After that, everyone took part in a few other small activities, such as exorcising a cursed doll and praying for special guest Miku's good fortune.
By two in the afternoon, the program finally reached its last big climax—the test of courage inside an abandoned elentary school.
"Um... Senpai, are you going to be okay?"
Shido looked at Mikoto, who had already begun trembling. Then he raised his head and looked at the school, whose sign read "Ten○ Elentary School." It seed to have been abandoned for quite so ti, and even its na had beco a little blurry.
"Um... I'll be fine. Shido is with , after all."
Mikoto forced a smile and tightly held Shido's hand. Although she knew this was a supernatural program, she had always thought it would only have small activities like bending spoons. She had never imagined that the production team would prepare an abandoned elentary school as the final location.
Because the place was so large, each guest and their assistant entered the school at the sa ti through different entrances.
Mikoto and Shido took the fire escape, which looked as if it had been left unused for who knew how long. Even though it was still afternoon, the school building was pitch black inside.
"It looks like there's going to be a heavy storm."
Mikoto looked at the sky outside through the long-broken window and said this. At the mont, the sky was covered in dark clouds. Just looking at it was enough to tell how heavy the coming rain would be.
Everyone's task was to head to the rooftop and obtain an "exorcism tool", then take that tool to the school basent to "drive out the evil spirit."
In short, they just had to take the small prop placed by the production team on the rooftop and put it on the so-called sealing magic circle in the basent. Shido and Mikoto walked hand in hand through the abandoned elentary school.
The old, poorly maintained wooden floor creaked under their feet. Still, the production team seed to have inspected the place. These wooden boards looked unreliable, but in truth, there was no danger of them collapsing.
The only source of light was the flashlight in her hand, but because she was with Shido, Mikoto was not especially afraid.
Before long, the two arrived in front of the door to the rooftop.
"Ah... From here on, only one person is allowed to go up."
The flashlight shone on a notice written in red paint and pasted on the door—beyond this point, only one person may proceed.
"Do you want to go, Senpai?"
Shido asked.
"Uu... Then I'll leave it to you."
Mikoto nodded.
"Yeah, leave it to ."
Shido nodded as well, pushed open the door, and walked out onto the rooftop. Mikoto was left standing alone in the dark corridor, uneasy.
She did not know how much ti had passed, but Shido still had not co back. Gradually realizing that sothing seed wrong, Mikoto slowly stepped forward and pushed open the iron door to the rooftop.
What t her was the cold sound of the wind and heavy dark clouds that looked ready to crush the whole school.
"Shido?"
Mikoto looked around, but she could not find Shido anywhere.
"Shido—!"
She picked up the "exorcism tool" placed on the ground and shouted Shido's na.
Crash!
"Fueh!"
However, the only response was a flash of lightning in the sky. The girl was so frightened that she covered her ears and trembled.
Pouring rain followed the thunder and lightning, and raindrops as large as beans began striking the ground. Unable to stay on the rooftop any longer, Mikoto had no choice but to steel herself and return inside the school.
Without Shido beside her, the dark school felt cold and terrifying. Countless raindrops struck the glass, like the groans of evil spirits and monsters.
"Shido..."
Mikoto held the flashlight and called Shido's na in a small voice, afraid that so strange "thing" might notice her presence.
But then...
Tap, tap. Tap, tap.
From far away, in the darkness, ca the sound of footsteps.
"Eek..."
It was not Shido's voice. It was the sound of a woman's high heels stepping across the floor. Realizing that the other person was not Shido, Mikoto let out a weak cry.
"Wh-Who is it?"
She raised the flashlight, wanting to see the person's true identity, but...
[!!!]
The flashlight flickered a few tis, then went out completely.
"Ahwu!"
Mikoto took several steps back. She had no idea who had co, and she could not see them at all. As the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer, the unease in her heart rose sharply. In the end, she turned and ran.
Tap tap tap, tap tap tap!
She did not know how long she had been running before she tripped and fell to the floor with a slap.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
The shrine maiden outfit she had deliberately worn to show her identity was not clothing suited for running. The girl rubbed her leg, large tears gathering in her eyes, looking very pitiful.
After standing up, Mikoto continued forward with the flashlight that would no longer turn on. Although she was very scared, she tried her best to tell herself that this was only a prank arranged by the production team.
Suddenly, in this afternoon as dark as night, she noticed that sothing seed to be drawn on the corridor windows ahead.
"Uu... Uu..."
Although she really did not want to go, that was the only path toward the basent. To finish this test of courage as soon as possible, Mikoto gritted her teeth and walked toward it.
"This is... sakura trees?"
When she got close, Mikoto tilted her head. In the dim surroundings, she could only vaguely see that they were patterns of sakura trees drawn on the corridor windows.
"Uu..."
Although it was very creepy, Mikoto still continued forward along the corridor.
Crash!
Another flash of lightning crossed the sky, and she was so frightened that she covered her ears. Although she usually was not afraid of lightning, in this kind of atmosphere, the girl was sensitive to every small sound.
She raised her head, and by the light of the lightning, she saw the truth behind the sakura trees.
They were patterns ford by countless bloody handprints connected together.
"Uu... Uwaaa..."
Mikoto was so frightened that she broke into a run. Under the lightning's glow, those red handprints dyed the entire corridor blood red.
Bang!
After running for who knew how long, the girl finally reached the basent. In a panic, she pushed open the door and entered the goal of the ga.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Because she had been running, Mikoto's chest rose and fell violently. She walked to the center of the room and, as instructed earlier, placed the exorcism tool on a strange magic circle. With that, the test of courage should have ended.
"Um... Is anyone there?"
Mikoto looked around, but no one answered. It seed that she was the first guest to arrive, but the staff did not appear either.
"Uu... Uu..."
Being alone in an empty room made Mikoto feel even more uneasy.
Tap, tap. Tap, tap.
At that mont, the sound of high heels stepping on the floor, the sa sound she had heard before, rang out.
"Uu..."
Mikoto trembled like a little animal with its fur standing on end. She looked around, wanting to find sowhere to hide, but the only thing in the room that could hide a person was a large box.
Tap, tap. Tap, tap... The footsteps grew closer and closer.
She gritted her teeth and carefully crawled into the box.
At the sa ti, with a creak, the door was slowly pushed open.
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