As for the tentative contact with the core Obsession—
Takumi could only say that the result was less than ideal.
All attempts at communication received no response.
The other party was like a hollow shell that had lost its soul—no matter what Takumi did to it, there was no reaction at all.
Even when Takumi directly tore off the restraints on its body and helped it down from the stretcher, there was still no response.
"No… this isn't the true core Obsession."
After observing for a moment, Mai reached that conclusion.
"Not the true core Obsession?"
Takumi turned his head toward her, waiting for a further explanation.
"While exploring Instances and studying other players' investigation records, I've encountered this situation more than once. This man called Hirano Sōsuke likely exists in different forms and states. But aside from the true core form, the other forms he displays aren't his real self—they don't count as the real him."
"For example, there might be an Instance where the core obsession manifests simultaneously as a child, a middle-aged person, and an elderly individual. But no matter how you try to communicate or interact with the child or the elderly forms, you can't obtain anything meaningful. In the end, the players discovered that the core obsession was tied to the greatest regret left behind during that person's middle age. Only by engaging with it in that form did they have a chance to resolve the obsession."
"We have to find a way to reach the true core obsession—to connect with the period when that obsession held its deepest regret, when the emotions were at their most intense and the fixation was at its strongest. Only then do we have a chance of finding the correct way to break it. As for this empty shell… I'm afraid it won't be able to help us at all."
After giving a serious explanation, Mai had already finished searching Hirano Sōsuke's hospital room.
There was nothing.
There wasn't a single thing in this room that could be considered a "clue."
A search of the stretcher and the empty, husk-like body also yielded no results. The room was so clean it didn't even look like a patient had ever stayed there. There were no personal belongings of any kind.
It was clean to a degree that felt almost inexplicable.
After all, the scenes within an Instance are usually recreations of distorted memories or emotions. For a room to be this empty, there were only two possible explanations. One, that in the real history, after Hirano Sōsuke was confined to this room, it truly remained in this exact state. Two, that at the point in time this room represented, Hirano Sōsuke had already become something that no longer possessed even a sense of self—a mere human-shaped mass of flesh.
Takumi felt that these two possibilities were probably not mutually exclusive.
Toyama Akira—the veteran player—had gradually been subdued, yet this investigation had failed to yield any useful leads. Considering that once the hospital returned to normal, he would most likely be subjected to whatever bizarre "treatment" awaited him, Takumi didn't hesitate and chose to take a risky path.
"We have to change identities. We need to go from 'patients' to 'medical staff.' I saw a set of contaminated rules earlier—staying in the 'patient' role here is basically a death sentence. No matter what, we have to change roles. As for this guy… we're taking him with us."
Once Takumi made the decision, he acted immediately. He pushed out a cart from the corridor loaded with syringes and medicine bottles, pulled the bedsheet from his own room and draped it over the cart, then removed the bedsheet from Hirano Sōsuke's room and wrapped him up before placing him onto the cart. After that, he piled a bunch of miscellaneous items on top as cover.
As for the bottom of the cart, Takumi deliberately left a small space—just enough for a petite girl to hide inside. There was no way he would forget about Miko, that adorable little teammate. After all, if anything happened to her, she might very well come back and kill both him and Kumagai Mai. Forgetting her simply wasn't an option.
The process of stealing uniforms that followed was smooth and efficient. Mai used the Bronze Eye to immobilize an orderly. Takumi stepped forward, dragged the person away, stripped them, swapped their clothes with his patient outfit, and put on the orderly uniform himself. Then they found a second orderly and immobilized them again—this time, they used Hirano Sōsuke's clothes to dress the person, while Kumagai Mai changed into an orderly's uniform.
As for Hirano Sōsuke himself, Takumi had already wrapped him tightly in layers of bedsheets and blankets, even securing him with restraints to prevent any accidental exposure of anything inappropriate.
Come to think of it, Mai seemed unusually familiar with this entire process.
Only after everything was done did Takumi realize just how perfectly she had coordinated with him.
"Stealing clothes from Aberrations and putting them on yourself is basically routine for Red Moon-level players. Anyone at that level is thoroughly familiar with this process."
Mai answered his question with a hint of pride.
Was that really something to be proud of?
In any case, after the two of them finished changing and began pushing the cart forward, Miko suddenly appeared from who-knows-where. The team regrouped just like they had in the third loop, moving together once again. At this point, a little over two hours had passed since the start of the fourth loop—this was also the first time Takumi had managed to survive for more than two hours within a single run of Campus Uncanny, a place that seemed downgraded to Dark Night-level on the surface but was, in reality, still a top-tier Red Moon-level Instance.
The medical staff and patients had nearly finished suppressing Toyama Akira. The facts proved that although a berserk player carrying out-of-control Obsession Items was dangerous, they still couldn't overturn the power of a Red Moon-level Instance. Through the window, Takumi could see the unconscious Toyama Akira tied to a stretcher. The blood saw was gone—most likely expelled from the Instance. As for whether his other Obsession Items were still with him, Takumi had no way of knowing.
"Do you think those things will brainwash and modify him or something? Feels like this might turn into a big problem later."
Watching them take Toyama Akira away, Takumi frowned.
"Most likely. But that's not something we can deal with right now. Since we released that problem and benefited from it, we have to be prepared for the trouble it might bring later. Enough talking—there are two orderlies ahead. Whether our disguise works or not depends on this."
After speaking in a low voice, Mai noticed the situation ahead and her expression turned serious.
Too bad they weren't alone. Otherwise, they might have been able to get another uniform for the girl hiding under the cart.
Seeing the two orderlies ahead, Takumi thought the same. Then he straightened his face, imitating the blank expression of the staff, and together with Mai, pushed the cart forward toward them.
Creak—
The locked iron gate slowly opened.
The two orderlies didn't even turn their heads to look at Takumi and Mai. With blank expressions, they simply let them pass.
Good. It seemed that the rule where "clothing" represented one's "identity" was also in effect here.
Although he managed to keep a calm expression, Takumi was still somewhat tense inside. Seeing things go smoothly, he let out a quiet breath of relief.
Beyond the iron gate was a long corridor. Through the glass windows on both sides, one could see the hospital's landscaped shrubs and flowers. It actually gave off a rather pleasant, almost scenic atmosphere. When the two of them pushed the cart to the end of the corridor, they found themselves entering a new area—what appeared to be another building section of the psychiatric hospital.
It was also here that they confirmed the detailed map of this entire section.
"The building at the very front should be where patients are received from outside. The area we were in before was the patients' living quarters. But that structure near the back entrance… it really stands out. Feels like it's practically screaming 'this is where the problem is.'"
Takumi studied the map for a moment before giving his quiet assessment.
"Let's deal with what we brought first. Mm, over here on the third floor. Looks like the lounge on the third floor has been converted specifically for handling bedding and laundry."
Mai glanced at the labels on the rooms along the corridor, then pushed the cart toward one of the doors.
When she opened it, they found several old-fashioned washing machines inside, along with piles of bedding and sheets stacked across the floor. Some of them had already begun to give off an unpleasant odor.
After repeatedly confirming that there was nothing hidden in the room—and no surveillance cameras—Mai locked the door, then lifted the cover over the cart so Miko could come out and get some air.
"Hah… hah… um, hello, Kumagai-san."
The girl had been sensing the surrounding aberrant presence the entire way. To avoid exposing herself, she had instinctively held her breath, so now that she could finally relax, her breathing was a little unsteady. Even so, she immediately greeted Kumagai Mai.
That's good… Kumagai-san is alive… and well.
Thinking back to the previous loop, the way Miko looked at Mai was filled with genuine emotion.
"Mm, you did well. Being able to stay calm is a good thing."
Mai nodded lightly, though inwardly she couldn't help but mutter to herself—Miko's expression when looking at her felt almost like she was seeing someone who had come back from the dead.
…Well, she had kind of come back from the dead, hadn't she?
While the conversation was going on, Takumi had already begun unwrapping the tightly bundled bedding on the cart, intending to check on Hirano Sōsuke.
Then, after seeing what was inside, his brows furrowed.
"Looks like… we can't bring that core obsession's vessel out with us."
As he spoke, Takumi removed the restraints, revealing the empty bedding beneath—there was no one inside at all.
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