Chapter 71: Monster in Human Form
"That's true…"
Asuna hesitated for a beat, then looked to Asagiri. "Leader, what do you think?"
"Let's do what Phantom suggested." Asagiri nodded casually. "Don't worry. If anything unexpected happens when the door opens, I'll use Kings Gambit immediately."
Asuna frowned. "Kings Gambit would keep Phantom safe, but after you swap places, won't you take the Special Infected's attack?"
"Wrong. Completely wrong." Asagiri waved a hand and corrected her with exaggerated seriousness. "It's the Special Infected that'll be taking my attack."
Asuna's words got stuck in her throat. She remembered what she had seen back in the Shuchiin Academy gym.
…Yeah. That actually checked out.
Asagiri's base physical condition was already at a professional athlete level. And with the Persona Human Asura equipped, he gained an additional passive boost. Put that together and he really was a human shaped monster.
If it came down to close quarters with a Special Infected, the one at a disadvantage probably wouldn't be him.
"Then we'll do it that way," Asuna said. She turned to Kotoko and emphasized with a serious expression, "If something really happens, you must…"
"No need to remind me." Kotoko cut in, eyes blazing with determination. "Even if my prosthetic legs explode, I absolutely won't let him get hurt!"
Asuna sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I was telling you to remember to use your skill in time. It consumes mental strength. What does that have to do with your prosthetics? How deep is your obsession with those things breaking?"
Hearing them bicker, Megumi, who had been tense and forcing herself to stay brave, couldn't help relaxing a little. A gentle smile slipped onto her face.
"Then I'll open the door."
With that, Megumi activated her talent and walked toward the heavy fire door step by step.
The crying continued on the other side, soaking the corridor in a cold, inexplicable gloom.
Megumi stopped in front of the door, drew a steadying breath, and slowly placed her hand on the handle. Then she turned it with careful precision.
Click.
The latch gave with a faint sound. Megumi pulled the door open inch by inch. Even though she had prepared herself, the scene beyond still made her breath catch.
A woman knelt on the dim floor outside.
She wore only underwear. Blood stained her skin. Her body was so thin her ribs stood out, like she had been starved for weeks. Long hair hung over her face as she covered herself with both hands, sobbing nonstop.
And her hands…
Her nails were blade like, nearly ten centimeters long, blackish red from dried blood.
Megumi held her breath, not daring to make a sound.
Behind her, the other three stayed perfectly still.
One second. Two. Three.
Nearly ten seconds passed before Megumi eased the door fully open.
The kneeling woman never looked up. She didn't react at all. She just kept crying, producing that strange, scraping sob.
"Get ready…" Asuna whispered, about to remind Kotoko to prepare.
Then a harsh electrical crackle hissed through the B1 corridor.
The next second, the dim hallway flickered with several brief flashes of light.
The instant the light stuttered, the kneeling woman jerked like she had been shocked. She snapped her head up, and everyone saw it clearly.
Those weren't tears.
Two streams of dark red blood ran from her eyes.
Her gaze locked onto Megumi.
A shriek burst from her throat, sharp and insane.
"Kings Gambit!"
Asagiri didn't hesitate. In the same instant, he swapped positions with Megumi.
Then he moved.
No pause. No flourish. Just a simple, brutally effective stepping side kick that slammed into the woman's shriveled chest.
With his enhanced physique, the strike carried terrifying force. The Special Infected had barely finished winding up her attack when she was sent flying like a kite with a snapped string, smashing into the B1 wall with a dull, heavy thud.
Ding a ling.
Asagiri's metal chain slid against his forearm as he drew his equipment, the Cursed Vampiric Rope Dart.
In the same breath, he snapped his arm forward.
The Rope Dart shot out and punched straight through the Special Infected's brow. The impact was so violent that more than half the blade buried itself in her skull.
"Solved."
Only after Asagiri spoke did Asuna, Kotoko, and Megumi fully react. They hurried over, only to find the thin, disheveled Special Infected lying on the floor, completely still.
Asuna and the others stared.
…That was it?
Kotoko hadn't even needed to use her skill. Asuna hadn't needed to coordinate an attack. In less than two seconds, Asagiri had solo killed it.
No. That wasn't even a kill.
That was an instant execution.
Asagiri stood over the corpse with a solemn expression, as if paying respects at a grave.
"What a formidable opponent," he said gravely. "Perhaps I will never forget you for the rest of my life."
He paused, eyes heavy.
"Underwear exhibitionist."
Asuna's eye twitched. "…Can we stop giving every enemy a weird nickname while looking like you're delivering a funeral speech? Are you building some kind of cursed illustration book collection?"
"Illustration book collection?" Asagiri's expression shifted like someone had flipped a switch.
He slowly looked over Megumi, Asuna, and Kotoko. A smile spread across his face.
"If that's the case, then you three are my starter Pokémon."
Asuna: "…"
Asagiri crouched, grabbed the chain, and dragged the corpse closer. He pulled the Rope Dart out from between the creature's eyebrows, wiped off the gore with a practiced motion, then put away his grin and spoke flatly.
"Besides the sharp claws, the bones in this thing's skull were reinforced. I thought with my strength and a purple excellent quality weapon, I'd pierce through the entire head."
He sighed, sounding genuinely regretful.
"My strength is still not enough."
Asuna didn't know what to say.
She was a combat class Swordsman, but her kit clearly leaned toward speed and agility. To her, throwing a Rope Dart one handed from several meters away and crushing a Special Infected's skull like that wasn't "not enough."
It was not human.
"Based on the average strength of Players at this stage," Kotoko said, studying the corpse, "it's almost impossible to get past that Special Infected and reach B1 through this route. Unless they took another path, like climbing down an elevator shaft to avoid it."
Megumi's gaze sharpened. "You mean… because getting into B1 is too hard, so hard that ordinary Players can't realistically do it, the antibody reagent probably isn't stored here?"
"Yes." Kotoko nodded. "The Dungeons in this game don't create challenges that are impossible at this stage."
She glanced down the corridor, as if feeling for something unseen, then adjusted her beret with a small smile.
"But if you look at it from another angle…"
Her smile turned a little playful.
"Besides the basic clear conditions, these Dungeons also set up hidden reward stages. They're for Players like us, the kind who are far stronger than ordinary Players and can clear objectives easily."
Kotoko tilted her head. "B1, where this morgue is, looks exactly like that kind of reward stage."
Asagiri's eyes lit up instantly. "Reward? Then I'm going for it right now."
Asuna's expression hardened. "Are you really just here to play the game? If it's a hidden stage with valuable rewards, then the danger will probably be way above the Dungeon's stated difficulty."
She tightened her grip on her sword.
"We explore, but we stay alert and we move carefully."
…
Five minutes later, the four of them stepped into a morgue.
It was dim. The air was cold in a way that didn't feel natural. An eerie chill clung to the space, raising goosebumps along Asuna's arms.
Metal storage cabinets lined both sides of the room, towering and oppressive.
Asuna remained at the doorway, forcing her voice to stay steady even as it trembled.
"Y you guys search. I'll… I'll stand guard here."
"So timid," Kotoko teased softly, covering her lips as she laughed. "How cute."
She walked up to the metal cabinets without hesitation. Instead of opening them immediately, she leaned in to observe the surfaces, then called out.
"Leader, come look at this."
Asagiri approached.
Most of the cabinets had sticky notes slapped onto the outside.
And on one of them, written with harsh clarity, was a line that made the temperature feel even colder.
[Special Infected: Witch]
[Characteristics: Mostly women who kneel in place and cry nonstop. A small number of special types will wander within a set area. Extremely sensitive to light and sound. Once provoked, they enter a state of madness and attack all moving creatures indiscriminately.]
[Strengths: Higher defense than ordinary infected. Extremely high strength in mutated hands. Even bullets cannot penetrate. Once a target is locked, it will pursue relentlessly.]
[Weaknesses: Low strength and speed. Unlike other Special Infected, completely lacks any ability to think.]
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