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

Page 129

"They rescued us from Mars, how can you be so ungrateful?"

"That's right..."

Hearing Asagiri say that, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Then she suddenly realized what she meant and said irritably.

“I never said I wouldn’t go see Old Huo, so don’t try to morally blackmail me.”

Asagiri raised his arm and said with great momentum.

"Then let's go!"

"Don't get carried away with your enthusiasm."

Seeing this, Kato Megumi gently dissuaded him.

“This instance has no time limit, and you two aren’t in good condition. Necro and I have also just been somewhat exhausted. Why don’t we search for information on this floor first, and go later when we’ve recovered a bit? We still don’t know where this floor of the Giant Mountain Mental Hospital is.”

"That's true."

Asuna Yuuki tried to walk, but her left leg was still a little weak. Just then, she suddenly had an idea and whispered with a slightly flushed face.

"I...I can't get any strength in my legs...If only someone could carry me right now..."

"what……"

Kotoko Iwanaga said bluntly with a look of disgust on her face.

"Your acting is just too terrible! Fine, in that case, I'll carry you on my back!"

"This……"

Just as Asuna Yuuki was slightly parted her lips, unsure how to refuse, Megumi Kato spoke up in a gentle and easygoing tone, hitting the nail on the head.

"Given the height difference between the two of you, Violet's feet would drag on the ground, wouldn't they?"

Kotoko Iwanaga blushed, and this time she didn't know how to refute him.

"So, how about Leader carries her on his back?"

Faced with Kato Megumi's reasonable and gentle request, Iwanaga Kotoko instinctively accepted half of it, even though she was already the shortest of the four.

"Tch... fine..."

After Iwanaga Kotoko reluctantly agreed, she looked at Yuuki Asuna and warned her with a serious expression.

"You're not allowed to take advantage of the darkness in the corridor to touch him inappropriately."

"Do you think I'm you?"

Yuuki Asuna replied irritably, then walked behind Asagiri, put her light armor and rapier back into her inventory, changed into the tracksuit she had worn when she first entered the dungeon, then put her arms around Asagiri's shoulders, while Asagiri placed her hands under her knees, and without much effort, she carried the tall Yuuki Asuna on her back.

She hadn't taken more than two steps when Asagiri changed her posture, moving her hands from under Asuna Yuuki's bent legs to her rounded...

"What are you doing..."

Hearing Asuna Yuuki's shy whisper in her ear, Asagiri smiled and replied softly.

"Isn't this the most effortless and correct way to carry someone?"

"But...well..."

Asuna Yuuki was speaking when she felt Asagiri gently pinch a certain part of her body, and she couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

Kato Megumi and Iwanaga Kotoko, who were walking in front, could roughly guess what was happening behind them just by listening to the sounds.

"Ugh……"

Kato Megumi sighed softly, and an idea involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

Could it be that I am part of some kind of play among these three, a prop used to add fun, just like Hat Mita's purple mood?

After the thought popped into his head, Kato Megumi suddenly realized something.

How could I have such an abstract idea?

Could it be that I've been infected by Asagiri and Kotoko Iwanaga?

Is this... the terrifying contagiousness of the Abstract Holy Body?

……

Half an hour later, in a dressing room filled with lockers.

"This place seems relatively safe. Let's adjust ourselves here first."

Asagiri leaned against the wall and noticed that Iwanaga Kotoko looked thoughtful, so she smiled and spoke.

"Still thinking about Rikka Sakuragawa?"

"Um……"

Kotoko Iwanaga nodded and sighed softly.

"This is the first time I've encountered someone like this since I became the god of wisdom. Although there are many legends in ancient times about humans becoming half-demons in some way, I've never seen one in modern society. Her existence has broken down the boundary between the supernatural and the human world..."

Kato Megumi smoothed her long hair, sat down on the wooden bench in the dressing room, and spoke softly.

"According to Ms. Sakuragawa, she was also a victim of some kind of experiment, right?"

"That's why I feel it's dangerous."

Kotoko Iwanaga said in a serious tone.

"Making hundreds of children consume the flesh and blood of mermaids and monsters is no easy feat. I have never seen either mermaids or monsters in person; they are endangered and exist almost exclusively in legends. Yet the mastermind behind that experiment not only found these two monsters but also successfully captured them. And until I met Rikka Sakuragawa, I had never heard of this matter. It seems that the real world we live in is not so peaceful after all."

"Should we kill Sakuragawa Rikka?"

Just as Iwanaga Kotoko finished speaking, Asagiri said in a smiling tone.

“Although we may not encounter her true form, even if it is just an avatar, as long as I use the Supreme Magic Bullet, it can automatically track the location of her true form and completely sever her immortality. We can wait for her in front of the escape point of the Giant Mountain Mental Hospital, and then... give her a pleasant send-off.”

"Shall we send them off with pleasure...?"

Faced with Asagiri's question, Iwanaga Kotoko thought carefully and did not answer for a moment, but Yuuki Asuna spoke up at this moment.

"I have a feeling... that Miss Sakuragawa doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards us. On the contrary, she's quite friendly towards us?"

Kotoko Iwanaga asked curiously upon hearing this.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

Asuna Yuuki tucked her flaxen hair behind her ear and began to explain.

“Think about it, what we encountered before was just her clone. She didn’t know that Leader possessed the ability of the Supreme Magic Bullet. Although destroying the clone would make it more difficult for her to clear this dungeon, it was just a clone after all. Compared to the secret that she ate the flesh of a mermaid and two kinds of monsters and possessed special abilities, the destruction of the clone is nothing, right? But she still took the initiative to tell us those things. I feel that she might be using this method to remind us to be careful in the real world as well.”

"Now that Violet has said that, it does seem to be true."

Kato Megumi recalled the scene when the four members of her team encountered Sakuragawa Rikka. Because she used her special talent at that time, she was not noticed at first and did not need to speak to Sakuragawa Rikka. Therefore, all her attention was focused on observing Sakuragawa Rikka.

"Miss Sakuragawa doesn't seem like the type to impulsively expose one of us just because the Leader called out her real name. Instead, she's telling us that someone knows Necro's true identity in the real world, and that among those people are our enemies."

Kotoko Iwanaga frowned upon hearing this. On one hand, she felt that Megumi Kato and Asuna Yuuki's reasoning made a lot of sense, but on the other hand, she was somewhat skeptical.

"But why? I am the goddess of wisdom who guards order, while Rikka Sakuragawa is the one who has broken that order. In a sense, she and I are natural enemies. Why would she specifically remind me? And after completing the transaction, she clearly intended to leave. Is it because..."

At this point, the gazes of Kotoko Iwanaga, Asuna Yuuki, and Megumi Kato all turned to Asagiri, who was sitting against the wall.

"Could it be because of the influence of your succubus constitution?"

"What do you mean, succubus? Don't slander my innocence out of thin air."

Asagiri shook her head and chuckled softly.

"Perhaps they were completely captivated by my unique personal charm."

72

Chapter 72 Elevator Shaft.

"Tch... How narcissistic! And isn't this the same thing?"

Asuna Yuuki replied curtly, then reached out and rubbed her left leg, letting out a soft sigh.

"My left leg is still a bit sore and weak, and I feel like it will take at least another hour to recover."

"It's okay, there's no rush."

Kato Megumi offered a gentle word of comfort, then asked curiously.

"By the way, do you remember the mentally ill person Miss Sakuragawa mentioned who's been searching for some kind of bride?"

"According to the information in the game, it should be Eddie Gruskin, nicknamed The Bridegroom. In the original game storyline, he was very tall and strong, although he was far less than Chris Walker, but he was very strong."

Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's words, Kotoko Iwanaga immediately hugged her chest, pretending to tremble.

"Oh dear, that's really troublesome. A beautiful and elegant girl like me is bound to attract his attention. Sigh, but I'm already taken, and my heart belongs to someone else..."

"You think too much."

Asuna Yuuki glanced at Asagiri sitting there, a hint of amusement creeping into her voice.

"That guy doesn't even look at you."

Before Iwanaga Kotoko could retaliate, Yuuki Asuna followed up.

"Of course, he also looked down on me and Phantom, because the bride he wanted was a man."

"what?"

Kotoko Iwanaga and Megumi Kato were both completely bewildered upon hearing this.

"That guy...likes men?"

"Do not."

Asuna Yuuki shook her head and explained, unable to suppress a laugh.

"The bride he wants is not a man, but a man turned into a woman. Because of the abuse he suffered in his childhood, he developed a serious psychological illness. He both hates women and pursues them. So he chooses men as his brides and then personally transforms them into women. As for how he transforms them... you should know."

"Ah this..."

Seeing Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato staring at him, suppressing their laughter, Asagiri chuckled and said in a calm tone.

"Go ahead and laugh. If I really get cut off, you won't have any use for me anymore."

The three girls reacted differently to these words.

Asuna Yuuki blushed and spat lightly, muttering under her breath.

"He's making dirty jokes again..."

Kato Megumi, on the other hand, remained calm and indifferent, simply making a sarcastic remark in a flat tone.

"I've never used this before either..."

Kotoko Iwanaga's expression changed, as if she had heard the most terrifying thing in the world. She clenched her fist and waved it, her expression so firm that it was unshakable.

"No way! That guy... I absolutely cannot allow him to lay a finger on my treasure! I will risk everything to protect what is most important to me!"

"You always seem to get all worked up over the most inexplicable things..."

Asuna Yuuki shook her head helplessly and sighed.

“We are currently on the third basement level, while Old Huo is in Zone C on the second basement level. We need to go up one level to reach Old Huo’s area, have the Leader take him as a Persona, and then we need to go through the first basement level back to the surface, and then escape from the building above ground. Only in this way can we complete the journey. During this process, we will definitely encounter obstacles from mentally ill people, and we may also encounter the people from headquarters mentioned in the diary. According to the information we have now, they are most likely Blackwatch personnel.”

"Blackwatch..."

Upon hearing this name, even the usually unreliable Kotoko Iwanaga couldn't help but become serious.

The three of them had never personally faced Blackwatch, but just listening to Asagiri's description and discovering clues about the organization's actions in several dungeons was enough to indirectly confirm the terrifying power of this mysterious military organization.

The members of Blackwatch are all elites selected from hundreds of others. Each member possesses formidable combat abilities and is unafraid of fear, confusion, or hesitation. In fact, most members have mental strength high enough to be immune to Alice's exclusive skills.

Such a military organization is far superior to any mobile force of the Special Bureau for Countering Ajin.

"If you follow the normal player's route, you shouldn't encounter the Blackwatch forces. After all, most players would be doomed if they encountered those guys at this stage, without even the ability to fight back."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna Yuuki pursed her lips and said with a serious expression.

"But...we need to find Old Huo along the way, which means we won't be following the usual player's route, right?"

Asagiri nodded slightly: "Yes."

Sensing that the atmosphere had become somewhat heavy, Kato Megumi suddenly spoke softly.

"It's just Blackwatch, it can be destroyed in the blink of an eye, no need to worry unnecessarily."