On her way back, Usagi found Arisu lying on the road. She asked him if he wanted to live, and Arisu replied that he would die too. Understanding his meaning, Usagi left. Later, when she went out to a bookstore and was returning, she saw Arisu still lying there.
Usagi recalled the days when she went mountain climbing with her father. She once asked him what he would ask for if gods truly existed. Her father said he wished for more unexplored mountains to be created around the world for him to climb. When he asked Usagi the same question, she said, "Please let time stop at this moment." To her, mountains were the only place that accepted her true self, and her father was the only person who truly understood her.
One day, Usagi encountered a group of reporters at her doorstep. They asked if her father’s solo, oxygen-free climb of Mount Everest was fabricated. Without a word, Usagi went inside, where she met her father, who was preparing to go climbing. He told her not to worry, saying that the mountains would accept the real him, and then he left. Later, newspapers published articles accusing Usagi’s father of fraud, and after that, he disappeared. Many speculated that he had taken his own life due to the overwhelming pressure.
When Arisu opened his eyes, he found himself in Usagi’s care. She had prepared dinner for him. Arisu asked why she had saved him, and Usagi replied that his body had shown a will to live. Arisu felt that he had no reason to live anymore since his best friends were dead. He believed he deserved to die and that only death could atone for Karube and Chota’s deaths. Usagi told him that she had once wanted to die too, but since everyone dies eventually, why not have a full meal before then?
The next day, Usagi woke Arisu up and prepared to participate in a game. Arisu refused, so Usagi asked him why he had risked his life to save everyone during the hide-and-seek game. Arisu said it was because he didn’t want to die, nor did he want to watch others die. Usagi said she felt the same and didn’t want him to die now. She wanted to repay him for saving her before.
That night, Usagi and Arisu went to participate in the game together. The venue was a tunnel, and there were five participants. The game was rated Four of Clubs and was called the "Distance Game." The goal was to endure the challenges and safely reach the endpoint within 120 minutes.
At the beginning of the game, one of the players suffered a leg injury and couldn’t walk easily. Not wanting to hold the others back, he told them to leave him behind. However, his teammates were reluctant to abandon him. The bus they were on was an old one—unaffected by electronic failures but out of fuel and unable to start. Everyone was focused on survival, and with little capacity to care for others, the injured player had to be left behind. Arisu and the other three got off the bus and started running.
They reached a supply station with several bottles of water on a table. None of them dared to drink it, but Usagi took out her own water and gave it to Arisu. The other two watched eagerly, and Arisu, unable to bear their thirst, shared the water with them. The four continued their journey until they encountered a black panther, which charged at them. They scattered, and one of them was caught by the panther. He held onto the animal tightly, urging Arisu and the others to run for their lives.
Suddenly, Arisu spotted a motorcycle. Although it couldn’t be started, it still had diesel fuel—just like the bus from earlier. Arisu decided he didn’t want to leave anyone behind again. He pushed the motorcycle back to the bus, planning to use its fuel to start the bus and bring the injured player to safety. With 60 minutes left, Arisu pushed the motorcycle back while Usagi and the other player continued forward.
Usagi and the other player soon found that the path ahead was blocked—it seemed to be the endpoint. Suddenly, Usagi noticed water seeping through the wall in front of them, and it was rapidly increasing. In an instant, the wall burst open, and a flood of water rushed out. The two turned and ran, with the flood chasing closely behind. The other player stumbled and was swallowed by the water, but Usagi kept running desperately. Just as she was about to be overtaken by the flood, Arisu arrived with the bus. At the critical moment, he pulled Usagi into the bus. The bus was overturned by the flood, but fortunately, the three inside survived.
Looking at the overturned bus, they saw the word "GOAL" written prominently on it. They realized that staying in the bus would have allowed them to clear the game safely. The injured player thanked Arisu and Usagi before leaving, and Arisu decided to take Usagi to the Beach with him.