Creak—
At the moment the door-opening action was completed using the blood key, Maki and Chika had already quietly exchanged keys. Chika took the blood key and hid it on her person, while Maki inserted the power room's original key—now stained red—into the keyhole, and then made the motion of pulling the key out.
The power room key was originally paired with this door in the first place, so Maki's actions did not look problematic in the slightest. Even the surveillance camera directly facing her in the prison area corridor would have been unable to detect any difference.
This could hardly be called any clever or elaborate scheme; it was merely a small trick.
Yet at this very moment, that small trick was already sufficient to be put to use and to accomplish the objective Takumi wanted to achieve.
Boom!
A sudden explosion rang out at that moment.
The sound of the explosion came from inside the guard post door that had been opened. The walls and ceiling of the entire observation area were blasted down, and the soldiers and researchers were tumbled together, unable to get back on their feet for quite some time.
Immediately afterward, Takumi sprang into action. He ran past Rex and threw a lit explosive toward the direction of the Big Slide.
Boom!
The second explosion was even louder.
Amid the surging torrent, the rock wall above the Big Slide shattered instantly, falling down along with the burst of explosive firelight.
Large chunks of rock blocked off the Big Slide, the outlet where the water was pouring down. This caused the water that had originally been flowing toward the Big Slide to be obstructed. As a result, the obstructed water began to surge even more toward the direction of the opened guard post door, all of it flooding into the first floor of the research base.
"What are you doing?!"
Caught completely off guard by this turn of events, Rex shouted in panic.
By then, Takumi had already rushed in front of him, pinning Rex on the spot against the rock wall to one side.
"No wonder you're someone who understands explosives. I just casually asked that old gentleman a moment ago, and he immediately helped point out how to blow up the Big Slide in the most appropriate way. So now, you probably don't need to worry about your research base for the time being, right? After all, this is an instance world under the influence of bizarre forces. As long as some time passes, everything will return to its original state. Isn't that actually quite nice?"
As he said this, Takumi's gaze remained tightly fixed on Rex's expression.
If it could still be called a face at all.
Distortion.
Completely, utterly distorted into a bizarre posture that was difficult to comprehend, making Takumi involuntarily think of the people from the Women-Face Gang. Yet even compared to them, this level of distortion was far beyond anything they could match. At this moment, the man's facial features were almost entirely misaligned, and his limbs and torso likewise displayed an extremely grotesque form, as if, all of a sudden, this person's body had collapsed from its most fundamental structure, turning into a twisted mass of flesh and bone intermixed together.
The blessing could no longer sense the other party at all.
The current Rex was no longer human, but he did not seem to be bizarre either. Emotions such as goodwill or malice had vanished without a trace. What remained was merely a lump of "living flesh"—nothing more—no longer possessing any capacity for thought.
What exactly was this thing?
A Blood Scissors appeared in Takumi's hand, and with a sharp snip, he cut off a large chunk of the rotten flesh.
Immediately after, he caught the stench of decay.
This was…
Mixed in among the flesh and bone were tiny black stones.
Small stones soaked through with black, filthy blood—mere inspection alone was enough to make one feel an intense sense of unease.
This thing…
Takumi reached out and grasped the stone embedded within that lump of rotten flesh.
In the next instant, he clearly sensed that he was seeing something—something that existed in the distant past, something that belonged to the memories of a certain person.
[Non-human things do exist in this world.]
The other party spoke in a low voice, the sound overflowing with obsessive fanaticism.
[They will not decay like humans, will not grow old, will not change—maintaining an eternal existence, forever great, forever powerful.]
[Gods—such power can only be matched by gods; only gods are sufficient to describe such existences.]
[But they no longer exist. Where did they go? No, no, there's no reason that only these remnants should remain. That's right, that's right—I will definitely find them. I will definitely find the existence I long for. I want to—I want to become the same kind of great eternal being as they are!]
That person stood before something, murmuring softly to that object.
[The Gentle Slope… no, that place is not some Gentle Slope. It is the Mouth of Sacrifice.]
[That fool Aston—he has no understanding at all of what he has found. There must be something here that I want.]
[No, this is completely different from what I expected. This place… so that's how it is. The power of the gods has already departed, and what remains now are only traces?]
[Only traces… no, it's not time to give up yet. Even if they are merely traces, I should still be able to gain something from them.]
[However, relying on my own strength alone is far from sufficient. There's no way around it—perhaps I need to find a way to draw other people in. Maybe that Mr. Bush…]
That person's figure passed through the pitch-dark cavern, stopping from time to time, occasionally glancing at the surrounding rocks, before finally disappearing into the darkness.
[This is an opportunity for all of us.]
[The future of humanity will be created by us, and of course, the greatest nation in human history will also be created by us.]
[After all, the things that exist in this place are something no one else possesses, aren't they?]
Inside the dimly lit cabin, the person looked at the tall man seated opposite and spoke with a smile, while the other party pondered for a moment before finally giving a light nod.
[Can this thing really help us contend for supremacy? Bullets mixed with special powder do have a considerable degree of lethality, but this level of change is still far from enough for us to invest even more strength. This research institute has been operating for so many years and expended so much effort—has it really amounted to nothing more than this?]
The man in military uniform, with numerous medals pinned to one side of his chest, reached out and tapped the table as he spoke in an unhurried manner.
[General, you know that scientific research is something whose results cannot appear quickly.]
That person had already put on a white researcher's coat, and the tone at this moment was filled with helplessness.
[Is that really so? Our astronauts have already landed on the Moon, and from what I can see, they didn't spend that many years preparing either. Yet your place here has already seen a full ten years of investment. We've studied this godforsaken place for so long and fed it with so many human lives, and in the end all you've produced is a lethal weapon that can be used in individual combat scenarios. What meaning does that have? What we want are things with greater strategic value.]
The man addressed as the general knocked on the table once more, his words also carrying a trace of helplessness.
[How to replicate the bizarre phenomena inside this cavern and deploy them to other countries—preferably in a manner that allows for large-scale outbreaks. Or to make the bizarre killing rules here take effect farther and wider, killing anyone we want to eliminate from thousands of kilometers away. Those are the ideas proposed by the people above. Do you have the confidence to accomplish that?]
[How could that be possible… Direct utilization of these bizarre powers has never succeeded even once. Being able to identify a way to use Black Blood Stone as a derivative product has already exhausted a great deal of our effort… However, I do indeed have a new idea. It might be able to come in handy. Please come with me, General.]
The final scene of the illusion was the door to the Cryogenic Area at the far end of the research zone.
Behind the slowly opening door was a research facility steeped in chilling cold, along with one frozen incubation pod after another.
The things inside those incubation pods were… humans?
[The greatest difference between these bizarre entities and us humans lies in the fact that they do not change. Even after more than ten years have passed, the bizarre phenomena recorded by our exploration personnel—whether in appearance, behavioral patterns, or types of ability—have not undergone any change whatsoever.]
[And according to further investigation into ancient times, thousands of years ago, the abnormal phenomena of this cavern had in fact never changed either. Ah, of course, after that man's death, and after we gradually pushed forward research changes here, quite a few changes did appear—but those would fall under interference from external factors.]
[So I was thinking—perhaps I could change my approach and use another path to make use of these bizarre entities. For example, combining them with the human body to create people who are immortal and undying; creating people capable of wielding bizarre powers; creating… great beings who can steal divine power, and even become gods among men!]
The man, filled with pride, stood before the incubation pods, spread his arms, and spoke with evident self-satisfaction.
And Takumi heard a whisper from deep within the other party's heart at the very moment those words were spoken.
[I am the one who can become a god!]
The phantom-like images had already dissipated from his sight.
And Rex's own body completely collapsed, turning into a pool of rotten flesh that slowly dissolved into the water.
"So that's how it is?"
Takumi lowered his head, looking at the tiny black stones surging out from among the flesh and blood, and finally understood what was going on with the person before him.
To create life through the mutual combination of bizarre power and technology—and even to fabricate the other party's personality and experiences—was such a thing really possible?
This Rex knew the concept of [players]. Had he been absorbed into the rules-creep instance after the research base was established and then wandered outside? Chika and the others had investigated Rex's information: this person was real and had his own life trajectory. Although there were indeed some uncertain traces in his past, this person had unquestionably lived in the real world. However, based on the phantom thoughts Takumi sensed at this moment, this person had been manufactured from the very beginning—manufactured through bizarre power…
So that's how it was?
Vernon had discovered long ago that some kind of abnormal phenomenon existed within the Red Nut Grey Cave, and had conducted research on it. Andres's death caused the situation inside the Red Nut Grey Cave to begin developing in an uncontrollable direction, and as the first crisis erupted within the cavern, Vernon and certain people behind him took action, completely isolating this place and turning it into a research base.
He successfully produced Black Blood Bullets capable of temporarily repelling the Horror Story by researching the black stones imbued with bizarre power inside the cave. However, it appeared that aside from causing damage to the Horror Story, these bullets were actually even more lethal to humans.
Then, as the research expanded further, did he use those stones and blood-and-flesh structures to create some kind of clones? No—that level of technology did not exist in this world, and those people were not like that. This Vernon must have been using humans as research materials, combining living people with substances imbued with bizarre power. And his objective was very likely to become like Kyosei… no, what he wanted was to become something even more powerful than Kyosei—a living human capable of controlling bizarre power.
But when Maki and Chika encountered Vernon in his bizarre form, that Vernon was absolutely a Horror Story. There was no doubt about that.
After already becoming a Horror Story, reclaiming one's former self as a human? No—that was something that could not be done.
The fact that she could see Vernon's hallucinated remnant proved that he truly had died inside the Red Nut Grey Cave Instance.
So what exactly had he done?
Vernon, who had become a Horror Story, yet whose actions still contained numerous abnormalities.
Rex, who, without being aware of it himself, had in fact been under the control of an external force all along.
And Susan, completely ignorant, appearing in this cave at an age she should not have had, now somewhere unknown.
Andres and his wife Hedda, who had already become the core obsessions of the Instance, stood at its center. The former yearned to return to his wife's side, while the latter harbored an inextinguishable fury toward the research base.
There was still one thing missing.
To connect everything inside the entire Instance together, there was still something lacking.
Why was Gentle Slope given such importance? The core obsession currently existing in Gentle Slope was Andres's wife, Hedda—but what about before that? According to the information already obtained, Gentle Slope had in fact always possessed bizarre power. Its manifestation seemed to be luring living people to fall down into the fissures below. However, for many years—before Vernon began causing trouble and trapping people inside—not a single person had ever died in the Great Rift of Gentle Slope. Every incident ended with timely rescues. If that was the case, what exactly was the reason this place was considered important?
And another thing—why was it that even though Vernon was already capable of controlling bizarre power, he still did not stir up any disturbance in the real world? Someone who wanted to become a god would never be willing to remain under another's control after succeeding. Even if, at that time, the bizarre Horror Story phenomena had not yet formed an anti-memetic effect on ordinary people, a Vernon who wielded bizarre power was not someone ordinary humans could restrain. Moreover, judging from this man's series of actions inside the Instance, his goal was not to escape from here, but to maintain the stability of the research base—which made the situation even more suspicious.
And there was still another question—where exactly was General Gallagher?
If he had already been killed and turned into a Horror Story, then it would have been impossible for this person not to appear inside the research base. It would have been impossible for there to be no trace of him at all.
If he was still a living human, then Chika could not possibly have been unable to find anything about someone of general rank.
And even if Gallagher had not been dragged into this Instance and was instead living safely somewhere in the real world, the research base should still have contained traces of him.
At the end of the day, the identity of "General Gallagher," the commander who led all the soldiers, was a role that necessarily had to be played. Whether human or ghost, it should not have been ignored.
Played…
Takumi froze slightly, suddenly realizing a certain possibility.
Could such a possibility exist?
Takumi's brows knitted tightly.
'The only time I entered the research base, the role I played was that of an explorer. In the middle of that, there was a process where I took off my clothes to bathe. No—that is not right. That special procedure tied to the role I was playing meant that even if I was not wearing clothes, I would still be judged as an explorer, so that line of reasoning does not hold.'
'But even so… when I was at Shirakawa Apartments, I obtained the identity of the "corpse in Room 204." Yet that did not change anything, because the identity I played seemed to only receive a certain kind of recognition under the Instance Rules. When the Horror Story encountered me, it still treated me as a living human.'
'Except during the second run of Shirakawa Apartments—at the very end of that run, I was almost completely transformed into a Horror Story. At that point, the existence of Fridge Bro instead caused my "corpse" identity to be activated to a certain extent, helping me recover my humanity.'
Therefore, it was perfectly normal that the soldiers did not acknowledge my identity. After all, to the Horror Story, a mere identity did not represent much. But if I had truly stolen that identity—if I had replaced that identity—then perhaps if I were the one to enter there, something different would happen.
"If that really is the case, then it would be truly astonishing."
Takumi raised his head and turned to look at the opened door leading toward the research base.
Although thinking through all of this seemed to take a long time, for Takumi it was in fact less than a minute of thought.
He had to verify this possibility.
To verify the possibility that the hidden identity he obtained in the Red Nut Grey Cave was General Gallagher.
This was the most reasonable explanation Takumi arrived at after thinking it through. That was, just as he had obtained the corpse identity in Shirakawa Apartments, he had somehow inexplicably replaced the identity of General Gallagher in this Instance, causing the original General Gallagher of this Instance to be unable to appear, turning into a nonexistent transparent person.
If he entered the research base, then the remaining time to clear this Instance would be only one day.
Everything had to be finished within one day—otherwise, the next run could only be started.
The game clearly gave a fifteen-day time limit for clearing the Instance, so why did he always end up having his time cut short for one reason or another?
This could not help but remind Takumi of the seven-day clear limit given by Shirakawa Apartments, and the discrepancy that in reality only the first three days allowed for a perfect clear.
He broke into a run, charging straight toward the opened door.
In the next moment, Takumi burst into the corridor of the observation zone, weaving past researchers and soldiers who looked somewhat disordered, as though they had lost their command.
"Let me borrow this."
"Thanks."
"I'll return it once I remember."
After those few words were spoken, Takumi had already stripped several soldiers of their clothes and pulled them directly onto himself.
It seemed that these things had originally all been under Vernon's command, and Rex's death appeared to have caused a certain degree of damage to Vernon's ability to command. As a result, these things were merely wandering about aimlessly, or else were simply knocked to the ground by water, as if their behavioral logic had been damaged. They completely ignored Takumi's existence.
After putting on the soldiers' clothes, Takumi rushed out of the corridor, broke into the research area through the door cut open by Chika, and then began advancing upward all the way.
Of course, he did not forget to send a communication to Maki during this process, summarizing his line of thought and informing her of it.
And it was also at this moment that Maki had already opened the door of the cell and seen the situation inside.
"Ah, you are…"
Upon seeing the person inside the cell in the next instant, Maki froze slightly, then spoke.
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