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

If this step can be successfully completed, even if I die immediately afterwards, it won't be a problem.

squeak-

But after the sound of the door slowly opening rang out, there was no other possibility.

Gao Hai did not sense His approach.

With his entire focus on rescuing Hayasaka, he had no energy left to pay attention to his surroundings.

Fortunately, she could see it, and she knew what problems Gao Hai was facing.

Therefore, the arm formed from the crimson vines finally stopped at Gao Hai's chest.

The interaction of mental energy was forcibly interrupted.

When he came to his senses, Gao Hai realized that he was already flying in mid-air and that Hayasaka had pushed him away.

The last trace of the sound lingered in my mind, refusing to dissipate.

The last words Hayasaka uttered to Takami after a brief moment of lucidity.

I will trust my master, I will wait for my master's return, so please live on, master.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, Gao Hai rolled onto the ground, tumbling more than ten times on the dirt road on the mountain before finally stopping.

The surging crimson color has enveloped the entire Li Family Village. As if in deliberate revenge, a large number of writhing crimson vines directly destroyed the village's buildings, causing collapses to occur continuously.

Lying on the ground, Gao Hai tried to prop himself up, only to realize that he had entered an irreversible stage of deterioration under the erosion of the blood-red vines, and might not even live for a few more minutes.

They were just one step away...

Just a tiny bit more... just that little bit more...

Why did the result...?

The writhing crimson color spread across the ground, merging Gao Hai's body with the ground, rendering him unable to move.

...Mommy's here to see you...

A familiar voice was approaching from behind.

Whether you accept it or not, this cycle has now reached its final moment and cannot be extended any further.

"..."

Gao Hai looked at the sky with his remaining eye, at the sky that was changing from clear colors to pitch black.

It seems this is the last time dawn will break.

So, since we can't leave now, and we couldn't save the person, we can only wait until next time. Right now, is there nothing else I can do?

Without the slightest hesitation, Gao Hai dispelled the concept erasure effect set up by the historian before the thing behind him touched him again, and regained the ability to "discern the sky".

Then, he looked up at the dark night sky above.

Chapter 102: The Void Existing in the Sky and the Moment of Body Shattering

The night sky represents taboos.

This point was deliberately emphasized in the rules recorded by the villagers of Lijia Village.

However, simply viewing the taboo as something that appears at night isn't quite accurate, since in Liu Family Village under the cover of night, this rule was reversed. This implies that the taboo rules of the sky might be similar to flowing water, a dangerous entity sealed by the Mountain God and the Fox Goddess respectively during the day and night. Therefore, for Li Family Village, protected by the Mountain God, the night was dangerous, while for Liu Family Village, protected by the Fox Goddess, the daytime was the danger.

However, no matter what, the fact that something dangerous exists in the sky will not change.

Before this, because he wanted to survive as much as possible and not risk his life, Gao Hai had never tried to observe the sky. Of course, his exploration of the water was also for the same reason, only a superficial attempt. However, he did not expect that the struggle between the Fox Queen and the Blood Flower would lead to his body receiving the Fox Queen's mark. Therefore, he had the opportunity to truly delve into the [Water Ghost Lake] and learn about some of the past events, and understand the fact that [divine corpses] exist in the water.

So, if the taboos in the water are because they bury gods, could the taboos in the sky be for the same reason?

With this in mind, Gao Hai focused his gaze on the sky.

Total darkness.

At that moment, all he saw was pure darkness.

Nothing at all.

No unusual aura was detected in his mind.

It seemed that all that appeared in his sight at this moment was an empty darkness.

Is that all?

Gao Hai was stunned, not expecting this outcome.

He did not see the remains of yet another god of death as he had thought, nor did he sense any inhumanly powerful aura.

All I could see was empty darkness, and my senses were filled with nothingness; I couldn't find any information that could be considered meaningful.

How could this be?

I clearly removed the perception block set by the [Historian], so the sky I'm seeing now should be completely unrestricted. This is what the sky in this instance should truly look like.

Could it be that the parasitic effect of the Blood Flower has become so strong that I am unaffected? No, that's not right. Even though more than 80% of my body tissue has indeed been replaced by the Blood Flower and Blood Vines, my mind is still normal and hasn't fallen into an abnormal state. Therefore, even if I'm immune to some kind of mental erosion effect, I should still be able to perceive the true appearance of the sky and sense the power of the supernatural tales.

But why can't I feel anything now?

No matter how they tried to perceive it, all they found was emptiness. This was far too abnormal. If that were all, the sky could never be a taboo subject. What, then, was the reason those villagers feared the sky?

and many more.

Can such an empty sky be considered a normal sky?

Gao Hai suddenly realized the crux of the problem.

At this moment, no matter how carefully he observed the sky, he could not see anything; in the dim night, there was nothing but pitch blackness.

There were no clouds to obscure the view, no twisted or strange things emerged, and no mental distortion or deviation occurred. There was simply nothing there; nothing existed at all.

But this is something that shouldn't be happening.

Even if there is no distortion in the sky, it shouldn't be empty; you shouldn't be unable to see anything.

After all, although the space in the instance world is isolated from the real universe, things that can be seen on Earth should also be visible in the instance's sky if there are no obstructions. In other words, if there really were no obstructions, what I would be seeing now should be a starry sky, or at least the red moon that can be seen in red moon-level instances.

But no matter how hard Gao Hai tried to observe, he still couldn't see anything.

So what I see now is not the starry sky, but something else entirely.

This pitch-black void exists only within the [Infant Cry Village] instance; it's something beyond human perception and comprehension. It's definitely not something normal; it's something beyond human understanding, like the mountain god, the fox goddess, even the remains of deities in the water, and the blood-red flower that's about to seize it!

But what exactly is it?

If this hole is really so dangerous that the villagers dare not look up at it, and that they have to hide in houses that can block out the sky to ensure their safety, then there is no reason why it is just a hole, right?

Gao Hai couldn't understand why this empty void would become a source of danger.

However, he didn't have time to pay attention to the situation here. Although Hayasaka had pushed him away earlier, Blood Flower's clone had already entered this space through the spatial passage and was still chasing after him.

The time he wasted pausing to observe the sky was enough for that thing to get closer. If he were caught by that thing again, it wouldn't be as simple as just dying once more. Gao Hai was certain that after killing him once last time, that thing would change its strategy this time. After all, he could sense that Blood Flower's real purpose in focusing on him wasn't to kill him, but to imprison him forever. So even if he died, he had to try his best to ensure he didn't die in front of that thing.

One-minute countdown begins.

Without hesitation, Gao Hai activated the suicide function on his black watch, putting his life into its final countdown.

But don't misunderstand, this doesn't mean Gao Hai is ready to give up. Although his entire body has been almost completely corroded and replaced by the crimson vines, making movement nearly impossible and essentially leaving him no choice but to sit and wait for death, Gao Hai still doesn't intend to give up the struggle. Therefore, after taking a deep breath, he begins to gather the power of his blessing, intending to activate the fourth airborne missile—one he's never used before—to try one last time against the crimson flowers.

Even knowing that such an attack method might not work, he would still fight back with all his might, instead of being captured and killed like he did in the second playthrough.

The voices of Maki and Chika echoed in the mental link; their situation wasn't too bad. As for how far along the analysis of the statue had progressed, Gao Hai wasn't sure yet, as his condition was deteriorating and he could barely hear what they were saying. He'd probably have to wait until the next playthrough to discuss that.

"bring it on."

Gao Hai said in a hoarse, low voice.

"You bastard who likes to be someone else's mother, I'm going to beat you to a pulp today!"

Clenching his teeth, Gao Hai, whose heart was already burning with rage, said viciously.

I can already feel that thing so close at hand. This chilling, completely irresistible feeling is as unpleasant as ever.

He was certain that the other party could see and hear the emotions and attitudes he expressed at that moment.

However, I couldn't feel any reaction at all.

Even though Gao Hai had shown a willingness to die together with him, the blood-red flower remained unchanged, still expressing its love for him and still showing its desire to caress and "protect" him.

I'm afraid this thing can't understand emotions like anger or despair.

Or to be more precise, from a human perspective, beings like the Crimson Flower are incomprehensible. Just as it's difficult for a human to observe any unusual changes in a single cell within a microscopic cluster of cells, without the distinctive marker of a black watch, the Crimson Flower would likely be completely unable to distinguish Gao Hai from other humans.

To be honest, the sense of defeat Gao Hai felt at this moment was stronger than ever before.

Unlike the monstrous creatures, which are devoid of emotion and born from human despair, the source of the Blood Flower is a being with the capacity for thought, emotions, and feelings. Such a being should, in theory, be capable of communication and mutual understanding. However, due to the vast difference in their life scales, even after suffering so much under the power of the Blood Flower, he is unable to achieve meaningful communication with it. He cannot even determine whether the Blood Flower's devouring of him and other living beings is for some purpose of the creature itself, or simply an instinctive behavior of some internal structure. It's like how human white blood cells actively engulf foreign bacteria—a situation the creature itself is completely unaware of.

However, regardless of the situation, it won't affect what I need to do now.

Even if it's still pointless, he's determined to fry this thing up once and try to tear a piece of flesh off it.

I will never do it again—

hum!

An inexplicable, chilling sense of unease interrupted Gao Hai's thoughts.

It didn't come from the bloodstains that were about to be faced with me.

It comes from above, from the sky.

What it is?

The instinct for survival warned Gao Hai, and the chill that permeated his entire body cautioned him not to look up, not to look at the sky at this moment.

But after a brief silence, Gao Hai resolutely raised his head and looked up at the darkness above.

No.

It's different from before.

The sky that appeared in Gao Hai's eyes at this moment was blood red.

Boundless red light filled the entire sky, surging and sweeping like an ocean.