Chapter 432: The Battlefield Symbolizing Despair
"Four Nyx Incarnations, all gathered in the same world?"
The moment she saw the system prompt, Iwanaga Kotoko spoke to Asagiri without hesitation.
"Abandon this operation. We can kill Shido Masayoshi after he returns to the real world."
"This is clearly a trap. Even if fighting him in the real world causes casualties or leaves behind evidence, those risks are negligible compared to deliberately stepping into Nyx's trap and facing four Incarnations at once."
"I agree with Kotoko."
Yuuki Asuna nodded.
"We would be fighting on enemy territory against four Nyx Incarnations, along with whatever traps it has prepared in advance. There are far too many unfavorable factors."
"We share the same opinion."
Kaguya Shinomiya glanced at Fujiwara Chika and Hayasaka Ai. Seeing their expressions, she knew that both of her teammates agreed.
She turned back to Asagiri and spoke gently.
"Let's deal with Shido Masayoshi in the real world."
"No."
To everyone's surprise, even after all of them voiced their opposition, Asagiri calmly shook his head.
"I have a feeling that Nyx gathered all four Incarnations in one world not merely to guard against our arrival, but to carry out some kind of plan."
"I don't want to give it any more time to develop. And..."
Asagiri swept his gaze across the girls present before slowly continuing.
"Nyx cannot directly interfere with our world because it lacks the necessary medium."
"But now, it has one."
Iwanaga Kotoko frowned deeply. A grave light appeared in her silk purple eyes.
"Are you saying... Shido Masayoshi?"
"Yes."
Asagiri nodded slightly, his voice devoid of emotional fluctuation.
"If Shido Masayoshi obtains some power granted by Nyx, or even becomes one of Nyx's Incarnations and returns to our world, we cannot predict what will happen."
"It might simply make him harder to kill."
"But it could also open a passage connecting our world to the Blackwatch world."
"Imagine if all the Cursed entities from that world descended here, along with most of the Blackwatch members controlled by Nyx, the Special Infected, Blacklight Virus fusers, the monsters from that island, and Nyx's true form..."
"Then it's all over," Kato Megumi said softly.
"Even we wouldn't be able to prevent the end of the world."
"And most importantly..."
Asagiri rose from the sofa, golden light radiating from his black eyes.
"I don't want to give Nyx any more time to grow."
"Likewise, it doesn't want to give me any more opportunities to become stronger."
"The key battle that will determine the final outcome of this Game will take place in this Dungeon."
"If we win, we will completely control the Player forces in our world."
"The next time we enter a Dungeon, it will be a full scale assault on Nyx's main body."
"So this time..."
"We must bet everything."
"Understood."
Iwanaga Kotoko immediately grasped the meaning behind Asagiri's words and nodded slightly.
"I'll contact Ashikaga-sensei immediately. Through her connections, we'll mobilize Player teams from the Ashikaga Budo Association, the Shinomiya Family, the Shijo Family, and Dai Sakura Bank to enter this Dungeon together."
Meanwhile, Kaguya Shinomiya took out her phone and confirmed her registration through the Eye Icon APP.
Among the keywords offered by the system, Despair was also one of her options. However, unlike Asagiri's phone, hers did not display any information regarding the number of Nyx Incarnations.
"In that case, Chika, Ai, Sakurakawa Rikka, Ashikaga-sensei, and I will enter the Dungeon together."
"I'll leave it to you."
Asagiri naturally understood why Kaguya Shinomiya had proposed that arrangement.
Because the various teams would enter the corresponding Dungeon through their established connections, the Players dispatched by those factions would appear in the same location after entering the other world, just as they normally did.
They would effectively form one large allied group.
Those Players might not be able to contribute much in a direct battle against Nyx's Incarnations.
However, considering that they needed to confront four Incarnations, locate Shido Masayoshi, and discover the requirements for clearing the Dungeon, those Players could scatter and gather useful intelligence.
The team composed of Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, Hayasaka Ai, and Sakurakawa Rikka had also participated in killing a Nyx Incarnation and undoubtedly stood at the top among Players.
After entering the Dungeon world, they could formulate specific plans and make the greatest possible use of the Players under their command.
"At a time like this, shouldn't we say something?"
Fujiwara Chika tilted her head innocently.
"Something like good luck?"
Hearing her words, Asagiri chuckled.
"Are you also a Cheer Up Knight?"
Then Asagiri looked across everyone present and spoke softly.
"Besides, it isn't just me."
"Haven't all of you already made up your minds?"
"Mm... That's right."
Determination appeared in Yuuki Asuna's eyes as her flaxen hair swayed gently.
There was no doubt or timidity in her voice.
Only the unyielding will to move forward and never retreat.
"This Game will undoubtedly end in our victory."
...
The next day, at four in the morning.
["Player" Utsunomiya Asagiri, Dungeon entry is now beginning.]
[The location of this Dungeon is...]
Before the text formed from sticky red mist could fully appear in Asagiri's vision, a mass of pure darkness suddenly surged forward and devoured it.
The red text was crushed without resistance.
The next second, a pair of bloodshot eyes emerged from within the absolute darkness.
A chillingly indifferent voice echoed beside Asagiri's ears.
"I've found you, Shadow..."
"Heh."
To Nyx's surprise, even though it had forcibly interrupted the system through its own power, Asagiri showed no panic.
Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.
[Skill "Hunter Mark" activated.]
[Marked target: Nyx.]
Asagiri stared directly into those bloodshot eyes and spoke slowly.
"I'm the one who found you."
The darkness before him gradually shattered.
Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, Kato Megumi, and Yamauchi Sakura entered the Dungeon world once again.
"Where are we?"
The moment her vision cleared, Yuuki Asuna became alert and immediately began observing their surroundings.
The five members of the team stood inside what appeared to be an alley in a city.
Judging from the dark sky, the local time was somewhere between midnight and dawn.
Colorful neon lights shone into the alley from the street outside, casting scattered reflections across the ground.
For the moment, there were no signs of Cursed activity.
"Is this another world like the Demi-Human Dungeon...?"
Seeing the complicated expression on Yuuki Asuna's face, Asagiri could roughly guess what she was thinking.
He spoke softly.
"If we can minimize casualties among the people of this world, that would naturally be best."
"But considering the scale of the battle between us and Nyx's Incarnations, completely avoiding civilian casualties is simply unrealistic."
"Perhaps Nyx chose this world as the site of our decisive battle precisely because it wants us to hesitate."
"Understood. I understand."
Yuuki Asuna took a deep breath and adjusted her emotions.
Determination filled her eyes once more.
"We must eliminate Nyx's Incarnations and Shido Masayoshi here."
"Don't worry. I won't hesitate or waver."
"That's right."
Iwanaga Kotoko patted Yuuki Asuna on the shoulder and spoke softly.
"No matter how severe the damage caused by the battle becomes, that responsibility belongs to Nyx."
"Four of its Incarnations have already invaded this world."
"If we don't eliminate them here, this world will eventually become another eternally dark wasteland like the Blackwatch world."
"We aren't only saving our own world."
"We're saving this one as well."
Just as Iwanaga Kotoko finished speaking, a notification sounded from Asagiri's phone.
He took it out and opened the Eye Icon APP.
However, the Player panel, current Dungeon introduction, friend system, and all the other options that normally appeared had vanished.
Only a single trembling sentence remained.
It looked as though the system had exhausted every ounce of strength merely to convey this information.
[Nyx Incarnation count: 5.]
[Shido Masayoshi has become one of Nyx's Incarnations.]
Asagiri had only just read the message when the text condensed by the system shattered instantly.
A moment later, even the Eye Icon APP disappeared from his phone.
"My Eye Icon APP is gone. What about yours?"
"Mine too."
"Mine as well."
After hearing that the Eye Icon APP had also vanished from Yuuki Asuna's and the others' phones, Asagiri nodded noncommittally.
"It seems this entire world has already been infected by Nyx's power."
"The Game system, formed from the collective wills of multiple worlds, has been completely suppressed here."
"No Dungeon objective, no time limit, and no special prompts..."
Iwanaga Kotoko immediately realized that this situation could no longer be considered an ordinary Dungeon.
Instead, Nyx had transformed this entire world into a battlefield and issued a direct challenge to her and Asagiri.
"It's fine. I've already marked it."
Asagiri closed his eyes and sensed the target for several seconds before slowly opening them again.
"But I only marked the Incarnation that interfered with the system using its power."
"It's approximately three hundred kilometres away from us."
After saying this, Asagiri continued,
"However, our first priority is understanding the structure and rules of this world."
"Is it a normal world like ours?"
"Is it a world containing only a small number of extraordinary beings, like the Demi-Human world?"
"Or does it merely appear normal on the surface while supernatural forces run rampant beneath it?"
"We should investigate thoroughly before taking action."
.....
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