Hiromoto Psychiatric Hospital
This was the name of the hospital Takumi learned after spending some time talking with the patients and the orderlies.
It was a hospital built in the old district, located very close to the ruins of the already abandoned Fujihana Middle School.
For some reason, the orderlies showed strong resistance to Takumi's inquiries, while the patients remained immersed in a kind of lustful fixation on the singing and dancing of Alice on the television. As a result, Takumi's attempts at communication went very poorly. He questioned many people before finally gathering a bit of information, yet he still couldn't find any rules or guidelines within the hospital that he could use as a reference.
Could it be like the surface area of Fujihana Middle School, where the rules governing the aberrations here were also hidden? Or worse—because this place was so obscure that no players had ever reached it before, there were simply no established, effective rules at all? If he wanted to understand the rules, would he have to figure them out himself and become a so-called "pioneer player"?
The thought gave Takumi a headache.
He had assumed that after finally dealing with Alice, things would become a bit clearer. Instead, he had just jumped from one pit into another, with no real change to his situation at a fundamental level.
Well… not entirely.
At the very least, he had been sitting in this activity room for over half an hour now, and nothing bizarre had come out to try and kill him.
Trying to comfort himself with that thought, Takumi turned to look again in the direction of the core obsession. Even during the recreation period, that man was still tightly bound, surrounded by orderlies who prevented anyone from getting close.
Takumi had considered trying to sneak closer, but the moment he took a few tentative steps in that direction, he immediately noticed that every patient and orderly in the activity room turned to look at him. He had no choice but to pretend he was just passing by and change direction. Only after quite some time did he feel those gazes fade away.
He couldn't approach that core obsession openly.
The moment he made such a move, these things that looked like "people" would immediately reveal their aberrant nature. It was extremely strange. These things… it was as if they wore a layer of surface disguise, normally maintaining this false appearance. But anything related to that man—to the man named Hirano Sōsuke—would instantly tear that disguise apart, exposing their terrifying, aberrant side.
Better not act rashly for now.
Out of caution toward the current situation, Takumi decided to observe first instead of doing anything immediately.
He stayed in the activity room like a real patient, occasionally watching the condition of the bound Hirano Sōsuke, and checking whether there were any changes on Miko's side. He refrained from making any movements that might attract the attention of the patients or orderlies.
During this time, the televisions in the activity room continuously played idol Alice's concerts and interviews. All the patients and orderlies were clearly enjoying her voice, as if they were intoxicated by it.
As for Takumi, listening to Alice's voice only made his entire body feel uncomfortable. He had the urge to find her immediately and cut her into pieces.
After some time, the orderlies opened the door to the activity room. Takumi was then led out together with the other patients, heading toward the other side of the corridor corner.
While moving, Takumi finally saw the hospital map—the floor layout of the building he was currently in.
From the map, it seemed their next destination was the Male Cafeteria.
Soon, Takumi arrived at the cafeteria with the other patients and received his lunch.
Cold seaweed salad, pan-fried fish fillets, mashed yam mixed with rice, and pan-fried dumplings.
In terms of appearance and taste, the food was fairly decent.
Takumi had considered whether eating the food here might be a problem, but the orderlies were constantly patrolling and checking whether the patients were eating properly. After hesitating for a moment, he still ate everything.
The taste was… pretty good.
And…
He felt slightly dizzy?
So something really had been mixed into the food?
After lunch, the orderlies once again gathered the patients and led them away.
This time, Takumi was taken back to his ward. Probably because his previous behavior had been acceptable, he was no longer tied to the bed like before and was now allowed to move freely within the room.
It was also at this moment that he finally found something that could be considered a set of rules.
It was a sheet of paper posted on one side of the ward wall, filled with regulations and guidelines.
...
[Hiromoto Psychiatric Hospital Patient Management Regulations]
[Dear Patient, when you receive this set of regulations, it indicates that you have been admitted to this psychiatric hospital for treatment. Our hospital possesses the most professional treatment and support system, and the environment is both pleasant and comfortable. During your stay here, you need not worry about anything. We will provide you with the highest quality service to ensure that both your body and mind are truly healed.]
[To ensure that you receive proper care and services during your stay, there are some basic rules that you must follow. We sincerely ask for your cooperation in maintaining the excellent environment and atmosphere of Hiromoto Psychiatric Hospital.]
[Rule 1: The hospital has established a scientifically structured daily schedule. All patients must follow the schedule outlined. Acting according to the timetable is beneficial to your recovery.]
[The schedule is as follows:]
[(1) 6:30 AM — Wake up, wash, and maintain personal hygiene]
[(2) 7:15 AM — Proceed to the outdoor field for group exercise. If unable to go outside for personal reasons, go to the indoor activity room instead]
[(3) 7:45 AM — Proceed to the cafeteria for meals. Note: this hospital enforces gender-separated management. Do not enter the cafeteria designated for the opposite sex]
[(4) 8:30–9:00 AM — Medical staff will visit different wards during this time to conduct basic daily checkups and inquiries. You must remain in your own ward during this period.]
[(5) 9:00–11:00 AM — Personal Adjustment Phase. During this phase, you will remain in your ward and receive the hospital's designated treatment plan. Our hospital has an extremely effective method for treating all kinds of mental illnesses, namely the "Idol Therapy Method." Through a correct, healthy, perfect, healing, absolute idol, you will receive the most comprehensive treatment and fully return to the state you are meant to be in.]
[The hospital's personal adjustment treatment plan is mainly divided into three types: "Auditory Therapy," "Visual Therapy," and "Perceptual Therapy." All of these methods are designed to heal you. They will not bring any pain and will only make you feel beauty and happiness. We believe you will come to enjoy these treatment methods.]
[(6) 11:00–11:50 — Recreation Time. During this phase, you will be taken to indoor or outdoor activity areas for free movement. Please enjoy this time.]
[(7) 11:50 — Proceed to the cafeteria for meals.]
[(8) 13:00 — Nap time. While in your ward during this period, you will not be disturbed by anyone.]
[(9) 14:10–16:30 — Personal Adjustment Phase. During this phase, you will receive a different set of treatment plans from those in the morning.]
[(10) 16:30–17:30 — Recreation Time.]
[(11) 17:40 — Proceed to the cafeteria for meals.]
[(12) 18:30 — Proceed collectively to the bathing area for physical cleansing.]
[(13) 19:10–21:30 — Personal Adjustment Phase. During this phase, you will receive the third set of treatment plans.]
[(14) 22:00 — Personal leisure time. During this time, you will not be disturbed in your private room.]
[(15) 22:30 — Lights-out time. Dedicated personnel will conduct inspections. Please make sure to go to bed at this time. Good sleep is a necessary prerequisite for health.]
...
It looked like this hospital had arranged every hour of a patient's day in meticulous detail.
And that treatment method… Idol Therapy? Seriously?
Also, come to think of it, these arrangements—why did they feel more like the daily regulations of a detention center rather than something you'd expect from a hospital?
While thinking this, Takumi continued reading further down.
...
[Rule 2: At all times, report your mental state to doctors and orderlies. If you feel anything unusual, you must notify us immediately. There is a call button by your bedside. Once pressed, a doctor or orderly will come to check on you. Do not press it repeatedly. After pressing it once, we will already be aware of your need. Please trust us. Your health is our utmost concern and priority. We will do everything we can to resolve your difficulties.]
[Rule 3: Please actively cooperate with the hospital's treatment plan. The plan designed for you is undoubtedly the most suitable one. However, for it to achieve its intended effect, your cooperation is essential. You will accept this plan. Everyone will accept it.]
So the "effective treatment" probably meant listening to Alice sing and looking at her photos or something?
Was this hospital basically a training base for Alice fanatics?
The sense of unease in Takumi's heart was growing stronger and stronger.
Come to think of it, the dizziness felt a bit more pronounced than before… but when he consciously tried to focus on it, the sensation disappeared again. Strange. Also, it felt like he could hear someone speaking—like a low murmur, as if someone was chanting something under their breath. The sound seemed to be coming from the neighboring ward… no, maybe from outside the door?
Not paying too much attention to the voice, Takumi frowned and continued reading the notice.
...
[Rule 4: The primary duty of orderlies is to ensure your personal safety. They will make sure you undergo treatment and follow the daily schedule in the correct manner. Do not resist the work of the orderlies, do not interfere with their duties, and do not make any requests of them. They will only act according to the responsibilities defined in the rules, and to ensure smooth execution of their duties, they may use any means necessary for self-protection. If you have any needs, please contact your assigned doctor.]
Including using electric batons to shock someone until they lose control?
Compared to the torture and killing methods of those aberrations, that almost sounded… mild.
...
[Rule 5: The hospital enforces a system of separate management for male and female patients. The male and female sections are divided by glass walls and barred doors. Do not enter the area designated for the opposite sex, and do not communicate with patients from the opposite section. You will not see any members of the opposite sex within your designated area. If you do see one, that is merely a hallucination. There is no need to pay attention to it. If the hallucination persists for a long time, please contact your assigned doctor, who will provide an effective treatment plan.]
[Rule 6: There is no need to confirm the identities or names of other patients, nor those of orderlies and doctors. Personnel turnover here is high. New patients are admitted almost daily, and recovered patients are discharged just as frequently. Accordingly, orderlies and doctors are also reassigned often. If you are in a single ward, do not pay attention to changes involving your neighbors or your assigned doctor. If you are in a shared ward, do not pay attention to changes involving your roommates or medical staff. Any personnel changes are normal within this hospital and are part of the treatment process. The only thing you need to focus on is yourself and your treatment plan.]
The patients and orderlies around him… would they change?
Who was talking?
...
[Rule 7: During daily recreation periods, all activities will take place in designated indoor or outdoor areas. The activity areas provide various forms of entertainment, such as jump rope, chess, table tennis, and other activities. You may also watch television in the activity room. The hospital will prepare television programs that align with the treatment plan. Everything we do is for your swift recovery. Acceptance and trust are what you should do. Trust us. Trust her.]
Was the voice getting louder?
[Rule 8: Each ward is equipped with a toilet and washing area. If you have needs during the night, you may handle them yourself, but please keep it within 10 minutes. Night security personnel will conduct regular inspections of patients' sleep conditions to compile health reports. If you are away from your bed for too long, it will cause inconvenience to their work. Listen to us—we are doing this for your own good. Trust us. Trust us. Trust her. Accept us. Accept us.]
He felt a bit dizzy…
But that wasn't important right now. Better keep reading first…
[Rule 9: Do not leave the area you are supposed to be in during the designated times. This will cause significant trouble for the hospital's orderlies and doctors. You are, after all, a patient. Until you are truly cured, you should not act on your own initiative. Following our arrangements is the only way for you to recover as soon as possible. Please believe that the management measures we impose are beneficial to you. The only purpose of our painstaking service is to cure you. Accept us. Accept us. Accept her.]
[Rule 10: Accept the treatment plan. Accept the treatment content. Accept everything we provide for you. Accept her. Accept the most adorable, most sacred, most perfect her. She will lead you onto the correct path. Just like all of us. Together with all of us. Move forward together with her.]
[Rule 11: Accept all of this. She will redeem you. She will lead you forward. She is everything. She is our idol. She is your idol. She is everything to us and everything to you—everything, everything, all of it. Accept her, and everything of yours will be embraced. You will be healed. You will receive eternal healing.]
The words on the rule sheet…
No.
That was a voice.
Those weren't the words on the sheet…
That was a voice speaking right beside him—
[Rule 12: Accept her]
[Rule 13: Accept her]
[Rule Accept her]
[Accept her]
[Accept her accept her accept her accept her accept her accept her accept her accept her]
[Alice Alice Alice Alice accept her Alice accept her accept her Alice Alice Alice accept her accept her Alice Alice Alice accept her her soul her love everything of her Alice accept her accept her she will heal you accept her she will heal everything of you Alice she is our idol Alice she is your idol she is everything to us everything to you everything everything everything accept her accept her Alice Alice Alice accept her accept her heal everything accept everything idol all idols Alice Alice Alice accept her Alice…]
Slash!
The blade flashed.
Takumi suddenly spun around and stabbed straight through the figure standing beside him, pinning it to the wall.
It had the same face as him.
The same appearance as him.
But it wore an expression he would never have—
Fanatical.
Enraptured.
The ward was empty.
What he had pierced was nothing but the wall.
Takumi slowly crouched down, clutching his head.
And the notice sheet—which in reality only contained the daily schedule under Rule 1—fluttered lightly to the ground.
There had never been any of those later rules at all.
"...Haa."
Takumi let out a long breath.
That feeling…
He couldn't have mistaken it.
While reading those words, a new personality had begun to form within his mind—bit by bit trying to replace him, trying to overwrite Takumi himself.
"Could this hospital be a place where, after the original ritual at Fujihana Middle School failed, later generations inherited it and continued the experiment…?"
Swaying slightly as he stood up, Takumi wiped away the blood trickling from his nose. When he turned his head—
A man in a filthy police uniform was standing right behind him, staring at him with vacant eyes.
Their gazes met—
For a fleeting instant.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the man had already disappeared.
Only then did Takumi belatedly realize that while he had been contaminated by the bizarre power within that notice, the man had likely been standing behind him the entire time—very possibly even holding a gun to his head.
If his willpower hadn't been strong enough to maintain his sense of self, then the moment his thoughts had been even slightly twisted by that aberrant force—if he had formed the thought of "worshipping Alice"—that man would have immediately pulled the trigger and killed him, just like in the third loop.
This was… quite a distinctive and memorable core obsession.
Takumi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Then his thoughts immediately turned to Miko.
If even he had nearly fallen for it, then for a girl like Miko, who had almost no means of resistance, the situation would likely be even more dangerous.
He couldn't keep playing it safe anymore.
It was time to act.
Having made his decision, Takumi immediately took out the lump of flesh and the two veteran players' dolls from his watch.
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