After that brief disturbance, we walked toward Yoizuki. Yui and Rei had guild business to attend to, so they tagged along.
On the way, I caught sight of a familiar face.
“Yagami-san? Ah, the whole gang’s here.”
The other members of his party were nearby. Yagami-san, at the helm as always, turned to look at me.
“Amane. Kurosaki and Kasai too?” he said, then turned to Hana. “Who is she?”
“My little sister. Hana, these people are members of the Yoizuki Guild.”
“Oh! I’m Amane Hana. Nice to meet you!”
“Yagami. The feeling’s mutual,” he replied. “I heard you were bringing someone to introduce to the guild, Amane. Your sister, huh?” He nodded like a fishmonger appraising a fresh catch.
“What’s everyone up to?” I asked. “Your whole party’s here, but aren’t you subject to the Span today?”
“We’re diving tomorrow, so we did some light drills at the Dungeon Association’s training center. We’re on our way back from that.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
As we talked, Shinonome-san peered out from behind Yagami-san. “Way to go, Amane-kun,” she said. “You’ve got three cuties on your tail.”
“Please, don’t put it like that…”
“Tee hee! I’m kidding. Since you’re here, why don’t we go to the guild together?”
I didn’t see why not, so we joined them. Along the way, we passed a location I was well acquainted with, but it wasn’t like I remembered. This was where Kenzaki Dungeon was supposed to be.
“Is this really…?” I started.
“Yeah,” Shinonome-san said. “The remnants of Kenzaki. It’s a shadow of its former self, isn’t it?”
She was right. It was just a normal park. She gazed upon it and said quietly, “It’s so weird how the location returns to the way it was before, like the dungeon never existed.”
“Yeah, it’s strange,” I whispered, shaken for some reason.
When dungeons appeared around the world, they left no trace of the people, animals, or things that were there before. Conversely, when the dungeons vanished, their locations reverted to the states they were originally in. Specialists had named the phenomenon “replacement,” but they didn’t know why it happened.
Whatever the cause, Kenzaki Dungeon’s location was replaced with the expansive park it used to be, not a change as far as the eye could see. It was always a beautiful park, famous for its lush flowers and greenery. It was currently packed with happy park-goers who hadn’t seen it in years.
“You two dozing off back there? Hurry it up!” Yagami-san said.
“Oh! Whoopsie!” Shinonome-san chimed.
I pushed the mysteries of dungeons to the back of my mind. We started for Yoizuki again, until something stopped me dead. Ice water flooded my veins, and I felt like someone’s eyes were piercing through me. The last time I felt something like this…was Yanagi.
I know this feeling.
It was malice—no, it was bloodlust.
I braced my suddenly shaking legs and inspected the area around us. I didn’t see anything suspicious. Hana, Yui, and Rei glanced at me in confusion.
“Oniichan? What hap—”
She cut herself off with a gasp. Swampy, oozing darkness swallowed the ground and spread beneath our feet. That darkness captured me, Hana, everyone, even the park itself. People in the crowd began to scream.
“What is this stuff?!” someone shrieked.
I knew. There was no doubt what was happening, but why now? This wasn’t possible! My head scrambled with the static of doubt and panic, but I had to act.
“Everyone, run!” I shouted.
“Run, you’ll get pulled in!” Yagami-san echoed.
Yet none of us could escape. I might’ve managed it if I was fast, but Hana was here. Civilians were here. Even if I had wanted to escape, time was up. The darkness quivered like a waiting throat, then swallowed.
I lifted my legs and struggled to stay above ground, but it sucked me down further and further. Soon, all I could do was utter one measly curse.
“Damn…it! No!”
No one replied.
We were dragged, together, into a dungeon outbreak.