Huu—
The wind swept through the grass, through the bushes, lifting scattered fallen leaves.
Within the woodland, six figures split into two groups at this moment. Takakai 's trio stood on one side, while three black-clad individuals stood on the other.
"..."
No one spoke. At this moment, everyone remained silent, simply watching the other side.
However, Miko and Hitori had already been discreetly warned by Takakai through hidden gestures—the three on the other side were all enemies.
Are we going to fight?
Yotsuya Miko felt her heartbeat spiraling out of control.
As an ordinary, run-of-the-mill Japanese high school girl, even after the trials of Fujika Middle School, Miko had never witnessed players killing each other—especially not high-level players.
In contrast, Gotou Hitori had calmed down. No longer shrinking back, she instead furrowed her brows and stared at the three figures.
If they were allies, Bocchi would probably struggle to communicate normally—even with friends she's known for a while, she'd stutter and stumble over her words.
But if they were enemies?
Then that problem didn't exist at all.
As a Crimson Moon-tier player, tempered through multiple副本 (dungeons), Hitori had come to understand one thing with absolute clarity:
There existed people in this world who were impossible to reason with, impossible to ever understand.
Such people could never cooperate with other players, never trust or work together to overcome challenges. They would only become obstacles, preventing others from surviving.
Attempting to communicate with them, trying to sympathize with their struggles, was utterly meaningless. Because no matter how much you understood them, they would never understand or accept you.
Such people could no longer be changed.
The only way to change them was death.
Hitori had paid a price to learn this truth. If not for Aoyama Nanami and Kita Ikuyo, she was certain she wouldn't have survived this long.
And as the result of that lesson, Gotou Hitori no longer hesitated when facing enemies who could not be reasoned with.
Her fingers were already resting on the guitar strings.
If the other side showed even the slightest hint of hostility, she would immediately activate her Crimson Moon-tier Core Obsession Item, unleashing its power upon these three.
The air seemed to grow heavier.
Aside from the unprepared Miko, both Takakai and Hitori had instantly shifted into combat readiness.
In response, the leading figure among the three black-clad individuals slowly reached up and pulled back their hood, revealing their face.
It was a twisted visage.
Dense black stains covered nearly the entire face. Hair, eyebrows, even facial hair—all of it had been erased, swallowed by those dark blotches. From a distance, Takakai felt a surge of revulsion, as if the man's face had been completely colonized by mold.
The man's eyes were equally abnormal—bulging outward like a frog's, the whites streaked with blood vessels, giving the impression of some rare, grotesque disease. Worse, when his eyeballs moved, they trembled unnaturally, like festering blisters on the verge of bursting.
An Obsession Item that modifies the body.
Having encountered the [Women's Mask Gang], Takakai quickly deduced that this man must have multiple Obsession Items fused directly into his flesh—and likely more than one.
The [Substitute Flesh] used by the Women's Mask Gang was already an extremely disturbing artifact, but this player had even more fused items, meaning the corruption was undoubtedly worse.
*And my blessing keeps screaming that these three are all *[abnormal] people.
This situation is bad.
Takakai 's frown deepened.
We didn't detect them at all inside the school grounds, but the moment we step outside, they appear. Hmm… And unlike the [Takamagahara] group, their aura isn't strong enough to be接近 (close to) a full-on specter. So, they're another group of players?
That damn clown KP dumped another team outside the school zone, which is why we didn't run into them during initial exploration. Tch. Is this supposed to make things easier for us? Should I say thanks?
Well, even though his face is deformed, his features look Caucasian. Could they be the group that stole the second Core Obsession Item from [Yoruyama High]? If so, then Mori Haruhiko's Core Obsession—that lame cat—might be nearby.
If not for knowing that the Black Watch would inevitably screw him over in副本 missions, Takakai wouldn't have realized their identities so quickly.
But even knowing who they were didn't change the current standoff. After all, Takakai had no idea what Obsession Items they possessed or what abilities they wielded.
At the very least, we can't stay like this. If they have an Obsession Item that activates just by looking at us, we might get hit before we even realize it.
Out of caution, Takakai considered retreating to create distance.
But at the same time, with teammates already injured, he also contemplated charging in, triggering his self-destruct function, and seeing if he could take a few of their Obsession Items down with him.
The latter seemed like a viable strategy—but only if that lame cat showed itself first.
After all, Core Obsession Items were crucial to their respective副本. Breaking shirakawa Apartments required placing Li Zhaodi's Core Obsession in Room 309. Nutty putty cave and Shirasawa Elementary were the same. The only exception was Fujika Middle School—Hirano Sousuke's Core Obsession couldn't be taken by anyone. Even thinking about stealing it meant death.
But whatever the plan, it depended on what these three intended to do.
"You've been following us this whole time. Must've been tiring, huh? So, what's the plan? Care to share?"
Takakai spoke with forced levity, his nerves stretched to the limit.
"All who fear You and keep Your precepts, I will accompany."
The next moment, the black-stained, bulging-eyed man spoke in a raspy, grating voice, his tone carrying an unsettling fervor.
What the hell is he saying?
Takakai had no idea, his frown deepening.
"Is that… the Bible?"
Miko blinked, leaning in to whisper.
The language the man used was unfamiliar, but thanks to the Sacrifice Game's universal translation, both Miko and Hitori could understand him. Takakai , meanwhile, could comprehend any logically structured language—even dead ones. But only Miko vaguely recognized the reference.
The Bible?
Takakai had expected them to spout nonsense, but quoting scripture right off the bat was unexpected.
But that no longer mattered.
Because the moment the man finished speaking, Takakai felt something wrong spreading across his body.
Whoosh—
A frigid wind erupted.
Crimson light flooded takakai 's pupils as his berserk blessing activated, forcibly peeling away a twisted, malicious curse clinging to him.
BOOM—
Next came the expansion of his Scarlet Domain.
The blood-red glow enveloped takakai's trio in an instant before surging toward the three black-clad figures.
Gunfire roared as bullets rained down, blanketing the enemy.
Gotou Hitori had already strummed her guitar, and with the music, blurred figures abruptly materialized.
Thud!
Takakai turned to see Yotsuya Miko collapse—
No.
It was the pink-haired figure beside her, one of Hitori's projections, inserted a few seconds into the past to intercept a lethal strike aimed at the unprepared Miko.
But then—
The three black-clad figures vanished.
Did they run?
No. This feeling… They're still here. Some kind of Obsession Item's effect?
"You shall strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly—all who are in it, even the livestock, with the edge of the sword."
Pain flared alongside the recitation.
Takakai looked down to see cuts slowly forming on his hands, his body.
Even with his berserk blessing and Scarlet Domain, he couldn't fully resist this curse—a persistent, inescapable affliction that latched onto its victims.
"And you shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God; and it shall be a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt."
The recitation continued.
The pain intensified.
Without warning, charred black marks spread across takakai 's skin.
Hitori let out a muffled cry of pain. Even with her own Obsession Items' defenses, she couldn't avoid injury.
As for Miko—Takakai could no longer hear her.
The second verse had triggered an AoE (area-of-effect) attack, and though Hitori created another projection, it wasn't enough to fully shield Miko.
But that doesn't mean she's dead.
Right now, Miko bore Hirano Sousuke's undying blessing. As long as she endured ten minutes of agony, she would recover.
Takakai believed she could do it.
Which meant his only task now was to kill every last one of these hostile players within those ten minutes.
"And nothing from that which is doomed to destruction shall cling to your hand, so that the Lord may turn from—"
The third verse began.
Since the attack started, the three figures had disappeared, leaving only the disembodied recitation echoing.
Not knowing their location is a problem. Defending blindly against unknown Obsession Items is too costly.
But luckily, I don't actually need to find them.
"After all, Obsession Items are just another form of supernatural manifestation."
His pistol shifted modes.
Right now, Takakai was under the effect of a curse—meaning supernatural forces were at work.
And one thing was certain:
This curse's origin was a despicable, insane monster.
Even Hachiya Chiyo, a Core Obsession warped by torture, couldn't compare to this level of twisted malice.
Which meant—
The restraints were off.
Even if he couldn't see them, the enemy's position was locked.
Bang!
The gunshot interrupted the recitation.
A shrill scream followed—the bullet had shattered the speaker's mouth, silencing them.
Bang! Bang!
Two more Suppression Rounds followed, ensuring the speaker stayed quiet.
The Scarlet Domain expanded violently, and as Takakai 's wounds bled, his blood dispersed into the domain, floating like mist, seeking out any Obsession Items to latch onto.
Honestly, I never planned this move. I'm still not great with the domain.
But getting injured gave me the idea. Too bad I can't sense blood outside my body—no idea if it's sticking to anything.
But he knew it would work.
Because now, a black-clad figure had appeared within his domain, resisting its effects.
"A Crimson Moon-tier blessing… So powerful, so terrifying. Though it still falls short against God's messengers, used against humans, even the most esteemed Enlightened Ones could perish."
The man removed his hood, revealing the kindly face of a man in his sixties or seventies.
Takakai 's second blessing screamed another warning—this man was also not mentally sound.
God's messengers? Don't tell me… he sees specters as divine envoys?
No more words.
Takakai fully activated his domain, intent on crushing the man.
Hitori accelerated her strumming, her shadow warping—clearly preparing an Obsession Item specifically for killing players.
Meow~
A cat's cry, infused with an indescribable supernatural force, disrupted both Takakai and Hitori's actions.
Then—
The old man pointed straight at Takakai and declared with absolute certainty:
"The new Promised Land… lies within you."