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"No, I want to see it myself!"

Kirito couldn't go against this old devil, nor could he do what Kerry did: "If you don't listen to me, I'll kill you and you'll behave."

I had no choice but to agree to go down with them.

With the flashlight handle in his mouth and a knife in his other hand, Kirito used the immortal's unique slide technique to quickly descend, but he reached the bottom in no time, which was only five or six meters deep.

After Kirito came down, he quickly took out his flashlight and shone it around, then he shut his mouth.

People... many people... no, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say immortals.

They were so numerous that they filled the surrounding area.

"this……!"

The old man who followed Kirito down was also choked with shock.

In this relatively spacious underground space, there were cages and chairs, and the still breathing corpses were either tied up or locked up.

Those things reeked of decay, and their bodies were indeed completely rotten. Some still retained a human shape, while others had completely lost their human form.

And they were all women.

However, they all share one common characteristic: even so, they cannot die.

256

Chapter 256 Tokyo Electric Power Company, you are stronger now.

Kirito's face twitched slightly.

I stumbled upon the underground prison of Irithyll in the countryside, where countless immortals were imprisoned, a situation I could not comprehend no matter how hard I tried.

Kirito remembered that they had been to this church before, and that they must have been drawn into it from reality.

In other words, this place should actually exist in reality.

Countless "people" are imprisoned in this place...

Some of those creatures were completely unresponsive to the group's entry, while others could still open their mouths like living corpses, driven by instinct.

However, the tongue in the open mouth was completely ulcerated and could not make a sound, only a mournful "ga! ga!" sound, which was terrifying.

Seeing this, Akira Shimura forced himself to calm down. He also used his flashlight to observe the people here, and it seemed that they were still wearing clothes when they were imprisoned here, so he might be able to identify them.

However, most of their clothes were completely rotten, even stuck to their skin and flesh, making them indistinguishable, until...

“This is… Ayako Kamishiro’s mother. I met her when I was young, and she was wearing a pair of earrings just like these.”

The old man pointed tremblingly at a woman who was relatively close to the door, his whole body shaking.

It's easy to imagine the shock of seeing someone you only remember from decades ago looking like this now.

It was Kamishiro again. Kirito caught this keyword, so he asked Kazuma about the name Kamishiro Ayako and explained the current situation.

Kazuma then asked Miyako Kamishiro, who was standing next to him, and gave her the answer.

[Sato Kazuma: Ayako Kamishiro is the older sister of the girl I met]

[Sato Kazuma: Now that you've gone to the church, I don't need to go anymore. I've pretty much figured it out; these places are randomly projected from reality.]

Kirito also figured it out; Kazuma had mentioned before that the girl he met also claimed to be an immortal.

That makes sense; in the Kamishiro family, the older sister is responsible for continuing the bloodline, while the younger sister is used as a sacrifice.

Therefore, the Kamishiro family must have never let outsiders know that there was a little girl in the family, so it was right for Shimura, as the heir to the breeding position in this generation, to know Kamishiro Ayako.

So it's true that the girl said she was immortal, but their immortality seems to be inherited from their bloodline.

Moreover, their immortality means they will gradually rot but will not die.

That's probably why, in order to avoid attracting outside attention, the Kamishiro family tied up all the rotting people in their household in this basement.

If Kirito had known about an immortal family from the beginning, he would have imagined things like a bunch of mummies in an underground palace deciding the course of the world. (D)

Unfortunately, the reality is that these people, over so many generations, have simply controlled the village by sheer numbers.

Although it didn't seem like the right time to think about this, Kirito inexplicably thought of it at this moment.

Will we become like that, or just like those inhuman creatures outside?

As time goes by, more and more inhuman characteristics appear, or it becomes increasingly decayed.

Until one day, like those mummies tied to the last row here, their hair will fall out, their teeth will be gone, leaving only withered skin covering their swollen internal organs, and their descendants will all have to suffer the same treatment.

Kirito felt a little cold in his hands and feet, but he managed to shake those thoughts out of his head.

If that's the case, then let Kree sever his immortality with a single sword strike.

Although everyone seeks immortality, Kirito believes that living happily in the present moment is the most important thing.

Since I was already dead anyway, having died long ago during that trip to Totsuki, every day I continued was a bonus.

Only when it comes to myself, this habitually fussy thing doesn't exist at all.

Kirito took out a mask and put it on to block out the stench and the faint fragrance emanating from these things.

They began searching the dark interior.

The further Kirito looked, the more alarmed he became. The age of these things trapped here was truly unimaginable; some of the cages, which were clearly made of steel, even looked like antiques.

These things also bear witness to the time they have spent here. Those things may have been trapped here by their descendants for hundreds of years, or even... thousands of years.

Having remained motionless in this dark and empty basement for a thousand years, the terror emanating from the messages made Kirito feel somewhat uneasy.

After trembling for a while, Shimura angrily approached the female corpse he had recognized.

The other person was bound to a chair with wire.

Two hours after that screech, the group still hadn't found the culprit or figured out how to leave.

On the other side, Kerry crossed a small red river and arrived at a somewhat familiar area.

"This is……?"

Looking at the familiar wall, Kerry remembered.

Isn't this the elementary school in Yuzuru Herbi Village?

For the past few days, they had walked through the village every day, so they were very familiar with the place.

The main reason he didn't recognize it immediately was that there were several very old buildings next to the school, which looked like school facilities, but Kerry was certain that there was nothing there before.

"Buzz!"

A series of sharp, piercing sounds emanated from the teaching building; it seemed to be...

broadcast?

Kerry was a little confused because the sound seemed to be from a radio. How could a radio station still have electricity when we're in another world? And he didn't hear any engine noise either.

Now we have to admit Tokyo Electric Power's strength.

However, a little girl's voice soon came through the noisy broadcast.

"Teacher! Teacher! Help me! Teacher!"

The voice sounded like a little girl's. Kerry frowned slightly, then leaped over the two-meter wall and entered the school.

A casual scan.

Kerry was initially trying to deduce the location of the broadcasting room based on architectural principles.

However, he soon spotted a figure running in the corridor.

That appeared to be a living person.

Kerry moved the flashlight over there.

"ah!"

The man cried out in surprise and fell to the ground—or rather, he rolled away to avoid being shot.

Kerry was more curious about why the people of Yuusuke Snake Village could face the corpses so calmly.

Kerry immediately spoke up to prevent the other party from escaping.

Where is the broadcasting room?

Only when Kerry's voice came from afar did the man dare to peek out.

"I...I am Takato Reiko, a teacher at this school. Please, I beg you, save my student."

257

Chapter 257 I am the approaching storm!

Upon seeing the woman, she became even more agitated than Kerry, looking at him with a pleading, tearful expression.

Kerry walked to the side of the corridor, braced himself against the window with one hand, and jumped inside.

Kerry noticed that the woman was holding a bloodstained brick in her hand. Good heavens, another one who had torn apart corpses with bare hands.

"I...I just left the students in the broadcasting room, and I..."

Where is the broadcasting room?

Kerry interrupted her introduction and went straight to the question he wanted to know.

"It's...it's in the second room on the second floor, but there are a lot of those monsters there. I...I'll distract them. Can you take the child and leave?"

The woman asked some questions seeking her opinion.

"You're a good teacher, keep up with me."

Kerry didn't stop to listen to the woman. He raised his sword, rushed to the top of the stairs, and leaped up.

"Wait! This is too dangerous! They have guns!"

The woman anxiously chased after him, but when she reached the second floor, panting, she was met with a scene that was completely beyond her imagination.

Those monsters she avoided like the plague were like dolls in Kerry's eyes.

Kerry raised his sword and pierced one of them, then swung the sword, sending the monster flying like a missile.