bookbashuk Page 179
Page 179
32
Chapter 32 Please die for me.
The moment the man in the white suit charged into the enemy ranks, the bone spike in his hand pierced the skull of a parasite. Several parasites to his side were about to launch a sneak attack, but they were directly lifted into the air by the bone spikes extending from his white armor. Then, the bone spikes began to expand and grow rapidly, bursting the bodies of those parasites from the inside.
His fighter teammate had a simpler fighting style: skilled martial arts combined with incredible speed and power. Every punch and kick could shatter a parasite's body.
Asuna Yuuki's fighting style remained unchanged. Her speed was so fast that the group of parasites couldn't react at all. After a few sword shadows, only a severed head and limbs remained, lying on the ground writhing incessantly.
The Asura at the very front, however, has a brutal fighting style.
A dozen or so parasites reached out their hands to scratch its body, but to the powerful Shura, the attacks of these parasites transformed from ordinary people were as meaningless as ants biting. It stretched out its dark hands, casually grabbed a parasite, and then, with a little force, tore the parasite's body in half vertically. Then, it slapped out a palm, sending the head of another parasite that was rushing over flying.
"Is that all there is to it?"
Standing beside Kotoko Iwanaga, the female player with the fox demon mask, and the male player with perception, Asagiri, who had not charged into the enemy ranks, looked past the surging swarm of parasites in front of her and cast her gaze toward the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue standing at the very back, and spoke with a light laugh.
"These parasites that are transformed from ordinary people are only about as good as zombies, except that they are relatively difficult to kill. You think you can stop us by just stacking up numbers? You are so stupid that it makes me want to laugh."
Seeing that the parasitic swarms he had sent out had no effect whatsoever, and that the two player teams were still slowly breaking through and getting closer, the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue realized that it was just a group of ordinary people transformed into parasitic puppets, and it was no match for the seven players who were as powerful as monsters.
Realizing this, the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue immediately responded. Its two arms, which had been hanging down at its sides, slowly rose, and then the parasites in front of it transformed into wriggling strips of flesh that quickly merged together, becoming two disgusting creatures nearly three meters tall, with fleshy strips on their bodies that writhed like worms.
"coming."
Seeing the two fused parasites rushing towards them, Kotoko Iwanaga immediately warned them.
"Split into two groups to fight!"
"it is good!"
The woman in the fox demon mask and her teammates immediately understood Kotoko Iwanaga's meaning. They instantly moved to the side from their original formation, which was hiding behind the human Shura. Sure enough, one of the fused parasites changed direction upon seeing this and rushed towards the four of them.
Although they had a general idea of each other's fighting styles, teamwork is not something that is easy to develop. Therefore, in this situation, the two teams can fight separately to maximize their respective strengths.
"IBM".
Kotoko Iwanaga raised her left hand and manipulated the black particles to form two black humanoid figures, which, together with Shura, resisted the ordinary parasites and the parasitic fusion that was rushing towards her.
"boom!!!"
The parasitic fusion's hand, larger than a normal human head, slammed down. The human asura immediately raised his arms to block it. After a loud bang, the parasitic fusion remained motionless, while the human asura's body staggered back a few steps.
"His power surpasses that of a human Asura..."
Upon seeing this, Kotoko Iwanaga frowned slightly and immediately manipulated the two black humanoid figures she had created to hug the legs of the parasitic fusion creature from the left and right.
"It's now!"
"clear."
As Kotoko Iwanaga finished speaking, a deep red shadow appeared in front of the parasitic fusion entity. Taking advantage of the moment when the entity lowered its head to try to break free from IBM's restraints, Asuna Yuuki's crystal rapier shone brightly as she used her sword technique, Stardust Flying.
However, after the eight flashing sword beams, Asuna Yuuki discovered that the parasitic fusion organism only had a few shallow wounds on its surface, which were quickly healed by the wriggling flesh strips in the next second.
"boom!"
Asuna Yuuki quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the slap from the tentacle extending from the parasitic fusion object, and returned to Kotoko Iwanaga and Asagiri.
"Is it because I didn't use the exorcist's longsword...? No, that's not right."
Asuna Yuuki frowned as she watched the parasitic fusion creature break free from the two black IBMs' restraints, resume its battle with the human Shura, and clearly gain the upper hand with the help of the ordinary parasites around it. She spoke softly.
"This guy's defense is too amazing. Even my Stardust Splash couldn't do any effective damage. If I use Flash Thrust... I definitely won't be able to kill him directly."
Seeing the two IBMs she had created torn apart by the parasites, Kotoko Iwanaga created two more IBMs. However, the mental energy required to continuously create IBMs in a short period of time had obviously taken a heavy toll on her, and she could only stand by supporting herself with a cane.
Meanwhile, the four members of the white-suited squad on the other side were also engaged in a fierce battle.
The male player, who was a professional fighter, was accidentally slapped by a tentacle extending from the parasitic fusion object. The terrifying power, which was even stronger than that of a human demon, was obviously beyond his ability to withstand. Fortunately, he managed to raise his arms in time to defend himself, otherwise he might have died on the spot. Even so, he couldn't even lift his arms, as the bones inside were already broken.
"hateful……"
The professional male fighter was in excruciating pain; his face was covered in sweat, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"Advance!"
The veins on his neck suddenly bulged, and his skin turned an unnatural red. His breathing became increasingly heavy, and the broken bones in his arms began to heal. It was clear that he had activated a physical enhancement skill. Judging from the expressions on the faces of his three teammates, it was easy to see that this ability came at a price.
The cost is a reduced lifespan and serious aftereffects such as a significant loss of physical fitness.
But now is not the time to worry about those things.
All four of them knew very well that if they didn't give it their all...
I and my teammates will die here.
"then."
Just then, a black object was suddenly thrown from the side. The male player with the perception type caught it and discovered that what Chaowu had thrown was a heavy sniper rifle.
Before he could even express his gratitude, Chao Yiwu pulled out another music box from his pocket and, with astonishing strength, threw it directly at the fused parasite that was fighting the man in the white suit dozens of meters away.
"boom!!"
A tentacle extended from the fused parasite's body, shattering the music box in mid-air. However, the next second, a shrill scream rang out in the arena. A black-haired female ghost dressed in blood-stained white clothes appeared out of nowhere, her eyes filled with resentment and venom. She pounced on the fused parasite's body and began to scratch and bite it incessantly.
The man in the white suit, who finally had a moment to catch his breath because of the appearance of the music box's vengeful spirit, heard Asagiri's words.
"Hold on a little longer, don't die so easily."
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, the man in the white suit turned his head. Although he had accidentally cut a bloody mark on his face during the battle and looked quite disheveled due to exhaustion, he still looked at Asagiri, who was dozens of meters away, and forced a smile as he replied loudly.
"Don't worry, we're perfectly fine. Don't underestimate us!"
"How did it suddenly catch fire for no reason?"
Asagiri chuckled and made a sarcastic remark, then looked at the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue. Even in this seemingly critical and hopeless moment, he remained completely calm, which made the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue feel deeply insulted.
"Still struggling in your death throes... Just die already!!!"
The faces on the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue roared simultaneously, raising their arms once more and causing hundreds of parasites to merge into two even larger monsters, which charged towards the Morning Mist Squad and the White Suit Squad.
Upon seeing this scene, and witnessing the vacuum area of tens of meters in front of the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue caused by the creation of the fusion parasite, Asagiri suddenly revealed a smile.
"It's now……"
"Castling."
When Asagiri uttered the skill name, the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue suddenly noticed that above the swarm of parasites, a girl carrying a jet-black longbow was slowly descending. In that instant, panic appeared on the faces of everyone on its body.
"That is……"
Having activated her unique talent from the very beginning of the battle, Kato Megumi, taking advantage of the fact that the parasite swarm's attention was drawn to the two player teams, quietly advanced fifty meters, revealing a smile as she muttered to herself.
"It's up to you, Leader."
As Kato Megumi finished speaking, Asagiri had already switched places with her and landed in the dense swarm of parasites, followed by an engine-like sound.
"A burst of blood."
In his Asura state, and having used "Blood Burst," Asagiri's physical attributes had reached a terrifying level. He slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue, which was less than a hundred meters away from him, and slowly spoke.
"I'm here to find you."
"Stop...stop him!!!"
The massive body of the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue instinctively retreated, and fear appeared on the faces of the people on its surface as they tried to use the parasites to stop Asagiri's advance. However, the physical strength of these ordinary parasites was far inferior to that of Asagiri at this moment. It was like a fragile foam board trying to stop a truck traveling at full speed. Asagiri didn't need to do anything at all; he just needed to sprint at full speed, and the parasites in front of him would be smashed to pieces.
Because two more enormous parasitic fusions were created, the fifty-meter defensive line that should have been formed by hundreds of parasites was reduced to less than twenty meters the moment Asagiri appeared. After breaking through this twenty-meter distance, the remaining seventy meters between Asagiri and the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue were completely empty.
"no no……"
The Thousand-Faced Stone Statue tried to retreat, but in the blink of an eye, Chaowu had already rushed within twenty meters of it, caught the tarot card falling from the sky with her left hand, and crushed it without hesitation.
"Persona, Alice!"
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Alice slowly landed on the ground, a simple and sweet smile on her face. She looked at the faces on the surface of the Thousand-Faced Stone Statue and spoke slowly.
"Please die for me."
33
Chapter 33 We're safe now, for the time being.
As Alice finished speaking, the towering body of the Thousand-Faced Statue began to tremble violently. The faces on its surface peeled off, wailing and crying, and after falling to the ground, they let out a few weak cries before fine cracks appeared on their faces, eventually turning into dark gray particles like sand.
The man in the white suit and his three teammates looked at Asagiri, who was standing in front of the gradually crumbling Thousand-Faced Stone Statue. They noticed that the ordinary parasites and parasitic fusions that were fighting with them were also rapidly dissolving. A look of bewilderment appeared on their faces, and they murmured to themselves.
"That's it... over? When he used this ability before, he couldn't kill all the parasites instantly, right? How come this time..."
"Don't you understand yet?"
The woman wearing the fox demon mask took a deep breath, looked down at the deep, bone-revealing wound on her arm where the parasite had scratched her. Her voice trembled slightly from the intense pain, but she still forced herself to raise her head and look at Asagiri standing there, slowly explaining to her teammate.
"If I'm not mistaken, the blonde girl he summoned has the ability to instantly kill all targets within a certain range. As for the criteria for this judgment... I guess it's the strength of mental power or mental resistance. The Thousand-Faced Statue previously sent out all the parasitic player puppets under its control to try to kill us, but they were all devoured by the black rain. So the souls represented by the faces on its body are just ordinary people who died in this hotel. From the moment the Thousand-Faced Statue was brought within the effective range of its ability by that black-clad player, it had no hope."
Hearing the explanation from the woman in the fox demon mask, the man in the white suit and his two teammates finally understood the reason for what had just happened, but...
As they watched Asagiri's retreating figure, a thought crossed their minds.
Is this the skill level of the strongest player?
During previous team battles, Kotoko Iwanaga had asked which players possessed mental attack abilities. At that time, there were five players, including herself. However, four of these players only had the ability to create illusions and affect emotions, which were considered negative buffs. The only ability to kill an opponent by directly destroying their mind was "Touch of the Dead," which Kotoko Iwanaga possessed.
However, the limitations of "Touch of the Dead" are also obvious: it can only absorb the enemy's spiritual power by touching it with a ghostly hand.
On the one hand, in a battle where the forces are evenly matched, the enemy cannot simply stand there and let their spiritual energy be drained. On the other hand, the Ghost Hand itself does not possess any powerful offensive or binding abilities; in the end, it is merely an ability used to assist in controlling the enemy.
Asagiri's Persona, Alice's unique ability, is even simpler and more brutal. Although it has no effect on targets with high mental strength, it can instantly kill enemies whose mental strength cannot pass the judgment. Moreover, there is no target restriction. Whether there are a hundred enemies or ten thousand enemies within the range of the ability, as long as they are within the range, they must accept the life and death judgment of mental strength.
The Thousand-Faced Stone Statue's main body is almost entirely composed of the souls of ordinary humans. Moreover, based on previous events, Asagiri has confirmed that because they were trapped in this tragic prison and forcibly controlled and integrated by that strange entity, the souls are in a very unstable state, and their mental strength is not as strong as that of healthy ordinary people.
Of course, it is called a weakness, but even if you know this weakness, there are very few players who are strong enough to fight against the Thousand-Faced Statue at this stage. After all, you have to get close to the opponent's main body under the attack of so many parasites, and you also need to have a mental attack ability that can attack thousands of soul targets at the same time and has enough power to do so.
"No...no...please let me go..."
After everything had turned to ashes, in the center of the ashes, there remained a wriggling creature that looked like a ball of flesh. It had split open a crack to serve as a mouth, from which came out cries like those of an infant, cries that were so heartbreaking to hear.
"Without the protection of those souls, your true form is so fragile and ugly."
Hearing Asagiri's words and feeling him walking towards it step by step, the ball of flesh tried to wriggle away, but it was as slow as a snail, and could only cry out and beg for mercy again.
"Please forgive me, please forgive me..."
"Clap."
Asagiri lifted a foot and stomped on the still-crying mass of flesh, grinding it hard before raising her left hand to the bloody mess on the ground and whispering.
"Holy Cross".
After the cross formed by the holy light and flames completely burned the mangled flesh to ashes, the phones of Yuuki Asuna and the four members of the white-suited men's team, which had been switched on, suddenly turned on automatically and emitted a notification sound.
A new notification popped up in the app with the eye icon.
The "parasite" has been eliminated by the player. The next 24 hours are a safe period (but if the player triggers certain conditions, the safe period may end prematurely).
[Due to the arrival of safe hours, we are issuing a special reminder: Chargers for various mobile phone models are available in the staff lounge on the 25th floor of the hotel.]
A new instance notification will be issued in 23 hours.
"finished……"
The four members of the white-suited squad, exhausted, collapsed to the ground. The male player, a professional fighter, was even more worn out and lay down on the soft wool carpet. Seeing that the banquet hall had returned to normal, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew... I'm so tired... It's finally over..."
"It's only temporarily over."
Kotoko Iwanaga leaned against the wall, supporting herself with her cane. Although she was in poor condition due to the depletion of her mental energy, she still maintained the elegance befitting a noblewoman.
"Violet, Phantom, how are you two doing?"
"I'm okay."
Asuna Yuuki withdrew her shimmering light, pursed her lips, and hid her right hand behind her back. Asagiri, who had walked over, noticed this detail, reached out and took Asuna Yuuki's right hand. Feeling the other's hand trembling, she whispered.
"You've used your sword techniques too many times, putting a serious strain on your right wrist. Don't push yourself too hard."
Kato Megumi raised her right hand, gently rubbing her brow with her fair index finger and thumb, and said softly.
"Because of the battle plan just now, I kept moving while my exclusive talent was activated, which consumed a lot of mental and physical energy, but I still have the ability to fight."
"Yeah, I'm pretty much the same."
Asagiri nodded first, then looked at the four people in white suits on the other side and asked with a light laugh.