Chapter 258: Please Die For Me

The moment he charged into the enemy formation, the man in the white suit drove a bone spur straight through a parasite’s head. Several more parasites tried to ambush him from the flanks, only to be impaled and lifted into the air by the white bone spikes extending from his armor. In the next instant, those spikes swelled and grew, bursting the parasites apart from within.

His martial artist teammate fought in a far more direct style. There was nothing flashy about it, only clean technique paired with terrifying speed and power. Every punch and every kick shattered a parasite’s body on impact.

Yuuki Asuna fought as she always did. She was so fast the parasites could not react at all. A few crimson flashes later, only mutilated corpses remained on the ground, headless and stripped of their limbs, still twitching helplessly.

As for the Human Asura at the very front, its fighting style could only be described as savage.

More than a dozen parasites lunged at it at once, clawing at its body, but against the Human Asura’s monstrous defenses, attacks from these parasites, all transformed from ordinary people, were as meaningless as ant bites. Its hands, wrapped in Black Particles, casually seized one parasite and tore it in half with a simple pull. Then, with a single backhand, it sent another charging parasite’s head flying.

"Is this all you’ve got?"

Standing beside Iwanaga Kotoko, the woman in the fox mask, and the perceptive male Player, Asagiri did not join the charge. He merely looked through the tide of parasites toward the Thousand Faced Stone Statue standing at the very rear, then let out a light chuckle.

"These parasites made from ordinary people are basically just zombies, only a little harder to kill. Trying to stop us by piling up trash like this in greater numbers is so foolish it’s almost funny."

Seeing that the swarm it had sent forward was completely ineffective, and that the two Player teams were still steadily pushing deeper, the Thousand Faced Stone Statue finally understood that a horde of parasitic puppets made from ordinary people could not stop seven Players who were monstrous by any standard.

So it reacted.

Its arms, which had hung low at its sides until now, slowly rose. At once, the parasites before it dissolved into writhing strips of flesh, rapidly merging together into two grotesque creatures nearly three meters tall, their entire bodies rippling with fleshy tendrils like tangled worms.

"They’re coming."

The moment Iwanaga Kotoko saw the two fused parasites charge toward them, she immediately gave a warning.

"Split up and fight them separately!"

"Got it!"

The fox masked woman and her teammates understood at once. They broke away from the formation they had been maintaining behind the Human Asura and moved off to one side. As expected, one of the fused parasites changed course and rushed straight at them.

Although the two teams had a rough idea of how the other fought, true coordination was not built in an instant. In a situation like this, splitting apart and fighting on separate fronts was the best way to maximize their strengths.

"IBM."

Iwanaga Kotoko raised her left hand. Black Particles gathered and took the shape of two black humanoid figures. Together with the Human Asura, they moved to block both the ordinary parasites and the fused parasite charging at their side.

Bang!

A hand larger than a human head slammed down from the fused parasite. The Human Asura crossed its arms to block, and though it held firm, it was still shoved back several steps by the impact.

"It’s stronger than the Human Asura..."

Iwanaga Kotoko frowned. Without hesitation, she controlled the two black humanoids to seize the fused parasite’s legs from both sides.

"Now!"

"Understood."

The moment her voice rang out, a deep crimson blur flashed in front of the fused parasite. Taking advantage of the instant it lowered its head to break free from the IBM restraints, Yuuki Asuna thrust out the crystal rapier in her hand and unleashed her Sword Skill.

"Stardust Splash!"

Eight flashes of brilliant light erupted in succession.

Yet when the attack ended, only a few shallow wounds remained on the fused parasite’s body, and even those were rapidly filled and healed by the writhing flesh in the next second.

Boom!

Yuuki Asuna retreated at once, barely dodging the tentacle that shot out from inside the fused creature, and returned to stand before Iwanaga Kotoko and Asagiri.

"Was it because I wasn’t using the Exorcist Longsword? No... that’s not it."

Her brows knitted tightly as she watched the fused parasite break free from the two black IBMs and reengage the Human Asura, now clearly gaining the upper hand with the support of the surrounding ordinary parasites.

"This thing’s defense is ridiculous. Even Stardust Splash couldn’t do real damage. If I used Gleaming Light instead, there’s no way I could kill it outright either."

The two IBMs she had created were torn apart by the parasite swarm, forcing Iwanaga Kotoko to summon two more. But the repeated creation of IBMs in such a short span placed a visible burden on her mind. In the end, she could only remain upright by leaning on her cane.

Meanwhile, the four members of the White Suit Team were also locked in a brutal struggle.

The martial artist among them was struck by a tentacle from the fused parasite. Its strength, even greater than the Human Asura’s, was something his body simply could not withstand. Fortunately, he managed to raise his arms in time. Otherwise, he might have died on the spot. Even so, both of his arms hung limp afterward, the bones inside already shattered.

"Damn it..."

Sweat poured down his face from the pain as he gritted his teeth and growled,

"Pre Borrow!"

The veins in his neck bulged instantly, and even his skin took on an unnatural red tint. His breathing deepened, and the broken bones in his arms quickly reknit. It was obvious he had activated some kind of body strengthening skill. From the looks on his three teammates’ faces, it was just as obvious that the price of that ability was not small.

A loss of lifespan, plus severe aftereffects that would drastically weaken his physical abilities later.

But now was not the time to care about that.

All four of them understood one thing clearly.

If they did not fight with everything they had, then they and their teammates would die here.

"Catch."

Just then, something black flew toward them from the side. The perceptive male Player caught it and stared, only to realize Asagiri had thrown him a heavy sniper rifle.

Before he could even say thanks, Asagiri pulled out a music box from his inventory and, with frightening arm strength, hurled it directly toward the fused parasite fighting the White Suit Team dozens of meters away.

Bang!

A tentacle shot out from the fused parasite and shattered the music box in midair.

But in the very next second, a shrill, mournful scream tore through the hall.

A black haired female ghost in a blood stained white dress appeared from nowhere, eyes filled with malice as she pounced onto the fused parasite and began clawing and tearing at its body without mercy.

Because of the sudden arrival of the vengeful spirit from the music box, the man in the white suit finally got a chance to breathe, and through the chaos he heard Asagiri call out to him.

"Hold on a little longer. Don’t die that easily."

The man in the white suit turned his head. Though his face had already been cut open by a stray strike and he looked utterly battered, he still forced out a smile and shouted back from dozens of meters away,

"Don’t worry, we’re fine! Don’t underestimate us!"

"Why are you suddenly this fired up?"

Asagiri chuckled and teased him, then turned his eyes back toward the Thousand Faced Stone Statue.

Even in this desperate looking situation, with the field in chaos and the enemy pressing in from all sides, he showed not the slightest trace of panic.

That alone filled the Thousand Faced Stone Statue with fury.

"You are still struggling in your death throes... then die obediently!"

The faces on the surface of the statue roared as one, and once more it raised both arms. Hundreds of parasites merged together again, forming two even larger fused monsters that charged toward Asagiri’s team and the White Suit Team.

Yet the moment Asagiri saw that, saw the dozens of meters of open space left before the statue because of the fusion process, a smile touched his lips.

"Now..."

"Kings Gambit."

Only when Asagiri uttered the skill name did the Thousand Faced Stone Statue suddenly notice the girl with the longbow slowly descending above the swarm of parasites, her body wrapped in Black Particles.

At that instant, every face on its surface twisted in panic.

"That’s...!"

Kato Megumi, who had activated her exclusive talent from the very start of the battle and quietly advanced fifty meters while the parasites’ attention remained fixed on the two Player teams, revealed a small smile and murmured,

"It’s all yours, Leader."

The moment her words fell, Asagiri had already swapped positions with her, landing in the middle of the parasite swarm.

Immediately afterward, a sound like a roaring engine erupted.

"Blood Burst."

Under the Human Asura state, and with Blood Burst layered on top of it, Asagiri’s physical condition had reached a terrifying height.

He slowly raised his head, fixed his gaze on the Thousand Faced Stone Statue less than a hundred meters away, and spoke in a low voice.

"I came for you."

"S Stop him!"

The massive body of the Thousand Faced Stone Statue recoiled instinctively, all the faces on its surface showing naked fear. It tried to direct the parasitic creatures into Asagiri’s path, but their physical strength was far too low compared to his current state. It was like trying to stop a fully loaded truck at full speed with piles of wet foam.

Asagiri did not even need to attack.

The moment he burst forward at full speed, every parasite in front of him shattered on impact.

And because the statue had already used hundreds of parasites to create those two gigantic fusion bodies, the fifty meter defensive line that should have stood between them had shrunk to less than twenty meters. Once Asagiri smashed through that final layer, there was nothing left but open ground between him and the statue.

"No... no...!"

The Thousand Faced Stone Statue tried to retreat, but in the blink of an eye Asagiri had already closed to within twenty meters.

With his left hand, he caught the tarot card dropping from the air and crushed it without hesitation.

"Persona, Alice!"

The golden haired, blue eyed Alice descended slowly to the ground, her expression carrying that same simple, innocent smile as always.

Then she looked at the countless faces covering the Thousand Faced Stone Statue and said softly,

"Please die for me."

.....

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One Piece: My Crew Is Full of Monsters