The rain poured down.
The night was deep.
Beneath the dilapidated bus stop, a lone figure stood.
After an unknown amount of time, two dim yellow lights pierced through the rain mist and darkness, and a ghost bus finally approached at a snail's pace.
The figure beneath the bus stop slowly turned around. It was a hunched, dark-complexioned old woman with a pair of green eyes.
The old woman trembled as she prepared to board, then suddenly paused, her eyes widening as she looked into the bus.
The Ghost Driver... was nowhere to be seen.
Though there was no driver, the bus was moving forward in a bizarre manner.
Malevolent spirit passengers... not a single one was visible either.
Inside the massive bus, only a few humans were seated. One human male, sitting by the window, held a killer bear doll and was idly playing with it.
Seeing such a strange scene, the old woman silently retracted her right foot and stepped back. Even as a malevolent spirit, she felt a sense of horror and eeriness.
The unpowered ghost bus continued to move slowly, soon arriving at the bus stop.
Amamiya Natsuki opened the window and looked at the malevolent spirit old woman sheltering from the rain at the stop, greeting her warmly:
"Grandma, are you waiting for the bus?"
"It's raining heavily outside, hurry and get on."
The malevolent spirit old woman took another half-step back, instinctively feeling that something was amiss.
A mere human, not only did he not change his expression upon seeing her, but he even greeted her warmly.
Strange!
Too strange!
"Don't be afraid, Grandma, we're not bad people." Amamiya Natsuki smiled, "It's just that the bus broke down midway, and someone needs to push it from behind. Uncle Driver and them are pushing it from behind right now."
Only then did the malevolent old woman discover a strange noise coming from the rear of the ghost bus, and she unconsciously walked around to the back, shocked to find several malevolent spirits pushing the bus in the heavy rain.
The one leading them was a familiar face: the Ghost Driver.
W-what's going on?
The malevolent old woman's eyes were blank, her mind completely unable to process it.
She had ridden the ghost bus several times; shouldn't humans be the ones getting off to push it?
Why were malevolent spirits pushing it today?
Amamiya Natsuki called out from outside:
"Grandma, hurry and get on the bus. You're old, so you don't need to push today."
"..."
Such a bizarre scene made the malevolent old woman take another half-step back, then she silently turned and ran, as agile as a rabbit, disappearing in a flash into the rain mist and darkness.
Amamiya Natsuki said, speechless:
"Why did Grandma suddenly run away?"
Shinomiya Kaguya raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and gently gave him a look, saying:
"You were too enthusiastic; you scared it."
Amamiya Natsuki turned his head to look at the human passengers behind him, asking:
"No, did I really scare it?"
The human passengers: "..."
If they had swapped places with the malevolent old woman, it would be strange if they weren't scared!
At this moment, the ghost bus let out a low hum, 'buzz,' and regained power.
The malevolent spirit passengers who had been working hard to push the bus from behind gradually came aboard, each one drenched and dripping water continuously.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work."
Amamiya Natsuki stood up to greet them, "This time, it was all thanks to everyone's help. If the bus breaks down again, we'll get off and push."
The Ghost Driver didn't speak, just silently returned to his driver's seat.
The doll girl extended her right hand, her eyes crimson, and said with a fierce expression:
"Doll... give it back to me!"
"Here."
Amamiya Natsuki handed over the Killer Bear doll, his expression unchanged, "Next time, put your doll away properly; don't lose it again."
The Killer Bear doll, which had been playing dead in Amamiya Natsuki's hand, immediately 'came to life' after returning to the doll girl's hand, tightly hugging the doll girl's calf and refusing to let go.
The doll girl's expression distorted:
"...Shameless human!"
You were the one who snatched the bear from my hand!
Amamiya Natsuki picked up the blood-stained fire axe and smiled:
"What did you just say?"
"..."
The torrential rain outside had been falling until now, with no signs of stopping. Amamiya Natsuki didn't want to get off and push the bus, so he could only make the other malevolent spirit passengers suffer a bit.
Faced with Amamiya Natsuki's arrangements, these malevolent spirit passengers were naturally unwilling, and several malevolent spirits even moved to attack him together, clearly having suffered under Amamiya Natsuki for a long time.
And then... there was no 'then'.
Wielding an axe that could harm malevolent spirits, plus the bonus from the [Dark Walker] title, Amamiya Natsuki could already overpower the malevolent spirit passengers in speed and strength. He didn't even need to be in a 100% psychic energy state; he easily suppressed the malevolent spirit passengers, making them understand the true worth of the bus war god.
To prevent these malevolent spirit passengers from escaping after getting off the bus, which would leave no one to push, Amamiya Natsuki also seized some spoils of war from them, promising to return them after they finished pushing the bus.
The doll girl closed her mouth, holding the bear and walking back without a word, radiating killing intent.
The other malevolent spirit passengers successively came forward, took their share from Amamiya Natsuki's hand, and then returned to their seats.
Amamiya Natsuki sat down next to Kaguya and called out loudly:
"Driver, we can depart now."
The Ghost Driver: "..."
The ghost bus re-entered the rain mist and darkness.
The rest of the journey was much calmer.
The ghost bus stopped and started, with malevolent spirit passengers occasionally boarding, but with Amamiya Natsuki using his axe to 'reason' with them, every malevolent spirit passenger was very well-behaved.
Occasionally, there would be ill-behaved passengers, but a single swing of the axe would immediately make them extraordinarily docile.
After an unknown amount of time, the ghost bus slowly stopped once again.
Amamiya Natsuki looked out the window; there was no bus stop outside, only a solitary signboard with a few blurry words written on it.
"W-wait a minute, those words on the signboard..."
The others also widened their eyes, looking at the signboard with anticipation, but once they clearly saw the text, the anticipation on their faces turned into shock, bewilderment, dismay, and disbelief.
"It looks like 'Welcome to the Starting Station'?"
"That's right."
"It is the Starting Station."
"We... took the wrong direction?"
All the passerby passengers were stunned. After confirming they hadn't misread, their mood instantly became exceptionally complex.
Even Shinomiya Kaguya furrowed her delicate brows and softly said:
"That's too much."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said:
"It really is too much."
If he and Kaguya hadn't mingled among them, these ordinary people, swept into the Door of Despair, would probably have had all the despair squeezed out of their lives.
First, the fare.
Ordinary humans couldn't rob malevolent spirit passengers, so there was only one option left for them: paying with a finger as a ticket. Either their own finger or someone else's. In the face of life and death, it's highly likely someone would choose the latter.
Even after getting on the bus, they wouldn't be worry-free. There were also seat restrictions. As more and more malevolent spirit passengers boarded, human passengers could only fight for seats with other humans, engaging in infighting and mutual slaughter.
During this time, they also had to endure harassment and torment from malevolent spirit passengers, and even had to get off to push the bus in the pouring rain at night.
After finally enduring to the end, perhaps only one or two people would survive.
However, when they stepped off the bus with anticipation, what they saw was 'Welcome' to the Starting Station... It's hard to imagine how broken and despairing that last person would be.
Of course, now with Amamiya Natsuki and Kaguya, two Bus War Gods, riding in the same bus, everything was different.
After the dismay and disbelief, all the human passengers uniformly turned their heads, fixing their gaze on Amamiya Natsuki.
If they had ridden to the Starting Station alone, their hearts would have long been swallowed by despair, but now... in short, they felt incredibly at ease.
Amamiya Natsuki lived up to expectations, immediately stood up, picked up his axe, and went to 'reason' with the Ghost Driver, asking:
"Driver, did you drive in the wrong direction?"
The Ghost Driver's body stiffened, and his voice was hoarse:
"This is today's last bus..."
Amamiya Natsuki raised his axe and said calmly:
"I didn't hear clearly. Say it again."
The Ghost Driver: "..."
If he said it again, his head would really be chopped off!
"Actually, there's still one more bus."
The Ghost Driver changed his tune, choosing to be a wise man who knows when to adapt, "I'll turn back immediately."
Only then did Amamiya Natsuki put away his axe and said unhurriedly:
"None of us got off, so we don't need to pay the fare again, right?"
The Ghost Driver shook his head: "No need."
Amamiya Natsuki sat back down next to Kaguya, not forgetting to remind him:
"Then let's go. Don't forget to follow traffic rules: thousands of roads, safety first. Irregular driving, tears from loved ones."
"..."
The ghost bus slowly turned around and drove back the way it came.
The journey was silent.
The return trip was exceptionally quiet; nothing happened. The previous malevolent spirit passengers had already gotten off, and only human passengers remained on the bus going back.
After an unknown amount of time, someone suddenly exclaimed softly:
"Look at the bus stop outside!"
"It looks like the bus stop where we first came in to shelter from the rain?"
"That's right."
"It's it; I remember it clearly."
"..."
Returning to the familiar place, everyone except Amamiya Natsuki and Kaguya felt exceptionally complex emotions. When they passed through the Door of Despair and arrived at the bus stop, many had already prepared for death, but now they were all unharmed, feeling as if it were an incredible dream.
The ghost bus did not stop; it slowly drove past the opposite side of the bus stop, then continued for another one or two hundred meters before quietly coming to a halt.
A solitary signboard appeared before everyone's eyes.
After clearly seeing the words on the signboard, the human passengers' recently calmed emotions once again became exceptionally complex.
"It says... terminus?"
"O-originally, the terminus was just across the road?"
"Damn it! We were all played!"
"..."
"Tsk~"
Looking at the three words "Terminus" on the signboard, even Kaguya couldn't help but click her tongue softly.
Too much.
It's far too much!
She hadn't expected the Terminus to be just across the road, not far away, only obscured by the torrential rain and darkness, so no one had discovered it.
If someone had truly struggled to survive to the very end, only to find that the Terminus was not far from where they entered the Door of Despair, and could even be reached by just a few steps, they would surely collapse from despair.
"We've arrive at the Terminus."
The Ghost Driver's voice was hoarse, "Passengers wishing to alight, please prepare to exit promptly."
Amamiya Natsuki stood up and said:
"Everyone can get off."
"..."
No one had any objections; the human passengers were already impatient, quickly following Amamiya Natsuki off the bus.
After exiting the ghost bus, they realized that the torrential rain had quietly stopped. Beside the Terminus, a red wooden door stood, which was the Door of Despair.
"The 'door' has appeared!"
Upon seeing the Door of Despair, someone immediately shouted excitedly.
The girl in dino pajamas was extremely nervous and whispered:
"T-this is the door. I was clearly sleeping at home, and I only appeared here after pushing it open... Why has it appeared again?"
Ms. Sakura's voice barely concealed her excitement as she explained:
"This is the exit door. We've completed the task; we can return to the real world by pushing it open."
As an 'old player,' she knew very well that this door, which connected reality and illusion, would only appear after the task was completed. In other words, this was the true Terminus, and the terrifying ghost bus journey had finally come to an end.
Hearing this, the girl in the dinosaur pajamas immediately brightened, her eyes welling up with tears as she whimpered, "I… I want to go home!"
The girl in the dinosaur pajamas took a few quick steps, then suddenly stopped, turned around, and came before Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya.
She took a deep breath, bowed ninety degrees in thanks, and said with immense gratitude, "Th-thank you… Really, thank you…"
Amamiya Natsuki averted his gaze and said, "It was nothing."
Hey, hey, thank you is thank you, but you don't need to bow so hard, don't forget you're not wearing anything under your pajamas, and your little bunnies are bouncing around!
The others also stepped forward one by one, bowing sincerely to Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya in thanks.
The life-saving grace was truly unrequitable; if Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't been there, so many of them might not have made it to the Terminus alive.
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Shinomiya Kaguya and whispered, "The color of the Door is wrong."
"Indeed." Shinomiya Kaguya nodded slightly, observing the Door of Despair carefully. "The color seems to be lighter, not as deep as before?"
Amamiya Natsuki narrowed his eyes slightly, then said, "The idea is correct.
The purpose of this Door appearing here is to absorb human despair.
Now that it hasn't absorbed despair, the color will naturally fade."
Shinomiya Kaguya folded her arms across her chest and, hearing this, mused, "Then the next goal is to let the Door's color continue to fade, and then observe the Door's changes."
"…"
At this moment, the middle-aged aunt suddenly sighed softly, "If only we could meet you again next time we enter the Door."
Hearing this, a cloud of gloom once again descended upon the hearts of the passersby.
The Door of Despair had no end date.
Once chosen by the Door, life only had one path left: to die in despair.
This time, they cleared the game with Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya leading the way, but next time, they might not be so lucky.
"Don't worry." Shinomiya Kaguya said softly, "Our goal in coming here this time is to destroy the anomalous door."
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
"Can these things really be destroyed?"
"I-if the anomaly is destroyed, we won't need to enter this door again in the future?"
"…"
Hearing Shinomiya Kaguya's words, the recently fallen morale suddenly soared, and the eyes of everyone lit up with hope and anticipation.
Amamiya Natsuki carefully observed the Door of Despair, noticing that the red on the Door had darkened further.
He smiled and said, "Although we are not investigators, we are not ordinary people either; we have a lot of experience dealing with such matters… You all go back first.
If nothing unexpected happens, by tomorrow, the door's mark on you will disappear, and you will never encounter this door again."
If anyone else had said this, no one would have believed him, thinking he was just rambling after a mental breakdown.
But Amamiya Natsuki was different; along the way, he had already carved out a fearsome reputation as the Bus God with his axe.
Whatever Amamiya Natsuki said now, they would believe.
Now, hearing that Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya were staying to end the kaidan, these unlucky people, in their joy and excitement, stepped forward again to express their gratitude.
The yakuza man, who had previously been kicked away by Amamiya Natsuki, even bowed and said, "My younger sister is really cute and has never had a boyfriend; please consider her…"
Amamiya Natsuki waved his hand and said, "Get lost."
"…Yes sir!"
Small talk finished.
These unlucky people pushed open the Door of Despair one by one and returned to the real world.
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Sakura Rinko and instructed, "Sakura, there might be other people in your room after you go out.
Don't be nervous, they are our companions."
Shinomiya Kaguya handed over a page from a diary, which she had just written on the bus, and whispered, "Sakura, if you can't explain clearly, just hand them this diary page."
Sakura Rinko carefully took the diary page, hid it in her embrace, and then said seriously, "I understand… You two must take care.
If you can't eliminate the anomaly, don't force it; we can think of another way later."
When they first met, Sakura was just a hysterical woman on the verge of a breakdown, but now she had regained her calm and rationality, clearly exuding the aura of a strong woman.
It must be said, humans are indeed creatures that need hope.
As Sakura Rinko was the last to enter the Door, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, leaving only Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya… Well, and a pitiful Ghost Driver who wanted to run but didn't dare.
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya waited quietly.
Time passed minute by minute, and a moment later, the Door of Despair quietly faded and then disappeared into thin air.
"It seems Marin and the others can't come over."
Amamiya Natsuki's tone was calm, as he had expected this and wasn't too disappointed.
"Continue the operation." Shinomiya Kaguya folded her arms across her chest. "Try to find Chika and Moeha as soon as possible."
When they first entered the Door, Amamiya Natsuki had contacted Chika with a red string, and Chika quickly responded, indicating that they were in the same space, just unable to meet.
In game terms, it was probably like being in different 'levels.'
After confirming this, Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya had already discussed their action plan—they didn't need to know which level Chika was on; they just needed to push through level by level, and they would surely find Chika and Moeha.
And to break through the level restrictions, walking on two legs was too slow, so…
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the Ghost Driver beside him, took out a momotaro rice ball, and smiled, "Uncle Driver, I was rude earlier, that was my fault.
This is an apology, please accept it."
The Ghost Driver's crimson eyes darted suspiciously.
After a moment of hesitation, he still extended his right hand and took the rice ball.
This thing had a strange allure to evil spirits; in any case, there was no harm in eating it.
Gulp.
After eating the rice ball, the Ghost Driver's favorability was forcibly increased, and his gaze towards Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya finally returned to normal, no longer as fierce as before.
Amamiya Natsuki didn't waste words; he extended a finger and said, "Uncle Driver, we want to go to other 'levels.'
Drive us there, and after it's done, I'll give you another rice ball."
The Ghost Driver hesitated for a few seconds, then said gruffly, "Two… rice balls…"
Amamiya Natsuki smiled, "It's a deal, agreed."
Ghost Driver: "…"