Chapter 260: Desperate Situation

After Asagiri’s four person team and the White Suit Team retrieved various phone chargers from the staff lounge on the Twenty Fifth Floor, with four or five chargers prepared for each model, they made their way to the Players’ gathering point, the buffet restaurant on the Third Floor of the Hotel.

During that trip, they discovered something.

The temperature inside the Hotel had begun to return to normal.

Based on the theoretical knowledge of handling Cursed incidents, combined with what the White Suit Team had said earlier about "Gods" being a kind of phenomenon, Iwanaga Kotoko proposed a bold hypothesis.

The "God" responsible for the abnormal heat was actually similar to the human body’s immune system, while the Thousand Faced Stone Statue that controlled "parasitism" was the virus recognized by that immune system.

The reason the temperature had kept rising was because the God, acting as the Hotel’s "immune response," sensed the movement of that Cursed being and instinctively began to suppress it. After Asagiri completely eliminated that being, it was equivalent to the virus inside the body being cleared away, and the immune system naturally returned to normal.

However, there were still many questionable points.

For example, the Thousand Faced Stone Statue had clearly been born inside this Hotel. As a type of earthbound spirit, this place should have been its domain, yet it had been forced by the external "God" to huddle on the Twenty Fourth Floor. Its true body had not even dared to leave that area, and could only interfere with the other floors through "parasitism."

And more importantly, compared to that so called "God," were these Players also considered invading "viruses"?

According to the system prompt, when half of the Dungeon’s time limit had passed, which was thirty six hours after entering, a new trial would arrive.

It was just that...

Yuuki Asuna looked at the few Player teams whose faces were deathly pale and whose eyes had already gone dull. She gently tugged on Asagiri’s sleeve and spoke in a low voice.

"Looking at their state... they probably won’t be able to continue later."

"Yeah."

Asagiri nodded. His expression did not change in the slightest.

"The fact that they are weak and powerless has already crushed their spirit. If they can recover their courage within the next twenty four hours, they might still be somewhat useful. But for most of them, their spirits have already completely broken. There’s no chance of recovery. Even if they’re stronger than ordinary Players, they still won’t be able to clear the Dungeon in the end."

The oppressive environment, the suffocating tension from the moment they entered the Dungeon, and the overwhelming mental pressure exerted by that Cursed being had already driven most of the Player teams who followed Asagiri into utter despair.

The only reason they had forced themselves to leave the Twenty Fourth Floor and return to the Third Floor restaurant was because they had still clung to one illusion.

They had believed that once Asagiri and the White Suit Team killed the Cursed being controlling "parasitism," the system would announce an early clear and send them out of the Dungeon.

But after Asagiri truly eliminated that being and the system issued a new prompt, reality shattered that hope completely.

That became the final straw.

"Ahem, everyone."

Sensing that the atmosphere in the room was growing heavier and heavier, the White Suit Man first glanced at Asagiri’s team. Seeing that they had no intention of speaking, he stood up himself and forced out a smile.

"Everyone, don’t worry too much. Based on my experience, the system won’t create a challenge that is guaranteed to kill Players. Since all of us qualified to enter this Dungeon, every Player here definitely still has hope..."

Before he could finish, one of the Players with a yellowish face and empty eyes muttered weakly,

"Is there really still hope...?"

"Yeah..."

Another male Player slowly raised his head. He first looked at the White Suit Man, then turned his gaze toward Asagiri. Malice filled his eyes as he gritted his teeth and said,

"In the end, this is all your fault. If you hadn’t insisted on going to kill that Cursed being, then none of this hidden main quest nonsense would have been triggered at all. Even if the ’parasitism’ had kept going, so what..."

Before he could finish his accusation, Asagiri, who had been sitting more than ten meters away, suddenly stood up.

In the next instant, he appeared right beside that table.

"Persona, Meta."

The moment Crazy Mita was summoned, she directly swung her chainsaw and severed the male Player’s head.

His two teammates were just about to stand up when Asagiri condensed an ice spear and drove it straight through one of their skulls. At the same time, the Rope Dart in his other hand shot out and pierced the forehead of the third. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

After finishing all of that, three dull thuds sounded in succession as the bodies collapsed onto the carpet.

Asagiri casually picked up a napkin from the table and slowly wiped the blood from his Rope Dart. Then he took the phones from the three corpses, turned, and swept his gaze over the room.

The remaining Players were already trembling in terror, their faces drained of all color.

"Does anyone else have an opinion?"

The entire restaurant fell silent.

Faced with Asagiri and Crazy Mita standing there, no one even dared to breathe too loudly.

The four members of the White Suit Team, along with Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko, all understood exactly why Asagiri had killed that Player and his two teammates so decisively.

The situation had been on the verge of spiraling out of control.

According to that man’s logic, if Asagiri had not gone to eliminate the Thousand Faced Cursed being, perhaps no hidden main storyline would have been triggered. Perhaps the Dungeon’s intended process had been for Players to endure until the time limit ended while guarding against parasitic Players.

But that was only one possibility.

A far more likely outcome was that all Players would have gradually become exhausted from constantly guarding against parasitism. Even those who originally had strong mental resistance would eventually waver, and by then that Cursed phenomenon would have completely overwhelmed them.

Or worse, once the Dungeon reached the halfway mark at thirty six hours, the new trial would still have arrived anyway, forcing the Players to face both the Thousand Faced Stone Statue and an entirely new threat at the same time.

In other words, that man’s accusation had no real logic behind it.

It was nothing but a blind emotional outburst.

And in this high pressure situation, most Players were no longer capable of thinking calmly. Once a few people began venting their resentment, it was entirely possible that everyone would start blaming Asagiri and his team.

The White Suit Team could still move, but they were no longer capable of fighting.

Asagiri’s group of four could still fight if necessary, but after expending so much stamina and mental energy, the strength they could still exert was limited.

If a full scale internal conflict broke out now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Even if Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi could kill most of the Players present, it would cost them an enormous amount of energy and possibly leave them seriously injured.

That was why, even in his current weakened state, Asagiri had moved without hesitation.

He had killed the source of the unrest, then used raw fear and absolute power to force the room back under control.

And under the passive enhancement of his [Unrestrained Tyrant] profession, he had succeeded completely.

"Does anyone else still have something to say? No? Good."

Asagiri nodded indifferently, then turned to the White Suit Man.

"Hand out the chargers."

"Okay."

While the White Suit Man and his teammates distributed phone chargers to the remaining Players, Asagiri walked to the very front of the room and slowly looked over everyone present.

Then he spoke in a tone that allowed no refusal.

"You’ve all seen the system notification. After twenty four hours, new danger will likely appear, which means the Dungeon will reopen."

He paused, then continued calmly.

"If you follow my arrangements, you might still have a chance to clear it. I’ll speak plainly. My teammates and I are aiming for the highest possible clear rating. And based on how this Dungeon works, as the strongest Player team here, the number of Players we successfully lead to survival is also likely to affect the bonus we receive. But..."

His tone suddenly cooled.

"Compared to clear rating bonuses, your ability to survive is more important. If unstable elements like the ones just now appear again, I will eliminate them without hesitation. Do you understand?"

No one dared to answer.

One after another, the Players lowered their heads, not even daring to meet Asagiri’s eyes.

"Mm. Much better~"

Asagiri’s tone changed instantly, almost as if the murderous pressure from a moment ago had never existed. He sat back down beside Yuuki Asuna and the others and smiled.

"I could have used the chargers as leverage to threaten you. Or I could have simply killed all of you, taken your phones, and started drawing loot directly. But I didn’t. I’m honestly too kind. Sigh, having morals that are too high really is a burden I place on myself."

Hearing those words, none of the Players present knew how they were supposed to react.

But they all understood the most important part.

If he wanted to...

He really could kill everyone in this room.

After all, he was the Player who had just personally killed the largest apparent BOSS in the entire Dungeon. Perhaps what he had said earlier was not arrogance at all, but a simple statement of fact.

No one dared question him.

Because questioning him meant paying with their life, just like the three corpses still lying on the carpet.

And so, under the absolute control of this overwhelming tyrant, the highly dangerous death game continued.

.....

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