Chapter 359: You'll Understand Later
"Human?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, Yuuki Asuna and the others all showed expressions of disbelief.
"How could humans turn into this..."
"I'm not sure, but..."
Asagiri felt the pulse of the blood vessels with his palm and spoke softly.
"The pulse frequency is similar to that of a sleeping human. And haven't you noticed? It's only seven o'clock in the evening. The scenery outside has become this ominous, and the elevator has stopped running. A considerable number of guests should have noticed something was wrong and fled downward through the stairwell, but we haven't encountered anyone on the way down."
"You mean..."
Kato Megumi looked at the black metal coffin and pursed her lips.
"All the ordinary people in Kyoto City have turned into this?"
"We'll know if we check."
After saying this, Asagiri went straight into the corridor on that floor, kicked open the door of a guest room, and after seeing that there was also a black metal coffin where the bed should have been, he returned to the stairwell.
"There's one of these things in the guest room too. It seems they really are people."
"All the people in an entire city have turned into this... How on earth was this done..."
Iwanaga Kotoko looked at the black metal coffin leaning against the wall of the fire escape, her eyes involuntarily revealing vigilance.
Among the five members of the squad, she was the one who understood Cursed phenomena best.
Precisely because of that, she felt a chill run down her spine at this moment.
To be able to turn all the people in Kyoto City into this form, just what kind of terrifying power did the source of this phenomenon possess?
...
After leaving the Hotel and arriving on the streets of Kyoto City, what entered Asagiri and the others' eyes were black metal coffins visible everywhere.
On the surface of each coffin, bright red veins like blood vessels pulsed endlessly.
The entire area was silent as a grave.
Under the shroud of scarlet moonlight, the whole city felt unbearably oppressive, enough to make despair rise in one's heart without warning.
"The streets are filled with coffins... Each coffin represents a person within Kyoto City..."
Iwanaga Kotoko leaned close to the surface of a black coffin, observing it while muttering to herself.
"Hint: This city is connected by blood vessels, and the end of the blood vessels is the Heart... Do the blood vessels refer to the ones on these coffins? But these things aren't connected to anything at all, so how can there be an end..."
"There is a place they connect to."
Asagiri walked to Iwanaga Kotoko's side, crouched down, pointed at the bottom of the upright coffins, and spoke softly.
"All the black coffins are connected to the city itself."
"Hmm? Not connected to each other, but connected to the city..."
A look of sudden realization appeared in Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes, and she nodded slightly.
"From that perspective, indeed, all the black coffins are connected to Kyoto City. After all, ordinary people don't have the ability to float in midair... But what would happen if, at the moment of transforming into a black coffin, someone happened to be in a state where their feet were off the ground? Would the resulting black coffin float in midair? Or would it automatically fall back to the ground? There are too many questions to consider, and time..."
Although Iwanaga Kotoko's tone was calm, she knew in her heart that they needed to hurry.
The time limit for this Dungeon was only twelve hours.
It seemed there were no fixed goals required for clearing it. Even if they did not solve any so-called objective, once the time limit ended, those Players from other worlds would be able to clear it and leave.
However, she, Asagiri, and Yuuki Asuna were all Players living in this world.
If some powerful Cursed existence had truly appeared within Kyoto City, the situation would become extremely dire.
"Wait."
Thinking of this, Iwanaga Kotoko suddenly realized something.
"Kyoto City is considered a major city, so there must be quite a few Players here. What is the status of those Players right now? Have they turned into black coffins like ordinary people, or are they still conscious like us and the Players from other worlds participating in the Dungeon?"
Asagiri pondered for a moment before replying.
"If we follow the conventions of a normal reincarnation game, where the system applies some kind of protective aura that grants immunity to curses to Players participating in the Dungeon, then it should be the former. But according to our Game system... I think it's highly likely to be the latter. After all, it has never shown the power to directly interfere with reality or the Players themselves."
"In other words, even though those Players in Kyoto City aren't participating in the Dungeon, they could still act as our assistants..."
Yuuki Asuna frowned slightly, looking at the dim surroundings illuminated only by the hazy dark red moonlight, and sighed softly.
"But Kyoto City is so large, and without communication devices, how are we supposed to gather all the Players together?"
Asagiri glanced at Kato Megumi, who was standing there, considering whether to use the new ability she had awakened last time, Dawn, but immediately dismissed the idea.
The maximum effective range of Dawn was one kilometer.
This range was exaggerated for pulling monsters, but given the land area of Kyoto City and the total number of Players, let alone one kilometer, there might not even be other Players within a five or even ten kilometer radius.
Furthermore, considering it would consume a large amount of Kato Megumi's mental energy, this was really not a wise choice.
Among the five members of the team, none of them specialized in perception.
Even if there were, with the current perception abilities of Players, trying to search for other Players in such a large area would be no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.
Just then, Kato Megumi suddenly spoke in a soft tone.
"I have a way."
Immediately afterward, she took out an item resembling a quiver from her inventory.
[Flash Quiver (Item, Blue Excellent Quality): A quiver containing five flash arrows. When the flash arrows explode, they will release an extremely piercing, highly penetrating light.]
Kato Megumi tucked her long black hair behind her ear, a smile appearing on her lips as she spoke.
"This was given to me by Ashikaga-sensei a while ago. It's an item obtained through trading with other Player factions. I didn't expect it to come in handy at a time like this, but..."
Kato Megumi looked at Asagiri and asked softly,
"Are you sure you want to use this? In weather this dim, the light will definitely be very conspicuous. We don't know if the ones attracted will be Players from our world or Players from other worlds. There is a certain amount of risk."
"It doesn't matter which world the Players are from."
Asagiri looked up at the red moon in the sky and spoke slowly.
"Those who come will be Players with absolute confidence in their strength. That alone is enough."
Just as Asagiri said, this Dungeon had no mandatory goals to complete.
Therefore, at this early point in the Dungeon, Players who noticed the light blooming in the sky and chose to take the initiative to come to this area would surely be those confident in their own strength and seeking the highest possible Dungeon clearance rating.
"Alright then."
Kato Megumi nodded, then took out her Nightingale Blood Crying Bow.
She pulled an arrow from the Flash Quiver, placed it on the bowstring, and shot it straight into the sky.
"Bang!"
The flash arrow exploded at a height of more than three hundred meters above the ground.
In an instant, a piercing light bloomed, illuminating the surrounding area as bright as day.
And it did not last for only an instant. It continued for nearly ten seconds before the light gradually dissipated.
"What now? Should we just wait here?"
Hearing Yuuki Asuna's question, Asagiri glanced at Yamauchi Sakura standing there and spoke in a flat tone.
"March's physical fitness is too weak, and she has no direct combat ability, so she will stay here and wait with me. Necro is an expert on Cursed events, and this Dungeon seems to be Cursed type, so you three should go investigate together and see if you can find any useful clues. As for the time... meet back here in a few hours."
"OK."
They were currently inside a Dungeon.
Even Iwanaga Kotoko, who was most prone to jealousy and usually the least serious, would not throw a tantrum at a time like this just because Asagiri was alone with Yamauchi Sakura.
The Dungeon time limit was only twelve hours, and every minute and second was extremely precious.
Splitting into two groups, one to explore and one to wait in this area for the Players attracted by the signal, was the most efficient action plan.
After Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko left, Yamauchi Sakura looked at Asagiri, who was standing there, and smiled in a relaxed manner.
"U... no, that's not right. Shadow, where are we waiting? Just by the side of the street?"
Asagiri scanned the surroundings and pointed to the rooftop of a building about four or five stories high by the street.
"Let's go there."
Yamauchi Sakura nodded, skipped over to Asagiri, revealed a pretty and cute smile, and stretched out her arms.
"Then please take care of me~"
"You're welcome."
Just as Yamauchi Sakura had mentally prepared herself to be carried bridal style, and even felt vaguely expectant, Asagiri made a move completely outside her expectations.
He simply hoisted her directly onto his shoulder, even making a sound as though he were exerting himself to carry a sack of cement.
"One, two, three, let's go."
The next second, Asagiri had already flown to the rooftop of the building and set Yamauchi Sakura down.
"What?"
Noticing the stunned expression on Yamauchi Sakura's face, Asagiri smiled and said,
"You still wanted me to carry you bridal style?"
Her inner thoughts exposed, Yamauchi Sakura waved her hands with a slightly flushed face.
"No, no."
"Piggyback?"
"Also... no."
"Then could it be some extremely questionable carrying method?"
"Huh? What kind of carrying method is that?"
Seeing Yamauchi Sakura's curious look, Asagiri merely shook his head enigmatically, gently placed his hand on her shoulder, and spoke very seriously.
"You'll understand later."
.....
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