The lights buzzed overhead as Kouji and Yuusuke stepped into the Association lobby. A breeze followed them in through the glass doors—quiet, almost artificial. It didn't carry the tension pressing on everyone's shoulders.
They both noticed it immediately.
Yumi gave them a distracted smile. "Welcome back."
Kouji approached the desk. "Everything alright?"
She hesitated before nodding. "Just… busy. Strange reports coming in. People vanishing. First it was one or two. Now it's dozens. Civilians, mostly."
Yuusuke tilted his head. "Aura-related?"
"We're not sure."
They exchanged a look, then headed for Ryo's office.
Ryo was leaning back in his chair, tea growing cold beside a stack of files. Kagami stood by the window, flipping through a folder.
"You're back," Ryo said. His tone was neutral, but his eyes were sharp.
"Mission went fine," Yuusuke said. "Didn't expect HQ to feel like a funeral hall."
Ryo didn't smile. "It might become one if this keeps up."
He turned a screen toward them. Data flickered—map blips vanishing like snuffed candles.
"We've had nearly 200 vanishings in the last 48 hours. Aura signatures drop off completely. No traces. Not even corpses."
Kagami slid a sealed envelope across the desk to Kouji.
Kouji blinked, taking it in silence.
"Thanks…"
Yuusuke looked between them. "You gonna tell us what's actually going on?"
"We're working on it." Ryo's voice tightened. "I may need all of you soon."
Later that afternoon, the hallway lights flickered once as Sora returned through the front entrance.
She looked more composed than before—but colder, like something inside had been stripped down to its purpose.
Yuusuke lifted a hand. "Hey, welcome back."
Kouji stepped closer, meeting her eyes. "You alright?"
Sora paused, then nodded. "I just made a choice."
He gave a small smile. "Then we're back to full strength."
She didn't smile. But she stayed close.
Elsewhere — Ketsu
The vending machine at the roadside bus station buzzed as the drink clunked into the tray. Ketsu didn't move to take it.
He leaned against the cold glass of the station wall, watching the old TV inside a nearby store window. The anchor's voice was blurred through static:
"…More disappearances reported. Numbers now estimated in the hundreds. Government sources are still—"
Ketsu's eyes narrowed.
Back in the Association, Ryo stood beside Kagami in the control room.
"We've got another cluster," Kagami said. "Eighty-three disappearances in the last hour."
Ryo didn't respond but slightly opened his mouth just as if he wanted to say something.
Then—
Every monitor went black.
Phones vibrated in pockets. TVs in shops. Giant digital boards in cities. All flickered, paused, then unified.
A low mechanical voice filled the silence.
"Welcome, humanity. I greet you to my little death game."
Kouji and Yuusuke froze mid-step in the hall as the announcement boomed through every speaker.
A countdown appeared across every screen:
5.
4.
3.
Yuusuke gritted his teeth. "What the hell is this—?"
2.
1.
0.
Across the world, people vanished.
At parks. In subways. On school rooftops. Walking home. Talking to friends.
Kouji reached the window just in time to see two hunters outside flicker and vanish into mist.
The lobby descended into chaos. Alarms sounded through the Hunter Association.
Yuusuke slammed his fist against the wall. "What the hell is going on!?"
On a country road, Ketsu stood still.
The sky above him dimmed for just a second.
A flicker of black light—
He was gone.
The broadcast returned.
"Ten million players have been selected. One dungeon. One goal."
"Clear it, and return to your world."
"Die within it—"
—and you will die forever."
"I wish you good luck."