You say this is a love game?

Faced with the greetings from many students, Mizutani Makoto was afraid of causing trouble, so he kept silent.

"No hint of a death curse."

"Go directly."

This time, no one stopped him, and no perverted ghosts came to pull him away. He walked through the corridor and received greetings related to "Imagawa Ei".

"I told you that nothing would happen..."

"Where on earth have you been hiding? Your parents and I have been looking for you for a long time and we can't find you. Your uncle and aunt are crying their eyes out."

"Many people said you must have died in an accident since you're missing. We all don't believe it. How could you die for no reason?"

"Come here, come here, come here..."

As Mizutani Makoto walked, he felt the student ID in his hand getting slightly hot, as if it was struggling with something.

"Ying, come here."

As the dust settled, Makoto Mizutani felt something slipping away from his student ID card.

At this moment, Mizutani Makoto had approached the end of the corridor, and standing in front of him were Kaneda Hayabusa whom he had met before, and the girl with glasses who looked particularly cute wearing glasses.

On the girl's student ID card, it was written "Hijikata Yui"

After connecting the clues, Mizutani Makoto guessed that this person was the "vice president" - in the diary fragments picked up in the teaching building before, it briefly described the emotional dispute between Kaneda Hayabusa and Koizumi Hanako. The last entry mentioned that Kaneda Hayabusa was very close to the vice president of the student union and was suspected of cheating, which was why he broke up with Koizumi Hanako.

Are these the two people?

Mizutani Makoto took a closer look and was stunned. It turned out that at the end of the corridor, besides Kaneda Hayabusa and Hijikata Yui, there was a third figure.

——That person is Imagawa Ei.

Her dress was torn and ripped beyond recognition.

The skin was tattered, as if it had been torn apart and forcefully glued back together, without even a stitching line. This lack of stitching made it look even more disgusting and terrifying. The flesh inside looked like it had been stuffed with minced meat, loose and sagging. There was even a gaping hole in the right thigh, as if it had been permanently bitten off by a wild beast.

She was standing behind the girl who also wore glasses, tears streaming from her torn eye sockets.

...Is this thing a residual soul?

No, it has been hundreds of years since Imagawa Eiji's death. He has long since degenerated into a horrific ghost who eats people without leaving any bones. His soul was completely blown up by him just now. How can there be any residual soul?

Now that Mizutani Makoto has experienced a lot and has a better understanding of the cracks, he has the ability to make judgments on such matters.

This was probably obsession, some powerful obsession attached to her student ID card, and finally revealed itself in the place where the obsession prayed.

In this way, wouldn’t my brother be exposed?

Mizutani Makoto held his breath and calmly prepared to draw his sword.

But things did not develop as he expected.

Imagawa Ei's obsession made him bow slightly to Mizutani Makoto.

Hijikata Yui, clutching a notebook and a pen, gave him a bewildered look. The pen, which should have been dropping rapidly, paused in mid-air. Then, she slammed the notebook shut. Kaneda Hayabusa also stared at him in bewilderment. Then, like stiff puppets, they both dispersed to their own sides.

"Are they also insane?"

Mizutani Makoto frowned.

At first, he thought that Kaneda Hayabusa and Hijikata Yui were both the core of this strange place, and should have consciousness like the BOSS he encountered, or that there was a BOSS battle waiting for him.

But nothing happened, as if even they were just confused puppets.

Right.

He remembered the feeling he had when he died before - what remained in this place was not the soul, but some kind of residue after the soul had disappeared. It was too outrageous to say that it had consciousness. It must be that many obsessions came together to form this strange place.

As for Kaneda Hayabusa and Hijikata Yui, these two people simply had special identities when they were alive, or there were other special circumstances when they died, which is why they appeared as "managers".

This can also explain why when Kawa Ying's obsession reaches this place, her obsession will also merge into this small world.

If this conjecture is true...

The obsession here has been gathering here for hundreds of years and has not dissipated. What is all this for?

Makoto Mizutani easily passed the boy and girl guarding the end.

They did not try to stop him, but just stood quietly on both sides.

Just as he was about to step onto the stairs, he suddenly turned his head.

——Everyone was looking at him.

The students, regardless of age or gender, who were originally chatting and laughing in the corridor, now all stood still, their eyes fixed on him.

At this moment, time seemed to have truly stood still. The previously noisy corridor fell directly into a suffocating silence. Those empty gazes fell on him without missing a single detail, making him feel as if he was standing in the center of the stage. When he looked up, he was under the spotlight of everyone's attention. Any tiny thoughts in his heart had nowhere to hide.

Mizutani Makoto stood still for a while, then tapped the wall at the stairs with his fingers.

There was no response here, only those almost frozen empty gazes.

Mizutani Makoto took a deep breath, turned around and continued walking up.

The staircase was narrow and steep, with the walls covered in peeling paint and spots of mold. The end was not the third floor, but a half-open wooden door. Light shone through the gap in the door, and one could vaguely see that the space inside was unusually spacious.

Mizutani Makoto glanced at the house number above his head.

——【Student Union Office】

Mizutani Makoto pushed open the door and slowly walked in.

The room was filled with a faint musty smell. Tables, chairs, bookshelves, and cabinets were placed everywhere. All the necessary furniture was available. There were some awards and honors on the walls, but the floor and various furniture were covered with thick dust. Even the footprints he left when he walked in were clearly visible.

It's dilapidated and old, and no one has been here for a long time.

Mizutani Makoto looked around and took out Lao Hei's candlestick from his backpack. With the help of the candlelight, clear footprints appeared on the ground.

This time, the location we were directed to was the desk of the student union president, and the drawer could be opened directly.

It has formed path dependence. I am too lazy to search without opening the candlelight!

Mizutani Makoto pulled over a chair and sat down.

There are only a few props in the drawer.

First, a badge.

Student Union President's Badge

Description: This is the personal emblem of the student union president of Hiiragigaoka Academy. During campus events, meetings, and external communications, the emblem serves as a direct indicator of identity. Embracing a special obsession, it can sometimes have unexpected effects.

【Comment: Don't shoot, we're on the same side! 】

The golden badge is printed with "Student Council President" and the emblem of the private Hiiragigaoka Academy.

Mizutani Makoto put it in the palm of his hand. From Tongzi's description, he had no idea what was going on. He had no idea how to study it for the time being, so he put it away.

Next, unsurprisingly, is the diary that supplements the plot.

【Kaneda Hayabusa's Diary】

【Description: Hanako, can she escape? 】

This first sentence left Mizutani Makoto stunned.

"...Brother Scumbag, what are you doing?"

Dad, I have a bad feeling.

If you read on, you will find that this diary is not about any big crisis or the truth of the story. Instead, it is like the whispers of Kaneda Hayabusa before his death... Yes, what these diaries record are the obsessions or fears of the deceased, right?

I can't tell her the truth. Knowing too much will kill her.

[Transfer school, she must transfer school, in order to survive.]

[My recent actions must have disappointed her...]

[I also heard that her parents are planning to move away due to work adjustments. Finally, there is good news... Hanako, just leave here.]

【Then, we also have things we must do.】

"Teacher Ayako is willing to cooperate with us. We must kill him... Killing Soichiro will save not only us, but also the other members of the student council, and even the people of this city, and many more people."

【Tonight, everything happens tonight.】

[God, if you really exist, please bless us.]

This diary entry has completely overturned Mizutani Makoto's opinion of "Kaneda Hayabusa".

The diary in the teaching building was previously told from the perspective of a bystander student, revealing that after Kaneda Hayabusa was elected as the student union president, his attitude began to become arrogant and unkind, and he also had an ambiguous relationship with the student union's vice president, Hijikata Yui. His childhood sweetheart, Koizumi Hanako, was heartbroken by him, and no one knew what happened between the two afterwards. Koizumi Hanako even had to take a leave of absence from school for a while.

But now that the information has been updated, it seems that the title of scumbag has been applied to the wrong person.

"This student union is the real party involved. They probably realized the seriousness of the situation back then... and even organized a resistance in the final days."

"Sato Ayako, this teacher has appeared again. She was originally a teacher supervising the special training class together, but for some reason, she was instigated by the student council and decided to help them kill Soichiro Hiiragihara."

Mizutani Makoto thought of Sato Ayako who was sinking at the bottom of the lake, and then of the corridor on the second floor of the school building, which seemed empty but was actually crowded with students, and he couldn't help but sigh.

Obviously, the resistance organized by the young boys and girls at that time failed.

Perhaps he was being controlled by someone else? Or perhaps Hiiragihara Soichirō had a backup plan?

But no matter what the process was, the end result for this group of students was death.

"Their rebellion has failed, but according to them, their rebellion was to save more people... In other words, they thought that if Soichiro succeeded, disaster would befall them?"

"Could it be that they are sacrificing the Nue like the ancestors of the Hiiragihara family did?"

"That's not true. The situation wasn't as serious as the diary says. On the contrary, a fire engulfed the school and everyone was burned to death, even Soichiro Hiiragihara. That's when this rift was created."

"So, something else must have happened back then."

"It's true that they failed, but Soichiro didn't completely succeed either."

Mizutani Makoto pondered and felt that he was getting closer and closer to the truth of the story.

Attention shifted to the last prop.

【Hanako Koizumi's handkerchief】

Description: A faded Western lace handkerchief, embroidered with crooked cornflowers and Western love poems. The dust-stained and blood-stained corners still bear the marks of the boy's fingers gripping it tightly. He always treasured it, pouring his longing and love into it, never letting it go until his death.

【Comment: Hanako, let's play together~! 】

This must be a prop related to Hanako Koizumi.

If I hand this item over to Hanako Koizumi, will her resentment be dissipated and the difficulty be reduced?

With mixed feelings, Mizutani Makoto put this prop away.

He looked around, but there was nothing else to pick up.

"Go downstairs."

Mizutani Makoto returned to the second floor.

This time he did not use [Imagawa Ei's student ID], but the corridor was still empty, as if the group of undead had completely disappeared. He would no longer trigger the "Cursed Death" map kill when walking from the right to the left side of the corridor.

"Is this the end?"

Mizutani Makoto was a little dazed.

At this moment, he suddenly thought of something, took out the [Student Union President Badge] from his backpack, and put it on his chest.

The next moment, the corridor on the second floor became crowded.

Undead spirits transformed by obsessions were standing silently in the corridor, all looking at him. Among them were Kaneda Hayabusa and Hijikata Yui, and even the newly joined Imagawa Ei was among them.

What is this commotion for?

"I mean, can I summon the Scourge of the Undead?"

It doesn't seem right either.

Mizutani Makoto didn't gain any "control" or anything like that. He walked down the stairs, and the undead didn't follow him. Instead, they stood in the crowded corridor, staring at his retreating figure. He turned around and climbed up to the second floor from the first floor again, and they continued to watch him silently.

"I don't understand."

Mizutani Makoto still didn't understand it.

But by getting this badge he gained free access to the school building.

The old confusion has been solved, but new confusions have arisen. The main storyline has been pushed forward, and it seems that about 50% of it has been revealed, but it still feels like there are many details that have not been dug out. I am afraid I have to dig deeper into those inaccessible places.

"The school building map has been solved."