Chapter 274: War
At the same time, in a room on the Seventh Floor of the Hotel, Asagiri's eyes gradually shone with golden light.
He looked at Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko, as well as the White Suit Team and Mr. Ichikawa's team standing before him, and spoke softly.
"It has begun."
Hearing Asagiri's words and seeing the golden glow in his black eyes, the three members of Mr. Ichikawa's team and the four members of the White Suit Team all had the same thought.
This guy's ability was far too terrifying.
At first, they had assumed the towering black shadow, the blue-haired twin-tailed girl, and the puppet-like monster with a twisted, eerie face were simply summoned creatures. But now they realized Asagiri's ability was not as simple as summoning.
He could observe through the beings he summoned.
Even though he was currently on the Seventh Floor of the Hotel, he could still see what was happening in the lobby on the First Floor through one of his "summons."
A remote reconnaissance ability like this was absurdly overpowered.
"What's the situation now?" Iwanaga Kotoko asked.
Asagiri observed through Pocket Mita, who was hiding in the lobby on the First Floor, and replied calmly.
"Mm. The Black Watch members were instantly killed."
Yuuki Asuna sighed softly.
"That was expected. After all, the strength of the two sides isn't on the same level…"
"It's not over yet."
Before Yuuki Asuna could finish speaking, Asagiri saw a new change occur on the battlefield in the First Floor lobby through Pocket Mita.
The ground on the First Floor suddenly began to tremble.
Along with a roaring howl, the three Priests and the believers they led turned around. They saw two towering, muscular monsters, their bodies swollen to an exaggerated degree, smash straight through the Hotel walls and force their way inside.
"Tanks… they've finally appeared. Black Watch's biological weapons."
While Asagiri murmured to himself, the cultists and Priests on the First Floor of the Hotel saw the two Tanks break in and immediately reacted.
They simultaneously condensed spheres of flame in their hands and blasted them toward the Tanks.
However, to the cultists' surprise, the Tanks did not dodge at all. Facing the bombardment of fireballs, they simply endured the explosions head on. Then, their massive, sturdy bodies stepped out of the sea of fire.
Although scorch marks had appeared on their bodies, the damage was nowhere near serious.
Each Tank grabbed a believer.
Although the believers' bodies were wrapped in flames, what lay beneath was still flesh and blood. The Tanks' hands clenched with brutal force, directly crushing the believers' bodies. Then, as the flames gradually extinguished, they threw away the mangled flesh and bone fragments in their hands.
"Special Infected with fire resistance… Black Watch really isn't that simple."
All along, Asagiri had wanted to know something.
The biological weapons created by Black Watch, through large-scale virus infections and Cursed zones like Kyozan Mental Hospital, were meant to fight what, exactly?
Now, the answer had been revealed.
In this world filled with Curses, Black Watch was not the only force. There were other factions as well, such as these Fire-Clad Believers who worshipped unknown Gods and could control flames.
And the Tanks, specially modified to possess extremely high fire resistance, were clearly not something ordinary believers could contend with.
The three Priests seemed to realize this as well.
The wide crimson Roman robes they wore began to glow with flames, forming the heavy armor Asagiri had seen before. At the same time, the flame greatswords previously used by the Priest appeared in their hands.
But at that moment, a shriek suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterward, a black shadow shot forward with lightning speed and pounced directly on a Priest holding a flame greatsword.
"Woo… woo… woo…"
As the Special Infected Hunter made its move, a woman's sobbing also echoed through the lobby.
Witch, Charger, and Jockey.
Three different types of Special Infected rapidly broke into the Hotel alongside the Witch and the Tanks.
"So that's it."
Seeing the cultists and Priests begin fighting the Special Infected sent by Black Watch in a brutal scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere, Asagiri's tone remained calm. To let Yuuki Asuna and the others beside him understand the situation, he spoke softly.
"This batch of Special Infected sent by Black Watch has been specially enhanced with fire resistance, whether through Cursed methods or biotechnology. When the commander of that previous unit reported in, Black Watch had already sent reinforcements specifically to deal with this group of Fire-Clad Believers."
After saying that, Asagiri changed the subject.
"However, things probably won't be that simple."
As expected, after a brief moment of panic, the three Priests immediately led the believers to reorganize.
Although the Special Infected had a certain degree of fire resistance, except for the Tanks, whose defense was already astonishingly high, the other Special Infected were not impregnable. Under the continuous scorching of high heat, their skin had completely melted, and their muscles had begun to dissolve.
However, the Infected had no sense of pain. Even if their bodies were incomplete, even if they were cut in half, as long as their heads were not heavily damaged, they could still move.
Although the three Priests were not as large and burly as the Tanks, their strength and defense were far greater. They quickly regained the initiative in the battle.
In just a few minutes, at the cost of five believers, they killed all the Special Infected, including the two Tanks, and burned their corpses with fire.
Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a blinding light suddenly shone from outside the Hotel.
Immediately afterward came a storm of bullets.
"Black Watch has begun its assault."
Seeing that Pocket Mita was at risk of being caught in the crossfire, Asagiri directly canceled the summon. Pocket Mita had little combat power, but if it were destroyed, it would still consume a large amount of his mental and physical strength, just like when Personas such as Human Asura and Crazy Mita were destroyed.
"Who will win?" Yuuki Asuna asked.
Asagiri only replied noncommittally.
"It's hard to say. Black Watch has the advantage in numbers and tactics, but the lineup of three Priests plus twenty-seven… no, now it's twenty-two. Three Priests plus twenty-two Fire-Clad Believers is also extremely terrifying. No matter who wins in the end, there's only one thing we need to ensure."
"Understood."
The Fox Mask Woman, wearing her mask, nodded and spoke calmly.
"I've set up a perception barrier on the Sixth Floor. I can sense anything that passes through it. As long as we make sure that group of believers doesn't reach the floors above the Twenty-fourth Floor and come into contact with that 'God,' we can keep them fighting Black Watch. That way, we maintain a relatively balanced situation for the remaining hour or so of the Dungeon, right?"
"Yes, that's the plan. As for killing Black Watch members and believers to gain more Dungeon clearance rating points…"
Asagiri glanced at the martial artist Player, then at the three members of Mr. Ichikawa's team, and spoke bluntly.
"Mr. Ichikawa's team lacks strength, and the martial artist in your team is in very poor condition. If he uses Pre-borrow again, he might die on the spot. Mr. Ichikawa's side should be able to get at least an A-level evaluation, and you four will definitely get S+. There's no need to take risks for extra Dungeon clearance rating points."
"But…"
Just as the Fox Mask Woman was about to ask something, the White Suit Man placed a hand on his teammate's shoulder. He looked at Asagiri, nodded, and smiled.
"Understood. Thank you for the reminder. If we have the chance to meet in a Dungeon again, I hope we can cooperate like this next time too."
The White Suit Man was both intelligent and emotionally perceptive.
He had already realized the important information Asagiri was conveying.
Because his team and Mr. Ichikawa's team were both in poor condition, it was best not to take risks for additional Dungeon clearance rating points.
But speaking of being in poor condition…
Wasn't Asagiri's team the same?
Kato Megumi's mental and physical strength had not fully recovered. Iwanaga Kotoko's mental strength was also depleted. Most importantly, although Yuuki Asuna's right arm had been healed by the Healer, it had not fully recovered, and she was still unable to grip her sword properly in battle.
So why did these four still dare to take such a risk?
There were two explanations.
The first was that Asagiri was exaggerating the danger. Perhaps there was not much risk at all, and he simply wanted to take the other three members of his team and monopolize the extra Dungeon clearance rating points.
But based on the nearly three days the White Suit Man had spent interacting with Asagiri, he did not think the latter was the kind of insidious person who would use such petty tricks.
Then only one explanation remained.
Even now, even after so many battles, these four Players still had trump cards left.
Because they still had trump cards, they dared to take risks.
And some things were better understood than spoken aloud.
Although they had cooperated in this Dungeon, the White Suit Man would certainly not be foolish enough to ask what Asagiri's team's trump cards were. That would only cause the other party's dissatisfaction and disgust.
After the White Suit Team and Mr. Ichikawa's team left the room, Asagiri finally looked at Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko, revealing a smile.
"So, next…"
"Let's start planning the final battle of this Dungeon."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]