Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 114 The Monster That Devours the Rules
The gale, like invisible blunt knives, swung wildly in the void, carrying a heavy stench of blood and decay, slapping Bai Yu's face hard.

The "Midnight" beneath my feet was not made of steel, but a gigantic, fleshy worm that writhed and slithered through the void. The roof was covered with slippery black scales and constantly writhing, thick blood vessels, and with each breath-like rise and fall, it was accompanied by a nauseating gurgling sound.

"hiss--!!!"

A sharp screech tore through the storm.

Seven or eight winged demons, like a flock of vultures drawn by the scent of rotting flesh, flapped their tattered wings and swooped down on Bai Yu from all directions. Their sharp claws slashed through the dim void, leaving trails of cold light that were sharp enough to easily tear through armor.

Bai Yu stood on the slippery and violently shaking roof of the car, yet his figure remained as steady as a mountain. His hair flew wildly in the gale, revealing his deep, unfathomable eyes.

Faced with the overwhelming attack, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, forming a cold arc.

“Perfect, I’ll use you guys to try out my new ‘toy’.”

Just as the first winged demon's claws were about to touch his throat—

hum!
A strange black ripple suddenly appeared on Bai Yu's right leg.

The next instant, his figure vanished into thin air.

It's not an afterimage caused by high-speed movement, but a true, physical disappearance.

The winged demon's claws missed their mark, and the momentum caused it to lose its footing, crashing heavily into a bone spike on the roof of the vehicle.

Before it could react, a black figure had already silently appeared directly above it.

"Phase step".

Bai Yu whispered, the power of nothingness in his hand transforming into a jet-black longsword. Taking advantage of the momentum of his fall, he stabbed it viciously into the back of the Winged Demon's neck until the hilt was gone!

puff!

Black blood gushed out, only to be greedily devoured by the black blade in mid-air.

"The first one."

Bai Yu drew his sword, and his figure flashed once more.

He leaped continuously through the void, each appearance accompanied by the fall of a winged demon. He was like a ghost wandering in the cracks of space; no matter how frantically the winged demons attacked, they could not touch the hem of his robes.

This sense of control over space gave Bai Yu an unprecedented feeling of exhilaration.

The combination of "Phase Step" and the burst of "Void" power makes it a perfect killing machine.

Just two minutes.

All that remained on the roof were severed limbs and dissipating black smoke.

Those winged demons couldn't even make Bai Yu move half a step before they all became nourishment for him to recover his strength.

"call……"

Bai Yu gently exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the warm current surging within his body. The previously parched Sea of ​​Souls had risen again after this carnage.

"Not bad, although the movements are still a bit clumsy, it's barely acceptable."

Hei Yan's lazy voice echoed in my mind, carrying a hint of arrogant judgment, "However, this big guy under your feet seems to be quite dissatisfied with you."

The words have not yet fallen.

Rumble——!
The "Midnight" ship beneath our feet suddenly began to shake violently.

The scales on the roof of the vehicle suddenly opened, revealing bright red muscle tissue beneath. Countless thick tentacles emerged from the muscle, like frenzied pythons, coiling towards Bai Yu!

This train is alive.

It was not just a vehicle, but a massive predator. It allowed the winged demons to parasitize it because they provided food. Now that Baiyu had wiped out its "symbiotes," it decided to feed on them itself.

"Want to eat me?"

Bai Yu looked at the overwhelming tentacles, his eyes showing no fear, but rather a chilling madness.

"Let's see who eats whom!"

Instead of dodging, he suddenly squatted down and plunged his hands directly into the bright red muscle on the roof of the car!
"Void - Gluttony!"

boom!
The pitch-black, void power surged through his arm and flowed wildly into the train's body. It was a power purer than death and more greedy than the abyss.

It doesn't destroy, it only devours.

It devours flesh and blood, devours energy, devours consciousness!
"Ouch——!!!"

The train, which had been moving with great momentum, suddenly let out a piercingly mournful cry. It was a fear that came from the depths of one's soul.

The tentacles that were about to entangle Bai Yu instantly stiffened, and then withered and shriveled up as quickly as withered grass encountering a raging fire.

The train trembled violently, trying to shake off the horrible parasite, but Bai Yu's hand seemed rooted to the spot, gripping its flesh tightly and relentlessly draining its life force.

"Either take me to the finish line, or I'll become a dried-up corpse here."

Bai Yu's voice was icy and chilling, exploding directly in the train's consciousness through the mental link: "Choose one."

This is an absolute form of superior authority.

Faced with the concept of "nothingness," this monster made of flesh and blood finally felt the oppression from the top of the food chain.

woo-

The train let out a low whistle, a signal of surrender.

The tentacles slowly retracted, the scales on the roof closed again, and the violent jolts subsided. It dared not cause any more trouble and could only obediently serve as its legs, propelling itself at full speed into the depths of the void.

Bai Yu slowly withdrew her hands, shook off the bloodstains, and slowly stood up.

"now it's right."

He straightened his collar, which had been ruffled by the wind, and looked ahead.

Unbeknownst to them, the surrounding void began to change.

Against the originally pitch-black background, wisps of grayish-white mist began to appear. This mist grew thicker and thicker, enveloping the entire train as if it were a tangible substance.

The sound of wheels crushing the void disappeared, replaced by an eerie silence.

Even the howling wind stopped.

A strong sense of temporal and spatial disorientation washed over me.

"We're getting there."

Bai Yu's heart skipped a beat. According to Lu Yuanshan's message, this train was heading towards the "Gate of Rifts." But before reaching it, one had to pass through an area known as the "Land of Bewilderment."

sizzle-

Just then, a static-like sound, similar to that of an old-fashioned radio, suddenly rang out over the train.

"Attention passengers..."

"...The train is about to arrive...Kisaragi...Kisaragi..."

"...Please take your belongings with you...and don't forget your...name..."

Kisaragi?

Upon hearing those two words, Bai Yu's pupils contracted slightly.

This is an urban legend widely circulated in Japan. A girl named Hasumi took a train late at night, only to be taken to a station that didn't exist on any map—Kisaragi Station. There was no exit, no living people, only endless fog and strange monsters.

"Interesting, have the rules here been materialized into this scene?"

Hei Yan said with great interest, "It seems that this 'rift' has devoured a lot of humanity's collective subconscious."

squeak--! ! !
With a screech of brakes, the high-speed train began to decelerate rapidly.

Inertia forced Bai Yu to lower his center of gravity.

A few seconds later, the train came to a complete stop.

The fog below dissipated, revealing a platform.

When Bai Yu saw what the platform looked like, even with his composure, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

It was an extremely modern, clean and tidy platform.

The white floor tiles were spotless, bright LED lights dispelled the darkness, the vending machines were filled with a wide variety of drinks, and you could even see the scrolling timetable on the electronic display screen.

This creates an extremely absurd and striking visual contrast with the monstrous train beneath their feet, a mangled mess reeking of blood and gore.

It's like forcibly splicing a painting of hell onto a photograph of a modern city.

The next stop was a blank space.

The previous stop was also blank.

This is an isolated station, not found on any route map.

"Go down and have a look."

Without hesitation, Bai Yu leaped from the roof of the car onto the platform.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the realistic sensation made him pause slightly. It wasn't an illusion; everything here was real.

But the moment he landed, the "Midnight" train behind him seemed to have completed some kind of handover mission, letting out a relieved whistle before quickly starting up and rushing into the fog ahead, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

It escaped.

Rather than saying they had completed their mission, it was more accurate to say they were eager to escape this place.

"A place where even that monster dares not linger?"

Bai Yu looked around.

The entire station was deathly silent. There was no wind, no chirping of insects, not even the hum of the vending machine compressors.

Time seems to stand still here.

He walked to the edge of the platform and looked out.

Outside the station, there was an impenetrable darkness, with the outlines of some withered trees and the distant, undulating mountain shadows faintly visible.

The cell phone still had no signal, and the compass was spinning wildly.

Everything fits the characteristics of that urban legend.

"Jingle Bell--"

Just then, a crisp telephone ring broke the silence.

The sound came from a public phone booth not far away.

In this empty station, the bell sounded particularly jarring, each ring like a blow to one's nerves.

Bai Yu narrowed his eyes, his right hand secretly gathering ethereal power, and slowly walked over.

The glass of the phone booth was clean, and a green public telephone hung inside.

He stood outside the pavilion, not in a hurry to go in.

The phone rang for a long time; it seemed it would ring forever as long as no one answered.

"Who are you trying to scare with this low-brow horror movie trope?"

Bai Yu sneered, pushed open the door, and picked up the receiver.

"Hey?"

There was a noisy electrical hum on the other end of the line, mixed with some strange chewing sounds.

A few seconds later, a trembling female voice came through. "...Help...help me..."

"...Don't...trust...anyone..."

"...Especially...that one...with only one leg..."

beep - beep - beep -

The phone hangs up.

Only one leg?
Bai Yu recalled the one-legged old man he had killed on the train. It seemed there was some kind of regulated connection between this station and that train.

Just as he put down the receiver, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure behind him in the reflection of the phone booth glass!
It was a girl in a high school uniform, with long hair draped over her shoulders, carrying a schoolbag, standing quietly less than a meter behind him with her head down.

There were no footsteps.

There was no sound of breathing.

It was as if it appeared out of nowhere.

Bai Yu's eyes narrowed, but he did not turn around in a panic. Instead, he calmly observed the other person through the reflection in the glass.

"Um... excuse me..."

The girl slowly raised her head, revealing a delicate but deathly pale face. Her eyes were large, but the pupils were somewhat unfocused, as if they were not in focus.

"...Do you know...how to get out of here?"

Her voice was soft, tinged with a sob, sounding utterly pitiful, "I'm lost... I want to go home..."

This is a very classic opening line.

In any horror story, the seemingly harmless lost girl is often the most dangerous monster.

Bai Yu slowly turned around to face the girl.

He didn't answer, but instead asked, "How did you get here?"

"I...I fell asleep on the tram..." the girl sobbed. "When I woke up, I was here. This place is so scary, there's no one here...Big brother, can you take me away?"

As she spoke, she reached out her hand, seemingly wanting to tug at Bai Yu's sleeve.

That hand was slender, fair, and looked delicate and boneless.

But in Bai Yu's "Mirror Heart" vision, this hand takes on a different form—it is a claw woven from countless black threads, each thread covered with tiny barbs.

This seemingly innocent girl, under the reflection of the mirror, was actually a twisted, writhing mass of black flesh!

"Take you away?"

Bai Yu's lips curled into a playful smile. "Okay."

A hint of joy flashed in the girl's eyes, and she quickened her pace.

"However, the place we're going to might be a bit far."

Bai Yu abruptly changed the subject, suddenly raising his right hand that had been hanging by his side, unleashing a burst of dark, void power!
"Is sending you to hell far enough?!"

boom!
He showed no mercy and punched the girl in the face!
This punch was powerful and heavy, carrying the intent to devour everything, and directly caused the girl's delicate face to cave in!
“Ahhhh——!!!”

The girl let out a shriek that sounded unlike anything human.

Her disguise shattered instantly. Her petite body swelled up like an inflating balloon, her school uniform bursting to reveal a black, slimy chitinous carapace beneath.

Her limbs transformed into sharp arthropods, and her head split open, becoming a mouthful of sharp teeth.

This isn't some lost girl at all; it's clearly a giant spider monster in human skin!
"I'm going to eat you! Eat you!!"

The monster roared and lunged at Bai Yu with all its might using its eight long legs!

The surrounding scenery also changed drastically.

The once clean and tidy station instantly faded and decayed. The white floor tiles turned into stark white bones, the bright lights became eerie green will-o'-the-wisps, and bright red blood flowed from the vending machines.

This is the true face of "Kisaragi Station".

A predatory arena built from the flesh and blood and resentment of countless victims.

"So, they've finally shown their true colors? That's more like it."

Instead of retreating, Bai Yu advanced when faced with the charging monster.

"Phase Step!"

hum!
His figure vanished instantly, reappearing beneath the monster's abdomen.

That's its only weakness.

"Void - Boundary Severance!"

The jet-black longsword drew a perfect arc, its sharpness capable of cutting through space, and slashed fiercely into the monster's abdomen!
Hiss—!
Green blood gushed out, accompanied by a large number of internal organ fragments.

The monster let out a shrill scream as its massive body crashed heavily to the ground, tumbling wildly.

"It's not over yet."

Bai Yu's eyes were icy cold, giving it no chance to catch its breath.

He took a step forward, landing directly on the monster's back, and made a grabbing motion in the air with his right hand.

"Swallow!"

A massive black vortex formed in his palm, aimed at the monster's wound.

woohoo-

The life energy, resentment, and fragments of rules within the monster's body were all forcibly extracted by that domineering suction force and continuously poured into Bai Yu's body.

"No... spare me... I'm the gatekeeper... you can't kill me..."

The monster began to beg for mercy, and the voice that came from its terrifying mouth transformed back into the girl's voice.

"The gatekeeper?"

Bai Yu paused, but the force of his devouring intensified.

"A real gatekeeper wouldn't be as weak as you. You're just a gatekeeper dog at best."

"Since you're a watchdog, then obediently become my nourishment!"

boom!
The power of nothingness erupted completely, devouring the monster's last vestige of life.

With the monster's death, the terrifying illusions surrounding it collapsed. The station returned to its desolate and lifeless state, except for the addition of a shriveled, giant spider corpse.

Above the corpse, a bead emitting a faint silver light floated.

Bai Yu reached out and caught it.

[Item Obtained: Bead of Confusion (Special Item)]

[Description: A condensation of the station's core rules. The holder can see through some spatial illusions and, to a certain extent, provide direction.]

"Guide directions?"

Bai Yu's heart stirred.

He infused a wisp of his spiritual energy into the bead.

The bead immediately emitted a faint silver light, pointing towards the dark depths where the railway tracks extended.

There, there was a tunnel leading into the heart of the mountain.

"It seems the way is over there."

Bai Yu put away the beads and straightened her clothes.

Although the battle seemed easy, it took a toll on him. However, the gains were even greater; the monster's energy was extremely pure, restoring his strength to about 50%.

"Let's go, Hei Yan. Let's see what kind of monsters and demons are lurking at the end of this road."

Bai Yu took a step forward, walking along the railway tracks towards the deep tunnel.

On both sides of the railway tracks were barren rice paddies. Countless tattered scarecrows were planted in the paddies, and as Bai Yu passed by, the heads of those scarecrows turned and stared at him with their painted eyes.

A feeling of being watched lingered.

But Bai Yu kept his eyes straight ahead and his steps were firm.

He knew these were all illusions. As long as his heart was strong enough, these low-level superstitions and strange rules could not harm him in the slightest.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he arrived at the entrance of the tunnel.

A stone tablet stands at the tunnel entrance, with three large, blood-red characters engraved on it—

【Izana】

There's that name again.

Bai Yu took a deep breath, picked up the soul-guiding lamp, and walked into the tunnel.

The tunnel was pitch black, with only the light from the guiding lamp illuminating the path a few meters ahead.

dong... dong... dong...

The familiar drumbeats sounded once again.

But this time, the drumbeats no longer came from all directions, but from the deepest part of the tunnel.

Moreover, along with the drumbeats came heavy footsteps.

With each step of the footsteps, the entire tunnel would tremble.

"Someone big is coming."

Hei Yan's voice carried a hint of excitement, "This aura... is that of a pure 'Gap' creature. Much stronger than that spider from before."

Bai Yu stopped in his tracks, his right hand condensing the power of nothingness into a blade, while his left hand gripped the Bead of Confusion.

In the darkness, a huge silhouette slowly emerged.

That was a giant who was over three meters tall.

He wore ancient warrior armor, studded with broken arrows and spears. On his head was a huge demon-masked helmet, revealing only a pair of eyes burning with crimson karmic fire.

In his hand, he dragged a giant nodachi, two meters long, its blade trailing across the ground, sending sparks flying.

"...Those who trespass...on...the Yellow Springs...will die..."

The giant let out a thunderous roar, and suddenly raised the nodachi in his hand, pointing it at Bai Yu in the distance.

boom!
A terrifying killing intent swept over like a tangible force, making the surrounding air incredibly viscous.

"An Onimusha?"

Bai Yu felt the suffocating pressure, but instead of retreating, he took a step forward.

His eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit.

"Perfect, I'll use you to test just how strong I am now that I've recovered half my strength!"

"Come and fight!"

Bai Yu let out a low roar, his figure flashing like lightning, transforming into a black streak of light, and actively heading towards the terrifying giant!

Inside this tunnel leading to the ultimate gate, a true life-or-death battle erupts in an instant!
(End of this chapter)