I'm Female Lead In Their World: Living in the High School of the Dead

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(How interesting!) she thought, her mind buzzing with excitement. She had waited for years in her world for this story to be updated, but sadly, the author-or perhaps someone else-had decided to cancel it.

(Which means this world has no end. The future is unknown and will change according to how I deal with it,) she concluded, piecing together the information she had gathered so far.

(Not bad... let's see how this world unfolds~) she grinned slightly, her eyes locking onto the boy she had seen earlier. The same sadness clouded his face-the same sadness he had felt when he saw the girl he loved, hand-in-hand with his most trusted friend, about to cross the street, as shown in the hologram she had seen.

"Break the pinky promise, and I'll make you swallow a thousand needles..." Komuro whispered, resting his head on his arms, searching his mind for where it all went wrong in the relationship.

She glanced at Komuro Takashi being nagged by a girl before heading into the building, searching for any useful information. She knew that every clue she gathered would be crucial for progressing to the next stage.

It didn't take long for her to find something-a billboard stood before her. She scanned it with her eyes, downloading the relevant data, discarding anything she deemed useless.

While the information downloaded, she glanced at the clock in her heads-up display. Unlike other humans, her view changed when she entered fictional worlds, resembling that of a game.

She could see the clock, the countdown to the main event, and any data she needed at a glance. It was convenient, especially since she could see information on objects and even people. The time limit showed one hour before the event began.

She needed to hurry. There was a character she liked, one she didn't want to see die this time. He didn't deserve it. Though he only appeared for 30 seconds in the story before being killed off as an extra, she had always liked his personality.

(Urgh... just thinking about it makes me want to curse the author!) she thought angrily, quickening her pace. As she passed by the restroom, two boys emerged.

"Ah, Kazu! Let's skip class," one of them said, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Eh? I don't want to. Why should I?" the boy replied.

The girl turned around, her eyes landing on the boy in glasses as he walked beside his friend, trying to convince him not to skip class.

(At last... I found you, Ishii Kazu~) she smiled, her heartbeat quickening in excitement. She had finally found the character she had always wanted to protect.

(There's still time left. Kazu, I won't let you die, not while I'm around,) she chuckled quietly.

The two boys suddenly shivered, feeling a strange presence behind them. They turned around to see a girl in a school uniform. Her long skirt covered her legs, and though her attire seemed a bit loose, their eyes were immediately drawn to her figure.

(It's big! My eyes aren't deceiving me!) Okada shouted in his mind, eyes widening as he stared at her. Her long, silky dark hair was tied back, and her cat-like eyes gleamed beneath glossy pink lips that curled into a smile. She looked stunning, like an idol.

"Err, excuse me... who are you?" Kazu asked nervously.

"Hm? Oh, me?" She pointed to herself, tilting her head.

"Yeah, are you a freshman? This is the senior building, you know. Freshmen aren't allowed here," Okada replied, trying to sound cool.

(You're a freshman too,) Kazu thought, glancing at his friend with half-closed eyes.

"Oh, hehe, my name is Niikaz. I'm a transfer student in Class 1-B," she explained.

"WOAH! That's our class! Lucky!" Okada exclaimed, patting Kazu on the back. Kazu looked at him, feeling awkward.

(We have a transfer student today? Why didn't sensei tell us?) Kazu wondered.

"We're from Class 1-B too. I'm Ishii Kazu, and this is Okada-"

"-and if you don't mind, I'll show you to our class!" Okada interrupted, quickly positioning himself beside her, posing like a butler as he led the way.

"Okay! Lead the way," Niikaz said, even though she already knew where the class was from the information she'd downloaded. She didn't mind being friendly-after all, Okada was Kazu's friend during the outbreak.

They arrived at the classroom, and Okada swung the door open dramatically, drawing everyone's attention.

"Oh, Okada. I thought you were skipping class. What's up?" one of the classmates asked, his eyes glancing at the girl behind Kazu.

"Gehh! How did you-" Ignoring Okada, the student shifted his focus to Kazu and Niikaz.

"Hm? Kazu, who is she? Your girlfriend? How dare you betray me!" he teased, before putting Kazu in a headlock and playfully digging his fist into his head.

"I did not! Nishinoya, you idiot! She's our new classmate," Kazu tried to explain, clearing the misunderstanding.

"Oh, I see. My bad," Nishinoya said, clasping his hands together apologetically.

"By the way, where's Wakisaka-sensei?" Kazu asked a nearby classmate.

Meanwhile, Okada tried to figure out how Nishinoya had known about his plan to skip class.

"Wakisaka-sensei left early. He told us to self-study. Apparently, he's checking something with the other teachers," the classmate explained.

"Checking something? What?" Kazu asked.

"I don't know. Sensei didn't say," she shrugged.

As Niikaz listened to their conversation, her eyes flicked to the countdown. (It's almost time...) she thought, calming her mind as she recalled the events that would unfold soon.

Her lens displayed a map only she could see.

At that moment, Takashi spotted several teachers gathered near the school gate, their voices rising in heated argument. 

One of the male teachers, Teshima-sensei, grabbed the collar of a strange man who had been loitering outside, slamming him against the metal bars of the gate with a grunt.

The female teacher next to him raised her hand, trying to de-escalate the situation. 

"Teshima-sensei, please, calm down! There's something wrong with him!" she urged, her voice trembling as she noticed the man's lifeless, glazed-over eyes and pale complexion.

But before she could take another step, the man's head jerked toward Teshima's arm with unnatural speed. Without warning, his mouth latched onto Teshima's forearm, teeth sinking deep into the flesh. A sickening, wet crunch echoed through in the air

"AAARRGH!" Teshima let out a guttural scream, stumbling backward as blood poured from the wound, splattering the ground in vivid red. His body convulsed in agony as the man gnawed deeper, pulling away flesh with a gruesome, tearing sound.

"HE'S BITING ME! HE'S EATING MY ARM!" Teshima's screams turned to pitiful, desperate howls as his blood sprayed across the pavement, painting everything in crimson.

He fell to his knees, clutching his mangled arm, but the blood wouldn't stop. It flowed freely, spurting from the exposed veins as

though something inside him was broken beyond repair.

The other teachers stood frozen in place, eyes wide with horror, their legs refusing to move. The man-no, the creature- slowly lifted its head, Teshima's blood dripping from its

red.

.Its milky, dead eyes locked onto the female teacher. A low, guttural growl escaped its throat, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

"Teshima-sensei! Oh God, what do we do?!" one of the teachers cried, her voice quivering as she took a shaky step back. Her face was pale, drenched in cold sweat as panic set in.

"Teshima-senseil Stay with me!" the female teacher shouted, bending down to him, trying desperately to apply pressure to the wound. 

But the blood continued to gush, her hands slipping as it soaked them. "We need help! Someone -call an ambulance!"

Teshima's cries were becoming weaker now, his body shaking uncontrollably. His breathing turned shallow, his eyes wide and glassy as the pain overwhelmed him. 

He writhed on the ground, clutching his shredded arm, his face twisted in a grotesque mask of pain.

And then, suddenly, his voice stopped.

"Teshima-sensei?" The female teacher's voice was barely a whisper. She reached out hesitantly, shaking his shoulder. But Teshima didn't respond.His body was still.

"Teshima-sensei?" She leaned in closer, dread building in her chest. His skin had taken on a deathly gray hue, his eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky. She backed away slowly, her hands trembling, covered in blood.

"No... no, no, no..." she muttered, trying to comprehend the horror unfolding before her.

Suddenly, Teshima's hand twitched.

"Te-Teshima-sensei?" she gasped, leaning back down.

But in the next moment, his hand shot out with impossible strength, grabbing her by the collar. His head jerked up, eyes rolled back, and his mouth gaped wide, teeth gnashing. 

Before she could react, he lunged at her neck, sinking his teeth deep into her FLESH!

A blood-curdling scream tore through the air as her neck erupted in a fountain of blood, spraying across the ground. She tried to push him off, but his grip was like iron, his teeth tearing into her throat, ripping through sinew and muscle.

The other teachers screamed in terror, stumbling over each other in their panicked rush to escape, but their legs felt heavy, like lead. 

Some collapsed to the ground, paralyzed by fear, unable to tear their eyes away from the gruesome scene unfolding before them.

Teshima, or whatever he had become, continued to devour her, the sickening sound of flesh ripping and bones cracking filling the air.

Takashi, watching the entire scene from a distance, could barely comprehend what he was seeing. His legs trembled, his breath came in shallow gasps, and his heart pounded in his chest. The bile rose in his throat as the horrifying scene burned itself into his mind.

"What... the... fuck!..." he whispered, backing away, his body instinctively moving, screaming at him to run. 

His mind was reeling, desperate to make sense of the nightmare before him, but all he could do was stumble backward, eyes wide with fear.

He turned and bolted up the stairs, runnin

g as fast as his legs could carry him.In his mind, there was only one thought now-one person he needed to find.

(Rei... I have to save Rei!)