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

I am a receiver, I am a tolerant person, I am a wanderer.

A voice answered the girl from the darkness.

A distorted voice, carrying a strange echo and difficult to discern whether it belonged to a man or a woman, slowly emerged from the darkness that swept through the city ruins.

I sing a lament for those trapped in despair.

I offer my blessings to those trapped in tragedy.

Like a song, the soft voice grew louder and deeper as the darkness spread.

There is so much misfortune in this world; whether one is poor or rich, optimistic or pessimistic, suffering will always find its way to one another.

Ultimately, from the moment of birth, humanity is constantly being worn down, both physically and emotionally. No one can truly avoid illness, and no one can truly overcome pain and despair. Therefore, what we should truly choose is to accept everything.

[Accepting illness without reservation, regardless of its nature, and accepting all pain and suffering as part of daily life, is the only way to truly overcome disease.]

If you experience various misfortunes, you should not resist them, but accept them and regard them as normal. Only in this way can you be said that you have not been defeated by misfortune.

Ahh...

Yes, this is the correct method.

This is the only way to completely cure "humanity".

Little girl, can you understand all of this? Can you understand what is truly right?

Come on, accept me.

Accept all the pain in this world, accept all the torment in this world.

When we all become accustomed to all the pain, take despair for granted, and stop thinking about anything else, then we will have truly conquered the disease and entered the world of happiness.

The girl was unable to interrupt the chanting that echoed in the darkness.

Although Ichiri acted swiftly upon sensing the enemy, attempting to attack this mysterious foe, strangely, neither his clone, which charged directly into the dark area, nor the Blood Whip, which was being manipulated and swirled in all directions, touched anything.

The other party does not seem to exist in the space I am in at this moment.

Although it seems she can hear the other person's voice and they can communicate, the "doctor" is not actually where she is right now. Its true form is in another space, an unknown space where she hasn't yet figured out a way to contact it.

The ability to create spatial gaps? It's not that she's never seen such an ability before, but when she encountered enemies with this technique, all she could do was protect herself, waiting for the enemy to attack and then counterattack when they revealed an opening. But now, she has a way to take a more advanced approach.

Silently, Ichiri's body began to fade.

This is one of the three blessings she already possessed before meeting Gao Hai, namely the [Blessing of the Recluse]. After being upgraded to the Red Moon level, this blessing can now be activated without needing to be in a corner, and its effect has changed from simply reducing presence to directly transferring the user to a spatial crevices, thus allowing them to escape the current space to some extent, rendering enemy attacks ineffective, and providing better resistance to powers such as [Curses].

Furthermore, the second effect of this blessing, beyond the basic ability to recognize the malice of others, also adds the ability to predict the enemy's attack methods. This prediction isn't 100% accurate; its precision depends on the individual's understanding of the enemy. In other words, the more one understands, the clearer the prediction will be.

At this point, it's impossible for Yili to predict the actions of this unknown "doctor," as contact has only just begun and there's still much information unknown. However, through methods like "entering the spatial rift," the girl has confirmed that this "doctor" is indeed outside of the real world, having left behind very few means of interaction. This is why he can keep chattering away in front of Yili without worrying about being interrupted by the girl.

So, is the first rule-based ability possessed by this unknown "doctor" to infiltrate into an alternate dimension that is difficult for players to influence, and then attack the players from inside?

This ability has been documented once by the "Slacking Off Gang," and in the last message from my dear just now, it was mentioned that Chika had been dragged into the instance. The ability to drag Chika into the instance must have been the work of the "Doctor," and if they immediately appeared on our side to attack after completing this action, ruling out the possibility of multiple "Doctors" acting together, and considering the abilities they displayed, it's highly likely that they are the "Internal Medicine Doctor," a monster with extremely strong spatial abilities as clearly documented in the encounter records.

If it really is that case, then...

"Ugh!?"

The moment he realized it, Ichiri was forced to leave the spatial rift and return to the real world.

Her body appeared to be fine on the surface, but the functions of all her internal organs went out of control in an instant, almost causing her to die suddenly. Furthermore, her consciousness fluctuated severely for a moment, making even something as simple as concentrating extremely difficult.

Although she immediately activated the [Blessing of the Madman], a blessing that, once elevated to the Red Moon level, unconditionally enhances thought speed and action, to accelerate her recovery from that state, Ichiri felt an even stronger sense of oppression as soon as she regained consciousness. The [Doctor], still lurking in the darkness, activated its next power, and Ichiri's body instantly suffered severe damage. All her organs failed instantly, her skin ulcerated, countless bacteria and tumors forcibly grew within her body, and her mind was once again subjected to various abnormal states, with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and dissociation appearing. Her personality was almost torn apart in an instant.

Of course, that didn't happen.

Because at that moment, the doctor's target was not Goto Ichiri, but a clone she had arranged to take the hit.

"call……"

The pink-haired girl broke the sound barrier, changing position in an instant to avoid the darkness that had appeared around her without her noticing.

She stared intently at the clone that had replaced her, which had instantly turned into a pile of mangled flesh. Her mind spread outwards, but she couldn't find the enemy's location at all.

The first ability of the "Internal Medicine Doctor" is spatial manipulation, allowing them to place themselves in another world to avoid attacks and cancel others' spatial abilities. Their second ability is to forcibly imbue targets with human characteristics by projecting various diseases and physical and mental injuries throughout history onto them through "phenomena." This ability is extremely powerful; even a top player like Ichiri would find it difficult to resist and would need to use a "stand-in" to avoid the attack.

Furthermore, even if the enemy's attacks are diverted, it seems that damage cannot be completely avoided.

"Cough!"

Feeling pain inside his body, he coughed up blood, and blood also flowed from his nose.

Once attacked by the "Internal Medicine Doctor," no matter how the damage is avoided—whether through treatment or the "stand-in" Ichiri just used—the damage cannot be completely healed. This damage will repeatedly reappear in the body, weakened to a certain extent, and cannot be completely eliminated no matter how many times it is treated. In this sense, it can be considered that once attacked by the "Internal Medicine Doctor," the victim's body will be permanently marked with a debuff that cannot be completely removed regardless of the treatment.

You are in pain because you haven't accepted your pain.

A gentle voice rang out from the darkness.

The monster's gaze seemed to be projected from some source, but there was no way to locate it.

You will find happiness after you have been tormented, after you have experienced all the pain.

[True happiness comes from falling into utter despair, into the despair that there is no tomorrow.]

This is the only kind of happiness that humanity should have.

It seemed to be expressing deep emotion, or giving a passionate speech, or perhaps just chatting with a young girl, like an old lady next door rambling on about life's philosophies. Even though what it uttered was utterly incomprehensible nonsense, sounding like madness.

Goto Ichiri steadied himself, took a deep breath, and raised his head.

Even the power of blessing could not heal the curse afflicting her body. Undoubtedly, if the [Internal Medicine Doctor] continued its attacks, the curse would accumulate, increasingly ravaging the girl's body and mind. However, attacking the [Internal Medicine Doctor] was extremely difficult, as she couldn't even pinpoint its location in the pervasive darkness. This insidious monster never revealed its true form and seemed to possess some method of concealing spatial fluctuations, leaving Ichiri utterly clueless about how to find it.

And is it really spreading?

Looking around, one could clearly see the buildings that had melted away, resembling rotting flesh and blood.

Another ability of the [Internal Medicine Doctor] is that wherever it exists, the land accumulates polluting power, continuously producing various forms of damage that are almost permanent and irreparable to the local ecosystem. This monster's every outburst is essentially a barrage of poison gas bombs, and these bombs possess extraordinary power—deadly poison gas that even Red Moon-level players struggle to handle. Its disgusting nature is off the charts, especially when players haven't evacuated all survivors from an area; the pollution it releases becomes a major problem.

We can't stay here any longer.

There are still many survivors in this area, and even if the [Rules of the House] can still protect them, the pollution will make it impossible for rescuers to enter.

Darkness has spread once again.

This time, however, the girl hesitated only slightly before stepping directly into the darkness and quickly strumming her guitar, gathering all her clones into the darkness that was eroding the real world.

Supreme happiness is about to arrive...

The physician, who still hadn't shown himself and seemed to have intended to remain hidden in the alternate dimension from beginning to end, spoke again in a compassionate voice.

But this time, the other party's words were interrupted as soon as they were spoken.

Because a black chain had extended from Yili's body, firmly grasping it, even though it should have been in another dimension.

"You attacked me, so you're now anchored to me."

The girl's voice was completely flat.

The next second, Goto Ichiri deliberately fell into the darkness, landing in the complex area where the Jin Yang Apartment, Dansu Company, and the affiliated kindergarten were located.

The [Anchoring Chain], originating from the Blood Blessing, pulled at the [Internal Medicine Doctor] who had attacked Ichiri, forcibly pulling him out of the hidden alternate dimension and forcing him into the same spacetime as Ichiri Goto, thus falling into the instance space along with him.

Under the gloomy sky, the girl gently licked the blood that had flowed from her nose to her lips, her gaze fixed on the twisted creature that had been forced to reveal itself.

Then, she strummed her guitar and launched an attack on the enemy in front of her without the slightest hesitation.

Chapter 51: The Signal of Utter Disruption and the Belief in the Final Choice

The entire Shimokitazawa region, as well as a large part of the surrounding urban area, has now lost contact.

Although the shelters where many survivors are already located remain intact and are not yet in danger of collapsing, many players who are active outside and survivors who have not yet been rescued have now completely lost contact and their whereabouts are unknown.

【…】

I can sense that the fragments of the crimson domain are being rapidly consumed.

Both the fragments held by players and the fragments held by survivors are being rapidly consumed.

We can't see what they're going through, but given the situation, there's no doubt that a massive horde of monsters is attacking living people everywhere.

【…】

There is no way to detect the specific situation in those lost contact areas anymore.

The spiritual power could not penetrate it.

So that's how it is. I defeated the psychologist's clone, but at the same time, the hospital analyzed a portion of my own mental structure.

Therefore, when the [Hospital] connects the dungeon world to the real world with the Kitazawa area as its center, it releases a barrier constructed against my mental power, making it temporarily unable to support the survivors from the outside.

【…】

No, even the power remaining in that object of obsession is about to lose contact.

The connection between Ichiri and Chika has also been basically severed, and it will soon be impossible to ascertain their current situation.

Deciphering this barrier will take at least half an hour.

In such a long period of time, if the hospital wanted to do anything, then Chika and Ichiri...

What should I do?

I didn't expect them to turn the tide so quickly.

Do you want to commit suicide right now?

If we start the next playthrough immediately, the situation in the residential area won't change; the destroyed [Edge Space] cannot be restored. However... the instance invasion phenomenon created by the [Hospital]'s power probably can't be reversed either, and those already trapped inside won't be able to get out.

What are some solutions?

Is there any way to solve this problem?

Tsk, if I were to infuse a large amount of power, I might be able to forcibly create an avatar. But that would significantly weaken my power in a short time, and my will might be more severely eroded by this [Throne of Thought], thus accelerating my ascension to godhood. But if I don't do that…

{I'm fine...}

A slightly muffled voice came from the mental link that was about to break.

Honey, I'm okay... Trust me...

Goto Ichiri's voice, somewhat timid yet subtly resolute, reached Takami's ears through the soon-to-be-broken mental link.

I can't see the other person's expression right now.

But Gao Hai could imagine that at this moment, the pink-haired girl holding the guitar had no fear on her face.