Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, Shirou had no choice but to tell Shiki the truth.

That night, the three of them were approached by several men, and what happened afterward—

Because he was really worried, Shirou went to inquire about the men the next day and learned what had happened the night before.

"Hey... that guy did this kind of thing after we parted ways that night."

After listening, Shi smiled happily.

"Don't tell Orange yet," Shirou reminded him, grabbing Shiki's arm.

"Okay, I know. You're so long-winded."

Shiki shook off Shirou's hand, frowning. "But... Hmph, Fujino actually went this far, which is somewhat beyond my expectations. I originally thought... So what do you plan to do?"

"..."

Shirou didn't speak, but his expression said it all.

"Understood. I'll take good care of her next time I see her."

Shiki, grinning broadly, strolled leisurely into Ogawa's apartment.

"------"

The next instant, the black-haired girl felt dizzy.

In Ryougi Shiki's eyes, who possesses perception abilities beyond those of ordinary people, the environment inside the apartment has an unbearable psychological discomfort.

If she hadn't received martial arts instruction from her father and grandfather from a young age and mastered the powerful inner strength of "a clear mirror and still water" (Zonghe's insights), she might have vomited up her lunch on the spot.

"..."

The key is that this unsettling feeling is actually quite familiar to Ryougi Shiki—

It was just like when she woke up from a two-year dream and saw "death" in the real world for the first time.

"Are you alright, Shi?"

Shirou walked over and took the girl's hand, rescuing her from her anxious hell.

"It's nothing... What's going on with this apartment?"

Shirou narrowed his eyes and said, "Looks like we've hit the jackpot... Orange was right, there's a big problem with this apartment."

"what is the problem?"

"I'll only know the answer to this after I investigate it myself. I don't have the 'all-seeing eye' of a teacher; the only way to find out is by walking the place."

With that said, Shirou pulled Shiki to the elevator.

"Which floor are you going to?"

"I don't know, any floor will do..."

"Okay, then let me choose."

Shirou examined the interior of the elevator while pressing the button for the fourth floor.

"Although the truth about the apartment is still unclear, one thing is certain."

"What?" Shi asked.

Shirou replied, "How long do you think a normal human being could maintain their sanity without going insane living in an apartment like this?"

He was speechless.

At the same time, she also realized that there was no sign of any living people in the apartment building, and she and Shirou had not encountered anyone along the way.

An hour later, Shirou had completely figured out the layout of Ogawa's apartment.

This apartment building is actually a combination of two adjacent apartment buildings.

Two neatly arranged, crescent-shaped, ten-story buildings stand facing each other, forming a complete circle.

Both buildings are ten stories high, with five rooms per floor, totaling ten rooms on the east and west sides.

Although the east and west buildings of the apartment are separate, the lobby on the first floor is shared, and there is only one elevator.

This apartment, shaped like a yin-yang symbol, seems to be a perfect and complete otherworld created by a highly skilled barrier master.

Half of the apartment is a world of life, and the other half is a world of death, just like the yin and yang of Tai Chi.

Half of the room is filled with dolls disguised as guests, while the other half contains humans who have been dead for a long time.

The dolls experience the daily cycle of birth and death within a single day, ultimately forming a world that is constantly in a cycle.

What was the purpose of the barrier master who built this apartment?

If this is an experiment that is intended to be repeated thousands or tens of thousands of times, what is he trying to prove?

"Hey, Shirou, it looks like you have a guest."

He spoke to his companion, who was observing a corpse in the room.

Shirou didn't even look up, continuing to examine the corpse on the ground: "Help me entertain them."

"You really know how to order people around."

The girl took a short sword from her kimono's obi (sash) and turned towards the living room.

Seconds later, the apartment's resident—a humanoid figure resembling a zombie—staggered over.

Ryougi Shiki ran up silently.

She skillfully sliced ​​and killed the guests who flooded into the room, and soon the living room was filled with corpses.

Unlike zombies in movies, the zombies are not slow-moving; instead, they possess extraordinary agility and speed.

Even so, Ryougi Shiki's resolute figure, like the Grim Reaper, killed her opponent without getting a drop of blood on her.

After receiving special training from Shirou, she is now able to skillfully use the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception" in battle.

"How long are you going to keep watching!?"

However, this style still has a fatal weakness: insufficient endurance.

After all, she was still in a vegetative state until two months ago.

She gasped for breath, after all, she had been in a vegetative state until two months ago. Although her bodily functions had fully recovered, her physical strength was not even as good as that of an ordinary high school girl.

Ryougi Shiki, her breathing becoming erratic, grabbed Shirou's hand and fought her way through the horde of corpses, rushing out of the room.

After the two escaped to the apartment lobby, the zombies did not pursue them.

They seemed to have only been ordered to attack the intruders, but they wouldn't pursue them beyond their designated area of ​​operation; once they reached this point, they would be safe.

"Haha...haha...haha..."

Ryougi Shiki rested her hands on her knees, while Shirou, standing beside her, was breathing steadily.

He placed his hand on Shiki's back, cast a spell to restore his strength, and spoke at the same time.

"I understand."

"What do you unserstand?"

"These corpses... are the work of the same person who attacked you at the hospital that night."

"What……?"

Ryougi Shiki narrowed her eyes: "You mean, this apartment has something to do with me?"

Shirou nodded.

All the mysteries have been solved.

This apartment building, with its Tai Chi-like structure, is an experimental ground prepared for Ryougi Shiki.

This time it was Shirou's turn to take her hand.

“Let’s go back to the office. Orange will find out who built this apartment.”

Shirou recalled that when Touko mentioned the hospital where Shiki was staying, she had said that she knew a very skilled barrier master.

Shirou's intuition tells him that guy is the mastermind behind everything!

However, just as Shirou was dragging Shiki to the lobby on the first floor, Shiki suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Shirou asked.

"Shirou, go to the office and find Touko to get the details. I'll stay here and keep an eye on things."

"Aha?"

Shirou retorted, "How can I leave you in a place like this? Now that we know you're their target, I can't—"

"...Leave this to me, Shirou."

A determined look shone in Shi's eyes.

After a brief silence, Shirou opened his right hand.

As the green light illuminated the dimly lit hall, a simple, ancient-looking samurai sword appeared in his hand.

Ryougi Shiki showed a childlike happy expression and reached out to grab the sword that Shirou threw at her.

“Then I’m off. I’ll find a public phone booth to call Orange… but she’s probably sleeping right now. If no one answers, I’ll go back and come right back.”

"I know, I know."

Shi waved his hand impatiently.

After watching Shirou leave the apartment, Ryougi Shiki turned and walked towards the corridor at the other end of the hall.

"Alright, I've sent Shirou away as you wished."

As these words were spoken, a dark figure emerged from the depths of the west corridor.

Her long purple hair and red eyes, along with her pale, sickly-looking face devoid of any color, gave her a striking appearance.

Asagami Fujino lowered her head and said in a dejected tone, "...I did something really bad to Shirou-kun. I actually lied to him."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

With a soft rustling of footsteps, Ryougi Shiki took a step forward.

With a malicious expression, she said, "Do you think you can escape Shirou's eyes and not be discovered with your lousy skills?"

Even I could spot it, so of course Shirou must have realized you were hiding in this apartment a long time ago.

Fujino was stunned by Shiki's words.

Then she shook her head, denying this claim.

“That’s impossible… If Shirou-kun found me here, he would never leave me here.”

Shi seemed to find it quite amusing, and smiled happily.

"Of course it's possible. You seem to be a little too self-conscious, Fujino."

"..."

The girl with long, straight purple hair felt a twitch in her chest.

She realized that she absolutely could not continue to ask any more questions, for what lay ahead was an abyss of no return.

But she couldn't hold back any longer and questioned, "Miss Shi, what do you mean by that?"

"It means you've been abandoned by Shirou."

Asagami Fujino's eyes widened in despair.

Ryougi Shiki took another step forward and drew her katana from its sheath.

"Shirou is tired of your sensitivity and neuroticism. He only kept you around out of pity, but this will only bring trouble upon himself."

He doesn't want to see you anymore, and he even finds killing you himself too troublesome, so he asked me to take care of you.

"Ugh...that guy really knows how to boss people around."

"No...no, that's not it...Shirou-kun wouldn't abandon me...Don't joke around!!!"

Fujino screamed hysterically, her crimson eyes gleaming as she stared at the black-haired girl, the image reflected in her eyes beginning to distort—

She activated the "power" she had received from her beloved boy.