"My name is Misha, and I'm the head of security for the Reverie Hotel."
The blue-haired boy briefly introduced himself, casually tossing the memoria meme off his shoulder. "The hotel is crawling with these monsters right now. You two are lucky to have made it this far unscathed." "This gentleman here is a prime example—though he's lucky too. Despite being attacked, he wasn't shattered into memoria… Hmph, I guess fools have their own kind of luck, don't they?"
Firefly stared at the boy's face. For some reason, he gave her an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, like… someone related to the Misha she'd met before? Was there a connection between them?
"Stop spacing out. You two, come with me. I'll escort you out of the hotel," Misha said, waving impatiently. "There's a whole group waiting for me, so hurry up."
"Wait a second."
March 7th stepped forward. "Sorry, Misha, but my friend is still in the room next door. Could you…"
"No chance—she's not there anymore."
Misha stopped in his tracks. "The hotel's been disrupted and is gradually collapsing. Physical laws from reality mean nothing here. The entire layout of the hotel shifts constantly. That room next to you? It's long been empty." "Don't believe me? Go knock and shout a couple of times—see if anyone answers."
March 7th and Firefly exchanged a skeptical glance before knocking on the door. To their surprise—
"…Who's there?"
A woman's voice came from inside, soft and elegant, calm and composed, instantly evoking the image of a refined lady.
Misha: "…Ma'am, the hotel isn't safe right now. Please come out."
Judging by his darkened expression, he clearly hadn't expected his words to come true.
"Come out? Heh, I'd love to, but the condition for leaving this room is a bit… embarrassing. Mind if I read it out? 'Cannot leave without XX'…"
"…My apologies, ma'am. That's the hotel's oversight."
Misha cut off the woman's words, pulling out a key and inserting it into the lock. With a click, the door opened, revealing a woman wearing a plaster mask.
"Oh… it opened so easily. I thought I'd have to take matters into my own hands."
The woman chuckled lightly. "But this hotel's specialty… heh, it's hard to comment on."
"Just the perverse taste of a certain sibling-obsessed individual," Misha sighed. "Since you're out, everyone, let's leave together. With me here, I can guarantee your safety."
"Safety? I wouldn't be so sure about that."
The plaster-masked woman spoke up. "Kid, guess why I was hiding in that room? Hm?"
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
As if to confirm her words, the sound of ticking clock hands began to echo around them, mechanical and cold, growing louder as if something was approaching from the void. If Stelle were here, she'd recognize this plot point as the moment Something Unto Death makes its grand entrance, wreaking havoc. But with Penacony's power scaling inflated this time, Something Unto Death's role seemed to have been replaced by something else. And that something's oppressive presence was no less terrifying than Death's debut.
Crack—
With a loud crash, the corridor's ceiling was suddenly pierced by a red wing as sharp as a steel blade. Then, a bloated, massive body slowly emerged from the ceiling, landing in front of everyone. It was a giant "paperfold" bird, but its body was filled with whirring gears, so to be precise, it was a mechanical paperfold bird.
"Trouble's caught up. Everyone, be careful," the plaster-masked woman warned.
"What?!"
Seeing the paperfold bird, Misha's expression changed drastically. "Has the Dreamscape been corrupted to this extent? Even it has become like this?"
"Misha, what is that thing?"
Firefly pulled out her transformation device, her face cautious. In her perception, this paperfold bird was far more dangerous than any monster she'd ever encountered. Even if she unleashed her full power in her restricted armor, she wasn't sure she could defeat it.
Misha took a deep breath. "This thing is called the Capitalist Bird, the Watchmaker Mikhail's most beloved pet and the guardian deity of this Dreamscape… I never imagined it would be corrupted by that power." "Everyone, this thing's strength is beyond what you or I can handle. No matter how confident you are in your abilities… run!"
Misha's voice carried an indescribable gravity, and he didn't even dare look away, showing just how terrifying the Capitalist Bird was to him.
"Is there any way to deal with it?" March 7th gripped her Cloud-Piercing Strike tightly, asking.
"Jie jie jie jie jie jie! You think you can take me on?"
Hearing March 7th's words, the Capitalist Bird seemed to find it hilariously absurd, speaking in a human voice. "I am invincible!" "You intruders who've trespassed into the Family's sacred grounds, since you've seen the secrets here, you'll stay and work for free forever! Jie jie jie jie jie jie!"
"Tch… I don't buy it."
March 7th narrowed her eyes. As a Nameless of the Astral Express, how many dangers had she faced on her journey? How many so-called "invincible" enemies had she confronted? On the Xianzhou, she'd even fought Emanators—compared to that, this harmless-looking bird was nothing!
"Same here. Whether it's a bird or a machine, if it dares to stop me from finding Stelle, it's dead."
Firefly's voice carried a chilling madness. Her transformation device turned into a light sword, its blade faintly glowing with flames.
!
The next second, March 7th and Firefly moved simultaneously (Misha shouted, "No!"). March 7th hurled her Cloud-Piercing Strike with all her might, its tip gleaming with deadly frost as it whistled toward the Capitalist Bird— Firefly lunged forward, her light sword poised to strike the Capitalist Bird—
Ding!
The Cloud-Piercing Strike and light sword sliced through the air, landing heavily on the Capitalist Bird… only to leave a small dent before bouncing off.
"What?"
March 7th's eyes widened as she caught the returning Cloud-Piercing Strike. "This spear's sharp enough to pierce dragon scales—how is this possible…?"
Firefly was equally shocked. This light sword was a weapon from her SAM form, yet it couldn't even break the bird's defenses?
March 7th/Firefly: What kind of monster is this?
"Jie jie jie! You two think you can shake me?" The Capitalist Bird cackled wildly again. "Your attacks are done, right?" "Now it's my turn—no objections, right?!" "Skill: Market Manipulation!"
With that, the Capitalist Bird curled into a ball, its body glowing with golden light, charging toward the group with unstoppable momentum— Its speed was so fast that no one could dodge in time. They were sent flying like bowling pins.
Duang!
Pain! Excruciating pain!
March 7th felt like she hadn't taken any real damage, yet her body felt as though it had been completely shattered. What kind of move was this? Just pure pain infliction? If it was just this kind of attack, she could fight the Capitalist Bird all day.
Capitalist Bird: "Wahahaha—check your phones!"
"What… is this thing talking about?"
March 7th and the others pulled out their phones. When they saw the message on the screen, their faces instantly changed! It showed that their current account balances were zero.
=====
New Story posted:
Transmigrated as Furina, in the Naruto world