Dark skin.
Vertical pupils.
Purple hair.
A blood-stained bone whip in her hand.
Very little fabric on her body, covering only the essential areas.
An aura of cold malice that only vengeful spirits possessed surrounded her—she was definitely a succubus spirit.
"An actual living man." Seeing Natsuki, the succubus was overjoyed. She kicked the girl player in front of her aside. "Hurry up and replenish my mana."
Natsuki asked curiously, "Is this 'mana replenishment' of yours wholesome or not?"
The succubus opened her mouth, revealing two pointed canine teeth. Her crimson tongue licked the corner of her lips, her smile dangerous. "Not wholesome at all, of course."
Excellent.
I love unwholesome mana replenishment methods.
"As a man, your blood must taste delicious, right?" Red light flickered in the succubus's eyes. "I can't hold back any longer."
Your mana replenishment method is drinking blood?
Who would agree to that!
"I'm sorry." Natsuki's expression was serious as he firmly refused. "I'm a respectable person."
"Did you think you could walk out of here after coming in?"
The succubus swung her bone whip, wrapping it directly around Natsuki's arm. "Kneel down and lick my feet."
Caught off guard, Natsuki couldn't resist the vengeful spirit's strength at all. The succubus pulled him toward her.
The gap between ordinary humans and vengeful spirits was actually enormous. Normal people had no way to resist.
Fortunately, Secretary Fujiwara finally rushed in at that moment. She pointed her finger and declared with authority:
"Outlaw Zhang San! If I call your name, do you dare answer?!"
The succubus tilted her head in confusion. Suddenly, she felt her mouth move beyond her control as she replied:
"...Zhang San is here!"
Natsuki suddenly felt capable again.
He grabbed the succubus's wrist and lifted up this petite demon—somewhere between elementary and middle school size—with a smile. "What were you saying just now?"
"Human, what did you do to me?"
The succubus's eyes went wide. She tried to struggle but quickly discovered she couldn't move her body at all.
This succubus was far more sensible than the cow spirit. Upon realizing the situation was bad, she quickly submitted. "Master, I can lick you instead if you want."
As expected of a succubus—truly flexible and shameless!
"Fujiwara." Natsuki turned his head. "Come search her."
"On it!"
Chika Fujiwara swiftly threw herself into the body-search operation.
"What does 'replenish mana' mean?" Kaguya crossed her arms, her elegant brows furrowing slightly.
"It means replenishing magical power." Rikka Takanashi pressed her hand against her eye, spouting nonsense with complete seriousness. "Humans need air to breathe. Vengeful spirits similarly need to replenish mana, or they'll gradually weaken."
Kaguya looked skeptical. "That sounds like salt?"
"Exactly. Salt is the source of human magical power."
"..."
Only Asuka Kujo seemed to want to say something but held back.
The succubus's mana replenishment method couldn't possibly be wholesome, no matter how you thought about it. Hadn't they seen King Arthur Saber's mana replenishment scene in Fate?
These two were way too innocent!
"Found it."
Chika quickly finished the search, finding a floating fragment on the succubus's tail.
Item acquired, Natsuki released the succubus who was pretending to be weak and prepared to leave. He could only capture Zhang San, not judge or eliminate her. Kaguya had an exorcism weapon and could attempt a seal, but time was pressing now—there were still many illicit activities to crack down on.
"Let's go." Natsuki turned to leave.
"Wait a moment." Chika reached out and tugged at Natsuki's sleeve, speaking earnestly. "We can't just leave like this."
"Hm?"
"We did such terrible things to the succubus just now. She'll definitely seek revenge afterward."
"I can't leave my ward," the succubus hastily said. "I can't get revenge on you."
Chika pulled the unlucky girl to her feet. "If we just leave like this, she'll definitely be in danger."
Hearing this, Natsuki looked at the player girl sharing a room with the succubus. She was teary-eyed, had several whip marks on her body, and had just been kicked aside... If they left her alone with the humiliated and enraged vengeful spirit, the consequences were easy to imagine.
"She can come rest in our ward for now," Kaguya said calmly.
Where there are people, there is strife.
Even in a horror game, connections were still an important resource.
If they could further accumulate connections and build reputation now, there was no reason to refuse.
Natsuki nodded and looked at the unlucky girl. "Do you want to come with us?"
"Yes, please."
The unlucky girl nodded hastily and quickly stood up.
Anyone who could sell food in a vengeful spirit game had to be an expert. Now that she had a chance to cling to someone powerful, she definitely wouldn't pass it up!
"I'm sorry we caused you trouble." Chika handed her a handkerchief, her voice gentle. "Wipe your eyes."
"Th-Thank you..."
The unlucky girl thanked her gratefully, gazing at Chika through tear-blurred eyes.
Even though they were in a dim, eerie ward, the girl before her seemed to radiate light, warming her heart.
Chika Fujiwara—the Light of Humanity!
The succubus ground her teeth but didn't dare resist. She could only watch helplessly as Natsuki led the group away.
"Damn you, man! I'll remember you! Next time we meet, I'll definitely drain you dry!"
"..."
They arrived at the next ward's entrance.
Natsuki pushed open the door and entered. This time, without wasting any time, he announced directly:
"Someone reported you for conducting illegal transactions... Everyone put your hands on your heads and squat down! Don't move!"
Chika Fujiwara followed closely behind. The airheaded girl borrowed his authority, her voice ringing out clearly:
"Outlaw Zhang San! If I call your name, do you dare answer?!"
The vengeful spirit in this ward was a woman holding scissors. She was just about to use them to widen the corners of Natsuki's mouth when she suddenly felt her own mouth move on its own:
"Zhang San is here!"
"..."
Slap.
Natsuki grabbed her shoulder. "Zhang San, you're under arrest."
Next came the body search. The girls worked together and quickly found the mysterious fragment, rescuing another unlucky player in the process.
The light radiating from Mama Fujiwara grew brighter once more.
After sweeping through the wards, they soon returned to Room 404 where Natsuki was staying.
Miss Sadako had snuck out again while no one was around. She stood alone and silent in the corner, black hair covering her face, her presence cold and eerie. The newbie players who had followed along all cried out in fright, their hearts racing.
"Miss Sadako, I'm back." Natsuki called out in greeting.
Hearing his voice, Miss Sadako's black hair trembled. Without a word, she tried to crawl into the television again—but as always, she got stuck.
Natsuki walked over unhurriedly and grabbed her from behind by the waist... Mm, such a slender waist.
"Miss Sadako, hand over the fragment." Natsuki's tone was sincere. "Otherwise, you know the consequences."
The players who had followed were completely stunned.
First bullying the cow spirit, now bullying Sadako—this was terrifying.
Seeing the comb in Natsuki's hand, Miss Sadako quickly submitted and silently handed over the fragment.
Before darkness could descend, Natsuki and the others continued their operation. They arrived at Kaguya Shinomiya's nightmare room to face the mirror ghost once more.