Chapter 40: Justice Descends
Five minutes later, the three of them stood on the first floor, inside the hotel's front desk reception hall.
The marble tiles were polished so smoothly they reflected the massive crystal chandelier above like a second ceiling. The entire lobby was empty. No staff stood behind the counter. No footsteps echoed in the distance. The only movement came from a landline phone at the reception desk, its receiver dangling and swaying slightly, as if someone had dropped it in a hurry.
A busy tone beeped from it, steady and annoying in the suffocating silence.
Then, without warning, a deafening crash erupted from above.
Boom!!!
A humanoid black shadow, over two meters tall, slammed down from nearly ten meters in the air. Reddish patterns glowed across its body like heated metal. The impact shattered the quiet. Cracks spiderwebbed through the marble, and broken tiles jumped as if the floor itself had flinched.
Bang!!!
Dust and debris scattered.
From within it, a voice rose, bright with amusement.
"Well? Didn't I tell you? This is the fastest shortcut. No enemies."
Kotoko hopped down from the Human Asura's shoulder and landed lightly, as if she hadn't just dropped into a lobby like a meteor. Calm as ever, she brushed herself off first, then lifted a hand to adjust her white beret.
"The other side probably didn't expect us to use neither the stairs nor the elevator," she said with a smile. "Smashing straight through the floors from the fifth level is… certainly unconventional."
"We didn't run into any obstacles, but…" Asuna pursed her lips as Asagiri dismissed the Human Asura the moment they landed. Her gaze stayed fixed on him, worry leaking through her composure. "Summoning a Persona consumes a lot of mental and physical strength, right? And you smashed through four floors in a row, plus the impact buffer on landing. Are you okay?"
"Completely fine."
Asagiri replied with a relaxed smile, then casually typed on his phone. He flipped it around so both Asuna and Kotoko could see the screen.
A little tired. Used about thirty percent of my physical strength. Mental strength is fine. Don't talk about this. If the source can hear us, it might take the chance to attack. Act normal and buy me a little time to rest.
Asuna and Kotoko both nodded at once.
Asagiri wasn't trying to act cool. This wasn't a stage, and it definitely wasn't a harmless game. It was a Dungeon, one where two Players had already died. Hiding his condition would only sabotage his teammates' judgment.
"Let's check the reception area first," Asuna said, forcing her voice steady. "Your special hint mentioned it. It said we could get valuable information there."
She still didn't like how strained he might be, but she also knew the truth.
If they took the normal route down the stairs, they could end up fighting Banshees in a narrow stairwell. One slip, one wrong angle, and everything would turn ugly fast. It would drain all three of them, physically and mentally.
Compared to that, smashing straight down had been the most reliable option.
Asuna moved first, gripping the Exorcist's Longsword. A small amount of mental strength flowed through her as she applied Wind Blessing, making her body lighter and her steps quieter. She took point, blade ready, positioning herself so that if a Banshee surged out of the darkness, she could block it immediately.
Fortunately, no pale faces and screaming mouths burst from the shadows.
Asuna released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, but she didn't loosen her grip. Together, the three of them searched for the so called valuable information mentioned in the hint.
"Guest registration form… employee ID… sanitation certificate…" Kotoko flipped through items with a polite expression that didn't match the situation at all. "These are useless."
Just as they were coming up empty, Asagiri walked to a staff spot nearby and picked up a newspaper left on a table.
"Found it," he said calmly. "Valuable information."
"You found something already?" Asuna leaned in.
Most of the paper was stained with irregular black blotches, like ink spilled by an invisible hand. The majority of the text was unreadable. Only one section remained clear, and it contained a short news report.
"Kyozan Mental Hospital Patient Riot Incident…"
Asuna blinked, then frowned. "Kyozan… That's where we did the novice Dungeon."
She looked up at Asagiri, confused. "But this doesn't feel valuable. We basically guessed something like that already, didn't we? The Dungeon's story was pretty much about a riot."
"No." Asagiri shook his head. His tone stayed even, but his eyes were focused. "The valuable part isn't the incident."
He tapped the newspaper lightly.
"The fact that news about Kyozan Mental Hospital appears in this hotel's newspaper proves something. It means the location of this Dungeon and the location of our previous novice Dungeon exist in the same world."
Asuna's brows tightened.
"Also, both are supernatural type Dungeons." Asagiri continued. "Since the app specifically called this valuable information, it can't be coincidence. For now, we can assume that all bizarre type Dungeons arranged by the app take place in a specific region within that world."
He paused, then spoke the name as if labeling a map.
"Let's call it the Bizarre World."
"Bizarre World…" Asuna repeated softly. Curiosity tugged at her despite the tension. "If that's true, what can we do with that information?"
"Nothing," Asagiri answered immediately.
Asuna and Kotoko both froze for a beat.
Asagiri didn't look embarrassed in the slightest. "It's interesting, but it's temporarily useless. Right now, it only gives us the satisfaction of uncovering part of the truth as Players."
"Satisfaction…" Asuna sighed and shook her head, a little helpless. "Compared to that, I'd rather have something like the Exorcist's Longsword. Something that actually helps us clear the Dungeon."
Kotoko's lips curved slightly, as if she were about to respond.
Then her expression snapped sharp.
The smile vanished. Her deep purple eyes turned cold with vigilance.
"Wait." Her voice dropped. "Something is approaching."
The moment she said it, the silence broke.
From somewhere deeper in the hotel came a sound like wet footsteps mixed with dripping water, a soft, rhythmic pitter patter that crawled across the lobby like a warning.
And it was getting closer.
<><><><><>
[Check Out My Patreon For +40 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]