We agreed to be in a band for life, what the heck is Dragon Raja?

After all, he and Toyokawa Shoko have a good relationship, so he might know something.

However, it seems that... something must have happened to my childhood friend that caused her to be in this state.

In Wakaba Mutsu's mind, Toyokawa Shoko has always been very cheerful.

She put in a lot of effort to form the band, and it's hard to imagine that such a person didn't say a word online or offline after the band's first performance was a huge success.

"It's probably not just a physical reason."

"In the end what happened……"

Ruo Yemu is worried.

She originally wanted to go to Toyokawa Shoko's house to find her, but the thought of that huge courtyard made her hesitate.

On the one hand, it was because she had never liked visiting people's homes, as it reminded her of the various dinner parties her parents hosted;

On the other hand, it was because she had been frightened by something unknown in the old Furukawa Garden in the past, and had never gone there again on her own initiative.

Wakaba Mutsu remembers that at the time, he just wanted to find out if Toyokawa Shoko's house had a basement like the Wakaba family house.

Together with Toyokawa Shoko, she explored the basement of the old Furukawa Garden under her guidance.

The underground structure of this mansion, which was once home to important figures such as Mutsu Munemitsu and Koga Toranosuke, is equally complex.

Shoko Toyokawa rarely came to this place, so with Mutsu Wakaba accompanying her, she seemed even more enthusiastic.

The two men, carrying flashlights, wandered around the entire basement level. Some of the rooms were very old, and it was unclear what they contained; the doors were impossible to open.

But this did not diminish the two's enjoyment of the exploration.

Even though Wakaba Mutsumi usually prefers quiet, he was very curious about the diverse basement structures and kept comparing the differences between the various rooms and his own basement.

The turning point came when the two arrived at an open space that resembled a hall.

It's called a lobby, but it's more like a drained swimming pool. In the middle is a recessed platform, and around the edge are facilities resembling diving boards.

Ruo Yemu involuntarily stopped and looked down at the bottom of the pool from the edge.

The floor was nothing special; it was the same as most swimming pool floors, with a patterned blue and white checkered pattern.

After watching for a while, Ruoye Mu looked up.

She looked around for Toyokawa Shoko, only to find that she had vanished without a trace.

At that time, Wakaba Mu was still young, and she felt a little flustered.

Fortunately, she still had a flashlight in her hand, which calmed her down a bit, and she didn't shout.

As she was about to grope her way back the way she came, a chill suddenly ran through her body in the dark passage.

It was as if I were being watched by a ferocious beast.

Just as she was about to turn around and flee,

suddenly,

In Ruoye Mu's line of sight, at the end of the passage, a flash of golden light disappeared.

The golden light was so intense, far surpassing the brightness of the small flashlight in her hand.

If the golden light originated from a source in the basement, Ruo Yemu would certainly not be so terrified.

And the source of the golden light...

—But it was a huge pupil.

Her enormous golden eyes emitted a golden light, covering her petite body.

Wakaba Mutsu turned around, wanting to escape from here.

But to her horror, she discovered that she was completely unable to move. Her entire body was stiff, like a stone statue cast by Medusa's gaze, and she could only watch helplessly as those golden pupils drew closer and closer...

At this critical moment,

suddenly,

In Wakaba Mutsu's ear, Toyokawa Shoko's voice rang out:

"Mu, let's go."

In an instant, the scene before her shattered like broken glass, and Toyokawa Shoko's face appeared in the center of the shattered piece, smiling and waving at her:

"Mu, why are you spacing out? There are still many places ahead we haven't explored."

"okay."

Ruo Yemu then came to her senses.

She looked around; it was still the familiar 'swimming pool'.

The passageway through which the two people next to them had come was as dark as ever, but the figure with the huge golden eyes was nowhere to be seen again.

Wakaba Mutsu looked at Toyokawa Shoko.

She was standing right next to him, not too far away, but he hadn't seen her at all.

"Was that... real?"

Ruoye Mu was somewhat dazed.

She checked her surroundings again and realized that she was indeed back in reality.

But the problem is... if this is reality... then where exactly is the place I just entered?

Ruo Yemu's mind was in a daze. She opened her mouth slightly, wanting to ask something, but ultimately did not speak.

About a minute later,

Toyokawa Shoko, along with Wakaba Mutsu, continued their exploration ahead.

After passing through several more rooms, she finally couldn't help but ask:

"Xiang...were you in the lobby the whole time?"

"Yeah, I just went to check at the bottom of the pool. What's wrong?"

Do you have a way back to where you came from?

"No, I just called you, but you've been spacing out."

"Um……"

Wakaba Mutsu fell silent once again.

As a young girl, she had no idea what was going on; she was simply filled with instinctive fear.

She suddenly lost interest in the basement of the old Furukawa Garden, so she made up an excuse and returned with Toyokawa Shoko to the brightly lit hall on the first floor.

……

This memory is so distant, it feels like it happened on another timeline.

When Wakaba Mutsu recalled it again, he suddenly felt a sense of timeline converging.

"Could it be... because of this reason?"

She couldn't stop worrying.

Not long ago, Metis told her about the existence of dragons and hybrids, answering many of her long-held questions.

Now, she finally has a new understanding of the existence she saw in the old Furukawa Garden during her childhood.

She didn't know why she had fallen into another space in the basement, but she was genuinely worried that Toyokawa Shoko might have encountered a similar situation to her in the past, which was why she hadn't been coming to Tsukimori to school recently.

If it really is because of this...

Wakaba Mu took a deep breath.

Then... she will definitely do everything in her power to help Toyokawa Shoko, even if it costs her a quarter of her life.

She was unaware that her childhood friend had already ignited her golden eyes and was now undoubtedly a high-level hybrid.

I just feel that if Toyokawa Shoko encounters difficulties, I certainly can't sit idly by.

This is the basement of Toyokawa Shoko's house. She must have stayed there longer than I have, which means the probability of encountering that strange situation is much higher.

Fortunately, Toyokawa Shoko had replied to her message not long ago, otherwise she would have already called the police and gone to the old Furukawa Garden.

Wakaba Mutsu's thoughts drifted.

Xiangzi and Nanyun Yuyue both said that they did not come to school because they were not feeling well. Although she felt that this news was half true and half false, she still chose to believe her.

Perhaps... she has her own unspeakable difficulties.

Ruo Ye Mu looked at Nan Yun Yu Yue, who was waiting for her.

But just then, a song rang out across the campus:

"This summer with you, the dreams for the future, the hopes we made together—I will never forget them."

"Ten years from now, in August, please believe that we will definitely meet again."

……

Fireworks burst brilliantly in the night sky, evoking a strange sense of sadness.

Ah, time flies by like the wind.

……

……

At first, the music was a little weak, but it was soon raised to the same volume as the radio station.

More and more students heard the singing and came out of the classroom.

They stood in the corridor looking out the window, and from the outside of the teaching building, they looked like a tall human wall.

"This is... ZONE's 'Secret Base'?"

"The sound...like a butterfly flock?"

"It's Kurata Mashiro-senpai's voice."

"Are they... singing graduation songs for the graduating seniors this year?"

……

The singing continued, but the melody gradually became more melancholic:

"With you at the end of summer, we had so much to say, watching the sunset and the stars fill the sky."

I will never forget the tears that slid down your cheeks.

"Even at the very end, you waved goodbye to me with all your might; how could I ever forget?"

"If this is a dream, can I never wake up?"

……

Nangumo Utsuki, who was about to gently pat Wakaba Mutsuki, stopped. Nangumo Utsuki, who was about to gently call out to Nangumo Utsuki, stopped.

The two looked out the window side by side, and many other people were also looking out the window with them.

"It's a song by the band ZONE..."

Nayun Yuyue murmured.

ZONE is a legendary Japanese girl band. Back then, they soared to number three on the Oricon chart with their song "Secret Base," becoming the best new band to sweep all the major awards in Japan and making their second appearance on the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle).

What's most shocking is that this is only their first year as a band. The entire band consists of four girls with an average age of 14, even a year younger than the members of Crychic.

Nowadays, the only girl bands in Japan that can be compared to them are probably Mana Junda and Sumimi Miku, as well as SPEED, the predecessor of ZONE.

Compared to them, other bands who don't even qualify to perform at the Budokan are not worth mentioning.

ZONE played an indispensable foundational role in the current craze for forming bands.

It's a pity that this girl band with unlimited potential eventually disbanded because a key member wanted to leave... becoming a relic of an era.

"Important members left the band...and eventually the band disbanded."

Nan Yun Yu Yue sighed in her heart.

If it weren't for him, Crychic would probably have ended up on the same path sooner or later after this stormy night.

Just like their predecessor SPEED's sudden disbandment, most girl bands eventually break up due to various reasons.