It was too good to be true, the students were sure of it. They gathered in the VR lab when the moon was high and the stars aligned. The bridge was placed immediately in front of the circular platform containing the six seats of the V4-VR. Seated in the chairs were six corpses: Nagisa, Miiko, Haruna, Saki, Noa, Rei. When the students first declared their plans to begin the ritual, Monochio carted out all the corpses once more.
"Kept 'em fresh for ya!" It said sweetly, as if it was proud of itself and expecting head-pats. It was perhaps the most graphic version of a cat bringing home a dead animal to its "owners" that any of them had ever seen. Then, it lurked at the back of the class, face smug and prideful as the students were forced to choose which six they would resurrect first.
"Don't lose the hope and the faith," Hiiro quietly instructed her classmates, sensing the energy shift. They were faltering, buckling, especially Dalia, but who could blame them? But Hiiro was determined that they would not break or yield. On the other end of the bridge sat the pillar, the shining spear leaning against it, for Izanami whenever she was ready to reclaim her rightful place as the Creator Deity of Death and Life. Rika was the one to finalize the spear, coming down to breakfast that morning with all the pieces welded together.
"Since when were you a blacksmith?!" Saori had cried, but Rika only winked as she posed with the golden, gleaming, bejeweled weapon.
Hiiro, Esora, Ibuki, and Miyu blessed the three creations and the V4-VR itself, praying and chanting as the grimoire instructed.
"Woah!"
"Holy shit…"
"Oh my God!" To the amazement and disbelief of the entire class, even the priestesses and acolytes, as they marched in circles around the pillar, the V4-VR and all three of the students' creations began to glow, the spear even starting to levitate. It pointed at Nagisa, slumped over in her chair, and a golden-red beam shot from the tip, striking Nagisa in the chest.
All the students flinched, though none more so than poor Dalia Matsuyama, and Nagisa's body convulsed once. Twice. Thrice. Faster and harder. It was as if she was fighting to get out of the chair, but her head remained hung, blonde bangs obscuring her face from her terrified, onlooking peers. Aoi, Tsubaki, and Hiiro clutched each other for comfort.
What about Shinobu? Yuka turned her compassionate blue gaze left, then right. Wait a minute. Where was Shinobu? And Kyoko?! Esora was helping lead the ritual with Hiiro, Miyu, and the AI-Ibuki, but where were Shinobu and Kyoko?
Before Yuka could even ask, she was distracted by other, nearby students gasping and recoiling as Nagisa's head finally jerked up, her expression just as stunned as everyone else's. "H-Hiiro…?! Sh-Sh-Shino…?" She was… alive!
ZZZAP! The spear struck again. Despite some of the executions the students witnessed before, every body was recovered, even Saki's.
So… She WASN'T blasted off into space? Or…? Noa's (or was it Nozomi's?) words still echoing in her mind, Towa didn't know who or what to trust anymore. What if the bodies were fake? Replicas, robots, and imposters! Or were the executions fake? No, it couldn't be! At least some of the injuries were the same. That was why Nagisa's voice sounded so choked. And when she finally jerked her head up, those closest to the V4-VR platform could see the red indents around her throat from Miiko's rope trap. And Saki, herself, was covered in burns.
Towa's stomach churned. M-m-maybe this… WASN'T such a good idea… after all…? She was faltering, buckling, but who could blame her?
ZZZAP! One by one, more of the dead students began to wake up, lifting their heads and gasping for air, eyes wild, but understanding. They recognized their living peers, watching with horror and awe from a safe distance away from the V4-VR platform.
"M-M-Miyu…!" Haruna gasped, reaching out a bloody, broken hand. It began to bend itself back into shape, the bones cracking and creaking.
"I-I-I-Ibuki…? T-Tow…a…? No…a?" Saki's charred body writhed, and to the awe of Towa, some of the bits and pieces of char fell away, revealing fully-healed skin beneath. Not bone or even more corrupted flesh, but normal skin! Izanami's spear was… healing her! Healing all of them!
Rei's one remaining leg kicked sporadically, and occasionally, the remainder of her missing leg convulsed and twitched as well. Her mouth was moving, but no sound had yet to emerge. Miiko was the same way. Even though she'd been eaten to the bone in her execution, by the time Monochio revealed her body to the rest of the student body, there was a thin layer of flesh pulled over her, and everything was reconstructed. Now, her thin body was twitching and trembling, struggling to cling to its restored life. Only Noa was still motionless, thick red stitches around her neck.
ZZZAP!
"Woah! What was—?"
The lights went out. The room went completely quiet. Too quiet. The electric pulse they felt in the split second before the VR lab was plunged into total darkness and silence had not come from the V4-VR, or even Izanami's spear. It was a blackout.
"E-e-everyone c-calm down! We n-need to stay calm in a sit-situation like this!" Hiiro shouted over the other students' panicked, confused cries. She could still hear the zombie-like moans from the poor students in the V4-VR chairs, trapped between life and death. She heard Dalia's terrified howl, and then it suddenly occurred to Hiiro that even though she wasn't alone, she was about to be…
With the students failing to maintain order, or listen to her, she had no way of knowing if or where or when they scattered. She could reach out through the darkness, but there was no guarantee she would touch anyone. It would just be her… and the darkness… and the screaming… All alone… With no way out… And no one there to save her.
Students like Muni were swift to reach for their PheFos, but even those were useless. Had it been another EMP blast?
Noa? Nozomi? Towa thought, heart pounding. She had no idea where Hiiro was, and by extension, AI-Ibuki. Her stomach plummeted. "IBUKIIII!"
"H-here! H-hey! We sh-sh-should try to stick-tick together!" Rinku's high-pitched voice cut through the shadows like a beacon of hope.
"Great idea!" Muni shrilled, and for once, no one could tell if she was being sarcastic or not. "Let's just try to follow the sound of Rinku's—!"
A single flash of golden-red cut through the dark, temporarily blinding them all. The jeweled spear was still levitating. No, not levitating. Someone was holding it. Someone eerily tall… with a withered, white hand covered in sores and maggots that wriggled in and out of the wounds…
Those closest to Her screamed, the type of panic and terror they'd never ever experienced before. Even the Killing Game had more order. After all, each Stage was only designed to take several students. But this thing?! Would gladly take them all. Even Monochio was nowhere to be seen.
The spear flashed again like fire and lightning, and this time, the light stayed on for longer than a second. The students were treated to a shot right out of a horror movie. Feet dangling above the ground, pink blood gushing from her mouth as the spear went straight through her stomach and out her back, severing her spine, was the Ultimate Corporate Manager. The burning magic from the spear seared a scar around the wound.
"ESORAAAA!" Then, after long enough, Izanami ripped her spear cleanly out of the green-haired girl's body and let her fall to the floor in a pink, broken, undignified heap. But Izanami wasn't done. Not even close. After centuries upon centuries of resentment and bitterness, she was faltering, buckling, but who could blame her? She was out for blood, out for revenge and retribution.
She screamed from behind this impenetrable barricade and told Izanagi that if he left her, she would destroy 1,000 residents of the living every day.
ooo
"Aoi?! AOI!" Tsubaki stumbled through the darkness. Oh, God, I don't remember where they were… Weren't they right beside me?! "ALTER-EGO?! HIIRO! MIYU! RIKA! SAORIIII!" As she raced through the shadows, the Muscle Squad struggled to stand tall and fight back. Even if they couldn't win, maybe they could buy time for their classmates? Dalia, though, folded quickly.
"NOOOO!" She sprinted away from the rest of the team. Oh, Hiiro, where are you? DO SOMETHING!
Her screaming and sudden movement caught Izanami's eye, and was about to catch the tip of her spear…
"NO!" Yuka lunged at Izanami, trying to tackle her. It didn't take more than a flick of her wrist to send Yuka flying backward, the handle of the spear slamming into her stomach and batting her away through a monitor 10 feet away.
"YUKA!" Maho reached for her, then the dread really began to sink in. She alone stood against Izanami…
There was a time when the students thought they'd never come closer to death, at least collectively, than when Noa tried to kill them all with carbon monoxide. The battle against Izanami made the night in the forest look tame, except now the students were surrounded by computers and wires instead of plant and wildlife. Even the school itself wasn't safe from the vengeful goddess' wrath and retribution. Had the students been even slightly more cognizant, they might've been able to organize and outwit Izanami, but real life was not so heroic or romantic. No matter how shameful it felt to admit, it quickly became a survival of the fittest, and nearly no one waited around for anyone else.
"HIIRO! TSUBAKI!" The feeling of overwhelm threatened to consume Aoi entirely, and they longed for their protector, ALTER-EGO, to rush to their aid and make everything all right again. But… No! I have to do this myself!
Not only did Aoi feel guilty constantly relying on their alter to save them, they feared that their alter's sense of self-preservation would override their own desire to find their unit-mates first. If there was any consolation, despite the noises of pain surrounding Aoi from all sides, none of it sounded like Hiiro or Tsubaki. Then, with the sort of luck only Miyu could've pulled off, Aoi managed to find someone else through the chaos.
"Aoi?!"
"Rika?!"
"Here! Stop moving for a sec and just follow the sound of my voice with your arms out!"
After what felt like eternity, they managed to find one another, Rika's arm brushing Aoi's hand.
"Do you know where Tsubaki is?!" There was a pause, then Rika spoke.
"The fact that we both asked is…"
"Not good," Aoi finished ruefully, barely concealing the fresh wave of panic in their chest. Rika did her best to catch Aoi up on everything she'd seen thus far, but of course, even Rika didn't have the full story.
"Last thing I remember, I thought I had Saori, but then she went racing back to the VR too, trying to rescue Miyu. I tried to tell her that Tsubaki would get it, but now it sounds like… neither of them made it…"
Aoi heard the sob in Rika's voice and squeezed her arm. "Let's try to find them together. Will you stay with me?"
"I'll do my best!" Rika promised, somewhat encouraged by Aoi's devotion. Alas, her best was still no match for an angry goddess.
A few minutes later, Izanami came bellowing down the hall, still waving and swinging her spear like mad, blowing up the school hit by hit. For once, the blackout was almost a blessing, because it stopped the ritual dead in its tracks (pun unintended), so Izanami was not at full strength. One could've only imagined what Hell she would've unleashed had she been in her prime, but even when she wasn't maximum strength, she still far outclassed all the pathetic, puny mortals fleeing from her, and eventually, Aoi and Rika were separated again.
Then it was Rika's turn to experience some of the Ultimate-level luck. "Rika?!"
"Marika!"
Even through the darkness, she would recognize that squeal anywhere. The two managed to creep towards one another through the shadows.
"Where is Saori?!" Rika cried, terrified.
"Shhh!" Marika desperately held a finger to her lips even though she knew Rika wouldn't be able to see it. "Izanami might be near! But anyway, we've been trying to get everybody outside!"
She took Rika's hand and led her further down the hall where part of the school wall had been blasted clean away. At last, at least, the light of the moon could guide them. Sure enough, Rika could see several small dots fleeing away from the academy, towards the forest once more.
"Why aren't you with them?!" Rika finally turned to look at Marika, the pale moonlight at last revealing her face.
"I was trying to find you, of course!"
Ah. Right. Of course. And of course we both know I would've done the same. All of us would've, for each other! But… still… Rika's heart twinged, and her stomach twisted in guilty pleasure. Oh, Marika, you risked your life coming back here for ME? When you could've so easily fled…
Even though Rika knew it was just the M4 way to look after one another, the kindness and courage Marika showed her gave her exactly the boost she needed to forget her fear and remember her own Hope. Her unit-mates and classmates, her friends and family.
"Who else made it out?" she demanded urgently, taking Marika's hand in her own and squeezing it tight.
"Saori found Towa and Miyu, and Maho found Rinku and Muni. Unfortunately…" Marika bit her lip, "we're still missing Peaky and RONDO."
Rika didn't like the sound of that, but no longer did Marika's words fill her with Despair. Instead, she was only ready to rise to the occasion and face the challenge head on! Squeezing Marika's hand again, the Ultimate Model saw the determined look in her best friend's eye. She mirrored the gesture, nodding once, then they both took off down what little remained of the hall, searching for the last of their companions and trying desperately to avoid Izanami all the while.