"How... how could this happen...?"
Chika stepped toward the mannequin, her hands covering her mouth in shock, as tears began to well in her eyes.
Amamiya moved closer, taking two quiet steps forward. Without a word, she tugged down the collar of the mannequin.
A small mole near the collarbone became visible.
In the game, character landing spots varied. Some were dropped into hallways, while others landed inside stores. It seemed that Umi had been unfortunate enough to appear in one of the shops, where she encountered a mannequin.
"Damn it—"
Just as Amamiya was about to react, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.
She glanced down silently.
The silver-haired girl opened her mouth as if to speak, but her words were inaudible. Then, under Amamiya's watchful gaze, she pointed to herself and then toward the mannequin that had once been Umi.
Without hesitation, Amamiya leaned down, pulling the silver-haired girl into his arms, bringing her ear close to listen. "Go on."
The silver-haired girl didn't resist. She placed one hand on Amamiya's shoulder, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with the other, before whispering softly into Amamiya's ear.
"I have a skill... it allows me to see the life flames of others."
Amamiya's eyes narrowed.
"Her life flame hasn't gone out."
The reason she hadn't resisted being held by Amamiya was that she had already seen the life flames of the group. She knew they were players, not monsters disguised as humans.
"..."
Hearing this, Amamiya turned her gaze back to the mannequin. A prompt appeared in front of him.
[Upon careful observation, you discover that your companion's life flame still burns. However, under the curse's influence, it is faltering and in danger.]
[You decide to extract the life energy from the girl in your arms to save your companion.]
[Failure: The curse's erosion is faster than your ability to restore life energy.]
[As you watch your companion's flame dim, you suddenly remember—you still have an orange. Stay still and don't move.]
"An orange?"
A memory flickered in Amamiya's mind.
That's right—he still had the orange.
The orange, given by Paul the Octopus during the hide-and-seek game on the ghost ship, had the special ability to cure scurvy, which also extended to removing all negative states.
And the puppet transformation? That was surely a negative state.
Amamiya gently set the silver-haired girl down and rummaged through his game backpack, producing a small orange. Unlike modern, vibrant oranges, this one from the medieval era was tiny, dull in color, and easy to overlook.
He peeled it, splitting it into two sections, then placed them into the mannequin's mouth.
"It needs to be eaten, not just placed there."
After a few seconds passed and the mannequin remained still, Amamiya quickly deduced the issue.
The mannequin girl couldn't swallow on her own, so external help was necessary.
Without a second thought, Amamiya extended her finger.
Finger feeding—time to make it work.
"..."
The others remained silent, watching in understanding without uttering a word.
At last, the orange's scurvy treatment began to take effect.
"Her fingers moved," Chika's eyes lit up with excitement. "I saw Umi-chan's fingers move!"
Soon, not just her fingers—her long eyelashes began to quiver as well.
A faint, hazy orange light enveloped the mannequin, and slowly, her body shifted from its rigid, puppet-like state back to normal before their eyes.
Within moments, the transformation was complete.
"Cough, cough…"
Umi, now fully restored, coughed into her hand, teary-eyed as she looked at Amamiya. "...You jabbed your finger into my throat. That hurt!"
Amamiya exhaled, relieved. "Better than being stuck as a mannequin."
"Umi-chan!"
Chika, overjoyed, rushed forward to embrace Umi tightly, unable to contain her excitement.
"I'm okay," Umi responded, hugging Chika just as tightly, tears still in her eyes. "I was so scared... I thought I'd never see you all again."
Amamiya said nonchalantly, "Your snot got on my clothes."
Umi immediately retorted, "That's nonsense! I don't have a runny nose!"
"…"
After a few complaints, Umi quickly composed herself. Despite the fright, her nerves were toughened by her experience with the game. "I landed in this clothing store and was about to head to the bathroom to find some gear, but I got caught by one of those moving mannequins. My body slowly turned into a puppet—it was terrifying... By the way, where's Shinomiya-san? We haven't run into her yet, have we?"
Amamiya responded flatly, "Shinomiya-san's on the first floor. She should be here soon."
"…"
With surveillance cameras covering most areas of the mall, it was hard for any active monsters to slip by unnoticed.
Hayasaka retrieved her tablet again and led the group forward. After navigating a few turns, they reached the lobby on the first floor.
"Wait, where's Kaguya-chan?" Chika looked around in confusion. "She should've been here by now."
Amamiya raised an eyebrow and pulled out his phone. The last message from Kaguya had been sent ten minutes ago.
Ten minutes was more than enough time for her to make it to the lobby from the basement, unless something had delayed her.
Hayasaka realized the same thing. She glanced at Amamiya, then said quickly, "Send her a message, see if she responds. I'll check the surveillance footage."
Amamiya nodded and sent a text, "Hayasaka, location."
"…"
The message went through, but there was no reply.
"Strange… Why isn't Kaguya-chan answering?" Chika muttered, sending her own message, but she also received no response.
Meanwhile, Hayasaka had already pulled up the surveillance footage from the mall's basement and was reviewing it. "Got it... The footage shows her entering the fire escape six minutes ago."
A fire escape wouldn't normally take that long to traverse. Clearly, something had happened in there.
Amamiya's tone grew serious. "So, she's still in the passage?"
"Exactly," Hayasaka replied, clenching her fist. "The footage shows her going in, but not coming out."
Amamiya glanced toward the dark fire escape and started walking toward it. "Wait here. I'll check it out."
"What are you talking about, Amamiya-kun?" Chika hurried after him. "You think we're going to let you go in there by yourself? Not a chance!"
"Exactly! It's too risky going in alone," Umi added, putting her hand on her hip. "You know how it always ends for people in horror movies when they go solo."
Hayasaka put away her tablet and followed quietly.
The silver-haired girl and the one with glasses didn't hesitate either—they weren't about to stay behind.
Sticking together was safer. No one was willing to be left behind in the potentially dangerous lobby.
"All right, then. Let's go," Amamiya said, leading the way into the fire escape. The group of girls followed close behind.
The fire escape was darker than the lobby, with only the dim glow of emergency signs faintly lighting the corridor.
Though Amamiya had braced himself for the challenge of finding Kaguya, it didn't take long before he spotted a figure coming up from the lower level.
The girl, dressed in a black outfit with a large red ribbon tied behind her head, was unmistakably Kaguya.
"Amamiya-kun?"
Kaguya stopped in her tracks, her voice filled with surprise.
"Before anything, let's do the secret handshake," Amamiya said, raising his right hand. "Odd or even?"
Kaguya blinked and replied, "...Depends on the quadrant."
"Correct."
It was indeed the real Kaguya. The mission of finding her turned out to be easier than anticipated.
"Kaguya-chan!" Chika exclaimed happily, rushing over to her. "We're all here now."
The group felt a sense of relief at being reunited. However, it didn't take long for them to realize why Kaguya hadn't made it to the first-floor lobby.