"Cough… ugh…"
Pain spread throughout his body.
Takumi lowered his head and looked at a sharp stalactite that had pierced into his abdomen.
The direction of gravity reversed in an instant, and the unprepared Takumi fell downward toward the spike-filled upper side.
It was only a distance of two or three meters, but at this falling height it was completely impossible to adjust his posture and find a normal foothold. What was more, in the direction of the fall there was nothing that could be considered safe—there were only extremely sharp stalactites, one after another.
In the end, relying on reaction speed and explosive physical strength that already exceeded human limits, Takumi barely twisted his body and braced himself with his hands in the gaps between several stalactite tips. Even so, his abdomen was still pierced by one stalactite. No—not only his abdomen; two stalactites also pierced his leg, though not very deeply.
"Ugh…"
A mouthful of foul blood seeped from the corner of Takumi's mouth.
At this moment, his head hurt as if it were about to explode.
The doll carried on Maki's person had already lost its field of vision and could no longer perceive the concrete situation on that side.
After that flash of a white dress appeared and then vanished, Takumi severed the connection with that Obsession Item. The backlash at that moment was almost enough to destroy Takumi's nerves, but after taking a deep breath, he still gritted his teeth and endured it, without going mad or suffering brain death on the spot.
If an Obsession Item used to establish sensory linkage were to have its connection abruptly severed, would it actually produce such severe backlash effects?
That could be considered another lesson learned.
Pshhk—
With a slight exertion of force, Takumi propped himself up and pulled the stalactite spike out of his abdomen.
Lying sprawled across these sharp stone spikes was not a pleasant experience, but at this moment, having already realized that the situation had reached its worst possible point, Takumi could not afford to care about such things. He had to struggle with all his strength and, before losing his life, find ways to obtain more information—go to places that would very likely accelerate his process of dying and attempt to obtain more information that, under normal circumstances, could not be obtained.
He did not look at Fujiwara Chika, who had fallen together with him onto the spikes nearby.
Takumi did not hear the other party's breathing. She was probably already gone outright. That was fine too; it meant much less suffering.
Maki, and Kaguya—those two as well had already…
In the end, this time, the problem had actually appeared in himself.
After being gazed upon on the ground of that world where his identity was that of a security guard, Takumi could no longer go to the Cave Research Base area. The thing that was gazing at him had its main body within the Red Nut Grey Cave of the world of the research base. Takumi still could not be certain exactly where in the cave it was, but the other party seemed to be subject to certain restrictions and could not directly enter the research base. His identity as an Explorer provided that thing with a medium, allowing it to lift its own restrictions.
The anomalies in the command room could only identify two Explorers. Perhaps it was precisely because I had already been Gazed Upon that, for those things, my existence had become confused in terms of identity.
Staggering along, Takumi advanced among stalactites ranging from several tens of centimeters to one meter in length, carefully stepping into the gaps between the spikes, moving step by step in the direction of the Plains.
He had already put on the Rescue Team Badge, but for reasons unknown, this time Takumi was unable to summon the complete rescue suit, nor was he able to summon rescue team members. He could only rely on the power of this badge to recover from his injuries.
The effects of the Obsession Item were being suppressed.
If it were another Obsession Item, taking it out for use now would probably cause it to lose control very quickly. This badge had been transformed by blessed power, reducing the rate of loss of control to the absolute minimum, which was why it manifested a suppressed state.
Then, something capable of suppressing the effects of an Obsession Item and inducing an Obsession Item to lose control—this thing that was gazing at him—should be the instance's core obsession.
Although the badge he possessed still differed somewhat from a true core Obsession Item, with the reinforcement of blessings it could already be considered the core Obsession Item of a Dusk-level instance. To be able to suppress the effects of this Obsession Item, it would have to be either an obsession from a Red Moon-level instance, or the core obsession of a Dark Night-level instance. No matter how fixed a Dusk-level instance was, it was impossible for it to soar to Red Moon-level. Therefore, the most severe possibility he was now facing was a Dark Night-level core obsession.
All of these were experiences summarized by the players. The only possibility Takumi could think of was this one. But… perhaps it was not only this. The information Takumi had come into contact with and learned before, as an Explorer and as a rescue team member, had nothing to do with this Cave Research Base. And based on the various rules that had been collected, something should have happened between the Big Slide and the Large Space in this area; there should be a core obsession here.
The intelligence from both sides was difficult to blend together. If there were only one core obsession, it would be far too split.
That is to say…
"Double core obsessions, maxed-out Dark Night-level instance."
Takumi slowly uttered the words. At this moment, he understood his predicament and understood what kind of insane level this so-called "two-hour speedrun of a Dusk-level instance" had upgraded into after being fixed.
And, vaguely, he also understood why, although the ground of the world of the security guard was the exit, there was still no way to leave.
"One core obsession is related to escape, so as long as you flee to the ground area of a world where 'no anomaly occurred' or 'the anomaly was not exposed,' you can meet the clearance conditions."
"And the other core obsession's objective is to kill all living people, so everyone who escapes will become a target. No matter what kind of identity you play, as long as you enter a place that 'can clear,' you will be identified by this obsession and killed. Even if you use tricks to avoid the trigger conditions for death, you will still be watched persistently, until you are killed."
"So this instance… actually has no way to be cleared?"
Takumi, having thought to this point, froze slightly, and his whole body stopped in place.
To escape the Red Nut Grey Cave, he had to reach the "real" ground.
Upon reaching the "real" ground, he would be directly killed by the other anomaly.
If he did not want to be killed by this anomaly, then he had to remain in the Red Nut Grey Cave.
How could there be a core obsession that blocks off the path to survival like this? Why would such an obsession exist? Was it that this Cave Research Base had done something that enraged both heaven and people?
Takumi suddenly thought of the instance intelligence he had previously obtained. One of the pieces mentioned that, in the unfixed Red Nut Grey Cave instance, one of the four hints was "The actor for the finale has not yet taken their place," and this hint had now been replaced by a new hint.
Perhaps it was a specific target of revenge? He had to find someone related to this Cave Research Base and have that person die at the hands of this core obsession—only then could he break the deadlock?
Wait—if he thought about it this way, then the new hint, "The memories of the lost guide the inextinguishable fury," might very well be related to this core obsession. After all, Takumi had indeed vaguely sensed it before: this anomaly, utterly different from the core obsession in the Shirakawa Apartments and almost frenziedly releasing murderous desire, did have an obsession tied to emotions such as "anger."
If that was the case…
Takumi looked at the pieces of tourists' clothing that had fallen one by one along with the reversal of gravity.
Did the "lost ones" refer to these tourists?
Having already reached the vicinity of the Big Slide entrance, Takumi—who had originally planned to choose between the Big Slide and the Gentle Slope—stopped here, considering whether to change into a piece of tourist clothing and try to use that identity to obtain new clues.
But before he could do so, that cold, gloomy gaze had already locked onto him from behind.
"…"
There was no way to make any kind of response.
In an instant of bone-chilling cold, Takumi lost the ability to control his body.
Then, it seemed that something grasped Takumi's ankle.
In the next moment, his body was lifted into the air and dragged violently toward the direction of the Gentle Slope.
At the critical moment, Takumi could only use his hands to shield his face and the back of his head. Then his body slammed into the rock wall on one side, snapping one of his ribs on that side, and was then dragged all the way into the depths of the Gentle Slope. Everywhere on his body were wounds scraped by stalactites, and his entire body was covered with bloodstains.
The Great Fissure.
This was a long, narrow fissure area located within the Gentle Slope, said to be several hundred meters deep. However, because the gap was extremely narrow, even if a person fell into it, they would not fall too deeply, becoming stuck midway within the fissure.
At this very moment, Takumi was violently yanked up by an irresistible force and dragged straight into the narrow fissure above, his entire body scraping along as he was pulled into the rift.
A stench—an incomparably intense stench.
Takumi turned his head and saw, one after another, figures jammed within the fissure.
White lab coats, black soldier uniforms, and yellow-and-white striped Explorer uniforms.
No tourists, Explorers, or anyone else could be seen here. All of them were people from the Cave Research Base, one after another jammed within this narrow fissure. The corpses were either already rotten or had been reduced to nothing but bones, densely packed—so numerous as to be chilling.
More than 90 percent were corpses wearing yellow-and-white striped Explorer uniforms.
Realizing something from this number, Takumi barely recovered a bit of mobility by relying on the power of the Rescue Team Badge, but immediately afterward he was dragged deeper by an even greater force. The rock walls in front of and behind him clamped his body tightly, making it so that Takumi could barely even breathe.
"Ugh—ngh…"
Still being dragged along, Takumi opened his mouth, braced his hands against the rock walls, and struggled with great difficulty.
And the force dragging him continued to exert itself, continuing bit by bit to pull him deeper.
His fingernails flipped back, both hands drenched in blood.
His elbows were ground raw, his clothes were torn by the rock walls, then his skin was worn through as well, until both the front and back of his body became a bloody, mangled mess.
In the next moment, Takumi's foot jammed against a fissure.
This was one of the narrowest sections of the Great Fissure. The gap height was less than 5 centimeters; with Takumi's build, there was no way for him to squeeze through here no matter what.
"Huff… ha…"
Gasping with difficulty, Takumi struggled to crawl out of the fissure, but the thing gripping him tightly dragged him so that he could not move.
The lighting equipment had long since been destroyed halfway through the dragging.
Pitch-black surrounded him; nothing could be seen.
Takumi could only feel the indescribable pressure of rock coming from both the front and the back, feel the breathing that was so labored it was almost impossible to sustain, and…
[Hehehehehe—]
…and a laugh that seemed somewhat neurotic, sounding from below.
Laughter?
[Got you, got you, hehehe, got you, hehehehehe—]
A jittery, unhinged voice—like it was talking to someone, and also like it was muttering softly to itself.
That thing was right behind his feet.
Deeper within this fissure.
Takumi could feel that sinister gaze, sense the surging malice of that thing, and sense the presence of an anomaly that was absolutely not human.
So, little by little, he turned his head to the side and, with great difficulty, looked in the direction of that gaze.
In the darkness, he should have been able to see nothing at all.
But at this moment, after Takumi made the act of "looking," he truly did see—he saw that thing.
He saw that thing smiling at him.
He saw that thing opening its mouth and giggling hehehehe.
He saw that thing's deathly pale face, the filthy white dress stained with black-red grime, and the hand reaching toward him—the hand that had seized his ankle.
[Got you, hehehehehe—]
Crack!
Takumi's feet were forcibly dragged straight into that fissure less than five centimeters wide.
No scream could come out.
Because as his body was dragged further in, the rock walls pressing against his chest had completely cut off Takumi's breathing, leaving him unable to make even a sound.
Crack!!
Takumi's entire lower body was pulled fully into the fissure.
Amid the continuous sounds of bones shattering, putrid flesh flowed.
The ribs of his chest cavity were all broken; shattered bones pierced into his internal organs. Takumi's open mouth filled with blood pouring out.
Crack!!!
His upper body began to pass through that narrow gap.
From the abdomen to the chest.
Little by little, compressed in units of five centimeters.
"Guh—"
Takumi began to vomit.
Uncontrollably, he started vomiting from his mouth.
Shredded flesh, fragments of organs, and bone debris were vomited out together.
Like clumps of minced meat for dumplings and wontons, lumps of fragments were spewed from Takumi's mouth, scattering outward in pieces.
Like squeezing toothpaste, he passed through slowly like this.
Until the entire abdomen was forced through the narrow gap.
Until the entire chest cavity was completely forced into the narrow gap.
Then the neck, and then it was the head's turn.
With the final shattering sound, Takumi's consciousness finally dissipated into nothingness.
At the final moment, what he saw was one ruined body after another all around him, smashed into a flattened state, reduced to a height of less than five centimeters.
And also that thing which, even at the final moment, was still staring at him, letting out a hehehe laugh toward him.
Everything fell silent within this darkness.
And within that mass of mangled rotten flesh, for some unknown reason, a black wristwatch that had not suffered any damage at all—the hands on it slowly began to move at this moment.
Click—
After the crisp sound, the hand once again moved from the mark at 2 and reached the position of 3.
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