Chapter 327: Darkness
"Bang... bang... bang..."
In the silent darkness, Iwanaga Kotoko could clearly hear her own heartbeat.
Her current state was unusual. Although she could see nothing, her special talent allowed her to feel fear itself, like seawater pressing in from every direction.
At this moment, Iwanaga Kotoko finally understood what the Fox Mask Woman had once said.
"Gods" could not be defeated.
This thing was not a Curse at all, but a phenomenon born from rules that existed within a specific area.
What kind of power could possibly break a phenomenon?
"Necro."
Just as Iwanaga Kotoko felt despair and fear for the first time in her life, Asagiri's hand gently rested on her shoulder. His voice carried its usual relaxed smile.
"Don't forget, you are the God of Wisdom, the Princess who manages the order between Yokai and the human world. And I'm even more fearsome, the number one Eroge Shooter in Tokyo. In my eyes, a mere God is nothing but a clown."
Hearing Asagiri's voice, Iwanaga Kotoko instantly regained her composure.
A faint smile appeared in the darkness. She held Asagiri's hand, feeling the warmth of his palm, and spoke in a gentle tone.
"That's right... I was indeed belittling myself. The two of us together are invincible."
"Of course. Our pressure is like Lin Chong riding Wu Song."
"Then I want to be Wu Song."
"You're starting with the dirty jokes again, are you?"
"I can't see anything, so I feel a little excited. Why don't we try playing blindfolded next time?"
"Oh? My concubine truly knows my heart."
At this moment, if the unknown existence hiding within the pure darkness possessed consciousness, it would probably be confused.
No, why are these two still chatting about how to play around?
It was pitch black. They could not see anything. The cabin was filled with Cursed existences.
With so many factors stacked together, were they not afraid at all?
This was at least a super high difficulty Dead Realm. Could they show it some respect?
"It's coming."
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's warning, Asagiri nodded. Then, in the pitch black, he crushed the phantom Tarot card slowly drifting down.
"Persona, Alice!"
Alice appeared inside the cabin, holding her teddy bear, looking adorable in her dress.
Through her ability to sense Cursed auras, Asagiri, who was connected to his Persona, now possessed the same Cursed perception as Iwanaga Kotoko. Even if he could not see anything, he could sense where the Cursed enemy had appeared.
"There..."
Asagiri closed his eyes.
Since his vision had been temporarily stripped away, he adjusted his hearing and perception to their optimal state.
He could feel a Cursed aura about twenty meters in front of him. Judging from its intensity, it was not on the same level as the vengeful spirits created from the dead passengers earlier. At the very least, it was around the level of the mental patients in Mount Massive Asylum.
"We're going in."
Asagiri first pulled the trigger of the black gun shaped summoner and summoned Human Asura. However, he did not have Human Asura attack with him. Instead, he ordered Human Asura to protect Alice and Iwanaga Kotoko while he stepped forward alone.
"Jingle... jingle... jingle..."
The Rope Dart hung low and swayed slightly. The metal chain produced a crisp sound like wind chimes.
Aside from the sound of the chain, there was also a faint "patta, patta" sound, like water droplets falling, echoing through the core engine room. If Asagiri's hearing were not far beyond that of ordinary people, he probably would not have been able to detect such a subtle noise.
Asagiri could feel it.
While he was approaching the other party, that Cursed existence was also approaching him.
"Wuu... wuu... wuu..."
The moment a sobbing sound like a muffled whimper rang out, Asagiri moved.
He instantly rushed in front of that Cursed entity, throwing the Rope Dart in his right hand with all his strength while condensing the Holy Cross in his left. Although the Holy Cross could not emit light as usual because of the "God" in this area, its holy and fire attribute damage were not affected.
"Boom!"
The instant the flames exploded, Asagiri felt through the connected chain that the Rope Dart he had thrown had struck something. However, the sensation transmitted back did not feel like it had pierced into flesh. Instead, it felt as if it had collided with a hard wall.
"Big Brother!"
At the same time Alice cried out, Asagiri also sensed that the Cursed entity opposite him had already closed in.
"Bang!"
Hearing something cut through the air, Asagiri raised his arms and blocked in the direction of the sound.
The next second, he felt a tremendous force slam into him. His feet scraped across the floor as he slid back several meters, until his back struck a mechanical device hard enough to stop him.
The core power room and all the machinery inside it were part of the Black Giant Ship, so they could not be easily destroyed.
"You're quite strong."
Asagiri adjusted his posture, pulled back the Rope Dart he had thrown earlier, and wrapped the chain connected to it around his right arm as a defensive measure to reduce incoming damage as much as possible.
There were two problems now.
First, although Asagiri could sense the location of that Cursed entity through Alice, Alice's sensing ability was not strong enough to predict when the opponent would attack. He could only rely on his hearing to judge.
Second, he did not know what that Cursed entity was. Or rather, he could not determine whether the opponent was humanoid or some other bizarre thing.
Different forms required different combat styles. But because he could not "see," Asagiri only knew that this Cursed entity was strong. He could not judge its possible attack methods based on appearance.
Besides those two problems, there should have been another issue: unfamiliarity with the surrounding environment, which could lead to obstructed movement during battle.
However, the moment Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko entered the core power room, they had already memorized the positions of every nearby facility. Even without vision, they could completely judge their current positions through memory.
Just then, Iwanaga Kotoko and Asagiri simultaneously sensed five more Cursed auras appear in the area.
"Five more came out..."
Iwanaga Kotoko took a deep breath, then raised both hands and spoke softly.
"IBM."
After manipulating the Black Particles to form two black humanoid figures, Iwanaga Kotoko immediately summoned Pale Ghost Hands and launched attacks toward the locations of the five Cursed entities she sensed, while shouting to Asagiri,
"I'll hold back the other five!"
"Good."
Asagiri nodded, then focused all his attention on the Cursed entity that had been fighting him earlier.
In this environment where vision could not be used, Iwanaga Kotoko, whose combat style leaned toward crowd control and spellcasting, was actually less affected than Asagiri, whose combat style favored close combat.
After all, Iwanaga Kotoko did not need to know what kind of combat style the Cursed entities had. As long as she continued attacking with the IBMs formed by Black Particles and the Pale Ghost Hands, that was enough. Her tolerance for mistakes was very high.
But Iwanaga Kotoko knew very well that the battle against these six Cursed entities was not the true issue.
The power level of these Cursed entities was roughly the same as the "Groom" in Mount Massive Asylum. They were only floor mini-boss level beings in a second stage Dungeon. Even if they had been transferred into a Dead Realm from a third stage Dungeon, how could they possibly become the source that created everything?
That was impossible.
The key problem was not the battle.
These six Cursed entities were only chess pieces sent by that "God."
The real key lay in how to make Asagiri understand the nature of the so-called "God," allowing him to use Supreme Magic Bullet against it.
In a situation where he could not see, how could that be achieved?
Meanwhile, Asagiri had already resumed close combat with that Cursed entity.
"Bang!"
His arm wrapped in chains blocked the Cursed entity's attack.
In the very next second, Asagiri suddenly extended his left hand and firmly grabbed part of the opponent's body.
A cold, slippery sensation came from his palm.
Immediately after, before Asagiri could release his grip, a cold and slippery hand pressed against his chest. Then, its five fingers pierced directly into his chest, and the attached Cursed aura began spreading through the wound.
Feeling that sudden, excruciating pain, Asagiri did not even frown.
He simply grabbed that cold, slippery hand and spoke softly.
"Got you."
The next second, Asagiri plunged his five fingers deep into the Cursed entity's arm, then spoke in a slightly manic tone.
"Come on. Let me have a good time!"
Standing not far away, Iwanaga Kotoko did not know what had happened.
All she could hear were screams like a woman's wailing, dull impacts of something repeatedly slamming into hard objects, and the sounds of rubber snapping and tearing.
A dozen seconds later...
The aura of that Cursed entity completely vanished.
"You're pretty tenacious."
Hearing Asagiri's voice, Iwanaga Kotoko pursed her lips.
She wanted to ask if he was injured, but she knew they were in the middle of battle. Every minute and every second was precious.
She could only suppress her worry and maintain her rationality as she asked,
"What was that guy's true form? I need information to deduce it."
"An evil spirit formed from a drowned person."
"An evil spirit formed from a drowned person... So it's the same as those things in the cabin..."
Iwanaga Kotoko muttered thoughtfully.
Recalling the behavior of the Fanatics in the previous hotel Dungeon, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
"I think I know the true face of the so-called 'God'."
.....
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