Chapter 91 Yukina Yuki
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Sayumi… I hope you’re all right…)
The thought pulsed inside Yukina Yuki’s mind. At that time—she had only wanted to stop the others from running away, but in chasing her fleeing classmates she had become separated from Mineyama as well.
”Haah… this is a mess…”
The party’s mood was already strained. Iwaya, who had quarreled with Yukina after being caught cheating back in the Imperial Capital, only made things worse.
The group included Sakai Aoi, Imaizumi Rin, Mifune Yui, Nakaoin Kasane, and several boys. Among the fragmented survivors of Mineyama’s larger party, theirs was likely the largest group still together.
They had taken shelter in an underground chamber, a cavernous space with a lake formed by groundwater. Strangely, the bipedal ant-creatures that had hounded them earlier had not pursued them here. For the first time in hours, they could catch their breath.
”Come on, Yuuki… I said I was sorry. Can’t you forgive me already?” Iwaya pleaded.
Ever since they’d lost Mineyama, her boyfriend had apologized again and again. But Yukina… still couldn’t forgive him.
”Hmph! Iwaya, I don’t care anymore. Just now, you were ogling another girl again, grinning like an idiot. Aren’t you glad you ended up in a party full of girls? Perfect for you, isn’t it?” she snapped, turning away.
”Tch! Whatever…” Iwaya gave up, slumping down on a rock near the water’s edge.
(Maybe… maybe he’s learned his lesson by now. Maybe I should forgive him…)
Yukina hesitated, then gathered her courage. “Iwa—”
Before she could finish his name, something burst from the water and engulfed him.
”AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
His scream froze everyone where they stood. Small crustaceans, each the size of a small dog, launched themselves out of the lake and swarmed him, dragging his body into the water.
”N-no! Iwaya!!” Yukina tried to rush to him, but classmates seized her arms and held her back.
”Stop, Yukina!”
”Are you insane? You’ll die too!”
”We understand you want to save him, but it’s over! Look!”
The water where he had vanished churned and bled red, proof that Iwaya’s life had already ended.
Still Yukina screamed, thrashing against their grip. “No! Let me go! Iwaya! Iwaya!!”
Her wail carried into the cavern. And that… was the mistake.
From the water’s edge, more of the creatures began to crawl out in droves.
They were the size of dogs, shaped like giant pillbugs with shrimp-like tails and countless legs. Their armored shells scraped against each other, filling the cavern with a nauseating rustling. The sight of their squirming, heaving mass was enough to overwhelm anyone with primal disgust.
”Kyaaaahhh! No no no, I can’t—I can’t handle this!”
Girls shrieked, dragging Yukina by the hand as they bolted in blind terror. The boys followed soon after, panic carrying them all into the dark, narrow tunnels.
But the monsters were fast—far faster than their bulk suggested. Their many legs drove them forward, black bodies piling over each other in a grotesque wave that chased them through the passages.
”Don’t come near me!”
”I don’t want to die like this!”
”God, no! Not eaten alive by bugs!”
”It’s over! They’re catching up!”
The chorus of screams rose as death closed in. The swarm had become one colossal monster.
Then—
DOOOOM!
The tunnel behind them shook with a deafening explosion. Dust and fire rolled through the cavern, burying the majority of the horde in rubble.
”What the hell?!”
”An explosion?”
”Who did that?!”
”I don’t know—but we’re saved!”
Though stunned, the group caught their breath and raised weapons against the few remaining enemies.
”They’re few! Take them down!”
”This is for Iwaya!”
”Stay back, you disgusting things!”
Steel rang and magic flared as the students fought with desperate strength. Yukina herself unleashed shards of ice and blade-strikes imbued with frost, cutting through the creatures without mercy.
”Die! This is for Iwaya!!” she screamed.
With most of the swarm already buried, the survivors dispatched the rest within minutes. At last, silence settled, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing and stifled sobs.
”Haah… haah…”
”Did we… did we do it?”
”Yeah… we survived…”
”Thank God… we’re alive…”
”I thought it was over… I really thought…”
Relief and tears filled the air, but Yukina could not join them. Guilt and sorrow coiled around her heart.
(Iwaya… I’m sorry. If I had forgiven you sooner…)
If only she had accepted his apology a little earlier. Now, the one who had begged for her forgiveness was gone forever.
After a short rest, the survivors gathered and agreed to continue onward, determined to find the others. And so Yukina, heavy with regret, moved with them deeper into the unknown.
Notes:
• Sayumi – Vice class rep, serious and disciplined.
• Mineyama – Vice class rep, serious and disciplined.
• Yukina – Sayumi’s friend, a half-Eastern European girl with silver hair and blue eyes, who offers support and expresses concern about the recent events.
• Iwaya – Yukina’s boyfriend, who plays soccer.
• Nakaoin – A haughty, twin-tailed girl from a former aristocratic family.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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