"...We got to the spot, figured it was good enough, and were about to toss the body. But that fatass Maruyama just let go without warning... and the body tipped over and fell right onto my feet!"
"I was startled and instinctively took a step or two back... But I reacted quickly. The moment I regained my footing, I immediately raised the torch to shine it on them."
"But when I held the torch steady and looked, both of them were already gone! There was only a corpse on the ground..."
"I figured maybe they'd abandoned me and headed back first, so I thought... I'd come back to the bonfire. But when I looked back, I couldn't even see the bonfire anymore. It was pitch black everywhere, and suddenly I couldn't hear anything."
"I panicked and tried to find my way back in the direction we came from... But as I was walking, I suddenly found myself at the seaside, and then I saw a whole bunch of red eyes emerging from the water!"
"I was scared stiff and even dropped the torch... Luckily, that's when I heard the madam's voice. I looked back and saw the bonfire again, and then... then I just sprinted back here."
The fleshy-faced woman recounted everything she had experienced, panting as she spoke.
But upon hearing this, both Fumiya Jin and the madam had strange expressions on their faces.
Because from their perspective, that clearly wasn't what had happened.
However, Fumiya Jin didn't immediately dismiss the truthfulness of the fleshy-faced woman's words.
After all, this was the Samsara Game; any strange thing could happen. Besides, the instance had a clear hint—do not fall into the darkness.
If one connected this hint to the fleshy-faced woman's experience, it wasn't hard to form a conjecture—could it be that the consequence of falling into darkness was like being hit with a deafening and blinding curse, causing you to lose your bearings and wander into a dangerous place to die?
This was actually a plausible explanation.
But it was only plausible.
Plausible doesn't mean it's the truth.
Besides...
What about the countdowns?
Before the three of them left, Fumiya Jin had specifically checked. All three of their countdowns showed they would live until tomorrow night.
Even now, the countdown above the fleshy-faced woman's head was still normal, still set for tomorrow night.
Yet the other two had vanished into the darkness, and there's been no trace of them since?
What was going on?
Did this mean that even in this state, they weren't dead yet?
They were just lost and might still find their way back?
Fumiya Jin felt a headache coming on.
Too many things had happened tonight, with too little reliable information and evidence.
Continuing to analyze like this would only lead to a pile of conjectures and theories, not any useful conclusions.
He had to... gather some information first and eliminate some distractions.
Fumiya Jin thought for a moment, then suddenly grabbed a torch from the fire. Holding it aloft, he walked to the southernmost edge of the bonfire's light, the very spot where he had just fought those dark figures...
The torchlight successfully extended the illuminated area.
He saw several severed carcasses, and his expression changed slightly.
Nijika also came over for a look, her eyes widening. "Wh-what are these?"
The creatures on the ground had long, narrow bodies, about a meter in length, covered in cyan scales, and had tails.
They had four shortish legs with clawed feet. The tips of the claws were extremely sharp, and there was duck-like webbing between their toes.
Looking at their bodies alone, they resembled smaller, skinnier versions of Komodo dragons.
What was different, however, were their heads—they were massive, grotesque fish heads, complete with gills.
Their fish-like mouths opened at a wide angle, revealing mouths packed with dense, spike-like teeth. A dark cyan saliva oozed from between the gaps...
Moreover, it wasn't just their mouths; the cross-sections of their severed bodies bled not crimson blood, but a black, viscous fluid like crude oil.
"Haji... was he killed by these things?" The madam came over to look, her face also turning a little pale. "So there were monsters like this hiding in the sea... Haji really should have listened to you, Doctor. He never should have gone into the water."
"They can actually come ashore...?" The more Nijika thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. "But why didn't we see any during the day?"
Fumiya Jin pondered for a moment before conjecturing, "Perhaps these monsters dislike light, so they don't come ashore during the day. The instance hint explicitly said not to fall into the darkness, which implies the greatest threats are almost all in the dark. Otherwise, if these fish-headed monsters could rush out in broad daylight, we'd all be dead by now."
"Oh..." Nijika thought for a moment, glancing back at the bonfire. "So, does that mean they might also be afraid of firelight? Is that why we were safe when we slept around the fire last night?"
"Mm, very likely," Fumiya Jin nodded.
At these words, the madam and Nijika breathed a small sigh of relief—at least the area around the bonfire was a safe zone.
But they hadn't even finished their sigh of relief when they saw Fumiya Jin turn around, walk up to the fleshy-faced woman, and place the tachi, which was radiating a red glow, against her neck.
Nijika and the madam were startled again. "Eh?"
The fleshy-faced woman was also stunned. "Wh-what are you doing?"
Fumiya Jin looked at her indifferently and said, "Three of you went out, and only you came back. No matter how you slice it, you're highly suspicious, and the information we've gathered so far isn't enough to prove your innocence. Therefore, I'm going to ask you a few questions. You can try to lie, but don't you dare let me see through it."
"I-I-I... I didn't hide anything! Really! I'm telling the truth!" the fleshy-faced woman said hurriedly.
"First question," Fumiya Jin asked in a cold voice, "You were the one holding the torch, and you knew falling into darkness could be dangerous. Yet after being startled, you just so happened to take two steps back, resulting in you being the only one still in the torchlight while the other two happened to fall into darkness... That seems a little too coincidental, don't you think?"
"I... It wasn't on purpose! That fatty is the one to blame!" the fleshy-faced woman exclaimed, shifting her leg and pointing at her pants. "Look, my pants are corroded! That chubby guy suddenly let go, and something splashed onto my leg, that's why I got scared. It really wasn't intentional! If it hadn't happened so suddenly, if I'd had time to react, why would I abandon two teammates for no reason? I'm not that kind of selfish person!"
Fumiya Jin glanced at her pants; there were indeed signs of corrosion.
But after hearing her words, the blade in his hand suddenly pressed closer to her neck.
A thin, crimson line slowly appeared on her neck... a drop of fresh blood seeped out.
"Interesting... You're not that kind of person? Look me in the eyes and try saying that again."
______
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