Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Along with that, there's also the boss's name.

[Michimit Ashiya·Master of Japanese Magic Spring]

Compared to this thing, the others are just minor elite monsters.

Even if Zhu Hai and the giant were to be resurrected, they would likely only be able to kneel down.

The pair of crimson giant eyes that had been hovering in the sky now seemed to have found a physical form to attach to, splitting open at the top of the two thickest and tallest tentacles, looking down upon all living beings.

"Such thin spiritual energy, yet you possess such power?" A reverberant voice, indistinguishable between male and female, good and evil, exploded in everyone's ears, carrying a barely perceptible mix of confusion and greed. "Tell me the source of your power, and in return, I will grant you—eternal life."

"Pooh!"

Hayato scoffed and spat, "Immortality that's neither human nor ghost? Who the hell cares! Go talk to my tank!"

The engine of the motorcycle beneath him made a farting noise, which also expressed his disdain.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the burning chariot suddenly left a scorching afterimage in its place!

"Blazing Chariot - Dimensional Slash!!"

This is a skill that Hayato developed himself.

The tank was so fast that it was beyond visual capture. In the blink of an eye, Hayato was back in the same spot, panting heavily as if he had collapsed, his chest heaving.

The wildly beating tentacles on Mount Fuji only left a few minor wounds, which healed rapidly in the rolling lava, leaving them almost completely unharmed.

Although there were wounds, it seemed that the damage was caused because the opponent didn't even bother to deploy their shield.

Ashiya Dōman didn't even glance at Hayato; his massive, crimson eyes, perched atop his tentacles, focused on the silent Ōshima Umeta with a seemingly benevolent scrutiny.

At the same time, more lava tentacles surged and twisted under his will, instantly transforming into several figures of different shapes, all exuding a tragic and desolate aura.

Those were the images of the heads of the Doman family throughout history, the ones Nobi mentioned by name when he was talking to Doman Akatsuki earlier.

Countless overlapping voices, with a seductive intimacy, echoed gently:

"My children, descendants whose blood flows in your veins."

Return to your origin.

"Stand beside your ancestors. Come to my side."

"Become my representative on earth and share this eternal authority. Free yourself from the pain of time's erosion."

"You are rightfully entitled to a share of glory and power in this world."

Everyone turned their heads. They had already guessed his identity during their conversation with Oshima and Akatsuki, and now Ashiya Doman had confirmed it himself.

Player Island is a descendant of Ashiya Dōman.

Hirosue Eri's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Oshima's back.

She felt that she and these people were not on the same wavelength; the information gap was too big.

Why do they know so much? The name Ashiya Doman sounds so familiar.

She pursed her lips slightly, remaining vigilant.

She didn't know what they had been through, so after hearing Ashiya Doman's special recruitment, she instinctively became wary of Oshima.

However, the other players didn't take Ashiya Dōman's recruitment seriously at all.

I also know that the island will definitely not join.

Ashiya Dōman is clearly interested in the source of their power. Joining them would likely mean betraying the player's identity and offending the unpredictable "Unknown".

They had tied themselves to a demon who intended to destroy the world. Anyone with a brain would know what to choose, and they trusted Oshima's choice.

A realization dawned on Iwasaki's eyes. Oshima's seemingly illogical suggestions and actions in the game now had a reasonable explanation.

“Ashiya Doman.” Oshima Umeta forced himself to raise his head, his voice trembling slightly under immense pressure. But he knew he could no longer run away; he had to confront his own bloodline. “Are you afraid? Afraid of this power you cannot comprehend? Afraid of me.”

"Hehehehehe!" A loud, reverberating laugh echoed like thunder around Mount Fuji, filled with contempt and mockery. "You little brats are not worthy of making me feel even a little bit of fear."

A glint flashed in his enormous crimson eyes, and his tone shifted to one of superiority:

"Your blood comes from me. Immortality is the grace I bestow upon you."

"Grace? Are you kidding me?!" Upon hearing this word, Oshima's anger overwhelmed his tension, and all the pent-up frustration from the game erupted. "Look at my ancestors, look at Doman Akatsuki, whom you've manipulated, look at your child! The entire Doman family is nothing more than a disposable tool in your plan!"

"Even your nourishment!"

His gaze pierced towards the towering Mount Fuji:

"Everything you do is for your own dignified immortality. No, as long as you can live forever, you wouldn't hesitate to become a complete monster!"

"In your eyes, all these living beings are nothing more than consumables to maintain your existence!"

"Such favors are utterly shameless! To have your blood is a disgrace to me!"

Hearing Oshima's blunt and outspoken remarks, Ashiya Doman's gaze gradually turned icy, his patience slowly fading, and the threat in his voice became no longer concealed:

"I don't want to hear that a second time, and I also want you to know that only I can break the curse in your body now."

"I don't care!" In Oshima's fists, an increasingly powerful energy of gratitude was gathering. "Good and evil are both in people's hearts. What you fear is nothing more than the power I wield!"

The moment Ashiya Doman tried to recruit him, Oshima understood the meaning of Doman Akatsuchi's last words.

Since Ashiya Dōman now feeds on negative emotions, the energy of gratitude, which represents positive emotions, is what he detests the most.

This point is also mentioned in the game information provided by Uesugi, specifically in the section on the "Red Skeleton" in "Subway".

Zhu Hai had transformed into a demon that devoured negative emotions, but after consuming just a single flower containing a person's positive emotions, he experienced a violent reaction. This was due to the immense power of gratitude he had accumulated.

"The descendant of Doman Akatsuki—" Oshima Umeta's voice resounded. At this moment, his spirit was completely absorbed in Doman Akatsuki, whom he should have despised. With a resolute determination to sever all ties, his body transformed into a dazzling golden light and soared into the sky.

With his flight abilities fully unleashed, all the accumulated gratitude energy was poured into this punch without reservation.

"Please—our ancestors, prepare to die!"

This punch, delivered at the speed of light, pierced through the mountain and shattered the clouds.

Rumble!

A deafening roar that echoed through the heavens and earth.

A golden beam of light, piercing through the heavens and the earth, swept through the entire mountain with unstoppable force.

The terrifying force of the punch pierced straight through the hard rock layer, and wherever it passed, the lava evaporated, and the demonic phantom instantly dissipated!

Even the volcanic ash and thick smoke that had accumulated in the sky for so long were forcibly torn apart by this golden passage!

The long-awaited sunlight pierced through the huge hole that had been blasted open, casting a straight beam of light onto the ravaged Mount Fuji.

However, this move only looks exaggerated and has a special effect on demons like Ashiya Dōman who are afraid of positive emotions. If you encounter the Kyoto Giant, the damage will be limited.

"Heh heh, ahhh, damn it!! You, like Dao Man Xiao Che, like that Taoist priest, all deserve to die!!"

Extreme pain and madness erupted from the mountain as a sound.

Ashiya Doman stared in disbelief at the tunnel that had been opened in his body. He could clearly feel the disgusting positive energy raging wildly within him, disintegrating his fundamental power, which was based on negative emotions.

The reason that was already worn down by negative emotions snapped abruptly under the intense pain and fear of its very essence being torn apart.

Pain. An indescribable burning pain.

What right do these lowly creatures, as insignificant as dust, possess to have such power?

Why do they know so much? Why do they know the secrets of rebuilding the Yellow Springs? And why do they understand my weaknesses better than I do myself?

It must be open! Damn it, they all deserve to die!

I will make this world feel my pain a hundredfold!

"All things under heaven..." His voice was broken and intermittent, his killing intent surging, "The capable shall rule. This has always been the case, and it should always be so!!"

"You weaklings are all my food."

Rumble, rumble!

Centered on Mount Fuji, terrifying cracks in the earth tore open instantly like a spider web, the fissures bottomless, swallowing everything that fell from the ground.

The volcano, which had just shown signs of calming down, has once again entered a terrifying eruption state.

Boom, boom, boom!!

An apocalyptic eruption, more violent and more devastating than ever before, descended upon the world.

Endless lava, carrying massive amounts of scorching rock fragments, roared and cascaded wildly towards the skies of half of Japan, like a world-ending meteor shower.

The demonic mist dodged and weaved through the spewing lava and tentacles, then grabbed the falling island with a mage's hand and landed beside Nobita.

"island!"

"President, I've done my best. The rest is up to you."

Oshima could barely lift his eyelids. Five minutes had long passed, and with his gratitude power completely depleted, he could no longer maintain the momentum. His figure turned into specks of light and disappeared from the spot.

A black mist enveloped the group as Iwasaki, his mage hand repelling the surging lava and monsters. Watching the increasingly absurd cracks in the ground, he spoke:

"Satoshi, what's your plan? Ashiya Dōman has completely lost his mind and shouldn't be able to deploy the shield."

He was confident he could get close to Ashiya Doman now, but he couldn't defeat a monster of that level on his own.

"The island's attack just now cost Ashiya Doman at least half of his life force, and he's seriously injured now. My plan is to first sever those tentacles, then cut off the tentacles around his eyes, and finally focus fire on his main body's weak point. His weak point should be the tunnel that the island blasted open!"

Nobita glanced at Ashiya Michi's health bar, which was half gone and continuing to drop, and spoke rapidly.

Iwasaki looked at the dozen or so thick tentacles that were flapping and flailing about, causing the earth to crack and mountains to collapse: "It would be difficult for just the few of us to do this."

"No." Nobi pulled out five Extreme Cooling Cards, his eyes bright, and said forcefully, "It's not just us."

My turn—Draw a card!

Chapter 250: Old Friends Gather

Among the first batch of players, Iwasaki Kosuke grew the fastest, leaving everyone else far behind.

He achieved the perfect ending first, unlocking basic growth from the start. In addition to meeting the growth requirements, he could also gain extra growth through sacrifice, which unlocked intermediate growth and granted him the ability to manipulate souls.

Uesugi Hitomi is the slowest. Among the requirements for growth, such as agility, fearlessness, and elegance, she can only excel in agility. She finds it difficult to achieve the other qualities in daily life.

I won't go into detail about being fearless; I've always followed my heart and avoid showing my face whenever possible.

She has absolutely no elegance about her. Whether she's livestreaming or eating, the moment she sits in her gaming chair, she's the spitting image of a typical internet addict.

Even when eating, he likes to squat on his gaming chair, showing absolutely no manners.

Even so, a few days ago, I stumbled and struggled to unlock the initial growth and gained skill.

Even Muramasa Takii and Oshima Umeta, two players from the second batch, achieved initial growth because their actions perfectly aligned with the growth requirements.

As one of the first players, Nobi Tomoyoshi's growth rate shouldn't be slower than Uesugi's.

He unlocked the basic growth early on: multi-core.

After unlocking this ability, he can designate a card to become the core card, which will always appear on the first draw of each round of battle, and will also gain some special abilities.

Without hesitation, he gave this core card to "Partner of Justice".

Having gone through so many battles, even he, as slow-witted as he was, realized that he should go for a summoner build.

Who says knights can only charge and swing greatswords?

Moreover, his own combat ability was really limited, while the companions he summoned were stronger than the last.

[Partner of Justice - Core Card (Summons a partner of justice; the partner's strength is affected by the summoner's level. After paying a satisfactory reward to the summoned party, the partner's strength can be increased by one level in this summon. You can choose to summon a partner who has been summoned before.)]

His high-speed cooling card is intended for use here.

My turn! Using the Ally of Justice, I hereby designate and summon—Unicorn!

Nobi yelled in his heart.

A neighing sound accompanied by golden light, a snow-white body and a dazzling golden horn, a magnificent unicorn rode in on the light.

"Lulu!"

The unicorn had a very good impression of Nobita and affectionately nuzzled his shoulder with its head.

But this is just the beginning! Rapid cooling card, in use!

The Righteous Partner card I just used has reappeared in my hand, so—it's still my turn. Targeted Summon: White Tiger!

"Hooo!"