A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

After things quieted down, sure enough, everyone heard a muffled thud coming from the corridor outside, like something being hit.

"A sound of impact? Could it be..."

Asuna Yuuki's expression changed, and she immediately opened the morgue door and stepped into the corridor. Just as she stepped out, a loud bang that shook the ground caused the closed fire door of the stairwell to be smashed against the wall.

The next second, a dense swarm of zombies, like locusts, pushed and shoved each other, pouring into the corridor through the gap in the stairwell.

Seeing the once spacious corridor in the distance suddenly become completely blocked by a large number of zombies, Asuna Yuuki's pupils dilated in shock.

Shouldn't ordinary infected people be like the zombie the four of them saw in the apartment, slow-moving and not posing much of a threat even to ordinary people?

Why are these zombies moving so fast? Like locusts eager to devour all life?

73

Chapter 73 Please die for me.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yuuki Asuna immediately returned to the morgue, intending to close the door first.

Although she wasn't sure if the morgue's metal door could withstand such a large number of zombies, she was certain that at least a hundred zombies had flooded in just that one moment.

Fighting those things in the narrow corridor was extremely difficult. Even Asagiri's Human Asura was currently struggling to withstand the onslaught of such a large number of zombies. Once the Human Asura was destroyed, Asagiri would have no chance to summon them again.

The only chance is...

"Leader, use that item!"

The only solution that Asuna Yuuki could think of was to have Asagiri use the "Reversed Pocket Watch" to turn back time by one minute. Although using a red epic-quality item in this situation was a bit of a waste, she couldn't think of a better solution for the time being.

However, Asagiri's next move was beyond Yuuki Asuna's expectations.

He first pulled open the metal bed compartment labeled "Vomiter" and corresponding to the information, and after seeing that it was empty, he muttered to himself.

"No bile sample?... Oh well, hopefully that thing will serve a similar purpose."

Immediately afterward, to the astonished gazes of Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato, Asagiri rushed out of the morgue, closing the door behind her.

"Morning mist!"

Whenever Asuna Yuuki forgets to call out her code name and instead calls out Asagiri's name, it means she's truly panicked.

She immediately ran to the door, wanting to open it and chase after him, but was stopped by Kotoko Iwanaga.

“He’s not the kind of person who likes to die. Since he went out on his own, it means he must have thought of a better solution.”

"But……"

Feeling the ground tremble slightly, and hearing the zombie roars and footsteps growing clearer as they approached, even through a metal door, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but show a look of anxiety.

Before she could speak, Kotoko Iwanaga shook her head and said softly.

"Believe him."

……

On the other side, Asagiri, who had taken the initiative to come to the corridor, looked at the dense horde of corpses less than ten meters away from him. There was no panic on his face. Instead, he glanced to the other side and muttered to himself.

"Ten meters... that distance should be about right."

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri turned around without hesitation, and a glass bottle appeared in her right hand.

He smashed the bottle against the wall, and a clear liquid flowed out of the hole, filling the air with a pungent smell of alcohol.

"come."

Asagiri stepped back, holding a glass bottle of medical alcohol that was constantly leaking out of its container, and looked at the horde of corpses in front of her, smiling as she spoke.

"Come quickly, dinner is ready."

In fact, there's no need for the morning mist to attract them. Although zombies' sense of smell isn't particularly sensitive, the pungent smell of alcohol permeating the air, along with the constantly moving morning mist itself, is enough to completely capture their attention.

"Five meters...three meters...meters..."

As Asagiri retreated, he silently calculated the distance in his mind. When he reached about twenty meters away from the morgue, the nearest few hideous zombies were less than two meters away from him, their foul-smelling mouths open, trying to tear apart the delicious meal in front of them.

"arrive."

At this critical moment, Asagiri suddenly stopped, and a black summoning device appeared in her hand, which she pointed at her temple.

"Persona, Human Asura!"

The towering Shura appeared instantly, using one arm to protect Chaowu and the other to slap away the zombies that were trying to bite him.

After summoning the Human Asura, Asagiri did not retreat. Instead, under the protection of the Human Asura, she advanced and charged directly into the horde of corpses.

"One meter, three meters, five meters... ten meters."

After penetrating ten meters into the horde of zombies, the Asura, whose body had been torn in multiple places, swung his arms, temporarily repelling the surrounding zombies and clearing a radius of about one meter around Asagiri.

The next second, the figure of the human demon disappeared, replaced by a tarot card that emitted a faint glow and was printed with the image of the Grim Reaper.

The card spun gently and landed in Asagiri's palm. Without hesitation, he crushed it and spoke softly.

"Persona".

"Alice."

The moment Asagiri finished speaking, Alice, dressed in a dress, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and holding a teddy bear in her arms, appeared. Facing the terrifying hordes of zombies on both sides, she wore a sweet, innocent smile and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

"Could you please die for me?"

……

Inside the morgue at this time.

"The sound...how did it disappear?"

Asuna Yuuki pressed her ear against the cold metal door, listening intently to the sounds outside, her heart filled with both tension and worry.

The noise, which had been mixed with the roars and footsteps of zombies, suddenly stopped within seconds, followed by a series of muffled thuds, and then... an eerie silence.

What happened?

Could it be that... Asagiri is dead?

That's impossible. If he really died in the zombie horde, it should have immediately triggered the "Reversed Pocket Watch". How did it turn out like this?

"Open the door."

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's words, Asuna Yuuki nodded and immediately opened the door to the corridor. However, the scene that followed left both her and Megumi Kato completely stunned, unable to believe their eyes.

The zombies that had swarmed like locusts just moments before were now lifeless, their corpses piled up nearly half a meter high, covering the entire corridor floor.

Asagiri was not far away, completely unharmed, her clothes perfectly intact, as she walked step by step along the path paved with corpses.

"What on earth is this..."

"Knew it."

While Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato were still in shock, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri who was walking towards her step by step and said with a smile.

"You summoned Alice, didn't you?"

"Ah."

Asagiri approached, gently jumped down from the corpse, and said in a calm tone.

"Zombies have weak mental resistance and like to huddle together, making them perfect for Alice's abilities. Oh, by the way, there seems to be a special infected in the horde, a kind of ram that has one extremely thick arm and the other thin and deformed. It was also instantly killed by Alice's abilities."

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato suddenly remembered that Asagiri's Persona wasn't just Shura; there was also Alice, whom they had subdued during the previous hotel instance.

And Alice's unique skill...

【Die for Me: When you summon Alice, you can consume a large amount of mental energy to make her perform a curse-type attack centered on you, targeting all targets within a ten-meter radius except for you. Any target whose mental energy cannot pass the detection and who does not have immunity to curse-type attacks will die instantly.】

Through Kotoko Iwanaga's previous test of using the skill, the team members already knew that the infected, or zombies, did not have high mental resistance. The mental resistance of ordinary infected could even be said to be negative, which could make the "Cursed Gaze," which was originally only meant to interfere, have an instant kill effect.

Coincidentally, "Please Die for Me" is a large-scale attack that judges the enemy's mental resistance and instantly kills them. Moreover, the range of this skill is completely different from the range of Yuuki Asuna's "Thorn" skill. It does not select a direction or a line of ten meters, but forms a three-dimensional sphere with a radius of ten meters centered on Asagiri herself.

Asagiri had just charged into the horde of zombies, carefully calculating a distance of ten meters to ensure that there were zombies within ten meters in front of and behind her, maximizing the range of Alice's skill. After all, no matter how many enemies were within range, the mental energy consumed by summoning Alice to use her exclusive skill was the same, so it was more reasonable to use it only once to eliminate all the zombies.

"So that's it..."

Yuuki Asuna then understood and asked curiously.

"You rushed out on your own initiative because you were worried that Alice's skills would affect the three of us?"

"We have considered that."

Before Asuna could even feel touched by Asagiri's words, she heard him add with a smile.

"I finally managed to gather all three starter Pokémon, so please don't let me accidentally kill them again."

"You...you need to be serious for once!"

Yuuki Asuna first said this in a fit of anger, then paused for a moment, and couldn't help but lean closer to Asagiri, staring at her face with worry in her eyes, and said softly with concern.

"You've expended a lot of mental energy. How are you feeling now?"

Asagiri nodded and replied with a smile.

"I feel a little dizzy, but overall it's okay. After all, the Human Asura wasn't destroyed this time, so it didn't consume any extra physical or mental energy."

"Shall we take a break?"

"Need not."

Asagiri waved her hand dismissively.

"My condition hasn't been affected too much. It's better to clear the game as soon as possible and get a high completion rating, and also..."

At this point, Asagiri paused for a moment before continuing.

"Let's set aside the reasons for the zombie horde's appearance and the reason why those zombies move so quickly. If we only consider the game mechanics, their sudden appearance could be due to two reasons: either we did something wrong and triggered a penalty level that shouldn't have appeared, or it could be like the hotel instance where we had to overcome seven layers of earthbound spirits to reach the fifth floor where the exorcist's sword was stored. There are hidden rewards here, which is why there are challenging levels with corresponding reward value."

74

Chapter 74: The Hidden Reward.

Just as Asagami had said, a dozen minutes later, the four of them found several items of special value in a room that had been locked and resembled an office. These items were similar to the exorcist's longsword from the previous hotel instance and would trigger an app notification.

[Battlefield First Aid Kit: A medical kit containing painkillers, bandages, rubbing alcohol, skin sutures, gauze, and other first aid supplies]

[Special Adrenaline: Within ten minutes of using this item, the player will enter a state of heightened excitement, with significantly increased mental and physical strength, greatly reduced pain perception, and enhanced senses. However, after the effects wear off, the player will enter a state of extreme weakness due to overexertion. If mental or physical strength is excessively depleted, it may even be life-threatening. Please use with caution.]

The team members were all aware of the value of these two items.

Battlefield first aid kits are very valuable items. Although the squad members haven't suffered any injuries in the dungeon so far, it's still necessary to have a kit in case of emergencies, even if they don't use it.

And a specially formulated adrenaline...

This thing is a last resort, a trump card that should only be used in desperate situations.

However, these two valuable items are merely secondary compared to the final reward.

[Sniper Rifle (Full Magazine Capacity, 10 Rounds): A police sniper rifle with a pure black body and a 10-round magazine. It uses 7.62mm caliber bullets and is a heavy weapon with excellent accuracy and power.]

"Sniper rifle..."

Kotoko Iwanaga, Asuna Yuuki, and Megumi Kato were all stunned as they stared at the sniper rifle hanging on the wall, its all-black body exuding a sense of intimidation.

Is this the kind of equipment that should be appearing at this stage?

Sniper rifles aren't like those in TV dramas or anime, where even if you get hit by a bullet, as long as it doesn't hit a vital area, you can still talk or even walk—these are low-powered weapons.

The reality in the real world is...

Faced with a 7.62mm caliber, rapidly spinning bullet, the human body is extremely fragile. The part hit will not just have a bloody hole, but will be torn apart instantly by the bullet's terrifying spin force, with flesh and blood flying everywhere. There is no need for a headshot. If it hits the leg, the leg is gone; if it hits the arm, the arm is gone; if it hits the abdomen, it may even split the enemy's body in two.

The value of this weapon is undeniable; the only problem is…

"Does anyone among us know how to use a sniper rifle?"

Seeing that Kotoko Iwanaga, Megumi Kato, and Asuna Yuuki were all looking at him expectantly, Asagiri, who was resting there, was somewhat speechless.

"What do you take me for, some urban super soldier? Even in the military, there are very few snipers who are skilled in using sniper rifles. How could I possibly use a sniper rifle? Don't be ridiculous."

"That's such a shame."

Hearing Asuna Yuuki's slightly regretful words, Asagiri smiled.

"What's there to regret? We may not know how to aim at long range, but we can still shoot at close range, right? Just take it for now."

Asuna Yuuki nodded, then asked.