The crimson city.
Once again, he had returned to this place.
His mind relaxed.
His body no longer needed to remain tense at every moment.
And so, Takakai collapsed onto the ground.
The blood-red sky was no different from before.
The city, bathed in that eerie glow, actually looked… weirdly comforting.
…Is this place actually my home now?
Lying motionless on the road like a corpse, Takakai mused silently.
Ah…
I don't want to move…
I really… don't want to move at all…
This is exhausting.
Even though his body had fully recovered, his mind was drained to the point where even thinking felt like a chore.
I'm so tired. So, so tired.
What kind of suffering is this?!
First loop: Survived just over an hour in Fujisaka Academy, constantly running for his life, barely any rest, and in the end, got turned into a living doll and had to self-destruct to avoid a permanent game over.
Second loop: Managed to snag a few relics, fought harder, but still couldn't beat [Alice]—that cheating monstrosity. Spent the whole time killing, running, escaping, with zero downtime, and only lasted two hours before getting drained of blood and consciousness. (Wait, doesn't that make [Alice] kind of like Cell from DBZ?)
In total: Two loops, five deaths, less than four hours of survival time.
This is too much.
Too exhausting.
I just want to lie here and rot.
I don't even want to go back to that damn school.
But in this crimson city, he could afford to laze around.
After all, this place was completely safe—no sudden horrors popping up to kill him.
Right, this is my personal cheat zone, a protagonist's privilege. Nothing can hurt me here. The only other "residents" are those bastards burning on the grill, and they're not getting out anytime soon.
Yeah… I can stay here as long as I want. I'll only get sent back when I decide to leave.
So for now… I'll just chill.
Takakai exhaled deeply, stretching out on the ground, even sparing a glance at Yotsuya Miko, who lay beside him, before closing his eyes to nap for a bit.
…
His eyes snapped open.
He turned his head.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Takakai bolted upright, staring in shock at the girl lying next to him.
Yotsuya Miko.
A 17-year-old high school girl with the ability to sense supernatural entities, who had helped him multiple times in both loops—before getting possessed by [Alice] and killing him twice.
A double-edged sword of an ally, to say the least.
(Also, in terms of body rankings among the women he knew, she was third place, right behind Fujiwara Chika and Gotou Hitori—so, definitely well-endowed.)
And now, here she was—lying motionless beside him, no breathing, no movement, like a statue frozen in time.
The question was—how?
This place was supposed to be his alone.
"Hey, wake up. Huh? What the hell is going on…?"
He shook her, but her body was rigid, as if fused with the space itself.
What is this?
Takakai frowned at this lifeless mannequin version of Miko, utterly baffled.
Wait…
The difference between his first and second deaths was that, in the second loop, [Alice] had used Miko's body to perform a ritual, attempting to absorb his body and mind.
Even though he'd self-destructed before it could finish, their consciousnesses and flesh had partially merged—along with [Alice]'s own essence—which was why he'd been able to see the truth beneath the school.
Takakai glanced around.
No sign of [Alice].
Clearly, the black watch had filtered out harmful entities during the reset. Even if [Alice] had fully fused with him, she couldn't enter this crimson city.
But Miko had been let in.
Though, due to lacking his "access privileges", she was frozen in this state—more like a decoration or furniture than a living being.
Still, she had been brought in, likely because of her partial fusion with Takakai during the ritual.
Is this just a fluke? Or… does the black watch not care?
Does this mean I can bring others here if I figure out the right method?
Though, right now, it doesn't seem useful—she's basically a prop, unable to move or interact.
Well, thanks to her, my rest plans are ruined anyway.
Sighing, Takakai sat up, gazing at the sky.
DONG—
The bell tolled.
A rain of relics fell from above.
Every relic he'd thrown into the flesh monstrosity had returned.
Every relic he'd lost or broken—sheep mask, rescue badge, scalpel, everything—was back.
And then… new additions.
A bone cane, crafted from [Alice]'s remains.
A clump of flesh, roughly palm-sized, seemingly from the flesh monstrosity.
A bizarre machine with tubes attached—Wait, this thing too?! Though, given its function (merging people's bodies and memories), it definitely qualified as a relic.
Huh. First loop, I stole the machete [Alice] used to kill me. Second loop, I yoinked the absorption device she used. What's she gonna use in the third loop?
…Wait, why am I assuming I'll die to her again?!
Besides, this reset should change things.
With the key relic removed, the school building should now be in a "locked" state.
In this state:
The area is still accessible, but the horrors inside are dormant, almost inactive.
Relics that could originally be obtained here vanish.
Mechanics and rules stop functioning.
Many areas become inaccessible—even if you break in, they're just empty spaces.
It's somewhat like an unstabilized dungeon, but safer.
Players who find such locked zones can use them as safe havens—though if horrors from unlocked areas wander in, you're still screwed.
*Then again, most horrors don't leave their zones… except, of course, *[Alice]—the absolute menace who ignores rules, fakes rules, and hunts players proactively.
Honestly, I'm still not sure if [Alice] is even a horror. Her intelligence and emotional depth make me wonder if the researchers actually succeeded in creating some human-horror hybrid.
Otherwise, her contradictions—acting human-like yet being bound by supernatural rules—don't make sense.
Regardless, Takakai had figured out part of her rules:
**[Alice]'s core revolves around [making friends].
Becoming her "friend" isn't just verbal—it requires a process, likely the [Alice Game]. This was probably a restriction imposed by her creators to ensure targets met certain conditions.
Until you're her "friend," [Alice] can't kill you directly. She can trick you, use illusions, possess others to attack you, but not use her own power to end you.
The only people she can't befriend are "righteous haters of evil." Maybe the original Alice (the idol) encountered someone like that and paid a price, making her unable to bond with such individuals.
Going further…
That corpse in the underground lab—maybe someone solo'd Alice's fan club, even killed the human Alice, forcing her to become Fujisaka Academy's horror?
To uncover the truth, I need to find [Alice]'s relic in the dormitory, lock down all four surface zones, and dig into the dungeon's hidden core.
Only then could he confront the true core resentment of this dungeon—the real tragedy buried beneath [Alice]'s theatrics.
And whatever it was, it wouldn't be friendly.
But Takakai had no choice.
The black watch demanded perfect clears to escape. Even if this wasn't a real game, it wouldn't let him go easily.
Not that I'm complaining. This thing's given me plenty of perks.
I've made my peace with it.
Though…
*[Alice] could remove my rescue badge, but ignored the black watch—even though I've pulled relics from it multiple times.
Does she not see it? Can she not interact with it?
If I smacked her with the watch, would she just think she got hit by air?
He dismissed the ridiculous thought.
DONG—
The second bell rang.
Takakai took a deep breath, looking down at Miko.
Both his deaths had been by her hand (well, [Alice]'s, but using her body).
I can't let this keep happening.
Miko was a valuable ally, but once possessed, she became an unstoppable threat. Yet abandoning her wasn't an option—he needed her senses to navigate traps and clues.
If I could shield her from mental corruption… No, my own willpower has limits. One reason I died in the second loop was overexertion—resisting too many effects for too long.
But what if I shared the burden? Miko can resist most horrors—just not [Alice]. If I could link our minds, let her distribute the corruption to me, maybe…
Expanding on that—
Maybe I can create a willpower-sharing ability, letting me help others resist mental attacks. The link shouldn't share memories or thoughts (to avoid info leaks), just my slightly-above-average mental resilience. And I need to toggle it freely.
Closing his eyes, Takakai solidified the idea.
DONG—
The third bell tolled.
The crimson city faded.
Miko's figure vanished.
And Takakai had gained his new ability.
No death cost.
Activates/deactivates at will.
10-meter radius.
Can link with anyone in range, sharing mental resistance.
No memory/thought exchange—pure willpower support.
A purely defensive skill, but invaluable.
Then came the catch:
The black watch had a capacity limit—12 abilities max.
With this new one, 9 slots were filled, leaving only 3 remaining.
So I've got to choose carefully from now on.
Still, this thing's given me more than enough.
Rest time's over. Back to the fight.
Takakai's fighting spirit ignited—
—then fizzled out as he realized he'd forgotten to rest after Miko startled him.
…Damn it.
The crimson city vanished.
Darkness swallowed everything.
...
Takakai opened his eyes.
He was back in the familiar classroom—
—but this time, no candles, no [Alice Game] rules, no eerie atmosphere.
The school building's horrors were dormant.
No [Alice] popping up to torment him.
No smiling flesh abomination chasing him down.
The "2-hour lockdown" rule wouldn't activate here, meaning no last-second traps.
Two deaths had bought him a safe starting zone.
Somewhere deep underground, a girl's furious scream echoed.
Rubbing his temples, Takakai glanced at the slumped students, then stood up, pulling the machete from his watch.
Time to re-establish my kidnapper persona.
But outside Fujisaka Academy, at the school gates, a new figure appeared.
A disheveled student, her red hair matted with dirt, staggered forward.
[Dungeon… not active… Fujisaka Academy… zone… locked… Why…? Huh…?]
Mumbling to herself, she crossed the gates—entering the school.
And in the dormitory, the only remaining unlocked zone, shadows began to stir.
In this supposedly player-less horror school, Takakai's uninvited interference was starting to cause ripples.