Both Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari hid behind Hayato like scared children. Knowing that Tanaka Ichiro and Kamimura Miho in room 304 had already mutated into full supernatural monsters, they were absolutely terrified right now, deeply afraid some horrifying thing would emerge from that doorway.
And catching even a glimpse of that figure in a suit and black stockings, the female receptionist approaching from behind, the two grew even more panicked. Their legs involuntarily started trembling, knees weak.
Monsters in front, monsters on the otherside. How are we supposed to deal with this?!
"Hayato-san, you finally came. Been waiting... so long."
The one who appeared in the doorway was Tanaka Ichiro. His hair had become even sparser than before. His forehead gleamed with grease under the dim lights. His appearance in just shorts immediately made Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari look away in disgust.
Greasy middle-aged man. Nobody liked looking at that.
"I brought Ai-chan and Kuroda-san to play together with you...."
"Good, good, good. Let's all play together! Miho's great, she'll definitely satisfy you, too!"
Tanaka Ichiro immediately stepped back with enthusiasm, gesturing with his hand for the three to enter. His gaze landed on Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari with obvious hunger, making both feel disgust and repulsion they couldn't suppress.
A few meters inside, Kamimura Miho wore nothing but sexy underwear. Large patches of skin were exposed to view. Even the dim lighting couldn't hide that deliberately alluring atmosphere she projected. She noticed Hayato's gaze and even threw him a seductive look, beckoning with one finger for him to hurry inside and join them.
"Oh, I need to add one more person to our group. Wonder if that's okay with you?"
Faced with Hayato's last-minute request, Tanaka Ichiro only showed even stronger enthusiasm and welcome.
"More people means more fun. Everyone can join. The more people there are, the merrier it gets."
"Tanaka-san, I'm just afraid you can't handle her properly...."
"Bring it on!"
One firm word demonstrated Tanaka Ichiro's absolute confidence. He even puffed out his chest proudly, declaring his capabilities without shame. But that potbellied appearance really didn't have much persuasive power behind it.
"Then I'll go call her over."
As the words fell, everything plunged into a frozen state.
Bzzt...
Hayato held a girl in each arm, stepped back several paces away from the door, then let go and walked purposefully toward the supernatural female receptionist.
"One likes to play around with people!"
"One needs to deal with troublesome guests!"
"You two... are absolutely perfect for each other!"
In just moments, the female receptionist was dragged by Hayato before room 304's open doorway.
He adjusted her position carefully. The instant he released the time stop, he kicked the female receptionist hard in the back. In a flash, the receptionist took a heavy hit and stumbled forward, falling directly toward Tanaka Ichiro waiting inside.
Bang!
"You guys have fun together."
Slam.
The door shut heavily with finality.
In the second before it closed completely, piercing screams and animalistic roars erupted from inside the room.
Kuroda Hikari looked completely bewildered, having absolutely no idea what had just happened in that split second.
Hoshino Ai knew the truth, but didn't say anything. She just needed to know that Hayato had once again brilliantly solved the problem before them.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sturdy, supposedly unbreakable door made violent sound after sound. The massive force from inside even caused the door to bulge outward and deform visibly, though it quickly returned to its normal shape.
Clearly, the door couldn't be destroyed by external force alone.
"Woman, kill..."
"Guest, expel..."
Thud thud thud...
Boom boom boom...
Through the thick door, the sounds of chaotic battle inside kept coming through clearly.
The three even heard Kamimura Miho's terrified screams mixing with inhuman roars.
Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari's gazes both landed on Hayato questioningly. Hayato organized his thoughts briefly and spoke calmly.
"This proves that the hotel's receptionist and the already-mutated guests aren't completely on the same side. In the current situation, where the female receptionist came to the third floor just to expel noisy guests who violated the rules, even completely transformed supernatural guests are within her scope of handling."
They understood that basic logic! But what Kuroda Hikari didn't understand was something else entirely.
"Hayato-senpai, why... did the female receptionist suddenly appear in front of room 304? And just now..."
Hayato smiled mysteriously and raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.
"Trade secret!"
Inside room 304, the battle intensified dramatically. The commotion grew louder and more violent with each passing second. The sounds of shattering glass, overturned furniture crashing kept rising in volume. Along with them came the low, inhuman roars and howling screams of three voices.
If not for this door blocking the chaos, the aftershocks of the supernatural battle alone would probably pose a huge threat to them standing outside.
Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari listened with pounding hearts, wanting only to get far away from this nightmare.
"Hayato-kun, which side do you think will win?"
"I don't know!"
"I hope... I hope they mutually destroy each other completely."
Hoshino Ai wished for that outcome desperately.
Time passed second by second in tense silence.
The commotion inside room 304 sometimes intensified to deafening levels, sometimes subsided to ominous quiet. But the door showed no inclination to open from either side, indicating neither side had decided the victor yet.
Finally, another ten minutes arrived.
Crack crack crack...
The entire hallway began shaking violently once more.
This time, without Hayato saying anything at all, both Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari immediately grabbed Hayato's wrists firmly, avoiding losing contact due to the hallway's shift.
Without the immediate threat of the female receptionist chasing them, this time Hayato led the two girls through the dim hallway filled with red light at a measured pace.
[306]
Found it.
Beep...
As the keycard approached the sensor, the door unlocked and opened smoothly.
Right then, crisp footsteps also came echoing from the distant hallway behind them.
That sound, Hayato was too familiar with it by now.
Hoshino Ai recognized it equally well, her body stiffening.
The final victor of the room 304 battle was... the female receptionist!
She'd won!
---
The unwritten rule in this round of death games is that every change of space/hallway is ensured to have a room among the participants. It's actually an easy death game for beginners if they work together, so even if the other participants don't have the ability to time-stop, they can still work together, buying time by taking turns stopping monsters, or getting into other participants' rooms just for ten minutes.
I hope you like it. By the way, I'll continue again in about 4-5 hours, but you don't need to wait for me on time.