I̶͙͉͝ ̸͙̠̘̽͂͆͝ĺ̸͚̳̯̤̞̽͌o̷̠̳͒̐͛͂̊v̷͕̣̒e̸̬͂͋ ̴̩̉̈̆ÿ̸̡̩̫̑ó̸͔͕͖͛u̴̺͔̰̺͊̊͊̕.̶̼̪͒̒̈͝ͅ.̶̡̺̯͝.̶̝͕̂̍̄Į̶̮̫͔́ ̶͈̙͈̻͒̑͆̕͠l̸͙̤̟͗̕ơ̸͓̬͉v̵̨͖̭͇̍̈́̓̒e̸̖͑̃̀͝ ̸̧̢̖̖̏͒y̴̫̙̠͊͜ö̸̪̫͚̫̪̐̈́͗ử̸̩̏̌.̷̛̺͈̪̈́͗͠.̵̣͛.̶̲͚͓͎͑͗̕I̸̖̾̐͝ ̴̲̺͓͈̘͐͝l̷̯̈́o̷̺͈̒v̷̡͔͇͈͙̋͑ë̶̼̘̥̬͊̈́̏͒ ̸͎͎̝͈̈̂y̶̳̺̑͘o̴̢̝̥̹͑͝ú̵̢̯̼͊̈́͝.̸̺̺̔͜.̴̡̹̹̎͛ͅ.̴̞̻̻̀̇
̵̥͖͗Ī̴̳̳ ̸͎̳̣͇̒͝l̸͙̜̈̊͒͋ô̴̝͈v̸̫̱͂͋͘e̶̫̺̩͍̺̓̋̊̚ ̸̨̃y̶̧̗̻̅͊͋̇͜ǫ̶̱͕͚̬͂͋̊u̷̡̲͌̃̌.̴̢͌͛̾̉.̵̢̙̦̦̈̍̉͝.̴̧̳̘̥͊̃̾̋͘I̶̫͙̞̣̭̽̃̔͠ ̷̧̰̬͍̻̃̆l̷̗͕̍ọ̸̡̡̦̕̕͝v̴̩̈́͊́e̵̟̞̟͕̭̿̒̋ ̸̟̒͆̾͆y̴̞̳̦̆͛ö̸̮̪͚̹̺́ȕ̶͎̚͠.̷͉͉̹̰̣̄̊͒.̷͇̍̂.̸̻̏I̴͉̭̟̦͗̕ͅ ̶̳̺̰̘̖̈́̌͠l̵̢̜͉̼̳̂́o̷̧͙̼̮͈͆͐v̸̼̏̂̾ḙ̵̫͎̰̺̆̎ ̵̢̛̫̙̘̓̿ͅẏ̸̞͗̓ö̵̰͉̩́̽̋̓͝ǔ̷̦͖̬̲͜.̶̨̼̗̲̀̐̕͠.̵̛̯̠̞̣̈̓͛.̸̞̙̈̓͊̈
̶͉̺̒̉̓̎͠I̵̪̼͒ ̶͍͙͉̰͇̆͠ḷ̴̠́o̶̱͐ͅv̴̱͐̆͜e̵̙̦͇̞̱̾̋͊̽̈ ̷̧͙̦̗̏͜y̷̛͖̺̹̹͈̋̾̚ö̸̲̭̩́̀̕ú̷̜̹̈́͆.̸̢̪̯̩̓̂.̵͓̲͈̇.̷̞͛͒̈Ḭ̷̓̌̋̚̚ ̶̪̤͠l̴̡͕͔͂o̵͔̟͗͒̉̓͆ͅv̷̨͕̈͘ė̵͕̳̗͑͛̃̚ ̴͖̹̫̲̿͋̍y̷̯̬͕̝̏̌͘̕͝o̶̡̤͍̠͕̒̀́̅͌u̸̦̤̎̐.̵̦̳̺̱̏̅͆͠.̵̥͎̽͜.̷͇̤̣̖̋̋͋I̷̱̠̜͐̀͝ ̸̠̈́̍̽l̶͖̗̉̐̐ó̸͓͍̹͖̹͠v̴̠̣͕͘̕͝ȩ̵͉̦̭̒͒̈́̚ ̸̱̻͑ỳ̶͓͈̣͍̊̐͜o̶͖̔u̶̹̽̈́̂.̸̛͎̙̪̦̉̔͝͝.̸̢̹̹̫̔̊̕.̴̨͇̿̒
In the vast, empty St. Freya Academy, there was only half a human figure. The figure was missing its head, its form twisting and deforming constantly, spreading out in all directions, attempting to find the part it lacked.
"It's a little cold."
"Is there no one else in this world?"
Li Mo couldn't help but pull his clothes tighter. The entire St. Freya was deserted and eerily silent.
Only countless loose pages drifted to the ground. Li Mo looked up, but couldn't find any drones or other machinery that could be dropping the pages.
It was illogical. The countless pages seemed to appear out of thin air, falling to the ground on their own.
Like snowfall.
Curious, Li Mo picked up a page. It was densely covered with " I̴ ̸l̷o̴v̸e̸ ̸y̶o̶u̴.̵.̷.̸I̵ ̴l̷o̷v̷e̶ ̸y̶o̷u̴.̷.̴.̷I̵ ̷l̶o̸v̵e̶ ̸y̵o̵u̵...".
The red writing was incredibly vivid, seeming to be still flowing. It was warm to the touch, as if it had just been written with some warm liquid.
The layout was not neat, chaotic, messy, and without any rhyme or reason…
Li Mo's brow furrowed slightly. "It seems this world is more dangerous than I thought."
"There's also a strange smell on the paper..."
"It's blood."
Sniffing closer, Li Mo finally determined what the liquid was.
"Are they all like this?"
As an experienced transmigrator who had gone through seven different worlds, Li Mo was extremely cautious and wouldn't overlook any incomprehensible details.
The worlds he traveled to were invaded by bizarre entities for different reasons, and these entities would disfigure the world beyond recognition.
For example, a Kalpas-corrupted or Pardofelis turned all the Flame-Chasers into cat dolls, retaining only their heads and consciousness.
Or the time the Herrscher of Dominance - Puppets spread across the entire world, and everyone but Li Mo himself turned into puppets.
If these bizarre entities were not contained, they would invade other worlds and eventually spread to Li Mo's home world.
This was something Li Mo could not tolerate.
"Hah..." Coming back to his senses, Li Mo picked up several more pages. The content was identical to the first, and without a doubt, these strange phenomena that couldn't be explained by science were coming from the unknown bizarre entity.
Although he didn't know what it meant, Li Mo recorded it.
At the same time, Li Mo once again confirmed that his understanding was correct.
Bizarre entities could not be killed.
Once judged dead, they would immediately restart.
Tireless and unbeatable.
They could exist in various forms, as a person, an object, a rule of death that kills upon contact, or an incomprehensible supernatural phenomenon.
"Remember this blood-stained page phenomenon, it should be useful later."
"What I need to do now is use the ability to restart after death to try to get more information."
Li Mo analyzed the situation with great calm. This wasn't his first time dealing with these bizarre entities. If he couldn't maintain a rational and calm judgment, he would just die again and again.
And restarting wasn't without a price. Each time he restarted; Li Mo increasingly lost his concept of "humanity."
"Should I use the notebook to foresee things?" Li Mo took out a strange notebook but hesitated whether to use it.
This notebook was indeed useful, but his intuition told Li Mo that the more useful something was, the greater the price to pay. It was just that he wasn't clear about what price he had to pay yet.
Li Mo raised his head and looked at the school behind the central fountain of St. Freya. According to the normal timeline, the main trio should be attending school together at this time. He needed to confirm this.
"I'm going to enter the area of St. Freya Academy where {Kiana Kaslana} goes to school."
Li Mo said seriously, his gaze fixed on the notebook, which opened on its own.
Gradually, several lines of text appeared on the yellowed page.
[My name is Li Mo. When you see these words, I am dying and about to be reborn. ]
[The point in time I'm at right now is one month after the third Honkai outbreak in Nagazora City and after Raiden Mei was taken to St. Freya Academy. Kiana Kaslana, Bronya Zaychik, and Raiden Mei should be enjoying a brief and peaceful school life during this time. ]
[But there aren't any students around St. Freya. Instead, the place is occupied by blood-stained pages floating all over. ]
[So I took out the notebook I got after the first death, hoping to get a breakthrough regarding this bizarre situation from it. ]
[It's 5:35 PM now. I am going straight to the school gate and opening it. ]
[At 5:45 PM, I died. ]
"???" Li Mo was stunned, taken aback for a couple of seconds.
Theoretically, the danger of the first day shouldn't be that high. As time went on, the bizarre occurrences would become more obvious, and reality would become more distorted.
If he followed his original plan, wouldn't he only live for ten minutes on the first day?
"It's possible the notebook is deceiving me, but… after using it so many times, it really hasn't lied once. If I assume the content presented in the notebook is true, then this time's bizarre situation is a bit difficult to deal with."
"I need to know the cause of death."
[...]
The notebook didn't respond.
Li Mo closed the notebook and sighed.
Sometimes the notebook wouldn't answer his questions, especially about the cause of death.
It was as if it was waiting for him to die a few more times.
"If this bizarre entity is just a rule of death, then it's not difficult to deal with. I just need to know how I died, and after I restart, I can avoid that rule to avoid death."
Li Mo said slowly. With the resolve to die, he walked toward the school building in the center of the academy.
At this moment, a brand-new page with an intense smell of blood landed on Li Mo's face. Li Mo grabbed it, tossed it on the ground without looking at it.
A gentle breeze blew, turning the page over.
The content on it had changed.
Ḯ̶͚̜̼̝͊̄̍ ̵͈̜͍̰̽̔̅͆̋l̸̨͉͔͗̇̎̀o̸̭̬͇͓̯̾̽͆v̵͎͕͎̹̰́̋̉̿ȅ̴̙̄ͅ ̶̣̜̼̑̾͌̑y̷͉̫͒̇ǫ̴̝̕ű̵͈̺,̴̧̗̝̮͛͋͊͘ ̷̢̘͙͗͐̈́̈́p̵̞̺̱̏l̵͖̎̈̓̽͝e̵̙̩͖͐͘a̶̦̣̔͘̕s̸̘̠͚̼̎̔͠ȩ̸̝̱̹̦́͛̕ ̵̹̠̰̪̈́͆ȩ̸͇̯͍̌͋̏͝a̶̛̛̼̗̲͊͘͜ͅt̵̡̹̻͔͔̋̀̉ ̵̼̍̓͠m̶̧̺͊ȩ̴̖̬̿̀.̵͕̯͇̟̍̈́̓ ̴̬̈̇͆̓-̷͙̱̤̮̈́̀̅ ̷̗̬̐͋̓̏Ḳ̷͔̜͚͆̋͘ͅï̴͎̍̑̎a̶̩̩̬͇̋̓n̸̻̊̂͗͑̈́ạ̷̤͆̉́̿ ̷̡͗̾͝K̸̛̦͋̒̉̃a̸͇̬̲͌̾̾s̷̼͔͑̃͘ḻ̵̟̹͚͈̈͐͛̆̿a̴̩̥͇͗̓͛n̴̩͇̊̑ȧ̶̱͔͓
The page twisted and deformed, the thin paper stiffly squeezing out a smile similar to a human face, cold and mechanical.
Li Mo looked at the watch on his wrist. Just as the notebook had predicted, it was exactly 5:45 PM when he arrived at the gate.
However, Li Mo didn't rush to open the gate. Instead, he patiently waited for time to pass and observed the gate during this time.
"There's nothing wrong with the gate, the thermometer isn't dropping in temperature, the gate has no supernatural aura. So why would I die after opening the gate?"
At this moment, Li Mo was lost in thought as he looked at the thermometer in his hand. If there were any supernatural phenomena, the thermometer would warn him. After all, it was impossible for the normal summer temperature to drop from over 30 degrees Celsius to two or three degrees unless there was a ghost.
The watch turned to 5:50 PM, five minutes later than the notebook's prediction.
"It's 5:50 now, but I haven't died yet. This means I haven't triggered the death rule by walking from the academy gate to the school gate."
"It's not like I'm guaranteed to die at 5:45. So the cause of death must be that I opened this gate, or it's somehow related to this gate… but the thermometer shows there's nothing wrong with this gate."
"Hah… maybe there's a mistake in my cognition, and I can't accurately judge the temperature around the thermometer."
Li Mo analyzed the reasons. Examples of cognitive errors had occurred before, so he had to be fully prepared.
"I'll use this to open the door. If it breaks, it means there must be something wrong with the gate."
Li Mo used brute force to break off a relatively thick branch, held both ends against the door, and pushed hard.
"Creak..."
A sound that made his skin crawl echoed out.
The door opened, but the branch didn't break.
Li Mo's heart rate increased. This was probably the moment before death. He had to be fully alert.
He couldn't die in vain.
Just as Li Mo was focusing all his attention, the school's intercom suddenly crackled to life.
"Student, come in quickly! You'll die if you stay outside!"
Li Mo stood rooted to the spot, looking at the source of the sound, the dark intercom, and pondered for a few seconds.
"Hurry! If you don't come in, everyone will die when those things come in! Those things can't get in here!"
After hearing the intercom, Li Mo decided to go in and ask for clarification.
After all, the reading on the thermometer had started to plummet, instantly dropping from the original 32 degrees Celsius to 11 degrees Celsius, and it was still dropping at an alarming rate.
Once it reached zero, perhaps something terrifying would appear.
The notebook didn't lie.
He had opened the door with a branch, he hadn't died, and the branch hadn't broken.
Plus the earlier test on the gate with the thermometer, all these factors suggested that there was nothing wrong with the gate.
Then the problem was the voice coming from the intercom, or… the act of entering the gate itself.
After all, the thermometer started plummeting after the voice came out, suggesting that the intercom had attracted the bizarre entity.
He could feel the cold, so his perception was most likely correct.
"I can't hesitate any longer. If I go straight to the broadcasting room after entering, I'll find the answer."
Li Mo quickly started walking, but as he stepped into the school, the branch broke, and his vision spun around once.
The sky became the ground, and the ground became the sky.
What the hell… his vision had changed.
And… he was a bit sleepy, very tired… he shouldn't be feeling fatigued so quickly…
His thoughts were slowing down…
Li Mo's thinking speed had become sluggish. He didn't know the reason until he saw his body.
There was no head on his neck, only blood gushing out.
With a "thud," his body fell onto the cold ground.
Damn it, he couldn't keep his eyes open. His vision was blurry.
Li Mo couldn't speak. In the few seconds before his life signs disappeared, his vision completely darkened.
Li Mo saw Kiana.
Yes.
It was a complete Kiana Kaslana.
Her skin was extremely pale, as if she had been dead for a few days.
Her usually clear, blue, and lively eyes were dull and empty now.
She was wearing a pure white dress.
A sickly smile spread across her face.
Kiana's cold gaze met Li Mo's head for a moment, then she squatted down, held Li Mo's body in her arms, and opened her mouth...
After that, Li Mo could see no more.
Li Mo's brain was about to die. Vision was the most luxurious sense for the human body because the process of sight required the most energy. When the brain gradually stopped functioning, vision was the first sense to be abandoned by the brain.
Next was touch. Li Mo could no longer feel anything, but he could still smell a strong scent of blood, so strong that he could clearly distinguish it even two meters away.
Then came smell and taste.
The last to disappear was hearing.
But before his hearing completely faded, Li Mo heard—
The crisp sound of bones breaking.
The sound of drinking.
The sound of flesh being torn.
And faint sobbing and chewing sounds…