Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Chapter 34: Don't Be Afraid, We Are Always By Your Side

Regarding the situation at Shirakawa Apartment, time and change, with the analysis of the existing clues, Takakai, Kaguya, and Maki have gathered several predictions.

Firstly, there was an initial phase, when the Shirakawa Apartment had not yet experienced abnormal phenomena, or at least no abnormal phenomena known to the outside world. At this point, Shirakawa Apartment still existed in the real world, a place connected to the outside world in a normal way.

The clearest evidence of this is the fact that the local authorities evacuated the residents of Shirakawa Apartment during the flood, and it can be determined that the exact moment the transition from normal to abnormal occurred in Shirakawa Apartment was during the evacuation phase.

More precisely, when the rescue team was evacuating residents from apartment 304 and preparing to get people out of the building, it was at this old apartment that a terrifying transformation occurred, which turned it into a bizarre place that continuously ''drew'' people from all over the world into this apartment complex.

Apartment 304 is the origin of everything.

Takakai could not determine exactly who was in this apartment, but he suspected it was a couple, with at least one child, a little girl, very young. Moreover, this child may have endured inhuman torture, such as being scalded with boiling water.

Children are forbidden in Shirakawa Apartment, perhaps referring specifically to the residents of apartment 304, which is the child of that family.

Members of the rescue team who came to evacuate the residents of Shirakawa Apartment, a large number of them were unable to leave the building, becoming trapped on the first floor, and became part of the apartment. Now, these people have almost lost all human traits and identities, but still retain some level of instinct and intelligence.

Therefore, when Takakai stepped out of the kitchen to explore, his actions were quite similar to those of the previously evacuated residents. During this stage, he would not be attacked, and even when there were abnormal phenomena, they were mostly harmless.

However, when he tried to return to his room, the strange phenomena caused by the rescue team members transforming began to surface. Whether it was the wall of people blocking him in the darkness or the final voice, it was clear that these phenomena wanted to prevent Takakai from returning to his room, from returning to the second floor.

The thing is, for the phenomena in Shirakawa Apartment to take effect, "interaction" is essential. Therefore, aside from the final voice imitating Kaguya's tone, Takakai had never encountered a similar situation before, which surprised him and led him into a trap. Prior to this, even if the wall of people was large, it could not truly stop Takakai.

But since this was the first time the phenomena on the first floor had emerged, if he descended now, returning wouldn't be as easy.

Nevertheless, Takakai had prepared himself for the possibility of not being able to return.

The phenomena on the first floor are related to the transition phase from normal to abnormal in the entire apartment complex, and they are one of the key clues to understanding the inner workings of the building. To find a way to escape, it was essential to explore the first floor in depth. Whether it was apartment 109, where Sanchez once lived, or the potential scene in the hallway, Takakai had decided to clarify everything.

At that moment, if he could still maintain his awareness, he would use a rope to signal and return at the right time. If the opponent was too strong to return, he would have to accept it.

He had prepared himself to risk his life as an explorer.

Rustle——

Amidst the sound of flowing water, Takakai walked down the corridor, approaching the main door.

However, there were still a few situations that all three of them shared the same thoughts on during their analysis.

109, 304, the exploration of these two rooms would be related to the secret that turned the entire Shirakawa Apartment into a bizarre, deadly place.

However, in order to search for an escape, perhaps… it might not be wise to explore from 109 to 304. Even if they uncovered the truth, they might not be able to find a way out of this place.

What they needed to know, after all, was the path to survival, the way to leave Shirakawa Apartment.

This path, might not be the right one.

As Takakai walked step by step into the corridor, he continued to think.

[The message of the predecessor hides the way of life, the door of restart leads to hope, the treasure in the dust brings happiness, the secret lies in the place that must never be reached…]

He suddenly recalled these four lines, thinking back to the moment of the beginning, when he had heard an unknown sound, some eerie voice in his head had spoken these unclear words.

The message of the predecessor… The rule boards, item boxes, etc., had really helped them a lot. Even Xu Sheng's message after resetting the clock had been crucial, without that information, they would have never known that room 206 was the correct path to the first floor, and would have wasted a lot of time and effort in vain.

The door of restart… Takakai didn't understand, so far, they hadn't found any clues related to it. The treasure in the dust was the same, even though there were many speculations about "treasure," no clue had surfaced, and Takakai didn't dare to make random guesses.

As for the place that must never be reached… He immediately thought of room 304, the forbidden place of Shirakawa Apartment, but from the previous clues, it seemed that Sanchez had opened the door to room 304 twice. The first time nothing happened, but the second time it led to the decay of the entire building.

Perhaps, the door to room 304 itself wasn't the most serious taboo, and even entering room 304 didn't necessarily mean the worst would happen.

Maybe, in room 304, there was a place, a secret, that must never be entered, must never be revealed. That could be the true key.

Tch… The clues from the third floor were still too few, that eerie place now seemed like a scene from "Doctor Strange MOM," so chaotic, looking for rooms to discover genuinely valuable clues was an incredibly difficult challenge. Could there be no way to improve this situation?

But then again, just like Xu Sheng's rule board had left behind, there was a serious issue with delay. Could all the hints from that unnamed sound be correct?

It must be remembered that the name of this game was "Sacrifice Game." Takakai didn't think a normal game would have such a name.

Rustle——

Amidst the sound of flowing water, Takakai stepped into the corridor, his hand touching the wall opposite the door to room 106.

He walked steadily.

Even though he couldn't see anything, and the water on the floor reached his ankles, he still walked very steadily.

Because someone was holding his shoulder, helping him walk.

Although in the darkness Takakai couldn't see anything, he could clearly feel that someone was supporting him, walking with him.

Not only beside him, but also in front and behind him, there were people. He had been surrounded by a group of people, they were surrounding him.

These people silently followed beside him, walking with him, walking in this darkness.

As long as his footsteps didn't stop, it seemed that these people wouldn't stop either.

But when he began to take another action, such as wanting to enter room 109 instead of leaving Shirakawa Apartment, Takakai suspected that at that moment, the behavior of these things might change.

Well then, he'd have to try his luck.

Takakai reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the badge he had removed earlier.

Before setting out, he had asked Sun Dajun to use a small nail to try and create something similar to a pin, and now he pinned the rescue team's badge onto his shirt.

The sound of footsteps around him suddenly ceased.

The arm that had been helping him move also no longer felt present.

Would the badge temporarily deceive these things?

Takakai quickened his pace, reaching out to touch the wall beside him. His fingers gently brushed along it, and he quickly sensed a distinct change in texture.

Then, he extended his hand further and quickly touched what he was hoping to find.

The door number... that's right, it was number 109.

He reached out, grasping the doorknob.

Click——

A light turn, but it wouldn't open.

Takakai's expression became somewhat embarrassed.

Room 109 was locked.

Although he was a Webnovel author and had learned many odd things for research, Takakai really had no skills in lock-picking. And within the team, only two people had that ability: Sun Dajun, who was physically weak and lacked the courage to take on the exploration of the first floor, and Green, who was even less reliable—just tossing him in would probably scare him so much he'd wet his pants.

So what should he do now?

Takakai could feel his heartbeat quickening.

The damp air seemed to grow colder, as if the figures watching him from around were slowly seeing through his poorly concealed act and were about to act again.

Huuu——

He could even feel the cold breath brushing against his neck.

What should he do?

What should he do next?

Takakai took a deep breath.

He knew that if he pulled the cord now and signaled, Kaguya on the other side would immediately start resetting the clock.

And even if the reset failed, he still had the option to use a "cheat." Although there were only 11 uses left, it would be fine to use it once more, because anyway, there were still plenty of attempts left.

After all, now was not the time to worry about what had already passed. Hesitating any longer wouldn't change anything.

Takakai slowly exhaled after taking a deep breath.

Not being able to interact with the anomalies was because "interaction" itself in this apartment complex was the means for the anomalies to take effect.

But, was it really impossible to fully interact?

Takakai's will seemed stronger than most others, and he had a higher resistance to the mental pollution caused by the anomalies. These anomalies also had certain behavioral logic. For example, the monster in the "knock-knock" game would do everything it could to lure the person inside to open the door, while the anomalies that took on the identities of Kaguya and the others would see themselves as part of the apartment, with the corpses in rooms acting like guardians, etc.

So, what was the behavioral logic of the rescue team members who had not yet left this apartment?

They wouldn't completely stop Takakai during his exploration from the house to the outside. In fact, they might even assist him to some extent. So then…

"Huuuu..."

Takakai took another deep breath, his fingers clenching into fists, preparing himself for the next move.

Boom!

The fist was raised and then suddenly came crashing down.

The sound of banging on the door echoed loudly, immediately reverberating in the dark corridor.

"Room 109, please open the door! The flood is coming, please open the door so we can evacuate you!"

Takakai shouted with all his strength, then punched the door of Room 109 again.

"Please open the door quickly, the water has already flooded the building!"

"If we keep going like this, it will be very dangerous. Please open the door so we can evacuate you!"

(Note: Oho, is smart)

The sound of continuous banging on the door rang out in the dark hallway.

Takakai yelled as loud as he could, trying to play the role of a rescue team member, imagining himself as a rescuer rushing into an old apartment building under attack by a flood, knocking on doors and hoping the residents would cooperate and leave quickly.

Of course, Takakai's acting wasn't very good; he hadn't taken any acting lessons, and his performance was quite unconvincing.

But he didn't need to be convincing.

Because right after his first sentence, various voices began to echo around him.

[The door is locked, no response from the residents of Room 109! Open the door immediately, the next wave of floods is approaching! We must evacuate immediately!]

[Hasn't the first floor already been evacuated? Is anyone left? It doesn't matter, we need to get everyone out!]

[Permission to break the door, no communication signal? It's fine, saving lives is more important, punish me later! Team 1, get ready to break the door!]

The voices continued from Takakai's left and right.

Although the surroundings were still pitch dark, and nothing could be seen, Takakai seemed to be able to see the rescue team members standing in the rising murky water, shouting and acting.

No, he was seeing...

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his left wrist where the watch was worn.

The badge pinned to his chest seemed to warm up, giving off a subtle warmth that was hard to detect.

Then, blurry images appeared, gradually becoming clearer, like a hallucination.

Takakai saw faces.

Each one was very young, about in their twenties, full of youthful energy.

[The flood wave has arrived early, and the Shirakawa apartment complex hasn't completed its evacuation. We are the nearest rescue team. If anyone still has strength, follow me!]

[Roger, team leader. Let's go, Teams 1, 2, and 3, act fast, clear floors 1, 2, and 3 in order!]

[Roger, everyone, double-check your equipment, we must evacuate the Shirakawa apartment complex before the next flood wave arrives!]

One shadow after another passed through the murky water, rushing into an old apartment building.

This door, then that one, with each person escorted outside.

Takakai realized that he seemed to have become part of this rescue team, or rather, he was observing everything from the perspective of someone who belonged to the badge, watching events that had happened many years ago, unsure of how many years it had been.

[Come here, old man, I'll carry you, be careful, we're almost out]

[Hey kid, don't be afraid, we're here, there's a rescue boat outside, it'll be okay]

[Let's go, put on your life jackets, don't be afraid, we'll be with you!]

The water from outside the door kept flowing in, almost impossible to stand firm against.

Yet, those figures continued to move through the rushing water, escorting the remaining residents who had yet to evacuate out of the building.

At that moment, Takakai also saw a figure standing at the front of the team, reaching out to an elderly man who couldn't move.

"Come here, take my hand."

"I'll get you out."

The figure spoke as they lifted the elderly man onto their back, turned around, and acted, allowing Takakai to see the person's face clearly.

The voice of that person was now clear enough to be distinguished.

Xu Sheng?!

Even though the voice had changed a bit, sounding younger and full of energy, and although there had been some distortion in the sound from the wall clock earlier, in that moment, Takakai still recognized it. The voice of this young man was Xu Sheng's.

How could this be? Was Xu Sheng the leader of the rescue team responsible for evacuating the Shirakawa apartment complex back then? Was this man truly a witness? The one who witnessed the pivotal moment when the Shirakawa complex turned into an anomaly?!

Boom!

Takakai's thoughts were abruptly cut off.

The door to Room 109 in front of him suddenly swung open with a loud noise.

Immediately after, a strong force from behind pushed Takakai forward, catching him off guard and causing him to fall straight into the hallway inside Room 109.

Click—

With the small sound of the lock, the door to Room 109 automatically closed.

Only Takakai remained, standing up from the floor, under the fluorescent light on the ceiling, looking at the dry, aged hallway ahead of him.

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