Fleeing the home economics room, Akira and Kana sprinted toward the art room. Behind them, the bone-birds pursued, their shrill wingbeats filling the air. Sharp beaks gouged the walls, and glass shards rained down.
Kana's legs grew heavy with fatigue, her breath ragged, but Akira's grip pulled her onward. His left arm was dead weight, and even his right blade showed signs of dulling.
The art room door came into view—just as a new creature dropped from the ceiling.
A massive spider-like thing, spitting sticky threads to block their path. The webbing snared Kana's foot, pinning her for a moment.
She screamed. Akira slashed the threads in a flash. "Kana, move!"
He shoved her clear and faced the spider. It swung a razor-sharp leg, grazing his shoulder. Sparks flew, his uniform tearing further.
Unfazed, Akira countered, driving his blade through its abdomen. Black ichor sprayed, and the creature collapsed.
But the bone-birds were closing in.
"To the art room, now!" Akira shouted, pulling Kana's hand as they dove inside.
The room reeked of paint, canvases and sculpting tools strewn about. Akira slammed the door shut, propping an easel against it as a barricade.
The bone-birds battered the door, but it held—for the moment.
Kana collapsed to the floor, gasping. "I… I'm at my limit. We've been running forever."
"I acknowledge your fatigue," Akira said. "But rest is unsafe. Hostiles are still approaching. We fortify here."
He grabbed a utility knife and a spray can from a shelf. "Improvised weapons. Kana, arm yourself."
She nodded, picking up a sculpting chisel from the floor.
Then, a sound came from the window—glass trembling as something climbed outside.
Akira approached, and a massive gecko-like creature appeared, its slimy body clinging to the pane with suction-cup feet. Its tongue lashed out, aiming for him.
He hurled the spray can and sparked his blade against it. An explosion roared, engulfing the gecko in flames. It screeched, tumbling from the window.
But the blast shattered the glass, and the bone-birds swarmed inside.
"Hostiles breaching. Engaging!" Akira called, his blade slicing through the flock.
Kana clutched her chisel, but fear rooted her in place. A bone-bird dove at her—Akira cut it down instantly.
"Kana, stay close. Separation is dangerous."
He cleared the birds, but a new noise echoed from above—a scraping, like claws on wood.
The ceiling panel gave way, and a giant ant-like creature dropped through. Its massive jaws glinted, capable of crushing metal.
It charged Akira, jaws clashing against his blade. Sparks flew, and his right arm groaned under the strain.
"Power output declining. Combat capacity at sixty percent," he reported, voice steady as he severed the ant's mandibles.
It collapsed, but the door's barricade began to buckle. The bone-birds pressed harder, the easel splintering.
"We abandon the art room. Next, the AV room—we'll use its equipment for defense," Akira said, urging Kana toward the back exit.
They slipped into the corridor leading to the AV room, only to find the floor slick with liquid—not water, but viscous slime.
Ahead, a new creature emerged—a colossal leech-like thing, dripping ooze, its suckered maw writhing.
"New hostile detected. Engaging," Akira said, raising his blade and charging.
The leech spewed slime, aiming to trip him, but he vaulted over it, slashing its body. The ooze splattered, hissing as it ate into the walls.
Kana screamed, and Akira shielded her. "Ten meters to the AV room. Hurry!"
They dodged the slick patches, reaching the room. Bursting inside, Akira barricaded the door with a projector stand.
A fleeting silence fell, but the night's end remained distant.