Chapter 176: Three Against One Again
"Kyozan Mental Hospital?"
The moment the line of dark red text appeared on Asagiri's phone, Yuuki Asuna, who was sitting nearby, visibly changed expression. The memory of the novice Dungeon she had experienced when she first became a Player resurfaced at once.
Even after going through so many Dungeons and growing into a high level Player, just recalling that experience was enough to make Yuuki Asuna's chest tighten.
"Kyozan Mental Hospital… if I remember correctly, that was the first novice Dungeon the two of you went through, right?"
Hearing Kato Megumi's question, Asagiri nodded and smiled as casually as ever.
"Yes. I even have a good friend there."
"That's a little strange."
Iwanaga Kotoko rubbed her fair chin and said thoughtfully,
"According to the information we gathered online, Kyozan Mental Hospital comes from a horror game called Outlast. The main source of danger should be those highly aggressive psychiatric patients, but… those patients are still just ordinary humans. Logically, they shouldn't appear in a Dungeon with second phase difficulty."
"You can't rely entirely on online information."
Asagiri shrugged.
"After all, in the original horror game, there wasn't a blood faced orderly nearly three meters tall, was there?"
"Mm, true."
As Asagiri, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko discussed the matter, Yuuki Asuna remained quiet the entire time. Kato Megumi noticed something was off and asked with concern,
"Asuna, are you okay?"
"Mm…"
Yuuki Asuna raised her head, but there was no smile on her face. She responded absentmindedly, then looked at Asagiri beside her. Her eyes slowly filled with determination.
"Leader, I want to choose this Dungeon. Is that okay?"
"Oh?"
A faint smile appeared on Asagiri's face, but he neither agreed nor refused immediately. Instead, he asked,
"Why?"
"Because…"
Yuuki Asuna remembered the scene from that first novice Dungeon, the helplessness and weakness she had felt back then. Her slender white fingers gradually clenched into fists, and she lightly bit her soft lower lip before speaking in a firm voice.
"I've always felt that if you hadn't been there at the time, I would have been completely crushed by fear and anxiety. I might still have cleared it in the end, but I would only have become some ordinary Player who blended into the crowd, someone who didn't even dare sign up for Dungeons on my own. Or maybe I would have already died back in the first phase. I've always doubted myself… and now that Kyozan Mental Hospital has appeared again, I want to clear it. Only then can I completely erase that self doubt."
To Yuuki Asuna's surprise, both Iwanaga Kotoko and Kato Megumi nodded without any hesitation.
"Then let's sign up for this Dungeon."
As for Asagiri, as the Leader, he also nodded slightly and smiled.
"Alright. Then it's decided. Kyozan Mental Hospital."
"Eh? You… all of you…"
Yuuki Asuna froze for a moment, her voice hesitant.
"Shouldn't we discuss it a little more? Just because I want to go there, you decided right away? This…"
"There's nothing more to discuss."
Asagiri gently patted Yuuki Asuna on the shoulder and said with a smile,
"The reason you just gave is already more than enough for us."
"That's right."
Iwanaga Kotoko looked at Yuuki Asuna and grinned.
"Are you touched? Do you now understand how important you are in our hearts? Since you're touched, make me more bentos."
Yuuki Asuna smiled helplessly and immediately retorted,
"Are you seriously treating me like your personal chef now, Miss Iwanaga?"
After saying that, Yuuki Asuna stood up from the sofa. Her expression turned solemn and serious.
"Thank you for your tolerance and understanding."
"Since that's settled, then we'll sign up for Kyozan Mental Hospital."
"Okay."
After the discussion about the game ended and they confirmed their registration, Kato Megumi suddenly spoke.
"By the way, since both Kotoko and Asuna are free today, and it's still early, why don't we go to Ashikaga sensei's dojo for some sparring? It can count as a warm up before entering the Dungeon in three days."
"Oh? Okay, okay!"
Iwanaga Kotoko looked eager to try and instantly agreed.
"Hehe. After the last Dungeon clear, I still haven't shown you my current strength, right? I've already adapted to Black Particles during these past two days of handling yokai requests. I'll definitely open your eyes this time!"
Yuuki Asuna also nodded thoughtfully.
"A warm up, huh… I really haven't fought since clearing the last Dungeon. I do need to get used to my new weapon and armor in advance."
As for Asagiri, he looked at Kato Megumi, who wore a gentle smile, and said meaningfully,
"Megumi, you're pretty sneaky."
"Hm?"
Kato Megumi tilted her head and gave him a soft, innocent smile.
"I don't understand what you mean."
…
Half an hour later, inside the familiar dojo.
"Yo, Ashikaga sensei. Why are the walls all metal now?"
Hearing Asagiri's question, Ashikaga Miwa, dressed in a suit with gold rimmed glasses and not in a dojo uniform, sighed helplessly.
"Wasn't that because the wall got smashed last time? When I had people repair it afterward, I thought about it. As your strength continues to increase, ordinary wooden walls and floors are simply too fragile and can't withstand your destruction. So I just had the entire place reinforced with hardened metal."
Kato Megumi heard that and politely apologized.
"You must have spent a lot."
"It's nothing."
Ashikaga Miwa waved her hand as if it were insignificant.
"It wasn't expensive. It was cheap."
Given Ashikaga Miwa's wealth, not to mention one metal dojo, even building dozens or hundreds of them would only cost her a negligible amount.
"However…"
Ashikaga Miwa looked at Iwanaga Kotoko and Yuuki Asuna, and the pity in her eyes made both girls feel rather confused.
"You two… good luck."
"Ashikaga sensei, what are you even saying?"
Yuuki Asuna stared at Asagiri, who was standing calmly in the center of the dojo. Her beautiful eyes shone with competitiveness. In her hand, the translucent crystal-like rapier Gleaming Light appeared, and her outfit shifted into the Armor of Flashing Light with a dark red cloak over it, giving her an elegant yet piercingly sharp aura.
"Even if Asagiri is strong, there's no way the three of us together can lose to him."
Hearing those words, Ashikaga Miwa only shook her head helplessly, retreated to the edge of the dojo, and took out the high speed motion camera she had prepared beforehand.
"I hope so."
Ashikaga Miwa did not intend to keep any combat footage as evidence. She simply knew the abilities and physical parameters of the four team members. As the team's special training instructor, she needed to correct the finer mistakes in their combat styles, but with only her eyes, she genuinely could not clearly follow Yuuki Asuna and Asagiri at full speed.
Left with no better option, she could only rely on a high speed camera, analyze the footage in slow motion afterward, delete it, and then provide instruction.
"Leader, let's make a bet."
Before the spar officially began, Iwanaga Kotoko spoke with a grin.
"In a three against one fight, if you win, then tonight I'll reward you and satisfy all your perverted requests."
Asagiri raised a brow and asked back,
"And if I lose?"
"Then…"
Before Iwanaga Kotoko could answer, Yuuki Asuna cut in from the side.
"Then he satisfies your perverted requests, right?"
"What!?"
Iwanaga Kotoko's dark purple eyes widened.
"Do you have telepathy or something? Can you actually read my mind?"
"With a brain as yellow as yours, do I even need telepathy to know what you're thinking?"
Yuuki Asuna snapped back irritably, then sighed helplessly. Tightening her grip on Gleaming Light, she stared at Asagiri with a serious expression and said slowly,
"Let's be clear. Even if the opponent is Asagiri… I still don't want to lose."
"Don't worry. I feel the same way."
Iwanaga Kotoko grinned and responded seriously.
"After all… getting lewd with him is my greatest motivation!"
Hearing such an absurd line, Kato Megumi sighed softly and muttered,
"Is it still too late for me to withdraw from this match…"
The truth was, Kato Megumi also wasn't certain of the outcome of this spar.
Compared to last time, their team composition had improved dramatically. Yuuki Asuna and Iwanaga Kotoko were both now high level Players, and their combat strength far surpassed Crazy Mita's. Not to mention Ashikaga Miwa, who had merely been an ordinary human.
However, this time Asagiri no longer had the restriction of being unable to switch Personas.
"Let's agree on one thing first. Don't scare people with Supreme Magic Bullet."
Hearing Kato Megumi's condition, Asagiri nodded with a smile.
"No problem. I was only testing it last time."
Then Asagiri looked at the three girls before him, Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi, and chuckled in a teasing tone.
"Though I've imagined facing the three of you at once before… it definitely wasn't in this kind of setting."
"You… pervert…"
Yuuki Asuna's pretty face instantly flushed. Recalling all the time she had spent with Asagiri over the past two days, she bit her lip and snapped,
"Let's begin!"
The moment the words fell, Yuuki Asuna shot toward Asagiri like a streak of light, closing the gap to within one meter almost instantly. Her speed was so fast that the combination of her red cloak and white armor left behind a red and white afterimage.
Among the four of them, Yuuki Asuna's speed and agility were the greatest. Even Asagiri, when equipped with Human Asura, was still slightly inferior to her in that regard.
"This is actually putting a lot of pressure on me."
Because Yuuki Asuna was so fast, Asagiri had no time to take out the black gun shaped summoning device, much less perform the standard pre summon motion for Human Asura. However, his control over Persona had long since reached the level where he could skip the summoning motion entirely, at the cost of additional mental energy.
"Come out…"
"Human Asura."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]