Knowledge is dangerous~
When you try to understand it, it also notices you~
This was the situation Hayashi was in at this moment.
As his vision twisted, he seemed to enter another world.
The sky was stripped of all color, leaving only a sickly, murky gray-white. And right in the center of this gray-white, it hung there—
A black sun.
The moment he saw the black sun, Hayashi felt as if his head had suddenly been jammed with a massive amount of information, like a computer crashing.
His memories began to blur, and his cognition gradually became chaotic.
"I... am Hayashi. I am human; I am in the zoo preparing... preparing... to leave the zoo within seven days?
Where is this? How long have I been here?
What is a human? An upright monkey walking on two feet?
I *#%# am in ¥.
I am human! Human? What is that?...
Am I an elephant?
I am a goat."
...Time rewound.
"Hooch...!"
At the entrance of the zoo, Hayashi's heavy gasps sounded as he returned to the beginning, just as Kaguya had spotted Chika and the others and was about to question why they were there.
She suddenly saw Hayashi, drenched in cold sweat, supporting himself on his knees.
It was clear his adrenaline had surged, looking as if he had just experienced a life-or-death race against time.
"What happened?"
Before Kaguya could speak, a faint scent of fragrance approached with the dark hair of Yukino, who supported him and asked with a grave tone.
"Nothing, I just died once!"
Hayashi waved his hand, trying to calm his surging heartbeat. This was an instinctive genetic reaction, truly difficult to control.
"Huh!"
Hearing this, Yukino and Kaguya looked at him in confusion. Even though both were clever, they couldn't understand how he had suddenly 'died once'!
They had just entered the zoo!
How could Hayashi have suddenly died once, and how could he still be speaking after dying?
'Is this guy trying to scare us?'
Subconsciously, Yukino and Kaguya exchanged glances, a deep bewilderment flashing in their eyes.
But both of them shook their heads simultaneously.
Such a surge of adrenaline couldn't be faked. Hayashi must have encountered a life-threatening, terrifying situation... yet, Yukino and Kaguya had noticed nothing.
"Did you see something?"
Yukino pursed her lips and asked with some concern.
"A black sun~ hehe~ I refuse to believe it~"
What confused Yukino and Kaguya even more was that even though Hayashi's body was clearly afraid, a defiant smile appeared on his face.
'What does a black sun mean?'
Before Yukino could ask this question, she saw Hayashi close his eyes again, seemingly contemplating the black sun he spoke of.
Immediately after, his figure began to stretch grotesquely, and white rabbit ears grew on his head.
First, countless scarlet rabbit eyes grew densely on his face.
Then his figure began to stretch grotesquely, and white rabbit ears grew on his head.
Finally, right before their eyes, Hayashi turned into a terrifying goat... twice, thrice, four times... thirty-six times!
...After continuously turning into a goat.
After another time rewind, Hayashi stopped actively contemplating "it."
Because he realized that this was not a matter of willpower at all, but a matter of sheer volume!
Even though his body possessed the qualities of a ghoul, ten times that of an ordinary person.
He still couldn't withstand the most direct mental contamination from "it."
Directly contemplating "it" was meaningless except for seeking death!
Using a cursed tool merely prolonged the time before death.
'The current situation is my understanding of "it" is too deep.
In "its" eyes, other humans are no different from monkeys; "it" cannot distinguish between monkeys and humans.
But in "its" eyes, I'm like a human lighting a torch in a dark forest.
Even if I do nothing now, "it" will come sniffing for me soon...
So now I need...'
Rules: 11 and 14.
There are only four white lions in this park. The Lion Park is safe.
Unlike ordinary tourists, Hayashi understood that the Lion Park could be said to be the safest place in the Zoo; the roar of the lions could drive away "it."
At the same time, the roar of the lions could also purify the contamination on tourists.
Provided that the contamination on the tourists was still salvageable.
Thinking of this, Hayashi didn't know how deep his current contamination was, but he decided to take a trip to the Lion Park first.
Acting on his thought, Hayashi pulled out a map and ran towards the Lion Park.
"Hey!!"
Kaguya's angry shout came from behind. Apparently, Kaguya was upset that Hayashi, who had promised to obey her in the dungeon, ultimately acted on his own.
However, Hayashi had no time to explain to her, or rather, the more he explained, the more dangerous it would be.
It was better to let Kaguya and Yukino experience the strangeness of this zoo for themselves.
Soon, after passing through the Ape and Monkey Park, Hayashi arrived at the Lion Park. Along the way, he had faintly felt an itch in the corner of his eyes, and baby-like laughter had also drifted over.
The moment he stepped into the Lion Park, the lions, who had been docilely lying on the grass basking in the sun, suddenly stood up.
"Roar!!!"
"Roar!!!"
"Roar!!!"
"Roar!!!"
Four earth-shattering roars filled with intense anger sounded. Hayashi found that the baby laughter in his ears disappeared, and the itching at the corner of his eyes also subsided.
'It seems I arrived just in time; there's still hope!'
Just as Hayashi was thinking this, he suddenly noticed that after roaring, the four white lions stared at him.
"Lion brothers, I should still be salvageable, right?"
Hayashi couldn't help but greet them.
"Roar!"
One of the white lions suddenly pounced on Hayashi.
Facing the white lion's gaping maw, Hayashi instinctively wanted to dodge, but he controlled his instinct.
'White lions bite those who can be saved; white lions bite those who cannot!'
'Given my current situation, I should be salvageable, right!'
Thinking this, Hayashi allowed the white lion to bite his shoulder.
As the white lion bit, the physical pain was secondary; mentally, he felt a soul-tearing agony.
He could clearly feel that with this bite from the white lion, some of his memories were blurring. The black sun in his memories was disappearing, and some memories about "it" were fading... Gradually, Hayashi's consciousness plunged into darkness.
Gradually, Hayashi's consciousness plunged into darkness.
When he woke up again.
He found himself lying on a sofa in an office.
"I... what happened to me?"
He felt confused, as if he had forgotten many terrifying things. When he tried to recall, his shoulder throbbed faintly, and his head ached intensely.
"I can't remember... and this is..."
Hayashi tried to reach up and rub his forehead but suddenly realized he was holding a monkey doll.
"Is this mine?"
Hayashi wondered, then noticed that on the sofa where he lay, elephant, white lion, and jellyfish dolls were on his left, while goat and rabbit dolls were on his right... For some reason, he always felt a sense of security from the elephant, white lion, and jellyfish, but a sense of terror from the rabbit and goat...
Editor's Notes:
I'M BACK!!! Yeah, sorry for the sudden disappearance… You see, after finals comes defense, then finally revision…
So yeah, from 20 Jan to 05 Mar… 44 chapters. Haha… I'm dead.