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"The shadows in the shrine have disappeared."
Shadow Chika said calmly.
Amamiya Natsuki stood up and said, "The other side has started to move... We'll follow them."
Walking out of the shrine, the previously lively and bustling Summer Festival had, at some point, become quiet.
A cold wind blew eerily, and the air was filled with a scent that made people's expressions change.
Shinomiya Kaguya's expression was solemn as she whispered, "It's the smell of blood."
Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened, and she quickly said, "Let's go take a look."
Following the scent, the group soon arrived at a corner outside the shrine, where they saw two young people in yukatas lying in a pool of blood. They were a man and a woman, seemingly a couple. The stone slab beneath them was already soaked with fresh blood, forming a small stream that was winding its way along.
"H-how could this happen?" Secretary Chika's eyes widened, "Are they already..."
Amamiya Natsuki gently frowned, half-crouching beside the two young people to conduct a simple examination, then said in a deep voice, "They have no breath. The scattered takoyaki nearby are still steaming, so they must have just been attacked. The fatal wound is in the back, pierced through from behind by some sharp object. The two people didn't even resist or struggle... The culprit should be a shadow."
Seeing such a tragic and bloody scene, Shinomiya Kaguya and Yukino both furrowed their brows. Although this was a dungeon, suddenly seeing their own kind brutally murdered, even players would feel sympathy for their kind.
Only Shadow Chika's expression remained unchanged. She sniffed her nose and calmly said, "The smell of blood is coming from ahead again."
Amamiya Natsuki stood up and said, "Let's go take a look."
The young girls bit their lips tightly and followed closely behind Amamiya Natsuki.
Dozens of meters away.
Another pool of blood appeared before the group.
This time, it wasn't a couple, but two elderly people and a child, presumably elders and their grandchild. The two elderly people also had penetrating wounds and had lost their breath. The old woman was still holding the child in her arms, but unfortunately, the child also did not escape unscathed.
"Too much, this is too much!"
Fujiwara Chika clenched her fists, feeling so angry for the first time in her life.
Hayasaka Ai also frowned tightly: "Those shadows actually didn't even spare elementary school student."
The first massacre...
The second massacre...
The shadows' action plan no longer needed to be speculated; it was clearly a primitive and brutal slaughter.
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned deeply and said, "Are those shadows planning to kill everyone at the Summer Festival?"
"It seems so now," Shadow Chika said calmly, unaffected by the bloody scene before her, and stated indifferently, "When the mother body feeds, the target needs to be unable to move, and even when humans die, their information doesn't immediately dissipate; it can continue to exist for several hours. Therefore, killing all the humans on the Island is the most correct way to feed."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the girls fell silent, as did Senpai and the others who were following the situation via their phones.
After a largely peaceful day, the cruel side of the dungeon was finally clearly exposed at this moment.
No matter how much those shadows resembled humans, fundamentally, they were two different species. In the eyes of shadow creatures, killing humans was like humans killing an ant, without any mercy or hesitation.
At this moment, screams and cries for help suddenly came from afar.
"Go!"
The few of them exchanged glances and quickly ran over. Soon, they encountered a crime scene in a bamboo forest. A middle-aged man in a suit with gold-rimmed glasses was holding a sharp dagger and continuously slaughtering people. He was undoubtedly a shadow replica. Ahead, four or five tourists were fleeing in terror, screaming for help—people living in peacetime, facing such a bloody and cruel murderer, simply couldn't muster the courage to resist. In fact, even if these people swarmed him, they wouldn't be a match for the shadow creature.
Shinomiya Kaguya furrowed her brows, turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki, and whispered, "President?"
Amamiya Natsuki said in a deep voice, "Deal with that shadow."
According to the action plan they had previously formulated, the optimal choice was actually to hide in the dark and wait until Yote appeared, then launch a surprise attack to carry out a beheading operation.
But now... even if they were just their own kind in the dungeon, they couldn't be so cold-hearted as to sit idly by and watch them get slaughtered.
Bang!
Among the fleeing couple, the girl suddenly missed her footing and fell directly to the ground. She couldn't get up for a while and just frantically reached out to her boyfriend.
The boy stopped, turned to go back and help the girl up, but upon seeing the suit-clad demon walking straight towards him, his face immediately showed hesitation, his courage instantly vanished, and fear filled his heart. He mumbled apologies as he turned and ran.
Watching the male turn and run, mist instantly welled up in the female's eyes. Just as she despaired, the Shadow Suited Man had already arrived beside her, his voice cold: "In terms of universal theory, your boyfriend has no legal responsibility to come back and save you… Hmm? Who are you?"
Hearing footsteps, the female thought her boyfriend had run back again and looked up in surprise, only to find that the person who had arrived was not her boyfriend, but a cute female.
"Don, the Outlaw, it's you!" Secretary Chika pointed, her eyes filled with anger.
"What do you mean?"
The Shadow Suited Man felt baffled, then unhesitatingly raised the butcher knife in his hand, preparing to swing it at secretary Chika.
The next second.
Under the female's stunned gaze, an unclothed male appeared out of thin air, pressing down on the Shadow Suited Man's shoulder: "You've been arrested."
Shadow creatures all possess the ability to escape by merging into shadows. To prevent this Shadow Suited Man from seeing the situation was unfavorable and escaping into the shadows, Amamiya Natsuki chose the safest method—transforming into a Leg Attachment and attacking with Chika.
Shadow creatures would not be wary of ordinary people, so Amamiya Natsuki and Chika successfully got close, catching the target off guard and apprehending him.
Immediately after, Shinomiya Kaguya and Yukinoshita, who were hiding in the dark, walked over. Without any wasted words, they directly struck the shadow on the ground.
Bang!
Dirt splattered.
The fatally wounded shadow immediately distorted, and the body on the ground distorted along with it, quickly turning into a puddle of sludge and melting into the ground, eventually leaving only a black humanoid trace.
The unlucky female was still slumped on the ground, staring blankly at Amamiya Natsuki and his group, feeling as if she were in a dream and couldn't snap out of it.
"Are you alright?" Fujiwara Chika extended her hand, "Let's get you up first."
The unlucky female instinctively stood up, finally regaining her senses, her mind full of questions: "You… just now… were you filming a movie?"
The male who appeared out of thin air, then suddenly disappeared, leaving only a black humanoid shadow on the ground, a Lawless Outlaw, had exceeded her scope of understanding.
"We're not filming a movie, nor is it an illusion." Fujiwara Chika's expression was serious, "Time is short, and I don't have time to explain to you. You just need to know one thing: there are still many shadow Lawless Outlaws like that on the Island, so don't run around, and don't try to go down the mountain. Find a hidden place to hide, and wait until tomorrow morning to come down. Do you understand?"
The female's face turned pale, and the pain in her body reminded her that everything before her was not an illusion. She quickly nodded: "I… I understand…"
Seeing the shadow Lawless Outlaw eliminated, the few tourists who had fled earlier hesitated, wanting to approach.
Shinomiya Kaguya did not want to waste time with these people and reminded:
"President, continue the operation."
"Mm."
Amamiya Natsuki responded, then disappeared into thin air again, becoming a Leg Attachment.
The group did not stop, quickly disappearing into the night.
They couldn't help people all the way, nor could they send the Buddha to the West. Whether these ordinary tourists could survive until tomorrow, or if they would disobey instructions and try to sneak down the mountain, was their own business.
A moment later.
The group once again encountered a shadow demon that was slaughtering tourists.
Without any wasted words, the group used the same tactics, once again killing the second shadow demon.
Next was the third shadow, which was also successfully killed.
Unfortunately, the speed of rescue could never catch up to the speed of killing. The smell of blood on the Island grew stronger and stronger, and the originally lively and noisy summer festival became quieter and quieter.
"That female is also a shadow, let's deal with her."
Arriving at a resting platform halfway up the mountain, the group once again encountered the fourth shadow, still using the same tactics to approach it.
Fujiwara Chika pointed and said:
"Don, the Outlaw, you've been arrested!"
Immediately after, Amamiya Natsuki appeared out of thin air and grabbed the female's shoulder: "Don, you've been arrested… Hmm?"
Before he finished speaking, Amamiya Natsuki suddenly felt a sharp gust of wind whistling from behind him, causing a faint pain in his back. He instinctively tried to dodge. At this moment, the shadow female he had apprehended suddenly revealed a cold smile on her face. Without any physical movement, a hand abruptly extended from her chest and grabbed Amamiya Natsuki's wrist.
"A trap?"
"A trap!"
In a flash of lightning, Amamiya Natsuki decisively used Shinomiya Kaguya's Dark Shadow, disappearing into thin air.
Bang!
A black javelin tore through the night sky like lightning, flying past where Amamiya Natsuki had just been and embedding itself into the ground. The flagstone-paved ground instantly shattered, and countless gravel and dirt flew everywhere.
"President?!"
Fujiwara Chika couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"I'm fine."
Amamiya Natsuki reappeared not far away.
When Amamiya Natsuki disappeared, the apprehension state naturally ceased, and the shadow female regained control of her body. She took off the necklace from her chest and threw it to the ground, and another shadow female appeared out of thin air.
Looking at the shadow that appeared out of thin air, Shinomiya Kaguya immediately frowned: "It's a trap."
A tall creature with four arms, completely enveloped in black sludge, emerged from the shadows, its voice deep: "Strange abilities… What kind of creatures are you?"
Looking at the other party's four arms, Amamiya Natsuki exhaled lightly and said:
"Yote?"
After shadow creatures replicate humans, they naturally possess human intelligence. Upon discovering that their companions were being hunted by an unknown force, they naturally wouldn't remain unresponsive… Now, it was undoubtedly a trap. As for the three shadows that were easily hunted before, they were probably just pawns to make the players lower their guard.
"That's right, it's me." The humanoid creature completely enveloped in black sludge spoke in a hoarse voice, "Aren't you looking for me? So here I am."
After this Yote appeared, it did not attack again, as if it had absolute confidence in its victory, and said in a hoarse voice: "How about a trade?"
Amamiya Natsuki stepped over to the girls, took the clothes from Shinomiya Kaguya's hand, gracefully put them on, and then said:
"What trade?"
Yote's voice was hoarse, revealing a hint of curiosity:
"A question-and-answer trade, an exchange of information."
Amamiya Natsuki said calmly:
"Alright."
It just so happened that he also needed time to observe.
Not long after, a prompt quietly appeared before his eyes.
[You have observed carefully and found that the unappealing creature before you is not a shadow, but a human who has enveloped himself in shadow sludge as armor, codenamed Yote]
Yote took a half step back, his movements appearing quite polite: "To show my sincerity, you may ask a question first."
Amamiya Natsuki exchanged glances with Shinomiya Kaguya and Yukinoshita, then asked:
"Why do you know our location?"
"That's right." Fujiwara Chika quickly reacted, exclaiming softly, "He could only have set up an ambush here if he knew our whereabouts in advance."
The necklace on the shadow female's chest was transformed from another shadow, and at the same time, this sludge monster named Yote also attacked Amamiya Natsuki the moment he appeared. Without a doubt, it was definitely not a coincidence, but a premeditated trap. The most likely reason was that someone had leaked their whereabouts.
Shadow Chika stepped forward, coming before Amamiya Natsuki, and said seriously: "I have not revealed any information about the President."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look, then stroked Shadow Chika's head, saying gently: "I trust you."
Don't use someone you doubt; don't doubt someone you use.
Moreover, there were no prompts indicating Shadow Chika's betrayal, which is why Amamiya Natsuki asked this question first.
"Very keen senses." The monster named Yote said with appreciation, "To show my sincerity, I will tell you the truth… It's actually very simple. This is the age of technology. You can look up at the sky."
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly at the words, looked up at the sky, and soon saw a few red lights faintly flickering, instantly understanding.
"Eh, are those blinking red lights drones?"
Fujiwara Chika also understood. She had played with drones before and could be said to be quite familiar with them.
"That's right." Yote's voice was low, "When you first hunted shadows on the mountaintop, the drones had already locked onto you."
"Tch." Hayasaka Ai crossed her arms over her chest and snorted lightly, "In that case, the three shadows we eliminated were just scapegoats you threw out?"
"For shadows, sowing discord is meaningless." Yote shook his head, seeing through Hayasaka Ai's thoughts at a glance, "Using three shadows to test your abilities is actually quite cost-effective… So, it's my turn to ask now, isn't it?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said:
"You ask."
Yote's voice was curious:
"Why do you want to kill me?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze froze, and doubt welled up in her heart: "…How does it know?"
Shinomiya Kaguya also frowned, her doubt identical: "Why does it know?"
The group had been hunting ordinary shadows before. This guy with four arms was clearly appearing for the first time, so why was it so certain that it was their target?
Yote's voice was hoarse as he continued:
"Because you are 'players', and I am the 'player's' hunting target?"
"Eh eh eh?" Fujiwara Chika looked over in shock, "How does it know we're players?"
Amamiya Natsuki exchanged glances with the girls, then said:
"That's right, we are players."
Denial was pointless.
The other party clearly already knew the meaning of 'player', most likely having learned it from other passing players. It was better to admit it frankly.
Shinomiya Kaguya stepped forward half a step and asked:
"Why did you replicate all the guests on the cruise ship?"
This was a puzzling point that the group had racked their brains over but couldn't find an answer to.
"Hmm…" Yote pondered, "Probably to avoid repeating the same mistakes."
"Repeating the same mistakes?" The Lady lightly frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Literally." Yote's voice was hoarse, "Now it's my turn again."
Secretary Chika said angrily:
"You clearly didn't answer anything."
"I've already answered." Yote's voice was cold, "So… how do you break the fog of memory in your minds?"
Amamiya Natsuki shook his head and said:
"I don't know, but you probably can't manage it."
"An expected answer, but it doesn't matter." Yote took a half step back, his voice low, "Then what about the power of the God?"
"…God?"
"That's right, the God of the entire Island."
"..."
As soon as the words fell, a chilling wind suddenly swept across the world. The surrounding darkness seemed to come alive, constantly surging. Immediately after, a silver-haired, red-eyed elementary school student appeared directly, floating in mid-air. Her clothes and hair fluttered continuously. Although she was small, her expression was exceptionally cold, and a terrifying, majestic, and inviolable aura emanated from her.
With the appearance of the elementary school student, the surrounding shadow creatures immediately showed fanaticism, kneeling on one knee.
Shadow Chika looked up, her body trembling slightly, and quickly covered her eyes: "It's… it's Hiruko no Kami."
Amamiya Natsuki and the others immediately understood. This silver-haired, red-eyed elementary school student floating in mid-air was the mother of all shadows, the God worshipped and enshrined by the Island's residents.
Of course, it was hard to tell if this elementary school student was a God or a monster, as no one had ever seen what a true God looked like.
At the same time.
A large number of prompts quickly appeared before Amamiya Natsuki's eyes.
[You have encountered the mother of all shadows—Hiruko no Kami]
[An anomalous creature that has survived for hundreds of years, currently injured. You realize that the opponent is invincible and decide to temporarily avoid her]
[Through careful observation, you discover that the opponent possesses the ability to restart time]
[You think carefully and realize that in the previous loop, you successfully killed Yote, which caused Hiruko no Kami to go berserk, and time has already restarted once. This is now the second loop]
"Time restart?"
Amamiya Natsuki was shocked and suddenly understood why the potions in his backpack had disappeared for no reason. It was because they had already experienced one summer, and during the previous summer festival, everyone successfully killed the monster Yote. However, Yote seemed exceptionally important to Hiruko no Kami, so time, or rather, the instance, was directly restarted by Hiruko no Kami.
All doubts were resolved.
Why were almost all the tourists on the cruise ship that docked at noon copied? It was because Hiruko no Kami was looking for 'players' among the tourists.
Why did Yote, when he appeared just now, assert that their target was him?
Why did the potions in his backpack disappear for no reason…
Because it was already the second loop.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments