CHAPTER 2.

Yoshiko held a small tulip-shaped iron mace as she steps in the middle of her magic circle.

"What the hell? Where did you get that toy?" Dia again, voicing her disbelief.

"Do not disrespect the Iron Flower! It is real! It is ancient! It only cost me Y3000 on eBay!" Yoshiko shouted.

Of course she didn't mention that the seller, a "ChocolateManXOXO" told her that some... interesting stuff might happen. Yoshiko remembered his warning but shrugged. What's the worst that could happen?

She took a deep breath and started chanting.

"EIHWAZ HAGALAZ GEBO MANNAZ DAGAZ"

A moment of silence passed by.

"Er…is that it?" You asked. "Was there anything that will pop out, or to happen around here?"

Dia scoffed and took Ruby's hand. "I told you, this is nonsense! Come on now, we must waste no time for our practice!"

"Wait, Kurosawa-senpai, could we at least compliment Yoshiko-chan for her efforts? She must have at least put some thought on it," Chika worriedly called after.

"Uh… Everyone, I-I think something is happening…"

The girls turned at Yoshiko.

The iron mace at her hand has crumbled into small pieces. Then the lights went out.

"Barbatos answered my summons!" Yoshiko exclaimed. "I knew something will happen!"

Then came the sound of rumbling, followed by the shaking of the whole building.

"Earthquake!" You cried out. "Everyone, duck and seek cover under the tables!"

All of them ducked down under the tables, covering their heads. You clenched her teeth as she looked at her group mates. Chika, Kanan and Riko were ducking side-by-side, under their respective tables. Dia is scolding a wailing Ruby while Mari and Hanamaru are keeping still. The shaking rose in intensity and it seemed that it will never stop.

After a full five minutes everything went into a halt. You slowly opened her eyes and let herself become adjusted into the darkness.

This can't be.

The classroom that they were in was now an old-style classroom. Debris littered the place and the other girls were laying on the floor, unconscious.

"Chika-chan! Kanan-senpai! Kurosawa-senpai! Please wake up!"

A groggy Chika rubbed her eyes. "Has it stopped…? Wait. Is everyone alright? Where's Yoshiko-chan?"

Kanan, Riko, Hanamaru and Dia and Ruby sat up. Mari is already walking around the room, inspecting every detail.

"It doesn't smell like seawater around here…" Kanan observed.

"Indeed, it doesn't," Mari replied. "Instead it was replaced with a dreadful and heavy feeling – one that is similar to one of the industrial metal groups that I listen to."

"Is everyone alright?" You asked.

Each of the girls nodded. Chika, taking note of Yoshiko's absence, stood up. "We better find Yoshiko-chan! She might have been somewhere, taken away by whoever made this to our school! Let's take a look around outside."

"None of this would have happened if only she had never entertained this kind of disaster!" Dia sulkily muttered. "She'd better know the way back, or else-!"

The rest of them stood up.

Kanan moved towards the leftmost entrance of the classroom and opened the door. "Alright, I will take a look at what happened outside. Maybe this is a hallucination, or-"

The last thing Chika have seen was her childhood friend falling below whatever lies beyond the door, followed by a short scream. She rushed towards the doorway to see what had happened.

Chika's knees went weak as she started trembling uncontrollably.

Kanan had fallen some eight feet below, into a small pit of glass shards, long spikes and wood splinters. Her body, horribly impaled, was convulsing violently.

"KANAN-CHAN!"

The rest of the girls rushed to the scene and screamed at the sight below. Kanan, as she was slipping away, groans pitifully as she tries to raise her badly-mangled hand as an effort to ask for help.

However, the weight of her body made it worse. She sank further into the spikes, severing her arteries and spurting a fountain of blood upwards. Chika, who is in the closest proximity, was splattered in the face.

Everyone had lost their wits. In a rush they bolted out towards the other side of the classroom, terrified at the scene that just happened. Meanwhile, Kanan's eyes rolled and her hand went limp, as she resigns to her fate.