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

……

After Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and the others left the internet cafe, they found a secluded area behind a building. Only then did the four of them finally relax a bit.

"Who were those people just now...?"

Asagiri raised her hand and gently rubbed her temples as she replied.

“They are from the Special Bureau for Countering Ajin, and their mobile phones all have GPS trackers installed.”

After entering the dungeon, Asagiri used Crazy Mita's exclusive ability twice, Sleepy Mita's exclusive ability once, and also summoned Kind Mita once. Even with his current level of mental strength, he was inevitably somewhat overwhelmed.

Seeing this, Asuna Yuuki took two steps forward and stood behind Asagiri. Then she stretched out her fair hands and gently massaged his temples, her voice gentle yet tinged with concern.

"Are you feeling alright? Let's rest for a bit before we discuss this."

"No, there's no time."

Despite her mental exhaustion, Asagiri tried to speak in the calmest tone possible so as not to worry Asuna Yuuki.

"Just now, when Crazy Mita infiltrated, they found hidden data on that person's phone. As subordinates of the Ajin Countermeasures Bureau, they received a mission stating that there are 120 suspicious individuals suspected of being Ajin within the Tokyo area. Although there are no photos or portraits, there are written descriptions of the suspicious individuals' appearances. The four of us are included in this list, namely..."

"A tall and beautiful girl with long flaxen hair, hazel eyes, and a height of about 168cm; a petite girl with short, light blonde curly hair, dark purple eyes, and fair skin, and a height of about 150cm; a girl with short black hair, black eyes, and a height of about 160cm; and a boy with black hair and eyes, a height of 183cm, and outstanding appearance. Necro's age is described as a junior high school student, while the three of us are high school or college students."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna Yuuki's expression changed, and worry appeared in her eyes.

"How could this be... Our appearance was exposed, and... they even mistook us for demi-humans? Wait a minute, you just said... there are a total of 120 suspicious individuals in Tokyo who resemble demi-humans. Could these 120 people be the players who entered the instance this time?"

"That should be true, but that's not all."

Asagiri gently squeezed Yuuki Asuna's hand, indicating with her eyes that she was alright, then looked at Iwanaga Kotoko and Kato Megumi standing there and slowly spoke.

"Because in the list of 120 suspicious persons, there were no words like 'beautiful girl with black hair and red eyes,' or 'cute girl with pink hair and blue eyes and a great figure.'"

Kotoko Iwanaga, of course, understood that the two people Asagiri was referring to were Kaguya Shinomiya and Chika Fujiwara. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke.

"Is it possible that those two people didn't enter this instance?"

"impossible."

Asagiri shook her head, speaking calmly.

"That pink-haired girl sent me an email asking me to meet her alone on Saturday. She's not the kind of girl who's infatuated with handsome guys. Sending me that email, whether it's to test me or to have some fun, means she knows there's a super-large dungeon this Saturday that invites high-level players. So, the two of them must have signed up and confirmed they'll be participating."

"And since they are also in Tokyo, there is no possibility that their appearance information will be exposed. Although it is not absolutely zero, it is extremely unlikely. Judging from the consistent style of this game system, the preferential treatment that high-end players can get is just special tips and other information. As for their situation after entering the dungeon, they are the same as ordinary players, so it is unlikely that there will be such obvious differential treatment."

"So the most likely reason why they are not on the list of suspicious persons in Tokyo is that their initial location when entering this instance is different from ours, not Tokyo, but another city."

"We can discuss these later. Right now, our top priority is..."

Before Asagiri could finish speaking, Kato Megumi already understood his meaning and said in a calm tone.

"Leave here as soon as possible. As time goes by, it will become increasingly difficult for us to disappear without a trace."

27

Chapter 27 The train to Chiba Prefecture.

"Yes, that's it."

Asagiri replied, seemingly deep in thought.

"For players, there are now two paths to take."

"First, stay in the city. After all, the city has a dense population and complex terrain. Also, since the Special Bureau for Countering Demi-humans has not issued a public warrant for the players, it means that they have to consider the news that 'a large number of suspected demi-humans are hiding in the city,' which may cause panic among ordinary citizens and have an impact on public opinion. Therefore, their actions are also limited. As long as they hide in the city, they may be able to get away with it."

"But as time goes on, once the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau realizes the players' special powers, they will no longer resort to small-scale measures like pistols. As an official agency, it is very likely that they will deploy riot police, sniper rifles, or even helicopters to block off all entrances and exits of the city. At that point, it will be impossible to break through the defenses and reach the research institute base in Chiba Prefecture."

"The second option is to go directly to Chiba Prefecture before the Bureau of Countermeasures against Ajin completely seals off the city, wait for the right opportunity, raid the research institute base, and obtain research data on Ajin."

"The risks of doing so are obvious: facing obstacles set up by the Special Bureau for Countering Demi-humans, or even fighting against armed agents."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Kotoko Iwanaga seemed to be deep in thought.

"In other words... when the ordinary players who choose the first path and hide in the city can complete the dungeon actually depends entirely on the high-end players who choose the second path? No wonder the dungeon invited us to enter this dungeon. Unlike previous dungeons, this dungeon has no time limit. If no player can obtain that experimental data, this dungeon will end in a total wipeout."

After she finished speaking, Kotoko Iwanaga immediately asked the most crucial question.

"Then... how do we get to Chiba?"

"Take the Shinkansen."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki paused for a moment, then looked at Asagiri with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't you say before that taking the tram was too risky? Why are you saying this now..."

"It's different now."

No explanation was needed from Asagiri; Kotoko Iwanaga, whose style was most similar to his, already understood his thoughts.

"We said before that we couldn't ride the tram because we weren't sure whether the danger in the first test came from the demi-humans or from the official institutions of this world. If it was the former, since humans don't even consider the demi-humans as their own kind, most of the demi-humans probably wouldn't care about human lives either. They were perfectly capable of killing the players on the tram and killing all the other tram passengers in the process."

"But now we know that the danger of the first test comes from the so-called Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau, and the Leader also said that, judging from the fact that they did not issue a public arrest warrant, they are, after all, an official agency and need to take into account the emotions of the citizens and the impact on public opinion."

“Taking the train is the fastest and most energy-efficient option. With the Phantom's abilities, we can enter the train without being seen by anyone. The Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau is unlikely to discover us, and even if they do…”

At this point, Kotoko Iwanaga paused slightly, gave Asuna Yuuki a deep look, and finally spoke frankly.

“Those passengers on the tram can become our bargaining chips, which will allow us to break through the obstacles set by the Special Bureau for Countering Ajin.”

"This……"

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki's expression changed, and she hesitated.

"Then if we do this kind of thing... wouldn't we be no different from terrorists...?"

"Wake up, Violet."

Although Asagiri's tone was calm, both Kato Megumi and Iwanaga Kotoko could tell that he was very serious at the moment.

"This is a dungeon. This world is not our world. Those people from the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau are acting with the idea that killing us is no big deal. So we must be prepared for the same thing. There is no mercy, no leniency. This is not child's play, but war."

Asagiri reached out and placed her hand on Yuuki Asuna's shoulder, looking directly into her eyes, and slowly began to speak.

“We try our best not to hurt innocent people, but personally, if it's to protect you, to protect the safety of my teammates, I would not hesitate to kill people in this world, even if they are so-called innocent people or ordinary people.”

"I……"

"It's alright, Violet."

Kotoko Iwanaga took two steps forward, looked at Asuna Yuuki, whose face showed hesitation, and said softly with a smile.

"Given your and Phantom's personalities, using the lives of innocent people as leverage to blackmail the enemy might indeed be too difficult for you. But as the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Leader and I have flexible moral standards, so if it really comes down to it, the two of us can do it. However, if it's against the group from the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau, you must kill them without hesitation, without any mercy or compassion. Can you do that?"

Asuna Yuuki nodded, her tone firm.

"Yes, I will. Those people are the enemy."

"That's good."

Kotoko Iwanaga responded first, then looked at Megumi Kato who was standing there.

"What are your thoughts, Phantom?"

"I don't want to kill anyone, but..."

Kato Megumi said softly and calmly.

"I don't want to die in the dungeon, so I won't hesitate."

……

Twenty minutes later, on a train traveling from Tokyo to Chiba Prefecture.

"call……"

Kato Megumi sat by the window, watching the scenery flash by outside the window of the speeding tram, and breathed a sigh of relief.

How are you feeling?

Hearing Asagiri's question beside her, Kato Megumi turned her head and smiled.

"Well, it's okay."

Asagiri glanced at her expression and said in a flat tone.

"You're just putting on a brave face."

Kato Megumi was taken aback by what she heard and asked curiously.

"Huh? How did you tell?"

Asagiri shook her head and said with a smile.

"Because you rarely smile, the forced smile you give at times like this is just to reassure me, right?"

"As expected of the Leader, you saw right through me."

Kato Megumi tucked a strand of short hair behind her ear, turned to look at Yuuki Asuna and Iwanaga Kotoko, who were sitting at the back of the carriage, remaining vigilant. Seeing that they weren't paying attention to her, she looked at Asagiri with a serious expression.

"I have something I want to ask you."

"what's up?"

"You've started dating both of them, haven't you?"

When asked by Kato Megumi, Asagiri nodded without hesitation.

"Correct."

"Knew it."

Kato Megumi gave a noncommittal reply, then spoke softly.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead."

"After we clear this dungeon, can you tell them that I actually know everything?"

Kato Megumi made the request first, and then explained softly.

“I can understand that they would feel awkward if they told me this directly. I can also see that because we have said that teammates should completely trust each other, they are conflicted about whether or not to tell me this directly.”

“If I were to talk to them myself, the atmosphere might become a little awkward, but if you, Leader, do it, there won’t be this problem.”

"It's not that I meant anything else. I just wanted them to know that I knew, so they could feel less burdened. That would be better for the whole team. What do you think?"

Upon hearing Kato Megumi's words, Asagiri chuckled and teased.

"I think you should just join us."

Please don't make jokes like that.

Kato Megumi replied calmly, "I get very bothered by jokes like that."

"Does that mean if I'm serious, you won't be bothered?"

Faced with Asagiri's words, Kato Megumi blushed, a blush rarely seen on her face. She turned her head to look out the window, without answering the question directly.

……

An hour later, inside the train carriage.

"We're almost in Chiba territory..."

Asuna Yuuki looked at the scenery rushing past the window, gripping her exorcist sword tightly, then looked at Asagiri sitting opposite her, seemingly deep in thought, and asked curiously.

"What's wrong? Are you thinking about the next steps?"

"Of course we need to think about a plan, but there's still one problem."

Asagiri looked at Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi in front of her and said softly.

"Judging from previous instances, although supernatural phenomena and supernatural forces exist in the instance world, the dangers in all instances are logical."

"For example, the zombie instance we went through together, the special infected were created by the Blackwatch army for some kind of experimental purpose. Another example is the Mita instance, because there were two versions of Mita, the original Mita and Crazy Mita, which is why there were so many dangers in what was originally a dating game world."

"So how did the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau know the players' appearances this time? Did the system tell them through some means? No, that doesn't fit the pattern of this death game. It must be because someone in this world passed the information to the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau. So what purpose does this person want to achieve?"

Before Asuna and the others could reply to Asagiri's words, they suddenly saw more than a dozen men in black suits walking over from the connecting area of ​​the far carriages.

"over there!"

When the man in the suit who was leading the group saw Asagiri and the others sitting there, he immediately took out a pistol from his pocket, aimed it, and then pulled the trigger without hesitation.