Chapter 96: The Secret Passage in the Room
"This thing probably can't talk. Tormenting it more is just wasting time."
Hearing Kotoko's conclusion, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help asking, curious.
"How are you so sure?"
"Because I'm an expert in this field."
Kotoko lifted her cane and pointed at the female ghost. It had taken a slap from Asagiri, then a full swing from Hat Mita's baseball bat, yet the malice in its eyes hadn't weakened in the slightest.
"Even though it falls under the category of Anomalies, it's different from the wraiths and banshees we met before. It wasn't formed from a dead person."
Kotoko paused, searching for the right words.
"Put simply, it's a phenomenon. Something born from people's thoughts in an area completely invaded by strangeness. It has no true mind. It only moves on pure resentment. A curse you can't communicate with."
She tapped the air lightly with her cane.
"It just happens to appear in a human like form for certain reasons. But it was never human to begin with, just like the water contaminated by an Anomaly in that hotel Dungeon."
Asagiri nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"Oh, I see."
In the next second, the Rope Dart appeared in his hand. He drove the tip straight into the ghost's forehead.
"In that case, just give me some mental energy."
The ghost dissolved into black mist and scattered.
Kato Megumi twirled her ominous dagger and looked at Kotoko.
"Is there any way to get through the corridor outside?"
"It looks like we can only force our way through," Kotoko said thoughtfully. "But we don't know where the source of the Anomaly is. And judging from what we just saw, there's an Anomaly in every oil painting in that corridor. There are too many of them, and none of them are weak."
Her expression tightened.
"If we push forward head on, the risk is too high."
Megumi pressed her lips together.
"Could the second phase Dungeons all be this difficult? Or is this one special?"
Yuuki Asuna's brows knit hard. She racked her brain, frustration and conflict flickering in her eyes.
"We don't know the clear condition, there are no public hints, and the app won't open. And on top of that, there's a corridor packed with banshees. How are we supposed to clear this Dungeon?"
"Calm down."
When everyone was stuck, Asagiri walked to the living room door and wrapped his hand around the knob.
His voice stayed level.
"Based on our team's strength, if a stage appears that even we can't confidently pass, that means this stage wasn't meant to be brute forced by Players in the first place. And…"
He opened the door.
Outside was the same corridor of oil paintings, but the canvases that had fallen earlier were now hanging neatly again, as if nothing had happened.
Asagiri pointed at the painting closest to the entrance.
"Why did the warning only happen after Necro walked ten meters? There was strange presence in the very first painting, so why didn't anything react immediately? In other words, why is there a ten meter safe distance in this corridor? What is that distance for?"
"You mean…"
Kotoko's eyes sharpened. Something clicked in her mind.
She turned to Yuuki Asuna, Megumi, and Hat Mita.
"Everyone, come out."
Once they all stepped into the corridor, Asagiri closed the door behind them. He didn't walk forward. Instead, he reached out and opened the door again.
Sizzle sizzle…
A faint electrical buzz crawled across the air.
The cozy apartment vanished.
What appeared beyond the threshold was a living room with a similar layout, but suffocatingly dim. The walls were covered in large and small I LOVE U scrawled in blood red paint, making the place feel cold, sticky, and wrong.
"So that's it…"
Kotoko studied the room, murmuring as she sensed for traces of an Anomaly.
"So we only reach this place by stepping into the corridor, closing the door, and reopening it. No wonder there's a ten meter buffer, and no wonder the paintings fell and shattered. It was a warning."
She narrowed her eyes.
"The path ahead is a dead end."
Megumi's gaze flicked across the room.
"If there was a warning, does that mean the system still recognizes this Dungeon's structure, even if the app won't open? So it isn't a hopeless trap with no clear?"
Yuuki Asuna nodded firmly.
"It has to be. The system let us enter. It can't be an unwinnable dead end."
Then she continued, voice steadier.
"And the system has already given us a hint."
"A hint?" Kotoko asked.
"Yes. The lack of hints and the fact that the app won't open are hints."
Asuna looked at Hat Mita, who was still swaying slightly at her side.
"We haven't seen the twin tailed Meta yet, but based on what Miss Mita told us, all Mitas are programs inside the game. Combine that with what happened before we entered and the way the app is frozen now…"
Her eyes hardened.
"The twin tailed Mita must be able to interfere with our phones somehow. Maybe she's the one blocking the app's function directly."
"I see…"
Megumi nodded, half understanding, half thinking deeper. Her eyes flickered as she turned the idea over, then she lifted her head and exchanged a glance with Asagiri.
She softened her voice.
"But according to Miss Mita, only Leader's real name was exposed, so…"
Megumi stopped mid sentence and looked at Asagiri.
After seeing his slight nod, she immediately understood and changed course.
"Okay. Let's stop the analysis there."
"Perfect."
Kotoko, who had been carefully observing the room beyond the door, spoke quietly.
"I can't sense any Anomaly in there. But we still can't be careless. I can only sense Anomalies, not other types of enemies."
She lifted her cane slightly.
"Either way, we go in first."
They moved in the same formation as before.
Asuna at the front. Kotoko and Megumi behind her. Asagiri walking beside Hat Mita.
It wasn't to give the two of them alone time. It was simply because Asagiri was the strongest. If Hat Mita tried anything, he would notice immediately.
After they entered and shut the door, they searched the place quickly. Aside from the oppressive darkness and those chilling crimson letters, the furniture layout was almost identical to Hat Mita's room.
The difference was what wasn't there.
Anything that felt personal, anything that screamed Hat Mita, was missing. Even the electric guitar was gone.
"Huh… how could this be…"
Hat Mita murmured, genuinely confused. For once, her habitual swaying stopped.
Asagiri glanced at her.
"What's wrong? Something feel off?"
"It shouldn't be like this…"
Hat Mita's face tightened with adorable confusion.
"Logically, each room should have a corresponding Mita. There can't be two, but there also shouldn't be none. This room is definitely Mita's home, but…"
She looked around, unsettled.
"Why isn't there a Mita here?"
Yuuki Asuna asked cautiously.
"Is it possible she went somewhere else?"
"Probably not."
Hat Mita shook her head and unconsciously edged closer to Asagiri.
"Before meeting Player, I never even thought about leaving. Our duty is to wait for Players to arrive. That kind of situation shouldn't happen."
"In other words…"
Asuna's voice lowered.
"The Mita who belongs here violated the program's setting and left on her own."
The same possibility surfaced in Megumi and Kotoko's minds at the same time.
Could the owner of this room be the twin tailed Mita? The one whose voice had sounded so unstable?
Just then, a faint sound echoed through the dim living room.
Thump… thump… thump…
Asuna's expression changed instantly. She drew her Exorcist Longsword and held it ready.
After listening carefully, she frowned.
"It's coming from the bedroom."
"I'll check."
Megumi volunteered without hesitation. She activated her talent and moved toward the bedroom.
After a brief inspection, she turned back, calm.
"There shouldn't be danger. The sound is coming from inside the wardrobe."
"The wardrobe?"
Asuna entered the bedroom. Sure enough, the wardrobe trembled faintly, as if something inside was vibrating against it.
"Get ready to open it."
"Okay."
Megumi stepped to the side of the wardrobe and placed a hand gently on the metal handle.
Kotoko and Asuna prepared at the same time.
Kotoko fixed her gaze on the doors, ready to trigger Curse Gaze at any moment. Asuna tightened her grip on the Exorcist Longsword, poised to thrust.
Asagiri was the most extreme of all.
He pulled out his sniper rifle, disengaged the safety, raised it, placed his index finger on the trigger, and aimed straight at the wardrobe.
If anything jumped out, it would immediately learn what a Carbon Based Lifeform Cooling Off Period felt like.
Megumi slid the right wardrobe door open.
What appeared wasn't an enemy. Not a monster. Not a crawling horror.
Hidden deep inside the wardrobe was a heavy, deep gray metal door.
Asuna stared.
"This is… a secret passage?"
.....
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