When Horror Game Players Start Fishing for Crossover Characters

What if a top player who transmigrated from the real world into a horror game met characters from a crossover universe...?

"There are no ghosts in this world." Rei Furuya, with his golden hair and violet eyes, frowned and complained to Lin Wanyuan, who was dragging him along at a run.

Then he noticed that every player lagging behind had met with disaster. Some were killed by ghostly objects, while others tragically triggered the ghosts' killing rules and got wiped out.

"Buddy, if you want to live, cut the crap. Stop going on about ghosts, okay?" Lin Wanyuan gasped as he ran for his life. "Believe whatever you want about ghosts. I believe in them, so if you don't run, you're as good as dead!"

By the time they reached a safe place, Rei Furuya was halfway convinced.

"Are those ghosts?"

"They're murderers disguised as ghosts." Lin calmly began to bluff.

After a series of terrifying challenges, Rei Furuya was injured, and Lin Wanyuan was badly wounded, a chain having pierced his chest. Thankfully, it missed his heart, or he probably wouldn't have made it either.

But things were clearly still looking bad.

Lin couldn't bluff his way out anymore. Rei's worldview had been shattered to pieces.

"...Why did you save me?" Rei felt as if something were lodged in his chest, making him unbearably uncomfortable. "You could've just left me alone. You were perfectly capable of fighting your way out on your own. You didn't have to get hurt. You could've abandoned me just like the other players. Why..."

"Because you're one of the pillars of the neighboring world." Lin Wanyuan sighed deeply. "That world paid a huge price to ask me to protect you, and preferably to preserve your materialist worldview, too. But it turns out I really can't do that. Keeping you alive is the best I can manage, and I almost ended up trading my life for yours."

"One horror game is over. I'll find a chance to use an item to send you back to your world, but after going through all this, you might find yourself with a few new abilities. Maybe you'll be able to see ghosts all the time, or, if you learn enough, use occult techniques to summon spirits and ask who the killer is." Lin wiped the blood from his face.

Rei Furuya, who had only recently entered police academy and had just encountered things dozens of times more terrifying than anything in a horror game: ...

What the hell is that supposed to mean?!

"Never mind. That's not important." Rei carefully bandaged Lin, who didn't care about his injuries and even used his body as bait. Seeing the fatal wound he'd suffered because of him, Rei was heartbroken. "I won't leave until you're better."

"And stay here to hold me back? No thanks. You should go back to your own world." Lin showed no tact whatsoever.

Rei Furuya: ...

Well, he'd gotten used to this by now, hadn't he?

That was just the kind of man Lin was.

Completely dependable when it mattered, but hopelessly tactless the rest of the time.

"Also, keep an eye on your four classmates. They're all just a tiny bit close to death."

World pillar successfully won over: 1

"Ah, am I finally returning to the other shore? To the gentle, lovely Yomotsu Hirasaka?" The black-clad, bandage-wrapped, spiky-haired Dark Era Dazai spread his arms toward the ghosts rushing at him inside the cave.

"Quit acting cool, you chuuni brat! Your ability is completely useless against ghosts!" Lin Wanyuan grabbed him and started climbing at full speed, in a desperate race against death. "If you're going to die, do it after we get back to the real world! If you die here, forget Yomotsu Hirasaka, your soul will be torn apart until not even fragments remain!"

"What's it to you, old man?" Dazai Osamu kicked his legs, struggling against the tight grip around his neck.

"Not wanting to live and wanting to die are two different things, kid!" Lin raced upward with Dazai in tow, his arms and legs moving so fast they blurred. "For one reason or another, I can't let you die. At least not here!"

Once we're back, you can do whatever you want. If I care for even one second, I lose!

As a result, after Dazai had tested him a full 28 times, Lin Wanyuan, exhausted, said, "Stop setting me up all the time. What good does it do you if you get me killed?"

"Then why help me?" Dazai Osamu asked bluntly. "People are selfish creatures. Since you can let the other players die without helping them, why do you have to help me? Did the game put some kind of restriction on you?"

"Not exactly." Lin was quick to see that Dazai the cat was secretly planning to take on the horror game for his sake, so he hurried to stop him from doing something so irrational. "It's the fault of your world. It accidentally let one of its pillars fall into this dangerous world. If you die, your world will face a huge crisis. No matter how selfish I am, I can't just watch a world fall into crisis and die, can I? So many lives are at stake."

"Most importantly, I don't dislike pillars like you. You're actually a good kid."

Dazai was hit by the direct compliment. HP -9999. Dazai collapsed.

"Also, when you get back, keep an eye on Oda Sakunosuke. Uncle Mori's unreliable, and this guy is also just a tiny bit close to death."

World pillar successfully won over: 2

The third one to be sent over was probably a guy with a screw loose.

"Damn monkeys..." Suguru Geto, who had only recently defected, hadn't finished speaking when a hand clamped over his mouth.

After struggling in vain to break free, he finally realized this guy was so strong that resisting was pointless, and decided to use his cursed spirits instead.

"Stop struggling." He heard a very quiet voice beside his ear. "You want to die, but I don't. Cursed spirits are useless against vengeful ghosts, and making a scene will draw them here. You can get through one game without dying."

Under all kinds of difficult rules, it took just one game for Suguru Geto to go from contemptuously calling Lin Wanyuan a "monkey" to unconsciously relying on this powerful, dependable man whose intelligence seemed like a cheat.

"Don't be so arrogant, young man. The world can't need one person to save it. The weak can hurt the strong, and the strong hurt the weak all the time. Put too much pressure on yourself and your heart will give out first. And if you're lenient toward the strong but harsh toward the weak, that's an ugly side of the weak turning their blades on those weaker than themselves. You deliberately ignore the ugliness of the strong, which makes you look foolish. Also, if you want to create a new world, go read Marx's Capital. It'll do a much better job of saving the world than your one-sided opinions." Lin finished his rant calmly and prepared to buy an item to send the guy back.

"...I understand. I'll think it over." To his surprise, Suguru Geto, who had talked back to him and called him "monkey" with all kinds of awkward, stubborn defiance, actually agreed and began reflecting on himself. "You... will I be able to see you again?"

"Ah, who knows." Lin casually swept his hair back. "The green hills remain, the waters keep flowing. Until we meet again."

"Oh, and remember to watch out for anyone with stitches across the top of their head. That person is the one who twisted you all out of shape and then gave you an extra shove."

World pillar successfully won over: 3

But after they returned to their own worlds, the world consciousnesses looked at the wildly derailed timelines and were completely bewildered.

Wait, this isn't right. The whole vibe is off!

Why isn't this pillar's story going the way it's supposed to?

Theme: Using foresight to change known regrets and spare young people tragedies that force them to grow up before their time