Chapter 152: The Oppression of the Human Asura
Five minutes later, at the entrance of the research base.
Two members of the Anti-Ajin Special Forces mobile unit stood guard with firearms in hand. As the broadcast crackled through their headsets, both men swallowed nervously.
"The intruder has broken through from the north!"
"North side mobile unit members, respond if you hear this! Respond if you hear this!"
"Report! There's only one intruder. He's wearing a pure black mobile unit combat suit… ah!"
The scream that followed made the two guards at the main entrance tremble.
Then came dead silence.
A few seconds later, the only sound left on the line was the faint drip of water hitting the floor, followed by a calm male voice.
"Hm? Is the channel still connected?"
"Hello, everyone. My name is Sato. The higher ups of your Anti-Ajin Special Forces call me Hat."
His tone carried lazy amusement.
"I'm not very satisfied with that nickname. It's too ordinary. I'd rather you call me the savior who will lead the Ajin faction to victory."
The man spoke as if he were casually introducing himself at a party.
"You're probably wondering why I would invade this research base."
"My goal is to take Nagai Kei away. And also…"
Sato paused, letting the tension sharpen on purpose.
"Kill everyone here, so please look forward to it."
A sharp crunch followed, like plastic and metal being crushed in a fist.
Static exploded through the channel, and then the communication line went completely dead.
"Huh? The connection's cut…"
The two guards looked at each other, at a loss.
Then they noticed three oddly dressed figures walking toward them through the rain.
A petite girl in a Western style long dress, wearing a masquerade like mask.
A mysterious figure in a dark red cloak, holding a longsword, their face impossible to see clearly.
And the one at the front, slender, wearing a dark gray mask and a long black trench coat.
"Who are you? Stop!"
The guards didn't even have time to fully raise their guns.
A chill flashed across their throats.
Thud.
Kato Megumi stepped past them, her cursed dagger clean. Both mobile unit members collapsed into the wet ground, blood spreading under them. Her expression never changed.
It was the first time she had taken a life with her own hands.
Yet she didn't hesitate. She didn't waver.
Clear the obstacles in front of you, or die in another world, unable to return even your corpse to reality.
This was a Player's fate, and Kato Megumi had already accepted it.
"Only two people guarding the main entrance?" Asagiri's voice was calm. "Sato's threat level really is high. Most of their defense personnel must have been redeployed to stop him."
Yuuki Asuna's gaze flicked to the bodies in the rain, then she spoke softly.
"Can Sato really break through the research base defenses?"
Asagiri gave a noncommittal answer. "He's bloodthirsty, but he's not stupid. Those mobile unit members won't be able to stop him."
Kato Megumi tilted her head slightly, remembering the headset chatter. "I heard it in their comms. Sato is breaking in from the north side."
"The north…"
Yuuki Asuna exhaled, relief obvious. "Chika and the others chose the east side, right? Then we should avoid running into them for now."
Her tone turned slightly bitter.
"The team on the north side has it easy. With Sato bulldozing the way, they can just wait for an easy victory."
"That's not necessarily true." Iwanaga Kotoko shook her head. "Besides the four teams from last night, more Player teams must have arrived by now."
She spoke carefully, thinking as she went.
"Because Sato is clearing the obstacles, the north looks like the easiest route. But that's exactly why those… those…"
Kotoko hesitated, searching for a word.
Asagiri supplied it at the perfect moment. "Wild Player teams?"
Kotoko's eyes lit up. "Right, that's what I mean."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Most of those wild teams will definitely choose the north too. Honestly, compared to other Player teams, I'd rather fight the Anti-Ajin Special Forces."
"At least we know what they are. Humans with guns."
Her voice sharpened.
"Players have all kinds of strange abilities. Who knows what bizarre skills might show up? The first is easier to deal with."
…
Ten minutes later, inside the research institute.
"The metal gate didn't come down…"
Yuuki Asuna crouched and studied the gap in the floor, then looked up at the metal door above. Her brow furrowed.
"No wonder Sato dared to attack head on even after the defenses were strengthened. The system here has been compromised by his collaborators."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Not only the mobile unit communications, even the central control system has been cut off."
"It was cracked that easily…" Kato Megumi murmured, thoughtful.
"No matter what, the Anti-Ajin Special Forces is still an official organization in this world. For a major research base to be breached this cleanly…"
She frowned faintly.
"It feels abnormal."
Then hurried footsteps echoed from around the corner down the corridor.
"They're coming," Asagiri said. "Get ready."
…
At the same time, in a combat meeting room several kilometers away from the research base.
Totsaki Yu, the head of the Anti-Ajin Special Forces, stood before a massive screen. The feed shook violently, but it was still clear enough to see. It was being transmitted from the tactical helmets worn by the mobile unit members on site.
"Hm? They've appeared?"
The moment Totsaki saw four figures emerge on screen, his expression changed. He snapped out an order.
"Enlarge it."
"Yes."
Totsaki stared at the man in the black trench coat and dark gray mask and muttered under his breath.
"The ones who killed our mobile unit members at the station… was it you…?"
Before he could finish, he saw the masked man raise a black firearm and press it to his own temple.
"Persona, Asura."
The next second, something massive appeared in the corridor.
A tall black shadow, over two meters in height.
It had no facial features. Strange patterns pulsed across its body with a faint red glow. The pressure pouring off it was suffocating. Even through the screen, Totsaki unconsciously took two steps back.
"Is that…?"
Gunfire erupted from the mobile unit.
Bullets hammered into the black figure, but it kept walking forward, step by step, as if the rifle fire was nothing more than rain.
Totsaki turned to the petite, short haired woman in a suit beside him and asked in a low voice.
"That thing… is it that?"
Shimomura Izumi stared at the screen, her face tense. She answered just as quietly.
"It doesn't seem like it…"
"Our Ajin's IBMs are black too, but they don't have this kind of defense. Not even close. And humans can't see IBMs…"
Totsaki's voice tightened. "Then what is this?"
On site, the mobile unit members were clearly panicking now. Tactics collapsed under fear. They could only hold down the triggers and pour every round they had into the Human Asura, desperate to stop it.
When their magazines finally ran dry, the Human Asura halted.
Its tall black body was covered in dense impact marks. The bullets hadn't pierced through. They had embedded into it.
"Even rifle rounds can't fully penetrate its defense…"
Totsaki's shock slipped through despite his attempt to hide it.
Something that rifle bullets couldn't punch through.
What kind of monster was this?
Then, to everyone's relief, the Human Asura began to break apart, as if its body were turning to dust. It dissipated into smoke and fragments, vanishing.
The entire meeting room exhaled, tension loosening.
So even this thing could be eliminated if they concentrated enough fire.
Just as that fragile relief spread through the room, a flash of pure white light suddenly stabbed out from the smoke.
"Sword Skill, Stardust Splash."
The screen became blinding.
A wisp of red cloak crossed the frame.
Then, darkness.
A system prompt followed, indicating the connection had been lost.
The combat meeting room fell into dead silence.
No one spoke. No one moved. Faces turned toward each other, bewildered.
What… just happened?
Why did the feed cut out?
"Report, Mr. Totsaki…"
A technician at the console raised his head cautiously, eyes fixed on surveillance data.
"The mobile unit members on that channel… all vital signs have stopped. Confirmed dead."
"Dead?" Totsaki's voice turned harsh.
Disbelief hit the room all at once.
That had been a fully armed mobile unit, wearing heavy anti riot gear, equipment sturdy enough to resist handgun rounds.
And they were wiped out in an instant.
Worse, no one had even seen the enemy's movement clearly. No one could say what, exactly, had happened.
"These people…" Totsaki stared at the dead black screen, his eyes trembling despite himself.
"Are they really human?"
He had planned to use Nagai Kei to lure in the extremely dangerous Ajin known as Hat, along with those strange outsiders who appeared from nowhere, then capture them all in one sweep.
But now…
Could his mobile unit really defeat a group of monsters like this?
.....
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