The morning sun had already climbed high into the sky.
Soft sunlight streamed in through the window and spilled across the room.
Yui woke up slowly.
She pushed herself up from the bed, moving lazily, and the quilt slid down from her shoulders with her motion.
She narrowed her eyes against the light and rubbed them with the backs of her hands.
"Aha…"
Then she stretched both arms up and let out a huge yawn, still somewhere between half-asleep and half-awake.
Out of habit, she turned her head to the side—only to see Yumiko still sleeping soundly.
"Yumiko, wake up, we still have class today," Yui called out.
"Mm…?"
Yui waited for a moment, but there was no response.
Seeing that Yumiko still did not move at all, she couldn't help feeling a little strange.
Usually, it was always Yumiko who got up first and woke her up. Why was it reversed today?
With that doubt in mind, Yui got out of bed.
Slipping her feet into her slippers, she padded over toward Yumiko's bed. When she got closer, she suddenly froze.
Yumiko was lying there completely naked.
"Ehh…? C-Could this be that legendary… sleeping-in-the-nude…?"
...
"!!!"
But what shocked Yui even more was the large, clearly visible wet patch on the quilt.
Yui's heart skipped a beat.
Her friend hadn't just fallen asleep like this… she had even… wet the bed!
Just as Yui was struggling in her mind over whether she should pretend not to notice anything, a pair of beautiful, slightly unfocused eyes suddenly stared straight at her.
In those eyes, Yui watched the emotions shift rapidly—from hazy fascination, to confusion, to dawning realization, and finally to sheer horror.
Trying her best to ease the embarrassment, Yui racked her brain and pulled out a "solution" she'd once seen on TV.
"Ahem… Yumiko, good morning. It looks like your water glass spilled on your quilt. You should probably dry the quilt and sheets out in the sun."
She deliberately did not mention bedwetting at all, trying to lessen Yumiko's psychological burden.
"Mm… mmm…"
Yumiko curled up, burying her face into the pillow as she gave a tiny, muffled hum.
Of course, she knew very well that she had been completely misunderstood.
Even so, this level of social death was still barely within what she could endure.
Seeing this situation…
Yui became even more convinced that Yumiko was simply too embarrassed.
So she lightly cleared her throat and urged again, "Ahem… Yumiko, get up already. We still have to go to class later."
The room fell into an odd, heavy silence.
...
Late one night, a few days later—
The hospital shrouded in the Curse realm looked especially eerie against the night, like a gigantic haunted castle.
The military defense line outside had already retreated by several dozen meters, forced back by an invisible pressure.
The Curse realm was still slowly spreading outward, like a greedy giant mouth trying to swallow everything.
Inside that darkness, countless evil spirits and monsters twisted and writhed, baring their fangs and claws with ferocious faces.
Faced with such a critical situation…
The cleanup operation for this Curse realm had reached the point where there was no time left to hesitate.
Even if they had to pay a considerable price, they would not hesitate to use destructive explosive bombing methods.
In a temporary barracks set up some distance away, a soldier hurried inside.
There was a clear hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Report, sir! All people in the surrounding area have been safely evacuated!"
After hearing this, the officer's expression became even more solemn.
A firm determination flashed in his eyes.
"Very good. Prepare to drop the bomb immediately and begin the blasting operation!"
His voice was powerful and decisive, the order for the bombing execution echoing through the tent.
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier snapped a salute, then quickly turned and left.
At the same time, on the rooftop of a tall building near the hospital, a group of figures silently watched as a helicopter slowly approached the airspace above the hospital.
These people were none other than Yami Tsukishiro and all the members of the Future team.
"They're actually going to use bombs to try and destroy the Curse realm!" Walnut couldn't help but marvel.
Chisato frowned in doubt.
"But this time they only evacuated a small area around it… can a bomb like that really work?"
"It won't do much," Yami Tsukishiro said calmly, giving his judgment.
Judging from the current density of negative energy here…
A bomb of that magnitude would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket. It wouldn't help at all.
As expected—
Reality was exactly as Yami Tsukishiro had said.
Ta-da-da-da!
Yui and the others looked over as the sound reached them and saw a helicopter hovering high in the sky.
"Cast!"
Following the commander's order, the personnel on the helicopter immediately released the explosives.
At the same time, a ring of explosives detonated around the Curse domain.
In the dead of night, bright moonlight poured down like mercury.
On the deserted streets, it should have been a calm, peaceful night.
However, that tranquility was mercilessly shattered!!
A deafening explosion suddenly roared out like thunder splitting the dark sky.
As if trying to tear the entire world apart, an extraordinarily violent shockwave erupted from the hospital's Curse realm. The raging blast surged outward in all directions, ruthlessly engulfing and destroying everything nearby.
The powerful impact caused the surrounding buildings to tremble violently. Fragile glass windows instantly shattered into countless tiny shards, sparkling in midair like scattered crystal gems, as the flames burned even fiercer.
A dragon of fire soared into the sky, illuminating the night. The ferocious beast of flame mercilessly licked across the nearby buildings, devouring them into ashes.
Everything was dyed a shocking, fiery red. Billowing smoke quickly filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
"W–Wow!!"
The sudden explosion was like a bolt out of the blue.
Eiri and the others, who were the closest, were even more stunned. Sayuri and the others standing behind Yami Tsukishiro were also frightened.
Their faces went as pale as paper, and their bodies trembled slightly.
Having never witnessed such a large-scale explosion before, they had never imagined it could be this powerful.
Almost on instinct, they raised their arms to shield themselves from the incoming heat wave and shockwave—
but that alone would not have been enough to let them escape unharmed.
Starlight flared dozens of meters in front of Yami Tsukishiro, forming a gleaming wall of light.
The wall of light easily withstood the impact of the explosion, blocking the scorching flames and searing heat.
But in addition to his power, there was also the strength of others supporting him.
A protective barrier of ice and snow appeared at the same time. Yami Tsukishiro made no secret of his admiration for Kaguya and Yukino.
"Faced with such an unexpected situation, you still instinctively used your abilities to defend yourselves. You did very well."
There was no doubt—
This was the astonishing reaction speed and combat instinct that Yukino and Kaguya displayed at a critical moment.
His fingers brushed lightly across the frozen surface.
The seemingly solid ice and snow glowed like sunlight. The ice melted in the blink of an eye, and then he turned his gaze toward the Curse realm still shrouded in smoke and dust from the explosion. In his eyes, he could see the entire hospital still wrapped safely within.
"It's your turn now."
"Eh…?"
Sayuri shivered, then lowered her head to look down over the edge of the rooftop.
The endless drop beneath her made her dizzy. It was the twentieth floor!
A wave of fear surged in her heart.
It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff, as if she might fall at any moment.
"W-wait, not yet…"
She opened her mouth, wanting to call out Yami Tsukishiro's name.
But suddenly, she felt a sharp gaze stabbing into her like a sword.
Mizuki was staring straight at her, those keen eyes seeming to pierce right through her soul.
After a moment, Sayuri finally understood the meaning in Mizuki's gaze. She swallowed and asked carefully,
"L-Lord… do we really have to jump directly from here?"
"That's right," Yami Tsukishiro replied. "This is your actual combat assessment. It's only the twentieth floor—let's see how much coordination and teamwork you can show."
Yami Tsukishiro was quite confident in them. It was only the twentieth floor, after all.
Hearing this, Eriri put her hands on her hips, brimming with confidence.
"Mom, don't worry! I'll definitely bring you down safely!"
Radiant wings of light unfolded from her back, like a soaring bird taking flight.
At the same time, a strong current of wind and air pressure surged out from Utaha's body.
The airflow slowly and steadily lifted Kato Megumi and the other members of their team into the air.
Kato Megumi, the only one wearing a short skirt, calmly held down the hem as it was blown upward by the wind, preventing anything from being exposed.
The moment she turned around, she happened to meet Yami Tsukishiro's gaze.
There seemed to be a faint glimmer of light lingering in the depths of his eyes.
For an instant, as their eyes met, time felt like it had frozen—
but just a second later, both of them looked away, naturally and calmly.
"Sorry, we'll be going on ahead. We've earned this reward first!"
With a playful smile, Eriri scooped Sayuri up in her arms and took off, flying away as lightly as a bird.
"Bye-bye!"
Utaha used the power of the wind to lift Kato Megumi, Mizuki, Kurumi, and Takina.
Riding the wind, they floated off into the distance.
"Everyone, I'll go first!"
Chisato's face was filled with an excited smile as she waved both hands energetically in farewell.
She sprinted forward, then leaped from the edge of the rooftop like an arrow loosed from a bow, plunging straight down without a hint of hesitation.
This was the twentieth floor of a high-rise building!
And yet Chisato showed absolutely no fear!
The one who chose to leave in an equally reckless way was Yor.
Usually she wore her red uniform, but once she changed into that mysterious black assassin outfit…
Her entire aura turned cold and sharp. There was no hesitation in her movements—every action was clean and decisive.
"Kaka!"
The bracelet on Ryuji Momo's wrist suddenly shone with light and emitted a crisp mechanical sound.
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a pair of gorgeous glider wings.
This was a special weapon with a transformation function that she had developed herself, extremely convenient in actual combat.
Sae Chabashira released powerful electromagnetic force from her hand, using it to cling tightly to the vertical wall. Relying on her electromagnetism, she slid and sped down along the side of the building.
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 100 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.