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

Chapter 16: Right Now, You Are Being Watched

Takakai found it difficult to describe his feelings at this moment.

In front of him, water dripped continuously, accumulating into a thin layer on the ground.

Inside the dark cave, shadowy figures appeared one by one in the darkness, then quickly disappeared beyond the reach of the light.

Blood puppets tightly restrained two pale, naked human figures. Takakai reached out, grabbed their shoulders, and directly threw them into a crevice in the wall beside the big slide.

The two new players had forgotten their names, removed their rescue team uniforms, and instead donned explorer outfits. The transformation process was somewhat unnatural, but with the help of Obsession, it was ultimately completed successfully.

However, this was not what Takakai was concerned about. Although the two players had avoided the constant mental contamination by changing identities and had not been fully assimilated into the [Rescue Team], the identity of [Explorer] was also invasive. Moreover, its assimilation speed was even faster than that of the [Rescue Team], which only caused contamination when its rules were violated. Whether they could survive in the end depended purely on luck—whether fate allowed them to continue living or not.

What caught his attention was the feeling of being split into two at this moment.

"Is it just a simple spatial overlap? Or is time itself being affected as well?"

In the cave where Fujiwara Chika was working as a security officer, at this very moment, a member summoned by the rescue team badge stood before Takakai.

Standing in front of him, standing in the drizzle, standing in this cave filled with stagnant water.

He could not see the figure.

With the naked eye, there was nothing but the cave, where the water surged and flowed.

Yet, he could still perceive them.

He could clearly sense that something was standing right in front of him, fully aware of the presence of this entity.

He reached out, trying to touch the figure.

He felt nothing.

But his senses reacted strangely, as if he had actually made contact with something invisible.

"What do we do now?"

Beside him, Wang Gui asked nervously.

At first, after Takakai changed the clothes of the two players and watched them vanish without a trace, Wang Gui thought he would be forced to change clothes as well. However, Takakai explained that those two had only been transported to another dangerous area. He then decided not to change Wang Gui's clothes, as the latter still retained his self-awareness. In this situation, changing identities was an unnecessary risk.

Although Wang Gui understood Takakai's reasoning, staying in this bizarre cave made him uneasy, and he was growing increasingly tense. Seeing Takakai suddenly freeze in place, he instinctively asked the question.

"Wait, don't rush."

Takakai signaled for Wang Gui to remain calm. Then, in his mind, he commanded the rescue team member to take action inside the pitch-black cave.

According to the rescue team's rules, the identities of [Rescue Team Member] and [Security Officer] were contaminated very quickly—within at most half an hour, the uniform's wearer would be fully assimilated. If that was the case, Fujiwara Chika's current situation was extremely dangerous; he had to quickly find her a change of clothes.

The rescue team member inside the dark cave stepped past the big slide.

Through the vision of this team member, Takakai could see that on that side, the big slide had been completely sealed off, blocked by a concrete wall.

On that side of the cave, the slide's blockade remained intact. This suggested that the timeline of the area where Fujiwara Chika was located might be earlier than the current moment in this cave.

That thought flashed through Takakai's mind. Meanwhile, the rescue team member on the other side had already taken off the tattered security uniform. The moment they did, they disappeared from that cave and reappeared in front of Takakai in an instant.

Without hesitation, Takakai threw one of the rescue team uniforms left behind by the two new players to this team member. It took the uniform, put back on the security outfit, and returned to Chika's location. It then walked to the guard post door, knocked a few times to confirm that she could hear, and placed the rescue team uniform at the entrance. Since he was unsure of the consequences of violating the security rule that "The guard post door must always remain locked," Takakai simply had the rescue team member call out, "The rescue team uniform is at the door. Change within thirty minutes." Then, it left.

The next objective was to guide the rescue team member out of the cave, through the stone forest path, to the entrance, and then proceed to the surface area of Nutty Dutty Cave.

"Keep watch for me. If anything unusual happens, like a rescue team member climbing up from the big slide or the water level rising, report it to me immediately."

Takakai spoke to Wang Gui beside him, then carefully controlled the rescue team member on the other side, using the excuse of "quickly searching for additional rescue personnel" to urge it to pass through the stone forest path as fast as possible.

From the perspective of the rescue team member, Takakai saw a pristine and spotless Nutty Dutty Cave.

There was no trash, no discarded clothing. Along the path, numerous long benches were placed, railings were built on both sides, and countless lighting fixtures were installed.

Throughout the entire journey of the rescue team member, vibrant, colorful lights illuminated the path, making flashlights or any other lighting equipment completely unnecessary. Takakai could clearly see the entire interior of the cave. It seemed like only the plains area hadn't turned on the lights yet? No, the gently sloping area was also pitch dark.

This didn't seem right.

However, Takakai had already left the rescue team uniform for Chika. He believed she would know what to do. At the moment, he couldn't afford to focus all his attention on Fujiwara Chika.

It was getting close.

Crossing the stone path, reaching the entrance of Nutty Dutty Cave.

The entrance covered in muddy water that he had descended through as a rescue team member.

The entrance now spotless as he ascended as a rescue team member.

Takakai controlled the rescue team member to step onto the staircase, exiting the cave.

Outside was a gloomy night sky, sparse stars, and Nutty Dutty Cave submerged in a silent darkness.

Could this be Nutty Dutty Cave before the strange events occurred?

Takakai couldn't immediately draw a conclusion.

But he saw bright lights at the entrance of the tourist area on the other side. He saw another security officer standing guard there. So, he directed the rescue team member to approach the security post on the surface to confirm the situation.

Then, Takakai sensed hostility.

An intense malice surged through Blessing, coming from somewhere unknown.

Was it directed at him? Or at the summoned rescue team member?

No, it seemed to be neither.

That overwhelming malice seemed to come from a deep abyss—or perhaps from an unfathomable distance.

It seemed to exist nowhere at all.

Yet at the same time, it felt as though it was present everywhere.

Takakai shuddered.

He felt as though something had locked onto him.

That entity first saw the rescue team member standing in the Nutty Dutty Cave tourist area under the night sky.

Then, through the connection of Obsession, it instantly locked onto him—the one controlling it.

I'm being watched.

That realization engulfed all of Takakai's senses in an instant.

He immediately removed the badge.

He didn't even have time to see what it was.

But the overwhelming premonition of death told him—if he truly saw it, he would have no chance of survival.

The summoned rescue team member vanished. Takakai severed his visual connection with it.

"Uwa... Where am I this time? Takahashi-kun, Uwawa, we finally meet again."

A sorrowful, wailing voice came from behind.

The girl, clad in an oversized rescue team uniform, plopped down into the muddy water, struggling to get up.

After voicing her complaint, she spotted Takakai not far away and immediately broke into a delighted expression.

After enduring so many hardships in this eerie cave, she had gradually developed a sense of trust and reliance on Takakai. The moment she saw him, she could finally relax.

But Takakai no longer had the mind to care about what Chika was saying.

Because that intense feeling of being watched had now completely enveloped him.

"Found it..."

Takakai muttered.

He had found the way out.

The Nutty Dutty Cave guarded by the security officers—the surface of that cave—was undoubtedly the exit from this dungeon.

As long as they reached that place, the players would definitely be able to leave the dungeon and complete the mission.

The reason Takakai had been unable to clear it earlier was because the entity that had "reached" the exit was a bizarre existence summoned by Obsession, meaning it didn't count as him personally passing through.

But even if he himself reached that place, he still wouldn't be able to clear the instance.

Because at the exit, at every possible point where one could leave Nutty Dutty Cave—something was watching.

And that thing had now locked its gaze firmly onto him—the one trying to escape.

Rushing waters——

The water at his feet had unknowingly risen up to his calves.

Takakai lifted his head.

He saw that the cave was now almost completely packed with "people."

All the floating clothes from before had disappeared.

In their place were pale, ghostly figures clad in those very clothes—people who had long since died, yet now appeared once more, staring directly at him.

Near the big slide, bloated rescue workers and firefighters were slowly crawling out from the collapsed crevices in the walls.

From the direction of the sloping path, muffled groans and sorrowful cries echoed, as if something was writhing in agony, inching closer and closer to him.

All eyes were fixed solely on Takakai.

At this moment, the overwhelming malice had entirely consumed him.

"Yare Yare daze, this is completely ridiculous..."

Faced with the situation suddenly deteriorating to a terrifying degree, Takakai could only sigh, showing an expression of helpless resignation.