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

"that is……"

Kato Megumi carefully organized her thoughts and spoke softly.

Why did you fall in love with Utsunomiya-kun?

"Um……"

Kotoko Iwanaga sat up from the sofa, picked up the tray and teacup on the coffee table, took a small sip of the tea, and then replied slowly and with a smile.

"Although I think that liking someone doesn't need any special reason, by normal standards, Asagiri is very handsome, has a good physique, and is excellent in both academics and sports. As for his personality... although it's a bit eccentric and abstract, I would never feel bored when I'm with him. No matter how you look at it, it's perfectly normal for me to like him, right?"

"is that so……"

Kato Megumi nodded noncommittally, after all, she had never been in a relationship or liked any boy.

"Instead of this, why don't you go to your room and get some sleep?"

Kotoko Iwanaga stood up, stretched, rubbed her eyes sleepily, and yawned.

"Judging from the situation, those two won't be leaving the instance anytime soon. This time the clear time is also very short. You can take a nap and then go to school."

Kato Megumi nodded: "Yes, I think that's better too."

Although I had already asked for leave in advance, since I can go to school to attend classes when I have enough rest, it's better to go anyway.

……

Several hours later, at eight o'clock in the morning in the real world, inside the instance, in the administrative building of Ren'ai Hospital.

"There are less than two hours left until the dungeon ends..."

Asuna Yuuki's right hand, holding the exorcist's longsword, trembled slightly as she looked at the special infected creature covered in pustules, whose skull had been pierced by her sword and whose mouth extended a dark red tongue several meters long. She then looked at Asagiri beside her and whispered.

"This must be what they call the Smokers... Of the eight special infected, we haven't encountered the only one that's described as the most powerful, the Tank."

As Asagiri observed the corpse of the Smoker, she said thoughtfully.

"Hmm, maybe the difficulty level of this instance will prevent the appearance of tank-type special infected."

Asuna Yuuki's expression was somewhat complicated, and she sighed softly.

"Even so, besides us, only those two players completed the game. The rest of the players... were they all eliminated...?"

Asagiri glanced out the corridor window at the pitch-black night, where almost nothing could be seen, and spoke softly.

"There are less than two hours left until the dungeon's time limit expires. If the system really has a way to eliminate those slackers, it should be appearing around this time, and..."

Asagiri paused slightly, walked to the corpse of the special infected person, Smoker, and took out a black implantable locator from the tailbone near the neck. He then placed it in the transparent plastic bag that the infected person was carrying in his left hand.

Inside that bag were nearly twenty implantable locators, stained with blood.

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri said in a smiling voice.

"If the owner of the locator sees so many coordinates representing special infected individuals concentrated in one place, they'll definitely come to investigate. I hope to meet them, and then..."

"Things will get interesting."

79

Chapter 79 The Mysterious Black Army.

Seeing the eagerness and overflowing excitement in Asagiri's voice as she spoke, Asuna Yuuki first shook her head, then smiled, her tone somewhat helpless but with a gentle smile.

"Sigh, you really are something. There are probably very few players like you who treat this game like a game, who enjoy the fun and even look forward to danger. But oh well, that's what happens when you're the Leader. In that case, let's see who the mastermind behind this city is."

Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's words, Asagiri shook her head.

"No, you should leave first."

"Should I leave first? But..."

"Stop being brave."

Asagiri pointed to Yuuki Asuna's right hand, which was holding the exorcist's sword, and said in a calm tone.

"For the past few hours, you've been killing ordinary infected and the occasional special infected. Your stamina must have reached its limit long ago, right?"

"I……"

Before Yuuki Asuna could speak, Asagiri walked up to her, reached out and gently stroked Yuuki Asuna's long hair, and said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I have the 'Reversed Pocket Watch'. Even if things really go wrong, I'll definitely be able to clear the dungeon and leave. Besides, you're in a bad state right now and can't exert your original combat power. Leave the information about the mastermind to me. I'll relay it to you after we leave the dungeon, okay?"

"OK then."

Although Asuna Yuuki is the kind of person who is unwilling to admit defeat and has a strong sense of self-respect, she knows that Asagiri is right.

At this moment, she is not only incapable of fighting, but she is also very likely to become a burden to the opponent.

"That……"

Asuna Yuuki raised her head, pursed her lips, and looked at Asagiri with deep worry in her eyes.

"You must be careful and stay safe, okay?"

Asagiri nodded and spoke frankly.

"Then kiss me."

"What time is it? You're still thinking about taking advantage?"

Yuuki Asuna blushed and said this in a huff, then hesitated for a moment before tiptoeing and gently kissing Asagiri's cheek, followed by a soft whisper.

"After you return safely, we'll kiss other places..."

Asagiri asked earnestly, "So, you think I can just kiss you wherever I want?"

"you……"

Asuna Yuuki wasn't the kind of girl who was too naive. She immediately understood that Asagiri was making a dirty joke, and couldn't help but clench her fist and lightly punch his shoulder. Then she said, feeling both embarrassed and angry.

"Anyway, if you die, I... I'll never let you off the hook!"

The next second, after clicking the confirmation button on the mobile app, Asuna Yuuki's figure gradually disappeared.

"Heh, I'm already dead, why are you still not letting me off the hook? There's no way I can play a revival match."

Asagiri said this first, then the smile on her face disappeared, and she put the "unpredictable mask" back on her face, looking out at the pitch-black night and muttering to herself.

"Could the mastermind behind this be, just as I suspect, those guys...?"

……

Ten minutes later, at the main entrance of Ren'ai Hospital.

In the shadows of the night, many small dots flashing blue light suddenly appeared. Then appeared a dozen mysterious people dressed in full black combat uniforms, wearing optical goggles and gas masks, with full-finger tactical gloves on both hands, holding black rifles, with not a single inch of skin exposed. They advanced slowly in standard combat squad formation, like special forces.

Among this group, there was only one person whose tactical jacket and protective gear were black, but whose inner lining was white.

The man in the white combat uniform raised his left arm, revealing an LCD screen on his forearm armor. At that moment, it displayed nearly twenty red dots, indicating that the administrative office building of Renai Hospital was in use.

"Fifty meters to the target location, continue forward."

After the commander-like figure gave the order, the squad ignored the corpses of ordinary infected people scattered throughout the hospital and continued advancing towards the administrative office building.

A few minutes later, the team entered the lobby on the first floor of the administrative office building.

Upon entering, they saw a transparent plastic bag placed near the elevator entrance, containing nearly twenty implanted locators that represented the red dots on the screen.

"Ok?"

After the squad slowly approached, one of the team members cautiously stepped forward, carefully examined the area, and then reported back to the commander.

"It seems there were no traps; someone deliberately collected the locators and placed them here."

"A trap..."

Just as the commander was about to give the order, the previously silent hall was suddenly filled with the sound of light footsteps.

The instant they heard footsteps, all the squad members simultaneously turned their guns towards the direction from which the footsteps came. However, what they saw through their night vision goggles, a scene as bright as day, was actually...

"A little girl? Is she human? What's she doing here?"

Just as they were wondering why a blonde, blue-eyed little girl carrying a teddy bear would appear in this city, the commander, watching the little girl approaching step by step, gave an order.

"Shoot her, kill her."

Faced with such an inhumane order, the team members did not object at all. One of them had already pointed the muzzle of his gun at the little girl's forehead, but before he could pull the trigger, the little girl suddenly spoke in a sweet and soft voice.

"Can……"

"Will you die for me?"

The moment the little girl finished speaking, the four members of the squad, dressed in black combat uniforms, suddenly collapsed to the ground, instantly losing their breath.

"shot!"

Noticing their teammate's bizarre death, the remaining squad members showed no panic. Instead, they aimed at the little girl standing there and pulled the trigger.

The flash of gunfire illuminated the previously dimly lit hospital lobby.

But before they fired, the blonde, blue-eyed little girl vanished instantly, as if she had never been there at all.

"Disappeared... Could it be a strange creature?"

The commander, dressed in a white combat uniform, did not panic. Instead, he raised his hand, pressed the communication button, and then spoke.

"Report, Squad A has encountered a strange incident and requests backup..."

Just as he was halfway through his sentence, another voice rang out from not far away.

“Persona…”

"Human Asura".

The moment the sound rang out, a tall, dark figure, just over two meters tall, appeared in the lobby on the first floor.

The moment it appeared, it approached at an extremely fast speed, grabbed a team member wearing a black combat uniform with both hands, and tore the man's body in two at the waist.

"Bang bang bang!"

Even upon witnessing the gruesome scene of the team member's body being torn apart, the other special forces members did not hesitate at all. Instead, they immediately turned their guns on the tall, dark figure and pulled the triggers.

A hail of rifle bullets instantly tore the tall, dark figure to pieces, and then it vanished into thin air.

Immediately afterwards, the team members quickly headed in the direction from which the sound had come, only to find that there was no one there after they rounded the corner.

"That sound just now..."

The commander looked at the empty corridor and muttered to himself.

"Not a strange event... but deliberate? Who on earth could possibly bypass our monitored perimeter and sneak into this city..."

……

[Congratulations to "player" Utsunomiya Asagiri, you have cleared this dungeon!]

[Human Asura's trait "Rebirth of the End" activated, bullet resistance increased]

[Your special bonus actions in this instance are: deducing part of the truth behind the "disaster", killing special infected individuals, meeting and engaging in battle with the mastermind behind the "disaster", and successfully eliminating five of them.]

[This dungeon clear rating is: S+]

[Please begin customizing the quantity and type of rewards you wish to obtain upon completion of the level]

"Asagiri, you're back!"

Upon seeing Asagiri appear on the sofa, Kotoko Iwanaga and Megumi Kato, who had already woken up from their nap, along with Asuna Yuuki, who had recently left and was still worried, immediately gathered around him.

"You...your condition..."

Asagiri waved her hand, and although she looked very tired, she still replied in a relaxed and smiling tone.

"It's nothing, it just took some energy to summon the Persona, I wasn't injured at all."

"That's good."

Hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna Yuuki breathed a sigh of relief, and then tentatively asked.

"You said you summoned the Persona, which means..."

"Ah."

Asagiri nodded, looked at the three people in front of her—Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi—and slowly began to speak.

"I encountered the masterminds behind the disaster that caused that city, and fought with them. Just as I thought, the people in black clothes that Alice mentioned, and the army that the ghost man in the hospital spoke of, are actually members of a military organization."