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

The brain is trembling.

A strong sense of dizziness enveloped my consciousness, making it almost impossible to organize my thoughts normally.

At this moment, I felt as if I could no longer feel anything. I felt light and airy, as if I were floating on water, and I had a feeling that I was about to fall asleep.

Where am I...?

I could almost feel something, something warm and radiant.

It feels like being warmed by the sun on a winter's day, so cozy and comforting that it makes you want to fall asleep.

Am I just going to fall asleep like this?

No more dealing with terrifying monsters, no more dragging a broken leg to walk or run, no more stumbling and crawling around in a miserable state just to survive.

Wouldn't it be better to just sleep comfortably like this?

"..."

A sound came from afar.

Although it was still very soft, and you could barely hear what the other person was saying, you suddenly became alert after hearing that voice.

"■■..."

I have absolutely no idea what the other person is saying.

But it should be something that has nothing to do with me, right?

I'm so tired. Let me rest for a bit.

If it's just a short nap, there shouldn't be any problem, right?

So let me...

"Xiaohua!"

A loud bang right next to her made the girl open her eyes abruptly.

That voice belonged to her friend, Miko Yotsuya; she was certain she hadn't misheard.

Ah, yes, I went to my best friend's house to do my homework, planning to play together, watch a movie, and chat about school life. Suddenly, she gouged out her own eyes and told me something terrifying was coming for us. Then I was blasted away by something, and when I woke up, I had to hide in a mansion haunted by monsters to survive. I was attacked by the monsters and misled by hallucinations, finally managing to expel them only thanks to the crimson light emanating from my phone.

What happened after that?

After realizing that the clean and tidy living room was actually an illusion, and that the real body of the terrifying monster was actually inside the living room, which was filled with bloody entrails and slippery human fat, and after mustering the courage to rush in and smash my phone screen on the thing, I seemed to lose consciousness.

Did I really succeed in banishing that monster?

Or have I already been captured and killed by that thing, and this is just a replay of my deathbed? Am I about to be reincarnated?

No, I don't want that kind of plot development. Death and reincarnation? Let's talk about that when I'm at least seventy. I haven't had enough desserts and cakes yet!

Open your eyes

"Woo eh?"

A voice that sounded very young, seemed somewhat tired, yet also carried a certain authority, suddenly entered the girl's ears.

The girl's consciousness, which was gradually returning, was completely restored after this voice rang out, and she finally opened her eyes to check her surroundings.

So bright.

This was Xiaohua's first reaction.

Looking around, everything was shimmering with gold; nothing else could be seen but gold, as if one were in a golden ocean.

Where am I? Is this heaven? Am I already in heaven? Or have I really died?

[You are the 337th person to successfully banish a derivative monster. This city is now fraught with danger, and very few are capable of accomplishing this feat. To have reached this point requires not only strength and determination, but also luck. Without a doubt, you are special.]

Lost in thought, the young male voice rang out again.

Xiao Hua looked around very hard, but couldn't see the other person anywhere. The mysterious being seemed to be invisible to the naked eye, which made Xiao Hua think of something powerful or divine.

"Th-that, Your Majesty, was it your power that protected me?"

The girl, floating in a golden, illusory ocean, stretched her body and made a somewhat comical greeting gesture.

As a reward, I will grant you greater power, but this will only temporarily alleviate your immediate crisis. Threats still surround you, and many monsters lurk in the shadows, lurking to threaten your life. To protect yourself and gain even greater power, you must find a way to defeat and banish them. Only then can you ensure your own safety and potentially help others.

However, the girl's actions did not elicit any response. The voice that spoke was like an NPC reciting lines, with no inflection whatsoever, and it just kept talking.

But He did say something like "reward strength," so this must be a deity, right? And a god like a war god, the kind who rewards believers with courage or achievements, right?

"Thank you, God. Without your power, I would surely be dead. Although I may not be able to fight monsters like a warrior, I will try my best to live and banish those monsters!"

Perhaps because some of the external forces that had been supporting her spirit disappeared after she entered this golden space, Xiao Hua showed more of her usual boisterous personality at this moment, rather than the calm demeanor she displayed in the mansion.

Of course, she herself was unaware of this. In fact, she didn't even know what she was saying at the moment; she was just babbling on and on out of emotional excitement.

"My lord, my lord, may you hear my request?"

"Although I know it's too early to say this now, can you tell me if my friend is among the people who successfully banished the monster?"

Xiao Hua, who was spinning around in the golden space due to her random twisting of her body, shouted loudly.

"My friend's name is Yotsuya Miko. She's a girl with black hair and blonde eyes, about my age. She's a little taller than me, and her chest is a little smaller than mine. She's a very cute girl!"

"Oh, and also, my name is Yurikawa Hana, you can just call me Hana-chan, God. So, God, could you tell me—"

The chattering girl kept talking nonstop at that moment, so much so that she didn't even notice when the voice stopped speaking.

[So noisy!!!]

Then, with a resounding boom, the golden, illusory ocean was tinged with a dark red hue. Even without seeing the speaker's expression, Xiao Hua immediately and clearly sensed the anger emanating from him.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

Startled, Xiao Hua quickly apologized.

[You keep talking! Do you even know how many people I'm communicating with simultaneously, transmitting mental energy and fragments of consciousness, providing protection and sharing intelligence? You barely survived and even managed to send away a Twilight-level derivative monster. Shouldn't you be using this time to gather more information? What you banished was just a low-level derivative created from an ordinary human, lacking even the basic monster ability of "immortality." What's so remarkable about that?]

Like an unlucky office worker who has worked overtime for more than a month but finds that he has no overtime pay, that voice unleashed a torrent of abuse at Xiaohua, its tone extremely irritable.

[Furthermore, the aura emanating from you clearly indicates the presence of a genuine Twilight-level monster. The house you're in isn't your own; there's likely a genuine Twilight-level monster lurking inside. That thing won't be foolish enough to play hide-and-seek with you. Even the lowest-level Twilight-level monsters from the "hospital" possess a degree of intelligence; they'll actively try to induce you to break the rules and create traps for you. And since you've already dealt with its "creation," even if you escape the house, that thing will relentlessly pursue you. Once you return, only one of you—you or that monster—can survive!]

Xiao Hua could almost see an irritated man pointing his finger at his forehead, giving her a stern lecture.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please help me, God!"

The girl's response was very straightforward; she immediately began her apology with a spinning doge (a deep, indecent prostration).

No, I am not a god.

The next second, the voice answered Xiaohua smoothly, as if it had said the same words dozens or hundreds of times.

Hey?

This inexplicable denial stunned the girl again, and then, the speaker seemed to realize something, and his tone suddenly changed.

[Wait, you just said your friend is Yotsuya Miko? You're Yurikawa Hana? You're Miko's classmate, Hana?]

The speaker's voice carried a hint of surprise; Xiao Hua's survival seemed quite incredible to him.

"N-No, that's right, I am Xiaohua. Um, Your Majesty, do you know Xiaojianzi?"

Xiao Hua was a little confused by the change in the other party's attitude and didn't know how to react for a moment, so she could only respond cautiously.

You can call me Gao Hai, that's my name.

The next moment, the voice became much gentler, and the weariness in the words became much more obvious.

"...Gao Hai?"

Xiaohua was stunned again. She suddenly felt that the name was very familiar, as if she had heard Jianzi mention this name several times.

[While I'd love to elaborate, there's no time right now, so let's keep it brief. Jianzi and her mother are both safe and out of immediate danger. However, their situation is likely similar to yours; they're trapped somewhere. I've already sent rescue teams, and I believe their hideout isn't too far from your current location. So, once you eliminate the threats in your house, you should be safe until rescue arrives.]

And this self-proclaimed "deity" who called himself Gao Hai has once again earnestly given Xiao Hua his instructions.

First, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but when facing strange creatures, you're much calmer than usual, right? That's because you have a fragment of my will within your mind. This fragment helps you calm down more quickly, allowing you to concentrate at crucial moments without being terrified.

This fragment is extremely precious; once lost, it cannot be replaced. Therefore, you must avoid direct confrontation with these strange creatures as much as possible. The more you come into contact with them, the more their presence will drastically drain your spirit—a relentless process of erosion that even the protection of the Crimson Domain cannot prevent. Once the erosion reaches a certain point, this fragment may shatter to protect your spirit from distortion, at which point you will be left to fend for yourself. Therefore, avoid direct contact with these strange creatures unless absolutely necessary.

[That's right, those monsters are officially called "Monsters," and they are divided into three different levels: Twilight, Dark Night, and Crimson Moon. The ones you successfully banished were servants created by Twilight-level Monsters from living people; these creations of Monsters can be called "Derivative Monsters." To banish Derivative Monsters, you only need to let the Crimson Domain come into contact with their true forms, but to banish the true Monsters, you must find their Obsession Object. This is the crystallization of the Monster's obsession when it was once a living person, and it usually exists in the form of some kind of object; you must search carefully.]

[As long as you can successfully banish them, whether they are spawned monsters or monsters themselves, they will enhance the power of the Crimson Domain, giving you stronger protection. Yes, those protective crimson lights are the power I possess, a power I call the "Crimson Domain." Because I have disseminated this power through technological devices such as mobile phones and televisions, its effectiveness has been greatly weakened. I can't even monitor the specific situation within each domain in real time, and I can't be sure whether they have truly protected a particular person.]

In short, banishing the strange creatures will enhance your domain's power and grant you the opportunity to establish a connection and dialogue with me. Of course, you can also allow your domain to absorb other similar domains. If you encounter a crimson domain that failed to protect anyone, absorb it; don't let that power go to waste.

"If you can banish enough monsters, I can establish a more stable connection with you and provide you with greater power. But until then, survival is the most important thing. Only by surviving can we have hope and consider the future. So, Xiaohua, no matter what, please be strong. Only by becoming strong enough can we hope to end this nightmare. Don't die before everything settles down. Next, I'll tell you a few more patterns of monster activity and methods for deducing their rules. You must remember them well…"

In gentle words, this person who called himself Gao Hai earnestly explained various issues to Xiao Hua. He patiently answered the girl's questions when she didn't understand, guiding her to gradually understand the current situation, or rather, the current situation that she was qualified to understand.

When the golden light faded and the girl truly opened her eyes, returning to the dark, dilapidated living room filled with rotting flesh and fat, her gaze had become much clearer. And upon returning, she immediately noticed that the rotten flesh and fat were gradually dissipating and turning to dust. It seemed, just as Mr. Gao Hai had said, that once these monsters were truly banished, their remaining bodies in the real world would lose their sustaining power and simply disappear.

That way, there's no need to worry about getting too much blood and grease on her body. Xiaohua is quite clean, and she doesn't want to come back and experience what it's like to be covered in grease.

Speaking of which, Mr. Gao Hai mentioned that the golden space where a temporary connection was established after banishing the strange creature seemed to be in a state of near-time freeze. Wow, that kind of power is just too amazing! It must be a power only a god could possess, right? But why doesn't Mr. Gao Hai admit that he is a god?

I don't understand. Maybe this is the difference between humans and gods.

At this moment, like many others who were establishing a connection with Gao Hai for the first time and receiving his guidance and protection, Baihechuan Hua immediately recognized Gao Hai as a god in her heart and subtly developed a sense of worship and following him. This was only natural, since Hua could clearly realize that Gao Hai was truly protecting her life and guiding her on how to survive the crisis.

So, let's figure out how to take out the last enemy in this house.

Thinking this to herself, Xiao Hua looked down at the phone she was holding. At that moment, two new messages appeared on the blood-red screen.

[Willpower: 89%]

Defense: 74%

These are two easily understood status messages. [Willpower] represents the remaining power of the "spiritual fragment" that protects Xiaohua's mind, while [Defense] represents the remaining energy of the crimson domain that can block attacks.

This thing can be considered one of the powers that Gao Hai gave to Xiao Hua. It can quantify the power to protect oneself in an easy-to-understand way, and it can play a positive role in making choices in emergency situations.

"call……"

Taking a deep breath, Xiaohua stood up and found that her injured leg had recovered considerably. It was as if the bones had magically grown back together. Undoubtedly, this was also the power given by Gao Hai. Although the principle was unknown, after banishing that derivative monster, Gao Hai seemed to be able to give Xiaohua a certain amount of power to heal her injuries, including serious traumas like fractures, which were handled with ease and without any problems.

That's really amazing.

Although she had already encountered those supernatural monsters before, Xiaohua couldn't help but feel a sense of awe upon truly experiencing Gao Hai's power. Then, remembering the threat lurking in the house, her mood grew heavy again. But this time, before the mental fragment in her head could even take effect, Xiaohua took a deep breath, composed herself, and took a serious step forward.

[Hmph hmph hmph...]

Then she heard a sound that seemed to be chuckling, coming from somewhere.