The next morning.
Arou slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a bunch of people sleeping peacefully across the living room floor: Akari, Airi, Hikari, Priscilla, Nora, Nova, Shion, Shi, Rei, Feeth, Arthur, Lumina, Lin, Chiyo, Nano, Yui, Asther, Julian, Ruin, and Riel.
Arou blinked.
"What happened last night…?"
He glanced at the wall clock.
6:35 AM.
"Oh, right… school."
Arou quickly got to his feet, only to stop in front of the calendar.
He looked at today's date.
"Oh… it's a holiday."
He sighed.
"For two days, even."
Arou returned to the living room. Everyone was still fast asleep.
His eyes stopped on Airi.
She still looks beautiful even when she's asleep…
For some reason, I feel like touching her hair.
Arou slowly approached her and gently brushed her hair with his fingers.
A moment later, Airi moved and slowly opened her eyes.
Arou immediately pulled his hand back, his face turning red.
"What are you doing?" Airi asked sleepily.
Arou panicked.
"I-I was just… fixing your hair. There was… a caterpillar on it."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah."
Arou let out a relieved sigh.
Airi slowly sat up and looked around. Everyone else was still asleep.
"Arou…" she said softly.
"I know you wanted to touch me."
Arou's face turned even redder.
"W-What?!"
"But…"
Airi's voice grew quieter.
"Don't let your heart fall for me."
"Huh?"
"Save your heart for her."
"Her…?"
Arou was silent for a moment.
"You mean… Angelica?"
Airi lowered her head. Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Yeah…"
"Airi… why are you crying?"
"I-I'm not crying," she quickly replied.
"Something just got in my eyes."
Arou smiled faintly.
"You're terrible at lying."
"Yeah…"
"Then teach me how to lie properly."
"Someday," Arou said gently.
"I'll teach you."
"I'm always causing trouble for you, aren't I…?"
"You always say that," Arou replied.
"Even though I'm the one who causes you trouble more often."
They held each other's hands.
And then—
CRAAACK.
The floor beneath them suddenly cracked.
The cracks spread rapidly, transforming into a swirling black hole. In an instant, the entire room was sucked inside—including everyone who was still asleep.
---
They woke up in a completely different world.
The sky was dark red.
The ground was cracked and covered in smoke.
The air was hot and heavy.
It looked like an island straight out of hell.
Everyone had been scattered across different locations.
Everyone…
except Arou and Airi.
"What is this…?" Airi whispered.
"What happened…?" Arou slowly got back on his feet.
They both stood up.
In front of them, thousands of fiery creatures emerged from the scorching mist, their growls shaking the air around them.
Airi immediately summoned her sword.
Her eyes became sharp and focused.
"Arou, stay behind me."
"Uh… okay."
Arou stepped behind Airi.
The creatures charged all at once.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Airi blocked every attack with perfect precision.
Flames were split apart, claws were deflected, and the ground exploded around them—
And the battle in this hellish world had begun.
---
Airi continued fending off the countless hell creatures. Her movements were fast and precise, breaking apart every attack that came from the front with incredible skill.
But the pressure kept increasing. Every movement and every incoming attack demanded her complete concentration.
Suddenly, an attack came from her blind spot, moving far too quickly.
"Airi, watch out!!" Arou shouted.
Before it could hit her, Lin suddenly appeared.
With a swift movement, Lin slashed through the attack in midair. Her sword released a sharp flash of light.
"Airi, are you okay?" Lin asked firmly.
Airi quickly nodded, regaining her balance after blocking several attacks.
"I'm fine. Thanks, Lin."
Lin gave her a small smile.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
At the same time, Nora appeared from another direction, stepping forward confidently and ready to fight.
Nora immediately glanced at Arou, looking slightly confused.
"Why are you hiding behind Airi?"
Arou became slightly nervous.
"Uh… I don't have a weapon, and Airi told me to stay behind her."
Nora grinned impatiently.
"What a burden…"
Arou fell silent, feeling a little cornered.
Lin and Nora didn't give him any time to dwell on it.
They charged forward together, ready to tear through every hell creature in their path.
Lin swung her sword rapidly, cutting down a creature that tried to pounce on them.
Nora stepped forward and delivered a powerful punch, moving with surprising agility despite fighting with her bare hands.
Airi rushed after them and joined the attack.
"Don't listen to her," Airi said softly to Arou, who was still standing behind them.
Arou looked at her and gave a small, awkward smile.
"Hmm… okay."
Airi nodded encouragingly.
"You're strong too. That's why I told you to stay behind me."
Arou fell silent for a moment before speaking quietly.
"Thanks for trying to make me feel better…"
But Airi had already rushed forward again to catch up with Lin and Nora.
The three of them swept through the hell creatures together.
Arou remained where he was, an uncomfortable feeling slowly settling in his chest.
Maybe Nora was right…
I'm just a burden to them.
He couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness. It wasn't just because he had no weapon. It felt like everyone else had to keep protecting him.
Then suddenly—
Airi's voice rang out from a distance.
"Arou, behind you!!"
Arou immediately reacted and dodged.
He jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the massive claws of a hell creature that had appeared behind him.
Airi immediately rushed toward him.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone."
Arou didn't say anything.
He simply stared at her, his heart pounding.
He wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Airi stopped in front of him, her expression soft.
"Arou, I told you. You're not alone."
Arou smiled, though he still looked a little embarrassed.
"Thanks… Airi."
The two of them stood together in the middle of the chaos.
And for the first time, Arou felt a little stronger, even in this dangerous world.
One thing was certain—
they would fight together, no matter what happened.
---
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Nova and Ruin stood before dozens of enormous hell monsters.
Their massive bodies were covered in black stone and hellfire. Every step they took made the ground tremble.
Ruin swallowed nervously.
"Nova… something weird just appeared…"
Nova remained completely relaxed, one hand in his pocket.
"Don't worry."
The monsters continued approaching, closing the distance between them. Their growls echoed through the scorching air.
"They're getting closer…" Ruin's voice began to tremble.
"What are we going to do?"
Nova glanced at them.
"We?"
He took one step forward.
"No."
"I'll deal with all of them myself."
The giant hell monsters were now close enough to attack.
Nova raised his hand and pointed at them.
"Explode."
In an instant—
BOOM!!
The entire group of monsters was obliterated. Their massive bodies shattered into pieces of black stone and hellfire, which scattered through the air before fading away one by one as if they had never existed.
Ruin stood frozen, eyes wide.
"H-Huh…?! That was amazing…"
Nova casually lowered his hand.
"That's why you shouldn't panic when you're around me."
Ruin clenched his fists and nodded firmly.
"Right! From now on… I won't panic as long as I'm with you, Nova!"
Nova smiled faintly.
"Good."
---
On another part of the battlefield, Shi, Asther, Feeth, and Julian were also surrounded by a large number of hell creatures.
Shi stepped forward, her massive scythe spinning in her hands.
With one powerful swing, the scythe swept across the monsters, cutting through them with ease.
Feeth moved like a shadow.
She darted between the enemies, her daggers striking with deadly precision. One monster after another fell before they even had a chance to react.
Julian stood behind them, raising his shotgun.
BANG! BANG!
Every shot slammed into the front line, blasting through the hell creatures.
Asther stood firmly on the exposed side of the group, holding the defensive line and stopping anything that tried to break through from the flank.
They fought as one unit—
and even surrounded by hell itself, not a single one of them backed down.