Going in

Against the Princess’s words, I still took a slight break before heading down to the Manifestation site.

But it was mostly to gather my own thoughts. I can’t say I’m exactly gunning to risk my life again. Especially after the last time.

There’s just too many things to think about.

< Hurry up already. >

There goes my break…

I stand up from the bench and stretch.

I’m going.

< You said that several minutes ago. >

I know.

I pick up my bag and start walking.

New Horizons High isn’t particularly far from my office, but I decide to take the train anyway.

Partly because I don’t feel like walking.

But mostly because I just want some more time to think.

I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do once I get there.

The Princess had told me to observe.

That sounded simple enough when she said it.

Actually doing it was another matter.

I’ve only been a power user for a few weeks.

And in all those weeks, I’ve only been cooped up in the office. My knowledge of my power is pretty much the same as when I first used it.

And yet, I’m heading toward certain danger.

A Manifestation that has already taken the lives of dozens of people.

Seven other professionals had gone in before me.

None of them came back.

I glance down at the temporary registration card in my hand.

What good am I going to do if even proper professionals couldn’t do anything?

< You are thinking too much again. >

It’s almost like she can read my mind.

I think I’m thinking an appropriate amount. My life is at stake here.

< Why bother worrying when you have me by your side. >

Can’t say I’m exactly reassured by that.

< Why not? >

Because you’re the reason I’m going in there in the first place.

< You agreed to investigate. It’s not as if I can control your body. You came here of your own volition. >

Only after you kept pestering me about it.

< You agreed nonetheless. >

I sigh.

She wasn’t wrong.

I put the registration card back into my pocket and continue walking.

Maybe I was worrying too much.

The last time I had entered a dangerous scenario, I had barely understood what was happening.

I had been powerless.

I had no idea what I was doing and I had nearly died.

This time was different.

At least, that’s what I want to believe.

I have a power now. The Princess is by my side. And I had at least some idea of what I am walking into.

Doesn’t make it any less dangerous, but it’s at least a little reassuring.

< You are still worrying. >

You don’t have to point it out every time.

< No. >

The banter between the Princess and I continues until the train ride ends.

By the time I leave the station, the sun has already set.

New Horizons High should only be a few minutes from here.

I turn the corner.

And there it is.

The school sits at the end of the street, surrounded by temporary fencing.

Even from here, I can see the warning signs.

ACTIVE MANIFESTATION SITE

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

A few people in uniform stand near the entrance, while several pieces of equipment have been set up around the perimeter.

I slow down.

I’ve seen plenty of reports describing this sort of thing.

But this is the first time I’ve actually seen an active Manifestation site in person.

It looks almost disappointingly ordinary.

The street is still open.

Cars pass by.

People walk along the sidewalk.

A few businesses nearby are still operating as usual.

Only the school itself has been cut off from the rest of the neighbourhood.

I suppose that’s how things work when Manifestations have been around for more than a century.

People learn to live around them. It becomes someone else’s problem.

The same way firefighters fight fires, trained power users deal with Manifestations.

Of course, the comparison isn’t perfect.

You can usually tell what a fire is going to do. You can understand how it spreads, what can contain it and what needs to be done to put it out.

Manifestations aren’t nearly as cooperative.

Every one of them can be different.

The simplest solution is to simply overpower the source with your own power. But it’s a method that rarely works.

The most effective solution recorded is significantly more difficult.

If the person responsible can be reached, sometimes all it takes is helping them come to terms with whatever caused their power to run rampant. Once they move on, the Manifestation can disappear with them.

It’s the solution that makes the most sense, but most of the time, it is never that easy to do.

Sometimes the person is hostile.

Sometimes they don’t even realize what they’re doing.

And sometimes, the source of the power isn’t even human.

A power can become unstable enough to continue on without its user, producing things on its own.

That’s where things get complicated.

The longer a Manifestation remains active, the less predictable it can become. What starts as a single person’s power can eventually turn into something much more.

And judging by the number of people stationed around New Horizons High, this one has become a major problem.

There were cameras pointed toward the school, equipment I couldn’t identify, and several people constantly monitoring the area. The temporary fencing wasn’t there just to keep people out either. It marked the boundary between an ordinary street and something that could become dangerous without warning.

I had read about all this before.

Countless times, actually.

Manifestation reports always included things like containment measures, personnel assigned to the perimeter, evacuation procedures, and resolution attempts.

It was just another part of the paperwork.

Seeing it in person made it feel different.

Especially when I knew how many people had already gone inside this particular one.

I reach the checkpoint at the entrance.

One of the uniformed personnel notices me and holds out his hand.

“Registration.”

I take the temporary card from my pocket and hand it over.

He looks it over for a few seconds before glancing back at me.

“Resolution personnel?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes briefly return to the card.

Guess this is his first time seeing a card without all the details. If I were him, I would be more than suspicious.

“Hold on a minute.”

He pulls out a device and scans my card.

A bright green light flashes from his device.

“Seems your card is real. I had my suspicions.”

“Haha, yeah…”

“Still… I don’t know if I can let you in, son.”

“Why not?”

“You’re telling me you’re here to resolve a Manifestation, but your card doesn’t even have a registered power.”

“Yeah.”

When he puts it like that…

“I was only registered recently. The examination couldn’t determine what my power is.”

He looks at the card again.

“And they still sent you here?”

“I was the one who volunteered.”

He stares at me for a moment.

Then he sighs.

“Listen, son. I don’t know if you have a death wish or if you just wanna play hero, but this Manifestation is bad news. It has already taken the lives of so many people.”

“I know.”

“Seven resolution personnel like you have gone inside.”

His expression becomes serious.

“None of them came back.”

I grip the card a little tighter.

“I know that too.”

For a moment, neither of us says anything.

Then he steps aside.

“Guess I can’t stop you. Just don’t make it eight.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“May God be with you, son.”

I give him a small nod before turning toward the entrance.

I take one last look at the street behind me.

Cars are still passing by. People are still walking. Everything outside the perimeter looks completely normal.

It’s a strange feeling.

Just a few meters away, there’s a Manifestation that has already killed dozens of people.

And yet, the rest of the world keeps moving.

I turn back toward the school.

The entrance is only a few steps away.

I take a breath.

Then I step inside.

For a moment, nothing happens.

I take another step.

The sounds of the street behind me are gone.

I turn around.

The entrance is still there.

But the people standing outside the perimeter are nowhere to be seen.

Neither are the fences.

I look back toward the school.

Something feels different.

The school looks exactly the same as it did from outside.

The windows. The walls. The entrance.

Everything is where it should be.

But then I hear something.

A voice.

Then another.

Laughter.

I freeze.

There are people inside the school.

Students?

I can see them through the windows, walking through the halls as if it were any other school day.

For a moment, I just stare.

That’s impossible.

There shouldn’t be anyone here.

And even if there were people, at most, it would be one or two people who are running for their lives.

Not a whole batch of students walking around like nothing is wrong.

I look around.

Everything is too normal.

There are students talking to each other in the halls. A few are carrying books. Others are walking toward classrooms.

No one is running.

No one is screaming.

No one seems afraid.

It just looks like an ordinary school.

The only thing that would be concerning is that I can't see through the windows. I try to look though them, but all I see is a black foggy substance.

But other than that, it looks like any other school.

I take another step forward.

This has to be the nature of the Manifestation.

A recreation of what this place used to be.

That would explain the students.

But understanding it doesn’t make it any less creepy.

Now that I’m actually getting a good look at the students, there’s something that is really wrong with them.

I can’t see their faces.

A cloudlike substance blurs their faces.

They could be dangerous.

I need to be careful.

Luckily, they don’t seem to notice my presence.

I should be able to walk around freely for now—

THUMP

A classroom door suddenly opens.

A tall woman in a suit steps out of the door. The same cloud covering the students’ faces covers hers as well.

Is she supposed to be a teacher?

She looks down the hallway before turning in my direction.

My skin crawls.

I should be okay. The students can’t see me. She shouldn’t be able to see me either.

“You’re late.”

She points at me.

There’s no other way to interpret it. She’s looking directly at me.

What should I do?

Do I say something? Do I run away?

Things don’t seem that dangerous right now. But something tells me that I shouldn’t interact with this person.

“Come in now or I will have to punish you.”

I can start to feel sweat running down my temples.

I swallow.

There’s something about the way she said it that makes me hesitate.

Not because she sounded angry. If anything, she sounded completely normal.

Like I was just another student who had shown up late to class.

I look down the hallway.

The other students continue walking around.

None of them seem to notice or care about what’s happening.

I look back at the teacher.

She’s still pointing at me.

Waiting.

I don’t know what will happen if I refuse.

And I don’t know what will happen if I obey.

< Yusuke. >

< Obey her for now. >

Are you sure?

< Just trust me for now. >

Fine.

“Okay.”

I take a step toward her.

She lowers her hand.

“Good.”

She turns around and walks back into the classroom.

I follow.

Every instinct in my body tells me that this is a bad idea.

But I trust the Princess.

At least enough to follow her advice.

I step into the classroom.

The door closes behind me.

I look around.

There are students sitting at their desks, quietly waiting for the teacher.

None of them seem to acknowledge me.

I suppose that’s a good thing.

The teacher walks toward the front of the classroom and places a stack of papers on her desk.

“Take out your textbooks.”

The students immediately begin moving.

Pages turn. Chairs scrape against the floor.

The classroom slowly fills with the quiet sounds of a normal lesson.

It’s almost unsettling how ordinary it feels.

I stand near the back of the room.

The teacher looks toward me.

“You as well.”

I point at myself.

“Me?”

She nods.

“You’re part of this class, aren’t you?”

I pause.

“...Yeah.”

She seems satisfied with the answer.

“Then take out your textbook.”

I sit down at the nearest empty desk.

Big problem, I don’t actually have a textbook.

The teacher looks at me for a moment.

Then she sighs.

“ONE STRIKE.”

The words don’t sound like they came from her.

For a moment, her voice seems to stretch through the classroom, distorted and warped.

An inhuman sound.

I freeze.

The teacher is standing in front of me.

Completely normal.

As if nothing happened.

“You can share with a classmate for now, but make sure to bring your own textbook next time.”

I nod.

She begins writing on the blackboard.