Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1398: Chapter 1397: The Beginning of the Mutation

”Ugh... this place is really creepy...”

Walking down the flickering corridor, Sekai couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

”I wonder where Setsuna is... Is she hurt...”

”As for Classmate Kiyora, she should be fine...”

Hearing Sekai’s whispers, Gui Kotonoha, walking beside her, also responded. And upon hearing Gui Kotonoha’s words, Sekai glanced at the girl in front of her and nodded.

”Yeah, Setsuna has always been smart, she’ll definitely be fine... But I’ve also breathed a sigh of relief, I really didn’t expect to be with you, Classmate Gui...”

Admittedly, although she’d heard rumors about Gui Kotonoha at school, being with her now made Sekai feel much safer. On one hand, because she had a companion in this eerie place, and on the other, Gui was carrying a wooden sword on her back.

That’s right, ever since that incident, Gui Kotonoha was practically inseparable from her sword. Even coming to the Fang Family, she brought it out of habit. In fact, when watching a movie earlier, Gui Kotonoha held her sword as she watched, so when she entered this world, she still held her weapon.

After that incident, the whole school knew Gui Kotonoha was a swordsmanship expert. Having such a battle force by her side, Sekai naturally wasn’t as nervous.

But... what on earth is going on here.

Even though they’d learned from the ghost that they’d been sent to a multiverse, Sekai still found it hard to believe. Although they had encountered two living girls, one ran away at the sight of them, and the other stood dazed in the corner of the wall muttering incomprehensively...

I wonder how the others are doing.

Thinking of this, Sekai couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

”Tap, tap...”

Just at this moment, suddenly, footsteps echoed from the nearby corridor. Hearing them, the two tensed up, and Gui Kotonoha reached for the hilt of the wooden sword at her waist. Before long, two figures, one large and one small, appeared in the dim corridor before them.

They looked like siblings, the older one a brother, who seemed like a high schooler. The short-haired girl following behind was clearly his sister, appearing to be a middle schooler.

”Um, um...”

Seeing Gui Kotonoha and Sekai, the two seemed somewhat nervous too. The older brother raised a hand, greeting them.

”Hello, we’re students from Kisaragi Academy. After playing a chant game with classmates, we lost consciousness. When we woke up, we were here. Are you the same?”

”...Whew...”

Hearing his structured speech, Gui Kotonoha and Sekai sighed with relief, Gui Kotonoha released the grip on her sword hilt, and Sekai smiled slightly.

”Ah, hello, we’re students from Sakanoue Academy. We also lost consciousness and woke up here, but we didn’t play any... chant game.”

”Is that so?”

Hearing Sekai’s answer, the two relaxed a bit and hurried over.

”Hello, I’m Satoshi Mochida, this is my sister Yuka.”

”I’m Saiin-ji Sekai, and this is Gui Kotonoha.”

Gui Kotonoha said nothing, while Sekai took on the task of communicating. After all, she’s always been good at socializing, and Gui Kotonoha clearly wasn’t fond of talking to strangers, so naturally, this was Sekai’s job.

”We’re looking for our friends. Have you seen anyone else?”

”We did see a girl standing in the art room and a short-haired girl with glasses earlier... But they...”

”Ah... couldn’t communicate at all...”

Saying this, the two sighed. But soon, Sekai perked up again.

”However, since we’re here, it means others must be safe too, and we must find them.”

”Right.”

Hearing Sekai, Satoshi Mochida nodded emphatically.

”Let’s continue searching then.”

And so, the four of them began to search the school building once more. Along the way, Sekai and Kotonoha learned from Satoshi Mochida that they were only in an annex school building, not the main building. Satoshi Mochida and his sister had searched the main building earlier and found no signs of others.

So, it seems like the ghost said, everyone might be trapped in different spaces.

”B-brother...”

When they found nothing, Yuka blushed and tugged her brother’s sleeve.

”I-I can’t hold it anymore...”

”What’s wrong?”

Seeing Yuka’s pained expression, Sekai curiously asked, and Yuka looked down embarrassedly.

”I-I need to use the bathroom...”

”Ah...”

Hearing this, both Sekai and Kotonoha showed an understanding expression.

”Can’t you go here?”

”No,” Satoshi Mochida shook his head, somewhat troubled.

”We found many bathrooms along the way, but none could be used... Yuka, maybe you should just go in the woods outside.”

”Oh... alright.”

Though a bit reluctant, Yuka nodded. As such, Sekai volunteered, saying,

”Then, let us accompany Yuka, Classmate Gui and I. We’re girls after all, it’s good to have company.”

”I’ll leave it to you two then.”

Hearing Sekai’s suggestion, Satoshi Mochida nodded. He realized these girls weren’t bad people, and was uneasy leaving his sister alone. Having two girls accompany her was indeed safer.

After deciding, everyone returned to the first-floor hall, where Satoshi Mochida stayed by the main door while Sekai and Kotonoha led Yuka to the woods outside the corridor. Yuka, clearly holding it in, hurriedly ran into the woods.

”Phew...”

Watching the small figure in the bushes, Sekai exhaled and looked at Kotonoha.

”I didn’t expect things would turn out this way. What should we do next?”

”I believe everyone is safe... Maybe Classmate Haruno will find a way...”

”You’re right, it’d be great if Classmate Haruno was here now...”

As they talked, Yuka, having ”relieved” herself, returned.

”Big sister! I’m done!”

”Done? Let’s go back then.”

”Okay!”

They talked and returned to the corridor, when suddenly a cold voice called out.

”Give it back...”

”Huh?”

Hearing the voice, they turned, startled to find at the other end of the corridor, a girl looking seven or eight years old, missing an eye, glaring fiercely at them!

”Wait! What is that?”

”Give it back!!”

As the three stared in shock, the ghost suddenly screamed in fury, shooting towards Yuka like an arrow, raising scissors to stab at Yuka’s right eye!!

”Yuka!!”

Seeing this scene, Sekai also screamed in fright. Just as she spoke, at this critical moment, Kotonoha silently bent down, placed a hand on the hilt, and suddenly drew the sword!

”Clang!!!”

With a flash of the flowing sword light, a sharp blade swiftly emerged from the sheath disguised as a wooden sword, striking the ghost’s scissors like lightning and sending them flying away. At the same time, Sekai grabbed the previously terrified and immobile Yuka.

”Let’s run!”

”Ah, okay!!”

Hearing Sekai, Yuka snapped back to her senses and quickly nodded. Then the three of them turned around again, running back down the corridor to the annex, and slammed the door shut.

”Classmate Mochida, there’s a gh... huh?”

However, when the three returned to the entranceway, they were shocked to find that Satoshi Mochida, who had clearly said he would wait there for them, had vanished!

”Brother?!”

Seeing her brother gone, Yuka became anxious, her eyes tearing up as if about to cry. Seeing this, Sekai hurriedly comforted her.

”Don’t cry, maybe your brother encountered something and couldn’t notify us... Why don’t we go look for him?”

”Okay...”

Under Sekai’s comforting words, Yuka gradually calmed down. She nodded, and then the three of them set off again, heading deeper into the annex.

”Click... click...”

When the three reached the second floor again, they heard a sound of a phone camera clicking. They looked in the direction of the sound to find a bespectacled boy in a school uniform taking pictures of a girl in front of him with his phone. In front of him, the short-haired girl already had white, lifeless eyes, her mouth agape, covered in blood, obviously dead for a while.

”Isn’t that the girl who ran away when she saw us before?”

Seeing this scene, Sekai shivered in fear, shrinking behind Kotonoha and whispering. Kotonoha also nodded.

”Oh?”

Noticing their presence, the boy with glasses put away his phone, turned his head towards the three, and squinted slightly upon seeing Yuka.

”Aren’t you... Mochida’s sister?”

”Ah... yes...”

Hearing the boy’s words, Yuka seemed startled and hid beside Sekai, nodding. Sekai looked at the boy, then at Yuka.

”Do you know him?”

”Yes... he’s my brother’s classmate...”

At this moment, the boy with glasses continued to ask.

”Why are you alone, where is Mochida?”

”B-Brother... brother is... missing...”

”I see...”

Hearing Yuka’s answer, the boy with glasses was silent for a moment.

”Then, I’ll help you look for him.”

”This...”

Faced with the boy with glasses’ words, Yuka seemed hesitant, as his earlier act of photographing the corpse was too bizarre. Not only her, but even Kotonoha and Sekai felt uneasy.

”N-No need, I’ll just go with these big sisters...”

”... No need to be so formal...”

As he spoke, the boy with glasses slowly approached the three.

”In this place, having more people would make you feel safer, wouldn’t it?”

”Ugh...”

Seeing him approaching, Yuka shrank back a step, and Sekai quickly stood in front of her.

”N-No trouble for you, we can find him ourselves.”

”Don’t say that...”

The boy with glasses kept getting closer, and although he maintained a calm tone, his expression gradually became more sinister.

”I said, I’ll go with you to look, don’t you understand?!!”

As he spoke, the boy with glasses roared, raising his right hand, which had been behind his back, and swung it towards the three!

In his hand was an iron rod!

”Clang!!”

As the iron rod swung down, Kotonoha hastily raised her sword and blocked the boy’s attack. However, seeing his attack thwarted, the boy seemed to become even harsher.

”Why? Why are you stopping me?!! I just want to help!! Ah!!!”

Screaming, the boy frantically swung the iron rod repeatedly at Kotonoha. But such chaotic attacks obviously posed no threat to her. Kotonoha raised her sword, parried his attacks several times, then suddenly bent down and struck with the back of the blade!

”Ugh...!!”

The next moment, the boy let out a strange cry and fell to the ground, unconscious.

”Y-You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Sekai and Yuka carefully approached, looking at the unconscious boy, while Kotonoha shook her head, sheathing her sword.

”No, I just used the back of the sword to knock him out.”

”Still, it’s really...”

Looking at the unconscious boy, Sekai shivered. She had seen the bloodstain on the iron rod; it was evident that the girl had been killed by him. And if Kotonoha hadn’t saved them, this lunatic might have targeted them next.

”Anyway, we should leave here first...”

Thus, the three promptly left, leaving the unconscious boy alone there.

”Haa... haa...”

In the pitch-black infirmary, breathing sounds echoed, carrying a hint of seduction and laziness. Through the window, a silhouette lay on the bed, gently trembling.

But soon, the breathing became rapid, and the silhouette quickly raised its head, the whole body tensed tightly.

”Bro... Brother...!!!”

With an unclear murmur, the raised body suddenly tightened, and a moment later, it collapsed back onto the bed.

”Still... not enough...”

Sora raised her hand, looking at the sticky, damp traces on it, her eyes becoming hazy.

”Brother... where are you... I’m in such pain...”

As she spoke, Sora lowered her hand again, reaching into her clothes, while biting her lip tightly.

”Mmm... hmm...”

No one noticed, at that moment, a golden radiance subtly emerged in Sora’s eyes.

Her pupils began to transform into vertical slits like those of a lizard...