Chapter 149

A hint of worry appeared in Kousaka Kirino's eyes.

Despite their love-hate relationship, the two actually have a much better relationship than they appear. Moreover, the fact that Kuroneko gave her a limited edition comic book from the anime convention further increased her affection for him.

"Then let's go take a look."

After exchanging glances, they nodded.

Just as Hasegawa Izumi and the others set off, passing through the crowd resting by the flowerbed.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he extracted a piece of information from the cacophony of life that caught his attention.

A person who has died and been brought back to life?

Passionate duelists?

Constantly challenging people?

Five people are already missing?

This sounded plausible and even connected to news reports, but he noticed that the people chatting about these urban legends weren't really paying attention; they just treated it as a joke.

But if it's true, that would be interesting.

Judging from the description, the other party can materialize and appear in front of everyone, and its appearance is quite normal, which is definitely different from the evil spirits encountered before.

Furthermore, considering that they all say the same thing, this thing might not be an evil spirit at all, but some kind of rarer rule-based anomaly.

They didn't walk far before they arrived at the nearest restroom.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Kousaka Kirino rushed in very proactively.

"Kuroneko, are you there?"

She spoke.

However, although there were people inside, no one responded.

"Not here."

She hurriedly walked out.

"He hasn't replied to any messages on his phone either."

Makishima Saori also raised her phone and said.

"This is troublesome."

Eriri felt a little embarrassed.

Could something really have happened?

They immediately felt nervous.

"Let's look again. Maybe this restroom was full, and Kuroneko chose to go somewhere further away... Hopefully, that guy really had something going on. If he was just playing a trick on us, I'll definitely make him pay!"

Kousaka Kirino was breathing rapidly, her right hand kneading her left, the unconscious action revealing the turmoil in her heart.

"If all else fails, I'll contact the organizers, report it missing, and ask them to spread the word. As long as the Kuroneko is still inside the venue, they should be able to find it."

Eriri also offered her own thoughts.

The girls were taken aback by these words.

Wow, you have that much energy?

They shouldn't think that just anyone can do this. It might be understandable if it were a small shopping mall, but this is an international exhibition, and its influence is completely different.

"Quan, what are your thoughts...?"

At this point, Eriri still felt uneasy and wanted to seek help from the person she trusted most.

However, when she turned around, her Childhood Friend had vanished.

"Where have you gone too?!"

The girl was extremely frustrated.

Just then, her phone beeped.

Quan: I've found a clue. Give me some time, and I'll bring her back. Don't worry.

"How did you find the clues?"

The girl was still completely confused.

"Sawamura-shi, what's wrong?"

"Where has Hasegawa gone?"

Makishima Saori and Kousaka Kirino looked over.

"Izumi said he..."

Eriri explained to the two of them.

"Why did he abandon us? Did he think we'd be in his way? Or is it something urgent...? Could he be a kidnapper or something? Let's call the police!"

Kousaka Kirino student, she had never encountered anything like this before.

"Hmm... what are Sawamura-shi's thoughts?"

Although they are the same age, Makishima Saori appears much more mature, responding with a composed gaze.

"Although Izumi can be a bit chuunibyou at times, he's a trustworthy person. We can believe what he says, and it's definitely better for him to act alone than with us."

As Eriri answered, images of Childhood Friend childhood friend's heroic journey through Shuchiin flashed through her mind, and a sense of trust welled up within her.

"What if he really runs into a thug? Even if he's really good, he's still just a high school student, right? The other person might be carrying a knife..."

Kousaka Kirino didn't understand where her confidence came from, and remained worried.

"Izumi is very strong... He's the man who won the title at Shuchiin, and he also has the title of 'Sun God' at the school. He defeated Busujima Senpai, who was the national kendo champion. In terms of fighting strength, I'm afraid dozens of ordinary people probably couldn't even get close to him."

Eriri immediately smiled.

"What the heck is the Sun God...? Are you having chuunibyou too?"

Kousaka Kirino made a comment.

"Shuchiin? Is the Hasegawa clan really that powerful?"

This surprised Makishima Saori.

As a wealthy Young Lady, Shuuchuin Academy, which is not far from Chiba, was already on her list of schools, so she knew about it.

"Yes, it will only be more powerful than I described. I haven't seen its limits yet..."

Eriri looked up at the dense dark clouds and said, "It's going to rain soon. Let's find somewhere to take shelter. Let's leave the Kuroneko matter to the professionals."

Kousaka Kirino was powerless to do anything about it, so she had no choice but to believe that the man's abilities were really as powerful as Eriri had boasted.

"Don't worry, things might not be as bad as we think."

Makishima Saori smiled slightly.

"That's true."

Kousaka Kirino sighed.

Just as she and two other girls were leaving the venue to find a coffee shop to take shelter from the rain and rest, she unexpectedly bumped into her best friend, Aragaki Ayase, who particularly disliked Otaku culture.

Reality is always worse than expected.

The same applies to Miss Kuroneko.

Just some time ago.

Gokou Ruri felt unwell and went to the nearest restroom, only to find that all the seats were taken because of the large number of people at the anime convention.

Having no other choice, she went to the restroom that was a little further away.

This time, she was fortunate enough to satisfy her physiological needs.

Just as she stepped out the door and walked down the unremarkable corridor, the surrounding noise suddenly disappeared.

Why is it so quiet?

Suddenly, Gokou Ruri opened her eyes and looked around, only to find that the world before her had changed.

The once bustling crowd had vanished, and the hall, though unchanged, had become pitch black, as if the lights had been turned off and the place had been plunged into darkness.

"Huh? What's going on... Am I dreaming? Where am I? Could I have encountered a ghost...?"

Her voice trembled; she was completely stunned.

The imaginative girl could only connect this inexplicable situation with supernatural phenomena.

It's good to be able to confirm the existence of supernatural forces in this world, but it's no joke to face the unknown when you're powerless to do anything about it.

This isn't some anime where the protagonist has a halo; in real life, you might actually die easily if you encountered someone like this.

"We can't act rashly. We need to observe the situation first. Maybe they're not targeting me, but just caught in the crossfire. We need to find a way to escape..."

Gokou Ruri tried to remain calm. She pinched her cheek and stopped when she felt pain. Then she took out her phone, but found that she couldn't connect to the internet. So she turned on the flashlight and tried to find her way.

"If the structures are similar, then the location of the exit should be..."

Although she was afraid, she also felt a kind of intoxicating excitement, and her pale face flushed red.

Although she was an average student, came from an ordinary family, and was athletically challenged, she had one thing to be proud of: amazing dynamic vision and reflexes, making her a master of video games.

She had faced dire straits in battles many times, and this state of heightened excitement allowed her to suppress her fear and achieve a remarkable comeback.

When she arrived at the exit, she found that the exit that had been open had now become a large door, which seemed to be able to be pushed open and passed through.

Just as she tried to push the door open, a sudden tremor ran through her heart. Wisps of red mist seeped out from the crack in the door, and when she opened and closed her eyes, they disappeared as if it were just an illusion.

"No! We can't make such a rash decision. This might be a dead end; opening the door might unleash something terrifying..."

Gokou Ruri pressed her right arm down with her left hand to suppress the impulse in her heart, then turned and went back.

Next, she checked all the exits, and each one had the same large door, giving her the same sense of unease.

The phone swept across a spot on the wall.

"Huh? There are words?"

With astonishing reflexes, she immediately shone the flashlight back, only to discover that the words written on it were --

"Pushing open the door means challenging the duelist. Only by winning this Dark Game can you leave this place."

"Who's the duelist? Should I push the door open? But if I don't, there's no exit... In other words, am I guaranteed to defeat the duelist?"

For a moment, the girl was caught in a dilemma.

"I'm confident I can win any game!"

She didn't even consider the possibility of staying put and waiting for rescue; this was a matter of habitual thinking.

However, when she stepped forward and pushed open the door...

That instinctive reaction to the crisis told her...

"Do I think I made a wrong decision?"

Gokou Ruri was terrified and wanted to back away, but the 'challenge has been established' and an inexplicable force pushed her through the door.

The scene flashed before my eyes.

We arrived at a fairly spacious hall, where chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating it with a soft, dim light.

"I sensed a powerful Dominating Intent emanating from you!"

Not far away, a standing figure slowly turned around; it was none other than Sato Yugo, who had previously come back from the dead.

"Since you've chosen to challenge me... then, duelist, show me your strength!"

"You can leave this place if you can defeat me Sato Yugo, in a battle."

He raised his right hand, revealing his Duel Disk, and spoke with a seemingly passionate but actually indifferent tone.

"Eh, is this Yu-Gi-Oh!- Oh!? But I don't have a deck."