Chapter 33: Two Living Yamas
The suit man and the woman with heavy makeup both flushed red, clearly wanting to argue. But with the gun aimed at them, neither had the courage to keep playing tough. In the end, they could only fall silent.
"I truly didn't expect to run into two Players this foolish."
Kotoko still wore that sweet smile. She shook her head with a gentle, almost helpless sigh, as if she were scolding children who had tracked mud into a clean hallway.
"I can understand wanting excitement, but since this is the outcome, you can only blame yourselves for being careless and not strong enough. Still, that alone shouldn't explain why you're possessed by this hotel's oddities. Keep going. What else did you do?"
The woman hesitated, then forced out a reply.
"Th that… after that… we searched the room, walked around that floor… and we didn't do anything else…"
"No."
Asagiri shook his head. His gaze pinned them in place, calm and heavy.
"After you two did that, you drank the hotel's water, didn't you?"
"Huh? How did"
The woman froze. Then she noticed Asagiri's index finger settling onto the trigger. Any thought of hiding the truth vanished. She hurried to confess.
"Yes… I remember now. We saw bottled mineral water in the room, so we took two bottles and drank them…"
Asuna's expression twisted into something complicated, like disbelief crashing into exhaustion.
"You… you… sigh. How can people be this stupid…"
The suit man tried to defend himself, voice sharp with desperation.
"No, we didn't drink tap water. It was bottled mineral water. I checked. The seal wasn't broken. There shouldn't be a problem."
Asagiri's eyes turned colder.
"I said you were brain dead, and you really are brain dead. The novice dungeon gave you confidence, didn't it?"
His tone sharpened, every word cutting.
"Banshee. Do you even understand what a Banshee is? Do you think a Banshee needs to unscrew the cap to replace the water inside? Amazing logic. It's got that simple, pure beauty of a brain stem deficiency."
Both of them went pale. Their bodies trembled as they spoke.
"Then… then what happens after drinking it?"
Asuna pressed her lips together. She looked at the two shaking Players, her voice turning complicated.
"We're not completely sure yet. But if I had to guess… your bodies will explode like balloons."
"Explode?!"
The suit man's face warped. His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the carpet. In the next second, he dropped into a full dogeza and pleaded toward Asagiri.
"Save me… please save me! Since you know there's something wrong with the water, you must have a way to fix it, right? Please! And I'm rich! After we clear the dungeon, I can give you money, however much you want!"
"Don't make me laugh."
Asagiri's reply was flat and merciless.
"You courted death yourself. Why should I save you? Am I your father? What obligation do I have?"
Kotoko stepped closer.
For a moment, Asuna thought Kotoko was about to soften. That she would persuade Asagiri to save them.
Instead, Kotoko spoke in an easy, almost cheerful tone, still smiling.
"That's right. Based on what you said, if they might explode at any time, then they're basically walking time bombs. If they burst and blood or other fluids splash into our eyes or mouths, we could also be infected by the oddity. So my suggestion is we kill them here."
Asuna stiffened.
She hadn't expected such words from a cute, doll like girl with a sweet face and a gentle voice.
Not save them. Kill them. Clean and direct, to prevent future trouble.
Rationally, Asuna understood Kotoko wasn't wrong. But they were still human lives. To say it like that, relaxed, smiling, as if discussing the weather…
A girl who dared to sign up for a dungeon alone really wasn't simple.
"Hey," Asagiri said casually, "you're saying that, but they're still alive. My morals won't let me kill people outright."
The suit man and the woman with heavy makeup, pale as paper, almost burst into tears on the spot. For a second, they felt like the world still had hope.
"Besides," Asagiri continued.
His tone shifted, smooth and gentle, and a kind smile appeared.
"Killing you directly would be a waste."
The two of them froze.
Asagiri tilted his head slightly.
"You want to live, right?"
"Yes, please," the suit man choked out. "Please…"
"Asking me is useless."
Asagiri interrupted him with a light laugh, as if amused by something only he could see.
"Based on what we know, there's a Banshee in this hotel that's stronger than the others. Strong enough to erase another Banshee whenever it wants. It's probably the source of the oddities here. You drank the water, so you've been infected. The only way you survive is if we solve the source."
His smile didn't change, but the room felt colder.
"In other words, make yourselves useful."
If the source wasn't dealt with, they were dead anyway. Since that was the case, they could at least serve as cannon fodder to scout the unknown.
Of course, if they refused, that was fine too.
There were only two choices.
Either follow his plan and become the bait used to explore the dangerous areas, which might give them a chance to live.
Or he would kill them right here to remove the risk.
The choice was theirs.
The suit man and the woman with heavy makeup stared at him in stunned silence.
Good heavens.
There were monsters among Players.
And this one was even worse.
A living King Yama.
Kotoko blinked, clearly surprised at first. Then her expression softened into approval, and she nodded deeply.
"Yes, that's right. If death is certain, it's better to squeeze out whatever value you have left and become our scouts. As expected, your plan is the more reliable one."
"You flatter me, you flatter me." Asagiri's smile widened slightly. "My sense of morality is just too strong. I really can't bring myself to kill people directly."
Asuna stood there with her lips parted, not sure what to say.
Why did it feel like…
Even though those two had only just met, their timing was absurdly good?
Like two blades that didn't clash, because they were already pointed in the same direction.
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