Kaguya-sama Wants My Surrender!

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"Excellent. The organization could use more proactive young man like you, willing to take initiative and put in the effort," Amamiya remarked approvingly. "Since you're so eager, we'll let you lead the way."

"Uh…?" 

The spiky-haired boy blinked, glancing up at the dark entrance to the ventilation duct before it dawned on him. "Wait… are you trying to trick me?"

"Not at all," Amamiya replied smoothly. "It was your idea to take the lead, wasn't it? You're not backing out now, are you?"

"Fine, but I swear you're setting me up," the spiky-haired boy muttered. "What if there's light in there, and a cat pounces on me the moment I open the grate?"

In times of life and death, he realized, pride was hardly a priority. Better to be cautious than reckless; the foolish, he knew, didn't last long.

"I'll do it." 

Shikimori stepped forward, taking a steady breath as she approached Amamiya.

"As expected from the princess who drew the sword from the stone," Amamiya said, a note of admiration in his voice.

"It's just a regular bamboo sword," Shikimori replied, shaking her head. "Not exactly Excalibur."

Amamiya bent down, clasping his hands to offer her a foothold. "Then, up you go. I promise to hold you steady, even if it costs me the last drop of my strength."

"That's impossible," the girl with pigtails corrected, adjusting her glasses. "If a person loses over thirty percent of their blood, they'd pass out."

Amamiya turned to her with a grin. "Ah, class monitor—you really do know everything."

The girl with glasses simply sighed. Meanwhile, Kaguya frowned, about to speak.

"Hold up," Amamiya whispered, giving her a knowing wink. 

Searching the ducts could be risky, and he reasoned it was best to let someone else go first.

"I'm ready," Shikimori said, pulling her long pink hair back and securing it with a hair tie. With a quick, practiced motion, she tied it into a neat bun, placed her foot on Amamiya's hands, and stepped up.

Amamiya braced himself, lifting Shikimori easily, thanks to recent training that had strengthened his arms.

"Perfect," she murmured. Together, they managed to unseal the entrance to the ventilation duct.

"It's pitch-black inside, no light. We don't have to worry about shadow attacks," Shikimori announced. "The opening's a bit tight, but I'll see if I can squeeze through."

Looking up at her, Amamiya quipped, "So I used my strength well, then?"

Dimly lit, he could barely make out her silhouette, just a slight sway of her skirt.

"Please… focus, Admiral."

"Strength is back to full," he said with mock enthusiasm.

"..."

With Amamiya's help, Shikimori climbed higher, his support allowing her to push her way in. But after a few moments, she sighed. "It's too narrow. I'm stuck. Admiral, let go of my feet so I can come down."

"Understood," Amamiya replied, stepping back.

Shikimori landed with a slight jump, kneeling gracefully with her hand pressed over her chest. Her cheeks flushed faintly as she shot Amamiya a small, accusing look.

"The entrance was too tight, and I... couldn't squeeze through," she said, taking a deep breath, wincing slightly from the pressure on her chest. "But I did find something inside the duct."

"What did you find?" the girl with pigtails asked curiously.

"A flashlight," Shikimori replied, holding it up. "It's a usable item, one that can be taken out of the game."

"Huh?" The pigtail girl looked surprised. "Why would there be a flashlight in the ventilation duct?"

"No idea," Shikimori shrugged.

Amamiya glanced over. "Mind passing that flashlight over here?"

"Here you go." 

Shikimori nodded, handing it to him.

Amamiya reached out, taking hold of the flashlight. Its attributes immediately appeared before him:

- [Item: An ordinary flashlight]

- [Attribute: Illumination]

- [Takeable out of simulation: Yes]

- [Note: This is not a magical artifact but simply an ordinary flashlight.]

But the clue displaying on Amamiya's screen told a different story.

"Clearly, this isn't just any flashlight," he murmured thoughtfully. After a moment's hesitation, he located the switch and gently pressed it. A beam of light sliced through the darkness, illuminating the warehouse wall.

And there it was—the shadow of a black cat appearing almost immediately, flickering against the wall.

"What are you doing!?" the spiky-haired boy exclaimed, sounding panicked. "Turn it off! You'll attract the shadow creature!"

Kaguya, with her arms folded across her chest, observed calmly, "The shadow creature only emerges in the light. As long as we remain in the shadows, it can't attack us."

They all watched closely, noting the shadow-cat prowling within the beam's reach, confined to the illuminated space. Seeing this, they collectively exhaled in relief.

Click. 

Amamiya switched off the flashlight, extinguishing the light. After a few seconds, he flicked it back on, angling it towards the wall.

Click. Click. Click.

The flashlight's light flickered on and off, casting an eerie rhythm across the abandoned warehouse.

"Hey, what's so entertaining about a flashlight, anyway?" the spiky-haired boy muttered with half-closed eyes, exasperated.

Amamiya smirked, raising an eyebrow. "If you want a turn, just say it. I can practically feel your envy."

"As if!" the spiky-haired boy scoffed, unable to contain himself. "Sure, I'd envy a lightsaber, but this? Flashlights are just toys for kids!"

"Shouldn't we be focusing on what we do next?" he continued with a sigh. "The ventilation ducts didn't work, and every hallway is blindingly lit. We're effectively trapped."

It wasn't surprising that the ventilation ducts proved useless. MythBusters had long demonstrated that hotel or residential air ducts weren't designed for people to crawl through—neither their size nor material made that feasible. Children might be able to wriggle through them, but for adults, getting stuck was almost inevitable. 

Much like the unrealistic scenes in movies where bullets make cars explode, ventilation ducts were not a viable escape route.

Amamiya turned to Kaguya and the others. "After examining the flashlight's effect, did you notice anything?"

The bespectacled girl considered this, then answered, "Each time we turn on the flashlight, the shadow cat moves differently."

Kaguya crossed her arms. "And the last two times, the shadow cat didn't appear when the flashlight was turned on. This suggests it doesn't appear solely because of light. Furthermore, its movements vary each time. I suspect the shadow creature has a degree of intelligence, or it may be a type of life form we don't fully understand."

"A living shadow?"

Shikimori gripped the bamboo sword in her hand, seeking comfort. But she knew it was futile; this was a creature made of shadows. No ordinary physical attack could touch it, let alone harm it. 

Hell had only just begun.