Australian girl, lyra vale
she said:
"Who is that… how is he doing that? I mean, how did he open the wall… why mine?
Wait… did they choose me to be the only survivor? No… no… no… what about the escape route plan with the others? Why is this happening now?"
After a while, I got back.
Then just to see her traumatized
And still murmuring about it. Good thing she still didn't change her clothes. She is still changing tho.
"What the hell is happening?" I told her.
"I came back after a full 5-minute wait. You a snake or something? You do ya change your skin as well? Damn girl, just change fast."
And got out. She suddenly locks in.
I came back and said to the AIA to push my bed to her room so I can sit at the edge. The wall already been overlapped with another wall, so anyway…
She asked,
"Who are you and why are you in my room and how do you did it?"
Then I replied,
"I'm not here for some interrogation, Jess. Why are you like that? You didn't even thank me when I saved ya."
Then she said,
"Wait… do I know you?"
Then I said,
"Of course you know me — not like I'm a stranger. I saved you the first time we landed on the grass outside. Makes sense since you can't see my face because I was covered by the restrainer."
Then she said cute stuff and some familiar sounds and even said,
"Thank you for saving me. You were hot out there man, you're so cool."
But then she said,
"When they said you chose sleep paralysis, I was so sad. Thought I was going to die, bro. Why you? Then here you are… does that mean they lied to us?"
I asked her,
"Then do you guys have connection with the others?"
She said,
"Ohh yeah, we even get out every Sunday and have fun outside. But we are still being watched."
Then I said to her,
"Wait, what? For real? Then they told you that to give up on living, assuming I'm kinda stronger than you guys. You might say even the strongest gave up — but I'm glad you guys didn't."
She said,
"We are even trying to create an escape route plan."
Then I said to her,
"Listen, tell me some info and I will tell what I have. And never be scared. The cameras and the voice recorders — I took care of them. The whole AI system has been reprogrammed to obey my voice. So yeah, don't be scared."
Then she said,
"You're far ahead."
I replied,
"Well, good. Let me tell you something I have been enjoying the whole time. What's your fav anime genres?"
She said,
"Magic academy with school romance."
I said,
"Well that's rare tho. I have one. Let's watch it tonight. We will use that wall and I will project it — and tonight, it would be cinema day."
She said,
"For real? Ohhhh..."
I said,
"Yeah."
She said with a silly face,
"Agreed… but ohh sorry I'm kinda excited, that's why — what were you saying?"
I said,
"No, don't apologize. It's fine. I was talking about how are you guys going to escape?"
She said,
"We are thinking of escape route plan, but before the plan we need to know the place well."
Then she said,
"There are 4 guards, from each on opposite direction to one another. And from the inside, there is nothing. And the footage cameras aren't controlled from inside, they are controlled from outside.
This is a land that has a wall up ahead, and that wall is protecting us from demons. And there are 3 demons flying up ahead protecting the land. We are on a land of the demons, where the human land is far far away. And we plan to get out, but what will happen after we get out is what I can't seem to think of."
I said,
"It's okay, don't worry. We won't even touch the ground. You just make things lively. And another thing is — make sure there are no spies. That's all you need to take care of. And soon I will join you all on Sunday, so I will help you knock the wall if you need anything. Because it's soundproof. And check the AI screen because it's been loaded with some music."
She was so serious,
"Does it have Japanese idol music?"
So serious. You know I'm an otaku with the most cool face style. I know.
I said,
"Yep."
She was so funny when she said,
"See you then — today is my day."
That night, I invited her into my room and let her sleep on my bed. While we were watching anime, she began to feel cold, so I gave her the comforter I usually wear when I sleep.
She looked at me sitting on the floor and said, "What about you?"
I replied, "It's okay. I'm good."
She shook her head. "That's not good. Since the wall is open, go grab mine and wear it."
I said, "Sure," and headed to her room.
On the desk, I saw a notebook. For some reason, she had asked someone to give her a notebook earlier, and they did. I opened it—by coincidence, I landed on the part where she wrote about the first time we landed in this world.
I expected her to write about dizziness and confusion and all that. But I never expected this.
It honestly made me feel creepy for saying it, but… is she obsessed with me?
I mean, I just saved her, that's all. But considering she likes anime, and she knows I'm from Japan, and I kind of act like some big shot… it's clear she sees me as her own protagonist.
She noticed things I didn't even know about myself—like how big my back is, or how warm my hands are.
What the hell am I reading?
Anyway, I better get back to my room.
I grabbed the comforter and returned.
"Here, I brought it," I said.
She looked at me and asked, "Did you… by any chance read my diary?"
Even though all of this happened naturally, there was something about it that felt planned. The way she wrote it, the parts she cut out of the notebook, and the pen's ink still being wet—it all meant she wanted me to read it.
And I did. For a reason. I had nothing to lose by checking. She left it there knowing I'd see it.
I said, "Yeah."
She immediately covered her face. "That's embarrassing…"
"Well, of course it is," I replied. "But we all admire something—or someone. You just happen to admire me."
She looked at me and asked, "So… do you admire me?"
I said, "Pretty much. You're sexy. Your shape is good and balanced—not too skinny, not fat. And your front is really good."
She laughed. "Stop, stop it. I can't breathe!"
"Well, sorry," I said, smirking. "All I said was you're awesome."
Then she asked, "Wait… how old are you?"
"I'm clearly a year older than you," I replied. "But it's not that big of a deal. Who cares?"
"I wasn't asking for that purpose, dummy," she said.
She actually said "dummy." That was… good to hear.
Then she said, "First of all, come sit next to me on the bed."
I said, "Sure," and sat down, wearing her comforter.
She looked at me and asked, "Is it okay if I sleep on your chest? I've always wanted this warmth."
I said, "It's okay."
So she leaned on my chest, and we resumed watching the anime.
Then she left after we finished. We actually talked a lot—really a lot of stuff. And now that I've met her… I kinda wanna be with her.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I just fell for her, but I want her.
Maybe it's because it's my first time seeing a girl who's a bit different from the usual ones around me. The mind craves what it can't get.
So anyway, what's the next plan?
She already said they go out every Sunday.
what if she's saying is true, I might definitely go out.
Well, what would I do if I go out? Simple.
I'll continue to try and use her to manipulate them—but only if she's willing to do it. I'm not manipulating her, because I don't want anything to go wrong.
Duh... I'm only fooling myself there is nothing called welling or whatever
These 8 kids are really strong… and I almost forgot the other one—the Chinese kid, the 10th. They'll be of help in the future when we kill the Demon King. As if.
Another plan is to get info.
We must use our powers to communicate with each other. They may have already started doing that. From what I've seen, David and Yosuke are really sharp.
The way they sit tells a lot.
David crosses his legs and just keeps watching everything, quiet and observant. Meanwhile, Yosuke sits with his legs wide open, leaning straight but keeps mirroring people when he talks—which means they're both sharp and smart.
So I'm guessing they're already using signs to communicate, and probably know more about the guards and security than the others.
Right now, they're likely trying to figure out a way to manipulate the guards. If they manage to do that, it's going to make things a lot easier. The guards will just live their lives, unaware.
But the problem is… if the manipulation doesn't work, they'll end up being suspected. If they get reported, there's a high chance of a death penalty.
So we have to watch out.
Now here comes the hard one.
Yosuke is definitely training on something huge. Since lightning is lightning—we all know there are some shocks that occur due to ionization—even that counts as lightning.
He's probably going to use that like a gun and train his accuracy.
Or maybe he's training how to set something on fire using his lightning skills. That would be really effective for breaking engines from far away—you control the lightning, no contact at all, and you blow it up.
Creating lightning with lightning doesn't have to be flashy. It's always low-key.
What bothers me are Taeyang and Dante. Why aren't they doing anything?
From her impression and how she acts, I can clearly see that they're not making any valuable effort. This girl sees and questions everything—a lot.
Either they've lost hope… or they just don't want to live anymore.
Why is that?
I better get to know them soon.
Then as planned, when I met her again, I asked, "Please be my spy."
She really overreacted to that. Like, I get it—she's an otaku, that's one thing—but why does it feel like I just asked her to marry me? Her reactions said it all. She covered her face, it turned red, and she said she would love it and that she'd be a very good fit.
I started wondering—did she hear me wrong? But yeah, otaku mentality… that's good. I love it.
So yeah, she told me what she knows about them all. As I said, Yosuke-kun is working on something, and the same goes for David. But Taeyang and Dante said they don't care, and that the others can do whatever they want. The Chinese guy said that they clearly hate being desperate, but they're willing to reach out to the rankers so they could all be placed in the same room and be given mana. They even said, "You guys have no chance of succeeding—most likely, you'll die."
So when we get to know each other better, those four will be easy targets.
The first thing I did was invite her to my room. Then I told her, "You know nothing about me, and I know nothing about you. We're currently having this relationship secretly."
She said, "So yeah, we're gonna be a spy and X-family. Good."
Then I said, "Be serious about it."
She said, "I am, honey, I am."
Then I told her I'll contact the David using Japanese names I know will fit in. I'll make him contact us all in his room, or someone else's room. After that, we'll be able to see their plan.
"Your job is helping me get to know the Chinese so I can at least manipulate them. You hear me now?"
She accepted it. After that, we got ready for the manipulation stuff because I already knew what the David would say. The first thing is he'll try to motivate us. After a while, he'll ask about our powers and begin training each of us. Then we'll do some exercises to grow stronger. He'll ask Mei and Jian to teach us martial arts, and he'll negotiate with them, saying he'll give them their freedom.
"They can do whatever they want together," he'll say, "because I won't be returning your wall. You don't need to contact the upper rankers. In exchange, just teach them meditation."
Finally, the real blow is that he'll contact me, saying he needs to know how to circulate mana and use it efficiently. That's what he does.
Well, it doesn't matter to me even if he does something else. He clearly won't do the worst.
She said she accepted it and that she'll be careful.
I told her one last thing: "From here on out, I can talk to you through mental psychic ability. Call my name. When I say yes, we are connected. You can talk to me just like how you form thoughts in your mind. So don't draw unnecessary attention when trying to speak to me, okay?"
She said, "Got it."
Then I said, "Time for me to play another character. It's laughable if it turns out how I expected… but this isn't the only outcome I planned for. So yeah, whatever he does, it'll all work out in my favor—except if he betrays us."
---
The next day, I went out.
They were all told to walk to the ground. As they got moving, my door opened and Lyra said, "Wait… was that foot always open or…?"
Then they saw me.
"Who is that?" someone said.
I walked downstairs, acting like my original self—the silent one.
I passed them all without a word. The Ethiopian kid laughed and said, "What was your name?"
I looked straight at him but didn't say a word. As I turned away, he smiled and said, "You're the 9th, aren't you?"
Everyone was shocked.
"You're the ninth?"
Then Dante said, "Wait, wait… that same damn fast guy who reflected the swords at our entrance?"
He said again, "Broo, I'd like you to teach me how to use magic with reflexes like that."
Taeyang said, "LOL, give me a break. Just let him enjoy the morning sun."
Eventually, everyone approached me.
I said, "Huh… my name… it's Kurai… okay, Kurai Adegaki."
Then we got to talking.
Dante said, "Let me show you what I can do."
He channeled mana into his body, and then flames began to flow all over him
—his eyes were literally burning with fire.
Then he said, "Attack me."
Then, after that, I ran fast toward him—and he struck the ground. A huge fire blast slashed in the direction I came from, but I backflipped and rolled to another side. The moment I landed—not on my feet, but on my hands—he punched the air. His fists were burning with fire, and the flames sent his punches flying toward me.
"Damn, that's good, bro," I said.
Then he asked, "But whenever I do some kicks or swing around like you did, the fire disappears. Why?"
I said, "That's mostly because you're a mage-type magician, not a combat one. But it's okay—you just do your acrobatic skills. Eventually, the moment you strike your opponent, they'll be set on fire. Try it on something."
He tested it on a stone—and it caught fire. Literally. What surprised me was that the fire lasted longer on the stone, as if it didn't matter what it touched—it could burn anything.
Then the Korean kid said, "What about mine?"
I said, "Sure, show me what you got."
Then he said, "Shadow Magic: 1000 Ravens!" and fell backward, disappearing into the shadows.