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

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Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's question, Asagiri stood up and replied calmly.

"This guy was a madman in life, and after death he became an evil spirit that can't feel pain and only has twisted desires. Although he has thoughts and can speak, we can't communicate with him. Even if we can get information from him, we can't be sure if it's true or false. Information that we can't judge will only interfere with us and is completely meaningless."

64

Chapter 64: The oppressive humanoid armored vehicle.

Upon hearing this, Kato Megumi tentatively inquired.

Is he mentally ill?

As soon as Kato Megumi asked the question, she saw her three teammates, Iwanaga Kotoko, Asagiri, and Yuuki Asuna, all looking at her speechlessly. She was stunned for a moment and hesitated.

"Um...why is everyone looking at me like that?"

While Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga were still figuring out how to phrase their sentences, Asagiri had already spoken frankly.

"He's holding a human head and gnawing on it, how can he be a normal person? Don't ask such a stupid question, your cuteness isn't just about being naturally naive."

"Oh, that's true..."

Kato Megumi replied somewhat embarrassedly, but immediately regained her composure. The speed at which she switched her demeanor made one wonder if she had been deliberately acting silly and cute.

"Violet's attack just now also hit the head, but it didn't kill this guy directly. Was it because the damage area was not large enough? Or is it because her weapon doesn't have the special property of completely eliminating spirits?"

Asuna Yuuki's rapier's flashing light greatly enhances the power of her sword skills, unlike the exorcist's longsword, which has the special ability to eliminate spirits or strange beings.

However, thanks to the presence of Kotoko Iwanaga and Asagiri, she doesn't usually need to deliver the fatal blow to the monsters. Even in bizarre dungeons like this one, where all the enemies are monsters, she can switch to the exorcist's longsword at any time.

"Was it really eradicated? Let's put that question aside for now."

Asagiri shook her head, speaking calmly.

"I just sensed it through the Human Asura. Although this guy looks skinny, he possesses extremely terrifying power, which is close to that of a Human Asura. If it were only the Human Asura, it would probably be difficult to suppress him."

"Um……"

Kotoko Iwanaga raised her hand to adjust her beret, and to conserve her mental energy, she directly dispersed the black particles of her human form before speaking thoughtfully.

“I just tried to sense it, and this man is indeed an anomaly, but his aura is slightly different. Hmm... Leader, just like the mountain god you met before, it seems to be bound to this area.”

Asuna Yuuki pursed her lips, her tone becoming cautious.

"Is it... is it one of those legendary earthbound spirits?"

“A bound spirit? No, no, no, that’s not it at all.”

Kotoko Iwanaga, an expert on the supernatural, explained earnestly after hearing the question posed by Asuna Yuuki.

"Most earthbound spirits are very weak. They cannot directly touch a human's body, let alone cause any harm. Even those earthbound spirits with strong resentment can only suddenly jump out to scare humans, causing them to accidentally fall. It is because earthbound spirits are not very powerful that they are called 'spirits'. The guy just now could be called a 'ghost'."

"Is there any essential difference between 'spirit' and 'ghost'..."

When this topic came up, Asuna Yuuki subconsciously moved closer to Asagiri, and her voice even trembled slightly.

"Look at you, so cowardly."

Kotoko Iwanaga looked disappointed in Yuuki Asuna, first mocking her before offering her explanation.

"The so-called 'spirits' refer to those strange things that exist outside the real world and may be seen by humans under certain special circumstances. Special circumstances refer to entering the area of ​​earthbound spirits and coming into contact with objects that are tainted by the obsession of 'spirits'. 'Ghosts' are different. 'Ghosts' are incredibly powerful and can directly harm or even kill humans."

"So that's it."

After listening to Kotoko Iwanaga's explanation, Asuna Yuuki nodded.

She finally understood that what she feared was not "ghosts," but rather the weaker "spirits."

In other words, as long as her health bar is up, Asuna Yuuki isn't afraid; she's only afraid of those elusive, ghostly things that appear and disappear.

"But there's one thing I don't quite understand."

Kotoko Iwanaga's thoughts raced as she murmured to herself.

"When you were in the newbie dungeon, that blood-faced caregiver named Hoddle Franklin didn't show any malice towards you two as humans, which doesn't fit the image of a 'ghost,' but it wasn't the kind of ethereal, blurry spirit... That's really strange..."

"Let's investigate the strangest place first."

Asagiri walked to the metal pot and opened it, only to find that inside was still that half-cooked, rotten human head.

"The head that the demon was carrying disappeared along with it, but the head inside the container remained the same. It's almost like..."

"An endless loop?"

Kato Megumi pursed her lips, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"If it really is a cycle, then wouldn't that mean..."

Just as Kato Megumi was halfway through her sentence, Iwanaga Kotoko suddenly spoke up.

"Something is approaching here. Judging from its aura, it's the same guy from before."

"Knew it."

Asagiri gave a faint reply, then walked to the kitchen doorway. When the kitchen door was kicked open again, he looked at the gaunt man outside who was carrying a human head and seemed quite surprised by his appearance, and smiled slightly.

"Surprise?"

The next second, the rope dart in Asagiri's hand pierced through the head of the emaciated man. This time, it didn't even have time to say its entrance lines or the head-biting entrance animation before turning into dark red blood and dissipating. This scene was almost like a player exploiting a bug, charging up and slashing while the monster was still in its entrance animation.

"solve."

"It really is an infinite loop, and judging from that guy's expression, he doesn't even seem to realize it himself."

Kotoko Iwanaga walked to Asagiri's side, observing the room outside as she spoke thoughtfully.

"This situation can no longer be explained by individual anomalies... I have encountered this phenomenon before, and perhaps this Giant Mountain Mental Hospital itself is an anomaly."

"Is it inherently strange?"

"Correct."

Kotoko Iwanaga carefully followed Asagiri outside, explaining patiently as she went.

"You've probably heard these things in your lives, right? Like a haunted house, or a certain area where you can't get out once you enter. Although most of these rumors are false, a small portion of them are true. That is, the entire area becomes the source of the strangeness for some reason, and the ghosts and spirits are just the manifestations of the strangeness. The real source of the eeriness is the area itself."

Kato Megumi asked curiously upon hearing this.

Why does this phenomenon occur?

"There are many reasons, such as rumors, public opinion, or the fact that it was built in a mass grave or ancient battlefield, which attracted a lot of resentment and caused it to be assimilated. Without clues, we cannot draw a conclusion."

After Iwanaga Kotoko finished speaking, Asagiri then spoke up.

"From a game perspective, that guy wasn't very strong. Ordinary players might not be able to defeat him, but escaping from him shouldn't be too difficult. This might be the first test of this dungeon, putting players into a tense state before they start looking for a way to escape."

Both Asagiri and Kotoko Iwanaga are good at analysis, but their ways of thinking are completely different. Kotoko Iwanaga analyzes the truth behind the layers of clues from her own perspective, using a detective-like mindset. Asagiri, on the other hand, starts from the perspective of the player and the game, and thinks more about the purpose of the system's test and what abilities the system wants to test through this dungeon, thereby predicting the dangers that may be faced next.

This dungeon is different from the previous ones. From the moment you officially enter the dungeon to when that withered demon bursts into the room, it takes less than a minute. Even the previous demi-human dungeon didn't put this kind of pressure on players right from the start.

"This is way too dark..."

The moment they stepped into the outer hall, the four members of the team were plunged into darkness. For some reason, even though there were no lights in the room, the outer hall was even darker. They couldn't tell what was around them; it seemed to be furniture like metal cabinets, but the blurry outlines resembled restless ghosts.

Asuna Yuuki pursed her lips, her eyes showing nervousness. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Asagiri say softly.

"Shh, be quiet."

A few seconds later, a strange sound broke the deathly silence in the dark hall.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."

The moment the sound rang out, even the ground trembled slightly, as if someone were striking a wall with a heavy hammer, but upon closer listening, it sounded somewhat like the footsteps of some kind of monster.

"Huh...huh..."

The footsteps stopped not far from the four people, followed by muffled breathing sounds like a blower.

Although they couldn't see the source of the sound, the four members of the team were certain, just by listening to the heavy footsteps and breathing, that the source of the sound was definitely not human.

"Clap."

Just then, a bright light suddenly appeared in the hall.

On the other side, a tall, burly man wearing a judo uniform, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, slowly placed a small electric lamp on the ground. The sudden light finally allowed Asagiri and the others to see the full appearance of the thing that was making the breathing sound.

A tall, bald man, at least 2.05 meters tall, with bulging muscles and veins on his arms that looked like wriggling worms, a large belly, and skin that was so burly it was beyond human comprehension, stood quietly in the center of the hall.

"Hmm? Are there any other players?"

The man in the judo uniform saw Asagiri and the others standing there, frowned slightly, and spoke in an unfriendly tone.

"I don't need your help. Don't cause any trouble, or I'll kill you all too."

When Asagiri and Asuna Yuuki saw the bald monster that looked like a mountain of flesh, they both recalled the name they had seen in the newbie dungeon.

Project 136: Chris Walker, nicknamed "Human Armored Vehicle," is bloodthirsty, possesses terrifying destructive power, and has skin as tough as armor plating, making him extremely dangerous.

This……

This is just a description of him as a human before he transformed into a monster.

65

Chapter 65: The Chase.

"call……"

The man with the buzz cut and wearing a judo uniform let out a long sigh of relief. The muscles in his arms suddenly bulged, and the originally wide sleeves of his judo uniform were stretched out by his bulging muscles. On his neck, there were also obvious blue veins.

Judging from his posture, he was clearly a professionally trained individual.

"Oh, so you're a fighter. No wonder you're so confident."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Yuuki Asuna and the others recalled the type of people Ashikaga Miwa had mentioned before.

Fighters are individuals who specialize in martial arts competitions organized by various companies, much like boxers or kickboxers. However, the existence of fighters is more secretive, and most ordinary people are unaware of the existence of fighters and martial arts competitions. In Ashikaga Miwa's view, martial arts competitions represent two large companies betting their chips to determine the winner through a duel, a competition with a strong samurai style, and fighters are equivalent to samurai.

In Asagiri's view, just as he once said, gladiators are nothing more than wild beasts fighting each other in beast fighting competitions, existing only to provide entertainment for the upper class.

Regardless of which view is correct, the strength of a fighter is indeed much greater than that of an ordinary person. Even the most ordinary fighter can take on seven or eight strong adult men at the same time.

Clearly, this burly man with a buzz cut and wearing a judo uniform is a former fighter, and he has also received system rewards to enhance his abilities. No wonder he is so confident, and he did not back down even when facing the terrifying mountain of flesh, Chris Walker.

"product!"

As Chris Walker walked towards him step by step, the buzz-cut man's right arm swelled even more, to the point that it tore his sleeve. This was beyond human capabilities, and the only explanation was that he possessed a skill that enhanced his own type.

The next second, a bright light emerged from his right arm, and Kotoko Iwanaga frowned slightly upon seeing this.

"A skill with the Holy attribute? This is the first time I've ever seen one like this..."

"Holy Fist!"

The man with the buzz cut let out a roar and rushed towards Chris Walker. His muscles bulged exaggeratedly, and his right fist, shrouded in a holy light, caused the surrounding air to distort slightly.

"boom!!!"

A dull thud echoed throughout the hall.

"No... how could this be..."

The man with the buzz cut looked down at his right wrist, whose internal bones were broken and bent at an odd angle. Then he saw the mountain of flesh in front of him, completely still and without even a mark on its abdomen. His expression froze.

The next second, Chris Walker reached out and grabbed the buzz-cut man's head with his other hand, while pressing down on his shoulder. With the ease of pulling off a pencil cap, he ripped the buzz-cut man's head off his neck and casually tossed it aside.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The sound of a head rolling gently on the wooden floor, the flickering light from the electric lamp that suddenly began to flash for some reason, and Chris Walker's chilling figure, like a mountain of flesh, made the scene before me even more eerie.

“Leader…”

Asuna Yuuki looked at Chris Walker, who slowly turned around and stared intently at them, and asked softly.

"What should we do now?"

"Collapse, retreat, sell, slip away."

Upon hearing Asagiri's order, Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko immediately understood, and the next second, they followed Asagiri and ran towards the other side of the hall.

Before the four of them could run a few meters, Chris Walker's heavy footsteps sounded behind them. They didn't even need to turn around to know that the other party was chasing them.

"Persona, Human Asura!"

Even while fleeing, Asagiri's movements remained calm and graceful.