Chapter 199: Sakurakawa Rikka's Cooperation
"What in the world are you even talking about...?"
Hearing Asagiri's refusal, the Doctor looked even more incredulous.
"We are Black Watch! Do you even know what kind of organization we are? Do you understand what kind of existence Black Watch is...?"
"Tch."
Asagiri shook his head, his voice dripping with mockery and contempt.
"Isn't it just some military armed organization?"
"Military armed organization? As expected, you know nothing at all."
The Doctor's face twisted with disdain as he spoke at once.
"Black Watch is not something so simple. Our goal is to achieve the evolution of the entire human race through scientific methods such as genetic engineering and mechanical modification, while also bringing supernatural powers under control. In the end, we will wrest control of this world back from the anomalies. We are a great organization born for the salvation of the world!"
"Oh, I see."
Asagiri nodded as if enlightened, then let out a quiet laugh.
"But now, aren't you just a ghost trapped inside Kyozan Mental Hospital, forever unable to leave? What a failed experiment."
"Failed? You're saying I failed!?"
The Doctor's eyes went bloodshot as he roared.
"I did not fail! I merely chose to become the overseer of this area!"
"Ah, how foolish."
Iwanaga Kotoko curled her lips into a smile.
"A little provocation was all it took, and you spilled everything. Black Watch really is foolish enough to put someone like you in charge of this bizarre area."
"Huh? Y you... you were tricking me on purpose?"
Only then did the Doctor realize what had happened. He clawed at his own face with both hands, scratching deep enough to expose bone. His eyes were utterly twisted.
"I... I actually fell for that... No, that's not me. That shouldn't be me..."
"Do you really think the power of the anomalies is so easy to control?"
Iwanaga Kotoko raised her cane and pointed it at the Doctor. A rare seriousness appeared on her face.
"Humans are humans, and the anomalies are the anomalies. Did you think that just because you did not undergo the experiment yourself, your soul would remain untouched? The moment you chose to become something strange, the moment you crossed that boundary, your soul was already completely twisted. You do not even realize that you long since lost your reason and became a monster driven by warped desires."
A look of undisguised disgust appeared in Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes.
"Stay here until your soul rots away completely."
As the four of them turned and headed up the stairs, the Doctor's face grew more and more contorted. He stretched out a hand toward them as if he had gone mad.
"No, don't go! Tell me... tell me!"
He extended that withered hand, but the instant it crossed the boundary between the stairs and the ground, it began to twist violently, then crumbled away like ash.
"No... my experiment..."
...
On the other side, after passing the bend in the stairwell, Yuuki Asuna, who was walking at the front, soon saw a tightly shut fire door. Beside it was a sign marked [B1].
"Wait."
Just as Yuuki Asuna was about to continue upward, Iwanaga Kotoko reached out with her cane and gently tapped her shoulder, frowning deeply.
"Behind that door... there's an extremely powerful strange aura. Stronger than Twin, stronger than Chris Walker, stronger than the Groom and the Doctor combined."
"Huh?"
Hearing that, both Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi changed expression. Asagiri, however, merely smiled as if he had expected it.
"No wonder. So Floor B1 is the boss fight. That explains why there was a safe space left for us to rest and recover."
"Safe space?"
"Yeah."
Asagiri casually pointed at the stairs under his feet.
"This fire escape staircase belongs to neither Floor B2 nor Floor B1. It just exists in the gap between the two floors. Isn't that the perfect safe space?"
"Now that you mention it... that really does seem to be the case."
Only then did Yuuki Asuna realize it. The evil spirits inside Kyozan Mental Hospital were all like bound spirits tied to their own territories. Unless outside interference was involved, like Asagiri directly throwing Eddie Gluskin downstairs, they could not leave the floors assigned to them.
That meant the stairwell, which existed between B2 and B1 without belonging to either one, was indeed a safe zone that the evil spirits could not casually step into.
"I've already confirmed it."
Asagiri sat back down on the stairs, leaning against the wall.
"The Doctor was riled up enough, yet he still did not chase us up here. That proves the evil spirits cannot enter this place. So we can use this safe zone to rest a little longer."
Hearing that, Yuuki Asuna could not help showing a helpless smile. She adjusted the hem of her light armor, sat down beside Asagiri, and said with a chuckle,
"So you were testing that? I thought you were just arguing with the Doctor because you enjoyed watching him lose his mind."
"That was part of it too, I guess."
Asagiri shrugged indifferently.
"Anyway, let's recover here for a while longer. If other Players make it up here too, then we can decide whether or not to cooperate with them."
"Huh? We're going to work with other Players?"
"When I say cooperate, it'll probably be about the same as last time."
Asagiri explained calmly.
"We still do not know what kind of danger is waiting on the next floor. But we have Phantom's skill, and Necro is not easily targeted by the anomalies. If we move together with other Players, then no matter what happens, we will not be the first targets. From that perspective, even if we bring along a few weak Players, they can still be useful. The enemy's abilities can be exposed through them."
"Mm, I agree."
Yuuki Asuna nodded, then suddenly remembered something. She stared at Asagiri's face and asked hesitantly,
"You... aren't waiting for Miss Sakurakawa Rikka, are you?"
"Don't be jealous."
Asagiri waved a hand, his brows slightly raised, his tone completely righteous.
"I have no interest in her."
Yuuki Asuna looked unconvinced.
"Really?"
Asagiri answered at once,
"Fake. She's actually pretty good looking."
"You..."
Watching Yuuki Asuna and Asagiri bicker, Kato Megumi softly added from the side,
"Our Shadow sama... really is a lustful glutton..."
Yuuki Asuna looked a little speechless.
"Why Shadow sama? Are you really going to call him that...?"
Kato Megumi showed a gentle smile.
"It's not bad if it makes him happy."
Yuuki Asuna rolled her eyes and huffed.
"You and Necro spoil him too much. That's exactly why he's sinking deeper and deeper into abstraction."
Iwanaga Kotoko pouted immediately.
"I don't think he's abstract at all."
"That's right. Your thought processes line up perfectly."
...
Nearly an hour later.
"Hmm?"
A trace of fatigue showed on Sakurakawa Rikka's face as she stepped into the stairwell. The moment she rounded the bend and saw the four familiar figures seated on the steps above, she paused in surprise.
"You... cleared Floor B2 as well?"
"We've been waiting here for quite a while."
Asagiri and the others were not surprised at all that Sakurakawa Rikka was the first Player to arrive after them. They still did not know the exact nature of her ability, but what they could confirm was that it was extremely strong. Coupled with her unwavering composure and outstanding mind, it was only natural that she would be able to break through Floor B2.
"Was it only you? Didn't you run into any other Players along the way?"
"I did."
Sakurakawa Rikka did not hesitate at all. Looking straight at Asagiri with her calm yellow eyes framed by light purple eyeshadow, she said flatly,
"Four Players entered Floor B2 with me. All of them died."
"Did you kill them?"
"No."
Sakurakawa Rikka shook her head.
"They died at the hands of evil spirits."
"Is that so?"
Asagiri responded noncommittally, then stood up from the stairs. Looking down at Sakurakawa Rikka standing below on the landing, he spoke slowly.
"You have two choices now. First, you can stay here and rest, but we are going straight into Floor B1. We will not wait for you to recover."
"Second, you temporarily cooperate with us and enter Floor B1 together. Once B1 is cleared, we go our separate ways. The so called cooperation only means moving together. We do not need your help, and likewise, we will not save you at a critical moment."
"Choose."
Hearing those words, Sakurakawa Rikka lowered her eyes, recalling everything that had happened on Floor B2. A trace of lingering fear could not help surfacing in her mind.
If she had been even a little slower, she would have been dragged into the loop again. Once that happened, she would have returned to the place where she first entered Floor B2. The next cycle would only last ten minutes. And with the other four Players already dead, every evil spirit on that floor would have targeted her alone.
In one sense, Sakurakawa Rikka did possess immortality. But being trapped forever inside such a bizarre area was not life. It was torture.
"I choose cooperation."
She answered at last, then added softly,
"Since we are cooperating, even if only temporarily, and since I already have a rough understanding of the fighting style and ability types of the four of you, then for the sake of fairness, and to build as much understanding as possible so we do not get in each other's way, I will tell you mine as well."
"My combat style and abilities are focused on close combat. If you want to put it in game terms..."
She raised her gaze and calmly finished,
"I'm the main tank."
TL: Check out my newly released fanfic on my second account "FicLord"
Crossover Anime World: Reborn as Abe no Seimei
I didn't know that there's a limit on how many books you can publish here in webnovel
.....
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