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

However, he wasn't focusing his attention on that right now.

Compared to Shao Ye, who had already successfully escaped, Lin Bujiantai, Nanakawa Ren, and the other two had another, more urgent situation that required his attention.

The problem lies with Cat Bro.

At first, the other party only sent a message indicating that they had sensed what appeared to be the fourth core obsession.

But before Gao Hai could confirm the specifics, the other side sent new information, indicating that what had arrived was not some core obsession, but something even more deadly.

How tragic, how laughable!

Trying to escape misfortune, trying to escape happiness.

Do you realize that everything you've done is nothing but vanity?

Amidst the shattered ruins, Cat Bro, who had been relentlessly pursuing the [Eyes] for a long time, felt the terrifying aura that clearly belonged to a certain [Doctor]. For a moment, he felt as if a thousand curses were stuck in his throat, but he didn't know how to express them.

No, why is this thing targeting me?!

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Doctor's Encounter - Time and Emergence.

【doctor】

This is the highest-level enemy unit from the [Hospital]. There are three confirmed members with this title, and each of them can easily crush and kill players of any level in a head-on confrontation.

Even the most powerful girls under Gao Hai's command would find it difficult to truly contend with the "Doctor." Only Gao Hai himself, having embarked on the path of ascension, could suppress such evil beings and possibly eliminate these monsters.

And now, such a thing has appeared before me.

"call……"

Cat Brother's breathing had become difficult.

The reason he was certain it was the "Doctor" who appeared before him, and not something else, was quite simple: the aura emanating from the other person was far beyond the strength of any strange creature.

At first, because the aura had not been fully revealed, Cat Brother was unable to determine what the other party was. He even mistakenly thought that it was a monster of the core obsession level that had escaped, and sent a message to Gao Hai requesting support.

But as the aura emanating from that thing intensified, and as Cat Brother truly sensed its presence, he became absolutely certain that it was not some kind of monster. Even a monster of the Abyss Domain level, even a core obsession of the Abyss Domain that had not yet been seen by anyone, was still impossible. After all, because he had been devoured by the Blood Flower, he had retained some memories of Infant Cry Village. He was well aware of the limits of power that monsters could reach, and he also understood the power possessed by beings above monsters.

So... why would something like this appear in front of me...?

As expected, humanity will make this choice.

At first, it was the [eyes] that had been chasing Catman that inexplicably stopped moving. Although the writhing shadow covered most of the corridor, constantly emitting sobs and wails, instilling fear in anyone who approached within a certain distance, this level of anomaly was nothing to the well-traveled Catman. But then, when other sounds came from within the shadow, when other unfamiliar presences emerged, the situation changed completely.

"Uh……"

Just by sensing that aura, my limbs began to go weak, and my body became unresponsive.

Even before the other person actually appears in front of you, you feel like your heart is about to stop beating, and you are suffering unimaginable pain from immense pressure.

That false god seems to truly believe in you.

[Believe in you pathetic mediocre people, destined to grow old and die like insects.]

A blurry figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

Its gaze fell on Cat Brother at the front of the corridor, and Cat Brother felt an intense pain as if he had been pierced by a thousand arrows. He couldn't help but fall to the ground and couldn't stand up for a moment.

He wanted to turn around and see who this suddenly appearing "doctor" really was.

But as soon as he made that move, Cat Brother realized that if he really turned around and looked at the other person, he would probably die immediately, with no hope of survival whatsoever.

Then he tried to get up and run away, struggling to keep escaping.

However, he could not continue such an action. He had just gotten up when his whole body stiffened, and he stood there motionless, barely able to maintain his breathing and heartbeat.

How fragile, how tragic, how ridiculous!

That false god places his hopes on you, but has he ever considered the pressure you will face? What sacrifices will you have to make?

【Look at yourself now. Just standing here, you can't bear my blessings and are about to collapse and die. Even so, do you still want to sacrifice for that false god?】

Darkness is creeping in.

The blurry figure was also walking towards Cat Brother's direction.

A terrifying aura spread and accumulated around them, as if it were about to completely crush Cat Brother, continuously attacking from all directions.

The enemy didn't even make any attack, and it's hard to say whether it was hostile at all. It was just there, simply emitting its own aura, and Cat felt a pain as if it were about to be crushed to death on the spot.

Such an enemy is impossible to fight; at least, given his strength, it is absolutely impossible for him to fight against him.

Damn it, why did it have to appear at this time? Could it be that there's a [doctor] watching this dungeon the whole time? If so, how can we truly defeat such an opponent and overcome such an enemy?

[Have you lost the ability to speak?]

The blurry figure had already walked up to Cat Brother.

Since that's the case, let me bring you true happiness and lead you to heaven.

The writhing black shadows began to approach Cat Brother's body, wrapping around him like tentacles.

Only by enduring pain and despair can one ultimately find true happiness.

Only after experiencing all the torments of this world can one understand what heaven and redemption are.

Come, come to my side, let me truly save you.

A blurry figure reached out a hand, toward Cat Brother, who was frozen in place.

But when the hand actually landed, it found itself touching empty air. Cat Brother was no longer in the same spot, but had appeared in a more distant place.

"Haah...haah..."

Covered in cold sweat, Cat Bro gasped for breath, gripping his playing cards tightly, his gaze filled with fear as he looked at the blurry figure ahead.

I almost got caught by this thing and would have died here.

If it weren't for Mr. Gao giving him some power within his body, and him successfully mobilizing that power at the crucial moment, Cat Brother probably would have already been forced to start over. No... considering the strength of the enemy, there's probably no hope of even starting over; the gap between the two sides is simply too great. Cat Brother estimates that if he really died, his soul wouldn't have a chance to escape either.

Trying to escape misfortune, trying to escape happiness.

Do you realize that everything you've done is nothing but vanity?

No, I don't think you'd understand. After all, you're just an ordinary person.

The blurry figure shook its head slightly, seemingly unsurprised by Cat Brother's actions, and even showing a hint of disappointment in its words.

Having finally regained control of his body, Cat Brother immediately began to run wildly, trying to get away from this terrifying being at the fastest speed he had ever traveled. During his escape, he threw out several pieces of paper money, which turned into blades that flew towards the blurry figure in an attempt to attack it.

whoosh-

After the howling wind, the blood-stained paper money passed through the blurry figure, continuing to fly forward as if it hadn't touched anything, until it disappeared into the writhing darkness.

Unable to attack?

No, that's not right... This feeling... That thing isn't even in the current space? Its true form is in another space?!

The situation was urgent, and Cat couldn't fully assess the details, but he could tell that the blood-stained paper money he'd thrown hadn't hit anything. This meant that the "doctor" he was facing possessed some kind of spatial manipulation ability. The attack had failed either because the object had distorted the surrounding space, causing it to miss, or because it didn't exist in the current space at all, but rather existed in some spatial rift, and what he was seeing was merely an illusion, thus failing to hit its target.

Which scenario would it be?

Despite being in an extremely dangerous situation, Cat Brother did not stop thinking or analyzing the enemy.

Are you going to keep running away? Running away from the happiness you should be enjoying?

The dark tentacles, which were chasing after him much faster than before, swept towards Cat Brother in front of him.

bang——

But when Cat Brother was actually hit, his body scattered and turned into flying pieces of ghost money.

[You keep resorting to petty tricks, why can't you accept happiness?]

The blurry figure tilted their head slightly, their words tinged with a sigh.

Having already escaped some distance using the blood-stained paper money, Cat Brother had no time to catch his breath and had to continue running forward at full speed to escape the black tentacles that had found his location.

All of this is something you were destined to be unable to escape.

There was absolutely no way of knowing when the other person arrived in front of you.

When Cat Brother looked up and saw the blurry figure in front of him, the other person's outstretched hand was almost touching his body.

pat-

With the sound of the coin rolling, Cat Brother's figure disappeared again.

【…】

Having failed to catch the cat brother, whom it considered a weakling, so many times in a row, the blurry figure fell silent for a moment, probably feeling somewhat embarrassed.

At that moment, it seemed to receive some kind of message and stopped chasing Cat Brother, standing motionless in place for a long time.

Cat Bro had no idea what the thing wanted to do, so out of caution, he ran as far away as possible and prepared to use the power of the object of his obsession to transfer it again. Strangely, this time the monster didn't chase after him; it just stood there silently, motionless, and no one knew what was going on.

[...It seems that now is not the time for you to find redemption.]

Just as Cat Bro was wondering what this guy meant, the previously quiet, blurry figure suddenly spoke to Cat Bro.

I still have a mission to fulfill. Compared to a weak and powerless mediocre person like you, it is more important to remove the anchor of that false god.

After I have completed my mission, I will return to you; your soul is already reserved for me.

Heh, no matter how you try to escape, you can't. Accepting all despair is the only way to find happiness. You pathetic and laughable humans are destined to succumb to my path of redemption, without exception.

With a low laugh, the blurry human figure slowly disappeared, and the writhing darkness lost its power to sustain itself, gradually returning to the original state of the [eye].

No, they're just leaving already?

Cat stood there for a while, staring blankly in the direction where the unknown "doctor" had disappeared. He wanted to say something, but he was afraid that the other person had not really left and that the other person could still hear his voice, so he dared not speak.

So, what exactly is this thing for?

Could it be that you just came to take a look? Because your eyes started moving, you were bored and came over to chat with me for a bit, then left after you'd had your fill?

Or is it that this thing really doesn't take me seriously at all, and just wanted to play around with me, but when a real mission came, it ran away and couldn't be bothered with me anymore?

"As a Red Moon-level player, being criticized by the enemy for being too weak is probably a first for me..."

After standing there for a while, Cat Bro could only sigh helplessly and accept the end of this unexpected encounter... no, it was just the end of the encounter.

Regardless, the power of the [Doctor] is indeed something that players cannot contend with.

Even the power that the other party just displayed may not be their true strength. That unknown "doctor" most likely only used the "eyes" as a medium to project a portion of their power into this instance, rather than coming in their true form.