The Kiso Academy, one of the oldest schools in the city of Hinotsuchi, has existed since the city’s founding.

With continued support from various companies outside the city, the power of Kiso Academy has significantly influenced Hinotsuchi up to the present day.

Kirara Clam was one of the students who disliked the current state of Kiso Academy.

For her, evil was natural, and plunder was justice. If one had power, everything was logical.

The corrupt, meritocratic system that had spread throughout the academy sickened her to her core. Thus, it was almost inevitable that she would take action against Kiso Academy.

For her, this action took the form of a live broadcast.

Many students streamed their dungeon explorations. For ordinary people, dungeons were unknown spaces, and even simply viewing footage was enough to create demand.

“Everyone’s heart is instantly purified! —It’s Purification-chan!”

In front of the live camera for dungeon streaming, Clam struck a pose. The self-guided drone, designed not to interfere during battle, captured her image through its inorganic lens.

She had become a Kiso Academy-exclusive exposer.

Soon, a translucent small window from her Dive Gear appeared, and comments began flowing.

: Waiting for you
: Here’s the runaway
: Purification, yay!

“Alright, everyone’s in high spirits today. As promised, today we’re exposing Kiso Academy’s legacy of negative heritage! Yay! Student Council President, are you watching? …I’ll drag you down from that position eventually.”

: Eek
: Why hasn’t she been caught?
: The madness of trying to destroy Kiso Academy while being part of it.

The comments seemed to tremble at Clam’s appearance, but she didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Now, onto the fourth phase of the ‘Destroy Kiso Academy’ project, and this time, we’ll succeed! Every time, the disciplinary committee or execution officers come to silence me, and just when we’re about to get proof, they prevent it.”

: Close call (One illegal research lab blown up)
: Just escaping from the execution officers is amazing.

“Well, I thought it over. If I go somewhere those academy dogs can’t easily reach, that would work, right?”

: Smart

“Right? So, I’m visiting a certain academy today. I won’t say where, though. If I do, the disciplinary committee of that academy will come after me too.”

: She’s trespassing without permission
: It’s her! The one who’s invading!
: Go, go!
: Will she come to my place next?

The comments were, as usual, cheerful.

When Clam confirmed that the viewers had exceeded ten thousand, she began to move.

Following the path she had learned about beforehand, she arrived at a certain facility without getting lost in the thick, overgrown forest.

It was the northernmost part of the beginner dungeon of Fectom General Academy. The remains of the facility that once managed the dungeon.

“Up until ten years ago, there was a facility here for controlling dungeons, but it disappeared due to an accident. Well, it’s just petty evidence destruction.”

She said, walking around the ruins for a while, then marking a spot on the ground.

“Alright, here we go, Marda Frog!”

A frog-shaped machine created by the Dive Gear. It was the weapon Clam used.

The frog hopped towards the marked spot and exploded the moment it reached its target.

“Phew! Good work, M-chan!”

: Inhumane weapon
: Hmm, so this is from a Kiso Academy student.

From the ground blown apart by the explosion, a large staircase appeared. Clam pointed at it.

“Look! That’s the entrance to the secret experimental facility. Now, everyone, this is definitely going to be an epic moment! Oh, and the archive will probably get erased by Kiso Academy again, so make sure to record and share it yourselves!”

: Hurry, hurry!
: What academy’s dungeon is this?
: You always escape with the evidence just one step away!
: Be careful, it’s dark.

Ignoring the accelerating comments, Clam proceeded further.

Inside the experimental facility, it was as dirty as the information suggested, having been abandoned for ten years.

Somehow, power was still being supplied, as only dim emergency lights illuminated the corridor.

Clam proceeded with her Dive Gear light illuminating the way.

“There are a lot of cages here… Seems like the experiment was happening here after all.”

: What experiment?
: Tell me about it!

Noticing the comments, Clam rummaged through the cages and began speaking.

“There was a plan to create a higher-performance gear than the current Dive Gear used by explorers. Originally, it was a project from an outside-city corporation, but Kiso Academy provided a lot of money, personnel, and space.”

She had heard that the project had already failed. However, she had also heard rumors that several completed models existed.

“It was a gear based on the body of a girl with certain abilities. It’s called Demonsgear. By using a human soul as a program, the user could pull out specs far beyond those of the original Dive Gear.”

: I’ve heard that’s an urban legend.
: There’s no way it’s real.
: Scary.
: How can you keep pursuing such dangerous things?

Glancing at the various comments, Clam continued her search silently.

Around her, several frogs jumped around, as if guarding her.

Thirty minutes into her infiltration of the experimental facility, Clam had found nothing of interest and had reached the deepest part of the facility.

“I thought there’d be at least some research materials. Oh well, what a disappointment.”

: Isn’t the fact that this facility exists proof enough?

“That’s certainly evidence, but it doesn’t show any connection to Kiso Academy.”

Clam’s goal was to root out the corrupt power within Kiso Academy. She didn’t seem to care much about anything else.

“Well, this is the final room. It’s a big, sturdy-looking door… M-chan!”

: Her signature move!
: A girl who can only think of explosions.
: This is why alarms go off!

“Shut up, it’s noisy! This facility has already been abandoned. Even if the alarm goes off, just ignore it!”

Saying that, Clam sent a frog to the door. The moment several frogs stuck to it, the door was blown open with a loud bang.

Seeing the hole revealed by the smoke, Clam nodded.

“This method is the best.”

: She only knows this method.
: That proud look is cute.

Before the smoke cleared, Clam jumped through the hole and into the room.

The room was still receiving a lot of power, and though it was dim, several monitors and a large computing device embedded in the walls were eerily glowing.

“…Looks like this is the main place.”

She looked at the large glass case in the center of the room.

Inside the case, filled with orange liquid, a girl was floating in a curled-up position.

That girl was alive.

Clam’s intuition told her so, though she didn’t know why.

“A girl’s form… Could it be, Demonsgear?”

: Is this for real!?
: The epic moment is here!
: Purification-chan, you did it!
: Find proof of the connection to Kiso Academy!

“Y-yeah, let’s find some proof. I didn’t expect the real thing to still be here… What should we do? This is beyond my expectations—!?”

A loud explosion sounded from behind her.

Clam immediately understood that the self-defense mechanism of her gear had gone off.

“M-chan acted on its own!? Does that mean there’s someone here who has hostile intent towards me?”

Behind her, she saw a lump of skin-colored flesh on the other side of the hole created by the door.

Some parts were charred, but it didn’t seem to be affected at all.

“Did it get trapped in this room…? Maybe it’s meant to kill any intruders to the room.”

Now that the only exit was blocked, Clam immediately came up with an answer after a second of thought.

“Alright, let’s blow everything up and escape!”

: The escape part begins!
: The usual.
: Here we go again.
: She’s crazy.
: Is she blowing up the girl too?

“I wouldn’t blow up this room, no way! The Demonsgear body is too valuable. With this proof, other schools can intervene in Kiso Academy under the pretext of collecting Demonsgear. This is priceless.”

She said, sending out a number of frogs to the other side of the door.

The frogs that jumped out exploded near the skin-colored thing, but it still didn’t seem to be affected.

“It’s a bomb that could shatter a fifty-centimeter-thick iron plate into pieces… Well, if it comes to this…”

Clam stuck a frog to the door.

The frog exploded, and the door collapsed.

It must have become large enough to pass through.

The skin-colored creature slowly entered the room.

: Gross!

: What is this thing!?

: Not human, huh?

: A dungeon boss? But it doesn’t look like any of the usual ones.

The comments section accelerated.

It was a humanoid monster.

Its face was absent, its body distorted as if the skin-colored clay had been forcibly molded into a human shape.

With a clear will, it headed toward Clam.

“What on earth is this thing? –Behind!?”

The monster’s form vanished.

In the next moment, Clam jumped forward purely out of experience.

A second later, something passed by at high speed where Clam had been standing, creating a sound.

“You’re making me think you’re slow, but you’re a high-speed combat type? I don’t mind a bluffing type winning. But I can’t die right now, so… Ma-chan’s!”

More frogs than ever before were summoned by Dive Gear.

Clam blew them up as they appeared, then leaped through the door.

“Ugh! That was close! That was dangerously close!”

: Everything in the room is shattered, isn’t it?

: So it ended up being an explosion after all.

: The girl—!

“Oh, don’t worry. My Swallowing Frog can direct its explosions. It’ll just cook the monster well-done.”

: She’s saying some dangerous stuff.

: Did she win?

Clam shook her head at the comments.

“No. If that burn was from the first blast, even now it wouldn’t be enough to kill it. So, I’ll just escape quickly… Oh, here it comes!”

The monster emerged from the blast.

Surprised, Clam ran with her frogs.

“Regularly blow them up, and let’s rush to the exit!”

: Which is scarier, the Executor or this?

“Of course, the Executor!”

: She looks pretty calm, haha.

: Hmm, looks like we can escape again this time.

Unlike the desperate Clam, the comments seemed to be enjoying the event as usual. Clam ran, cursing inwardly at them.

(At this rate, it’ll catch up…! The Swallowing Frogs are definitely hitting. A few limbs have been blown off. But…)

She glanced behind her.

The left leg, which should have been blown up just moments ago, was already regenerating, rising from its severed surface.

At that sight, a doubt suddenly arose.

(This regeneration ability seems completely mismatched for a defense mechanism. Was this creature really created to catch intruders?)

Once she noticed something odd, countless questions began to surface in her mind.

However, Clam shook her head, deliberately choosing not to think about it.

“Anyway, I’ve got to keep running!”

The chase with the monster had already lasted over twenty minutes.

Even though she was an explorer with over ten times the physical abilities of a normal person, fleeing for her life with someone chasing her was exhausting.

If Clam wasn’t used to running like this, she’d have been caught by now.

“Haah… haah… just a little more—”

She had already run out of Swallowing Frogs.

(After about two seconds, they regenerate completely. The last frog exploded five seconds ago. It’ll be close whether I can escape or not…)

: This is bad, right?

: Purification-chan, run!

: Contact the Executor. We can’t be caught now!

: Even if we report it, Purification-chan never tells us which academy dungeon she’s in!

The comments, starting to realize the seriousness of the situation, suggested that she should mention the academy’s name.

However, Clam didn’t say anything.

“This time, I won’t tell you. It’s a really important piece of evidence. If those scum from Kisou Academy find out, it’s all over!”

She intended to destroy Kisou Academy.

For that reason, Clam was willing to risk her life without hesitation.

“If I can just get out of this room!”

As soon as she stepped into the last room before the exit, the ceiling suddenly collapsed.

“?! What now!?”

The monster was closing in behind her.

Clam thought of the possibility of another monster.

But the next moment, what she saw was far from a monster.

“That is—”

With the falling rubble, moonlight filled the dim room.

At its center stood a girl.

Her outfit was mysterious and cute, like she had just stepped out of a night party.

Her beautiful silvery-blue hair shone in the moonlight, and her eyes, like the bottom of a water surface, gazed lazily at the world.

The girl landed softly, without making a sound, almost as if the world itself were enamored with her. She was an unusually captivating, beautiful girl.

“――――Ah, who are you?”

Before she realized it, Clam had asked.

At the question, the girl finally noticed Clam’s presence and turned around.

In that instant, a strange tension filled Clam.

The fact that she was being chased by a monster no longer crossed her mind.

“You suddenly fell from the ceiling… Miss, what’s your name?”

“…Miss?”

The girl’s blue eyes caught Clam’s gaze, as if asking, “Are you referring to me?”

The somewhat lethargic and cold girl sighed, bored.