The narrow passage stretched ahead, barely wide enough for them to move in single file. Amy's breath came in short, panicked gasps as they rushed through the darkness, the sounds of their pursuers scratching against the now closed door protecting them from what sounded like instant death.

"Do you know where we're going?" Lain screamed.

Amy nodded, then realized Lain couldn't see her in the dark. "Yes," she said as she kept running, her voice more high-pitched than usual.

I'm gonna puke…

She truly was in bad shape. Once all this was over, she would have to train a little—no, actually fuck that. She would rot in bed for the rest of her life.

They stumbled forward, hands against the damp stone walls to guide them. After what felt like an eternity, the passage widened into a larger chamber. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom, Amy froze.

Thirteen wooden crosses lined the walls of the circular room. Thirteen students were bound to them, their bodies slumped and bleeding but still breathing.

Amy's eyes scanned the room before her eyes landed on a pedestal at the center of the room. On it sat an ornate black box, intricate symbols carved into its surface. A golden lock atop it. That was the whole reason why they were in this building in the first place.

"What is this place?" Lain asked, eyeing the people with intensity, and then fixing the same gaze on Amy.

"The sacrifices," Amy whispered, horror washing over her. The sight was far more disturbing than any manga illustration could have conveyed.

Today might actually be the worst day of my life…

Lain moved immediately toward the nearest student. "They're still alive."

Amy's legs trembled as she approached another student—a girl with short red hair who couldn't have been older than fifteen. Blood trickled from cuts along her arms and forehead, forming intricate patterns that collected in shallow channels carved into the floor.

"We need to get them down." She paused, then gestured to the box. "That box is also the thing that the golden key opens. The whole reason we're here in the first place."

Lain’s eyes scanned the box, then she nodded at Amy. Even though her eyes stayed on the box, Lain first moved for the ropes binding the other girl's wrists.

A horrible screech echoed through the chamber as she approached the bindings. The unconscious girl's eyes snapped open, revealing nothing but milky white orbs. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide.

"Alblagtung thanki shadma. Sehlet hhst mall sbeid," she said in a voice that wasn't human.

The fuck.

Lain rapidly moved away from the girl. "Don't touch; the bindings are cursed," she warned, her voice steady despite the horror surrounding them.

From above, a faint red light started to illuminate the chamber. The blood channels on the floor began to glow with an unhealthy crimson light, revealing a massive ritual circle made of blood etched into the stone.

"We need to break the circle," Amy said, scanning the room desperately. "In the sto—I mean, according to my power—their souls are being used to power the nightmare."

"..." Lain stared silently at Amy for a few seconds. She was smart, so she had probably already figured out the implications.

If they killed at least half of the sacrifices, the nightmare would begin collapsing, and they would be able to get out. In fact, that was how Zayd and Lain had escaped in the original story. Though they hadn't killed them per se, they'd been instead more like collateral damage of their fight with the monsters.

"How do we break it without freeing whatever is trying to manifest?" Lain asked, deciding to ignore the thought that had obviously crossed her mind.

"Libris," Amy whispered. "Any ideas?"

[You know I can't help you.]

"Please," Amy hissed. "If I use my power one more time, I fear my head might seriously explode."

[...I wish I could, Amy. But I truly can't, at least not directly like this.]

Footsteps and chittering sounds echoed from the passage they'd used to enter. Those things had managed to enter the chamber.

The first monster burst into the chamber, its human disguise melting away to reveal a grotesque figure with too many limbs and eyes. Behind it came an unending horde of others, no longer bothering with their barely disguised human appearances.

Lain moved with startling speed, frost forming around her hands as she thrust them forward. A wall of ice erupted from the floor, temporarily blocking the entrance. "That won't hold them long," she warned, getting ready to fight.

Ugh! Fuck me this is going to hurt…

Amy closed her eyes, focusing. The strain was immediate, pain lancing through her temples as she pushed her ability beyond its limits. Blood trickled freely from her nose, but Amy pushed harder, desperate for an answer.

She could feel her ears start to ring, a sound that was becoming increasingly louder as her eyes, still closed, began to shed tears and then blood. It felt like her objective was so far away, but eventually, after pushing and pushing, she reached it.

Knowledge immediately flooded into her brain, and a small, tired smile formed on her lips.

Without wasting any time, Amy reached the pedestal, examining the symbols. Some of them were familiar from Professor Lirienne's class and things she'd randomly seen in the manga and which had stuck in her brain. But of course she had no idea what any of them could possibly mean, nor did she need to.

"Can you break it, the circle?" Lain said. Ice crackled around her fingers as she positioned herself between Amy and the already-cracking ice wall.

Amy's mind raced, the foreign knowledge coming into her brain, very painfully. "To break it, we need blood from an outside system, someone other than those thirteen. Our blood might be enough to redirect the flow of energy."

She had no idea how that worked, but she wasn't about to argue with her ability right now.

Lain nodded without hesitation. "I'll go first."

Before Amy could protest, Lain drew a small knife hidden in her boot and sliced her palm. She pressed her bleeding hand against the nearest blood channel, and the red glow immediately began to pulse. The ropes binding one of the unconscious students loosened slightly.

Holy fuck it's actually working. This fucking ability is so overpowered!

Amy took a moment to recompose herself, then took the knife Lain handed to her. She winced as she jabbed it into her palm, then pressed her own bleeding hand to another channel.

The ice wall shattered. Impostors poured into the chamber, their forms twisting and flowing like liquid.

Lain stepped forward, her silver hair whipping around her as frost erupted from her body in waves. "I'll keep them back! Do what you gotta do!"

Amy worked frantically, moving from channel to channel, smearing her blood across the ritual pathways. With each touch, another student's bindings loosened. But her progress was too slow, with each disruption requiring a big quantity of blood.

Lain, meanwhile, was locked in battle. Ice spikes impaled the first two impostors that rushed her. A wave of frost slowed the others. But they kept coming, their bodies regenerating even as she tore them apart.

"Amy," Lain called, creating another ice barrier as she backed toward the center of the room. "My reserves of mana are diminishing fast, hurry!"

Amy had freed four students by now, their unconscious forms slumped on the ground. The fifth was nearly loose, but it was enough for ripples to appear in reality, like broken crystal, and something resembling a portal to form at the very edge of the room.

Amy grinned at this for a second before her expression turned grim. From the darkness above, a deep rumbling laugh echoed through the chamber. The stone ceiling cracked, revealing a mass of writhing flesh and countless eyes.

The Blood Emperor's incarnation was awakening.

"Fuck," Amy whispered, redoubling her efforts. She dragged her bleeding palm across three more channels, ignoring the burning sensation that spread up her arm, the tiredness that started taking over her brain, her bloody eyes that began losing focus, and the pain all over her body caused by using her ability.

One of the freed students—a boy with dark hair—began to stir. His eyes fluttered open, confusion evident in his expression.

"Run!" Amy shouted at him, pointing to the exit. "Take anyone who's been freed and run towards that portal!"

The boy scrambled to his feet, swaying unsteadily. His eyes locked onto a girl who was still unconscious, before he began dragging her toward the portal.

Lain was now surrounded, fighting off impostors from all sides. Her ice attacks were growing weaker, her movements slower. "I can't hold them off much longer!" she screamed, her voice strained.

Amy had freed eight students now. Five were still bound, including Elias Varn and the red-haired girl she'd first approached. The ceiling was crumbling, revealing more of the monstrous form above. Massive tentacles tipped with eyes and mouths began to descend into the chamber.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. "Almost there…!" Amy gasped, her vision blurring from blood loss and exhaustion.

She stumbled toward the ninth student, a boy with dog ears and a long fluffy tail, who she found kind of cute, despite the crazy situation— Jesus Christ! That blood loss is seriously starting to affect me.

One of the freed students, a tall girl with blonde hair, followed the boy's example and was helping others get away, bringing them towards the portal.

Lain unleashed a devastating frost nova, momentarily clearing the area around her. She used the brief respite to dash to Amy's side.

"Let me help," she said, slicing her other palm and pressing it against the channel near the boy. Together, they freed him.

Only four remained.

A tentacle smashed into the floor near them, sending stone fragments flying. Amy cried out as a sharp piece sliced across her neck. A few centimeters to the right, and it would've ripped off her throat.

"Leave them!" the blonde girl shouted from the portal, where she was helping others escape. "You won't make it!"

Amy ignored her and instead returned to her feet. Both Elias and the red-haired girl were still bound to their crosses. Amy couldn't leave them—couldn't leave any of them.

Lain locked Amy with an intense gaze, but this one seemed more out of respect than the usual weird one. "We finish this," she said firmly, moving to the next student.

The rumbling grew louder. More tentacles descended, sweeping across the chamber. One caught an impostor, crushing it to paste. Another slammed into the wall, somehow breaking reality further and widening the portal where the freed students were escaping.

Two more students freed. Only the red-haired girl and Elias remained.

"Lain, get ready, we are leaving!" Amy screamed desperately as she stumbled toward the red-haired girl. "Make sure to take the box with you!"

Lain wasn't even able to respond as more creatures poured onto her.

The ceiling collapsed further. The Blood Emperor's true form was becoming visible—a mountainous mass of flesh, covered in countless eyes and mouths, tentacles emerging from every surface.

After creating yet another ice wall between the entire room, separating the students and the monsters, the barely functional Lain freed the red-haired girl, then turned to help Amy with the last victim.

"Get her out," Amy ordered, pointing to the boy. "I'll finish here."

Lain hesitated. Her eyes examined Amy's face. She was pale, her eyes were half closed, and it was obvious that she was going to faint at any second.

"You can't—"

"I'll be right behind you. Take the golden box with you."

Eventually, Lain had no choice but to agree. She took the box while at the same time helping the disoriented girl to her feet, then guided her toward the exit, where the blonde student was still helping others escape.

[You are an idiot, you know that…]

Amy turned to Elias, the last sacrifice. The ropes binding him were thicker than the others, pulsing with malevolent energy.

"I'm getting…you—out of…here," Amy told him, though she knew the boy couldn't hear her.

But before she could even start pouring her blood into the ritual channel, a massive tentacle swept across the chamber, heading straight for Amy.

She ducked, barely avoiding it as it smashed next to her, right into the boy's face.

What followed was silence despite the chaos going on around her, as her tired brain struggled to catch up with the events happening all around her. The realization of what had happened to Elias hit Amy like a physical blow.

The tentacle had crushed his face, leaving nothing but a grotesque mess of blood and tissue.

Her breath caught in her throat as her exhausted mind tried to process the horror.

With the last student dead, the nightmare was completely collapsing. The chamber shook violently.

The Blood Emperor's massive form continued to descend through the collapsing ceiling. Amy's vision swam, dark spots dancing at the edges. Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to her knees beside Elias's cross.

"Damnation!! Amy!" Lain's voice seemed to come from very far away. Amy tried to respond, but her mouth wouldn't cooperate.

Blood continued to seep from her nose, eyes, and the cut on her neck. Her overused ability had pushed her body well beyond its limits.

Through blurry vision, she saw Lain fighting her way back through the chaos, ice shards flying from her hands as she cleared a path. The golden box was secured at her hip, its ornate surface catching what little light remained in the chamber.

Lain reached her, frost-covered hands gripping Amy's shoulders. "Stay with me," she commanded, her voice sharp with concern. "We're almost out."

Amy felt herself being lifted, Lain's surprising strength supporting her as they stumbled toward the portal.

The Blood Emperor's roar of rage shook the foundations of the chamber as more of its monstrous form broke through. A final, massive tentacle smashed through what remained of the ceiling, heading straight for them.

Lain carried Amy forward with all her might, sending her tumbling toward the portal.

"The box—" Amy tried to say as she fell backward.

"I have it," Lain assured her, diving forward as the tentacle crashed down where they'd stood just moments before.

Amy felt the strange sensation of the portal enveloping her, like passing through a sheet of ice-cold water.

Her consciousness was fading fast now, darkness encroaching from all sides.

The last thing she saw before everything went black was Lain's face, normally so composed, twisted with discomfort as she caught Amy's collapsing form on the other side.

-————-　■　-————-

Her consciousness returned slowly, in fragments.

Amy was aware of voices first, then the sensation of lying on something uncomfortable.

"...lucky to be alive, all of them..."

"...severe strain..."

"...Class S students truly are a different breed..."

She floated in darkness, disconnected from her body.

It was peaceful here. No pain. No monsters. No responsibilities.

I failed.

The thought pierced the darkness like a needle, sharp and unwelcome.

Elias's crushed face flashed in her mind, along with her promise to save everyone. He was dead.

I could have saved him. But I didn't.

Memories flickered through her semiconscious mind: the ritual chamber, the crosses, the students they'd managed to free. Yet it didn't feel like any of it mattered. Her rational side was telling her it had been a huge success, yet the piece of shit of her heart…

Something cold touched her forehead—a damp cloth, she realized dimly. The sensation anchored her briefly to reality before she slipped away again.

-————-　■　-————-

Light filtering through her eyelids. Pain throbbing behind her eyes. The metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

Amy became aware of a soft surface beneath her—a bed. Clean sheets. The antiseptic smell of a medical facility.

Her eyes felt crusted shut, but she forced them open with tremendous effort. Blinding whiteness greeted her, causing her to wince and close them again immediately.

[You're awake,] a familiar voice resounded in her ears.

She tried to respond, but her throat was parched, her tongue swollen and uncooperative. A pitiful croak was all she managed.

[Yeah, that sounds about right.]

With monumental effort, she opened her eyes again, more gradually this time. The white ceiling of what appeared to be an infirmary came into focus. She turned her head slightly, wincing at the stiffness in her neck. Libris was there, placed on a bedside table.

The amber book's presence brought a smile to Amy's face.

[Welcome back,] it said quietly. [You've been unconscious for three long days. And despite my reluctance to admit this, I've been quite bored without you.]

Amy tried to speak again. This time, her voice came out as a raspy whisper. "Aww," she barely managed to express. "...that's the sweetest thing you've ever told me…"

[Don't let it get to your head… And also, just take it easy from now on. Alright? The healers worked extensively on you, but you're not fully recovered yet.]

You don't need to tell me twice.

"How bad was it?" Amy croaked, her throat still dry and scratchy.

[Bad enough. Multiple lacerations, severe blood loss, and extreme mental strain. You're fortunate that Archmage Selwyn was available—she's one of the Academy's most skilled healers. Your physical injuries have mostly been addressed, but… You severely strained your core. Pushed it far beyond what it could handle. The healers have stabilized it, but it needs time to regenerate naturally. Now that you're conscious, they estimate about two days for full recovery, provided you rest properly.]

Amy reached weakly for the glass of water on her bedside table—really considerate of whoever had left it there. After a few sips, she felt marginally more human. "And the others? Lain? The students we rescued?"

[All alive. Some still in recovery, but none in critical condition. Lain was discharged yesterday—while her injuries were less severe than yours, she still strained her core by a considerable amount.]

Amy nodded. The memory of Elias's crushed face flashed in her mind, but she quickly pushed it away, focusing instead on the glass of water in her hand.

[I should warn you, Amy,] Libris continued, his tone more serious than usual. [Next time you push your ability that far, you might not recover at all. The strain on your core was significant. Another episode like that could cause permanent damage, or worse.]

Amy set the glass down, keeping her eyes averted from the book. "I didn't have a choice."

[There's always a choice.]

Amy's eyes narrowed. "Really? What was my alternative? Oh, please enlighten me." The bitterness in her voice surprised even her.

[Choice is not merely a fork in the road, Amy. It is the weight you bear with each step forward. You chose to save them—admirable, but reckless. If you destroy yourself in the process, who will be left to protect them next time?]

Amy clenched her fists, jaw tight. "So what, I should just stand by and do nothing?"

[No. I am telling you to be wiser in how you fight. Strength lies not just in sacrifice. It is in endurance. In knowing when to push, when to hold back, and when to trust others to stand beside you.]

Silence ensued before she let out a short, humorless laugh. "Did you find that on the internet?"

Libris chuckled. [Yes. The wisdom of ages is now conveniently stored in your world's vast digital archives. Quite efficient, really.]

Amy shook her head, half-exasperated. "Great. Here I am, barely alive, and you're quoting motivational blogs at me."

[Would you prefer I cite an obscure philosopher? 'Wisdom is wisdom, no matter where it is found.' And in this case, that happens to be true.]

Amy sighed, rubbing her temples. "Yeah, yeah. I get it." But despite her irritation, she felt some of the tension in her chest ease—just a little. "Has the Academy done anything about what happened?"

[Quite a bit, actually. Security has been dramatically enhanced throughout the grounds. The Headmaster ordered a full inspection of all facilities, particularly after receiving some rather forceful complaints.]

"Let me guess—Lain's family?"

[Indeed. The House of Arkwright does not take kindly to their heir nearly being sacrificed to an eldritch horror. Several other noble families have joined in demanding explanations.]

Amy snorted weakly. "Fuck 'em. Any loss a school suffers is a win for this world."

[There's more,] Libris added. [Classes resume in two days.]

"What?" Amy tried to sit up too quickly and immediately regretted it as her head spun. "That's insane! After what just happened?"

[The Academy's official position is that 'normalcy must be maintained to prevent panic.' Some students are already calling it a cover-up. The real reason is, of course, that they want to turn the students into battle-ready ability users as quickly as possible.]

Amy slumped back against her pillows. "And here I was hoping for at least a month off..."

[On another note, Crow has the box now.]

This caught Amy's attention. "Has he opened it?"

[No. He's been... hesitant. He just stares at it for hours, seemingly unable to bring himself to use the key. I suspect he's afraid of what he might find inside.]

Amy frowned, but didn't judge him. The box belonged to his father, after all. If Amy was in his place, she would have a lot of trouble accepting anything from her own father.

"Anything else I should know?" she asked, trying to redirect her thoughts away from her father. It would only make her mad.

[The new chapter is out, been out for three days, in fact. Right after you lost consciousness. Also, I finished the update of the system,] Libris said, causing Amy to perk up immediately.

"That fast?"

[It's not as surprising as you think. The chapter release has less to do with the time passed in this world and more about the plot progression.]

"Wait, does that mean...?" A spark of hope flared in her chest. "Did I get a power-up?"

[Indeed. And a significant one at that. Your ability is directly proportional to the readers' affinity for your character, after all. Your actions in the ritual chamber... resonated with them.]

“...you won’t nerf it, right…?”

[I will only nerf your power if their strength is disproportionate to the readers' fondness for your character. So, no. Don’t worry.]

"So... I'm stronger now?" Amy couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips, despite everything.

[Substantially. Though I'd advise against testing those limits until you've fully recovered.]

Amy nodded, then glanced toward the door. "How long until the nurses realize I'm awake?"

[Probably not long. The monitoring spells should've already alerted them.]

"Want to read the new chapters to pass the time?" Amy asked, deliberately asking for a distraction as thoughts of Elias threatened to surface.

[If you'd like.]

Amy nodded, settling back as the familiar glow began to emanate from the book's pages, pushing away the darkness of her thoughts, if only temporarily.

The memories of what had happened in that chamber—of her failure to save everyone—remained buried deep.

And hopefully, they'd stay that way.