"Setting failed..." Amamiya Natsuki opened his eyes and whispered, "As expected, I can't directly set a rule to prohibit Time Reset."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and said softly:
"Try the backup rule."
Before entering the cave system, everyone, of course, hadn't been idly staring. Instead, they had made as many preparations as possible, including multiple backup rules.
"Okay."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded lightly and closed his eyes again.
"The first backup rule: All creatures in the Midnight Theater, once their full name is called out, must perform a 360-degree backflip on the spot, otherwise they will be unable to speak... The rule needs to be adjusted... Adjustment complete... Setting successful."
The goal of the set rule was only one: to prevent Hiruko no Kami's Time Reset.
And to prevent Time Reset, Yote had to be rendered speechless, unable to command Hiruko no Kami.
"It worked." Amamiya Natsuki opened his eyes, "The rule automatically completed and adjusted. Besides being unable to speak, their bodies will also temporarily lose control and move on their own... Does anyone want to try it?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, the girls all took half a step back in unison.
Doing a backflip in a skirt? That's too embarrassing!
Kitagawa Marin covered her skirt with both hands, her voice clear:
"Since it's Natsuki's rule, of course you have to experience it yourself."
"That's right, Marin is right." Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement, pointing a finger and saying, "Natsuki, it's you!"
"..."
The air instantly fell silent.
Amamiya Natsuki was silent for two seconds, then suddenly raised his hands to take off his clothes.
"Eh eh eh?!" Juju couldn't help but exclaim, "Stupid Natsuki, what are you doing?!"
Amamiya Natsuki said nothing, his expression innocent, and continued to take off his clothes.
The senpai guessed:
"Did Natsuki-kun not perform a backflip just now, so he's affected?"
"Of course not." Shinomiya Kaguya straightened her pretty face, unable to help but chide, "The Theater hasn't even been activated yet, okay?"
"I'm sorry, I forgot."
Amamiya Natsuki finally stopped and apologized sincerely.
"So he was just fooling us." Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks, "The President is too much."
"I'm just giving you a heads-up." Amamiya Natsuki said without changing his expression, "After violating the rules, no one knows what their body will do on its own, so you need to be vigilant."
The reminder was complete.
The flame of the pumpkin lantern in Amamiya Natsuki's hand suddenly flickered, and a streak of purple flame flowed out, instantly engulfing the entire cave system.
"The Theater has been activated." Amamiya Natsuki said softly, "From now on, the rule is officially in effect."
Before he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed in the air.
The girls all became vigilant, looking into the darkness, and saw a Yandere Kaguya wearing a black dress and holding a cleaver, emerging from the darkness.
"Eh?" Yukinoshita Haruno's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but look at Yukino beside her, whispering, "Yukino, what's going on?"
"She is..."
Yukinoshita Yukino was about to speak when her pretty face suddenly changed, feeling an inexplicable force sealing her mouth.
Oh no.
Her older sister had just called her name, and now she had already violated the rule.
Yukinoshita Yukino tried hard to speak, but it had no effect. Immediately after, her body uncontrollably extended her arms and, under everyone's gaze, embraced Amamiya Natsuki's neck.
"Eh eh eh, what is Yukino-chan doing?"
"She's actually trying to kiss the President?"
"Yukino-chan is too bold!"
Yukinoshita Haruno quickly apologized:
"I'm sorry, I accidentally called Yukino's name just now."
"I see." Fujiwara Chika suddenly understood, then couldn't help but complain, "The President is too much! The rule he set actually makes girls throw themselves into his arms!"
"I didn't, don't talk nonsense." Amamiya Natsuki flatly denied, "It's Hirano's body moving, it has nothing to do with me."
"...Damn it!"
Yukinoshita Yukino bit her silver teeth, her pretty face flushed, feeling both ashamed and angry.
Even the usually calm Miss Second couldn't remain calm when throwing herself into someone's arms in front of everyone.
Especially when she realized that not only was she embracing Amamiya Natsuki's neck, but she was also standing on tiptoe, seemingly wanting to kiss him, her heart leaped into her throat.
Stop, stop!
Kissing him in front of everyone, no matter how you think about it, is too embarrassing!
Fortunately, Amamiya Natsuki could still move freely at this moment. While supporting Hirano's chin with one hand, he turned to look at the Yandere Kaguya who was tilting her head and looking over, and lightly coughed:
"We are doing something very serious."
The Yandere Kaguya said nothing, but silently raised the cleaver in her hand.
Fortunately, at this moment, the punishment time finally ended. Yukinoshita Yukino decisively took two steps back, creating distance, and covered her body, both ashamed and angry.
Yandere Kaguya then silently put away her cleaver, completely ignoring the others, her gaze falling on Amamiya Natsuki, her voice cold:
"Why did the President take so long to see me?"
To Yandere Kaguya, the only people she cared about were the main Kaguya, Amamiya Natsuki, and Mrs. Shimizu. Everyone else was simply ignored.
"Listen to me..."
Amamiya Natsuki lowered his voice and explained the dungeon's progress to the Yandere Kaguya.
"I see." A hint of the coldness on the Yandere Kaguya's face melted, and she tilted her head, "I can help, but after we clear the dungeon, the President has to promise me one thing."
"I don't need your help." Shinomiya Kaguya stepped forward, blocking Amamiya Natsuki, "Even without you, we can clear the dungeon."
The Yandere Kaguya tilted her head and looked, dangerous red light flowing in her wine-red eyes, and said coldly:
"If you had that ability, you wouldn't have let time keep resetting."
Shinomiya Kaguya bit her silver teeth, not to be outdone:
"As if you have a solution."
"Of course I have a solution." The Yandere Kaguya's voice was indifferent, "Just kill that woman before she resets time."
"You..."
Shinomiya Kaguya wanted to retort, then suddenly remembered the Ghost Bride from the last dungeon.
Although she was a dungeon boss, she was ultimately counter-killed by Yandere Kaguya. If it were the Yandere Kaguya, she might actually be able to handle Hiruko no Kami—
According to the Human Faced Dog, urban legends seem powerful, but they all have their limits.
For example, Miss Sadako can absorb the fear of other creatures to strengthen herself, but there is a limit, and it's impossible for her to transform into a Cthulhu-esque being.
But the Yandere Kaguya is different.
In the last dungeon, some kind of unreplicable serendipity seemed to have occurred, allowing the Yandere Kaguya to break through her own limits and possess the potential for infinite growth.
Looking at the two arguing Kaguya, Amamiya Natsuki cleared his throat, about to speak, when he suddenly felt someone gently tugging at his sleeve.
"Mah...jong..."
Miss Sadako, in a white dress with thick black hair covering her face, had appeared behind Amamiya Natsuki at some point. A hopeful voice emanated from beneath her thick black hair.
There's no hope.
The first thing she does upon meeting is play mahjong; this Miss Sadako has completely become a mahjong addict.
Amamiya Natsuki whispered:
"We have serious business today, no mahjong."
"..."
Upon hearing this, although Miss Sadako said nothing, her head drooped, and an emotion called disappointment surged from her body. She was about to retreat into the darkness.
"Wait a moment." Amamiya Natsuki grabbed Miss Sadako's wrist, "I'll need your help later. As an employee, it's time to create some performance."
Miss Sadako was clearly not interested in performance. She exerted force on her hand, trying to break free and return to the television.
"Let's take care of business first." Amamiya Natsuki offered compensation, "Then I'll play mahjong with you all day."
Miss Sadako's black hair immediately trembled: "...Deal."
"Eh eh eh?!"
Yukinoshita Haruno was seeing Miss Sadako for the first time and was startled. She nervously looked at her younger sister: "Yukino..."
Before she could finish, a hand reached out and directly covered her mouth.
Yukinoshita Yukino lightly bit her silver teeth and whispered:
"Sister, from now on, don't call my name again!"
Yukinoshita Haruno blinked pitifully, indicating she understood.
When Yukino withdrew her hand, this Haruno whispered a complaint:
"My younger sister is so rough."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."
"It's been a long time since I've been out." A Human-Faced Dog shook its head and came to Sayu's side, asking curiously, "Sayu, where is this place?"
"This is..."
Sayu was about to speak when she suddenly felt unable to make a sound. Immediately after, her hands uncontrollably grabbed her skirt, and her pretty face flushed as she lifted it up, revealing the pink little bear underneath.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" The Human Faced Dog felt insulted, "I'm a girl, I'm not interested in your panties!"
"..."
The Yandere Kaguya, the Human Faced Dog, and Miss Sadako—excluding the Little Match Girl, all three combatants were present.
Amamiya Natsuki briefly explained the dungeon content, then said:
"It's time for the final showdown… The Human Faced Dog, do you know how many shadows are in the cave system?"
"Many, a great many." The Human-Faced Dog tilted its head, its ears twitching, responsible for the reconnaissance mission, "I can hear hundreds of voices."
"That is indeed a lot." Shinomiya Kaguya frowned slightly, "Except for the shadows guarding the entrance, all other shadows should be gathered around Hiruko no Kami."
To directly confront Yote and Hiruko no Kami, the outer shadows must be dealt with.
However, one-on-one was manageable, but once the shadows ganged up, Amamiya Natsuki could only turn and run, completely unable to withstand them.
Fujiwara Chika whispered:
"How about using a fishing tactic to lure those shadows out one by one?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked over speechlessly and said softly:
"You're talking about a video game, aren't you?"
Reality isn't a game; shadows won't be foolishly tricked like small monsters. Even if one or two could be tricked, a third definitely couldn't.
Kitagawa Marin suggested:
"What if we sneak in and go straight for the kill?"
Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head:
"Shadow abilities offer no stealth against shadows; it's too dangerous."
After discussing for a while, the girls couldn't come up with a good plan. The shadows possessed normal human intelligence, and with Hiruko no Kami coordinating them, it was impossible to divide and conquer.
At this moment, Fujiwara Chika couldn't help but say:
"It's so troublesome. If only they could all be made blind."
"Wait—"
Amamiya Natsuki felt a flash of lightning in his mind and quickly looked at Chika, "What did you just say?"
"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika was startled, "I didn't say anything, did I?"
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Repeat what you just said."
"I… I forgot." Fujiwara Chika covered her pink lips and looked at the girls around her, "Does anyone remember?"
"I remember."
Yukinoshita Yukino had calmed down by now. She had clearly heard Chika's words and softly repeated:
"If only they could all be made blind."
"That's the sentence." Amamiya Natsuki's eyes lit up, "I have a plan. After clearing the last dungeon, there are still unclaimed rewards…"
In fact, it was the exclusive reward for the dungeon MVP, including the Grudge Mist Environment Card, the Balloon Heads item, the Mother of Puppets Summoning Card, and so on.
Because it was difficult to choose, Amamiya Natsuki had not made a decision until now, but he finally decided what reward to claim.
[Item: Grudge Mist Environment Card]
[Type: Consumable]
[Uses: One]
[Effect: After activating and using this card, it can generate grudge mist within two square kilometers. This mist has a ghost-wall effect, allowing entry but not exit, with a maximum duration of one hour. Within the mist, both parties' vision will be severely restricted.]
"Are you sure you want to claim this reward?"
The game's voice echoed in his ears.
Amamiya Natsuki silently said in his mind:
"Confirm claim."
"Reward has been issued. Please check your backpack."
Amamiya Natsuki opened his game backpack, and a card, seemingly condensed from mist, quickly appeared in his hand.
"Card activating…"
The next second.
The cold, damp Grudge Mist, like a tidal wave, swept across the entire cave system with the force of a landslide and tsunami.
After shadows replaced humans, they naturally wouldn't abandon the conveniences brought by modern technology. The cave system had specialized power generators for electricity and lighting. At this very moment, the Grudge Mist, in an unreasonable manner, instantly filled every corner of the cave system; even the lights could not penetrate the mist.
"Hmm? Where did this mist come from?" Yote was startled at first, then quickly reacted, rising to his feet, "Those guys have come in!"
"The mist must be strange." Yote's voice was deep as he looked at Hiruko no Kami beside him, "Can you dispel the mist?"
Hiruko no Kami raised its right hand and stirred the air, making the mist flow, then shook its head:
"I cannot."
"Damn it." Yote's voice turned grim, "Have the shadows ambushing at the Hospital entrance quickly return to defend."
Hiruko no Kami shook its head again: "I cannot."
Yote was both shocked and angry: "What did you say?"
Hiruko no Kami's voice was calm:
"There is an unknown will in the mist, suppressing my information dissemination. I cannot contact the shadows."
"…"
At the same time.
"Eh, the mist is so thick." Juju widened her eyes, seeing only a vast expanse of white, "I can't see anything."
Komi nodded nervously, timidly following close by Juju's side.
"It's good that you can't see." Amamiya Natsuki said softly, "If nothing goes wrong, all shadows are now cut off from their special communication… The opponent's home-field advantage has been completely neutralized."
"And then…" Amamiya Natsuki pulled Sadako to the front, "Sadako is about to activate radar mode."