O4145 - Else Die We With The Sun

Saying that the Edward Institute is big doesn't exactly encompass the nuances within.

However, the school is big,

That is an undeniable fact.

Huh? I had said this before already?

Well, then this is merely a repetition,

A reminder of the preamble for the complaint I am about to make next:

Ko: [WHY IS THIS SCHOOL SO NEEDLESSLY BIG!!]

I could exclaim all I want but there is no one in the vicinity that could respond to me.

Not the sea of men lying unconscious and disarmed on the floor,

Not the two bold ladies that ran off way ahead of me, or the most likely case would be my weak body failing to keep up, thereby allowing the gap between us to widen the further we ran.

Nor the guy running next to me.

???: [I know right? Why, indeed, is this school so big? It makes finding things that much harder!]

Ko: [I was trying my best not to acknowledge your presence, you know!? I don't even want to start wrapping my head around why you are even here in the first place…]

The guy running alongside me was a familiar face albeit dissimilar to the one that sent us down this run in the first place.

???: [It's quite simple actually: If the enemy is only focusing their attack on the west side, then there is a likelihood that an ambush might be planned for the east side using the diversion on the west.]

Ko: [Ooh, so that was what John realised. You got that all on your own, Hiro?]

Instructing us, more specifically his eldest sister and a certain Tommy gun enthusiast, from the west staircase to the east staircase was our fellow classmate, John Smith.

Perhaps it was out of consideration for this small yet significant possibility that we were put through the wringer getting from end to end within such short periods of time.

Hiroshi: [I know why John and his siblings are out and about since they are Operators-to-be for the Institute and whatnot. To a certain extent, there are those with power as well like the Boss who are just there for the fun of it. But why are you out?]

Ko: [That's elementary, Hiro. Even I do not know…]

I myself was dissatisfied with that answer, needless to mention, Hiroshi too, with his face filled with doubt. But that was the truth of it.

I could have been in the comforts and safety of my room, out of sight and out of mind from the violence and carnage going out beyond those doors but here I am, running along the corridors for the slim chance of something bad happening.

But that's what's so exhilarating about it!

Ko: [How about you? You aren't exactly couped up in your room, reading up on your notebook as well…]

Hiroshi: [Well, you see, I happen to be someone of power as well~]

As if trying to lend credibility to his words, he lightly flicked his wrist and the unconscious bodies strewn across the ground instantly parted like the automatic doors to a convenience store, revealing a clear path for us to run on without fearing for stumbling over the obstacles.

Beaming from ear to ear, Hiroshi looked at me with eyes full of expectation for his seemingly telekinetic showcase.

Ko: [I'm not going to praise you, you know.]

Our conversation ended with the dejected slump of Hiroshi's shoulders as we neared our destination:

The east staircase.

~~~

It was a familiar sight,

Too familiar even.

I would know since I had been visiting this staircase on a near-daily basis ever since a certain messy-haired girl dragged me here out of the blue.

I wonder if she is safe amidst all this chaos?

But there it was, facing down the four of us,

A whole lot of nothing.

Hiroshi: [Yo, Ivy, Boss. Ko and I caught up to you all.]

Speaking on my breathless behalf was Hiroshi as he made our presence known to the two.

Ivy, Catherine: [...]

However, the two intended recipients of Hiroshi's remark did not respond, if at all.

Instead, they had their respective weapons raised and aimed at the empty hallway, specifically the door leading to what would normally be assumed to be the stairwell.

High alert and not letting anything slip away from their watchful eyes, they remained still and undaunted, silently waiting to respond to whatever that might be trying to escape through those narrow doorways before us.

Unlike the west staircase, there weren't any "lifts" installed next to the east staircase.

That, coupled with the longer distance needed to reach the place, has put the east staircase in the last of the last of any place the student body wants to be in within the whole of the Edward Institute school compound, that is if they even knew the place existed.

In the first place, the use of staircases had been all but replaced by lifts in the modern generation apart from times of emergency. That is all the more so with the "lifts" that Edward Institute had, capable of transporting anyone to anywhere as long as it is a place behind a door.

All that is to say that not a single extra soul had reared its head throughout the duration of the 15 minutes we had spent observing the east staircase.

If this is a cartoon, a tumbleweed would be blowing past, comically mocking our misplaced tension and alertness for something that had little to no chance of occurring.

Obviously, "nothing" would have been the best-case scenario and each of us would be remiss to think otherwise.

Hiroshi: [Phew, it seems like John's prediction was slightly off, isn't it?]

Heaving a sigh of relief first was Hiroshi, and along with it, gone, or more specifically, alleviated, was the tension within the narrow hallway.

Catherine: [Nothing came out of or into this staircase for some time, yer think it is ok for us to join back the rest at the west?]

The Kitsune without a tail put down her Thompson submachine gun and directed her question, not to us two guys, but to the silent tall beauty with her pistol still trained at the door to the staircase with nary a shadow of a soul.

Her pair of fox ears poking through her fedora twitched in anticipation for Ivy to respond, but it would be rude for any of us to point that out to her so brazenly.

Ivy: [...]

And a verbal reply, she did not receive.

However, Ivy did bring up her pistol, seemingly in acquiescence to the notion of returning to the west staircase to support the offensive there.

Ko: [Well, if John is there, I doubt there will be much left for us to do…]

Today was the first day I was made aware of the term: "Operators".

According to Hiroshi and whatever part of my brain that was still functioning during the aerobic exercise that was running from west to east:

Operators are essentially employees of the Institute, from the teachers to the occasional hazmat guys wandering around.

They do the Institute's bidding, whatever that is that an "Education Facility" like the Edward Institute needs to be done.

And apparently, John and his siblings are on a fast-track internship-ish programme that would land them a job working for the Institute once they have successfully passed the programme.

And so far, the ones I had seen working in the foreground, John and Ivy, have more than shown their respective proficiencies in their areas of expertise.

Comments will be reserved for the other two of the siblings who had yet to show anything yet.

Catherine: [Some time's passed as well… So if we are not fighting against robots, then they should have long exhausted their forces.]

"The ordeal at the west staircase has already ended",

Was the general consensus amongst the four of us, sensing the flow of the conversation.

We began making our way back to join up with John and the rest of the main forces at the west using the same path we had arrived by.

Of course, now that there is no direct need for urgency, we forgo the "running" part and adopt brisk walking back instead.

Hiroshi: [You know what, I had been trying to hold it in but I am my limit so if you guys could just go ahead…]

Stopping halfway to clasp his stomach, Hiroshi raised his other hand and forced out a smile amidst a face struggling with distress.

His request came at such a comical timing that I couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Ko: [Now's hardly the time! But, I do know the area like the back of my hand. The nearest toilet is at…]

But I could no longer laugh when I turned my head to see the spectacle unfold:

The usually cool and level-headed person that was Ivy Freeman had put up one of her hand to shield Catherine and I from something and whipped out her revolver that had been kept nicely within her holster all this while.

With it, she aimed at a single target:

Hiroshi Sagasu.

Catherine: [WOAH WOAH, easy there, lady, yer be aiming that gun at yer fellow classmate!]

Ko: [Ivy, that is no doubt Hiro, we came here together and it is the same old Hiro of EI7, I can be sure of that.]

My mind raced through the short exchanges we had so far to pinpoint what exactly was it that brought about this abrupt turn of events,

But nothing of note surfaced.

Why?

                                          Why?

               Why?

Instead, the eyes Ivy had staring down Hiroshi only grew sharper and colder.

Hiroshi: [I'm sorry for suggesting the act of going to the toilet at this juncture. It was uncouth and unnecessary and I had been reflecting on it ever since. Would that be enough reason to lower your gun?]

He had already gotten down on his knees and was in the process of putting his hands up in the air, a position not unlike the norm of one surrendering to the other.

Even during such a tense scenario, he was still trying to make light of the situation by joking around,

But once again, there is really nothing to laugh at.

One has to wonder how the man was still able to joke around when he was staring straight down a barrel pointing dead centre in between his eyes.

Amidst all the commotion, Ivy still remained resolute in her endeavours and had her index finger continue to reach for the trigger, giving Hiroshi absolutely no room for mercy.

It was a single moment,

The moment before disaster.

Time seemingly stood still,

Bidding its time to play coin flip,

Betting on the party that would make the first move.

And the first move was sounded off by a simple

"Tch".

~~~

A click of the tongue was what that sounded like.

But before we could pinpoint who was it that had made that noise,

Before Ivy could fire off her revolver at her classmate,

Before Catherine and I could tackle her in time to stop her from committing something she would have regretted,

Her revolver was flung out of her hand,

As if attracted to the walls beside us.

Not just her revolver, but also the pistol she was holding with her other hand and Catherine's Thompson submachine gun,

All three firearms flew out of their wielder's hands and affixed themselves onto the walls beside like a postmodernist art piece that no one could possibly hope to understand.

???: [I was this close, this close…]

Breaking the silence as he slowly got up from his knees was

Hiroshi Sagasu.

Nothing had changed about him,

Not the way he talked,

Not his usual mannerisms,

Not the way he looked at everything as if scheming for ways to maximise the fun of it.

Yet,

He had never seemed further from himself than ever before.

The first to react was once again, Ivy.

Undeterred by the loss of her weapons, she made quick footwork between the two of them in an attempt to close in their distance for close-quarters combat.

???: [Ooh, can't have you be doing that now.]

In opposition, the person Ivy was aiming for simply raised his hand up, a simple gesture that froze her in place.

Still, even with her movement restricted in an awkward position with one leg raised, she could still be seen struggling to break free with every twitch of her muscle,

Albeit to no avail in the grand scheme of things.

???: [Geez, at least give me a chance to talk, would you?]

There was no doubt that the person standing before us was the individual we previously known as

"Hiroshi Sagasu".

Yet, there was no reason I could think of for "Hiroshi Sagasu" to engage in the set of actions he had just done a second ago.

Hiroshi: [I know what this seems like to you all but I can assure you that it isn't what it looks like. There is a perfectly justified reason for this.]

He continued to ramble on with words that seemed to amount to less and less sense without waiting for the rest to catch up on the situation.

Hiroshi: [All I need is to get through those doors and that's it, we can all pretend that none of this…]

Catherine: [So this is all yer doing, ain't it?]

Interrupting his attempt to reason his way out was the Boss who had been quiet ever since her Tommy gun was robbed from her.

Catherine: [Inviting in all these goons, creating such a big commotion, just to get through these doors, this is all yer doing, non?]

She spoke with a calm voice but her eyes were as accusatory as can be, her fox ears poking through the fedora gradually rearing back to hint at the rising anger boiling over within.

But I still could not follow the conversation.

Because…

Hiroshi: [It was many nights' worth of hard work but yes, I will admit that I had a hand in what's happening today. But, I had made doubly sure, no, triply sure that no one would be seriously injured, you can be assured about that.]

Because…

Catherine: [Still doesn't excuse yer anything. What's so important behind those doors anyway, aren't they just stairs?]

Hiroshi: [If they were, then all these preparations would have been for a big joke but no, I had reasons to believe that beyond those doors right now is exactly what I need.]

Because…

Ko: [THEN WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU NOT JUST WALK RIGHT THROUGH IT ANY NORMAL DAY?!]

It was an outburst coming straight from no one else's but my mouth.

Even I did not consciously realise how much frustration I had panted up but once the floodgates were open, there was no way of stopping it.

Ko: [THIS, EVERY SINGLE PART OF THIS IS SO NEEDLESSLY UNNECESSARY! THIS SPECIFIC HALLWAY IS ESSENTIALLY ABANDONED ALL YEAR ROUND THAT NO ONE WOULD BAT AN EYE IF YOU SNUCK IN HERE UNDER THE GUISE OF A TOILET BREAK! YOU DON'T NEED ANY OF THIS COMPLICATED NONSENSE!]

The surroundings went quiet with the drop of my last syllable. I can't say I have intended for this to happen but I probably was not in the right state of mind to properly determine what it is that I actually want.

Hiroshi: [...Trust me, I already tried everything under the world before resorting to this and if the Institute's Database reveals itself to me with just that, I would have gladly done without any of this…]

Within his response was the slightest bit of distress and desperation, hidden beneath layers of carefree mannerisms and nonchalance, perceptible only to those who had been close to him.

Hiroshi: [... But unfortunately, that's just not the cards we are dealt with.]

Closing his eyes for but a moment, he chased away whatever suggestions of insecurities he had unknowingly revealed and opened his eyes again with resolve rekindled.

Those eyes were screaming, no,

Declaring

That he will get what he wants, even if he needs to face the whole world as his enemy.

Catherine: [...Strings.]

In response to his resolve, the Boss replied with a strange and out-of-place word.

Catherine: [He's not telekinetic, he's just very good at playing with strings.]

With that realisation spouted out, she dashed towards the lone Hiroshi with a butterfly knife pulled out of nowhere.

Hiroshi: [Well sorry if this only seems like child's play to you.]

With his other hand raised, he tried to stop the charge of the fedora-wearing kitsune like how he had halted Ivy in place just a few moments before.

Catherine, in countering, merely traced a large arc in the air with her knife.

From an outsider's perspective, her cutting the air seemed like a fruitless endeavour but knowing that Hiroshi manipulates his surroundings with strings thin enough that it is unobservable with the naked eye, it becomes a desperate fight for control that no one else but Catherine herself would know how.

What started out as a slice in the air quickly turned into a flurry from all directions as she steadily made her way to Hiroshi a step at a time with only a knife in hand.

She also made sure to free Ivy along the way by cutting the space in between her and Hiroshi but having regained her mobility, she did not immediately hop back into a direct assault at the strings bastard.

???: [We, are the operators of the Edward Institute,

We fight not in enmity against men,

but against powers of darkness enslaving the souls of men.]

Instead, a chant was heard.

???: [Our life is but a little holding of lent,

To do a mighty labour:

We are one.]

The voice was soft in volume, hoarse even if one were to strain one's ears to listen attentively but since it coincided with Ivy's movement of her lips, then it must logically be a voice belonging to none other than her.

Ivy: [With the stars and realities when it is spent,

To serve the Institute's aims:]

While Catherine was in the background pinning down Hiroshi's advances, Ivy continued with her chant.

Bringing her left thumb near her mouth, she bit it with all her might and smeared it onto her palm, before bringing both of her palms together and finished her chant.

Ivy: [Else Die We With The Sun.]

Nothing happened after her chant.

At the same time, everything did.

People in white hazmat suits bleached the narrow hallway, each holding a form of weapon designed to slice and dice up their opponents.

Saying that the hazmat guys "appeared out of nowhere" doesn't exactly fit it when the subjective feeling is more inclined to describe it as "they were always there in the first place".

One of them stopped by and tossed Ivy a katana before the entire collective continued to charge after and join Catherine's quest to subjugate Hiroshi.

Hiroshi: [OI OI OI, this is hardly fair now is it?!]

Although his smile had grown stiff amidst the ocean of white aiming for his head, he was still smiling nonetheless.

Fending off both Ivy and the Boss, he would also occasionally make use of the hazmat guys as projectiles and fling them around to those around them to stunt their ever-closing advances.

Ko: [I think we all had enough of this splendid waste of time already so how about we end it here?]

Easily said than done was the comment that the sole target that everyone around was aiming for dropped,

Yet with a flamboyant raise of the arms, freed from Ivy and Boss interferences due to effective hazmat projectiles, he successfully ended the one-sided battle with the simple motion of bringing his arms together in front of him.

All personnel, white, Ivy and Boss alike, were sent flying to the walls of the hallway and were stuck affixed to the wall like insects smashed onto a surface.

All except for…

Hiroshi: [Phew, you have no idea how much work it is to get all of them to move into the right positions for this to happen. I had to control the power output as well or risk actually crushing them through the walls…]

The dust settled and only two shadows remained standing and unstuck to the wall.

Hiroshi: [So, what would you do now, Ko?]

Slowly, passing the writhing bodies lining on the wall as he approaches, Hiroshi began to take a leisure stroll towards me.

In the very first place, no intervention can be done from a normal human being that is me during a battle between super-humans that was them, so even amidst my burning desire to rush in to help with whatever I can, the better part of my senses pulled the reins in time and forced me to stand idly by, watching as a spectator instead.

Hiroshi: [You know, when I found you in my room that night, I was scared shitless.]

He continued to reminisce about unimportant and unrelated happenings without a care in the world, as if he had already won the battle.

Hiroshi: [I really thought for a moment that you had discovered my plan and I was prepared to neutralise you.]

Ko: [...What?]

Hiroshi: [...via poison, the type that would leave you paralysed for quite a while, at least until I am done with what it is that I need to do.]

A chill ran up my spine at the thought of having shared a common space with this strings bastard.

Hiroshi: [But alas, it was that very night of bonding that allowed me to know one thing: You are the only one who would understand me!]

Putting his mindless ramble to the back of my head, I quickly looked around for any possible opportunities to overturn the current situation.

Hiroshi: [Perhaps this would be exactly what you needed to force those half-close eyelids of yours fully open once and for all.]

Ko: [I don't know what you are talking about nor do I need to.]

And there it was, a pistol dropped just centimetres away from my feet.

It must have been Ivy's pistol that was loosened from the walls and lost its postmodernist art piece identity the moment Hiroshi promoted the people charging at him into priceless wall art.

With nary a second of hesitation, I snatched the pistol on the floor, nearly fumbling it over in the process, and pointed it at the approaching menace.

Hiroshi: [Just now, it was a choice between acting a stomach ache or volunteering to stay behind and stand guard as an excuse to access the place without interference. Within both decisions, I could foresee you choosing to stay with me no matter what I do, so I gambled a bit.]

Ko: [Safe to say, you have lost terribly.]

He continued to close in confidently despite seeing the pistol I had clearly aimed at him.

Hiroshi: [Yeah, you are right. Would have hoped to at least remain friends with the rest for a bit more. And…]

His voice began to trail off when he was a mere five steps away.

I have to admit, there was no way that I could be trained in the use of a pistol like the one I am holding right now. Perhaps he saw right through this and was using it as a guarantee and assurance for his safety.

Then again, my hands were shaking quite a bit that even I could notice it for myself.

Hiroshi: [...Put down the weapon if you have no intention of shooting anyone.]

Unfaltering, he placed his left chest on the barrel.

I was, no doubt, a trigger away from stopping the threat standing in front of me.

With a simple squeeze, his flames of life would be doused forever.

Whatever it was that he had planned would be permanently foiled and rendered inconsequential.

IF ONLY I WOULD JUST COMMIT THE SIMPLE ACT OF PULLING DOWN THE TRIGGER!

Hiroshi: [Thank you for trusting me.]

I couldn't do it.

He wrestled the pistol out of my hands…

Correction.

He did not even need to wrestle, my grip on the pistol was weak enough that anybody could easily remove it from my possession like taking candy from a child.

I couldn't do it.

Hiroshi: [I am so sorry for putting you through all this. Nobody has been hurt and nobody will be hurt, not when I am around.]

With the pistol in hand, he used his hands to adjust my uniform's collar which would have most likely become dishevelled in the process of everything that had happened so far.

Those words rang hollow like the reverberations of a gong in an enclosed space.

Ko: [Why couldn't you be more ruthless? Why must you be considerate? Why can't I just HATE YOU!?]

Hiroshi: [Of course not, my sister would never allow it~ She didn't raise me to be such a disappointing jerk!]

He said it so matter-of-factly that it was shocking.

Hiroshi: [I won't trouble everyone any further. The Database should retain her information, I would check and remember it, then…]

Ko: [HIROSHIIII!!!]

Right next to the door leading to what would normally be the long stairwell were his outstretched hands, ready to open the door and receive his victory.

However, someone must be there to tell him, teach him that he could not get what he wants all the time.

Hiroshi: [We have been through this, "Hiro" would… Woah.]

Ko: [YOU SIS-CON STRINGS BASTARD!!!]

It was the spur of the moment, accompanied by a spur of emotions.

With a hand raised up high, I rushed to his sides and prepared to bring down a strike, not giving even a second thought to the fact that the hand I raised was the same hand wrapped in a handkerchief, still aching from the solid metal it punched less than an hour ago.

However, Hiroshi easily blocked it at the forearm, preventing it from striking true.

Hiroshi: [Why a fork though…]

It was a strange comment but upon a brief gander at my raised hand, there was indeed a fork nestled within the bruised fingers and bloodied handkerchief.

Hasn't it always been there?

The wave of pain that comes with holding with an injured hand was momentarily felt but was soon submerged by a sudden inspiration.

Ko: [YOU ARE OBSERVING, AREN'T YOU!?]

The last syllable dropped and along with it, the fork.

It was yet another strange comment, directed to no one.

No, it was directed to a very specific observer.

An observer who has been there ever since the beginning.

???: [Ko, you meanie…]

A voice, devoid of tells on whether it belongs to a girl's or a boy's materialised.

No, it has always been there,

Just that no one has yet to look properly.

The androgynous figure received the fork I had dropped mid-air and plunged it decisively into the sides of an unguarded Hiroshi.

In his defence, he did attempt to protect himself by raising his other free hand, still holding on to the pistol he had confiscated.

A shot was fired off and a flash was observed at the head of the barrel,

But neither Hiroshi nor the mysterious observer was struck by the round.

Instead, only Hiroshi received damage as he clasped hard onto the wound caused by a fork, now stuck to his side.

His momentum led to him opening the door that he wanted to open for so long,

Only to be greeted by a gigantic stairwell, connecting the whole building of Edward Institute.

Struck by anaemia or despair, he continued to stumble forward, getting dangerously close to the guard railing meant to protect one from the stairwell.

Ko: [WAIT, HIROSHI!]

In his state of confusion, he raised his hands to reach for the railing,

But overreached it instead,

Resulting in him resting his entire body weight on one hand and

Generating enough momentum

                                                         to

                                                              send

                                                                       him

                                                                              over

                                                                                     the

                                                                                           edge.

Hiroshi: [Sis…]

That was the last word I was able to catch from him amidst the tinnitus ringing all over my ears before he disappeared behind the guard railing and down the stairwell.

The two of us that were still stunned beyond the doorway quickly gathered ourselves together and rushed to the guard railing where Hiroshi was last seen,

But the darkness of the abyss that was at the bottom of the stairwell only seemed to stare back with twice the intensity, unwilling to divulge what it had taken in.

Ko: [And you said you tried "everything under the world"...]

???: [KO!! Your stomach! It is all red!]

My head began to spin and the ringing only became louder as if the whole clock tower was brought next to my ears.

Ko: [...without even once trying to ask for our help.]

Correction:

I think I was the one shot here.

~~~

???: [...Um… Hi, I am your temporary substitute teacher until Ms. Sept comes back. It's only temporary so I won't bother leaving my name.]

???: [Wah!? What happened to Nanochi?]

One day has passed since the ordeal,

And school at Edward Institute had already resumed normalcy.

Substitute teacher: [Don't know, Mimi, probably slacking off for a week or two, that's what us teachers do, so don't be surprised.]

Using the class register clipboard as a neck massager, he proceeds to use it to hit the sore areas of his neck.

Or at least that's what I think he was doing.

Substitute teacher: [So I see 22 seats filled, or more precisely 21 humanoid-ly occupied and one occupied by device. Today's Tuesday so this should be Yin here instead of Yang, hmm, I wonder where Hiroshi went…]

The substitute teacher pointed at the empty seat that didn't use to be empty a day ago.

Substitute teacher: [Welp, probably a school transfer. That would conclude homeroom, then. Self-study for the rest of the day, I will see you all tomorrow or whenever Ms. Sept decided to come back.]

With a small wave of his hand, the substitute teacher left the classroom with the class register, every step of the way accompanied by a cute squeaky sound.

No one could tell what expressions he was dawning when he was talking to the class.

No one would physically be, with the huge mascot mask covering his head.

The face on the mascot mask was a huge cheery face, yet the voice that escaped was deadbeat and deadpan, devoid of any enthusiasm that a high school classroom should contain.

If I were to describe the teacher in one word, it would be "Monday", but it is actually Tuesday right now…

Not only was the substitute teacher wearing a mascot mask, but he was also wearing the whole mascot set covering him from head to toe.

It was a torture forcing myself to stifle a laugh in when the contrast between expectation and reality was so stark.

The same goes for the majority of the class too.

But especially more so for me since I can't afford to have my wound open up again from the dumb excuse of laughing out loud.

Ko: [Pfft, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA and awwww.]

The laugh bursts out still since the humour was on point.

If I'm not careful, part of my guts will be following suit too.

???: [Careful there, boy. Yer don't want to die again, would yer?]

A pair of fox ears force themselves into view, now devoid of both fedora and Tommy gun.

Since the teacher was gone, it was an open invitation for all to go back to their individual rooms in the lockers.

Catherine: [Sorry that Ivy and I weren't of much help yesterday. I don't know how the bastard did it but he got us good.]

The siscon strings bastard in question was nowhere to be found

Apparently, the classroom of EI7 is located on the 94th storey of the towering skyscraper that is the Edward Institute.

Since the stairwell connected all levels all the way from the first floor,

If Hiroshi did fall the whole way down, there would be no chance of survival.

However, nobody was found at the bottom of the stairwell.

Whether that is a good thing or bad thing was something even I would have trouble answering.

???: [It started opening again, didn't it? I told you not to aggravate it!]

Closely following behind was the young doctor that quite literally brought me back to life.

It was the second eldest sister of John that we did not see in action yesterday.

Elaine: [Seven times, I had to revive you seven full times before you would stop dying. Please don't let there be an eighth…]

She may not be an actual doctor of medicine but she is a certified doctor of spiritual descent, one that is skilled enough to make "revival of the dead" sound as trivial as eating breakfast.

Ko: [Yeah yeah, I would take care. See you all tomorrow!]

One day has passed since the ordeal,

But school at Edward Institute continues on.

[End of Chapter]

Ko: [And that's a wrap!]

All: [WOOOOOH!!]

***_****: [Is that really it? Did I leave any continuity errors behind?]

Yang: [Now now, unresolved plotlines could even be undeveloped potential!]

***_****: [I'M SORRY!]

Yin: [And all you need to nurture undeveloped potential is a little bit of time and consistent effort.]

***_****: [I'M SO SORRY!]

John: [That said, there is quite a bit of content that we initially planned for but didn't get the chance to include here.]

***_****: [Yeah, no way I could squeeze any more time out. This End Card is still being written on the last day…]

Hiroshi: [You just need more thorough planning and…]

Catherine: [Why in the blue marble are yer here!]

Elaine: [Didn't you die or something?]

Ivy: [*Pulls out revolver*]

Hiroshi: [...I know what happened in the main story, but I will remind you all, that this is the End Card.]

***_****: [Where "anything and everything" could go without being bogged down by the fourth wall, yes, I introduced it as such.]

Sis-con strings bastard: [Sir, I would like to protest.]

Catherine: [I'm going for the liver.]

Ivy: [*Knuckle duster sounds*]

Sis-con strings bastard: [WAI…]

Ko: [Thank you all so much for your continued support! More than happy to respond if any of you had any questions! I am going to hit where I failed to hit in the main story!]

***_****: [Can't stress this enough but this couldn't possibly be completed without any of your continued support. There's still so much more to explore in the Edward Institute and I can't wait to expand it with you all!]

[End of End Card]