54: The Man Who Disappeared
The space collapsed with a crackling sound.
This was the same as the bunny suit.
“…Pocket dimension!”
The fragmented scenery was blown away behind them, and what appeared instead was,
“A city…?”
It was a strange and unfamiliar residential area.
He realized what it was a few seconds later.
The rows of buildings were too regular. The streets of Japan, which are supposed to be irregular. However, here they were lined up in a row, as if they were all standing in line.
“It’s like a city-building game…”
No, since that double suit made it, it probably is a game.
The question is, how do we get out of here?
From Noble mtl dot com
“I’m going to keep you locked up here for a while.”
The double suit’s voice came from somewhere, but it wasn’t nearby.
He had been hypnotized once already. He wouldn’t show his face out of caution.
“For a while? How long?”
“I’ll let you go when the game is in its final stages. You’re a great player, you know. But don’t even think about helping the bunny suit.”
“No way.”
“I thought you’d say that. Well, either way, until you reflect on your actions――”
“Don’t underestimate me, Double.”
And then, the bunny suit’s voice cut in.
“Just like you put me in my pocket dimension, I can interfere with your pocket dimension, even though I’m sealed.”
“Well, I had a feeling.”
“Takashi Watanuki. I’ll make an exit. Run.”
Then, the end of the road warped and twisted. It turned into a whirlpool, and the space converged. It then drew a circle and created a glowing white hole.
Is that the exit? That’s easy to understand.
Just as he was about to start running, figures emerged from the houses.
All of them staggered and hung their heads. They looked like puppets being controlled.
I didn’t think he’d let me escape so easily….
Are they something like the rabbits that were with the bunny suit?
“I’m going to change my mind.”
The double suit’s voice echoed, calmer than before.
“Just think of this as a game. If you can stop the raccoon dog, I win. If the raccoon dog escapes, you win. It’s really simple.”
“You were planning on privatizing the Experiments from the start, weren’t you?”
“What? If I’m going to do it, I might as well have some fun.”
“You’re kidding me…When this is over, I’m going to make sure you can never speak again. Takashi Watanuki, can you do it?”
No, I can’t.
The crowd that had filled the street in an instant was so large that it would be difficult to break through.
They all stared at him with lifeless eyes. He felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed the killing intent of these human-shaped non-humans. He got goosebumps.
It reminded me of the moving corpses, the zombies.
“Gaaa!”
The zombies, screaming with a force that seemed to tear their hoarse throats apart, came rushing at me all at once, waving their limbs wildly.
“Whoa, no way, no way!”
I hurriedly ran away, and Bunny Suit inspired at me, “It’s backward!”
“What am I supposed to do about it!?”
‘No problem!’
“It looks like nothing but problems to me!”
‘It worked on Double Suit, the master. The Experiments app should work on them too.’
“…I’ll cry if it’s a lie.”
‘You’re more the type to get angry than to cry.’
I looked back and operated the app with a prayerful feeling.
Maximum number of people that can be hypnotized… I set the hypnosis to ‘soldiers’ for ‘9 people’.
“…………!”
The targeted zombies stopped moving and began attacking the other zombies with sharp movements that were different from before.
A melee suddenly began, but the strength of the soldiers was still reliable. The zombies were being thrown around like toys.
‘You didn’t have to cry.’
“Oh, that’s nice to watch.”
‘What are you spacing out for!? Look at the ones that were thrown! They’re already getting up!’
Just as Bunny Suit said, the ones that were supposed to have been defeated didn’t seem to have taken any damage, and they immediately headed towards the soldiers.
So, I can’t reduce their numbers, huh.
“What do we do now?”
‘Charge through.’
“…Roger that.”
If we dawdle any longer, the exit will get further away.
I looked for a side street, but there were no gaps between the houses. Even if there were, they would probably be too narrow to get through before being caught.
“Break through by force!!”
The soldiers who heard the order violently blew the zombies away to the sides.
Ryugo also joined in, knocking down the swarming enemies one after another. Since they’re not human anyway, I can hit them without holding back.
We finally managed to break through the human wall, but more zombies were coming out of the houses on the left and right. Like ants going in and out of a nest, there was no end to them.
“Ugh, damn it!!”
I’m already tired, and on top of that, I’m being made to run around and play a stupid game.
I don’t need the soldiers anymore. Release the hypnosis.
And then,
“Get out of the way!!”
I gave the ‘command’ to the zombies that were getting in my way, one after another.
Because of the high level of the command, it didn’t consume any levels this time. However, I had to keep repeating the hypnosis and release for each one as I moved forward, which was incredibly annoying.
I ran while using my phone, desperately aiming for the exit.
“Just a little bit more…!”
Just when I saw the light in front of me,
“Ugh…!!”
I was attacked strongly from behind.
Continuously, hands attacked my legs, waist, and head, not allowing me even a single step further.
“Damn it…!!”
At this rate, I’ll be completely immobilized.
No, I can’t lose.
I wanted to issue an **”Order,”** but my head was firmly fixed, preventing me from looking back.
I was dragged backward, the exit growing distant.
Is this how it ends?
“Don’t underestimate… me!!”
Ryugo stopped moving forward.
Instead, he threw his body backward with all his might.
It must have been unexpected. The zombies lost their balance as their power equilibrium was disrupted, and their bodies tilted. At the same time, Ryugo fell to the ground.
They quickly regained their posture, but it was already too late.
Lying on his back, Ryugo’s eyes clearly captured the figures of the zombies.
“**Move!!**”
The activated **”Order”** scattered the zombies.
His body slammed hard against the ground, but he suppressed the pain and immediately stood up. Then, he tried to leap into the hole of light.
“Not so fast!!”
He narrowly dodged the fist of the man in the double suit that lunged at him from the side.
“…Damn! You came out too late.”
“It’s not over. The game is…!”
“It’s finished.”
“What…ugh!?”
Out of nowhere, a zombie tackled the double-suited man’s back. It then grabbed his waist, immobilizing him.
The groundwork had already been laid.
To one of the zombies I had given an **”Order”** earlier, I had assigned a mission, not just to **”move,”** but to interfere if the double-suited man appeared.
Ryugo ran past him, laughing.
“You’re the Game Master, so you can’t attack a player, right!? If you could, you would’ve knocked me down by now.”
Looking back, I saw the double-suited man with a bitter face, as if I had hit the mark. It seemed he was struggling to shake off the clinging zombie, not having surpassed human physical power.
Such a satisfyingly pathetic sight.
“Idiot! You think you can improvise a strategy on the fly and adjust your course at the last moment when it fails? No way that’s going to work!”
“Tanuki…!!”
Yes, the match had been decided long before we were thrown here.
The double-suited man’s actions were merely postponing the inevitable.
In other words, futile resistance.
As I jumped into the glowing white hole, I felt as if gravity had reversed, and then I was thrown into the air.
“Ugh.”
And then I was slammed to the ground.
I wonder if the smartphone that slipped from my hand feels the same way.
“Are you just gonna lie there!? Get over here!”
The bunny suit’s angry voice shot toward me as I lay there in pain.
That’s right, if I didn’t hurry, the double suit would be back and send me back to that space. The second time around, he’d probably use a different tactic.
I ran over to the girl who was tied up, but realized there were no knots in the rope.
“Wh-what the hell!?”
“Don’t let appearances fool you. It’s the type you input a code for. It’s impossible for the person who’s tied up to do it, but if someone else speaks the code, it’ll be released.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I know the code.”
“Why do you know it?”
“Because it’s easier that way. I made it the same as the double suit’s.”
“Are you guys all idiots?”
“Well then, I’ll tell you. It’s pretty long, but can you handle it?”
“I don’t have a choice. I’ll record it, just in case. Go ahead, tell me.”
“Got it. Here goes.”
The bunny suit took a deep breath.
“Juugemu, Juugemu, Go-ko-no-suri-kare…”
“Ah, that’s enough. I got it.”
“What!? You’ve already memorized this long code!?”
“Yeah…”
“That’s an incredible memory… Even for me, it took a year to memorize it.”
“That’s just because you’re an idiot…”
As soon as I finished reciting the code quickly, the rope turned into particles of light and disappeared.
But still, why a rakugo as a password…
The bunny suit stood up, brushing off the dust.
“Good job, Ryugo. I’ll give you a reward later.”
“Don’t worry about that, just hurry up and do something about the double suit.”
“What a selfless guy.”
The bunny suit shrugged and looked behind Ryugo.
“…He’s back.”
I turned around and saw a big black hole open up and the double suit came out.
Sweat was beading on his forehead. It looked like he had a hard time escaping.
“Haa… Man, that was rough…”
“You’re late. Are you ready to be forcibly sent back?”
“Tanuki… It seems I’ve lost… hahahahaha”
The double suit laughed self-deprecatingly.
“Ugh!?”
Suddenly, his body stiffened.
The bunny suit was reaching out towards him. I didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like he was going to finish him off.
“Double. I can’t tolerate it anymore. Repeated penalties, attacking the holder, and even obstructing me. Are you prepared to spend an eternity in a birdcage?”
Even though he had been sentenced to life in prison, the double suit looked cheerful. As if he didn’t care about his own death.
“But wasn’t the game fun?”
“That wasn’t a game. It was an experiment.”
“It was a game. You manipulate the players as a supporter, make them fight, and anticipate the outcome. That’s a game without a doubt.”
“Shut up, Double. Disappear right no–“
–Stab
Double Suit’s hand pierced his own heart.
“Ahahahaha…”
He paid no attention to the deeply embedded hand and chuckled as if he felt no pain. His strange behavior made me frown.
“What are you doing…?”
He said to the agitated Ryugo,
“This is the end, Tanuki. I’ll give you guys one truly final game.”
There was no sense of life in him. He was either a robot or a god.
Despite being on the verge of death, his expression was calm, devoid of fear, pain, or suffering.
No Bl00d flowed, his face remained lifelike, and there was no sign of death.
“The final boss to grace this final game!”
“Like hell I’ll let you!!”
The moment Bunny Suit clenched his hand,
“――――――――!!”
Baaang…
Double Suit exploded like fireworks and vanished.
Phosphorous gleamed in the air, then disappeared without leaving even embers.
It was a fantastic sight, but not one I could immerse myself in.
“Damn…!!”
That’s because Bunny Suit, who must have understood the situation, was baring his teeth and growling.
“Double…! How dare you…!!!”