Eiji and Maki were trapped on the ninth floor.
They tried many things but concluded that it must be an Innate Domain.
Unable to leave the ninth floor, neither through stairs nor elevator, with windows leading to neighboring rooms, they were stuck.
Resting in one of the rooms, ignoring the pink furniture and various adult toys, Eiji and Maki sat on the bed without any awkwardness.
"This is frustrating. This Cursed Spirit is a coward." Maki complained.
"We have two options. First, I'll use a large-scale attack to destroy this hotel. That way, I'm sure the Cursed Spirit won't have a place to hide."
"You're still thinking about that? Denied. If you do that, the surviving survivors will be affected."
"Are you sure there are people still peacefully alive in this situation?"
"... Maybe. Before confirming, let's not act recklessly."
Maki wasn't optimistic about survivors in the hotel, but she found Eiji's method too extreme, considering the potential impact of collapsing a love hotel in the middle of the city.
"And what's the second option?" She asked.
"Find the Cursed Spirit and eliminate it. Once the Cursed Spirit is dead, the Innate Domain will automatically disappear." Eiji calmly replied.
"Sigh. That's easier said than done. Most likely, the Cursed Spirit is on the tenth floor. As long as we can't leave the ninth floor, we'll remain trapped."
*Grrrr*
A loud stomach growl echoed in the room.
"By the way, it's lunchtime. I'll go look for food."
Without waiting for Eiji's response, Maki left the room.
"...?"
"I even have food stocked."
Seeing her leave him alone, Eiji took out bread from his Storage Ring and began to eat.
"If it's just me, this task can be completed quickly."
Now he understood why his cousin preferred working alone rather than with others. For people at their level, teammates influenced decision-making.
For Eiji, if he could save those trapped in the love hotel, he would. If it became too troublesome, he'd leave it be.
But Maki was different. Her sense of justice was strong, at least for now. So, she worked hard to try and save the people here.
"Oi, Kamiki, why didn't you tell me you had food."
Just back from searching for food throughout the ninth floor, Maki brought three bottles of drinks and got annoyed seeing Eiji casually eating bread.
"You left before I mentioned having food in the Storage Ring." Eiji provided a logical explanation.
"..."
Maki fell silent, unable to argue.
Without saying anything, she placed the drinks on the bed, took another piece of bread, and started eating.
Eiji glanced at her less-than-elegant way of eating for a woman but refrained from commenting to avoid further disputes.
After being full, he felt sleepy. So, he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
"Seriously? You want to sleep in a situation like this?" Maki felt his attitude too nonchalant.
Without opening his eyes, Eiji flatly replied, "Then what can I do? You rejected my suggestion. Wake me up when you find clues to exit the Innate Domain or locate the Cursed Spirit. As a reminder, don't try to confront the Cursed Spirit alone if you find it."
"You're not taking this situation seriously, are you?"
"..."
Seeing him not answering as if already asleep, Maki picked up an empty bottle and threw it towards him. However, the bottle stopped in mid-air.
"Infinity, huh. No wonder you're not cautious. Apparently, you were prepared."
Still no response from Eiji. Seeing this, Maki no longer bothered.
"I can't believe I didn't find a single clue."
Finishing her bread, she stood, grabbed her spear, and left the room. Instead of just waiting, she prefers to find a way to leave the ninth floor even without Eiji at all.
...
Eiji opened his eyes, sat up, and yawned.
"Hoam... Where am I?"
Seeing the room's decoration, it took a few seconds for his mind to clear, and he remembered everything.
"I see... I fell asleep."
Observing the empty room, he frowned when he didn't find Maki.
"How long have I been asleep?"
Taking out his phone, he noticed the time hadn't changed from what he remembered. Then, he checked the room clock and realized something he missed.
"All clocks stopped at 10:40. This Innate Domain has the ability to stop time on the ninth floor or the entire building in this love hotel. Probably not long after both of us entered."
"Let's find Zenin Maki."
Eiji walked through the corridors but didn't find the person he was looking for.
"That stubborn woman. I told her not to confront the Cursed Spirit alone. But that's also within my prediction. You took the bait, Cursed Spirit."
Removing his sunglasses, Six Eyes scanned every corner of the hotel.
There was a reason why Eiji let Maki act alone despite knowing it was dangerous – as bait.
He suspected the reason the Cursed Spirit managed to hide its presence from Six Eyes' sharp perception of Cursed Energy was that it used humans as a shield.
As long as the distance was far enough and the number of humans sufficient, Six Eyes would fail to detect the Cursed Spirit hiding within the human crowd. Moreover, this Cursed Spirit wasn't weak.
So, Eiji let Maki act as bait without her knowing. After ensuring he was truly asleep, the Cursed Spirit would take the initiative and attack Maki.
"No matter how little the Cursed Energy in Zenin Maki's body is, it's still there. Your mistake was capturing her for use as your disguise."
Six Eyes provided feedback to Eiji, and he saw the extremely weak Cursed Energy like a flickering candle that could extinguish any moment.
"So, you're hiding in the basement."
Finding the location of the Cursed Spirit, Eiji used Blue on himself, giving the effect of moving at high speed, so fast that it looked like teleporting.
Because he was too fast, the Innate Domain didn't affect him, and he arrived in the basement in an instant.
"Disgusting." Eiji muttered upon arriving in the basement.
The walls, floor, and ceiling were no longer made of concrete, replaced by clumps of flesh with eyes, limbs, and more body parts.
"Kamiki, you finally arrived. Quickly get me out of this foul-smelling flesh!"
Except for her head, Maki's body was embedded in a mass of flesh on the ceiling.
"One, four, nine..."
Ignoring the countless arms attacking him, Eiji counted the number of survivors.
The Cursed Spirit continued its relentless assault, but none of the attacks could reach Eiji due to the Infinity separating their distance.
"Total of 26 people, huh. That's more than I expected."
He was slightly surprised that the surviving victims exceeded his anticipation. No need to think too long; he already guessed the reason.
It was because of him!
The Cursed Spirit feared that if it killed many people, its location would be known by Eiji. That's why there were still many people alive.
"This Cursed Spirit has intelligence but can't speak human language."
Listening to the indistinct growls from the Cursed Spirit, Eiji quickly lost interest.