Chapter 53: The Banshee Within Private Toyosaki
"Huh?"
Asuna stared, genuinely stunned, as Kotoko dodged the black figure with an agility that looked completely incompatible with her usual vibe.
"Necro… I thought you didn't have combat ability. How could you…"
"I'm just not good at fighting. That doesn't mean my body is weak."
Kotoko lifted the prosthetic limb in her hand and gave it a small shake toward Asuna, smiling like she was presenting evidence in court.
"Look. My physical fitness is far above normal. This prosthetic is already the best model in the world, but if I move too violently, the connection breaks to protect the user's body. Like it did just now."
Then she turned to Asagiri, pouting in a cute, reproachful tone.
"Leader, you tested my trump card and made me waste a prosthetic limb. I don't care, you have to compensate me. I don't accept money. Only a date."
"Okay." Asagiri nodded without hesitation.
"Then I'll go on a date with Asuna. Consider that your compensation."
Kotoko's face flushed instantly. She hopped on one leg in panic, looking ready to declare war.
"If you're compensating me, then you have to go on a date with me!"
"Quiet." Asagiri lifted his chin, eyes sharpening. "Important business first."
He looked up the stairs at the creature, panting heavily in the shadows. Now that it was closer, its true shape finally came into view.
This was the so-called Banshee.
Its head resembled the legendary yokai Kudan, said to predict disasters. It had the shape of a bull's head, but the face was human. Its eyes had no pupils, only deathly pale whites that made looking at it feel wrong on an instinctive level.
Its body was human-shaped, yet coated in coarse, beastlike fur. Its limbs ended not in hands or feet, but hooves.
"Hoh…"
Hearing that sound, Asuna assumed Asagiri was reacting the same way she was. The Floating Corpse Evil Spirit had still been within the boundaries of "human shaped."
This thing…
This thing radiated a kind of Anomaly that made the stomach clench.
But when Asuna glanced at Asagiri, her expression turned flat.
He looked excited. Like a kid spotting a rare animal at the zoo.
"…Don't tell me," Asuna said, deadpan, "you think this is the legendary Minotaur."
"Minotaur your head," she immediately added, more irritated now. "You're not planning to take it home and raise it, are you?"
"How could I?" Asagiri replied, offended. "You can't raise a Minotaur. That's too unlucky."
While they spoke, all three retreated. They only stopped once the bull-headed Banshee had moved down the stairs and stepped into the wide first-floor lobby.
Only then did they settle into formation.
"Violet, get ready."
Asuna nodded, locking eyes with the monster. Her right hand tightened.
The Exorcist Longsword manifested in her grip.
Asagiri didn't summon a Persona. This time, the point was to test his newly acquired power. More importantly, he intended to give the finishing blow to Asuna.
Or rather, let her take the bull's head, so her unique talent, Flash, could trigger a speed boost from the kill.
If he wiped it out instantly, the whole operation would be pointless.
"Clang…"
Metal scraped softly.
A coiled chain slid into Asagiri's hand. At its end hung a sharp blade like a dagger.
"Here we go."
The moment he spoke, Asagiri snapped his arm forward.
An afterimage cut through the air. The Rope Dart shot straight toward the center of the Banshee's forehead.
"ROAR!!!"
The monster shrieked, sharp enough to sting the ears. It threw up a thick, fur-covered arm to block.
The Rope Dart punched through flesh cleanly and sank deep.
The impact made its nearly two-meter-tall frame stagger.
Before it could stabilize, a cold glint flashed from its side.
Asuna's sword whistled through the air and struck its other arm.
But the cut only bit about a centimeter deep. It didn't sever.
"Tch… Strength really is my weakness."
Asuna didn't hesitate for even half a breath.
She yanked her blade free and rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the Banshee's stomping hoof as it slammed down where she had been.
"Bang!!"
Cracks spiderwebbed through the hard tiles. Gravel burst outward.
Asuna's eyes narrowed.
This thing's raw strength was absurd.
Her own strengths were clear now too. Defense and power weren't her best stats.
Speed and reaction were.
And the sword move that converted speed into damage most efficiently wasn't a heavy cleave.
It was…
At that moment, the Banshee's human face twisted in pain. The Exorcist Longsword's anti-spirit effect was clearly biting deep, and Asagiri's cursed Rope Dart didn't help either.
Its pale eyes turned toward Asagiri several meters away.
Then it did something unexpected.
Panting through both nose and mouth, it opened wide and bit down on the metal chain connected to the Rope Dart.
Its posture shifted.
It dropped from standing upright to all fours, becoming a beast in an instant. Its horns leveled like spears, and it charged straight at Asagiri.
"Hoh, you can switch forms too?" Asagiri sounded delighted. "Interesting."
He didn't dodge.
He didn't even flinch.
He simply waited as the monster thundered toward him, hooves cracking the floor with every step.
Then, right as it closed in, Asagiri tightened his grip.
His fingers clamped around the chain.
In the next second, he stepped sideways and swung hard with one arm, using the monster's own charging momentum like borrowed power.
The Banshee's body whipped around like the head of a flail.
And slammed straight into the nearby wall.
"BOOM!"
The impact shook the entire first floor. Dust erupted outward as the wall caved into a crater.
"Heh."
Asagiri reeled the Rope Dart back in, watching the bull-headed Banshee wedged in the broken wall like a failed decoration.
He chuckled lightly.
"Daring to eat anything will only hurt you."
Asuna and Kotoko stood frozen, staring at him through the settling dust.
That was a nearly two-meter-tall monster.
And he had just swung it into a wall one-handed, leaving a crater.
…Was he even human?
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