum in the dark.
Kana's breath hitched. "They're… coming again?"
"Affirmative. Estimated contact in thirty seconds. Prepare yourself."
She bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut for a deep breath. Akira's unshakable calm lent her a sliver of courage.
Then, at the end of the corridor, shadows emerged.
Three of them.
One resembled a bird, but its wings were barren, its razor-sharp beak unnaturally long. Another slithered low, its body sprouting countless writhing tendrils. The third was a translucent horror, red veins pulsing beneath its skin, its squirming innards visible.
"Engaging combat. Kana, fall back," Akira said, stepping forward as blades snapped out from his forearms.
The bird-thing struck first, its beak slicing through the air toward Akira's head. He ducked smoothly, his blade flashing. The beak severed at its base, and the creature screeched, a piercing wail.
The tendril-beast lunged next, its thin appendages snaking toward Akira's legs. He shook them off with cold precision, slashing through their roots. Black liquid sprayed, sizzling as it ate into the floor.
The translucent creature stirred last. Its body swelled, veins throbbing, and it spewed a rancid gas that filled the air with decay.
Kana coughed, pressing a hand to her eyes.
"Toxic gas detected. Kana, hold your breath," Akira ordered.
He charged the creature, his blade piercing its core. Its innards burst, collapsing in a cloud of gas and ruin.
One by one, the three fell, and silence reclaimed the corridor.
"Threats neutralized. Area secure," Akira said, retracting his blades and turning to Kana.
She approached, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you… You're incredible, you know that?"
"My functions operate as designed. Gratitude is unnecessary. We must resume movement."
Kana managed a faint smile and nodded.
As they started walking again, the school shuddered violently. Cracks snaked across the walls, and dust rained from the ceiling.
Akira's sensors flared. "Major anomaly detected. Location: central school, near the auditorium. Multiple hostile signals converging."
Kana's voice quivered. "The auditorium… We have to pass through there to reach the gate, don't we?"
"Correct. No alternate routes available. We must break through."
She swallowed hard, her eyes locked on Akira's back. "Okay… I trust you."
He gave a silent nod and led the way toward the auditorium.
As they drew closer, the air grew denser, charged with an unnatural presence. From beyond the door, something writhed, its movements audible.
Akira placed a hand on the door and flung it open.
Hell awaited inside.
At the auditorium's center loomed a grotesque mass of flesh, its surface studded with countless blinking eyes. Slick tendrils slithered across the floor. Around it swarmed smaller creatures, grotesque but less massive than the horrors they'd faced before.
The flesh pulsed, emitting a low groan, and the smaller creatures surged forward as one.
"Hostile signals unquantifiable. Combat preparations complete. Kana, follow my instructions precisely," Akira said, his eyes glowing red as he stepped into the fray.
Tendrils lashed out, and the smaller creatures leaped. Akira's blades danced, carving through them with relentless precision.
But their numbers were overwhelming. For every one he felled, another took its place.
Kana stood frozen at the entrance, watching Akira's battle unfold.
Then the flesh moved.
A massive tendril whipped toward Akira, slamming into the floor. He leaped to avoid it, but the tendril's speed defied expectation. It coiled around his left arm and smashed him into the ground.
Metal groaned as his arm buckled.
"Akira!" Kana screamed.
Expressionless, he sliced through the tendril with his right blade and rose. "Minor damage sustained. Combat viability intact. Kana, stay back."
But the flesh wasn't done. Another tendril surged, this time toward Kana.
She screamed as Akira launched himself forward, severing it mid-strike.
Kana collapsed to the floor, and Akira stood over her, shielding her.
"I will protect you. That is my priority," he said.
For the first time, a faint tremor threaded through his voice.
Kana's eyes glistened as she looked up at him.