His eyes opened.
Before him lay a decrepit, crumbling hall.
Shattered tables and chairs littered the floor. Parts of the ground had collapsed entirely, while cobwebs clung to the corners. The musty scent of dust filled the air.
Takakai lifted his gaze. The ceiling above had caved in in several places, its edges weathered by wind and rain. Pale moonlight seeped through the gaps, casting an even bleaker atmosphere over the scene.
Compared to the orphanage he'd seen in the illusion last loop—and the area he'd entered afterward—this place felt far more abandoned, as if it had been left to rot for decades.
Does this place… change every time I enter?
Frowning, Takakai cautiously stepped forward, moving along the edges of the hall.
If Hachiya Chiyo is here… where would she be hiding?
Last time, recklessly chasing the Core Obsession had gotten him instantly killed. This time, he'd switched tactics—using [Berserk Blessing] and [Suppression Bullets] in tandem to endure the pursuit. As a result, he still had [Undying Blessing] and [Alice's Safe House] unused, leaving him with a decent margin for error.
But margin for error didn't mean recklessness. His retry count was already dangerously low. Worse, being separated from Kaguya and Hayasaka meant he had no way to confirm their status.
I said I'd solve things this loop… but with this forced separation, I'm not so sure anymore.
This is probably the KP's doing, isn't it? After failing to kill me with the opening ambush last time, it rigged things—escalating the difficulty while splitting me from Hayasaka and Kaguya. It's exploiting the fact that I won't abandon my allies, further restricting my options to ensure I die here.
No… it might be even worse than that.
Last loop, he'd already pieced together most of Hachiya Chiyo's past—only a few key clues stood between him and uncovering the Core Obsession's true nature.
This dungeon is already at its final stage—the decisive moment. If the KP is hellbent on killing me before I clear it… then it's probably going all-out now.
So… what's next?
As he pondered, Takakai finished scouting the hall's perimeter, checking every room.
He wanted to use [Blood Key] to return to Hayasaka and Kaguya, but none of the orphanage's rooms had doors left—only broken frames remained. Given the illusion he'd seen last loop—of intruders ripping the doors off—this wasn't surprising.
But with the KP's interference, Takakai couldn't help but wonder if this was another one of its schemes.
The first floor seemed barren of anything useful.
After a thorough search yielded nothing but empty rooms, Takakai returned to the hall's corner, where the staircase to the second floor stood. Nearby was the main entrance—the only door on this floor.
But since he was inside, he couldn't see the keyhole.
No choice. Gotta head upstairs.
Takakai couldn't sense anything beyond the door. It was as if the outside was pure void—a darkness that would erase him the moment he stepped into it.
Not willing to bet my life on that.
No idea what's waiting on the second floor. Last time, it was an endless corridor—without Hayasaka's tracking skills, I'd never have found Hachiya Chiyo. Now that I'm alone, if I get trapped in that loop again… escaping won't be easy.
But there's no better option.
Step—
Takakai placed his foot on the stairs.
Then paused.
A faint noise had come from behind the door.
…What was that?
A sense of unease prickled at him.
The sound was… mechanical. A harsh, grating vibration.
Even from a distance, it was deeply unsettling.
What the hell—
VVVRRRRMMMM—!!
A chainsaw's roar tore through the door, deafeningly clear.
Takakai saw it—twin rotating blades—piercing through the wood, dripping with fresh blood.
BANG—!
The next instant, the door exploded inward, crashing to the ground.
A hulking figure stepped inside.
Behind it, Takakai glimpsed a slaughterhouse—walls drenched in crimson, dismembered corpses hanging from hooks.
VVVRRRRMMMM—!
The figure raised a massive double-bladed chainsaw—over 1.5 meters long—and slammed it down, carving deep grooves into the floor. Blood welled up from the gashes.
"..."
Takakai was stunned.
He recognized this man—even though the Obsession's corruption had warped him beyond recognition.
Touyama Akira.
A Crimson Moon-rank player. Member of the Red Coven.
Like Kumami, he'd been captured by Alice and turned into a doll. But unlike Kumami, he had no defenses against mental erosion—once restored, the Obsession's power had consumed him entirely, turning him into a puppet for the Remnant.
Back in Fujika Academy's Deep Layer, Takakai had released him, using the chaos between him and the Hospital Remnant to advance. After the Core Obsession's destruction, Touyama had vanished—Takakai had assumed he'd died.
But now… he's here.
VVVRRRRMMMM—!
The chainsaw's snarl continued.
Touyama's body had swollen—now standing over 2.1 meters tall, a giant clad in blackened blood. A white cloth sack covered his head, his bloodshot eyes visible through the holes, madness overflowing.
What the fuck… Chainsaw Man?!
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Takakai was already moving.
BOOM—!
The chainsaw pulverized the staircase, blood gushing from the wreckage.
Takakai kicked off the wall, flipping midair to evade, then landed on the second-floor hallway.
No time to breathe.
Touyama leaped, chainsaw raised high, and brought it down with enough force to create a sonic boom.
Takakai activated [Berserk Blessing] and rolled, barely dodging.
CRASH—!!
The blades tore through the floor and walls, splitting the hallway open.
From the gashes, dark red liquidgushed forth, flooding the corridor.
Takakai knew what this was—the Slaughterhouse Dungeon's power was spreading, corrupting the orphanage's rules, turning it into its territory.
If this keeps up, Hachiya Chiyo will appear.
And when two Crimson Moon Remnants clashed…
I doubt I'll survive as a bystander.
THUD—!
Touyama charged again, chainsaw roaring.
Too fast—I can't outrun him!
[Rescue Team Captain Old Guo] materialized in front of Takakai, shouting "Rescue operation commencing!" before tackling Touyama—
—and getting sliced into three pieces.
Takakai used the brief distraction to sprint away, but—
WHOOSH—!
Touyama blitzed past him, cutting him off, chainsaw swinging down.
BANG BANG BANG BANG—!!
Gunfire erupted.
Thousands of rounds pummeled Touyama in under a second, forcing him back a step—
—but then the chainsaw came down anyway, severing Takakai's left arm at the forearm.
Blood sprayed.
And something worse—a foreign Remnant's power—began spreading through his body.
[Suppression Bullets] were barely effective.
Touyama wasn't just host to one Obsession—multiple Remnants had merged within him, their powers intertwined. Takakai had no idea how many or what they did.
Even after three [Suppression Bullets], Touyama's movements hardly slowed—only the chainsaw's rotation dipped slightly.
BANG BANG BANG—!
Takakai blew off his own arm at the shoulder.
The severed limbtwitched on the floor, dark red insectscrawling out of it.
The skin warped, forming a baby's face, which began wailing.
The blood flooding the hallwaybubbled, tiny crimson worms—needle-thin—writhing within it.
[Mommy… I want mommy…]
A bluish-purple infantemerged from the blood, grabbing Takakai's leg—
—and ripping it off at the knee, dragging it under.
The chainsaw swung again, cleaving through the walls.
Debris, more blood, more crying babies, more squirming insects—
—and an agonizing, drilling pain in his skull, as if a power tool were boring into his brain.
Takakai rolled to the far side of the hallway, putting distance between himself and Touyama.
Even missing an arm and a leg, he'd seized the chance to escape.
But it was meaningless.
Touyama closed the gap instantly, chainsaw descending once more.
One of the Obsessions in him… must be distance-related.
It's locked onto me. No matter where I run, he'll catch up—faster than I can move.
In that split second, Takakai understood.
BANG—!
Another gunshot.
Takakai moved again.
A full [Rescue Team Uniform] materialized on him, his missing limbs regenerating rapidly.
The blood tide from earlier was spreading closer.
And Touyama's chainsaw was already swinging again.
"Fuck you, you hack writer of a KP. Can't even play fair, huh? Pathetic."
This time, Takakai didn't dodge.
THUD—!
The chainsaw clashed against—
—the Butcher's corpse, which Takakai had grabbed and wielded like a club.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The berserk chainsaw manswung relentlessly, each strike dripping blood.
Takakai fought back, using the Butcher's body as a shield, blocking every hit.
The hallway was now completely bathed in crimson.
But this wasn't the Slaughterhouse's influence—this was the Butcher's power, transforming the area into Early Stand Elementary's Deep Layer—a hellscape of corpses and children's bloody scribbles.
The Butcher's corpse, as an Obsession, had no positive effects. It was pure corruption—most players would go insane just carrying it, let alone using it. Normally, Takakai would never touch this thing.
But now, against the Slaughterhouse's encroachment, it was perfect.
The Butcher's power suppressed the blood and infant apparitions, preventing them from spreading further.
And since it was an Obsession, the corpse was indestructible—immune to the chainsaw's blades.
Makes for a damn good hammer, too.
"Take this, you bastard—Glintstone Pebble!"
Takakai swung the Butcher's body, smashing its head into Touyama's chest—
—but the giant didn't budge. Instead, the recoilnearly dislocated Takakai's arms.
VVVRRRRMMMM—!
The chainsaw came down again, forcing Takakai to block with the corpse, slamming him through a wall.
CRASH—!
He rolled to his feet, gripping the Butcher's ankles, and swung again, deflecting another strike.
CLANG—!
The impact tore open Takakai's palms, but the [Rescue Team Badge]healed them instantly.
The scene was absurd—two men, one swinging a corpse, the other a chainsaw, locked in combat amidst floating body parts and screaming ghost infants.
Technically, I'm just getting my ass kicked… but it's working.
A policeman—one of Takakai's [Obsessions]—slipped away unseen, moving away from the fight.
Meanwhile, Takakai heaved the Butcher's body and swung with all his strength—like Abby with her golf club in TLOU2—smashing into Touyama's torso.
At the same time, bullets rained down, finally staggering the giant, sending him crashing into the blood tide.
"Hah… hah…"
No time to rest.
Takakai grabbed the Butcher's feet and ran, heading the opposite direction of the policeman.
The orphanage's second floor had once again become an endless corridor.
Last loop, this meant Hachiya Chiyo was nearby… but right now, survival comes first.
Behind him, Touyama stood up, chainsaw revving, and gave chase.
THUD—! THUD—!
The floor shook with each step.
Meanwhile…
Tap—tap—
A golden retriever hopped onto a moldy bed, biting the curtains and yanking them open.
Outside the window—a figure, knocking relentlessly.
"Bark!"
The retriever turned to the husky behind it, then bit the window latch, forcing it open.
But there was no one outside—just darkness and swirling mist.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
The husky barked nervously, confused.
The retriever just shook its head, lifted a paw, and—
—when the husky still didn't get it, the retriever bit its foreleg, dragging it—kicking and yelping—out the window, into the abyss below.