After stepping out the main door and arriving in the stairwell, they could feel the air thick with that unpleasant stench.
Most people here did not know what the smell was, only that it was extremely uncomfortable. But Green's brow furrowed even more deeply, because he knew very clearly that this was a smell that only a rotting corpse could emit.
And it was definitely the smell of a human corpse.
Takumi also knew exactly what this smell came from.
On this floor the smell was not strong, still far from the level of making people feel nauseated.
But as everyone stepped one after another across the stairs and entered the third floor, and upon reaching that twisted and distorted area, that stench began to become extremely distinct.
"Why is it so smelly, ugh… this is disgusting…"
Maki truly could not endure it, already feeling an impulse to vomit on the spot.
"Don't throw up, don't make too much noise, keep quiet."
Walking in front, Kaguya also had her brows tightly knitted, but she immediately turned back and spoke in a low voice to Yamamoto Hiroshi and the others who were following.
Yamamoto Hiroshi had already been about to vomit directly, but after hearing this, he forced it back with great difficulty. Green and Maeda Miwa remained expressionless. The difference was that the former could barely adapt to this kind of smell, while the latter had damaged her nose from inhaling some irritating gases before and could not smell anything at all.
"Oh, man, this sure is a terrible place."
Jamal had been excited at first, but after actually reaching the third floor and facing this surreal sight, he swallowed hard, becoming more or less afraid.
It was no longer the same as the original appearance of the third floor.
Takumi looked around, gazing at this damp floor, and became even more clearly aware of the abnormal changes in this place.
All the walls were in a nearly shattered state, soaked through with water, just like the top floor of a building with extremely poor waterproofing after being eroded by a torrential downpour. Large patches of paint had fallen off directly, revealing the moist brick structure beneath.
The water on the ground kept extending, flowing chaotically in all directions.
Those children had all disappeared.
The footsteps also no longer appeared.
The third floor of the Shirakawa Apartments had already shifted from a "normal state" to an "abnormal state," and the experience Takumi and the others had accumulated while exploring this floor had, at this moment, completely lost its effectiveness and could no longer handle the situation before them.
However, at least for now, they had not encountered anything that would pose a threat to them.
"Maki, try using the key first."
Takumi quickly found a nearby door, one slanted against the twisted wall, and spoke to Maki.
"Mm, all right."
Although her heartbeat had sped up earlier because of Takumi's actions, now that it was time to do serious work, Maki knew how to prioritize. She immediately gathered all her emotions and came before this door, taking out the red key.
Inherited from the old player Tanaka, the blood key was an Obsession Item tool that seemed capable of opening any door, making the opened door lead to the place the user wished to reach, or luring some kind of dangerous thing over.
It was a double-edged sword, so while it was being used, Takumi and Kaguya were extremely cautious, staying alert to the surroundings at all times, watching for whether anything might be drawn over.
[Click—]
The key inserted into the lock turned lightly, and the door opened with it.
Behind this door appeared a small living room where water dripped continuously. The window was sealed shut, and the kitchen door was tightly closed. The door that Maki had opened was the one leading into this living room.
"No problem, everyone come in."
Takumi entered the room first. After investigating inside for a bit and finding nothing unusual, he waved his hand, signaling for the people outside to come in. Walking in last, Maki closed the door, pulled out the key, and carefully shut the door again. After that, when Maki opened the door once more, the outside was still the chaotic, twisted building area, but it was clearly different from the place they had been in just moments ago.
"For now I haven't found anything being drawn here, so it should still be safe."
After observing the situation at the doorway for a while, Maki turned her head and spoke to the people behind her.
"Very good. Then let's begin. Those staying behind, just remain here. Don't forget the agreed-upon signal. Maki, Shinomiya-san, let's go."
Takumi nodded lightly, then began walking toward the door.
Using the blood key, they opened a door "leading toward a safe, sealed area close to 309." Then Yamamoto Hiroshi, Green, Jamal, and Maeda Miwa—four people whose abilities were generally unsuitable for exploration—stayed behind as a reserve team, hiding inside this sealed area. After that, Takumi, Kaguya, and Maki were responsible for exploring, searching for the location of Room 309, finding this room that was hidden within the endlessly distorted space.
At least for now, this action plan had not encountered any problems that were difficult to solve.
The only thing to mention was that Jamal still somewhat wanted to come outside to investigate. But at such a life-or-death moment so close to clearing the stage, Takumi really could not trust someone he had not interacted with much, so he still demanded that he remain where he was.
Closing the door and turning his head, Takumi looked toward the surrounding maze-like twisted walls and various broken pieces of furniture that showed no distinguishable differences at all.
Up until now, nothing abnormal had shown itself—no attack, no strange phenomenon.
It had simply become quiet.
The entire third floor had fallen into a deathly silence, and nothing more.
What was the reason behind such a change?
[With rain this heavy, who the hell would still live on the third floor of this leaking dump? Come on, let's go stay at Grandma's place for a while.]
[What's going on with the people in 304? It stinks way too much. Did their toilet break?]
[What's it got to do with us? Don't bother with it, ignore it. What's the point of caring about those trash people in that unit!]
As he thought this, Takumi seemed to hear the murmuring voices of people speaking, as well as footsteps moving away.
Because the third floor was the top floor, did many people temporarily move out due to severe leaking during heavy rain?
Takumi slowly took steps forward through this distorted place, and very soon he heard more sounds—the shouting of those living in the rooms, and the sound of water constantly dripping from the rooftop, from the ceiling, making the entire room damp.
Everyone was hiding.
Everyone was avoiding.
They… they would not easily reveal themselves, would not move forward through this curtain of rain, unless…
Walking beside him, Kaguya passed through a patch that was relatively dry, a place that for some unknown reason was barely touched by dripping water.
Just as she was about to step onto that clean area, Takumi reached out his hand and pressed it down on the girl's shoulder.
Kaguya abruptly stopped her step, and the tip of the shoe that had already extended into the dry area suddenly split open with cracks.
"Do not approach any dry place that does not have water. The things on the third floor have not disappeared—they are hiding. They are hiding from water. As long as it is a place without water, there is a possibility those things are hiding there."
While pulling Kaguya backward, Takumi spoke seriously, and he looked somewhat apprehensively at that patch of dry area.
He could not see anything unusual about that place at all.
If not for the curse he had received being too deep, allowing him to occasionally see some phantoms of the past and to think and respond accordingly, in that moment just now, he absolutely would not have had enough time to stop Kaguya.
"So that means, the rule of the third floor now is that only places with water are safe?"
Maki looked at the split tip of Kaguya's shoe, furrowed her brows, and spoke in a low voice.
"Not necessarily."
Takumi shook his head as his gaze moved forward, his tone becoming somewhat helpless.
"Eh?"
Before Maki's confusion even had time to form into a question, Takumi had already pulled her behind a broken section of wall to hide, and at the same time, Kaguya also reacted and hid along with them.
[Splash—splash—]
The sound of stepping on water quickly passed by the spot where the three had just been standing.
A faint woman's voice also rose at this moment.
[There are mice in the house again…]
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