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

They fabricate things that haven't happened yet, things that are impossible, to cover up reality and pretend that everything is fine.

They are afraid to accept the misfortunes they have suffered and refuse to look at the real world.

Humans cannot escape fear, yet they always try to escape it. They close their eyes and pretend nothing happened, cover their ears and pretend they didn't hear anything, even knowing it's futile, and still refuse to face it until the end of the world truly arrives.

Yes, isn't this kind of thing just a matter of course?

Whether it's suffering from a painful terminal illness, being born with an unchangeable disability, experiencing a broken family, or heartbreak, the real world is always so cruel. Is it wrong to want a beautiful illusion where we can never lose anything? Perhaps in the real world, you and I are just a speck of dust at the bottom of society, but as long as we step into the false world, we can become whoever we want to be—whether it's a king, a hero, a peerless beauty, a god, or a demon, it's all up to us.

So escape, run away from reality, escape from the pain, isn't that enough?

"..."

Opening his eyes, he saw a faint golden light flash in Jianzi's eyes.

Although what she saw was not comprehensive and there were still many things she didn't understand, at this point, she had already come up with enough methods to temporarily resist or even control the "psychologist," which was enough to reverse the current predicament.

"Are so-called 'psychologists' ultimately just a form of self-avoidance for humanity?"

As she said this, she suddenly sped up and ran towards the crater that Kita had created earlier.

Chapter 48: The Wounds Forcibly Torn Open and the Pain of Forced Memories

The physical pain is becoming increasingly severe, and one injury after another continues to spread throughout the body, worsening over time.

The psychological trauma is also worsening, and the dizziness and headaches are gradually increasing their impact on the body. Before I knew it, even normal movement had become difficult.

Meanwhile, the "psychologist" in front, with that eerily withered body like a matchstick and the head of a television, simply stood at a distance with the screen facing her, displaying the surgical image on the screen—a surgical diagram of the removal of the frontal lobe.

【You're in pain, you're very sad, Kita-san】

A gentle, motherly voice slowly resonated in her heart.

"..."

Kita Ikuyo remained unmoved, simply standing there, slightly panting, trying her best to recover her strength, and carefully observing the other party's every move.

The ruins of collapsed buildings piled up around them, some of the collapsed buildings slowly floating up, while others were sinking downwards or moving haphazardly in several directions. These changes meant that the basic physical rules of this edge space had begun to fail, and the orientation of gravity was gradually shifting from normal to chaotic.

If an ordinary human were in such an environment, they might be torn apart by the distorted gravity. However, for a powerful player like Kita, this level of trouble is not a problem. But how to put it, even though she can eliminate environmental interference, what she needs to face right now is already almost too much for her to handle.

To outsiders, you are a sunny and cheerful girl with a wide circle of friends, the kind of optimist that everyone envies, but you are not entirely like that.

You've had many rebellious thoughts; you've longed to venture into areas that most people wouldn't, and you've actually taken action. Just like how you chose to join a band and developed the desire to live as a rock musician.

But that wish wasn't understood, was it? Your family, your parents, they only wanted you to study hard, get into a good university, and find a good job. They didn't understand the beauty of you and your friends pursuing your dreams together; they only focused on reality, naively believing that your dreams as children wouldn't amount to anything. Because of this, you even had some extreme thoughts, considered running away from home, right?

If you only listen to the voice, Kita would probably think that the "psychologist" is like a friendly older sister next door, sincerely talking to her.

But she knew very well that this was not the case. The stick-figure-like twisted monster had only seen through her thoughts. This clearly exceeded the fourth and fifth rule powers possessed by a normal Abyss-level monster. Kita Ikuyo confirmed this at this moment.

The fourth ability is that when the [Psychiatrist] comes into close contact with an enemy with human characteristics, the [Psychiatrist] will gradually acquire the other party's memories related to inner trauma. This ability can almost ignore any mental defense skills, and the person being triggered will not even feel the release of the ability. By the time they realize it, the [Psychiatrist] has already begun to use these memories to attack them.

The fifth ability of this thing only manifests when it uses these traumatic memories to launch physical or psychological attacks on its victims. The effect is simple: a significant increase in the severity of the damage. Even if Kita successfully blocks or evades the attack by exploiting the flaw in the first rule of this thing, she will still suffer continuous mental trauma. The effect of this trauma is that each attack from the "psychologist" forces Kita to recall the trauma in her memory, forcing her to relive that feeling. Then, on top of that, the monster uses this trauma to distort the victim's mind and personality, resulting in Kita's mental stress increasing, gradually showing signs of derangement.

"Huff...huff...shut up!!!"

A throwing knife flew forward and struck the monster's television head.

when!

But it was no use. The blade couldn't leave any mark on the screen at all. The power of blessing was meaningless in front of this thing. After fighting for so long, Kita had tried many methods and found that neither physical attacks nor supernatural attacks could hurt this monster. It was probably because the [Psychiatrist] was immune to all means of damage.

No, not necessarily. The red light erupting from the Crimson Domain can still repel it, although the effect isn't great. Its aura will indeed be temporarily weakened by the power of the Crimson Domain. From this perspective, perhaps it could be argued that the [Psychotherapist] is immune to non-divine attacks?

Let me save you, Kita!

You are already wounded and exhausted. I can help you; I can save you.

A gentle voice drew closer once more.

The psychologist's attack method is hard to describe in words. It is not a simple and brutal attack like Blood Flower, or a close-range fist and foot fight and long-range firepower like the rescue team members such as Hirano Kurasuke. Instead, it releases all kinds of strange phenomena.

For example, right after the "psychologist" spoke, many benches appeared around Kita, and students in school uniforms applauded her, celebrating her admission to a prestigious university. But once Kita actually shifted her attention and tried to understand what these students were doing, she would instantly suffer a strong cognitive erosion, unable to distinguish whether she was fighting a terrifying monster or actually in school.

whoosh-

A spiritual spike belonging to Miko Yotsuya, bound by the gravity field, pierced out and struck the distorted phantom, taking the attack in place of Kita himself.

While catching her breath, the girl tried to hide behind some floating pieces of building debris, but suddenly saw Goto Ichiri, Yamada Ryo, and Ijichi Nijika appear in front of her. At the same time, fans below the stage not far away raised signs that said the band had ended and cheered.

Look, what a beautiful dream! This is the dream I give you, a happy and perfect dream.

The monster's voice sounded gently from behind.

[Isn't it good that I can just choose the world of dreams?]

Listen, your companions are calling you; they are waiting for you.

Having already escaped once, are you going to run away again? After experiencing so much pain and suffering, isn't your only wish to return to this moment?

If we're only talking about the inflammatory nature of the words, this monster is clearly not enough. After all, Kita isn't stupid; he wouldn't believe such absurd statements.

However, when the monster speaks, its power genuinely affects Kita's thoughts. She is forced to recall her act of leaving the band, forced to recall every hardship she experienced in the dungeon world, and the helplessness and estrangement she felt when facing the band members again after being resurrected.

Even though Kita has already figured out many things, under the influence of the "psychiatrist," she will be forced to return to the state of mind she had before she figured things out, and will directly enter a painful state that is close to a split personality.

Yes, you've already grown distant from them, haven't you?

Yes, I've become a player, and a Red Moon level player at that. My body is as strong as steel; even if I'm hit by a bullet, it's hard to get hurt. But Hongxia and Liang are just ordinary people. They're too fragile. Being with them is like being with two fragile friends; I have to be careful every step of the way. It's really exhausting.

Yes, it's hard for you to go back to how you were before, isn't it? That cheerful and lively Kita Ikuyo, she's no longer there, is she?

Yes, the carefree days of shopping with friends, taking photos at dessert shops, traveling and having fun... that radiant me is long gone. After experiencing one distorted scenario after another, after witnessing the ugliness and cruelty of humanity time and again, I've changed. I've even killed more than once with my own hands. If someone is an enemy, I won't hesitate to act. I'm not the person I used to be. But others don't know. My friends and family, except for Yili, don't know. I have to pretend to be the same as before, I have to perform that fake version of myself. It's disgusting, and I don't want to go on like this anymore.

Yes, these are all the misfortunes you have endured, all the pain you have experienced.

Let me heal everything for you, let me treat you. You are my patient, I am your therapist.

Just trust me, and I will weave a beautiful dream for you, allowing you to live a happy and ordinary life until the end.

This is true happiness, this is the happiness you deserve.

My dear child, the real world is a cruel abyss; it will not bring you happiness. Let me deliver happiness to you through the world of dreams.

Thoughts become increasingly chaotic, making it harder to distinguish between reality and illusion. Consciousness begins to crumble and dissipate little by little, and even the self gradually fades away, unable to maintain a stable form.

boom--

The tearing force of gravity erupted in the next second, and the girl's body was suddenly moved a great distance away. Her steps were unsteady, and she could hardly tell where she was.

He could still feel his blessing; the power was still taking effect. Even if the opponent's power was already taking hold, he could temporarily interrupt it by releasing his supernatural power. However, this method couldn't be used for many more times. If he only used his own power, the thing would become immune after the gravity and throwing knives. He had to alternately use the mental spikes that Jianzi had given him to interrupt the process. But the number of spikes was limited; now there was only... one left.

Do not reject redemption, do not reject hope.

Only a beautiful dream, from birth to death, is the greatest happiness that humankind can possess.

There is no way to determine the direction of the attack.

My mind was in complete disarray; just managing to keep my balance and avoid falling was the limit.

Kita Ikuyo gritted her teeth and instinctively threw out the last mental spike provided by Miko, blocking one of the [Psychiatrist's] attacks, and then tried to dodge again.

She wasn't sure how long she had been trying, or whether Jianzi had actually found the right approach.

At this moment, she could only feel all the pain she had experienced before welling up from the depths of her memory, and she could only be forced to relive that despair, gradually walking towards death in suffocation.

hum-

Then, a crimson light engulfed everything in an instant.

Yotsuya Miko's figure fell from mid-air, accompanied by the eruption of a crimson field, repelling all the twisted black shadows that were approaching Kita.

The psychologist retreated a few steps, but immediately charged forward again, ready to attack Kita once more. It was clear that this monster was quite intelligent, obviously planning to eliminate one target at a time.

But its actions did not last.

Because she was facing it directly, and her wounds were still unable to heal, she was extremely weak. She spoke softly, her voice carrying an undeniable tone.

"Dear patient's family, hello."

"Your family member is currently being treated at our hospital. The current diagnosis is: despite the active treatment by medical staff, the patient's condition is critical and deteriorating, and may endanger their life at any time. Therefore, a critical condition notice is hereby issued."

"Nevertheless, we will still take effective measures to actively treat the patient. We would also like to inform you that, in order to save the patient, the hospital will use and implement necessary emergency equipment and treatment methods as needed, without obtaining your prior consent. We ask for your understanding, cooperation, and support. The hospital will not bear any responsibility for any accidents that occur during the treatment process. If you have any other requests, please inform our department immediately after receiving the 'Critical Condition Notice'."

Jianzi's voice was very solemn.

She spoke calmly and clearly, as if she were truly playing the role of a doctor handing over a critical condition notice to a patient's family.

The psychologist has stopped moving.

The image on the television head distorted in an instant, seemingly transforming into many screaming and howling faces, into weeping faces, then tearing apart, shattering, and being completely crushed into a chaotic and disordered structure.

This can't be real...

The psychologist spoke as if he were a husband facing a critical condition notice for his wife, as if he were a mother murmuring in despair upon seeing a notice of her child's illness, as if he were a wife, a child, an elderly person—just like countless different faces, yet all bearing the same sorrow.

This can't be real... This can't be real...

[Doctor...my...my...is there any hope...can I survive...?]

Please...please...save my [illegible]...

The torn face became increasingly shattered, and the cries grew ever more desperate.

I'm so sad... so very sad...

Then, all the sounds disappeared without a trace, and the gentle voice of the [psychologist] reappeared.

Is it useless?

Seeing that the monster had recovered in just a moment, Jianzi became nervous.

Why show me this kind of thing... Why make my patient relive these things...?

However, somewhat strangely, the psychologist did not launch an attack this time. Instead, she questioned Miko as if making an accusation, and the shattered television screen reflected faces covered in tears.

Chapter 49: The Essential Symbolism of the Escapee and Encounters Deep Within the Factory

Humans cannot escape disease.

From minor illnesses like colds and fevers to serious and terminal diseases, or even severe psychological trauma, humans cannot truly escape these illnesses and ailments.

In this world, no one is eternally healthy, and no one is immune to illness. That's just how the world is; just as people often squander their lives in their youth and only begin to regret it in old age, some things are destined to remain unchanged, and some suffering and torment are destined to be inescapable. In this respect, everyone is the same.