Chapter no.58: Inner Hell

Saeko’s eyes fluttered open, her senses immediately on edge. The room around her was eerily empty—a sterile, white classroom with no desks, no chairs, just the faint hum of fluorescent lights above her. She sat up slowly, her hand instinctively reaching for the sheath at her side. Her katana was there, its weight a familiar comfort.

Where am I? she thought, her violet eyes narrowing as she scanned the barren room. The air felt thick, like a storm was about to break, but there was no sound. No noise of students, no echo of footsteps. Just silence.  

She stood, sliding the katana an inch from its sheath, her fingers tight on the hilt as she moved to the door. The handle felt colder than it should have, and for a second, she hesitated. Then, with a sharp breath, she opened it and stepped into the hallway.

The halls were dimly lit, the fluorescent lights flickering at uneven intervals. It was unmistakably her school—same tiled floors, same locker-lined walls—but something was off. The air was stagnant, and everything felt… still, like the building itself was holding its breath.

Her footfalls were quiet, careful, the sound of her sandals muted as she moved through the empty corridors. The katana remained half-drawn, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.  

Suddenly, she heard it—a faint murmuring sound coming from below. It was almost imperceptible, but her senses, honed by years of training, caught it. She tightened her grip on the hilt and descended the stairs.

At the bottom floor of the school, she froze. A group of people was gathered in the middle of the lobby, their faces pale and uncertain.

“Hey, are you real?” a voice called out.  

Saeko turned sharply to see Rei stepping forward, her usual boldness tempered with caution.  

Saeko raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”  

Rei’s lips tightened. “Because everything’s… wrong. There’s no way to tell if any of this is real. Or if you are.”  

“Oh, so now you think everyone but you is fake?” Saeko said, her tone laced with dry amusement. “Interesting idea. I should start thinking that too.”  

Rei frowned. “I’m serious. Prove it. Say something only the real Saeko would know.”  

Saeko chuckled, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. “Problem. We’re not exactly close, Rei. What proof would you even accept?”  

Rei glanced over her shoulder at Kohta, who was still muttering nervously, and then back at Saeko. “Fine. Let’s say something about Kozen. If you’re real, you’d know something only he would tell you.”  

Saeko’s smirk widened. “Alright. Kozen eats ice cream cones from the bottom.”  

Rei blinked, startled, before finishing the sentence for her. “Because he says it’s more efficient.”  

“Is it, though?” Saeko asked, tilting her head with mock curiosity.  

“Absolutely not,” Rei said, her voice cracking with an unexpected laugh.  

The two shared a brief, mirthless giggle, a moment of levity in the otherwise oppressive air.  

“I got it,” Kohta suddenly said, his voice rising enough to draw their attention. His eyes were wide, his body trembling as he clutched his own shoulders. “We’re in the afterlife.”  

Saeko turned toward him, her expression unreadable. “The afterlife?”  

Kohta nodded feverishly. “It makes sense! This—this isn’t normal. It’s like purgatory or something. A place we’re trapped until we can—”  

Rei cut him off, her voice sharp. “Purgatory? Really? And the afterlife just happens to look exactly like our school?”  

“Maybe not exactly,” Kohta muttered, his eyes darting nervously. “But doesn’t it feel… wrong?”  

Before anyone could respond, a sharp, guttural scream echoed through the lobby. Everyone froze, heads snapping toward the front doors.  

There, beyond the glass, was a figure tapping at the window. At first glance, it looked human, but as Saeko’s eyes focused, her stomach churned. Its face was a grotesque bulbous mass, like a swollen balloon of flesh riddled with tiny, twitching mouths. The mouths opened and closed at random, revealing jagged, uneven teeth that glistened with saliva.  

One of the mouths suddenly widened, unnaturally large, and a long, slimy tongue shot forward, shattering the glass in an explosion of shards.  

“Get back!” Saeko barked, pushing Rei and Kohta behind her as chaos erupted.  

The students nearest the door screamed and scattered, but the tongue lashed out again, impaling one boy through the chest. Blood sprayed across the floor as the boy’s body was yanked toward the creature, disappearing into one of its larger mouths with a sickening crunch.  

Saeko didn’t hesitate. She unsheathed her katana fully, the blade gleaming under the flickering fluorescent lights. She stepped forward, putting herself between the creature and the other students.  

“Rei!” Saeko barked, her voice sharp and commanding. “Head to the security room. Activate the automatic locks—the metal shutters. Seal this place off!”  

Rei hesitated, her eyes darting between Saeko and the monster.  

“Go!” Saeko snapped, parrying the tongue with a precise upward slash as it shot toward Kohta. The blade met the fleshy appendage with a wet, slicing sound, sending chunks of it flying.  

Rei nodded, grabbing Kohta by the arm. “Come on!”  

As Rei and Kohta ran toward the security room, Saeko squared off against the creature. It slithered through the shattered glass, its bulbous face dragging behind a long, sinewy body that moved like a serpent.  

“You think you can scare me?” Saeko muttered, her grip tightening on the hilt of her katana. “You’re nothing.”  

The creature’s mouths opened and closed in unison, emitting a horrifying, garbled screech that rattled her ears.  

Saeko smiled grimly. “Let’s see how many mouths I can shut.”  

And with that, she lunged, her blade slicing through the air as the battle began.  

Saeko’s knuckles were white around the hilt of her katana, her breath coming in sharp, controlled bursts. The 

The creature shifted, dragging its bulbous mass forward with a horrible squelching sound. Its tongue lashed out suddenly, cracking the air like a whip. Saeko barely had time to twist her body, the slimy appendage grazing her shoulder and tearing through the sleeve of her uniform. Pain flared as she felt the sting of the wound, but she clenched her teeth and pushed forward.  

Her katana flashed in an arc, slicing into the tongue mid-strike. A spray of black, viscous fluid erupted from the severed section, the creature shrieking in a chorus of warped, overlapping voices. Saeko staggered back, gripping her injured shoulder as she steadied herself.  

But the creature didn’t retreat. If anything, it seemed enraged. The bulbous mouths on its face twisted, forming grotesque smiles as its elongated body began to ripple. 

Suddenly, it turned, its bulk slithering toward the hallway where Rei and Kohta had fled.  

“No, you don’t!” Saeko growled, adrenaline surging through her veins as she sprinted after it.  

The creature’s body smashed through lockers, metal twisting and crumpling as it surged forward. Its massive tongue shot out again, snapping toward the hallway. Saeko darted forward, intercepting it mid-air with a brutal downward slash. The blade struck true, the tongue recoiling as it sprayed more of that vile black liquid across the walls.  

The monster turned on her with frightening speed, one of its mouths opening impossibly wide. A second tongue lashed out, faster than the first. Saeko dove to the side, rolling across the floor as the appendage struck the spot where she had just been standing, shattering tiles and sending debris flying.  

She came up in a low crouch, her katana held defensively. Blood trickled down her leg from a gash she hadn’t noticed earlier. Her body ached, every movement a reminder of how much punishment she had already endured. But there was no time to stop.  

The creature lunged, its massive bulk bearing down on her like a tidal wave. Saeko leapt back, her blade slicing upward in a desperate attempt to create distance. The katana bit into flesh, severing one of the smaller mouths on its body. The monster screamed, a piercing, discordant sound that made her ears ring.  

As she landed, her foot slipped on the black ichor pooling beneath her. She fell hard, her back hitting the ground with a thud that knocked the air from her lungs.  

The creature loomed over her, its many mouths opening and closing hungrily. Its tongue lashed out again, this time wrapping around her leg. The pressure was immense, the pain searing as it began to pull her toward its grotesque, grinning face.  

“Damn it!” Saeko spat, slashing wildly at the tongue with her katana. The blade bit into the flesh, but the creature only tightened its grip, dragging her closer.  

Her hand scrambled against the floor, searching for anything she could use. Her fingers brushed against cold metal—a fire extinguisher.  

In one fluid motion, she grabbed the extinguisher and yanked the pin free. With a scream of effort, she aimed the nozzle directly at the creature’s face and pulled the lever.  

A blast of white foam erupted, engulfing the monster’s bulbous head. It screeched and thrashed, its tongues flailing wildly as it tried to shake off the suffocating spray.  

Saeko didn’t waste a second. She swung the extinguisher with all her strength, the heavy metal canister smashing into the creature’s face. The impact sent a shockwave up her arms, but it was enough to make the monster recoil.  

She staggered to her feet, her katana raised. With a final, desperate surge of strength, she drove the blade deep into the creature’s mass, twisting it as she pushed forward. The monster shrieked again, its body convulsing as it reared back.  

The metal shutters began to descend, the sound of grinding steel filling the air. Saeko withdrew her blade, stumbling backward as the creature thrashed. Its elongated body slammed against the walls, leaving deep cracks in the concrete.  

“Come on, come on,” Saeko muttered, her eyes fixed on the closing shutters. The creature lunged one final time, its massive tongue striking toward her. She sidestepped at the last second, the appendage slamming into the wall beside her.  

The shutters slammed shut with a deafening clang, sealing the monster on the other side. Saeko leaned heavily against the wall, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Her katana dangled loosely from her hand, its blade slick with black ichor.  

She expected to see carnage when she turned around. The bodies of the students who hadn’t made it, the bloodstains, the aftermath of the massacre.  

But the lobby was empty.  

The shattered glass was gone, the lockers restored, the floors pristine. There was no blood, no sign of struggle. It was as if nothing had happened.  

Saeko’s heart pounded in her chest, her mind racing as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.  

“What the hell is this place?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.  

Her grip tightened on her katana as she straightened, her resolve hardening.  

She didn’t know what was happening or where she was, but one thing was certain—she needed answers. And the only person who might have them was Kozen.  

Pushing herself forward despite the pain, Saeko started down the hallway. She would find Kozen. And together, they would figure out what was going on.