Chapter 127: From Another World!

  Alex felt like he was navigating a battlefield under a hail of bullets, only to realize he had stepped on a pressure mine. He had always been wary of how this world might trap him, but he hadn’t expected it to strike at his stro suit.

  Before today, Alex had always believed that the knowledge he brought into various instance worlds gave him a signifit edge. However, now he finally uood that this near-“fht” was sometimes a double-edged sword.

  There’s a saying in many inspirational speeches: ignorance is bliss, while the knowledgeable suffer because they know too much. Alex used to dismiss this as overly dramatisense, but now he couldn’t help but give it full credit.

  He was currently trapped in the miserable state of “the more you know, the more it hurts.”

  Damn it, this was unbearable!

  His face grew grim. He khat in the Higurashi world, wavering resolve was the greatest danger. Doubt and paranoia were often the seeds of every protagonist's downfall. Yet, Alex realized he couldn’t stop himself from falling into this trap.

  He was genuinely worried that Rena might kill Shion and Keiichi—after all, she had a record! No, more precisely, any of the three could pusibly kill each other because they all had prior is!

  Why the hell did I watany anime?!

  Alex nretted it immensely. His mi repying the events of the story, and in the end, he had to admit in despair that while Rena’s motive of love-fueled murder seemed less pusible, Shion’s and Keiichi’s reasons fit their characters perfectly.

  Yet, he couldn’t decide what to do. The sun hadn’t set yet, and if his dream was accurate, the bloodbath would begihe moon rose.

  But if his premonition was correct, trying to stop it might only make things worse.

  Damn it, this was maddening!

  After much deliberation, Alex gritted his teeth and made a decision.

  Fine, I’ll gamble. Do nothing and leave the rest for tomorrow. After all, this is just a free instance. Even if I lose, nothing of value will be deducted. In that case, I’ll follow my instincts!

  “Did you need something from me?”

  Having resolved himself, Alex gave up on immediately rushing to stop Rena and Keiichi. After all, it was just a dream, not reality. What mattered now was the present, and iy, Rika had e to him… clearly not just for a casual chat.

  Sure enough, when Alex asked, Rika remained silent for a moment before slowly raising her head to look at him.

  “Sensei… do you believe me?”

  The same question as before, but this time, Rika’s voice was pletely different.

  Normally, Rika’s voice was light and cheerful. Now, however, it was mature, like that of an adult woman. It carried an unpreted weight and sense of oppression.

  It’s here!

  Hearing this voice, Alex’s heart trembled. He finally uood why he had felt that earlier premonition.

  In the world of Higurashi, Furude Rika had repeated the same loop for a hundred years!

  A loli who had endured a tury of looping wouldn’t have a loli’s mi, no matter how young she looked. The sweet, i, and cheerful Rika from before was merely a facade. The gloomy, terrifying, and even despairing Rika standing before him now was her true self.

  This was likely why Alex had felt his earlier premonition. Her panions’ behavior had evidently disappointed Rika deeply, so she had e to him for a final firmation. If Alex rejected her or tio evade her questions, Furude Rika might pletely lose hope in this world.

  But Alex wasn’t foolish. He could see that Rika’s inquiry was more of a habit than a plea. It was like a terminal patient asking their doctor if there was any hope left—not because they expected salvation but because they yearned for f words.

  That was exactly where Furude Rika was now. She was utterly disillusioeetering on the edge of despair.

  In such a situation, mere words wouldn’t suffice. So…

  “I believe you.”

  Fag Rika's question, Alex nodded. Hearing his response, Furude Rika gave a disappointed smile.

  "Is that so… In the end, you're just like the others, treating this as the delusion of a child… I k…"

  "No, I said," Alex interrupted before she could finish. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the girl in front of him.

  "I believe you… or rather, I’ve finally found you."

  "Huh? What do you mean by that…"

  Rika g Alex, but in the moment, her eyes widened in shock.

  Before her very eyes, Alex's form began to ge rapidly!

  Bck scales instantly covered his body, and hard bone spurs grew from his head, protruding like horns. Not only that, but enormous bck wings tore through his clothing and unfolded behind him!

  "Y-you… who are you?!"

  Seeing this transformation, Furude Rika’s face turned pale. Though she had looped through a hundred years, she had only ever entered humans. Even Hanyuu, with her small horns, bore no other differences from humans.

  But Alex in his current form bore almost no resembo a human!

  The terrifying aura he exuded felt like that of a monstrous creature.

  In truth, this was Alex’s awakened Zerg transformation. He uood that relying solely on words wouldn’t vince Rika in her current state. He needed decisive evidence, and his transformation was the most ving method he had.

  Still… even Alex hadn’t expected that his first time using this ability would be to scare a little girl rather than to fight.

  Well, as long as it gets the job done.

  "Could it be… you’re one of Hanyuu’s kind…"

  "This world doesn’t belong to her alone," Alex replied as he reverted to his inal form. The Zerg transformation ed too muergy—using it to scare people in this world was fine, but using it in bat would be overkill.

  "I’m a member of the Time-Space Administration. The Bureau detected an anomaly in this world’s timeline a me to iigate. Based on my findings, the root of the anomaly lies here. That’s why I came to this pce."

  "I see!"

  Hearing Alex’s expnation, Rika immediately believed him. Until now, she had only fided in others about the Hinamizawa Syndrome. She had never mentioned her loops, not even a word. Though she had hi it uhe guise of "manga settings" during her earlier versations with Alex, she had never been this detailed.

  If Alex had relied solely on words, Rika might still have doubted him. But his Zerg form had been so shog that it left eveunned. At this point, she was ready to believe anything Alex said.

  "But… you came here…"

  Soon, Rika’s expression shifted to one of fear as she looked at Alex. She had never feared death. To Rika, death was only a momentary event—she could simply open her eyes and start over in aimeline.

  But Alex was different. He cimed to be from some "Time-Space Administration." While Rika didn’t fully uand what that was, it was clear from Alex’s words that he possessed powers far beyond her ability to traverse timelines. Moreover, Alex had explicitly stated that he was here to iigate her tury-long looping.

  And now… would they take her away and lock her up?

  At the thought, Rika trembled slightly, though a part of her felt a faint hope. After all, she couldn’t escape the loop on her own. If someone could break the loop for her, even if it meant being locked up, she would accept it.

  "The Time-Space Administratio typically intervene in the affairs of other worlds," Alex said, seeing that the little girl had fallen for his ruse, and breathed a sigh of relief.

  "However, solving the anomaly is necessary. Temporal distortions create unnecessary plications. My purpose here is to find the root of the problem and resolve it."

  With that, Alex turned his gaze to Rika.

  "From the looks of it, the ter of this world’s anomaly is already clear."

  (End of Chapter)

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