"Eriri... let's become one."
An Yilun had been transformed—no longer entirely human—by someone using a forbidden spell known as Inaction Transformation.
Now, even his form was no longer under his own control.
That unknown person had adjusted his brain into the structure of a magician's, allowing An Yilun to quickly master spells and summon shikigami in just a short amount of time.
Even more terrifying, his innate magic allowed him to grow stronger by absorbing corpses into his body after killing them.
With such monstrous abilities, he began by murdering everyone who had ever bullied him.
But that wasn't enough to satisfy his twisted hunger. His cravings grew more depraved as he began targeting others across the school—turning his appetite into an inhuman ritual of "nourishment."
"Y-You... Are you... An Yilun?" Eriri asked, her voice trembling.
The blonde girl struggled to suppress the terror clawing at her heart.
Yet, even through the grotesque features of the deformed creature in front of her, she recognized him—her childhood friend, An Yilun.
A memory from long ago surfaced.
Back then, An Yilun had been a shut-in otaku. But over time, their paths diverged as their ideals clashed.
She had thought they would remain strangers forever after that.
But unexpectedly, in high school, he'd transferred into Suimei Academy through a loophole in their admissions program.
When they met again, he had already become bitter, disillusioned—his every word dripping with scorn for the beliefs they once shared.
Eventually, Eriri chose to ignore him completely.
Who could have predicted he would return one day—like this?
A monster.
"Eriri... become one with me," An Yilun repeated.
Multiple distorted voices echoed from his mouth, reverberating around the art room like the chorus of a thousand serpents.
He slithered forward, dragging his bloated, sticky form along the floor.
"D-Don't come any closer!" Eriri cried, frozen in place.
In a panic, she hurled anything within reach—chairs, cans of paint, even her sketchbooks—at the advancing creature.
None of it slowed him.
The boy with glasses—now fully consumed by the transformation—had long since shed all traces of humanity.
"Become one with me!" he shrieked again, body arching grotesquely as his mouth expanded like a python's, preparing to devour her whole.
"Gandr!"
A firm voice rang out from the door.
In an instant, a crimson magic bullet—pure energy condensed into a shot of force—shattered the window and struck An Yilun's bloated body with a harsh, sizzling crack.
The beast howled, momentarily recoiling.
"Hey, come on—this way!"
Kasumigaoka Shiyu leapt through the broken window, extending a hand to the stunned Eriri.
"Y-You're... Kasumigaoka-senpai? The third-year?"
Eriri was still disoriented, but she recognized the name almost immediately.
Kasumigaoka Shiyu, the cool and mysterious "Flower on the Mountain"—one of the most admired upperclassmen in the school.
"Yes, that's me. But there's no time! We have to go—now!"
Kasumigaoka pulled her up, and together they sprinted for the door.
Behind them, An Yilun—howling in rage—charged after them.
The Gandr magic bullet Shiyu had used was a cursed rune spell from Northern Europe. She'd learned it through training at the Clock Tower ceremony with Kurosawa Ren.
It targeted a victim's very vitality, and if enough magical density was infused, it could even cause direct physical injury.
Kasumigaoka's elemental affinities were wind and water. Using them with the blue rune-etched daggers she conjured from thin air, each throw sliced through An Yilun's bloated flesh like a blade through paper.
"W-What even is that magic?" Eriri asked, her wide blue eyes fixed on the scene in disbelief as Kasumigaoka hurled blade after blade.
"It's... complicated. Just stay close!"
They reached the stairwell, but suddenly—
An Yilun vomited out a group of grotesque humanoid creatures, each one dripping with viscous mucus.
Their limbs were twisted and misplaced—hands where feet should be, feet where chests belonged.
They looked like failed experiments from a deranged god.
Despite their unnatural forms, they were terrifyingly fast.
One by one, they sprinted along the walls, quickly closing in on the fleeing girls.
"Wind transformation!"
Kasumigaoka gritted her teeth and tossed a handful of gemstones into the air.
As they absorbed her remaining magic, they exploded into spinning cyan blades that sliced the oncoming monsters into chunks of flesh and bone.
"Shiyu, this way!"
Out of breath and drained of magical energy, Kasumigaoka spotted Kirisu Mafuyu reaching out from the nearby classroom door.
She grabbed Eriri and rushed them both inside.
As they stepped into the room, it felt like wading through a wall of thick glue.
Kirisu had set up a temporary barrier.
"Is everyone... safe?"
Eriri and Kasumigaoka collapsed to the floor, panting and drained.
Kitagawa Umi and Kato Megumi rushed over to help.
The attack had been swift and devastating.
It had only been twenty minutes since Aki Tomoya—the other transformed student—began his rampage.
But already, over 100 students had been brutally killed.
As Eriri looked around, she realized she wasn't alone.
In the dimly lit classroom stood many familiar faces:
Kirisu Mafuyu, Yukino Momoka, Yukinoshita Yukino, Mizaki Naru, Kato Megumi, Kitagawa Umi, Shinomiya Kaguya, Fujiwara Chika...
Even Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had just saved her.
A surprisingly large number of girls—all with striking beauty—stood side by side in this hastily established safe zone.
"Everyone, stay calm!" a small voice called out.
A tiny figure stood proudly on top of a yellow plush cat—wielding a short but radiant blade.
"My master will be here soon!"
Eriri blinked. "What... is that?"
The voice belonged to a small blonde girl—dressed like an imperial soldier—standing dramatically atop a plushie's head.
"I am not a thing!" she declared. "I am the one and only empress of the Roman Empire—Nero Claudius!"
Eriri gawked at her. "The little... emperor is angry?"
Choosing wisely, she said no more.
But before anyone could say another word, the barrier around the classroom exploded.
Aki Tomoya charged in, his grotesquely deformed fist smashing the door to splinters.
"Become me!" he bellowed.
The horrifying shriek reverberated through every ear, forcing the girls to cover their heads.
Nero, still standing proudly, acted without hesitation.
"Open it—my golden theater! Light the world with my brilliance!"
"Witness my artistry! Hear the roaring cheers of the people! Bask in the ruler's glory! Bloom like a flower! Let your heart soar—now! Enter the Golden Theater of Dreams!!"
Nero's Noble Phantasm summoned an alternate dimension—her personal theater—a projection of her soul.
Inside this domain, she could reshape the laws of the world to her will.
The full Roman Colosseum was beyond her current power, but a small, reinforced stage the size of a classroom was within reach.
The Golden Theater.
Gilded curtains fell, petals danced in the air, and suddenly, Aki Tomoya was bound in place by invisible chains.
"Misaki, now!"
Misaki Naru quickly summoned her twin, Misaki Mei, from the shadows behind her.
The girl's face shimmered with curse marks—twisting black runes etched across her skin.
Drawing in breath, she focused her entire spirit and surged with energy, preparing to unleash her most powerful curse attack on the now-helpless enemy.
But Aki Tomoya was changing again.
His red eyes burned hotter.
The cursed energy surrounding him began to thicken, pulsing, rising—gathering like a storm.
The battle was far from over.