"Huh?"
Promised Land? What the hell is he talking about?
Takakai had expected the old man to attack immediately, but instead, he was spouting nonsense.
"Indeed, you are the land flowing with milk and honey."
The old man grinned, his gaze sweeping over Takakai like he was appraising a piece of art—disgustingly intrusive.
"The descent of urban legends, the Sacrifice Game's repeated trials—these are God's miracles among us. Those who fail become lambs sacrificed to Him, while the chosen like us will eventually find the Promised Land, reclaiming our paradise on earth. There's no mistake—it must be you. This power can only be a blessing, a Crimson moon -tier blessing. As the first player to obtain such a blessing, you are God's gift to us."
The seemingly kind old man's voice grew deeper, more fervent.
And Takakai?
Well… he kind of wanted to dig a hole in the ground with his toes out of sheer embarrassment.
How the hell can someone say this stuff with a straight face? Is this what chuunibyou looks like in real life? I mean, sure, some say it's only chuuni if you can't actually do the things you claim—but this dialogue is next-level cringe. Did this old man crawl out of some edgy anime?
Shouldn't this kind of thing be limited to middle schoolers? Even most high schoolers wouldn't go this far!
Still, as ridiculous as this guy sounded, Takakai had already pieced together what these people were.
Herdal's blessing was still screaming warnings at him. And the old man's gaze made it clear—he saw Takakai as nothing more than a tool, something to exploit for power.
Tch. Just call it what it is—murder and robbery. But no, they've gotta dress it up as "divine will." So, what, they're some kind of cultist fanatics?
Cultist villains? A bit cliché, don't you think?
Meow~
The sound of a cat echoed faintly again.
Takakai turned his head slightly, trying to locate the source, but found nothing.
He suspected it was the second Core Obsession Item from yoruyama High—a rare living Obsession Item. But his Scarlet Domain hadn't detected it. Wherever it was, it remained hidden.
When the meow had sounded earlier, Takakai had felt a brief, unnatural disturbance in his consciousness.
Uncertain of the exact mechanics, but as a Core Obsession Item, it's not something I can ignore.
With the enemy's numbers unclear and the only visible foe possessing some means to resist his domain, Takakai decided this wasn't the time for a direct confrontation.
"Time to move."
He muttered to Gotou Hitori beside him.
The pink-haired girl gave a small nod. She'd already pieced out who these people likely were—and what Takakai was planning. Her fingers tightened around the lucky charm hanging from her neck.
[Lucky Charm]
For a Crimson moon -tier Obsession Item, this unassuming little trinket was deceptively low-key—just like the small pencil Takakai had gotten from Tōyama Akira. On the surface, it looked utterly unremarkable.
But its effect was ridiculously overpowered—it boosted the user's luck while actively cursing a nearby target with misfortune.
Hitori had obtained this bizarre item while investigating a Crimson moon -tier hospital dungeon, a副本 with strange rules. Among the few Obsession Items retrieved from it, this charm stood out—not just for its effects, but because it had never once gone out of control.
Unlike most Obsession Items, which carried inherent risks, this one was as stable as a blessing. No backlash, no sudden rampages. Hitori had kept this fact a closely guarded secret—only Aoyama Nanami, the missing Kita Ikuyo, and now Takakai (who'd reviewed her files) knew about it.
Thud—
Takakai scooped up Yotsuya Miko's bloodied, lifeless body.
He could feel faint tremors—proof that Miko was still fighting against death's agony through Hirano Sousuke's undying blessing. Unlike Takakai, who could keep moving even as minced meat, Miko's willpower hadn't reached that level yet. She couldn't force her fatally wounded body to function, leaving her reliant on Takakai to carry her.
Ah. Both arms are gone. One leg's on the ground too. And… are those her intestines?
Well, at least I got most of her.
Thankfully, once the 10-minute mark hit, Miko would fully regenerate, as if time had reversed. Missing a few parts wasn't a big deal—as long as the majority of her body was here.
Hope she can endure this. For me, this level of damage is nothing, but for her… it's gotta be hell. Just hang on for 10 minutes.
"Where do you think you're going? You are our Promised Land. No matter where you flee, you belong to us."
The old man spoke again, unmoving, his eyes fixed calmly on Takakai.
"Promised Land my ass!"
Takakai didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, tape measure in hand, and—
Snap.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
"Eh?"
Hitori's eyes widened slightly.
She'd been trying to target the old man with her Lucky Charm's curse, but—
It didn't work.
Takakai frowned too. He'd tried to select the old man as the endpoint for his tape measure's spatial warping, but the ability failed to lock onto him. He'd been forced to target a blade of grass beside the man instead.
Same as the domain resistance. No wonder this bastard waltzed in so confidently—he's in some kind of [untargetable] state. Anything that would directly affect him gets blocked.
To resist a Crimson moon -tier blessing and Obsession Items, it'd have to be something of equal rank. So… is this the ability of Mori Haruhiko's Core Obsession Item?
Whoosh—
The wind howled violently.
Realizing direct attacks were useless, Takakai immediately set a new endpoint—a tree at the edge of his vision, near where Maki and Chika were approaching.
With a tug of the tape measure, Takakai, Miko, and Hitori vanished, reappearing beside the tree.
More cuts began forming on Takakai's body, only to be rapidly healed by the Rescue Team Badge.
The old man didn't panic. He simply turned, smiling—until his expression shifted.
Several small objects had been left behind.
A scalpel. A faceless head. A blood doll. Scissors. A pair of marbles.
Five Twilight-tier Obsession Items, tossed out by Takakai the moment he'd warped away.
They activated instantly, twisting into grotesque specters that surrounded the old man.
Normally, they wouldn't target him—but the ground beneath his feet had been cursed by Hitori's Lucky Charm, forcing the specters to lash out at him by proxy.
And in that brief delay—
Takakai's group was gone.
"A pity. Players of the same tier aren't so easily captured."
The old man sighed, disappointed but making no move to pursue.
"You're just letting them go?"
The mold-covered man reappeared, his raspy voice dripping with frustration. Behind him, two other figures removed their hoods—revealing blank faces devoid of eyes, noses, or mouths, their bald heads scarred from repeated surgeries.
"No need to worry. Our other brothers are already in position."
The old man shook his head, calmly sitting on a nearby rock.
"But they lack our faith. They believe in God yet crave to overthrow Him, to become Him. Their greed for that cave may lead to failure."
The mold-faced man twitched, unwilling to let their prey escape so easily.
"Patience. We are but shepherds tending the flock. What is ours will come to us."
The old man's murmur was the last thing spoken as the specters around him froze in place, immobilized by some unseen force.
Meanwhile, Takakai had already warped multiple times, putting significant distance between them and the cultists, closing in on Maki and Chika.
"Do you know who those guys were?"
Once sure they weren't being followed, Takakai slowed and turned to Hitori.
"I-I've never met them, but… I've heard about their group."
Hitori shrank under his gaze, speaking softly.
"There's a player organization based in the Americas. They appeared soon after the Sacrifice Game began. At first, they called themselves [Shepherds], then [Disciples], later [Seekers]. Their name isn't consistent, but their attire is."
"Few players who encounter them survive. They believe the Sacrifice Game is divine will—that they're God's chosen, while other players exist only to be exploited. Ordinary people? To them, non-players aren't even human—just livestock."
"They're secretive. Prone to infighting. But when facing outsiders, they're united. Survivors sometimes post about them on the forums, but those people… tend to disappear quickly. Rumor says the forum's admin team tried tracking them once. Several investigators died..."
As she spoke, Hitori remembered Aoyama Nanami explaining all this to her.
Honestly, Bocchi wasn't the type to care about this stuff. If not for Nanami forcing her to memorize player faction intel, she wouldn't have recognized these cultists today.
But now…
Nanami isn't responding to my messages.
The mental link was still active, but no matter how much Hitori reached out, there was no reply.
Like Nanami couldn't hear her at all.
The thought made Hitori's chest tighten with dread.
"Hah… hah… T-Takakai, we're here—"
Maki and Chika arrived, panting, clutching the homework sheet left behind by Kumami.
Miko, still in her gruesome state (the 10 minutes weren't up yet), twitched slightly—adapting to the blessing's power.
With the school grounds now inaccessible, the group had effectively regrouped here.
But Takakai wasn't smiling.
Meow~
That sound again. Distant.
He turned—
And saw a figure standing far away.
His senses screamed—not human.
It wore an orange-red suit, a top hat, and a grotesque clown mask.
It bowed slightly, as if preparing for a performance.
Danger.
Instincts flared.
Without hesitation, Takakai activated Alice's Blessing, yanking Maki, Chika, Hitori, and Miko inside before slamming the door shut.
What the hell was that thing? Some kind of specter?
For it to set off my instincts like that…
"Haaah…"
Takakai exhaled sharply.
But inside Alice's Room, external forces couldn't reach them.
For now, they were safe.
At least, that's what he thought—
Until he turned to his companions and paused.