Chapter 99

 is the ninety-ninth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
As Polka activates his magic, the cries of monsters echo through the abandoned hospital…

Synopsis
Civilians in the broad proximity of Arataya General Hospital walk away from it, sure that 'someone else' will report the audible commotion to the police. The men in the courtyard also feel the air grow colder but remain in place. "Leave it," one of them says. "We'll just do what we're here to do."

The change in temperature is remarked upon by Sayo Shinoyama and something that Xiaoyu Lei remembers experiencing during Shinjuku war. Majiri Agakura remarks that Corpse God has become quite proficient at making sanctuaries, which she explains to Misaki Sakimiya are barriers that Corpse God uses to try and turn people away from a barred location.

Corpse God. having finished the sanctuary, tells Katashiro that he can turn around. Much to his shock, Katashiro calculates that the the source of the discomfort he just felt must have come from Corpse God's right hand; he knew Katashiro would feel the barrier expanding, as all do, but it is astonishing that Katashiro could glean what he did when the expansion had lasted only a fraction of a second, especially since Katashiro seems to lack any magic power.

What Katashiro does have is experience playing the standard and, crucially, virtual reality versions of the magical FPS game "Troll Dream Magibarret," wherein players must be able to discern where ranged projectiles are fired from to have any hope of surviving ranged battles. He neither admits this nor that he believes anew that Corpse God must be a sorcerer after all; instead, he assures Corpse God that he will still protect him no matter what other "illusions" Corpse God may conjure.

A howl pierces the air and Corpse God's memory as one all too recognizable. Corpse God checks the shapes of the souls within the hospital's depths while the shape of a question forms within him: Are they werewolves? The beast that probably emitted the howl clutches its head and shudders to the indifference of Lemmings, who instead looks upward as if contemplating the cold feeling's origin point.

Back in the storage room, Majiri continues that Corpse God still lacks the finesse of his master. The techinque he has used disquiets most souls, but is less effective on brainwashed humans—such as, it is implied, the armed men—and an irritant to sensitive beasts, such as the one beside Lemmings: it rushes into the corridor and away from Lemmings and the hole. Xiaoyu hears its footsteps and beckons Misaki to the doorway in case the creature attempts to enter. The beast does not, though it seems to glance at Misaki without breaking its sprint. She and Xiaoyu poke their heads into the hallway while the beast's footsteps recede.

A man considers how to best breach the hospital's front entrance while his companions mention that Katashiro had used the back entrance. He and the nearest man are startled when something on the other side of the doors slams them and begins scratching the cracked glass. This is the agitated beast, which brings its hands to his head and crouches, huffing for breath, before looking upward as Lemmings had done.

Corpse God senses its approach and warns Katashiro to get back a moment before the beast barges through the rooftop door. In the subsequent moments it takes for the beast to lunge at Katashiro, Katashiro thinks, Ew, it's scary, seriously scary, supposes peace talks are impossible, seizes the beast's outthrusted arm, and says, "Don't you intimidate me." He flings it off the rooftop. It plummets into the backyard men's midst, the impact ruining its left leg and obliterating its left arm among causing other injuries. Three close men immediately begin shooting at it, cursing the Agakuras for sabotaging all the trouble it took for Higuro to breed the beasts underground. They assume the Agakuras are attempting to steal the fruits of Higuro's labor.

The beasts in the basement howl in unison to the bemusement of Dahlia Agakura and the discomfort of Momoya Agakura, who asks if he is the only one who wants to scram. Kana Agakura seconds the notion, but Dahlia merely finds the sensation strange or even funny. She prepares to follow the untied beasts when they run for the open door, as whatever consequences of them roaming free will be Shibuya's responsibility—but something sends one of the beasts flying backward so that it crashes into the basement floor. Its two companions stop and growl.

Over in the secret room, the Shinoyama Security client's daughter trembles as she stares at friend-turned-beast, whining from where it has been bound with wire attached to a pipe embedded in its flesh. "That... That's not normal..." she mumbles, likely shocked not by her friend's bestial state, having already witnessed it, but of what she has just witnessed.

Yumeji Agakura appears in the basement doorway with bloodstains on his forehead and hand that his siblings immediately notice. "Aren't you giving up too soon?" asks Momoya.

"Yeah... I've given up," Yumeji replies. "I've given up...acting normal."

Trivia

 * This chapter marks another use of the 'Izliz' spelling (p. 9) as of the individual release.
 * In the Volume 10 issue of Young Gangan as published on May 02, 2023, this chapter is followed by an excerpt from the opening of Part 1 of the untitled Phantom Solitaire-centric spinoff novel set to begin serialization on May 08.

Referbacks

 * The "hall of corpses" panel shown when Xiaoyu has déjà vu is from Chapter 78.