Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

At this moment, he had pushed the power of the blessing to its limit, and his physical abilities had reached a level that no human could possibly achieve. Therefore, he rushed to the place where the wolf's shadow appeared and reached out to grab the air in front of him.

I could feel that I had grabbed something.

Rough, like some kind of animal hair.

The thing was enormous. With both hands exerting force, one could estimate that it was at least 3 meters long, a size that only a lion, tiger, or even larger beasts could have.

And it's really strong. This thing must have a force of at least several tons, right?

"go away!"

The next moment, Gao Hai flung the thing away.

A strong, eerie aura stimulated his senses. He could feel that the unseen "bad wolf" was an extremely terrifying monster, and if a direct confrontation broke out, he might not be able to gain the upper hand against this monstrous thing. However, the monster had no intention of attacking Gao Hai at all; it seemed that all its attention was focused on the extinguished candle on Ito Rika. Therefore, after being thrown away by Gao Hai, it rushed towards the girl's location again.

This time, however, the thing stopped halfway through its advance.

Because Gao Hai had already obtained the extinguished candle from Itono Rihana and lit it with his own candle.

In the candlelight, the huge shadow stopped, seemingly hesitating for a moment, before rushing toward the candle that belonged to Ito no Rihana, which was held in Gao Hai's hand.

But Gao Hai had no intention of giving the other party a chance to return to the candle. He placed the candle on his watch, and the burning red candle disappeared instantly, causing the giant wolf's shadow to stop once more. This time, the thing froze in place as if it had crashed, the shadow cast by the candlelight trembling wildly for a while before disintegrating and vanishing completely.

"Things that are vital to your life must be protected."

At this moment, Gao Hai turned around, took the candle out again, and handed it to Ichino Rika, who was sitting on the ground next to him.

"oh oh……"

The girl took the candle, her expression blank, as if she hadn't quite come to her senses yet.

Just now, Gao Hai unleashed his full blessing, shattering the ground with a single stomp. He then wrestled with an unseen force in mid-air, flinging it away and using the momentum to propel himself towards Ichino Rika. Mid-air, he reached out and grabbed her extinguished candle as it fell, then swiftly relit it upon landing. The entire process was seamless, taking only three or four seconds, so much so that Ichino Rika, who crashed heavily to the ground, had no idea what had happened.

"It vanished after its own rules of action clashed with them and it could no longer continue. It seems that this thing has no 'original body' and is just a strange derivative."

After handing the candle to Rika Iteno, Gao Hai didn't pay any more attention to her reaction, but just stared thoughtfully in the direction where the giant wolf had disappeared.

Derivative supernatural entities—Gao Hai's main interactions with these were at the Shirakawa Apartments. The invisible debt collectors, the pristine porcelain dolls—these weren't supernatural beings born from the dead, but rather derivative supernatural entities arising from the distorted memories of the deceased. These entities lack a physical form, existing like ethereal dreams. Therefore, if a method could be found to restrict their behavior, they could easily malfunction and cease functioning, or even be completely destroyed.

The "Very Wicked Big Bad Wolf" mystery, which currently seems to hide one inside each candle, is now confirmed to be a derivative mystery. The question is, derivative mysteries must originate from the bizarre memories and experiences of someone who has become a dead person. What kind of experiences could produce such strange derivative mysteries?

Perhaps, it is that Alice?

Thinking this, Takahashi looked at Miko, who was standing not far ahead on one side of the collapsed corridor.

No, that's no longer seeing the child.

Takahashi wasn't sure exactly when things turned out this way, but by the time he noticed, the other person's condition had already become abnormal. Currently, to resist the corrosive effects of the sheep's head hood, he couldn't remove his rescue team badge. Unable to think of any other solution, Takahashi could only cautiously probe the other person. Just now, when Itono Rika's candle was blown out, Takahashi realized that Miko's current situation no longer allowed him to observe her further, so he decisively took action.

Teacher, why do you help others light candles?

Holding an umbrella, Miko Yotsuya tilted her head curiously and asked Takami.

"You're Alice, right?"

Gao Hai simply frowned and stared at the other person, asking in a lukewarm tone.

Wow, teacher, you're so smart! But I'm Yotsuya Miko from Class 15, Grade 8, not Alice. Alice's words are here; let her talk to the teacher now~

Yotsuya Miko smiled, reached out and grabbed her own head, twisting it off completely, and turned the back of her head towards Takami.

A bloodied face, as if a woman's face had been cut off alive, emerged from beneath Miko's hair and smiled at Takahashi.

Teacher, why do you help others light candles?

This face asked the same question.

so beautiful.

This was Gao Hai's first reaction upon seeing that face.

Such a lovely, beautiful face.

The voice was like heavenly music; just hearing it made one feel as if their entire being had been redeemed.

How did such a cute... damn thing manage to possess Miko? Why didn't I realize it at all? Wait, my senses were deceived; I didn't put that umbrella back in my watch. So the problem is with that umbrella? Tsk, was that umbrella somehow connected to this dungeon? But how could the Female Face Gang obtain a Red Moon-level dungeon's artifact? And the artifact's strength is completely wrong. It only lasts a few uses in a Dark Night-level dungeon, proving that the black umbrella artifact should be Twilight-level. How could a Twilight-level artifact be connected to a Red Moon-level dungeon?!

At this moment, Gao Hai had many, many questions he wanted to ask.

But in the end, he simply took a deep breath, backing away while carefully sensing his surroundings.

Alice possesses the ability to deceive the senses. From now on, she must be extremely careful and not fall for this thing again.

A bead of cold sweat had already trickled down Gao Hai's forehead.

Faced with this incredibly bizarre and incomprehensible [Alice], Gao Hai felt extremely nervous. However, he soon realized something was amiss. He discovered that he didn't seem to sense the terrifying aura that only the core obsession of the dungeon possessed from [Alice], that overwhelming pressure that could be felt simply by seeing her, by merely knowing her name.

I am currently very focused on my own senses, so I really don't feel the kind of aura that only core obsessions can possess.

Does this Alice have some way of concealing her presence?

Or is this really not the core obsession of Fujika Middle School?

No, ultimately, is Alice truly a monster? She knows how to hide, deceive, scheme, set traps, and even hosts the "Alice Game," a bizarre game fraught with danger. She's too human, far too human. Could it be that she's like Lin Xusheng, Howard, Wilbur, and Fern, someone who survives within the instance using human will and uncanny powers?

That line of thinking seems to make some sense, but even so, it's still too absurd. While Xu Sheng was still conscious, he had to return to the first floor every weekend to join the rescue team's bizarre activities. Wilbur even went so far as to chase me down the moment he saw me. These beings, who retained some humanity, couldn't actually resist the instincts of their bizarre side. But this [Alice], she's practically a superhuman. She doesn't seem to be bound by any bizarre rules at all; instead, she seems to completely manipulate bizarre power. Is she really a bizarre being? What exactly is she? Why is she so different from all the bizarre beings we've encountered so far? What are the patterns and limitations of her actions?

[Teacher, why aren't you saying anything? Is Alice bothering you?]

With a soft laugh, that thing had already emerged from Miko's body.

It was a human skin.

Bloody human skin peeled off from the cheeks, to the body, to the limbs.

The umbrella that Miko was holding had its canopy completely gone. And on the human skin attached to Miko's body, traces of black paint could still be seen.

Was that a human skin umbrella? In other words, the black umbrella, this object of obsession, was actually made from Alice's skin?

Gao Hai frowned slightly. He saw the bloody knife marks on the human skin, as well as... some marks that looked like some kind of engraving.

There were words carved on the human skin. The words could not be seen when the black umbrella was in its form, but they were revealed after the thing was restored to human skin.

The handwriting is:

I love you, Alice, you are the flame that ignites my soul.

My guardian angel, my only dream, you are my everything.

Please accept my love, Alice, and stay by my side forever.

My savior, my god, even though you are dead, I will keep you here, I will keep you here forever.

There are four different handwritings in total.

It seems to have come from four different people. Who was it that peeled Alice's skin off and left these words on it?

Originally, Takahashi had also witnessed a similar hallucination to Miko's in Class 1, and knew that Alice had suddenly appeared after the 12 students in Class 1 of the second year of junior high had fought each other to the death, becoming the 13th student in the class. Therefore, one of the possibilities in Takahashi's conjecture was that Alice might not have been human from the beginning, but rather a manufactured anomaly. However, the human skin umbrella and the writing on it now overturned this idea. Alice seemed to have indeed existed, and had even died, with her skin being peeled off and made into an umbrella.

Don't be afraid, teacher. Alice won't hurt you. Alice will always be your good student!

While he was thinking, the composite of Yotsuya Miko and the woman's human skin had already taken a step toward Takami.

"What the hell are you?"

After a moment of silence, Gao Hai finally decided to try communicating with the other party and asked a question.

Alice is just Alice~

The human skin twitched slightly, and Yotsuya Miko's severed head also twitched slightly.

[Oh, I see. The teacher is wondering why I'm so special?]

Then, as if she had suddenly understood Gao Hai's words, Jian Zi clapped her hands lightly, and the withered hands of the man followed suit.

To be honest, Alice isn't really sure either.

Alice's mother had told Alice many times that Alice's father was actually a very kind foreigner. She even took Alice to a beautiful airport several times, saying she wanted to take Alice to find her father.

But every time Alice and her mother were chased out by the soldiers at the gate, they didn't welcome Alice and said her mother was a liar. Then her mother would come home and beat Alice, beat her very, very hard. Alice would cry every time and beg her mother to stop, but she wouldn't listen.

[And then, Alice's mother stopped feeding her and wouldn't let her go home. So Alice had to scavenge for food in the garbage dump. But there were lots of good things to eat in the airport's garbage dump, and the soldiers often ate half of their food and then threw it away, so Alice rarely went hungry.]

Alice initially thought her mother had abandoned her, but one day her mother came to see her again, gave her a bath, and bought her new clothes. Alice thought her mother must miss her, and that they could live together again. But then her mother said Alice was going to attend Fujihana Middle School, saying that all the older students there liked her. Her mother brought Alice there and left, wearing new clothes and having lots of new furniture. Alice wanted to stay at home, but school required boarding. Oh, what a pity!

However, school life is quite enjoyable. Everyone here is very kind, and Alice is very happy. Every day, the headmaster comes to see me, smiles at me, and tells me to grow up quickly and well. Then, one day, the headmaster took Alice to the basement. He said he wanted to carry on Grandpa Fujii's aspirations and complete the unfinished work of his predecessors, and Alice was his hope…

Alice slowly walked to a spot only five or six meters away from Gao Hai, speaking leisurely as she spoke.

The eye sockets of the human skin were open, revealing only bloodied flesh, yet Gao Hai felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at him.

Then, the human skin suddenly stopped, no longer continuing its story. Instead, it tilted its head again and spoke with a hint of hope, raising its hands together as if to express its expectation.

Alice has heard that if you tell your story to someone, that person will become your friend. Teacher, after hearing so much from Alice, am I already Alice's friend?

Chapter 18: Be Alice's friend, forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever

For a moment, my consciousness became hazy.

It was as if some force was controlling my body, forcing me to open my mouth.

It was as if something had taken over his existence, compelling him to agree to what the other person said, to become that so-called "Alice's friend."

"I……"

Gao Hai, who had already realized that something was wrong, trembled violently at this moment, but he was unable to control himself.

"I……"

Saw something.

At that moment, after strongly sensing the presence of [Alice], I saw something.

That looks like... a stage?

A huge, dark mass of people.

Everyone cheered.

Everyone's face was filled with adoration and infatuation, completely immersed in the figure on the stage, as if their very souls had been completely taken over by him.

Alice!

Gao Hai heard their cheers.

Alice!!