Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

That was a person without a face.

Because the body was completely obscured by the patients, Ryo could only see the other person's face, which lacked any facial features, and a head of messy short hair; she couldn't determine the person's gender. However, she was certain that it was a strange creature, and she could tell from the bloody aura emanating from it that it was an extremely dangerous murderous creature.

tear-

Something cracked.

After Liang's gaze fell upon the monster, she heard a slow tearing sound.

She quickly realized that it was the monster's face.

The faceless monster's face had cracked open, as if someone had slashed its skin with a knife, creating a dark fissure from which blood flowed, and more blood flowed out.

rip - rip-

More cracks appeared on the monster's face.

That face, which was originally relatively clean, was now completely covered in blood, turning a deep crimson.

Then, something emerged from the crack.

It squeezed out little by little from the black crack and looked in the direction of Yamada Ryo.

It was an eye.

Emerging from the hollow of this strange creature's face, which originally had no features, it stared blankly into the cold eyes.

Did this also happen in the past?

As Liang was thinking this, she suddenly realized that she could move her body again.

The fragmented illusion before her eyes, originating from the past, was about to vanish and dissipate. The features of the patients began to blur, the gray-black train gradually turned into a blurry mosaic, and the station itself gradually disappeared, slowly returning to the blood-red platform where she and Hongxia Xingge were.

But that thing is still in the same place.

In Liang's gaze, the monstrous, split-eyed creature still stood clearly in place, as if it had been there silently from the beginning, watching the girl in front of it through the crack with its eyeball that moved beneath the skin.

"What it is?!"

Xingge beside her gasped in surprise, and Hongxia's breathing also visibly faltered.

In that instant, Yamada Ryo realized that danger was imminent. What seemed like a shattered illusion had actually summoned a real monster.

whoosh-

I think I heard a faint sound of wind.

The next second, the cleavage-eyed monster, which should have been quite a distance away, appeared directly in front of the three of them.

So fast!

boom--

A crimson light burst forth in an instant.

The crimson domain that had been released in advance came into play at this moment, instantly blasting away the strange creature that had appeared in front of Liang.

But he couldn't see the thing land. Before it fell, it disappeared from Liang's sight and vanished without a trace.

Was it invisibility? Spatial teleportation? Or some other power?

Liang couldn't be sure what the strange creature's abilities were, but she knew very well that it wouldn't give up easily. Next, that thing would definitely launch another attack on her and the three of them.

"Hey, something's coming over there too!"

Hongxia's voice suddenly rang out beside her. Turning her head, Liang saw patients coming down the escalator. She saw patients coughing, their expressions numb, like a group of corpses, walking down the escalator one after another, entering the station, and approaching them.

The eerie aura emanating from the creature was stronger than ever before.

The patients who had previously experienced hallucinations now transformed into real, eerie creatures, blocking the only exit from the subway station.

I didn't expect them to block the road so we'd have to find another way out.

Liang wasn't too nervous. Now that she could rely on Gao Hai's crimson domain, she didn't need to worry too much even if she was surrounded by monsters. As long as she wasn't trapped for a long time, she basically didn't need to worry about her life being in danger. However, after looking around, she couldn't find any other way out. The edge of the subway station was the railway tracks, and the area outside the tracks was completely dark. She couldn't see anything, and after looking around a few more times, Liang had a vague feeling that once she stepped into those dark areas, she might not be able to come back alive.

We can't stay stuck here any longer; we have to find a way to get out.

While thinking, Liang noticed that the cleavage-eyed monster had reappeared. It stood silently among the pale-faced patients, watching them walk toward Liang. It seemed to be planning to wait for these low-level monsters to exhaust the power of the Crimson Domain before making its move.

Are these creatures with some level of intelligence? I recall Mr. Gao saying that the hospital had made certain adjustments to the creatures it controlled; they weren't just wild beasts that acted solely on instinct. If you simply assume these things only follow rules and instincts, you'll suffer greatly.

However, even if it gains the ability to think, the creature's inherent nature will not change. So, let's try doing this and see if it works.

Having made up her mind, Liang then turned to look at Xingge, who was nervously staring at the strange creatures among the patients.

"Manager, I have a vague feeling that besides these things, there should be other strange creatures coming as well. Can you sense where they are?"

Liang walked up to Xingge and looked at her seriously.

"Other strange creatures? Hmm, I... I don't feel anything?"

Xingge was slightly taken aback by Liang's words. Although she had never expected Liang to throw the topic to her, she still tried to sense it after hearing what the other party said. However, she soon found that she could not sense anything at all, and her words were tinged with a sense of frustration.

“No, sense it more carefully. You noticed the problem before me and Hongxia even did it. You should have a stronger sense for certain strange creatures. I have a vague feeling that the thing called Funato Yasuo, and those fleshy monsters that were chasing us earlier, have all come here, they just haven't appeared in front of us yet. Although I know they are here, I can't pinpoint their exact location. I think only you can do that.”

Throughout her speech, the expression on her cold face remained virtually unchanged. Of course, this was her usual demeanor, and this expressionless attitude added to her persuasiveness, making Xingge truly believe that the two monsters the other party spoke of had already arrived at this blood-red platform and were hiding somewhere here.

"I...I'll try again."

Xingge took a deep breath, looked at the approaching patient-like creature, closed her eyes, and began to try to use her senses.

Ijichi Seika never really understood what perception was.

Although she had received guidance from Gao Hai, she found his teachings to be incredibly mysterious and incomprehensible. The same applied to her previous encounters with strange entities; she couldn't understand what she was sensing. Even when she experienced a peculiar feeling, she couldn't control it, and often she couldn't comprehend what she was doing.

But this time, she felt like she had figured out some kind of trick.

Although she still couldn't fully understand the current situation, and still couldn't figure out what was going on, as she calmed down and told herself to try to find the two strange creatures she had seen before, a strange feeling suddenly surged into her heart, causing her to widen her eyes and turn her gaze in a certain direction.

Yes, Liang is right, those things are right here.

Although she had no idea how the other party got there, at this moment, Xingge could definitely sense those things, confirm that they were in this place, and that they were about to turn from a hidden state to a visible one, about to launch an attack on the three of them.

Let me... lead you to salvation...

In a voice that sounded like a dream, Funato Yasuo, covered in blood, grinned and suddenly appeared from the side of the platform, heading straight towards the three people protected by the blood-red domain.

【■■……■■■……】

Amidst a piercing, incomprehensible scream, a twisted, fleshy monster burst forth from a dark corner of the subway station, quickly locking onto three people not far away, and then charging forward while roaring.

Did both of them appear?

Liang, who had been silently observing all of this, grew serious.

The claim that he sensed Funato Yasuo and the flesh monster in advance but couldn't pinpoint their location was obviously a fabrication. Yamada Ryo hadn't sensed the presence of those two monsters at all, and given that the monsters in the subway station were already fully activated, monsters active in other areas wouldn't normally approach this place—a point Takami had explained. In other words, if Hoshika had truly remembered what Takami said, she would have immediately realized that Ryo was lying.

However, Xingge, who was in a tense state at the time, obviously did not recall this important point of knowledge.

After witnessing the two strange creatures, who were not even there at first, teleport to the scene, Ryo finally realized that the connection with Hoshigo was perhaps more troublesome than she had anticipated.

boom! ! !

A violent tremor began the next second.

However, the explosion did not originate from the monsters' attack on the crimson domain, but rather from the noise caused by these monsters colliding and attacking each other, resulting in a chaotic battle between opposing forces.

The old man, who called himself Funato Yasuo, let out a monstrous roar, and several patients who approached him disintegrated, as if they had been shredded into pieces. The fleshy monster then flew high into the air, crashing down and smashing through a large number of patients before slamming Funato Yasuo to the ground. But before the two could do anything else, the monstrous creature with split eyes appeared beside them. The fleshy monster stumbled and fell to the ground, and Funato Yasuo, who hadn't yet stood up, also fell again, his body covered in large and small festering sores.

The scene is rapidly becoming lively and chaotic.

More and more patients rushed forward, only to be knocked to the ground one by one. The monstrous creature with split eyes disappeared once more, then reappeared only to be grabbed by Funato Yasuo and slammed into the ground, creating a large crater. The fleshy monster then pounced on them, wrestling and tearing at each other before being overwhelmed by the rushing patients.

No one paid any more attention to the three living people in the area.

No, that's not actually accurate.

Liang could clearly sense that the targets these strange creatures hadn't changed; they were still locked onto the three of them, wanting to kill them.

But they didn't do that at all. Instead, these creatures fought each other, and none of them actually came forward to attack them. The reason for this was quite simple: they had all locked onto the same target, and in order to compete for it, they entered a state of mutual hostility.

You made the right bet.

The current developments were not unexpected by Liang, or rather, she had guessed that this reaction would occur, which is why she did this.

Not long ago, after confirming the presence of the flesh-and-blood monsters but failing to see them, and discovering that multiple strange creatures inhabited the area but never appeared simultaneously, Liang began to suspect that the creatures active in this place might have a conflicting aspect, making it difficult for them to track the same target together. If forced into the same scene, they would fight. And now it turns out that these things are indeed not of one mind. Simply locking onto the same target has plunged them into chaos, and they are fighting each other fiercely.

"Let's take this opportunity and leave quickly."

Liang had no intention of staying to watch the show. After confirming that there were no more patients at the escalator, she quickly pulled Hongxia and Xingge to move and retreat towards the entrance, avoiding the monsters fighting each other.

During this process, the patients would occasionally shift their targets towards the three of them. However, protected by the crimson domain, these patients, whose individual strength was not strong, were completely unable to break through the defense, and were repelled by the crimson light as soon as they got a little close. The three individuals who were obviously stronger were completely caught up in a meaningless battle, and even when the three of them reached the escalator, none of them were able to break free and pursue them.

"Hurry up, run uphill!"

As Liang ran up to the escalator, shouting this, she was about to walk up when she felt a strong pang of heart palpitation.

hum-

There was a sound.

The ear-piercing whistle, the hum of wheels grinding against the rails, and the explosive sound of gas ejection.

It was a train, an old-fashioned train that has long been phased out, emerging from the dark tracks of this dimly lit subway platform and slowly coming to a stop on one side of this now chaotic platform.

It's time to go, it's time to go!

It was as if someone was speaking like this, issuing this notice to someone, an unquestionable notice.

Yes, it's time to set off, isn't it?

The train has arrived.

It's time to get into the carriage and head to the next destination.

Come over here quickly.

Hurry up and come in.

That's enough, everything will be fine once you get to this point.

The place you're supposed to go is right here, isn't it?

Have you forgotten? Don't you remember where you belong?

Come on, come on, don't forget where you're supposed to go, don't forget where your home is, don't forget where your destiny lies.

This is the place that truly belongs to you; this is the place where you should rest in peace.