Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

Doing this won't change anything; in the end, you'll only hurt the people who truly care about you.

Jumping would be very painful. You'd be taken to the hospital, and they'd cut you open. Your classmates would talk about it for a few days, and then everyone would forget about you, as if you'd never jumped. Nobody would care anymore.

Those classmates who bullied you won't face any punishment. At most, they might transfer to a new school. Then no one will know they once drove a child to suicide. No one will care about their past anymore, and they can continue to live happily as before, even looking for new prey to bully.

The teacher who ignored the bullying incident will certainly not be fired; such an event poses little real threat to him. On the contrary, if several years pass and the students who learned of the incident graduate and leave, he might even be recognized as an outstanding teacher and receive an award for his hard work and dedication.

If you jump, all the evildoers will go unpunished, and none of them will suffer because of your death. Only one kind of person will suffer because of it, Eriko: those who truly care about you and are concerned for you. If you jump, you will only hurt these people. So please, Eriko, don't do it, never do it.

I could feel the girl in my arms trembling slightly.

You could hear her helpless and painful sobs.

Then she looked up and asked:

So, is the teacher someone who truly cares about me and is concerned about my well-being?

As if seeking some kind of strength, some kind of support, the girl asked earnestly, her outstretched hand tightly gripping his, as if afraid he would suddenly leave.

Yes, that's right.

So he gave a serious answer.

Because I'm a teacher, I'm an adult!

I will shoulder all the responsibilities that incompetent adults are unwilling to bear.

I will always stand by your side, I will always believe in you, and I will always be there for you.

[So Eriko, stop crying. Come on, let's pinky swear, okay?]

Don't give up on your musical dreams, don't give up on your future, don't give up on your life. How about this, we go get ice cream together every weekend? Come on, pinky swear, it's a deal, Eriko!

The two fingers, one big and one small, were gently hooked together.

The agreement between adults and children that began here has continued for many years and has not been forgotten.

But I'm really sorry.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

Teacher, I broke my promise.

I failed to keep my promise; I did not survive.

I really want to go eat ice cream with my teacher again.

I want to keep playing the piano, I want to keep learning music, I don't want it to end, I don't want to die like this.

I want to see my teacher again, to see my teacher one last time.

I am sorry.

sorry……

sorry…………

She was crying.

She cried again.

Despair, pain, suffocation, until death.

He had already been preemptively targeted by the researchers and could only watch helplessly as it all unfolded.

what……

This isn't the first time... I've witnessed something like this happen.

Even if you want to reach out, you can't do it at all; you can't change anything.

How can something that has already happened and is destined be changed?

The broken fragments are still coming together.

Scenes from my memory kept replaying in my mind.

The surging blood transformed into a monstrous girl, the dead researchers, and the school, which continues its endless cycle.

Therefore, I've decided to continue.

Then, the boy spoke earnestly to himself.

I'll make my teacher's dream come true.

[Hmph, you say you don't have dreams? Don't be ridiculous. Back at that shelter in the underground base, weren't you really trying your best to help me? It wasn't just because I had those thoughts, was it? I can see that you've always wanted to save more people, you want to change this school, change everything.]

[Nyan's death... Hmm, I won't give up just because I'm hurt.]

[We still have abandoned school grounds in the woodland that we can use; let's start over there. This time we need to be more careful in our selection process, and we can't let what happened before happen again.]

What do you think about using a club as a cover? Like that "Ghost Stories Club," a club that operates like an urban legend, might be able to function more effectively. By using ghost stories as a cover without us showing our faces, we might be able to better help others.

[If that's the case, maybe we can use a pseudonym? After all, it's easy to give away our real names.]

[Hmm... if I just pick a random pseudonym. Naming things is totally not my forte, let me think... hmm... let me think... um, Ebizaka Masaki. Okay, that's it. Doesn't it sound impressive? That's exactly the feeling I wanted.]

This time, I won't fail again, teacher. Let's cheer each other on! I will definitely bring an end to this twisted and insane place in this school.

The boy casually listed out his plans, his mouth constantly chattering.

As the only person who could see him, talk to him, and even touch him after everything was over, this boy was truly special. His eyes, which at first seemed lifeless, just like hers, gradually changed, and now they are so vibrant.

Perhaps he really can do it.

Although I couldn't save those children, if I work together with this child, maybe there's still hope of closing the school and ending it all.

The children were organized once again.

The boy changed his initial strategy, no longer completely avoiding the school and ignoring all the strange tales and supernatural phenomena. After building a lounge in the woodland ruins with the bullied students he could trust, he began to gradually learn about the school's supernatural rules and attempted to summarize them.

It's unclear where the boy got his hands on that special marker; the writing he made was completely invisible unless illuminated with a special flashlight, making it impossible for those strange creatures and bullies to discover it.

He is really proactive. He was such a misanthropic kid at the beginning, but now he is really trying to take action and change everything.

Can he succeed?

Regardless of whether he succeeds or not, I must at least stay by his side and help him complete this task.

I have failed countless times.

I was unable to save any of the children who had asked me for help.

So at least this time.

I hope I can save this child.

I hope to end this cycle in the school, to end this ongoing tragedy.

……

Darkness is spreading.

When the boy truly encountered the terror hidden within the school, without any blessings or extraordinary powers, he truly understood what an insurmountable mountain lay ahead.

Some people disappeared before those strange and bizarre creatures, vanishing without a trace.

Some people chose to quit out of fear, and even when the boy said he could stop this dangerous exploration, they were unwilling to come back, and as a result, they fell victim to the bullies again.

Some students' parents called the police, and the police and school teachers began searching everywhere. They actually found the area in ruins and almost found them.

The team began to split, and all sorts of troubles started to spread.

He, who had been staying with the boy, also noticed that his consciousness seemed to be gradually becoming less clear than before.

【Hey... what's wrong with you?】

Is your skin fading? What's happening?

Are you really okay? You seem to be in much worse shape than before.

No, his condition didn't worsen.

He could sense that his time to disappear was approaching.

Born from artificial experimentation, it was an ethereal and illusory existence. It should have perished along with the research institute after its destruction.

For some reason, it seems that some strange creatures are fixated on me, causing this illusory being that should have disappeared long ago to continue to exist, to continue to retain its humanity and emotions.

But we're almost at our limit now.

The memories and emotions that sustained his existence were all based on humanity, which is why his humanity and emotions appeared so abundant.

But now that more and more people are dying, the obsession directed at him has turned into a group of emotionless things, nothing more than the remnants of the dead. So his humanity, his emotions, are also about to dissipate.

He will revert to the way a monster should be, becoming a mindless monster that repeats the same actions over and over again, only starting to kill when the rules for killing are triggered. That's all.

【I'm fine】

He said this to the boy.

That's enough; there's no need to continue.

Leave this place, find a job, find a place to settle down.

You've learned to think about your future and fight for yourself. You can go and live your own life; there's no need for you to stay here any longer.

He said this earnestly to the boy.

[...So, what about you?]

The boy simply stared at him, his face expressionless, and spoke.

What would you do if I pretended not to know anything and walked away? What would happen to this place?

I do understand what responsibility is, and how to think and strive, but these things aren't really important to me.

Teacher, I'm staying here simply because I've decided to do this.

[You might think this is childish and impulsive, but I had already decided to do it after I came out of that underground base.]

I will definitely destroy this place completely, leaving no trace, because...

Because this is your wish, teacher.

The boy didn't say the whole sentence, but he knew that the teacher must have understood what he meant, and he also knew that the teacher would be disappointed in him.

Yes, you taught me how to get out of pain, how to find happiness, and how to live.