The light of the setting sun completely faded, the last trace of warmth vanishing without a trace. An insidious chill, its source unknown, crept up Black Trojan's spine like a horde of worms, starting from the back of his feet. It covered his entire body, its myriad tiny legs gently tapping against his face.
Involuntarily, Black Trojan shivered, his teeth chattering uncontrollably, and his limbs felt as though they had melted, losing all sensation.
The building shook violently. The corridor floor began to rot at high speed, and the walls rapidly became mottled and started to peel. Chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling, revealing the rusty, yellowing steel structure within.
The entire Ibaraki Middle School was decaying, deteriorating.
Hundreds of strangely shaped Monsters climbed out from crevices that had opened in the ground. They looked up at the sky, breathing.
Sad cries, angry roars, resentful curses—the voices of the dead echoed above the campus. This intangible, insubstantial negative energy accelerated Ibaraki Middle School's decay.
It was like a descent into Avīci Hell, an arrival in the underworld.
Although he couldn't see the scene downstairs, Black Trojan could clearly feel the art building beneath his feet slowly tipping over. It was only a matter of time before the entire building would collapse.
Moreover, rustling noises seemed to be coming from downstairs, as if something was slowly climbing the stairs.
He stared unblinkingly at the statues at the end of the corridor and glanced at the Plague Doctor from the corner of his eye. The doctor was clearly just as panicked and flustered as he was.
The System had not set a time limit or death penalty because being trapped here was more terrifying and desperate than death itself.
"How are things on your end?" Li Ang said quickly into the walkie-talkie. "Haven't you resolved it yet? I'm coming over now."
The current situation allowed no delay; soon, the Fierce Ghosts and resentful spirits pervading Ibaraki Middle School would discover them.
Li Ang clipped the walkie-talkie to his waist and, brandishing his Spider Claw, dashed toward the art building.
「Inside the art building.」
"Plague Doctor," Black Trojan said, his voice strained as he felt the footsteps from below drawing nearer. "Your Title Skill... you can use it once more, right?"
"Yes," the Plague Doctor replied in a low voice, glancing at his teammate from the corner of his eye. "What do you plan to do?"
"Resolve this." Black Trojan looked at the statues and smiled ferociously. "When the time comes, it's all up to you, Doctor."
In the Plague Doctor's peripheral vision, Black Trojan raised his hand and took a sharp dagger and a small syringe filled with a clear liquid from his backpack slot.
Black Trojan shook the syringe, gently inserted it into his neck, and pushed the plunger, injecting a potent painkiller.
His muddled brain cleared instantly. The icy chill throughout his body was swiftly expelled, replaced by a searing heat that felt like it would scorch both body and soul.
My brain... it's so hot.
Trembling, Black Trojan dropped the empty syringe, grasped the dagger's handle, and pressed the cold tip against his cheek.
The Plague Doctor, as if realizing something, asked incredulously, "What are you doing?"
Black Trojan didn't answer; he couldn't. The potent painkiller had robbed him of too much sanity.
He just clumsily directed the blade toward the corner of his eye.
These things... they have to be 'watched' to stop moving.
Black Trojan took a deep breath and, slowly yet resolutely, sliced open the corner of his eye with the dagger's tip.
Blood trailed from the wound. Before a single drop could hit the ground, the cold tip of the dagger plunged into his eye socket and twisted viciously.
The intense pain stabbed directly into his brain. It was so severe that not even the potent painkiller could mask it. Black Trojan let out a piercing scream, his body bending and curling like a cooked shrimp.
The Plague Doctor, who was positioned beyond the railing and against the wall, swallowed hard. He was still staring at the statues, but he kept an eye on Black Trojan from the corner of his vision. "Are you okay?"
Trembling, Black Trojan straightened up, cupping a bloody eyeball, still connected by many nerves, in his palm.
Blood torrented from the gaping eye socket, flowing down his cheek. DRIP. DRIP. DRIP. Splashing onto the ground.
Under the Plague Doctor's complex gaze, Black Trojan clumsily placed the eyeball into a transparent glass box, then glued the box firmly to the wall at the end of the hallway.
[Task objective: Resolve seven supernatural events, currently completed 7/7]
[Script task "Campus Past" completed]
[Restriction lifted]
[Current goal: Go to any bathroom, use the mirror for transportation]
"It's resolved." Black Trojan stood up with a malevolent smile, nearly falling as he walked towards the hallway railing.
As soon as the System lifted the restriction, the Plague Doctor immediately vaulted over the railing into the hallway and pulled Black Trojan to his feet. He then activated his Title Skill, "Miraculous Healing," to staunch the blood flowing from Black Trojan's eye socket.
Li Ang, who had rushed over, arrived at this point. He retracted his Spider Claw and scrambled up the wall using his hands and feet to join his two teammates.
He cocked his ear, listening. The dense footsteps from downstairs grew closer, and the building's tilt became more severe.
"Follow me."
Li Ang watched as the Plague Doctor hoisted Black Trojan onto his shoulder. Then, gripping a steel rod, Li Ang violently smashed the rotten floor, forcing a hole open.
Li Ang jumped down through the hole to the floor below and sprinted towards the bathroom at the other end of the hallway, with the Plague Doctor carrying Black Trojan close behind.
All along the way, the hallway floor kept crumbling, and the entire building tilted progressively. Pale arms, one after another, reached out from the walls, ceiling, and floor, attempting to grab the three players.
Li Ang swung his steel rod with such force it whistled through the air. Combined with his Ripple Energy, he repelled and crushed countless Fierce Ghosts.
However, more and stronger resentful spirits were converging on the art building. Some took flight and dived, others scrambled up the walls, and still others merged with the building to launch surprise Flash attacks. Thank you for reading. This was brought to you by *.
Fortunately, the art building's bathroom wasn't far. The three players barely made it inside before the Fierce Ghosts could completely encircle them.
The bathroom reeked of decay and rot. The Plague Doctor looked towards the wall and discovered that the mirror hanging there was completely obscured by a dense layer of black hair.
A woman's head emerged from the black hair on the mirror. She looked at the three players, a resentful and scornful sneer on her pale face.
"Stay here!" she screamed in a high-pitched voice that sounded like many voices overlapping. "Stay here!"
Without a second word, Li Ang pulled a Molotov cocktail from his backpack slot and hurled it, saying coolly amidst the flames, "Stay here? Do you think you're Phoenix Legend?"
The hair covering the mirror ignited. Just as the woman in the mirror was about to let out a piercing scream, a steel rod smashed her head.
"This mirror is useless now," Li Ang said, glancing at the still-burning mirror. He took several full-length mirrors from his backpack slot. "Good thing I prepared in advance."
These full-length mirrors included some Li Ang had purchased before the mission and others he had collected from the swimming pool. They were all for dealing with the mission's initial transport condition: "enter a bathroom and use a mirror to teleport."
Li Ang placed the mirrors on the ground. The three exchanged a look and jumped onto the mirrors simultaneously. Their figures vanished as if submerging into water.