The Core Question

The chapter opens with Sumato, Kazumi, Viera, and Netsuka huddled in a circle, tension thick in the air as they strategize. Sumato takes the lead.

“Our priority should be evacuating the girls. Someone needs to alert the supervisors.”

Kazumi steps forward. “I’ll go inform them...”

“No,” Sumato interrupts sharply. “If a boy shows up in the girls’ dorm talking about some attack, it’s going to raise too many questions.”

Kazumi hesitates, then nods. “Fair point. Then either Netsuka or Viera should go. The rest of us will begin the evacuation.”

Netsuka volunteers without hesitation. “I’ll go. Just make sure the building’s cleared out before it gets worse.”

As she heads out, the remaining three rush back inside. Viera raises her voice in the crowded dorm hall, shouting, “Code Red! Everyone evacuate! Move!”

The word spreads like wildfire, Code Red. A Shivos is loose.

Panic ensues as girls begin hastily grabbing belongings and filing toward the exit. Among the chaos, Kazumi spots a flash in the floor, something slithering under the wooden boards. His eyes narrow.

“It’s waiting,” he mutters.

Without hesitation, he launches a small clone that sticks to the creature before it vanishes into the floor. He smirks. “Tracker’s on.”

Just as they start to breathe easy, a scream cuts through the air.

Everyone whips around. One of the girls is being dragged, screaming, as the creature melts into the walls, pulling her with it. Chaos erupts. Girls run in every direction, completely disoriented.

Sumato clenches his fists. “Aren’t these girls supposed to be trained Shinen users?”

Viera shakes her head grimly. “They’re not full students yet. Most of them are just applicants. This is probably their first time even seeing a Shivos.”

Sumato mutters a curse under his breath. He slams his hand to the ground, using earth-based Shinen to summon a spike aimed at the wall, but the creature slips away just in time.

“I’ll go after her,” Kazumi says, determination flaring in his eyes.

Sumato looks at him. “You got a plan?”

Kazumi holds up the tracking device. “You bet. I stuck this on it.”

Viera steps forward, her tone serious. “Then listen up. You can’t just kill it. Shivos like this have a core. You need to destroy it first to neutralize the creature and turn it normal. Only then is it vulnerable. And don’t let your guard down until it’s dead.”

Kazumi nods, turning toward the direction of the tracked signal.

Meanwhile, outside the dorm...

Rain pours heavily as Netsuka sprints across the campus. Her breath comes fast, the cold rain soaking her clothes. She rounds a corner, then stops.

Something’s wrong.

The rain... freezes.

Not in temperature, but in time.

Every drop suspends mid-air, motionless. Netsuka spins, confused and alert. A black mist seeps from one of the frozen droplets, growing and twisting until it takes on a humanoid form.

Its eyes glow faintly.

A raspy, echoing voice asks a single word:

“Where?”