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

"shameless!"

Kaguya, who had abruptly pulled up her collar, cursed under her breath.

"Hey, is this the right attitude? I didn't do it on purpose, okay?"

Having anticipated this statement, Gao Hai grinned and scoffed, then got out of bed and looked around.

This last ruin is about to completely collapse.

The door to room 309, which had been faintly glowing above, had shrunk to almost nothing more than a single point of light.

Still failed.

I originally planned to finish everything on the third playthrough.

No worries, the next round will be the time for a perfect victory.

Gao Hai clenched his fist slightly, looking at the darkness that was gradually approaching. Feeling his own heartbeat, he had to admit that he was still somewhat afraid and felt a sincere fear of the completely unknown death that was about to come.

"Is it really going to end in a place like this?"

Kaguya, who had walked up to him, clutched her torn collar with one hand, facing the darkness ahead, and murmured a sigh.

"Yeah, what a shame. I've never been kissed by a girl in my entire life. Now that we're both going to be in trouble, how about we try kissing and see what it feels like?"

Suddenly struck by a sudden idea, Takahashi turned to Kaguya and spoke.

“You already let Maki kiss you in your last reincarnation, and now you’re saying this to me. You can actually start over, right? Your restart is different from the clockwork, so you’re not afraid.”

The next moment, Kaguya spoke softly, causing Gao Hai to be completely taken aback.

Maki, you even told Kaguya about this?

This guy is really smart, actually thinking of that. How should I put it? He's the complete opposite of that love-obsessed idiot in the anime.

"I've been found out, huh? But I'll still feel the pain, so I'm actually still very scared. I mean it."

Gao Hai nodded slightly, his expression becoming serious.

"...So, in your opinion, is it worth enduring the pain of death in order to save me?"

This sentence made Kaguya hesitate. After a long silence, she spoke again. This time, however, Kaguya did not look up or meet Takahashi's gaze, but her tone remained calm, sounding no different from usual.

"Yes, it's worth it. You saved my life, and when we were facing a hopeless situation, you used your last strength to leave us a message to help us escape. For me, such kindness and the friendship we shared cannot be betrayed. If I were to abandon you and leave, I could never forgive myself."

Faced with Kaguya's question, Takami nodded once again, answering without hesitation.

"...I see. Then come a little closer, I have something to say."

"what?"

Next, Takahashi lowered his head slightly, while Kaguya, who had raised her head, tiptoed and lightly touched Takahashi's cheek with her lips before separating.

"Kissing is for lovers. As for you, use this as encouragement, as a reward for your willingness to go through thick and thin with me to the end, Gao Jun."

Unlike Maki's enthusiastic shout of "King of the Sea," Kaguya's tone remained calm when she uttered "King of the High," carrying a polite distance. It gave one a sense of incongruity, like a friend, yet also someone slightly above a friend.

Is this me?

Gao Hai realized that the girl in front of him understood that when the next cycle arrived, she would not be able to retain her memories and would have to start getting to know Gao Hai all over again.

Knowing that she was destined to die, did she give me a kiss? Even so, she only kissed my cheek. Is this the pride of Princess Kaguya of Ice or the last vestige of a girl's reserve? Well, this feeling is quite nice, it's completely different from Maki's.

Not far behind, Maeda Miwa was still sitting on the ground, wailing.

Takahashi and Kaguya simply stood there, watching the darkness gradually collapsing and approaching ahead.

as well as……

Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen, their bodies completely twisted, crawled out of the collapsed ruins. Their expressions were ferocious and terrifying, like two vengeful ghosts.

"Hey, hey, hey, isn't this a bit too persistent? At a time like this, can't you two just go and die already?"

Unexpectedly encountering these two at the last moment, Takahashi couldn't hold back any longer and pulled Kaguya and the other back, creating distance between themselves and the two creatures.

However, this time, the situation seems to be a little different.

I...I...how did I get here...I...I have to leave...

[I want to leave... Why should that brat get free... I want to... I want to leave too...]

Neither Li Youcai nor Xu Jiazhen, the "parents," acted entirely according to the rules of the ghost story as before. Instead, they howled in low, hoarse voices, speaking in broken sentences, as if... as if they had regained their senses and become lucid again.

Could it be that these two guys... wait, Xu Sheng said that these parents initially maintained their individuality just like him, but later they couldn't feel it anymore? Could it be that because the core of the ghost story collapsed, the ghost story aspect of these two guys also began to disappear, and therefore their previously lost personalities were restored to some extent, slowly turning them back into humans?

I want to... get out...

I want to... kill her...

The two men's eyes, filled with twisted anger, turned upwards in the next moment, looking at the 309 light spot flashing high in the sky.

Even though they had only recovered fragmented memories and a sense of self, the twisted hatred they felt for their daughter remained incredibly vivid. Their first reaction at this moment was to bring the little girl back from the Shirakawa Apartments and drag her back into this hellish place.

Click——click——

The ruins, which had been steadily falling, began to slowly rise at this moment.

Driven by the will of the two figures closest to the core of the mystery, they forcibly approached the location of 309 again, even though this would further accelerate the collapse of this ruin.

"I originally thought that in the end I would just lose my life along with these ruins, but it seems like I can have another fight. So, Miss Shinomiya, are you interested in fighting or something like that? I mean, the kind of fight where you beat up those two beasts."

Gao Hai pointed to the two people standing in front of him, who were staring at the sky, and then asked in a relaxed tone.

"Personally, I don't like violence and prefer to achieve my goals through language. However, if it's something that's worse than someone living on welfare from the lower class, something that's more disgusting than non-combustible polluting garbage, then I think fists are definitely more useful in this situation."

Kaguya nodded slightly, stretched her slightly sore body, and then walked towards the two figures.

tread--

They made no attempt to conceal their movements.

Gao Hai and Huiye stepped forward at the same time to meet Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen.

"You...don't stop me...do you...want to die here?"

The man was the first to realize their plan, and spoke in a hoarse voice, trying to stop Gao Hai and Kaguya's actions.

But the next thing he received in response was Gao Hai's fist, which landed squarely on his face.

"I just want to have fun, you understand?"

Gao Hai, who punched the man so hard that three teeth flew out of his mouth and his nose was crooked and bleeding, calmly replied, and then delivered another powerful punch.

Chapter Sixty: Ending All Pain in This Light

Li Youcai, Xu Jiazhen.

The creature that tormented that poor girl's short life was, in Gao Hai's eyes, truly worse than a beast; even comparing them to beasts would be an insult to beasts. Now, it has gradually lost its identity as a product of ghost stories and is beginning to regain its human side.

Of course, this doesn't mean they can survive, nor does it mean they can leave this place and start over as humans.

The power of the ghost stories has completely transformed them. Even if they regain their consciousness, as the power of the ghost stories gradually dissipates, these two are destined to perish along with this ruin and will not be able to survive.

It is precisely because they are aware of this fact that they cannot forgive their daughter.

Why should you be allowed to rest in peace?

Why should you be able to escape this place and find peace, while we have to die here?

I want to... kill her...

The furious woman, her eyes bloodshot, stared at the sky, desperately trying to reach the door of room 309 and drag the girl who had entered through it out.

Boom!

Then Kaguya kicked her in the chest, causing her to twist and fall to the ground with a groan.

No... let me... let me leave!

The man on the other side roared and rushed forward, trying to punch Gao Hai away, but Gao Hai grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground with a throw, then kicked him between the legs, causing the drunken man to roll his eyes and let out a sharp scream.

This is not a fight.

This is practically equivalent to abuse.

Having lost the power of ghost stories and unable to force Gao Hai and Kaguya to drink water or sew their mouths shut, Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen now possessed virtually no supernatural power other than being able to withstand beatings; they were merely two humanoid punching bags.

Bang!

A vicious punch knocked the man to the ground.

Gao Hai then forcefully stabbed down with the scalpel, slicing the man's head in two with a single stroke.

Although the power of the ghost story healed his injuries in the next moment, the excruciating pain that he could not be immune to caused the man to scream in agony. Then, Gao Hai reached out his fingers and directly grabbed his eyeballs, crushing both of his eyes on the spot.

Click!

With a cracking sound of bones breaking, Kaguya twisted the woman's limbs for the third time.

Amidst screams of agony, the woman collapsed to the ground, struggling helplessly. She tried to escape, but before she could even get up, Kaguya's next attack would follow, plunging her into the constant torment of her bones shattering and healing.

Maeda Miwa, who had been sitting and crying in the ruins, was dumbfounded. She had been in despair, thinking she was going to die, and had stopped caring about her surroundings. But then Takami and Kaguya came down and beat the two of them mercilessly, blood and spittle flying everywhere. Their almost performance art-like actions left Maeda Miwa completely confused about what was going on.

"The ruins have stopped rising; it seems these two have reached their limit."

After venting his anger with a brutal beating, Gao Hai looked up and saw that the continuously collapsing ruins had finally stopped about a hundred meters away from 309. He couldn't help but sigh softly and show a somewhat helpless expression.

They had indeed considered whether the ruins could hold out until they reached 309, but given the current situation, even if he and Kaguya did nothing, they couldn't raise the ruins to the vicinity of 309, let alone get them close to the curtains below 309.

Why...why are you stopping us?

Li Youcai, whose body was beginning to show cracks of varying sizes, looked up at Gao Hai and asked.

The man was approaching his limit. His humanity had returned to its peak at this moment, but the remaining power of the ghost story had been almost completely dissipated. Therefore, his body, like the ruins, began to collapse.

You two heartless bastards, why did you have to hurt us?

The woman wailed and roared, crying and sobbing as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Of course, her body was also showing various cracks, and it wouldn't be long before death took her away completely.

"Harm you? What are you talking about? I'm just dealing with the garbage. People like you are the most disgusting and deserving garbage in this world. Anyway, I can't leave alive, so it's better to keep you pests around. I won't let you go out and harm people."

Gao Hai chuckled and, as he spoke, kicked the man, knocking him to the ground. He then slapped the woman, forcing her to her knees, and kicked her in the face, sending her rolling on the ground.

Kaguya, who was already quite tired from fighting, stood aside and just watched as Takahashi continued to teach the two men a lesson.