Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls-Chapter 556: Crossing Time in the Private Room Module

Therefore, the crystallization of the Soul-Eater Demon for our party was secure.

At this moment, Zhang Jingxu spoke up, "So that’s how it is. My name is Zhang Jingxu, hailing from a Daoist sect in China, specializing in the art of capturing ghosts..."

"You’re Zhang Jingxu? I’ve heard of you!" A young man next to Hashi Motojun spoke up, "My name is Yamada Tatsuo. I have an uncle named Yamada Motoichi. He once sought Mr. Zhang Jingxu’s help to exorcise a malevolent ghost that had taken up residence in my uncle’s home. Mr. Zhang Jingxu, you effortlessly drove out that evil spirit, and my uncle has held you in the highest regard ever since, often speaking of it at family gatherings."

With a raised eyebrow, Zhang Jingxu looked at Yamada Tatsuo with some surprise, "Oh, I didn’t expect you to be Mr. Yamada’s relative. It seems that the Void Spirit I dealt with back then kept its word and didn’t trouble Mr. Yamada again."

Hearing the exchange between Zhang Jingxu and Yamada Tatsuo, Liu Xing couldn’t help but marvel at how small the world was, not expecting that Zhang Jingxu could have such a connection with Yamada Tatsuo.

But on reflection, it was unexpected that Zhang Jingxu had struck a deal with the Void Spirit, convincing it to leave the client’s home.

Thanks to Yamada Tatsuo’s praises, Hashi Motojun and the others began to look at Zhang Jingxu with admiration.

"Mr. Zhang Jingxu, although I have read many texts related to Yin Yang Masters, my knowledge is purely theoretical. Therefore, I hope you can help us deal with this Demon because I know this Demon hasn’t returned to where it belongs and is certain to launch further attacks on us," Hashi Motojun said earnestly.

Zhang Jingxu nodded and responded, "The reason we came to you is indeed to deal with that Demon. Based on the rumors we’ve heard, we’ve confirmed that the Demon is known as the Soul-Eater Demon, which is a terrifying mythical creature. As the name implies, its favorite food is human souls. Without satiating its hunger and thirst, the Soul-Eater Demon will not choose to return to its own world. Hence, we can be certain it will attack again – not just targeting you but potentially others, including us. That’s why we thought to prevent further assaults from the Soul-Eater Demon." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"However, while the Soul-Eater Demon can devour human souls and turn us into soulless vegetables, it isn’t as overpowering as those in video games or movies, where humans stand no chance against such creatures. If you remain steadfast upon encountering the Soul-Eater Demon, you can prevent it from consuming your soul... To get back to the point, unless something unexpected happens, the Soul-Eater Demon has already possessed Maeda Katsuya, for a disembodied Soul-Eater Demon cannot move at will and must stay where it was summoned, hence the need to occupy a victim’s body for mobility."

Realization dawned on Hashi Motojun, "That makes sense. When Maeda Katsuya fell, I felt the presence of the Soul-Eater Demon vanish suddenly, yet it seemed to still linger in the dormitory. In the rush to get Maeda Katsuya to the hospital, I didn’t pay it much mind. To think that the Soul-Eater Demon had already taken over Maeda Katsuya’s body then... But now, without his soul, is Maeda Katsuya essentially dead?"

Zhang Jingxu shook his head in resignation, "Strictly speaking, Maeda Katsuya isn’t dead, as his bodily functions are still quite normal – he’s just soulless. Of course, a body without a soul has lost its purpose, even more so than a vegetative state, since a vegetative person’s soul is only dormant. Yet, from a certain perspective, Maeda Katsuya’s body could become highly sought after, as soulless bodies are quite rare."

Towards the end, Zhang Jingxu exchanged a meaningful glance with Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa.

Liu Xing understood Zhang Jingxu’s implication well – Maeda Katsuya’s body could be of significant value.

And for what purpose? To counter the entity known as Thousand Face.

Fundamentally, Thousand Face was now a lone and wandering ghost, existing in a soul state, and thus it had to continually use reincarnation magic to acquire other mythical creatures’ bodies to continue "living."

But the presence of a soulless body like Maeda Katsuya’s would greatly expand Thousand Face’s options.

Thousand Face possessed the unique capability of occupying a body that had lost its soul, which meant that the need to employ the transmigration spell on other mythical creatures was no longer necessary.

As Zhang Jingxu had just mentioned, a body devoid of its soul is, frankly, a puppet. As long as one possesses the ability to control that puppet, they become its master.

Of course, even when ordinary people die, a small fragment of their soul lingers in the body, making control of such a vessel exceedingly challenging. In a world underpinned by the Cthulhu mythos, perhaps only entities of the Great Old One caliber could seize a body that still harbored a soul?

Thus, a body like Maeda Katsuya’s, completely devoid of a soul, was exceedingly rare and highly coveted as a “Material” in the eyes of secret cults.

After all, the secret cults had a knack for courting disaster, resulting in one or two high-ranking members languishing in a state of disembodied spirits. Therefore, these secret cults were constantly seeking bodies that had completely lost their souls, like Maeda Katsuya’s, to grant their high-level figures a second chance at life...

But, turning the conversation back, Liu Xing now felt an urge to criticize—or rather, to question the one who had set up—the Soul-Eater Demon. Despite the ability to summon a Soul-Eater Demon, these creatures were uncontrollable, refusing to heed any summoner’s commands. In fact, they would feign death rather than resist when enslaved.

Hence, the secret cults had abandoned the idea of employing Soul-Eater Demons to create “soul containers.” After all, Soul-Eater Demons were far too unpredictable and could easily cause significant trouble, even capable of killing a person instantly from a certain perspective.

Yet, the conversation shifted again as Liu Xing had another thought: it seemed that Cyril could also occupy Maeda Katsuya’s body.

With this in mind, Liu Xing felt it was essential to visit Cyril in the Soul Casket to discuss the matter.

At that moment, Yamada Tatsuo spoke up, "So, Mr. Zhang Jingxu, how can we expel the Soul-Eater Demon? Or is it possible for us to avoid its attacks by keeping our distance?"

Finally, the crux of the matter was addressed.

Yamada Tatsuo’s words suggested that their module’s Main quest did not require them to kill the Soul-Eater Demon. It appeared that they were likely players in the Ghoul region, otherwise, the Mission would not be so straightforward.

"As a mythical creature that devours souls, the Soul-Eater Demon is capable of remembering the soul of anyone it has encountered. If it so desires, it can pursue you to the ends of the earth, rendering escape futile... Of course, if the Soul-Eater Demon has no interest in consuming your souls, you might as well ignore its presence for now."

"To defeat the Soul-Eater Demon, the process is relatively simple. Use high-decibel noise to greet it vigorously, as the creature is extremely fearful of noise. The plan requires you to act as bait, luring the Soul-Eater Demon to a relatively enclosed space, and then we can administer a sonic assault, making it easy to kill the Soul-Eater Demon," Zhang Jingxu confidently explained.

Hashi Motojun nodded, not fully comprehending, and said, "Could we not just seize the opportunity to restrain Maeda Katsuya and then take the Soul-Eater Demon possessing him to a KTV, and play some rock music for it?"

Zhang Jingxu shook his head, responding seriously, "That’s not feasible. The Soul-Eater Demon is a very cautious mythical creature. After possessing a human, it quickly learns about human society to identify potential threats. Even if you try to lure it to a KTV or another place with high noise levels, the Soul-Eater Demon will definitely refuse. Furthermore, if you attempt to use force, the Soul-Eater Demon will certainly abandon Maeda Katsuya’s body. So, we need to take a long-term approach to this issue."

Subsequently, Liu Xing and the others began discussing with Hashi Motojun.

Half an hour later, Liu Xing and his companions had devised a preliminary plan.

Firstly, they would rent a small house off-campus. They would install a multitude of loudspeakers in hidden spots within the house and connect these speakers to a control device to ensure that high-decibel noise could be played at any moment.

Subsequently, after confirming that "Maeda Katsuya" had awakened, Hashi Motojun and the others pretended to be Maeda Katsuya’s close friends to make contact with him. After all, a Soul-Eater Demon would not retain the memories of the body it possessed. Moreover, to assimilate into its role more swiftly, the demon would choose to interact with those it perceived as "good friends." Hence, it was highly likely that when Hashi Motojun and his group invited "Maeda Katsuya" to the house rented by Hashi Motojun for some leisure time, "Maeda Katsuya" would agree to join.

Ultimately, once "Maeda Katsuya" entered the trap that had been meticulously prepared, Hashi Motojun and his companions would create a private room under the pretext of needing to close the doors and windows to activate the air conditioning. However, if "Maeda Katsuya" objected to this, it wouldn’t matter if the doors and windows remained open. Even without the confinement of a private room, they could still utilize noise to eliminate the Soul-Eater Demon.

After finalizing their plan, Liu Xing and his companions concluded their dinner.

Post-dinner, Hashi Motojun suggested they find a place to enjoy some tea.

Of course, Liu Xing and the others understood the subtext in Hashi Motojun’s invitation; it was essentially an overture for some private room time.

Consequently, Liu Xing and the others happily accepted Hashi Motojun’s invitation, and the group found themselves at a café.

Hashi Motojun promptly requested a private room period.

"Wow, I never expected to encounter a player from the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall right here in Tokyo Comprehensive University. And to think it’s a veteran player like Mr. Zhang Jingxu, we are indeed very fortunate," Yamada Tatsuo said with a smile.

Zhang Jingxu nodded and replied, "If I’m not mistaken, you all must be players from the Ghoul region, right? The difficulty level of your module seems a bit low."

Yamada Tatsuo looked at Zhang Jingxu with admiration and said with a smile, "That’s right, we are all players from the Ghoul region. This is our second time playing the Cthulhu RPG Game. Since we are classmates in the real world, we naturally team up in the game as well."

Liu Xing furrowed his brows, expressing surprise, "What, you knew each other in the real world before entering the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall? That shouldn’t be!"

According to what Liu Xing knew, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall had a certain pattern in selecting players. Firstly, a player must have a basic understanding of the Cthulhu RPG Game—that was the last shred of integrity of the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall. After all, letting a complete novice at the Cthulhu RPG Game run a campaign would, at best, result in a one percent success rate.

Because a one percent chance was the lowest probability in the Cthulhu RPG Game (confirmed).

Furthermore, another discernible pattern was that the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall would not recruit individuals who knew each other in the real world during the same time period. Moreover, no players had discovered relatives with blood ties joining the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, leading to a belief that the hall was selective in its recruitment and that each family was only allowed to contribute one strong individual...

However, it seemed that the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall was considering changing its rules.

Observing the bewildered expressions on Liu Xing and the others, Hashi Motojun scratched the back of his head and explained, "Actually, this is all my fault. In the real world, we are roommates from the same dormitory, and I happen to be the vice president of the School’s Cthulhu RPG Game club. So, I often promoted the Cthulhu RPG Game to Yamada Tatsuo and the others. After discovering the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, I encouraged them to install it as well, and that’s how we entered the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall together and completed a module."

So that was the situation.

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