Monika's POV

Nowhere (Alternate Hinode Central High)

There's no turning back now.

The school hall was completely distorted; nothing before us resembled an educational institution anymore, in fact, it looked like the palace of a mad queen, judging by the building's scale and the way its architecture had been warped.

Before us stretched a black carpet that went as far as the eye could see. It was stained and emitted a putrid odor mixed with smoke.

Red torches lit the way, burning a kind of incense laced with blood. They were all so dim that they barely illuminated the surroundings, leaving numerous dark patches in our vision. Numerous pillars supported the ceiling of this "castle",by their height, there could easily have been more floors above.

"Attention, everyone: from here on out is enemy territory. Remember, scatter as soon as Hana appears. I'll do everything I can to keep her distracted, and I ask that you do not try to help me, no matter what."

We walked in the only possible direction: straight ahead.

High alert, utter silence.

In the shadows cast by the torches, I saw eyes watching us,they hid whenever we looked, like animals studying their prey. The entire environment seemed to be scrutinizing us carefully.

That same black liquid I'd seen earlier on Hinode's streets began to drip. Her presence was growing ever closer, yet still concealed, waiting for the moment to attack and laughing silently.

Treading on a web.

"Guys, look what I found," Yuri said, pointing to a wall hidden among the pillars.

Paintings.

Several paintings revealed themselves,reminding us of the ones we see in churches. They told a sequential story, arranged in Roman numerals, and at a quick glance, they seemed important. To our right, there were seven paintings following that order.

Before we could examine them further, an old sheet of paper appeared on the floor above the black carpet; it almost felt as if it were calling out to me.

The wind made the flames of all the torches flicker, and a soft laugh echoed from within the walls. The smell of blood grew stronger, and I felt my hands trembling as I picked up the paper.

I began to read:

Hana Likes Spiders
By Hana Ikeda – October 2, 2004

Hana likes spiders
But you don't like Hana.
She is strange, frightening, different.
Maybe it's better to crush her.
Maybe it's better to pretend she never existed.
But you know…
If you crush a spider,
eight other hands will come crawling.
Eight eyes are always watching.
And one day, perhaps,
you will be the one trapped in the web.

All the blood torches suddenly went out, and in that moment there was no light at all,only darkness.

Before I could say anything…
I felt the weight of a mountain on my shoulders as a gigantic wave of shadows passed over us, as if death itself were crawling toward us. I looked at the girls,they were all on the floor. I was the only one still standing, and it took every bit of my strength to do so.

"WHAT IS THIS? WE NEED TO RUN, WE NEED TO RUN! WE NEED TO RUN!"
Sayori shouted so loudly it seemed her vocal cords might shatter.

"I…I can't take this anymore," Nat murmured, lowering her head and ceasing to fight that force.

"Monika… Death has come for us. It's our end,we should never have come here," Yuri sobbed.

They weren't wrong. The walls were closing in around us, and that thing was ten thousand times worse than anything I'd felt in class.

My whole body trembled; a putrid stench invaded my nostrils and nausea overwhelmed me instantly, but I had to endure it.
But did I really?

As the sensation grew stronger, I lost sight of the plan I'd devised. Every previous appearance of Hana paled in comparison to this moment.

What has she become?

How did she become so much stronger in such a short time?

When I managed to stand and look ahead, there she was.

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead at the sight of that abomination; her form had changed drastically. She now looked like a child much smaller than me, wearing clothes stained with that black blood. Her mouth was marred by corrosive marks, and the contours of her cheeks were so decomposed that her teeth were clearly visible.

Her eyes were red and empty,without irises or retinas.

Her pale skin was covered in numerous wounds, with swellings and areas of decay scattered across her body.
Moreover, a dark aura swirled around her, drawing everything toward itself like a black hole.
I didn't even realize I had looked directly into its eyes.

In addition to her "normal" arms, she had eight extra arms emerging from the shadows on her back, each armed with razor-sharp black blades. There was no angle from which to view her that made sense; she was beyond the limits of human comprehension.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Miss Monika? It'll be hard for the world to ignore me when everyone sees me like this, don't you think?" she taunted.

The courage I had earlier vanished. I tried to speak, but only a whisper emerged.

"W-where is Ken? W-where are you hiding him…" I stammered.

Hana burst into laughter and closed her eyes.

This demon... was it in a fit of laughter?

I turned and motioned for the girls to run. Even though I couldn't say another word, they understood immediately and bolted as fast as they could.

By the time she finally caught her breath, my friends had managed to reach the west wing,our greatest stroke of luck since all of this began.

"You're a great comedian, Monika. Do you really think I'm going to tell one prey where the other is? Oh… wow, I got distracted; it's been ages since I had a good laugh."

As terrifying as Hana was, at the end of the day she was still just a child,one whose chance to grow up was stolen from her because of what the School did.

"What an interesting plan, but do you really think, Monika, that your friends will manage to find a way out of here? This place is known as 'Nowhere', you're merely dancing in my web. But if you do find it, it might come in handy too."

A battle here would be madness,I'd be crushed like a fly. So all I had to do was stall her long enough for the girls to find and rescue Ken… maybe he knows what we should do, or perhaps his mother in the real world does.

"In this situation, I'm nothing more than a sacrifice…"

"I'm starting to get rather frustrated seeing your fear, but I hate those eyes of yours even more,they tell me you pity me… And I hate that! I HATE THOSE EYES OF YOURS! I hate everything about you, damn you; you embody my torment!"

I needed to find courage from somewhere. I needed to come up with something.

They'll die soon if I can't distract her; perhaps her powers won't reach them if I act quickly.

I took a deep breath and said:

"S-sorry, Hana. I read about your story in the school files, and maybe that's why I feel this way. All I can picture is a sweet girl who was exploited for the insane experiments at this school, you know, they're the true villains of this story, not us!"

"You read about me? Why would you do that?"

"We were trying to understand you,understand this entire situation we're in,in hopes of ending all this madness."

My words came out haltingly; I couldn't focus my mind on what I was saying.

Hana's anger only grew. Her eyes seemed as if they were about to burst from her skull.

"Monika, do you think I'm an idiot? If you weren't in this hell, you'd never have bothered to learn more about me. If I were in your class, I doubt you'd help or defend me while those people were slowly killing me from the inside… You know, I've watched you for weeks. I know all too well how you shrink away during conflicts in your club. Indifferent people like you create victims like me."

Hana's words cut deep, yet her expression remained unreadable,perhaps because her eyes were impossible to decipher. It was hard to tell whether she was venting or threatening. But she was absolutely right. I'd seen bullying in my classes time and time again, and even though I was chosen as class representative more than once, I remained silent.

How many "Hanas" will be born,or have already been born,because of my inability to stand up to injustice?

I lowered my head.

"You're right, Hana. I've been silent my whole life,even when trying to be a leader, I never knew how to handle real complications. And yes, I admit, if we were in the same class, nothing would have changed."

Being honest was all I had left anyway. She stood there, analyzing my words.

She seemed surprised, and the fury in her eyes softened a bit.

Or perhaps I was just trying to convince myself of that.

"I hope you don't think your honesty makes any difference, because it doesn't! It's too late now, but I'm glad you've grown a bit these days. However, if you think you can convince me… you're very,"

At that moment, still with my head bowed, I discreetly glanced to my left and saw the girls quietly making their way toward the school exit. They carried an old lantern.

I could sense Ken's energy,faint though it was,in that object. That meant they'd found it.

If Hana saw them, it would be over for us. I felt that my words were having no effect whatsoever; continuing this conversation was pointless. She would kill me in front of them,and that might cause them to react, or worse, be killed too.

Seeing the situation, I realized there was only one way to ensure that monster stayed distracted.

"It's a pity, Hana. I really had hopes that we could understand each other,I believe that day will come. But I cannot forgive you for hurting my friends."

Hana's eyes turned completely dark,as if they were the void itself,and two of her extra arms reached toward me.

So fast. I couldn't die in front of my friends…

But is this really how I'm going to meet my end?

At least, she'd be distracted for a while.

No, she wouldn't.

I simply closed my eyes and waited for certain death.

But it didn't come.

An emerald barrier suddenly appeared around me, deflecting Hana's claws toward the pillars,it was like a force field revolving about me.

The light emanating from the necklace around my neck saved me once again.

"Oh… this amulet… it's stronger than I imagined, but your barrier won't last long. Time to die, Miss Monika."

I dashed off as fast as I could, heading in the opposite direction from where the girls were going. If all went well, they'd manage to escape.

Hana, suspended by her extra arms, began sprinting toward me like a spider,only much faster.
Her forward claws lunged at me with deadly force; the wind they generated carried the sound of death. She shattered pillars and split the floor as if it were paper.

I ran into the first corridor I found, and the scene was no longer that of a palace,it resembled a school again. The environment transformed instantaneously, in real time, as if designed to hinder me, with all manner of blockades and holes in the floor, now increasingly covered with bars, and beneath lay an endless abyss. The corridors on that side were much smaller, and Hana was in hot pursuit.

I began toppling everything in the lockers,anything that might serve as an obstacle.
I raced up the stairs as quickly as I could.

"Keep running, Monika! This is so much fun! It'll be great to devour that pure spiritual energy of yours,I'll become even more powerful!"

There was no time to think. I nearly tripped on the last step, but managed to regain my balance. I turned into a classroom labeled 1-D, opened the door, and locked myself inside, quickly scanning the room. At a glance, there wasn't a single chair,the details of the place barely registered in my mind.

The only thing that might help was the locker. I opened it and found it completely empty,a perfect hiding spot.

I slowed my breathing as much as possible and stayed huddled in the locker, waiting. As soon as Hana passed through the room, I'd slip back into the ground-floor corridor.

I heard her slow footsteps in the hall.

"Decided to hide, Monika? Do you think you can even mask the scent of your aura?"

She tore open the door of classroom 1-D with her claws, strode to the center of the room, and stood perfectly still,as if analyzing her surroundings. Patiently, she moved about, using her claws like sensory antennas.

"Her scent has weakened,maybe it's because of that necklace she is wearing? Damn it, and what about the other girls? They've suddenly slipped out of my grasp; they've found a way back to the real world… damn."

Hana then let out a piercing, high-pitched scream, like the call of an enraged animal.

The entire school trembled; red dust swirled around that monster, and you could almost see her frustration taking physical shape. She sighed slowly, and all her claws were trembling.

She appeared to be having a meltdown.

"Damn it… They're ignoring me again… betraying me,it seems nothing will ever change. I need to return to the very depths of this school; this form is still incomplete. When I get enough spiritual energy, I will get my true form, it will be impossible for they to ignore me."

With that, Hana vanished into thin air like magic,though not before exhaling a frustrated sigh.

The air instantly felt lighter, easier to breathe.

I exited the locker and stumbled under my own weight; my legs finally gave out from the sudden exhaustion,I'd never run so much before.

As I tried to recover, I looked at the necklace that had literally saved my life and shielded me from Hana's powers.
When I held it, the news couldn't have been worse: it was breaking apart and its glow was fading, probably from having to endure so much spiritual pressure at once.

It was a simple truth,a deadly game of hide and seek. If Hana found me again, I'd literally be dead, because my spiritual protection wouldn't hold.

And what if Hana had been watching me all along, and her trip to the basement was just to give me a false sense of security?
It was pointless to think about that.

I opened the classroom door.

The corridor reeked of death and decay; spider webs clung to the ceiling and walls, and there were even what appeared to be people trapped in the webs,their bodies swaying along the wall. Even though they were completely entangled, they didn't seem like they were about to die.

"SOMEONE HELP ME… PLEASE… SOMEONE… I regret what I've done,someone, help me!"

Those people were being slowly drained of their souls,it was evident, as they were wilting. They must be the ones who, in some way, wronged Hana thirteen years ago.

If I helped them, it would surely draw Hana's attention. And, in a way…
After reading those documents, I didn't think it was entirely unjust. Deep down, I believed the School deserved what was happening for having killed someone for such a vile reason.

The best course was to proceed in complete silence. I descended the stairs to the ground floor.

"I hope Yuri and the others managed to escape back to the real world. If they come out of this nightmare alive, I'll be happy,but I want to run away too… I want to have a future," I thought as I made my way back to the main hall.

The exit door of the school stood before me; all that separated us was that enormous corridor. The paintings were even more numerous here, stretching along the hall. There wasn't any text beside them, but upon closer inspection...

"This one is called 'My Revenge' and here it has… hmm, it appears to be a bird's-eye view of a woman drawing a circle with the inscription:

'Portal to the Other Side.'"

"Strange,this is the most well done art I've ever seen. It looks as if it were made by a Renaissance artist, so refined… I still can't fully understand it, but I should take pictures of these paintings too."

That was when I made a grave mistake: my cell phone made that flash-click sound when taking pictures, and when I snapped a photo of the painting, that clicking noise echoed loudly down the corridor.

It echoed through the whole place.

In that moment, the energy of the entire place shifted abruptly,Hana appeared before me in an instant, her red eyes locked on me. We were less than 30 centimeters apart.

I jumped back in fright. She didn't utter a single word and unleashed all eight of her claws in my direction. I had hoped my shield would help me at least a little, but this time it was destroyed on impact.

One of Hana's claws grazed my shoulder,it barely brushed past, yet it tore my skin merely by passing close; the slicing air could be enough to rip off my head clean.

My necklace shattered into pieces without me even noticing; my protection was at its end.

I spun around and ran as fast as I could toward the pillars. The claws pursued me relentlessly,I had to reach the school exit, or it would mean death for me.

She knocked down every pillar I ran through without pause; the entire building would collapse at that rate.

When I finally reached the exit door, Hana leaped with insane speed and appeared in front of me again, her eight claws blocking the way.

"I'm tired of playing with you, Monika. It's time to join me."

I glared at that creature in anger,she was the source of all this torment. I'd be living a normal life if it weren't for her. My friends were suffering because of her, and I still didn't even know what had really happened to Ken while he was trapped.

Living in fear would only bring more suffering.

I tore the remainder of the necklace from around my neck, held it in my left hand, clenched my fist, and began advancing toward Hana.

"Huh?"

Her claws lunged at me, each targeting a vital point,they suddenly came so close. But for some reason, I could see everything with startling clarity, and my body dodged on reflex.

That brief moment revealed something: Hana's claws are extremely fast at the start of their trajectory, but they slow down as the distance increases and take a while to retract.

When I got close enough to Hana, I opened my hand and pressed the necklace against her face.

The reaction was immediate.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT IS THIS? IT BURNS! STOP! AHHHHHHHH!"

She punched me in reflex,a blow so powerful that I felt my face shatter. Yet when I hit the ground, I saw that I had been thrown out of the School. She was so disoriented that she didn't even notice where she was hurling me.

Even as everything spun and I tasted blood in my mouth, that punch saved me.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I'd been brought back to the real world,I could tell by the "normalcy" of the surroundings. There were several parked cars, the asphalt was no longer stained with black blood, the houses were lit and peaceful, and even the lampposts had returned to normal,there was no longer any smell of burning.

The sky was clear under the light of a full moon. I had scrapes on my arms and my face looked as if it had been shattered; my ears were ringing, and I could barely comprehend what was happening.

Then I heard Hana's scream transform into a roar of fury. She stood at the door, here in the real world, visible to anyone nearby. Her presence was no longer subtle or imperceptible.

Hana was there, right in front of me,almost like a living, breathing person.

Had she finally crossed over to our world?

"I'm finally free. Thank you for opening the door between the worlds for me, dear president… Now… let's begin…"

In real time, the ground around the school began to split open,cracks appeared and swallowed parked cars. We were in the real world, but Hana was rapidly turning everything around her into a living hell.

There was no hope left.

Then I heard a woman's voice running toward me. It was hard to make out from a distance, but soon I realized it was Ken's mother… a sign that perhaps everything would finally be alright.

I was nearly closing my eyes, overwhelmed by pain,the adrenaline was no longer enough to mask the searing agony from the wounds on my face and shoulder. I tried to spit out the blood that had pooled in my mouth and take it all in… It felt as though I was truly going to die.

Hiromi passed by without a glance and went straight to confront Hana, there was not a single doubt in her eyes.

"Oh… Who are you? Oh… Your aura is strong, and it reminds me so much of Ken's. Perhaps you are that so-called medium?"
Hana wore a malicious smile as her claws rose in excitement.

"I am your worst nightmare… Seal of the Eternal Cycle."

The details became too overwhelming to follow, but I could see a giant circle forming around the entire school,a massive barrier under the open sky, isolating the school.

The last things I remember were hearing Hana scream like an animal, her movements then completely restricted by gigantic chains. It was clear she was forced to remain trapped outside the school,if that wasn't ironic enough.

She was so close to being free… but not close enough.

"I… What is this? What kind of magic is this? I can't move,let me go! LET ME GO, YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

"At least for a while, you'll remain bound there, unable to move a finger. This seal grows stronger the more you struggle,the very energy of your spirit is used to bind you. There's no escape; the outside world won't see you, no one will see you. Your hope of being noticed has just been shattered," Hiromi declared confidently as she approached me.

Wait,just for a while? So it's not over yet?

So many questions raced through my mind, but my body had no energy left even to think.

"Thank you for rescuing my son, Miss Monika. Everything will be alright now, okay?" she said in a sweet, comforting voice as she extended her right hand to my forehead.

"I…I… don't feel very well." I barely managed to reply, but I tried to stand so as not to bother Hiromi any further.

Hana was seething with rage,I could feel it,but nevertheless, we turned our backs on her and walked as far away from that monster as possible.

"YOU… I'LL ENJOY KILLING ALL OF YOU… HIROMI, YOU'LL BE THE FIRST TO DIE, MARK MY WORDS! I WILL BE FREE! AND I WILL USE YOUR CORPSE TO CELEBRATE IT! YOU ARE ALL DEAD!"

As we distanced ourselves further from the school and Hana's presence no longer posed an immediate threat, I heard Hiromi mutter,

"I already know that, you stupid spirit."

We headed back to Ken's house.