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

He simply let the butcher's corpse fall, towards that ominous color, towards those distorted areas, just like that, it fell directly down.

The blade, which had almost severed Gao Hai's neck, abruptly stopped.

The girl, who was about to succeed, shifted her attention at that moment and lunged toward the direction where the body had fallen.

Then, Gao Hai hooked his foot, caught the corpse that was about to fall, kicked it away and back to the area that had not yet collapsed. At the same time, he reached out with one hand to grab Hachiya Chiyo's shoulder, and with the other hand, a pistol appeared, the muzzle pointed at Hachiya Chiyo herself.

Playing with me, little one, you're still a bit too much for that.

The smile that appeared on Gao Hai's lips was illuminated by the firelight that lit up the next moment.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

All the suppressive rounds were poured onto Chiyo Hachiya at that moment.

The combined power reached its limit instantly. Even though Gao Hai still had a lot of information about the girl that he didn't understand, through this reckless approach, he forcibly suppressed Chiyo Hachiya's mobility and took her away on the spot, as her body had also become stiff.

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Fragments of the Past Revealed Here, and Their Final Convergence

Click—click click—

The collapse of space continues to spread.

Everything in sight gradually developed cracks and was constantly collapsing.

Those distorted colors have become everywhere.

Kaguya even saw those pitch-black monsters, those monsters that the children called "dark and gloomy," monsters that would normally trigger cognitive blockage. But now those things no longer caused Kaguya any discomfort; they had begun to gradually lose their original effect as the underlying logic of the entire instance became disordered.

She also discovered the true reason for the formation of these monsters, which was one of the initial research findings conducted by researchers in the first year of the establishment of Hayatei Elementary School.

Researchers at the time wanted to create a monster that would kill without arousing suspicion or thought, ideally one that would be forgotten after being seen. So they combined various tranquilizers and psychotropic drugs, injecting and manipulating children's minds, and deliberately adding suggestive elements to school rules to make children believe in the existence of this "dark" monster.

Of course, the "darkness" didn't exist at first. So researchers sneaked into the children's homes and used drugs and subtle environmental modifications. For example, they made the children feel that something had crawled in and out of their beds or closets by leaving some traces. They also used psychological manipulation to make the children suspect that they had done something repeatedly a few minutes earlier, and then made them start to suspect that they had encountered the "darkness" monster.

Furthermore, by deliberately targeting a child who frequently came home late, they made the other children believe that the child had been kidnapped by the grotesque figures disguised as his family members. Through these tricks, coupled with some of Sato's own methods, they successfully created several different forms of these grotesque figures, endowing them with various characteristics such as causing memory loss, disrupting cognition, and inducing repetitive behaviors. The entire experiment lasted for more than half a year, making it the earliest and longest solo experiment. The surface area of ​​the Hayatei Elementary School instance is filled with these monsters because they are the origin of everything.

Incidentally, this thing called "dark" was originally referred to by researchers as "Supreme Ruler First Form," which shows the researchers' high expectations for it.

However, the final experiment was a complete failure because the "darkness" did not exist outside the students' understanding. Its power had no effect on those who did not know about it. Even if they knew about it, they would not be harmed if they did not truly believe in its existence.

The Butcher, developed at the same time, also failed for the same reason. These small-scale projects could only "enjoy their own little world" and could not become a real menace or cause large-scale damage. Therefore, these two projects were the first to be abandoned. The Butcher was kept as a security guard and a tool for dealing with some unruly students. Basically, no researchers paid any more attention to it. The Dark One, on the other hand, was modified as part of the first phase of the Supreme Ruler project and the second phase of the project was launched.

"Huh...huh..."

The golden retriever running ahead had slowed down and was panting with its tongue lolling out.

Kaguya the Husky, following behind, was also panting heavily. After transforming into her dog form, her ability to dissipate heat was much worse than in her human form, and both she and Hayasaka were already in a very tired state.

This corridor... it seems endless, like there's no end in sight.

Having recovered from the fragmented information she had just sensed, Kaguya looked at the increasingly dilapidated corridor with no way out, and a sense of unease began to creep into her heart.

Running around like this, there's absolutely no way we'll get out.

To find Takagi and reunite with him, we need to find another way. Damn it, Hayasaka seems to have lost her memories and personality from her human days. Since just now, she's been behaving almost like a dog. In this situation, I have no way of finding out how she left this place. What should I do? What should I do if this continues?

Confused.

Realizing that she might be heading down a dead end and might die in this increasingly twisted and bizarre place, Kaguya couldn't help but panic.

But she quickly calmed down.

Panic will not improve your situation. Enemies and disasters will not sympathize with you. So what you should do now is to find a solution to the problem and analyze where the way out of the current situation lies.

The little husky, who had stopped walking, revealed a wise look in its eyes at that moment.

First and foremost, it's certain that Hayasaka chose this place because she and Taka-kun had been here together before. Of course, it's also possible that Taka-kun had been here alone, or that this place left a deep impression on Hayasaka. Therefore, in her gradually deteriorating mental state, she would not hesitate to crawl into the pipe and enter this place.

Secondly, whether it was leading her to jump off the building in the initial surface area or sneaking through the military camp to jump off the cliff, Hayasaka hadn't hesitated at all. But this time, she had no intention of jumping into the crack in the ground, and these eerie colors... were indeed unsettling, making her feel it was better to avoid them. So, if she wanted to leave this area and go to other places where Taka-kun might be, she would need a different approach.

What method could that be?

It shouldn't be an extremely difficult method; there must be a key element involved.

As she pondered, Kaguya continued forward.

Behind those broken walls appeared some collapsed ruins, which looked somewhat similar to the chaotic group of buildings in the rain that Kaguya Hayasaka had passed through earlier.

She heard some sounds and felt some things here again.

Some things that were originally difficult for Kaguya to perceive have become easier to discover as the disorder in the instance itself has become more severe.

That's a girl.

Holding a sharp knife, she followed a boy into a secluded corner, then pounced on him and stabbed him.

The boy cried out in pain, resisted, and cursed, unable to believe that the guy he had been bullying and beating dared to fight back. Then he quickly began screaming and begging for mercy.

Her hands trembled many times, and she seemed to waver many times during the struggle, and not every attack was so fierce.

But in the end, she still swung the knife and stabbed him; only cruelty remained in her eyes.

The tall butcher stood behind her, grabbed the dying boy, and left.

"Yes, I am the shrine maiden. I ordered that dark figure to kill Seiji. Do you believe me? Hahaha, if you don't believe me, try writing profanities on my desk again today!"

Then, on the second day, the children who had bullied her in the past began to shrink back under her gaze.

The teacher watched from a distance as her childish yet fierce, clearly over-the-top performance was performed.

I need to protect myself. I must protect myself at school. Everyone... there must still be people alive in that underground base. I have to find them...

The girl was muttering to herself.

[I won't be the one who dies. I won't die as a test subject without knowing anything. I must... I must find other people...]

The girl's voice gradually became firm, and also cruel.

Even if I didn't do this, those classmates would have disappeared for some other reason. It's not my fault... Aunt, Uncle, Ryohei, everyone... Where are you all...?

The girl's voice seemed somewhat wavering and confused.

Can I really survive? More and more people are dying, they... they won't let anyone go... Escape is impossible. Was my condition something they anticipated? What should I do? What should I do now... No... don't give up, Mr. Butcher is still supporting me, I must... not give up!

The girl's voice was filled with weariness, growing more confused, and still struggling with a sliver of hope remaining amidst despair.

These fragments of memory seem to resonate with the photo I'm holding in my mouth?

As Kaguya walked, she realized another key reason why she could see so many things.

The atmosphere in this photograph, and the obsession it embodies, seems to resonate with my own memories of this little girl. Do they belong to the same individual? Or are they connected in a very close way?

Kaguya had vaguely realized that the girl these memory fragments pointed to might be closely related to the core obsession of this instance.

However, she was no longer able to perceive any more information. The things she had perceived so far were already making Kaguya's head feel throbbing, and she felt a painful sensation that her thinking ability was about to stop.

No, my willpower is still too weak. The level of contamination from this information should have decreased significantly due to the anomalies in this instance, but I still can't continue reading. Perhaps this is also related to my dog-like form, which is causing my thinking abilities to deteriorate and become limited. Ugh... I feel like thinking is getting increasingly difficult. I need to find a solution before I actually turn into a dog...

Kaguya's condition is somewhat poor.

Forcibly exposing her to that information caused her mental pollution, accelerated the degeneration of her thinking, and began to transform her into a real dog at a faster pace.

Hayasaka, who was running ahead, stopped and began to wonder where she had ended up.

Rumbling--

Amidst the distorted sounds, Kaguya looked up and saw another chaotic and twisted area beginning to fall, overlapping with the area where they were currently located.

That was the very beginning. Yes, that window was where Hayasaka dragged me down to jump from, the outermost area of ​​the dungeon, and also where the Butcher was. And in the fragments of memory I just saw the Butcher appear. That Butcher… what's his relationship with that girl? What connection does he have with the person in this photo?

Finding the butcher was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous task; that thing would kill her and Hayasaka without hesitation, and was a terrifying monster posing a huge threat.

But there are no other ways to break this deadlock, so we have no choice but to try. I believe Gao Jun is also facing danger right now, desperately struggling to survive. He hasn't given up, and if there's no way to go back in time, I can't give up either. I must do everything in my power!

"Wang! Wang Wang!"

Not knowing how to use dog language, Kaguya simply barked at Hayasaka a few times, then jumped off the broken wall, stepping on pieces of building debris floating in mid-air, and moved towards the cluster of buildings that were pressed together.

The little golden retriever, who had lost its way, hesitated for a while with its ears drooping. When it saw that Kaguya seemed to have found a direction to go, it excitedly followed.

The two puppies leaped over broken buildings, over twisted ruins, and avoided the increasingly fragmented and eerie creatures before finally jumping back to where they started.

Even the surface area of ​​the entire instance was now in a state of severe collapse, as if it had been corroded by those distorted colors and could no longer exist stably. The tall butcher stood in the ruins, and beside him stood a small girl with a blurry figure.

Kaguya could sense a strong threat, and felt that a deadly danger was imminent.

But she didn't hesitate, and with the photo in her mouth, she charged straight at the butcher and the girl.

zizi——

Something seemed to have changed at that moment.

Sizzling——sizzling——

As Takami quickly retreated with the butcher's corpse and the immobilized Chiyo Hachiya, he sensed something amiss.

Something has changed inside the instance.

Turning his head, he saw the butcher's corpse, which was beginning to rot.

This uniquely shaped object of obsession inexplicably began to spiral out of control at this moment, forcibly transforming the surrounding scene into a blood-red inferno.

Is the source of the change the butcher?

No, no, this feeling...

Looked up.

Gao Hai saw above the shattered ceiling the buildings that were falling at high speed.

The butcher's corpse in his hand seemed to resonate with the butcher's monster on the outermost layer, causing the two different areas of the instance, which were originally almost impossible to touch, to connect and collide.

It looks like a physical collision between buildings.

"What the hell -"

boom! ! !

The rooms and corridors were forcibly joined together at this moment.

Amidst the violent tremors, Gao Hai was flung out from the flying debris and furniture, landing on the ground.

Following that, he saw two small dogs falling from above, a golden retriever and a husky. Undoubtedly, those were Hayasaka and Kaguya. He didn't know why they were still in dog form and hadn't transformed back into humans, nor what they had done to cause the previously separate instance spaces to collide so violently. However, Gao Hai quickly had no time to ponder such questions, because the rotting butcher's corpse beside him trembled at that moment. Then, a butcher's phantom suddenly fell and merged with the corpse. The corpse, which Gao Hai had previously swung at like a stick, suddenly stood up, and dense fur even grew on its body.