Help! I changed the gender of the male protagonist in the yandere game.

Chapter 204 Evil on the Island

In the game "Ghostly Spore Forest", upon landing on the island, you will encounter strange fog that will engulf your vision like a raging storm.

On the other hand, if you do not prepare an "evil-repelling lamp" during the exploration process, you will start to slowly and continuously lose health after five minutes.

It is said that this dense fog is caused by strange spores from underground caves that have spread into the atmosphere above ground, forming a bizarre fog.

"If we hadn't prepared this lamp, we would definitely have been in trouble."

Hyakusuke is well aware of this.

Previously, Renjo Senjuro and his group encountered problems when landing on the island because they knew nothing about this strange fog.

Of course, it cannot be said that having this lamp means you can rest easy.

The evil-repelling lamp emits light, but its illumination range is limited.

The surrounding area seemed to have entered night, with extremely thick fog. Even with the spiritual light that dispelled evil spirits, it was impossible to see anything outside the area illuminated by the thin, rolling white fog.

"Gentlemen, be careful, there may be enemies beyond the fog."

Bai Jie reminded everyone.

"Miss Houko, is it still possible to use spiritual energy wavelengths for enemy detection?"

He casually asked the priestess a question.

"Not very good... The wavelength of spiritual energy is distorted in the fog. Although the sensing power will not disappear, the effect will be greatly reduced."

"Is there such a thing?"

After hearing this, Renjō Senjō quickly took out a talisman, which should be a burning talisman. He casually threw it out, but it burned into a ball and turned into a wisp of ashes halfway through the flight.

"This, this is?"

Tanuki Bean's tone was filled with surprise.

"As you can see."

Renjo Senjuro nodded and said, "As it stands, this fog is very likely to interfere with perception and may also reduce the effectiveness of spiritual power."

"In other words, the attack effect produced by using spiritual power will be weakened as a result, is that what you mean?"

Cai Cang asked in a deep voice.

In fact, the people in the mist had some premonitions. When they refined their spiritual power, a strong sour feeling would surge up, hindering the operation of their spiritual power.

"Pretty much, but it's mainly magical attacks. Melee attacks that contain physical elements are basically impossible to defend against easily."

Lian Zhang's voice was very calm and steady.

Just then, the fog ahead began to sway, and something was approaching. Everyone tensed up and stared intently in that direction.

"Damn, what is this?"

The old man Matsudaira's voice carried a hint of surprise.

Everyone looked in that direction, and a human-shaped outline gradually emerged from the mist. The thing emitted a faint stench of decay, and its body was covered with something like spores. It had soft limbs and walked with a limp gait.

Several members of the ninja group swallowed hard; it was the first time they had ever seen such a bizarre "enemy."

This is a monster similar to a resurrected corpse, probably made from human corpses. However, these monsters look like broken clay figurines, with their skin covered in fungi... Also, on its head, there is a wing stuck to it, no, it is a bird embedded in its head.

"What the hell?"

Even Renjo Senjuro, a man of great experience, did not look too pleased upon seeing this scene.

This strange enemy appears to be something like a zombie or a resurrected corpse, except that "he" is completely covered in spores.

"It appears to be a bird, integrated with the brain, or rather, glued or embedded in the body."

"Ignore it."

Bai Jie struck first, forcefully swinging the tin staff in his hand.

This was his new weapon. He seized the opportunity and struck the strange humanoid's head.

With a soft pop, the head of this twisted and bizarre creature burst open like a rotten pomegranate.

His attack contained the impact of spiritual energy, which produced a destructive effect, causing the clay-like monster to shatter from the inside and break into pieces.

"In the end, they are still just enemies! We should just attack them with all our might."

As soon as he finished speaking, ripples appeared in the mist, and then several more clay-figure-like figures approached.

This time, five shadows emerged from the mist. Some were strange people with flowers and plants growing on their heads, while others were two-bodied beings fused together with another person. Almost every one of them, without exception, was covered in dense spores.

"...Is it this kind of thing again?"

Matsudaira Inomaro, the old man, also raised his long-handled weapon, his usual naginata. With a whoosh, the old man spun the long handle of the naginata and cut off the leg of a figure rushing towards him.

As the opponent falls to the ground, the blade strikes the back of the fallen enemy's head, delivering the final blow.

The battle thus began—

……

At the same time, deep underground on Black Shark Island, in a cave, in an extremely dark and damp space, the stone walls of the underground cave were covered with layers of gray spores.

These spores wriggle and throb like flesh and blood, giving rise to a natural sense of disgust.

In these spaces filled with spores, one can vaguely see a tall throne.

A dark figure sat enthroned on the throne, wearing a heavy straw hat, flipping through a pitch-black ancient book. Bright red characters shimmered on the pages of this Western grimoire.

"...Have more guests arrived on this island?"

The shadowy figure slowed its movements.

"I sensed it; they are all powerful exorcists, humans with spiritual abilities."

"Yes."

A tall man was curled up and kneeling on the ground.

"They must be companions of that group from before..."

The man had slightly curly, grayish-white hair and dark skin. He was dressed in the attire of a Western church monk. A closer look at his features confirmed that he was not a resident of the island nation, but rather a person from another region.

"The spore mist generated on the island has no effect on this group. They must have been prepared after returning to the island... Also, sending out the fungal zombie troops doesn't seem to be able to stop their actions either."

The Fungate Corpse Army is a group of living corpses created by implanting unique "spores" from the Ghostly Spore Forest into the human brain. These creatures are considered a failure, consisting entirely of mindless zombie soldiers driven only by physical impulses.

These zombie soldiers aren't particularly strong, but they are fearless and, aside from having their brains destroyed, cannot stop moving, making them ideal for use as cannon fodder.

"That's all."

The mysterious figure on the throne, wearing a conical hat, rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment, a glint of light flashing in his deep red eyes. He grinned, revealing a forked, blue tongue, and smiled.

That smile alone sent a chill down the spine of the man kneeling on the ground.

"This is also an opportunity, Hank. Send out new test subjects..."

The shadowy figure on the throne chuckled and said, "After nurturing it for so long and expending so many resources, it should finally come in handy, shouldn't it?"

“I understand, Lord.”

The one called "Hank" lowered his head.

"I will do so immediately."

Hank knew he could not defy this monster. He bowed to the shadowy figure on the throne, then turned and left toward the entrance.

'I am too weak to fight against such powerful evil...'

—The other party is the ruler of this island, possessing evil and powerful strength. He and the many pirates who have set foot on the island have long been enslaved by this monster and become its servants.

Hank's background was also quite ordinary. He was the second son of a nobleman from a remote small European country. Although he joined the church and became a priest, he was so engrossed in alchemy that he almost got into big trouble and was expelled from the church as a heretic. He was almost sent to the front-line troops fighting against demons.

To avoid being used as cannon fodder on the battlefield, Hank fled to an island nation far from the European continent, intending to stay away from the war and conduct alchemical research in the secluded Far East.

Unexpectedly, the merchant ship he was on encountered pirates halfway through the journey.

Hank was the only survivor on that ship and was taken back to his base by the pirates of Black Shark Island.

'They probably want to use me as a hostage, hoping to get ransom from me or something...'

Hank could only manage a wry smile at that point.

Although he was an alchemist, he did not possess the magical ability to "turn stones into gold." As a low-level researcher, he had spent all his savings on a ticket to the Far East, making him, in a sense, a penniless man with nothing to his name.

The pirates are dreaming if they think they can get a ransom from him.

On the other hand, the pirates on Black Shark Island knew nothing about the island beneath their feet.

This island was originally an experimental base, a stronghold for the "Reverse Fortune" lineage of the Eight Blessings Society to conduct special experiments.

Because the experiment ended in failure, a hundred years ago, the leader of the Rebellious Feast, Benzaiten, decided to abandon the stronghold.

A hundred years later, pirates occupied the island, unaware of the secrets hidden in the cave beneath it.

However, they also investigated underground and discovered a huge steel coffin. Suspecting that it might contain gold and silver treasures, they spent a lot of effort bringing the coffin back to the surface.

The pirates initially intended to open the coffin, but discovered it was secured with a "secret lock" crafted using alchemical techniques. It was a specially made stone lock, capable of being opened only by those skilled in alchemy.

A coincidence also occurred after Hank arrived on the island: his identity as an alchemist was discovered by the pirates, and the pirate leader at the time asked him to find a way to open the stone lock on the coffin.

Hank wasn't stupid; upon seeing the unusual steel coffin, he vaguely sensed some kind of danger.

The enormous coffin simply stood there, yet it emanated intense malice that permeated the air.

Hank had to admire the ignorance, stupidity, and slowness of these pirates. Almost none of them possessed any spiritual cultivation, and they were completely oblivious to the evil aura emanating from the steel coffin.

That naked malice was as if it wanted to destroy all the beautiful things in the world.

Hank initially refused the request to open the coffin, but the pirates, greedy and foolish, threatened to take his life if he didn't open it.

In the end, to save his life, Hank had no choice but to bite the bullet and open the coffin. The moment the coffin was opened, a sinister black stream of air gushed out, and a fierce sulfurous odor swept over everything.

In that instant, the entire island changed color, as if some extremely evil thing had been released.

Then, it was as if hell had descended upon this island. Half of the pirates on the island were killed on the spot, and each of them died a gruesome death.

Only the other half, half-dead from fright, and a distraught Hank survived.

Am I now merely a servant of the devil...?

Hank let out a deep sigh in his heart.

He was well aware that in the past six months, he had become an accomplice to the monster released from the coffin.

However, in his distracted state, he had no other choice but to survive.

Most of the pirates who survived on the island were tortured to death or turned into experimental subjects.

Hank was very lucky; the monster valued his knowledge of alchemy and promised to spare his life if he behaved.

A devout and steadfast believer would rather die than accept the enslavement of a monster.

However, Hank didn't have such a firm belief, and in order to survive, he had no choice but to kneel at the monster's feet.

After a while, Hank was also forced to become the "leader" of other pirates. The Black Shark Island pirates he led not only plundered merchant ships and fishermen's property at sea, but also kidnapped people.

"Experiments always require materials. Besides money and food, remember to bring more people to the island."

This is also an order given by the monster, that is, the "master".

Hank was puzzled, but he could deduce that the monster from the black steel coffin seemed to be using the island's unique characteristics to conduct some kind of evil research.

"I don't understand at all. This monster is already powerful enough... comparable to those mid-level demons in hell. What exactly is it trying to research?"

In fact, during the six months Hank spent on the island, he gradually discovered that the island was originally a place where a certain organization conducted secret research.

The island's underground caves contain research facilities, alchemical instruments and utensils, as well as a wealth of materials and books.

Hank looked through the research materials on the island, but the content was so obscure and difficult to understand that he found his "knowledge" was insufficient to comprehend it.

'Although I can't understand this guy's research intentions, I can deduce from various angles that if his plan succeeds, it will inevitably bring extremely terrible consequences to the world...'

Hank sighed inwardly.

However, he had no power to stop it from happening, and instead became the devil's assistant, helping him to complete the experiment.

"Is there no way, or anyone... to stop this guy?"

After leaving the cave, Hank's mind raced, and finally, he decided to take a risk.

"Perhaps... those few trapped exorcists can be of help."

(End of this chapter)