"Why is Kaguya-chan still in the fire escape and not coming out to join us?" Chika asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I can't get out," Kaguya replied, her face turning serious. "There's something wrong with this fire escape. I kept walking up, but I couldn't find the exit."
She continued, "Then I tried going back down, thinking I could return to the basement and find another way out... but the entrance to the basement had disappeared too."
"…"
A heavy silence settled over the group as they exchanged uneasy glances. A fire escape with no exits felt eerier than any monster they'd faced.
"Is that even possible?" Umi instinctively hugged herself, a sudden chill creeping over her. She edged closer to Amamiya, feeling the unsettling atmosphere grow colder.
Amamiya frowned slightly and turned to look behind them. The fire escape was pitch black, cloaked in shadows, and there was no sign of an exit in sight.
After a moment's pause, he spoke decisively, "Let's head upstairs and see what we find."
The girls quickly nodded, falling into line behind him as they carefully began to ascend the stairs. They had found Kaguya just a few steps into the fire escape, so logically, they should have been able to see the exit by now.
But when they reached the corner, there was nothing but a cold, bare gray wall. The exit had mysteriously vanished.
"The exit is gone," Amamiya remarked, reaching out to touch the wall. It felt solid and cold beneath his fingertips—definitely not an illusion.
"Amamiya-kun, what do we do now?" Chika asked quietly.
"Don't panic," Amamiya replied calmly. "We'll keep going up. There's bound to be an exit on the second or third floor."
"Okay…"
They continued moving upward, but a sense of unease lingered over the group. Every step they took seemed to deepen the shadow of doubt that hung in the air.
A few minutes later, their worst fears materialized.
Despite the mall only having five floors, they had been walking for what seemed like far too long. Yet, the fire escape stretched endlessly before them, dimly lit, with no sign of an exit.
"We're stuck," Amamiya finally said, stopping and clapping his hands together. "There's no point going back down. Let's conserve our energy and think this through."
"Another dimension, maybe?" Chika suggested, raising her hand thoughtfully. "I saw this foreign movie where a cop and a thief got trapped in a corridor for decades. They couldn't escape, and by the end, they were both old men."
"'Unexpected Space'?" Amamiya asked, tilting his head.
"Yes! That's the one!" Chika nodded enthusiastically. "Decades stuck in one place…"
"You'd go mad if you were trapped for that long," Umi interjected, resting her hand on her hip. "I doubt I could even last a month in here."
And she wasn't wrong.
In those movies, they always had an endless supply of food and water. But here? This building was barren—no food, no water. Survival wouldn't last more than a week.
"Could it be a ghost wall?" another girl with glasses—a fellow player—suggested, raising her hand. "Maybe we've been bewitched, and that's why we can't find the exit."
Chika blinked. "There are monsters in the mall, but no ghosts, right?"
"There is a ghost," Hayasaka chimed in quietly, pressing her fingers to her throat, altering her voice to maintain her disguise. "The woman in red holding the umbrella that I saw on the surveillance footage before—she had a transparent body and could pass through objects. If that's not a ghost, I don't know what is."
Kaguya's ears twitched as she cast a curious glance at Hayasaka.
There was something oddly familiar about her voice...
"If it really is a ghost wall, it should be easy to deal with," Umi chimed in, her voice crisp as she raised a finger. "I heard that boy's urine can break ghost walls."
Wait, what? Boy's urine? That's a folk tale—right? Though there 'are' those eggs boiled in it, said to be part of some cultural heritage... but breaking a ghost wall with it? That's gotta be just a rumor.
"Swoosh—"
In unison, all the girls turned their heads to look at Amamiya.
"Well, since you're all expecting it so eagerly..." Amamiya sighed, feigning a solemn expression as he reached for his waist. "I guess I'll have to sacrifice my dignity."
"I'm 'not' expecting that!" Chika quickly covered her face with her hands, cheeks flushed as she exclaimed.
Umi also turned her head away, her face burning. "You're supposed to be embarrassed at a time like this!"
"Embarrassed? What's that?" Amamiya smirked, his eyes glancing toward the pink-haired air-head. "When someone's on the verge of dying from thirst, they'll drink 'any' liquid they can get their hands on."
"...Too much!" Umi's cheeks puffed out indignantly, like a hamster hoarding seeds. How dare he tease her like that!
"Hold on," Kaguya interrupted, unable to take it anymore. "Let's think of another solution."
The silver-haired loli, Reina, suddenly stood on her tiptoes, hands raised high as if signaling she had something to share.
"Aharen-san, you have something to say?" Chika bent down to hear her better, curious.
"…"
Reina leaned in closer, cupping her hand to her mouth to whisper softly.
As Kaguya observed, intrigued, Amamiya remained composed, pressing a hand to his forehead as if deep in thought. He looked around casually, then said, "I picked up this elementary school player off the streets. Her motto is, 'Secrets should only be told to one person at a time.'"
"That's not it," Umi chimed in, joining the conversation. "Aharen-san just speaks really softly, so only one person can hear her clearly."
Amamiya playfully shook his finger at her. "Exposing me like that in front of everyone? I'm going to get mad."
"Tsk," Umi scoffed, folding her arms and lifting her chin. "I'm not scared."
Chika, still bent over, suddenly reached out a hand. "I can't stay like this much longer... I feel dizzy. Amamiya-kun, hold my hand for a bit?"
"Sure." Amamiya took her hand without hesitation.
Kaguya's brow twitched as she observed this, her gaze locking briefly with Amamiya's. She subtly shifted her position to stand in front of the two of them, her expression neutral.
A moment passed.
"Oh! I got it!" Chika suddenly stood upright, her voice filled with excitement. "I know how to get out!"
The girl with glasses, startled, quickly asked, "Wait, how do we get out?"
Chika shook her head knowingly. "I can't just tell you. Umi-chan, come over here—Aharen-san will explain it to you."
Umi nodded and stepped forward, listening carefully to the silver-haired loli.
After a brief exchange, Umi's eyes lit up. "I see! The solution is actually pretty simple."
"Kaguya-chan, your turn." Chika waved her over.
"Okay."
Kaguya approached, bent down to listen to Reina's whispered words, then nodded slightly. "I understand. Thank you."
"Now it's my turn!" The girl with glasses stepped forward, eager to hear the secret for herself.
"Wait your turn," Amamiya said, gently pulling Reina into his arms. "I'll go first."
The silver-haired loli, unfazed, brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned in close to Amamiya, whispering the same secret.
The very next moment, Amamiya extended his right hand and, with a sudden swift motion, grabbed at the empty air beside him. "Outlaw Don come out!"
A faint, stammering voice echoed through the eerie stillness of the stairwell.
"...D-Don is here!"