Yarai climbed down through the overwing exit and moved along the side of the aircraft.
The vegetation had crept close to the fuselage, forcing him to push branches aside as he walked.
He reached the cargo door and located the latch.
Gripping it firmly, he pulled.
It resisted for a moment before giving way with a heavy metallic sound.
Inside, the prepared bags were visible, along with the exhausted group gathered around them.
Seeing the door open, Mariya and the others immediately moved closer.
“Yarai-kun, you won’t believe what we found,” Akira exclaimed.
Ono and Itou began showing what they had gathered, clearly trying to take credit for the organization.
“I told them to sort everything into medical items, survival tools, hygiene supplies, electronic items, and food,” Mariya added calmly.
“Look at this…what we found,” Mikoshiba said, dragging forward an open suitcase.
Inside were two hatchets, an umbrella, paracord, a headlamp, fishing hooks, lures, bait kits, fishing rods, fishing line, small nets, fishing knives, two sets of snorkel gear, a plastic tarp, and other survival-related equipment.
Even Yarai couldn’t fully hide his reaction.
We hit a jackpot.
“We might have had a fishing enthusiast on this plane,” Akira said with a laugh.
“Had,” Mariya corrected flatly.
“Mariya, he might still be somewhere,” Akira replied.
“Well, who cares,” Ono said.
“He left it behind, so it’s ours now.”
“Yeah,” Itou agreed.
“I agree,” Mikoshiba added.
“We also took blankets and jackets in case it gets colder,” Mariya said.
Yarai nodded.
“Good job.”
The group looked briefly proud, exchanging small satisfied smirks.
“Do you want to check the other bags as well?” Ono asked.
Yarai glanced outside.
“It will be dark soon. Let’s move everything first.”
Mariya paused, then nodded.
“…Right.”
“I’ll go up,” he added immediately, already climbing back through the hatch.
“Don’t expect me to lift those bags. I don’t have the strength.”
“Alright,” Akira said with a wry laugh as he picked up a bag.
Ono, Itou, Mikoshiba, and Yarai each took a bag and began moving toward the overwing exit.
Yarai climbed onto the wing first and passed his bag through the opening.
Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba followed, carrying the remaining bags into the cabin.
Akira stayed below the wing, handing the bags up to them one by one.
Once the last bag had been taken inside, Akira looked toward the bushes.
“I’ll be right back. I need to take a leak.”
“Hey, idiot,” Itou snapped.
“There’s a toilet inside. Are you out of your mind?”
Akira shifted awkwardly.
“I’ve been holding it since we were in the cargo hold. I really can’t wait anymore.”
“Just don’t get your ass eaten by something,” Itou said with a roll of his eyes before walking inside.
Yarai stopped briefly and looked at Mikoshiba.
“Keep an eye on him.”
“Why me?” Mikoshiba complained.
Yarai didn’t answer.
He simply looked at him.
“…Hah. Fine,” Mikoshiba sighed.
He stepped outside and stood near the exit.
“Hey, Ono. Come with me,” he called.
“Why would I?” Ono replied dismissively.
“Are you scared to stand alone?”
Mikoshiba glared at him.
“Shut up. Just come with me.”
Ono laughed and shook his head.
“You’re the one he told to keep an eye on him.”
Mikoshiba clicked his tongue.
“Fine. Get lost.”
Ono snickered before turning away.
Mikoshiba looked around the jungle.
The light was beginning to fade, making it increasingly difficult to see clearly.
“Hey, just make it quick!” he called.
“I’m almost done!” Akira answered from somewhere beyond the bushes.
Mikoshiba waited, occasionally glancing toward the vegetation.
At first, he wasn’t particularly concerned.
Akira had only gone a short distance, and he could still hear the sounds of the forest around them.
But as the minutes passed, Akira still hadn’t returned.
Mikoshiba frowned.
“Akira, get your ass back here. It’s getting dark.”
He waited for a few seconds, but there was no response.
“Did he go deeper into the bushes?” Mikoshiba muttered.
He took a few cautious steps toward the edge of the wing before stopping.
The trees beyond the clearing were now mostly shadows, and he could barely make out the area where Akira had gone.
Mikoshiba glanced back toward the plane.
“I’ll count to a hundred. If he doesn’t come back, I’m going inside.”
He began counting while keeping his eyes fixed on the bushes.
“One… two… three…”
When he reached around ten, something rustled deeper in the vegetation.
“Akira, is that you?”
“You little shit, that’s not funny! Hurry up before-”
Just then, something burst through the bushes.
“Ah… what the fuck?!”
Mikoshiba jerked backward, then immediately turned and ran back into the plane.
Inside the cabin, the group had just finished placing the bags down.
“…Where’s Akira?” Rion asked immediately.
“He’s outside pissing in the bushes,” Ono smirked.
“That idiot…”
“He was probably desperate,” Itou laughed.
“Besides, Mikoshiba’s watching him.”
“Akira-kun is too reckless,” Kanako said, puffing her cheeks slightly.
“At least he’s not alone,” Towa added.
Just then, Mikoshiba rushed back inside, breathing heavily, his face pale.
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
Rion’s expression tightened.
“…Where is Akira-kun?”
“I… I didn’t see him,” Mikoshiba said, gasping.
“I thought he went deeper into the bushes, but he wasn’t there. Then I heard something moving nearby and…”
Yarai immediately headed toward the overwing exit.
Rion’s face turned pale, and she followed him.
The others followed them onto the wing and looked toward the dark vegetation below.
“Akira!” Rion called.
“Akira-kun!”
She called his name again, louder each time, but only the sounds of the jungle answered her.
Rion’s voice trembled.
“…We should go look for him.”
Mariya shook his head.
“No. It’s too dangerous.”
“But…”
“If we go out now, we risk losing more people,” Mariya said, his voice tense.
“We don’t even know what happened to him or what’s out there.”
Rion looked toward the darkness.
“But he was just here…”
“I’ll go,” Yarai said.
“No, it’s dangerous to go alone,” Kurusu said quickly.
“I’ll come with you,” Rion said immediately.
“You’ll be a burden,” Yarai replied.
He glanced toward Kurusu.
“And I won’t go far.”
He looked toward Ono.
“Get me the flashlight.”
“Ah… wait.”
Ono quickly rushed inside and grabbed one.
Yarai took the flashlight from him and turned toward Mikoshiba.
“Where did you hear the sound?”
Mikoshiba pointed toward a narrow path near the bushes.
“Here… I think.”
Yarai nodded.
“Don’t let anyone else outside unless absolutely necessary.”
Without waiting for a response, he stepped down from the wing and into the darkness.
Yarai followed the path, shining his flashlight ahead of him.
After walking for a while, he found no sign of Akira.
He continued farther until the vegetation opened into a small clearing.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a narrow gap between an old tree and a large boulder, just wide enough for a person to pass through.
He shone his flashlight into the gap, but there was nothing there.
Yarai continued forward, checking the surrounding area as he went.
After a few minutes, his flashlight illuminated something on the ground.
He crouched down and examined a blood-stained stone partially buried in the dirt.
As he looked around, he noticed a dragging mark stretching across the ground and leading deeper into the vegetation.
His eyes narrowed when he noticed a bootprint in the dirt.
It was clearly made by a human.
Yarai followed the trail with his eyes before slowly straightening.
I should tell them first before going any deeper.
Yarai turned back toward the plane.
When the group saw him returning alone, their expressions tightened.
Rion, Mariya, and Kurusu all went pale.
“…Y-Yarai-kun… did you find Akira-kun?” Rion asked, panic rising in her voice.
Yarai shook his head.
“No. I didn’t find him. But there was a dragging trail leading deeper into the bushes.”
Towa instinctively pulled Kanako closer, while Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba exchanged uneasy looks.
Mariya’s expression turned grim.
“Was it an animal?”
“No. It was human. I saw boot prints beside the dragging marks.”
“…Who would do something like this?” Kurusu asked, covering her mouth.
“We’re in a place without laws,” Mariya said quietly, his voice heavy.
“You’ve already seen what people are capable of inside the plane.”
The realization made everyone go pale.
Yarai lowered the flashlight slightly.
“I’ll follow the trail. Get the bags ready and prepare to leave the plane if necessary.”
Mariya looked at him.
“…Where do we go if things go wrong?”
Yarai thought for a moment.
“Follow the path I took. When you reach the clearing, there’s a small crevice between a tree and a boulder. Stay hidden there.”
The group nodded silently.
“Be careful,” Kurusu said softly.
Yarai gave a single nod before following the trail.
* * *
Elsewhere, Akira slowly opened his eyes.
His head was throbbing.
Akira’s eyes widened as he realized he was hanging from a tree.
He struggled instinctively, but the movement only made the thick vine around his wrists tighten.
“What the hell?!”
He twisted his body, trying to free himself, but the vine creaked under the strain.
“What’s going on?!”
That’s right… someone knocked me out…
“If you move too much, the vine will break, Sengoku.”
Akira froze.
He slowly lifted his head and saw a figure standing nearby, wearing a mask.
“…Wait. How do you know my name? And was it you who hit me?”
The man did not respond.
He remained crouched on the ground, striking one rock against another with steadily as if the situation meant nothing to him.
Akira’s expression tightened as he watched.
“…What are you doing?”
“I am making something,” the man replied calmly without looking at him.
Akira frowned at the vague answer, but the souvenir mask and the uniform caught his attention.
He looked at them more closely.
Then something suddenly occurred to him.
“…Guam…”
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“You’re from our school, aren’t you?”
“You can call me Hades,” the man said.
“Lord of the Underworld.”
Hades…?
What is he talking about…?
“Cut the crap,” Akira snapped, his voice tightening.
“This isn’t funny. Let me down.”
“If I did,” Hades said as he adjusted the sharpened stone in his hand and bound it more securely, “you wouldn’t make a good example.”
“…An example of what?”
Hades rose slightly from his crouched position.
“You’re going to die. Not just you. Everyone from the school.”
Akira forced a laugh, but it came out strained.
“…You’re insane. You wouldn’t actually do something like that.”
“I can,” Hades said, his tone steady.
“I’m not the same anymore.”
His grip tightened around the weapon as he finished binding it.
“I can do whatever I want.”
What’s wrong with this guy…?
Was he really with us before…?
A sudden disturbance cut through the air as a flock of birds burst from the trees, their sharp cries echoing as they scattered into the sky.
Akira’s head snapped toward the sound.
“What was that?”
Hades didn’t react immediately.
He simply glanced upward for a brief moment before speaking.
“It’ll be night soon, and it will come again.”
Akira frowned.
“…What will?”
“That thing,” Hades said as he finally stood upright.
“It will return to the plane.”
Akira’s chest tightened.
“…What are you talking about?”
Hades lifted the crude axe.
“This time, your plane will be gone.”
He suddenly swung the axe at Akira.
Akira twisted his body, swinging himself to the side.
The blade passed dangerously close to him and struck the tree behind him.
Akira breathed heavily.
“Y-you were seriously trying to kill me…”
Hades pulled the axe free and looked at him.
“Did you think I was joking?”
He stepped forward and stood directly in front of Akira, raising the crude axe again.
“Die.”
Hades raised the crude axe and swung it toward Akira.
* * *
Inside the forest, Yarai moved cautiously, his flashlight sweeping across broken leaves, disturbed soil, and faint drag marks as he followed the trail.
He slowed when he heard a faint sound of struggle ahead.
Reaching the edge of a slope, he switched off the flashlight and lowered his posture, observing the scene from the side.
Akira was hanging from a tree, restrained, while another figure stood nearby, swinging an axe toward him.
Yarai narrowed his eyes as he assessed the situation.
The distance was too great and he wouldn’t reach Akira in time.
He bent down, picked up a small stone, and threw it with force.
The stone struck Hades’ hand just before the axe could hit Akira.
His grip broke, and the crude axe flew from his hand.
Hades stumbled backward and slipped down the slope.
He reached out instinctively as he fell, and his hand caught Akira’s legs.
The sudden weight caused Akira’s body to jerk downward, and the vine binding him strained sharply with a loud creak.
“Stop! Don’t move! The vine will break! Work with me!” Akira shouted, his voice strained.
Hades ignored him before pulling himself upward, using Akira’s body for support.
When he finally reached the top, his eyes met Yarai’s.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
“…I wouldn’t win even if I tried. I won’t fight you.”
He glanced toward Akira.
“You’re lucky, Akira.”
Then, without hesitation, he pushed himself away and released his grip.
“Heh… you’ll regret this. I’ll be back…”
His figure disappeared into the darkness below.
Akira’s body swung forward, and the vine finally snapped under the strain.
He lunged instinctively, caught the edge of the slope, and pulled himself onto solid ground.
He lay there for a moment, breathing heavily, before turning his head and looking down.
There was no sign of Hades.
Yarai stood at the edge, watching the area briefly before moving toward him.