"What do you want to ask?"
The strangely beautiful girl asked coldly.
From beginning to end, the bow in her hand had not been lowered, always pointing at Natsuki, clearly showing full vigilance.
"There are too many questions I want to ask..."
Natsuki still held his hands up, his curiosity extremely strong.
The girl in front of him wasn't a Player, yet she possessed special abilities, which inevitably made one's imagination run wild.
"First question..." Natsuki pondered, "May I ask your name?"
"Heh heh."
The girl sneered.
Natsuki: "..."
Confirmed.
This person was definitely human, and a rather ill-tempered one at that. If she weren't a bit older, she could be completely called a 'brat,' the kind that just makes you furious.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm really not trying to hit on you." Natsuki said seriously, "Knowing each other's names is the first step to friendly communication."
The masked girl said coldly:
"Nonsense, I don't want any contact with you. It's best if we never meet again."
As expected, it was the brat's personality, just a few words made him incredibly angry.
"Alright, then I'll start asking." Natsuki pondered, "Where did all the people in the city go?"
The masked girl looked at him with a gaze as if he were an idiot:
"Are you stupid?"
Furious!
Super furious!
Brats in reality are indeed not cute at all!
Natsuki pointed to his head, speaking nonsense with a straight face:
"I accidentally fell down the stairs earlier and hit my head, then I forgot a lot of things."
"Heh heh."
The masked girl sneered, clearly not believing him, but this time she chose to answer.
"Of course, all the humans in the city were eaten by it. Didn't you know that, which is why you were looking for Rain Child?"
Natsuki asked curiously:
"Who is 'it'?"
"Heh heh."
The masked girl sneered again, clearly disdaining to answer.
Natsuki could no longer bear it and decided not to. He shook his head and sighed:
"Brats are indeed incredibly annoying."
The masked girl frowned, her bow immediately drawn to full tension, ready to fire, and said coldly:
"Who are you calling a brat?"
Natsuki said calmly:
"Of course, it's you."
"Die..."
The masked girl's eyes turned cold, and she was about to shoot an arrow, letting Natsuki know what it meant to suffer for speaking carelessly.
However, the next second.
Natsuki appeared directly in front of her with a bizarre speed she couldn't comprehend, as if he had teleported, and one hand grabbed her wrist.
Time Stop!
Three seconds of Time Stop were not enough to rule the world, but they could directly cross a warning distance of ten to twenty meters.
"You..."
The masked girl was startled and instinctively tried to retreat, but found Natsuki's right hand as solid as cast bronze, unshakeable.
"Die!"
The masked girl gritted her silver teeth, quickly switched her attack, raised her right leg, and kicked fiercely between Natsuki's legs.
"Too slow."
Natsuki easily dodged with just a quick movement, then took out a magic rope and quickly tied the masked girl into a tortoise shell shape.
"Tsk, nice figure."
Natsuki gave his evaluation.
Despite having the annoying personality of a little brat, once tied with rope, her figure was quite curvaceous.
Bang.
The masked girl fell to the ground with a thud and soon realized that the ropes on her body seemed to be alive; the more she struggled, the tighter the ropes became. So she quickly quieted down, as if she had given up all hope of survival, lying on her back, silently looking up at the gloomy sky.
Natsuki reached out, picked up the masked girl, and walked into the nearby rain shelter. It was still drizzling, and being out in the rain was not comfortable.
"Now, can you honestly answer my questions?"
Natsuki clapped the dust from his hands and sat down beside the masked girl.
"..."
The masked girl seemed not to have heard him, remaining silent.
"Very good, I like stubborn people."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly, quickly deciding to begin training her.
Stubborn and ill-tempered, huh?
There are always ways to make you yield!
Natsuki would not abide by any 'humanitarian' treatment of prisoners. He hadn't forgotten the grudge from that arrow shot earlier!
He acted as soon as he decided.
Natsuki simply extended his right hand, placing it on the masked girl's stockings, then climbed upwards, reaching the end of the stockings, his fingertips quickly touching a delicate, warm patch of skin.
She was indeed human.
Those monsters had no body temperature at all.
The masked girl's body trembled slightly, a blush rising on her pretty face. Gritting her silver teeth, her eyes fierce, she said:
"You... bastard...!"
"That's right, that's me."
"Scum!"
"That's me."
"Take your hand out!"
"This is interrogation time. If you want me to take my hand out, you have to answer my questions first."
"..."
As the lamb to the slaughter, the masked girl finally gave up struggling, lying on her back, resentfully saying:
"What do you want to ask?"
Natsuki took out his right hand, then a faint light flashed on his hand, revealing a Truth Mirror. This item was not Rikka's tool, but something he had acquired later from other Players.
"So, the first question... where are the people in the city?"
The masked girl gritted her silver teeth:
"I already said, they were all eaten by it."
Natsuki said calmly:
"What is it?"
The masked girl:
"I don't know..."
Before she could finish, the masked girl suddenly felt her mouth move uncontrollably: "It is the culprit behind the destruction of Tokyo!"
"As you can see," Natsuki explained, "this is a mirror with special powers. When you look into it, you can only speak the truth."
Then Natsuki extended a finger and gently reminded her:
"Third time's the charm. That was the first time. If you keep lying, be prepared to have a child."
The masked girl snorted softly, glaring at him: "Pervert!"
Since he was threatening someone, he naturally had to grasp the enemy's weakness, so Natsuki wasn't ashamed. Anyway, he wasn't really going to make the other party have a child.
"Then, the questions continue." Natsuki didn't care about being cursed at. He continued unhurriedly, "What is it?"
The masked girl frowned and said, "How could you not know?"
Natsuki said without changing his expression, "I already told you, I accidentally hit my head and forgot a lot of things."
The masked girl snorted softly and whispered, "No one knows what it is... It was an unremarkable afternoon. At first, it was just a gentle breeze, a light rain, and then the sky never brightened again. At some point, countless threads suddenly fell from the sky. Once touched by those threads, if you couldn't cut them off immediately, the whole person would disappear, leaving only empty clothes."
Natsuki took a sharp breath, "Everyone in the whole city is like this?"
"That's right." The masked girl said coldly, "The threads falling from the sky ate the most people. Along with the threads, many monsters also appeared: headless JK, suited specters, floating ghosts, and so on. They also kill humans."
"And Rain Child's raincoat can effectively prevent being discovered by monsters."
"Otherwise, even if you hide in an underground shelter, you will eventually be discovered by monsters."
Natsuki raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this and said, "Hiding is useless?"
"If hiding was useful, so many people wouldn't have died." The masked girl said coldly, "It only delays the time of discovery."
"Very good, next question." Natsuki asked again, "What's with the mask on your face?"
After careful observation, Natsuki found that the bone mask was not worn, but rather seemed to grow out of the flesh. In short, it was quite eerie.
The masked girl looked puzzled and retorted, "I wanted to ask you... Your ability is so powerful, why haven't you been assimilated?"
Natsuki calmly pulled out an excuse, "I hit my head."
"Heh heh." The masked girl sneered, "The monsters roaming the city are not completely unkillable. Once you kill them, if you're lucky, they'll drop some things. When these things integrate into the body, they will give people strength beyond ordinary people, but the price is flesh alienation, becoming neither human nor ghost. The more you use your abilities, the more you will be eroded, eventually assimilating into one of the monsters... You're not right!"
The masked girl suddenly widened her eyes, looking directly at Natsuki, with a shocked expression on her face: "Something's wrong with you!"
"Until now, I haven't encountered a monster that can teleport. You can actually use the power of teleportation!"
I'm sorry, it's not teleportation, just a mere time stop.
The masked girl continued, "The stronger the ability, the greater the price, but you don't show any signs of assimilation... This is impossible!"
Natsuki blinked and said, "Well... maybe I'm special?"
"Everyone is an ordinary person, why are you special?" The masked girl suddenly thought of a possibility, "I also met an ordinary person before, wandering aimlessly on the street at night, like a headless fly after losing his way, completely unaware of danger... Are you like him, a human from another world?!"
"Another world?"
Natsuki exhaled lightly, his heart exceptionally calm, without any surprise or shock.
In fact, when he rescued Haruno, who was caught in an anomaly in Chiba Prefecture, in the campus of the alternate dimension, everyone had already discovered that world history and major historical events were subtly different.
In addition, every time an anomaly was encountered, the notifications from the game would state that these Strange Tales were invading.
Invading from where?
At that time, they had already suspected the existence of an alternate world.
However, the alternate world in front of him might be more appropriately described as a parallel world.
Now it seems that the fog is not an anomaly, but a special spatial phenomenon, a special phenomenon that can allow people to travel to another world, which is why the game did not give a mission notification to hunt Strange Tales.
Natsuki sighed, "I just took a subway ride and ended up in a parallel world, and a super dangerous one at that. My luck is really too bad."
The masked girl widened her eyes and said, "You really are a human from another world!"
"That's right, I am." Natsuki nodded, then asked, "What happened to that person from another world you met?"
"..."
The masked girl immediately fell silent. After a moment, she whispered, "He's dead."
This is reality.
Ordinary people who travel to another world may not necessarily thrive; it's more likely they'll die in obscurity.
Natsuki asked again, "How do we return to our original world?"
"I don't know, don't ask me." The masked girl snorted softly, "If I knew, I would have already escaped from this city."
"That makes things difficult." Natsuki frowned slightly, "After all, there are dozens of people waiting for my news."
The masked girl's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Dozens of people?"
Natsuki said as a matter of course, "We came to this other world by subway. Dozens of people are already very few. If it weren't for the last train, there would be thousands."
Masked girl: "..."
Natsuki untied the magical ropes from the masked girl's body and extended his right hand, saying, "We are new to this other world and unfamiliar with the place. We urgently need a guide. Can you be our guide for a while?"
The masked girl flexed her wrists but didn't try to escape, because she knew very well that in front of a guy who could teleport, escaping was a complete joke. She snorted coldly, "Can I refuse?"
Natsuki smiled, "No."
"Tsk."
"Since you're not refusing, I'll take that as a 'yes'." Natsuki casually stated his name, "Nice to meet you, my name is Natsuki. Please take care of me."
The masked girl hesitated for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Ryuju Momo."
"Hmm?" Natsuki was slightly stunned, an expression of surprise appearing on his face, "Momo-senpai?"
The masked girl furrowed her brow, looking at him warily: "What did you call me?"
Natsuki said with interest, "Momo-senpai, a second-year C-class student in the high school division of Shuchiin Academy, in the same classroom as Tsubame-senpai. Tsubame-senpai told me that your hobby is to establish an astronomy club, and you usually like to hug a small bear doll on the rooftop, playing with your phone alone."
A blush flashed across Ryuju Momo's face, and she cautiously took half a step back: "You... how do you know these things?!"
Natsuki smiled, "It's simple, I'm also a Shuchiin student, and I'm even the Student Council president."
"Impossible." Ryuju Momo shook her head, "The Student Council president isn't you."
Natsuki said frankly, "That's why I said it's a parallel world."
"..."
He wasn't familiar with Ryuju Momo, only knowing that she had a good relationship with Tsubame and was in the same class. In reality, he had never spoken to her, and with Ryuju Momo's completely changed personality and appearance, he truly couldn't recognize her for a while.
No wonder some people say that 'meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land' is one of life's four great joys. To actually meet a schoolmate from a parallel world at this moment, it must be said, felt quite subtle and pleasant.
Next, Natsuki mentioned some famous people in Shuchiin, such as Kaguya, Chika the love detective, and teachers in the school, to prove his identity.
After listening in silence, Ryuju Momo's gaze finally softened. Meeting a schoolmate from a parallel world also felt very subtle.
"...I'll believe you for now."
Natsuki asked curiously, "When the disaster happened in this world, what happened to Tsubame-senpai and the others?"
Ryuju Momo crossed her arms over her chest and said calmly, "Don't ask. You wouldn't want to know."
Natsuki lowered his eyes, already understanding in his heart.
"Let's go, I'll take you to the hiding place."
"..."
The journey was silent.
The two walked through the empty streets and returned to the internet cafe.
After exchanging the password, the people inside opened the anti-theft door, and Natsuki led Ryuju Momo inside.
"So many people..."
Ryuju Momo's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at the ordinary passengers, each performing their tasks and getting along harmoniously, feeling a little dazed.
She hadn't seen such a harmonious scene in a very long time.
In this world destroyed by Strange Tales, everyone lived cautiously, unwilling to interact with others. Although food was not scarce, special items were very rare. In order to seize the chance to survive, even relatives and friends would turn against each other, let alone a group of strangers.
In this world, it was impossible to survive by sticking together. Every survivor could only cautiously survive in the dark.
"Oh, I smell an interesting scent."
An elegant voice suddenly came from the side.
Ryuju Momo turned her head to look, and when she clearly saw Hachishakusama sitting on the sofa, her pupils suddenly contracted. She abruptly pulled out her bow and arrow, about to shoot.
"Don't be nervous." Natsuki held Ryuju Momo back and explained, "Hachishakusama is my employee."
Ryuju Momo widened her eyes, looking at him warily: "What kind of employee?"
Natsuki explained, "She's an employee under an equal contract. Hachishakusama won't harm you, don't worry."
"Oh..." Hachishakusama leaned closer with interest, "This little one is very interesting. The Strange Tale scent and human scent on her are already half and half. In a while, she's going to transform into an anomaly."
Ryuju Momo pursed her lips, silent. Clearly, what Hachishakusama said was the truth.
Natsuki looked at Ryuju Momo upon hearing this and said softly, "I'll try later to see if I can help Momo-senpai alleviate the erosion symptoms."
"You can alleviate Strange Tale erosion?"
Ryuju Momo looked at him skeptically.
"I don't know." Natsuki answered frankly, "But I can try. Maybe it will be useful."
"…"
After a brief silence,
Ryuju Momo softly agreed, "Then let's give it a try."
Natsuki nodded and said, "Leave it to me."
Within the Witch's Legacy, there was a special method to lift curses.
Previously, when Moeha's friend was afflicted by a nightmare curse, it was Natsuki who used the Witch's Legacy to remove it.
Kaidan erosion should be a type of curse, so it might be useful.
As they spoke, Miko walked out from the depths of the internet cafe, exclaiming in surprise, "Natsuki, you're back?"
Seeing Miko, Ryuju Momo's eyes suddenly widened, as if she had seen some incredible existence, and she stumbled back half a step in shock:
"H-how could this be…"
"Hm?" Natsuki looked over curiously, "Momo-senpai knows Miko?"
"Miko?" Ryuju Momo took a deep breath, looked at Miko, and said seriously, "I only know that she is the strongest ability user in the entire city."
Miko's expression was bewildered:
"Eh?"
The strongest ability user?
What does such an impressive title have to do with her?
"Um… you must have mistaken me for someone else, right?"
Miko whispered.
She knew herself best.
Miko was very clear that her only wish was to live a laid-back life like a salted fish, just spending each day uneventfully.
"No mistake." Ryuju Momo shook her head and said seriously, "I, and you… and the you in this world, had a brief encounter, and you are indeed incredibly powerful."
"Eh?" Miko blinked, completely confused, and couldn't help but turn to look at Natsuki, "Natsuki, what does she mean by 'the me in this world'?"
"The literal meaning." Natsuki lowered his voice and explained softly, "That mist is not an anomaly, but a special supernatural phenomenon.
Our current situation is that we accidentally traveled to a parallel world."
"We actually traveled to a parallel world…"
Miko's eyes widened, and for a moment, she couldn't fully accept it.
In manga and light novels, there were indeed many transmigration plots.
Transmigrating into a slime, a bone monster, or a goblin was already commonplace.
In the latest autumn new anime, there was even a new show called "Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro", where the protagonist directly transmigrated into a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered in a pigsty.
(Real anime btw)
One could only say that in this vast world, there was nothing that couldn't be transmigrated into.
But Miko absolutely did not want to transmigrate to another world, especially not such a seemingly dangerous one.
Her mother had a fractured calf bone and was still in the hospital, and her younger brother was left alone at home.
She couldn't help but worry about them.
"Natsuki, can we still go back?"
Miko bit her lip, asking nervously.
"Where there's a will, there's a way.
Since we could cross over, we can definitely go back." Natsuki stroked Miko's head and said gently, "You don't need to worry about Auntie and Kyosuke.
Once they realize we've gone missing on the subway, Chika and the others will definitely take good care of Kyosuke and Auntie."
"Mm…"
Miko softly responded, feeling a little more at ease.
Thankfully, Natsuki was by her side.
If she had been the only one to cross over to an unfamiliar parallel world, she would have surely panicked and not known what to do.
Natsuki looked at Ryuju Momo and asked curiously, "Momo-senpai, do you know where the Miko of this world is?"
Since they were already here,
He certainly wanted to witness the strongest version of Miko from the parallel world.
It would definitely be interesting for two Mikos to meet face to face, wouldn't it?
"I don't know." Ryuju Momo shook her head, "Most of the survivors in this city are solitary and don't tell others their hiding places.
I've only seen her once."
Natsuki didn't press the issue: "It seems we'll have to find another way."
"Also, there are too many of you," Ryuju Momo warned with a serious expression, "So many people gathered together will greatly increase the chance of being targeted by monsters."
"Eh?" Miko quickly became nervous upon hearing this, "Then what should we do?"
Ryuju Momo calmly said, "Abandon the people here and prioritize protecting yourselves.
After all, you're just strangers who happened to be on the same train, right?"
Miko: "…"
Hearing such cold and heartless words, Miko didn't know what to say and could only look up at Natsuki.
She was very sure that Natsuki would never make such a cruel and heartless choice.
"I'm sorry, Senpai, I can't do that." Facing Miko's gaze, Natsuki nodded slightly, signaling Miko to relax, and then said, "Momo-senpai mentioned before that we only need to hunt Rain Child and take their raincoats to temporarily survive in this world, right?"
Ryuju Momo frowned slightly and said, "The number of Rain Child is not many, and they are very agile.
They will become invisible and escape at the slightest disturbance.
You can't possibly hunt that many Rain Children."
Natsuki smiled and said, "Where there's a will, there's a way.
What if it succeeds?"
"If you can't get enough raincoats, who will you choose to give them to then?" Ryuju Momo crossed her arms over her chest and reminded him, "It's not scarcity that causes trouble, but inequality.
At that time, these people will only fight each other to snatch the raincoats."
Natsuki calmly said, "Thank you for the reminder, Momo-senpai, but I still want to try."
"Hmph."
Ryuju Momo snorted softly and said nothing more.
Good words are hard to persuade a doomed ghost.
This Junior from a parallel world still seemed to be an idealist.
Only when he was battered and bruised by reality would he know how to write the words "regret."
Natsuki asked, "Momo-senpai, generally speaking, how long will it take for us to be targeted by monsters?"
"Three days at most." Ryuju Momo snorted, "Don't think hiding underground is useful.
So many of you gathered together will generate 'human aura,' and those monsters will track you down by scent."
"Three days is enough." Natsuki nodded, then said, "Let's go inside first and help Momo-senpai alleviate the curse's erosion, shall we?"
Ryuju Momo was half-doubtful:
"Can you really alleviate the curse?"
"I'm not sure." Natsuki shook his head, "I'll only know after trying."
Ryuju Momo hesitated slightly, then nodded in agreement.
"Miko, don't tell the others what we just talked about." Natsuki turned to Miko and whispered the instruction.
"I know." Miko quickly nodded, indicating she understood, "I definitely won't tell anyone."
The most important thing for a team seeking survival together was morale.
Once morale dissipated, the entire team would not be far from collapse.
"Momo-senpai, let's go inside." Natsuki said softly, "Let's find a secluded place to try."
Ryuju Momo snorted softly, slightly raising her chin and saying, "Lead the way."
"…"
A moment later.
Natsuki led Ryuju Momo to a quiet, empty room, which was originally supposed to be the staff lounge, but the internet cafe staff had long since disappeared.
"Momo-senpai, lie down." Natsuki pointed to the sofa, "And take off your clothes."
"What?!"
Ryuju Momo immediately raised her voice, and a look of vigilance reappeared on her face.
Natsuki took out the Truth Mirror, faced it towards himself, and said seriously, "Taking off your clothes is for alleviating the curse. I absolutely have no intention of taking advantage of Momo-senpai."
"…"
Seeing that the mirror had no reaction, Ryuju Momo reluctantly accepted it, snorted softly, took off her outer jacket, and then lay down on the sofa with a flushed face.
"Hurry up…"
"Yes."
"Don't touch where you shouldn't!"
"Understood."
Natsuki seriously agreed, then extended his right hand.
"Ugh…!"
The girl's trembling voice immediately echoed in the room.
"You, you pervert…"
"I'm not, I didn't." Natsuki denied three times, "I just touched your waist, Senpai, you're too sensitive."
"Hmph!"
"…"
Half an hour later.
Ryuju Momo put on her clothes and sat on the sofa, looking at herself in the mirror with a complex expression on her face.
Due to the erosion of Strange Tales and the curse, one of her eyes had already turned blood-red, but at this moment, although the mask was still there, her eye had returned to its usual clarity and brightness.
Without a doubt.
This Kouhai from a parallel world had indeed helped her alleviate the curse's erosion.
"Momo-senpai, how do you feel?"
Natsuki asked softly.
"Hmph…" Ryuju Momo snorted softly, turned to look at the poster on the wall, and whispered, "Barely acceptable."
"Then that's good." Natsuki smiled, "Let's go, we'll go find the Rain Child."
Ryuju Momo followed him up, reminding him, "Rain Child, that kind of monster, is very rare, like a rare monster in a game.
You might search all day and find nothing."
"Don't worry." Natsuki's tone was confident, "I have a special way of finding them."
"Heh heh."
Ryuju Momo expressed complete disbelief in Natsuki's special method.
If Rain Child were that easy to find, the survivors in the city wouldn't constantly be fighting over them.
They arrived at the internet cafe lobby.
"Mrs. Ozawa, come with me for a moment."
Natsuki walked directly to Mrs. Ozawa.
"I, I understand…" Mrs. Ozawa quickly agreed and followed Natsuki to a corner, asking nervously, "Um… Natsuki-kun, is there something you need?"
Natsuki said gently, "Madam, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
"You, you say…"
Not knowing what she was thinking, Mrs. Ozawa's face quickly flushed, and she self-consciously lowered her gaze to her toes.
Could it be that he wanted to continue what happened this morning?
Impossible!
Natsuki is clearly a true gentleman!
I already have a one-year-old daughter, so I shouldn't let my imagination run wild!
But... but high school is the age when people are most impulsive, and it's possible to lose control...
Amidst her wild thoughts, she heard Natsuki say gently:
"Madam, don't worry, what I'm asking you to do is a bit dangerous, but I will take safety measures beforehand."
"Sa-safety measures?!"
Mrs. Ozawa covered her lips, and the blush on her face quickly deepened.
What kind of thing would require safety measures?
It must be the kind of thing that would lead to a baby, that requires safety measures, right?!
As shame surged in her heart, Mrs. Ozawa felt another wave of resentment and grievance.
She was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
She thought Natsuki was a true gentleman, but he wasn't at all; high school boys nowadays have no self-control!
"Th-that..." Mrs. Ozawa stammered, weakly saying, "Natsuki-kun already has a girlfriend... Miko will surely be disappointed, won't she?"
"Not necessarily," Natsuki said casually, "This is a task that only Madam can complete."
"Only I can?"
Mrs. Ozawa blinked.
Could it be... that Miko isn't feeling well? Is that why he came to her?
"I-I understand..." Mrs. Ozawa took a deep breath, deciding to sacrifice herself for her daughter, and said in a blushing whisper, "I can agree... but Natsuki-kun must keep his word and take safety measures..."
"Don't worry," Natsuki promised, "I will definitely keep my word."
"Mm..." Mrs. Ozawa looked down at her toes, "I-I believe Natsuki-kun..."
Natsuki followed Madam's gaze and looked down:
"High heels aren't suitable, Madam, please change into a pair of sneakers."
"Eh?"
Mrs. Ozawa looked over in confusion.
Don't boys all like high heels?
Could it be... that the high school student in front of her has some special fetish?
Natsuki explained:
"High heels are inconvenient for running."
"Ru-running?"
Mrs. Ozawa was even more confused.
"I forgot to mention," Natsuki slapped his forehead and whispered, "I want Madam to be the bait, so please go change into a pair of running shoes first."