A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

Page 131

"how come……"

Seeing the horrified look on the man in the suit, Chao Wu chuckled.

"Don't be ridiculous, I also have curse resistance. I'm completely immune to curse damage of your level."

"You... how could this be... this is cheating, it's cheating!"

"Bullshit."

In response to Eddie Gluskin's accusation of breaching his defenses, Asagiri retorted righteously.

"I didn't see a single trace of talent, only hard work and sweat!"

After saying this, Asagiri had Shura firmly pin Edigruskin against the wall. Although the latter struggled incessantly, just as Asagiri had said, Edigruskin was different from Chris Walker. Even in its monster form, its physical strength was not outstanding and it was completely unable to contend with Shura. Moreover, Shura and Asagiri had extremely high resistance to its most proficient curse-attribute tentacles and were completely immune to its attacks.

In short, Eddie Gruskin, whom even Sakuragawa Rikka greatly feared, posed no threat to Asagiri.

"Still playing dead?"

Asagiri glanced at the male player lying on the ground and said in a calm tone.

"If you don't leave, I'll kill you too; it's just a convenient excuse anyway."

Upon hearing this, the male player, who had multiple penetrating wounds, struggled to get up from the ground. Due to the corrosive nature of the curse attribute damage in his wounds, his face was slightly contorted with pain, but he still managed to force out a fawning smile.

"Well... then I won't bother you any longer, goodbye."

After saying that, the male player hurriedly fled from the other side of the hall.

Are you kidding me? Anyone who doesn't run away at a time like this is a complete idiot.

This male player had fought against Eddie Gruskin and knew all too well how terrifying this psychopathic man was.

This terrifying monster was like a helpless lamb in front of the mysterious player who wore a long black trench coat and a dark gray mask, and couldn't even hurt the mysterious player.

He was already incredibly lucky that the other party didn't kill him or steal his items and equipment. If he continued to linger or even shamelessly begged to complete the game together, he would definitely be killed.

Now that you've been given a second chance at life, you should make a quick getaway.

……

Two minutes later, at the elevator entrance.

"Should we interrogate this guy? He might know what's on the layer above."

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's question, Asagiri glanced at Edgarruskin, who was being carried by Shura, and looked at the other's face filled with resentment and hatred, and chuckled.

"It feels no pain and has no effective methods of torture, but..."

As Asagiri finished speaking, Shura, carrying Eddy Gruskin, walked towards the elevator. The latter's face, which had been filled with resentment, instantly showed an expression of extreme terror and despair.

Asagiri noticed the change in the guy's expression and said in a flat tone.

"It seems that the upper floors, or rather the act of taking the elevator itself, imply that one will encounter danger, and the kind of danger that even such a demon would find extremely frightening."

74

Chapter 74 Demonic Attack.

"Can this still happen?"

Seeing Asagiri's actions, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but show a complicated expression.

"So you kept it to use as a human... demon body radar?"

"Of course."

Asagiri replied in a smiling voice.

"The demons in this mental hospital seem to have no sense of pain, and their thinking is as extreme as that of mental patients, so interrogation and negotiation are ineffective. But even so, there are still things that terrify them."

Upon hearing this, Kato Megumi couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"What is it?"

Asagiri gave an unexpected yet reasonable answer in a calm tone.

“Mental patients who are more powerful than themselves.”

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this answer, Asuna Yuuki was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what she meant and exclaimed in understanding.

“I understand… Although we are also very powerful, these mental patients believe that we will die here sooner or later. So they think they can’t be completely wiped out, so it doesn’t matter if we kill them once or twice. But it’s different for the mental patients trapped in this area. If they provoke a strange being that is stronger than themselves, it means that they will suffer endless cruel torture.”

"I see……"

Kotoko Iwanaga looked thoughtful, recalling what she and the others had experienced before, and murmured to herself.

"That's why, when Chris Walker fought us, even though he made such a big commotion, no other mental patients appeared. Because he is the most powerful being on this floor, he can freely enter the 'chef's' territory, but no one dares to steal his prey. And because of this, this entire floor is Chris Walker's territory."

After Kotoko Iwanaga finished speaking, Megumi Kato looked at the "groom" being carried by Shura, namely Eddie Gruskin.

"Judging from this guy's reaction, there must be even more powerful, much more powerful, evil spirits on the upper levels?"

"That's how it should be."

Asagiri nodded first, then walked up to Eddie Gruskin, reached out and patted the other's cheek, and said with a smile.

“If you don’t answer my questions honestly, I might take you up with me. The guys up there won’t think you were coerced; they’ll definitely think you’re leading the way. When that happens… well, just thinking about your future makes me feel bad.”

"You guy..."

Upon hearing Asagiri's veiled threat, EddyGruskin's expression instantly changed, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, clearly showing that he felt intense fear.

"What's on the top two floors? Hmm? Speak!"

Eddie Gruskin had no choice but to answer honestly.

“I don’t know what’s on the first basement level… but the second basement level is the territory of the ‘doctor’ and the ‘twins’…”

What are their capabilities?

“I don’t know… but those three are terrifying. Even Chris Walker wouldn’t mess with them… and they’ve taken over all the ‘toys’.”

Upon hearing Eddie Gluskin's words, Asuna Yuuki, Megumi Kato, and Kotoko Iwanaga all changed their expressions, vaguely guessing what the so-called "toy" was. Asagiri's subsequent question and Eddie Gluskin's reply further confirmed their suspicions.

"'Toy'...is it a caregiver at this hospital?"

"Yes."

"So this is ah."

Asagiri nodded noncommittally, and then Eddie Gruskin was lifted into the elevator by Shura.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?! I answered all your questions!"

"Of course, I'm a person who keeps my promises."

Before Eddie Gruskin could even breathe a sigh of relief after hearing Asagiri's words, the other party immediately added.

"However, I only promised not to take you up, but I never said I wouldn't send you down."

Before Eddie Gruskin could reply, Shura threw it down through the side gap of the makeshift elevator.

"No! No..."

Eddy Gruskin let out a shrill scream in the air, but when its body fell to the location corresponding to the fourth underground level, its voice and form disappeared instantly, as if it had been swallowed up by that level.

Seeing this, Asagiri simply said in a calm tone.

"Sure enough, the fourth and fifth underground levels are dangerous."

"Leader".

Just then, Kotoko Iwanaga walked to Asagiri's side, glanced at the top of the elevator shaft, and frowned.

"The strange aura on the upper floor suddenly became much stronger, as if there was an exceptionally powerful and eerie entity waiting to ambush us where the elevator would stop."

"After all, it made such a loud noise, so it was unavoidable."

Asuna Yuuki said this first, and then asked.

"What do we do now? With our team's strength and Phantom's abilities, we should be able to seize the initiative in the battle and force our way through the barrier above. Or... should we look for another route?"

The four members of the team are all elite players who have cleared dungeons multiple times. They can understand each other without even having to discuss things, such as the choice they are facing now.

It's obvious that the noise the elevator just made attracted not only the evil spirit Eddie Gruskin on this floor, but also the "twins" and the "doctor" on the floor above. Although the four members of the team are likely capable of overcoming the enemy's ambush, such a difficult route is definitely not designed for ordinary players.

Given this, the normal procedure should be to first arrive here, activate the elevator to attract the attention of the mental patients on the upper floor, and then escape from Eddie Gruskin or Chris Walker's pursuit, find another route to the second basement level, which was originally guarded by the mental patients on the second basement level, but has now become an unobstructed route because they went to the position where the elevator would rise.

This is a classic element in horror games.

"Is speedrunning still the safest option...?"

Instead of answering directly, Asagiri looked at Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko and asked them questions.

"What's your opinion?"

"I support speedrunning breakthroughs."

Kotoko Iwanaga was the first to express her opinion, after all, she and Asagiri were both people who didn't know what fear was.

"We've already wasted enough time resting and adjusting. If we waste more time looking for other routes, our final completion rating will be affected."

"I also agree with forcing a breakthrough."

Asuna Yuuki gripped her rapier tightly, her eyes revealing unwavering determination.

"I'm entering this instance again to completely say goodbye to my former timid self. Being hesitant and timid is not my style. Moving forward is the only path I've chosen."

"Um……"

Seeing that Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko were all looking at her, Kato Megumi sighed softly.

"You guys are all about style, one's calm analysis, and one's passionate drive. You've got all the types... But I also agree with a head-on approach. I'm a bit too lazy to walk anymore."

"Wow, we even have a lazy, laid-back guy. Our team really has a bright future ahead of us."

Asagiri said this with a smile, then looked at the simple elevator and slowly spoke.

"Then let's flatten those guys."

……

A few minutes later, at the simple elevator entrance on the second basement level.

"Squeak..."

Hearing the noise of the makeshift elevator starting up again, two burly, seemingly abnormal, mentally ill men, each wielding a machete and a homemade spiked club, exchanged a glance and then scratched their heads simultaneously.

"Should we wait at the entrance?"

“No, the priest warned us not to go there easily.”

"Should we wait for them to come up?"

"Wait."

After a brief exchange, the twin brothers tacitly fell silent, waiting for the enemy amidst the noise of the makeshift elevator...

"call."

Just then, a dark figure suddenly appeared at the elevator entrance. Before the twin brothers could even see the figure clearly, the dark figure had already appeared in front of them like a ghost.

"Persona, Mita".

The original Mita appeared instantly, her eerie puppet face devoid of any emotion. She simply turned her neck and bit the twin brother's neck. Then, her own neck quickly extended to several meters long, carrying the other's body to near the ceiling before slamming him heavily to the ground.

"Ok?"

It wasn't until this moment that the twin brother finally reacted. His tall and muscular body appeared in front of Asagiri like a ghost, his face twisted with rage, and he swung his rough, homemade spiked club at Asagiri's head.

"boom."

However, before the stick could fall, Asagiri had already raised her hands and grabbed her twin brother's wrists. The twin brother, who was about to attack the real Mita, saw the real Mita disappear in front of him and be replaced by a tall, humanoid black shadow.

"Touch of the Dead".

Wearing a long, flowing dress, the petite Kotoko Iwanaga was thrown directly up from the elevator shaft, landing on the ground with an extremely elegant posture. She then extended her right hand towards her twin brother from a distance, activating her skill "Touch of the Dead".

The next second, dozens of pale arms extended from the ground, wrapping around the twin brother's legs like pythons.

Meanwhile, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato had already entered the second basement level. One of them rushed to Asagiri's side and pierced the twin brother's head with her longsword, while the other swung her battle axe and struck the twin brother's skull with great force.

Just look at this scene...