Dark skin.
Vertical pupils.
Purple hair.
And in her hand, a blood-stained bone whip.
Her body was barely covered, with only the essential areas clothed. An aura of cold, eerie energy surrounded her—clearly a succubus spirit.
Upon seeing Amamiya, the succubus's eyes gleamed with excitement. She kicked away the unlucky girl cowering in front of her, sending the poor soul flying.
"Come here quickly and replenish my mana," she demanded eagerly.
Amamiya raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is your 'replenishing mana' thing a normal method?"
The succubus grinned, baring two sharp fangs as she licked the corner of her lips with a scarlet tongue, her voice dripping with dangerous amusement. "Of course not."
'Perfect.'
Amamiya thought.
He preferred unorthodox methods of 'replenishing mana' anyway.
"As a man, your blood must be delicious," the succubus murmured, her eyes flashing red. "I can't wait any longer."
'Wait, your way of replenishing mana is by drinking blood?'
No way anyone would agree to that.
"I'm sorry," Amamiya said seriously, "but I'm a respectable man."
The succubus's smile widened cruelly as she swung her bone whip, lashing it around Amamiya's arm. "Do you really think you can leave now that you're here? Kneel and lick my feet."
Amamiya, caught off guard, was quickly pulled towards her by the power of the vengeful spirit. The strength gap between humans and spirits was vast—there was no resisting her physically.
Fortunately, Chika barged in just then, pointing her finger and shouting, "Outlaw Don, I call upon you! Do you dare to answer?"
The succubus blinked in confusion, her mouth suddenly moving on its own.
"... Don is here!" she answered, despite herself.
At that moment, Amamiya felt in control again. He grabbed the succubus by the wrist and effortlessly lifted the petite spirit, who was about the size of a middle schooler.
"What did you just say?" Amamiya asked with a smirk.
The succubus's eyes widened in shock as she tried to struggle but quickly realized her body wouldn't respond.
"Human, what did you do to me!?" she demanded, panicked.
The succubus, more pragmatic than the cow ghost, surrendered quickly after assessing the situation. "Master, I... I could also lick your feet if you'd prefer?"
'As expected of a succubus—no shame, no principles!'
"Chika," Amamiya called over his shoulder, "search her."
"On it!"
Chika stepped in and began frisking the succubus, while Kaguya stood nearby, arms crossed, frowning slightly.
"What does 'replenishing mana' even mean?" Kaguya asked, still skeptical.
Rikka, with a serious tone and a wild imagination, replied, "It's how spirits recharge their power. Just like humans need air, spirits need magic, or they weaken."
"Sounds suspiciously like salt," Kaguya muttered, unimpressed.
"Exactly! Salt is the source of human magic!" Rikka exclaimed.
Only Asuya, watching from the side, seemed hesitant to comment. 'Everyone knows how a succubus replenishes magic,' she thought to herself. 'Haven't they seen the infamous scenes from "Fate" with King Saber?'
But no one seemed to share her concerns.
"Found it!" Chika announced, pulling a fragment from the succubus's tail.
With their objective achieved, Amamiya released the succubus. There was no need to fight her further; while Kaguya had exorcist tools, their time was limited, and they still had many other spirits to deal with.
"Let's go," Amamiya said, turning to leave.
"Wait," Chika stopped him, tugging at his sleeve. "We can't just leave like this."
"Huh?"
Chika pointed to the girl the succubus had been tormenting earlier. "If we leave her here, Miss Succubus will definitely take revenge on her."
"I can't leave the ward," the succubus interjected quickly, "so I can't hurt her!"
Even so, Chika gently lifted the unlucky girl to her feet. "If we go, she'll still be in danger."
Amamiya glanced at the girl. She was bruised, whip marks visible on her arms, and tears still filled her eyes from earlier. Leaving her alone with an angry spirit seemed like a terrible idea.
"You could let her rest in our ward for a while," Kaguya suggested calmly.
Where people gather, alliances form. Even in a horror game, relationships were important assets. Strengthening their network and building goodwill was always a good strategy.
Amamiya nodded, turning to the girl. "Would you like to come with us?"
The girl's eyes widened with hope, and she quickly nodded. "Yes! Please!"
Chika smiled warmly, offering the girl a handkerchief. "Here, wipe your eyes."
"Thank you," the girl whispered gratefully, her eyes filled with relief as she accepted the handkerchief and looked at Chika with deep appreciation.
Although the ward was dark and gloomy, the girl standing before her seemed to emit a warm, radiant light that melted away the shadows in her heart.
Chika, truly the light of humanity.
Miss Succubus gritted her teeth but didn't dare act against them. She could only watch helplessly as Amamiya led his group out of the room.
"Damn man, I'll remember you! Next time we meet, I'll drain you dry!"
"…"
They soon arrived at the door of the next ward. Without hesitation, Amamiya pushed the door open and stepped inside, wasting no time.
"Someone reported illegal transactions here... Keep your heads down and don't move!" he commanded.
Right behind him, Chika, still radiating innocence despite pretending to be powerful, followed his lead. In a clear, confident voice, she declared:
"Outlaw Don, I call you—do you dare to answer me?"
Inside, a vengeful spirit—this one a woman wielding a pair of scissors—was just about to cut the corners of Amamiya's mouth when she felt her mouth betraying her, answering against her will:
"Don is here!"
"…"
With a decisive motion, Amamiya grabbed the spirit by the shoulder. "Don, you are under arrest."
What followed was a swift search. With teamwork, the group quickly uncovered another mysterious fragment and rescued yet another unfortunate player in the process.
Once again, Chika's light shone brightly.
After sweeping through the wards, they finally returned to Room 404, where Amamiya had initially been stationed.
Miss Sadako, who had apparently snuck out when no one was watching, was now standing quietly in a corner, her face hidden behind a curtain of black hair and her presence exuding a cold, eerie aura. The new players who had followed Amamiya screamed, their heartbeats quickening in fear.
"Ms. Sadako, I'm back," Amamiya greeted calmly.
Sadako's long black hair trembled slightly at the sound of his voice. Without a word, she attempted to retreat into the TV once more, but just like before, she got stuck.
Amamiya walked over slowly, casually wrapping an arm around her slender waist from behind. 'Hmm, her waist is surprisingly thin,' he noted to himself.
"Ms. Sadako," Amamiya said, his tone sincere yet firm, "hand over the fragments. You know the consequences if you don't."
The players who had accompanied them watched, wide-eyed with shock.
First, he bullied the cow lady ghost, and now he's bullying Sadako? This is terrifying.
Defeated, Miss Sadako glanced at the comb in Amamiya's hand and quietly surrendered, handing over the fragments without protest.
With the darkness closing in, Amamiya and his companions pressed on, making their way to Kaguya's nightmare room to confront the mirror ghost once more.