(Mission accomplished. 5,000 points have been credited.)
Ignoring the notification pinging from his chat group, Tatsuya kept his gaze fixed on the two hulking men before him. Their expressions were vacant, as if their consciousness had been completely erased.
Tatsuya activated his Elemental Sight to scan their bodies. What he discovered made him recoil inwardly.
"Tatsuya-kun?" Mayumi sensed his shift in mood and spoke up, her voice laced with hesitation.
"Mm, what is it?"
"Is something wrong? You look pale."
"Hm? No, I'm fine. Just lost in thought."
"Hmm..." Mayumi didn't look entirely convinced.
At that moment, a staff member checking the pulses of the two fallen men looked up, shaking his head with a grimace. "These men have been dead for a long time. I have no idea how they managed to slip into the party in this state."
Tatsuya nodded slightly; the explanation matched his own observations.
"Could it be some kind of corpse-manipulation magic?" Mayumi asked, her suspicion growing.
Had Tatsuya not seen what he saw through his Elemental Sight, he would have agreed with her and begun searching for a puppeteer behind the scenes. However, he had detected a strange, "otherworldly" element within their bodies—something that didn't belong to this reality. It wasn't a Paranormal Parasite either; the experiments that would eventually bring those into this world hadn't even happened yet.
"Tatsuya-kun?" Mayumi called out again.
"Ahem. It certainly appears that way," Tatsuya replied, maintaining a perfectly convincing poker face.
"What should we do with them?" Mayumi asked.
"Saegusa, leave them to me."
A massive youth, standing nearly two meters tall and built like a fortress, stepped between Mayumi and Tatsuya.
"Juumonji-kun, are you sure?"
Katsuto Juumonji nodded, his expression as stoic as ever.
"It shouldn't be a problem. Right, Tatsuya-kun?"Mayumi turned to Tatsuya for confirmation; after all, he was the one who had neutralized them.
"Of course. That would be a great help," Tatsuya replied.
Katsuto gave a curt nod and waved his hand. Several subordinates appeared at his side, quickly hauling the two bodies away from the scene. After a brief farewell, Katsuto turned to leave.
Before walking away, however, Katsuto shot a lingering glance at Tatsuya, as if something was weighing on his mind. Tatsuya noticed the look but chose to ignore it, knowing exactly what it meant.
'He's sizing me up. His intuition is sharper than I thought.' Tatsuya couldn't help but inwardly praise the heir of the Juumonji family.
...
Sword Princess: That man just now... he was quite strong.
Time Eater: Ara~ ara~ Judging by appearances alone, he looks even more formidable than @Tatsuya Yotsuba.
White: You're right about the look, but in terms of actual destructive power, @Tatsuya Yotsuba is far superior.
Makoto: Why aren't we talking about those two men? This seems like a serious issue.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: You all saw it too, didn't you?
Sword Princess: I didn't "see" it per se. I just felt a terrifying presence hidden deep within their bodies.
Time Eater: My experience was more or less the same as @Sword Princess.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: What about you two? @White @Makoto? I'm sure you saw more than they did.
White: It's annoying when you act like you know everything about me. But yes, I saw a very strange spiritual entity inside them.
Makoto: Same here, though that spiritual presence vanished the moment they were restrained.
Tatsuya nodded to himself. He had seen the same thing, though being physically present likely gave him a clearer view than the others.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: @Moderator, care to explain this to us?
(There is nothing to explain. If you want your worlds to survive, then you must complete all missions!)
The Moderator's reply was as blunt as ever, but this time, it carried a heavy weight of indirect information. The phrase "if you want your worlds to survive" made it clear: a massive threat was looming over every member's reality.
'I think I finally understand the reason this chat group exists.'
Tatsuya wasn't the only one; the gravity of the warning settled over every member of the group.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Although it's frustrating that you're still keeping secrets, I thank you for the warning.
(...)
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Everyone, threats like this might appear in your worlds as well. Stay vigilant at all times.
Sword Princess: I am always ready.
Time Eater: Ara~ ara~ It looks like I'm going to be quite busy.
White: I wouldn't care if the world ended, but now that I've found something this interesting, I can't exactly sit still, can I?
Makoto: I'll tell Tomoe to increase our scouting efforts.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: I'll be doing the same here. I'll stay on high alert.
To be continued...
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