Bang bang bang!

Fireworks bloomed brilliantly in the night sky.

The sea breeze was gentle.

Cool and pleasant.

The cruise ship was filled with laughter and joy.

Fireworks, yukata, candied apples, and the cruise ship together formed a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Kitahara Makoto gently held Togawa’s soft hand, turned to look at the girl beside him whose hair was fluttering, and said loudly, "I want to come to Kagoshima to watch the fireworks festival with Togawa-chan again next year."

Sakiko looked over upon hearing this, her eyes bright and shimmering, reflecting the fireworks in the sky and Kitahara Makoto’s face, and her voice was gentle:

"It’s a promise."

Kitahara Makoto leaned in, his gaze burning, and said, "What should I do if I want to kiss Togawa-chan?"

"..."

Sakiko said nothing, only tilted her pretty face slightly upwards.

Silence at this moment was more eloquent than words.

Kitahara Makoto lowered his head and gently pressed his lips against the girl’s soft, cool, marshmallow-like lips.

However, not long after, amidst the sound of countless fireworks, a strange sound suddenly rang out.

Plop.

Immediately after, exclamations rang out:

"Quick, save him, someone jumped into the sea!"

Plop!

Plop plop plop!!

The strange sounds suddenly became denser.

Kitahara Makoto released Togawa, and the two looked in the direction of the sound. They soon saw panic erupt at the stern of the ship. Tourists, one after another, as if losing their minds, their eyes dull and expressions blank, regardless of whether they were men, women, elderly, or children, tumbled over the ship’s rail and jumped into the sea like dumplings.

"What’s wrong with them?"

Sakiko looked on in confusion.

"It’s clearly not an impromptu performance..."

Kitahara Makoto frowned slightly, leaning over to look at the sea. He just happened to see a black tentacle emerge from the sea, quickly coil around a man, and then directly drag him into the deep sea.

"Start the ship!"

"There’s a monster in the sea!"

"Just now, my deceased mother appeared in my mind... Those who jumped into the sea were all enchanted!"

"..."

Besides Kitahara Makoto, others had clearly seen traces of the monster.

Sakiko’s eyes widened, and she said nervously, "Kitahara-kun, that tentacle just now... was it a ’Weird’ (weirdness/anomaly)?"

"It should be." Kitahara Makoto said with a serious expression, "Let’s leave here first."

There are no monsters in the real world. Even a giant squid in the deep sea cannot possess the ability to bewitch people’s minds. Excluding impossible options, there is no doubt that the two had indeed encountered an anomaly outbreak event.

A gentleman does not stand under a tottering wall.

Kitahara Makoto had no intention of saving the world, so when he encountered danger, his first choice was to leave.

However, the next second.

A strange, indescribable sound suddenly entered his ears, like an ethereal song, yet also like a bizarre whisper. He couldn’t hear it clearly, but it made his mind reel.

Before Kitahara Makoto’s eyes, young women in specially tailored maid outfits quietly appeared, extending their right hands, waiting for him to join them in the mixed-gender onsen...

Unfortunately, Kitahara Makoto’s willpower was quite strong. Although the illusion was beautiful, it completely failed to make Kitahara Makoto fall into it.

Togawa, beside him, clearly couldn’t resist. Her expression quickly became blank, a hazy mist appeared in her eyes, and she involuntarily walked towards the ship’s edge, muttering:

"Mommy..."

Kitahara Makoto frowned slightly, hugged Sakiko, and quickly retreated as his thoughts raced.

The illusion had been generated after hearing the strange sound. So, as long as they left the sound’s range or covered their ears, there shouldn’t be any problem.

Facts proved that Kitahara Makoto’s guess was completely correct.

After leaving the range of the strange sound, the confusion in Sakiko’s eyes quickly dissipated, and she sobered up:

"Kitahara-kun, I just saw my mommy."

"That was an illusion," Kitahara Makoto said with a serious expression. "The anomaly is clearly in the sea beneath the cruise ship. It can create illusions through sound, making people fall into them and then jump into the sea themselves."

Splash! Splash!

As he spoke, more tourists climbed over the railing and jumped into the sea.

"What do we do now?"

Sakiko asked nervously.

"Of course, it’s to..."

Kitahara Makoto was about to say ’leave’ when an incomparably desperate and painful cry suddenly reached his and Sakiko’s ears.

"No!!!"

The two looked over, following the sound, and saw a woman who had actually broken free from the illusion’s control. She was clearly awake, and in front of her were two adorable elementary school children, clearly twins.

At this moment, both twin children had already climbed onto the ship’s railing. The woman only had time to hug the closest child, and then watched helplessly as the other child jumped into the sea.

Boom boom boom.

The sound of fireworks filled the sky.

However, the woman’s desperate cries were incredibly clear, reaching deep into the soul.

"Phew..."

Kitahara Makoto exhaled lightly, his expression suddenly calming down. He decisively took off the backpack from his back and handed it to Sakiko beside him.

"Kitahara-kun, you..."

Sakiko instantly understood what Kitahara Makoto wanted to do.

"Togawa-chan, plug your ears, and then go summon Hana-chan."

Before he finished speaking, Kitahara Makoto had already shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring, charging forward quickly.

Kitahara Makoto didn’t want to be a savior. His first thought was to stay away from danger, find the weakness of the anomaly in the sea through the answer book, and then make a move, but... he couldn’t help it.

He absolutely couldn’t help it!

An anomaly, huh?

Blow it up!

Splash!

Kitahara Makoto jumped off the cruise ship, his entire being instantly disappearing into the dark sea.

Sakiko bit her lower lip, quickly took out her Bluetooth earphones, inserted them into her ears to avoid falling into an illusion again, and then turned to run through the panicked tourists, entering the cruise ship to summon Hana.

The seawater was cold and dark.

Fortunately, Kitahara Makoto’s current vision was quite strong; he could see clearly underwater.

"Dozens of people have already jumped down..."

Kitahara Makoto swept his gaze, seeing many people struggling in the sea.

The illusion created by the anomaly and human survival instincts were fiercely clashing. Many tourists were constantly switching between sobriety and confusion. The elementary school student, one of the twins who had just jumped down, was clutching his throat and struggling, clearly having choked on seawater.

Kitahara Makoto quickly withdrew his gaze, searching for the anomaly’s whereabouts.

To catch the bandits, first catch their leader!

There were still people jumping from the cruise ship. Saving them was meaningless; only by eliminating the anomaly, allowing these people to regain consciousness, and then letting them save themselves, would it work.

"...Found it!"

Kitahara Makoto’s gaze sharpened, finally seeing the creator of this anomalous event at a depth of five or six meters in the sea. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

This thing looked like a giant octopus, shrouded in black mist. Its tentacles were between illusory and real, and it had already strung several people, like straws, sucking in something.

On the forehead of the octopus anomaly, there was half a human, to be precise, the upper body of a woman.

This woman seemed to be growing on the octopus anomaly’s body, with complete facial features, looking exactly like a human. Her mouth was constantly opening and closing, clearly singing.

As the strange sound entered his ears, Kitahara Makoto felt his mind suddenly dizzy, several times more intensely than when he was on the cruise ship.

"Sage Time!"

Without a word, Kitahara Makoto decisively activated his ability.

"Ability: Sage Time"

"Category: Active"

"Description: When you activate this ability, you will enter a desireless sage state, immune to any mental influence."

As the ability activated, Kitahara Makoto’s eyes suddenly became calm.

"First, blow up that singing anomaly!"

Kitahara Makoto quickly locked onto his target.

As long as he destroyed the anomaly’s hypnotic ability, the tourists who had jumped into the sea would naturally regain consciousness and save themselves.

No sooner said than done.

Kitahara Makoto didn’t hesitate at all, swimming directly and swiftly towards the octopus anomaly.

Seeing Kitahara Makoto willingly approach, the octopus anomaly naturally didn’t hold back. It extended a tentacle and coiled towards Kitahara Makoto.

The sea was originally this monster’s home ground. Kitahara Makoto was fast, but the octopus anomaly was even faster. Although Kitahara Makoto avoided the first attacking tentacle, the second tentacle suddenly coiled, and in an instant, it was unavoidable.

Without a word, Kitahara Makoto raised his hand and punched it.

Good news.

The Dutiful Exorcist’s physique could restrain the octopus anomaly in front of him. The tentacle recoiled sharply, as if it had received an electric shock.

Unfortunately, there was also bad news.

"The resistance of the seawater is too great; my strength has been reduced by at least fifty to sixty percent..."

Kitahara Makoto’s expression remained unchanged, as he rapidly analyzed countermeasures in his mind.

At the same time.

The octopus anomaly, failing to hit with one strike, was clearly somewhat annoyed and enraged. Several disgusting tentacles simultaneously attacked Kitahara Makoto.

[Ability: Godspeed]

[Category: Passive/Active]

[Passive Effect: Your reflexes are superior to ordinary people.]

[Active Effect: Greatly increases reaction speed and attack speed for a short period. When in active state, it will consume a large amount of stamina. Once stamina is exhausted, you will fall into a state of exhaustion.]

After activating the Godspeed ability, the world before Kitahara Makoto’s eyes suddenly turned into ’slow motion’. He could clearly see the trajectory of the tentacles coiling through the seawater, the turbulent currents they created, and even the shells and starfish swirling within the currents.

"Not enough..."

Kitahara Makoto silently recited, activating another ability.

[Ability: Berserker’s Rage]

[Category: Active]

[Description: When you use this skill, you can exchange sanity for power. The more sanity sacrificed, the stronger you will become.]

As the ability activated, Kitahara Makoto could clearly feel something rapidly being consumed. However, in his Sage state, his brain remained incredibly calm, not rushing recklessly, but rather dancing on a knife’s edge, narrowly avoiding two incoming tentacles, then punching away the third tentacle. He moved like a fish in water, swimming rapidly towards the anomalous octopus.

At the same time.

The entire cruise ship was in chaos. As the number of tourists jumping into the sea continued to increase, other tourists naturally wanted to panic and flee, but unfortunately, the cruise ship was anchored at sea, like an isolated island, with nowhere to escape.

Some people anxiously called the police, some pale-faced women nervously hugged their children, and some tourists shouted loudly, telling the crew to quickly set sail and leave. The entire cruise ship was utterly chaotic, and no one was admiring the fireworks in the night sky anymore.

Sakiko, wearing Bluetooth earphones and playing deafening music on her phone to avoid being controlled by the strange sound again, jogged through the chaotic restaurant with its overturned cups and plates, quickly finding the bathroom.

With the chaos, the bathroom was empty.

Sakiko was panting, quickly came before the mirror, and continuously called Hana’s name.

Before long, ripples appeared on the mirror’s surface, and Hana, with a cupcake in her mouth, poked out her little head.

"Hana-chan, Kitahara-kun has encountered an anomaly!"

Sakiko quickly retreated half a step to avoid being pulled into the mirror by Hana again, and hastily explained the situation.

Actually, without Togawa’s description, after Hana arrived, the spiritual communication between Kitahara Makoto and his ’mount’ quickly became clear.

"Awoo—"

Hana opened her mouth wide, swallowed the cupcake in one gulp, and then started running outside on her short legs.

"Hana-chan, I’ll carry you."

Sakiko quickly bent down and picked up Hana. There were surveillance cameras everywhere on the cruise ship, and if Hana displayed strange powers while running, there would inevitably be trouble later.

Fortunately, Hana wasn’t heavy, and Sakiko found it relatively easy to carry her. She quickly carried Hana through the living room and returned to the deck.

The strange jumping-into-the-sea incident had made all the tourists panic, but there were still many tourists lingering on the deck. Not everyone had hidden back in their cabins; they just didn’t dare to approach the ship’s railing—those who came to the cruise ship to watch the fireworks festival were basically not alone.

The tourists affected by the anomaly and jumping into the sea actually had many identities:

Wives, husbands, children, parents, friends...

They wanted to jump into the sea to save people, but the anomalous situation made them unable to move their feet, leaving only frantic cries for help and helpless sobbing.

At this moment.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Sakiko, holding Hana, quickly ran onto the deck.

Other tourists, seeing Togawa’s actions, began to shout loudly, telling Togawa to stop, but Sakiko turned a deaf ear.

"Stop quickly! It’s dangerous!"

"Don’t go near the deck edge!"

"There’s a monster in the sea! It makes people jump down!"

"..."

Sakiko quickly reached the edge of the deck, took a deep breath, her eyes showing no hesitation, and holding Hana, she simply leaped down.

Splash!

The cold seawater instantly soaked her entire body.

Sakiko held her breath, preventing seawater from entering her mouth and nose, and looked at Hana:

"Hana-chan, where is Kitahara-kun?"

Although Hana had already arrived, she could have stayed on the cruise ship and waited, but... she couldn’t.

She couldn’t stay even for a second.

Leaving Kitahara Makoto alone in the sea to face an unknown monster, while she herself quietly waited on the cruise ship counting time—that was something she absolutely could not do.

More people meant more strength, and she also had the ability shared by Kitahara Makoto; perhaps she could help.

Hana tilted her head and said:

"Father, in the sea."

"..."

Sakiko took a deep breath, about to swim into the sea, when she suddenly felt something rapidly surfacing from underwater. With a ’splash’, a woman emerged directly from the sea, coughing, crying, and gasping for breath.

The seawater churned.

Next came the second tourist, the third tourist... more and more people swam out to the surface.

The originally dead-silent sea quickly became lively.

"Hana-chan, do you know what happened?"

Sakiko’s eyes widened as she asked, both nervous and expectant.

These people had clearly been hypnotized by the anomaly and had jumped into the sea without a sound just now, but now they were all swimming up on their own, crying and calling for help, clearly having regained consciousness.

Hana slowly replied:

"Father, won."

"It really has something to do with Kitahara-kun!"

Sakiko immediately became excited, took a deep breath, and said:

"Let’s go find Kitahara-kun!"

Hana pointed a finger:

"Father, coming up."

"..."

Sakiko turned her head to look and soon saw the seawater part with a splash. Kitahara Makoto swam out of the sea, holding a pale-faced little girl in his arms, who was the twin elementary school student from before.

"Kitahara-kun...!"

Sakiko swam over happily, but soon realized that Kitahara Makoto’s condition was very wrong.

His originally bright eyes had now clearly turned red, which made Sakiko quickly recall that before the summer vacation, Kitahara Makoto’s eyes had also turned red, and she couldn’t help but become nervous:

"Kitahara-kun, is your body out of control again?"

"..."

Kitahara Makoto frowned, not responding.

The Berserker state had been active for a while. Once Sage Time was closed, various chaotic and violent thoughts filled his mind.

"Hana-chan..." Kitahara Makoto turned to look at Hana, "That kaidan in the sea is up to you."

Hana silently submerged into the sea. Only by devouring kaidan could she grow stronger, so it naturally couldn’t be wasted.

At the same time.

The tourists on the cruise ship heard the calls for help rising and falling on the sea, and soon, brave individuals approached. After confirming that the bizarre illusion had disappeared, they quickly began rescue operations.

The rescue operation was quite swift, especially since Kitahara Makoto was holding a child, so before long, Togawa and Kitahara Makoto were both rescued back onto the cruise ship.

The desperate lady from before, seeing her daughter rescued, couldn’t help but kneel on the ground, tightly hugging her child and crying, not forgetting to express her gratitude to Kitahara Makoto.

"..."

Kitahara Makoto still didn’t speak, merely silently returning the child to the other party, and then walked towards the ship’s cabin.

Sakiko bit her lip, nervously following behind Kitahara Makoto.

Walking all the way to the bathroom, Kitahara Makoto stopped, turned to look at Sakiko, and said in a low voice:

"I’m going to the Onsen Village to rest for a while, Togawa-chan doesn’t need to worry..."

Sakiko reached out her arms, tightly hugging Kitahara Makoto’s arm, and softly said:

"I’ll go to the Onsen Village with Kitahara-kun."

Although her voice was very soft, it clearly brooked no refusal.

"..."

Kitahara Makoto was silent for a few seconds before nodding slightly. He took out the Onsen Village model, while Sakiko carefully locked the bathroom cubicle door.

The next second.

Their figures suddenly disappeared.

After entering the Onsen Village, Kitahara Makoto quickly immersed himself in the onsen, feeling the violence in his heart slowly dissipating, and couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Although the process was slow and would take a considerable amount of time to fully regain his sanity, it was good that it was working.

Looking at Kitahara Makoto, who was clearly in a very abnormal state, a hint of worry flashed in Sakiko’s eyes. She then resolutely leaned closer and offered her lips.

Before the summer vacation began, Kitahara Makoto had also suffered from ’red-eye disease.’ At that time, a kiss was enough to make the red-eye symptoms disappear, and after devouring Yamada Ryo, the red-eye disease never reappeared.

Now that the red-eye disease had returned, Sakiko naturally chose to proactively help.

A moment later.

Sakiko slightly panted as she raised her head, her pretty face flushed. While wiping the faint lines at the corners of her lips, she looked up to observe Kitahara Makoto’s condition.

"Still red?"

Seeing that Kitahara Makoto’s eyes were still crimson, Sakiko immediately became nervous.

Why wasn’t it working?

Previously, after a kiss, the red-eye symptoms would disappear. Why wasn’t it working today?

Sakiko bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, her mind racing, and soon thought of a possibility.

(Perhaps... the dosage isn’t enough?)

(If kissing isn’t enough, then it can only be...)

A hint of shyness flashed in Sakiko’s eyes as she lowered her voice and said:

"Kitahara-kun, I’ll help you~"

"..."

Under the influence of the Berserker’s side effects, Kitahara Makoto’s thought process was half a beat slower, and for a moment he couldn’t understand what Togawa meant by ’help,’ until a slender, fair hand reached out, and he finally understood.

"Hiss~"

Kitahara Makoto lightly inhaled.

Let go quickly!

He was currently suffering from very low sanity, not the pain of depression. She was using the wrong method to help! The sanity he had so painstakingly recovered was about to be depleted by her again!

Kitahara Makoto really wanted to activate Sage Time again, explain the situation, and then have Togawa leave, so he could slowly soak in the onsen by himself. Unfortunately, he couldn’t; Sage Time was still on cooldown and couldn’t be activated temporarily.

A moment later.

Seeing that Kitahara Makoto’s condition had not only not improved but seemed to have worsened, Sakiko couldn’t help but become anxious. She suddenly remembered what Mutsumi had done yesterday, and a hint of shame flashed across her pretty face, but her eyes quickly became resolute.

After taking a deep breath, Sakiko took out a rubber band from her pocket and tied up her hair.

Kitahara Makoto looked up.

Hey, hey, Togawa, why are you tying your hair?

Don’t force yourself, quickly untie your hair!

"Whew..."

Sakiko’s pretty face was burning hot. She closed her eyes, and involuntarily, the conversation she had with Kitahara Makoto last night surfaced in her mind.

"Don’t even think about me helping like Mutsumi-chan!"

She had said then that she definitely wouldn’t, but she didn’t expect the boomerang to fly back so quickly. The flag really came true...

The Onsen Village became quiet again.

Only the onsen continued to tremble.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before a cough broke the silence.

"Cough, cough."

Sakiko coughed, finally understanding why Mutsumi had been teary-eyed yesterday.

After her breathing eased, Sakiko’s pretty face was burning hot. Just as she was about to continue helping, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly looked up in surprise:

"Kitahara-kun, are you better?"

However, what met her gaze was still a pair of red eyes. The only change was that Kitahara Makoto was finally no longer in a statue-like state, but his gaze was fervent, like a burning flame.

"How could this be..."

Sakiko’s heart skipped a beat. She finally realized that she seemed to have done something bad with good intentions.

Kitahara Makoto’s eyes were fervent. He reached out and tore the clothes of the girl in his arms. After Togawa’s series of actions, his sanity was even lower than before.

Sage Time was still not cooled down.

Just as Kitahara Makoto was about to turn into a beast, he suddenly saw a misty haze well up in Sakiko’s eyes. His movements abruptly paused, and the little sanity he had left managed to control his body:

"Togawa-chan... quickly leave, don’t come near me."

What responded to him was a pair of arms.

Sakiko wrapped her arms around Kitahara Makoto’s neck, her pretty face flushed, but her eyes were gentle and firm:

"Kitahara-kun... you can do it..."