Chapter 332: Shijo Maki Prepares to Repay the Favor, the Truth About the Gray Shadow
"It finally started!"
The moment Crazy Mita appeared in front of Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri, she swung the chainsaw in her hand, sawing a lunging Hunter in half from the head down.
Facing the splattering flesh and blood, she did not dodge at all. Instead, her face lit up with excitement and satisfaction.
Mira swung her katana with one hand, decapitating another Hunter in a single slash. With her other hand, she adjusted her Glasses, glanced at Crazy Mita beside her, and let out a disdainful snort.
"I never thought there would come a day when I would fight beside you."
Meanwhile, Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at the backs of Mita and Crazy Mita, their hearts filled with shock.
They had never expected to see two such powerful physical combat players appear at this critical moment.
Being able to kill a Special Infected Hunter in one strike meant they were definitely among the top tier of current players.
After recovering from their surprise, Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri immediately turned around to check on their teammate, Shijo Maki, only to witness another unbelievable scene.
A player wearing a long black windbreaker stood with his back to Shijo Maki, who was collapsed on the ground. Dark red, eerie patterns glowed across his skin.
In front of him, the Tank, over three meters tall and so massive that it seemed to block the sunlight, was roaring as it charged forward amid tremors like an earthquake. It had already closed in to within five meters.
"Maki!"
Just as Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri were about to risk mental exhaustion to force out their skills, they saw the player in the long black windbreaker throw something at the Tank's head.
The enhanced Tank reacted quickly, raising its massive arms to protect its head.
But...
"Thud."
The pitch black Rope Dart pierced straight through the Tank's arms, then drove into its skull.
The Tank's massive body slowly collapsed without even having time to let out a cry. It kicked up a cloud of dust, then completely lost all signs of life.
Amidst the clinking of chains, Eriri, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Shijo Maki stood frozen, staring at the black clad player as he slowly retracted the Rope Dart from in front of the Tank's corpse. None of them knew how to react.
As a Special Infected, a Tank's defense was stronger than both Witches and Hunters. Even large caliber bullets could only penetrate its skin and barely sink into its flesh, let alone break through its arms, which were the most heavily armored part of its body.
Yet the weapon thrown by this black clad player had pierced through the Tank's arms and then its skull.
What quality was that weapon?
No, more importantly, what kind of terrifying power did this black clad player possess?
Was this really something a human could do?
"You three..."
Seeing the black clad player turn around, his eyes devoid of emotion and his tone cold, Shijo Maki, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Eriri all trembled.
For a moment, they wondered if he intended to kill them as well and take their phones, along with the registration rights tied to their player status.
But what Asagiri said next made the three of them show complicated expressions.
"One of you plays with explosions, one draws pictures, and the other writes words there. What are you, the Art Trio? Did you come here to train your artistic sentiments?"
"We..."
"Enough."
Asagiri waved his hand, cutting Shijo Maki off, his tone flat.
"Goodbye."
Then, he left together with Mira and Crazy Mita.
Watching Asagiri's figure gradually disappear from sight, Shijo Maki recalled a rumor she had heard from her family. Her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
She lowered her voice and spoke to Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha beside her.
"That guy... could he be the 'Shadow' from the rumors?"
"Shadow?"
Eriri's expression changed, her voice sounding somewhat incredulous.
"The legendary strongest player of the Ashikaga Budo Association? That was actually real?"
Eriri, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Shijo Maki had known each other since the first stage of the game and had formed a team together.
Although Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha would never openly admit it, there was no doubt that the leader of their team was Shijo Maki.
Like Miwa Ashikaga, the Shijo Family had also created their own player faction. The strongest player team among them was the one formed by Shijo Maki, Eriri, and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Naturally, they had also heard about another player faction in Tokyo, the Ashikaga Budo Association founded by Shuchiin Academy Chairman Miwa Ashikaga, as well as the rumored "Shadow" who wore a long black windbreaker and dark gray mask, possessed monster like power, and existed on a completely different level from ordinary players.
However, until today, Shijo Maki and the people of the Shijo Family had believed that the so called "Shadow" did not actually exist. They thought he was merely a gimmick Miwa Ashikaga used to add mystery to her faction and attract more players.
As it turned out...
"Shadow" was not only real, his strength was even greater than the already exaggerated rumors Shijo Maki had heard.
"What do we do now?"
Hearing Eriri's question, Shijo Maki pursed her lips and took three mental recovery potions filled with light green liquid from her inventory.
She handed two bottles to Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha, then drank one herself.
After her mental power began to recover, she spoke in a slightly complicated tone.
"Shadow saved our lives. Whether he meant to or not, he saved us, people who should have been his rivals. I won't forget this favor. I'll find a way to repay it."
After saying that, Shijo Maki gestured for Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha to be quiet, lowering her voice.
"Alright, don't talk. Try to recover as much mental power as possible while we're out of combat. If this really doesn't work, we'll have to retreat."
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko were fighting several Special Infected.
Yuuki Asuna and Iwanaga Kotoko were responsible for stalling the Special Infected, while Kato Megumi used her low presence to continuously fire pitch black arrows at the massive Tank.
She did not aim carefully at first. The first few arrows could not break the Tank's defense anyway, so she only needed to make sure they hit, continuously stacking the passive effect of the Nightingale Blood Crying Bow.
By the sixth arrow, the power of the pitch black arrows had already stacked to a terrifying level.
Kato Megumi drew the bowstring, narrowed her eyes slightly, locked onto the roaring Tank, and whispered,
"Die."
"Ding!"
The pitch black arrow tore through the air and struck the Tank's head at astonishing speed.
As it sank into the enemy's skull, the terrifying rotational force attached to it erupted from within, causing the Tank's head to explode from the inside out.
The massive headless body slowly collapsed to the ground, making the earth tremble.
"Not bad."
Iwanaga Kotoko manipulated the Pale Ghost Hand to crush a Witch that was clawing and lunging toward her. Her dark purple eyes swept across the surroundings as she spoke flatly.
"Although their bodies have been enhanced, the mental resistance of these Special Infected is still a weakness."
"Is that so?"
On the other side of the area, Asagiri, who was being targeted by five Hunters and two Witches, heard Iwanaga Kotoko's words, nodded slightly, and replied with a smile.
"Then that makes things much easier."
"Persona, Alice."
After the blonde, blue eyed Alice appeared, she immediately activated her exclusive ability.
The five Hunters and two Witches, which had been aggressive and ferocious only moments ago, instantly stiffened the moment Alice's exclusive ability was activated.
Then, they collapsed to the ground, completely dead.
But in the next second, Miwa Ashikaga's voice rang out through Asagiri's communication headset.
"One hundred meters northwest of your position. The gray shadow has appeared!"
...
At that moment, one hundred meters northwest of Asagiri.
The White Suit Man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, clutched his aching chest with his other hand, and stared at the gray, faceless, muscular humanoid creature floating in the air. His eyes were filled with unwillingness.
Present at the scene were not only him and his teammates, but also Sakurakawa Rikka, who belonged to the Ashikaga Budo Association and was acting alone, along with more than a dozen other player teams that had just arrived.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
A male player from one of the teams saw the tragic corpse of his teammate, and his face twisted with fury.
He glared at the gray humanoid creature floating in midair, gritted his teeth, raised both hands to condense a pillar of holy light, and roared until his eyes nearly split.
"Die!"
"Boom!"
The beam of holy energy struck the gray humanoid creature.
Just as the players present were filled with hope, thinking they had finally won, Sakurakawa Rikka only pursed her lips and muttered softly to herself.
"It had no effect at all..."
Sure enough, in the next second, the gray humanoid creature that had been floating in the air vanished.
Then, it suddenly appeared in front of the male player.
It endured the pillar of holy light head on without retreating in the slightest, reached out, grabbed his neck, and snapped it with a crisp sound.
"How..."
Seeing this scene, the players present could not help but fall into despair.
Some players had already lost the will to continue fighting and were about to flee.
But just then, a black humanoid creature suddenly rushed over from afar.
"What!? There's another one!?"
Seeing the similarly faceless, towering black humanoid creature, the players were shocked.
However, Sakurakawa Rikka and the four members of the White Suit Team all showed relieved expressions.
"Finally here..."
"Bang!"
Human Asura swung its palm, directly knocking the gray humanoid creature away.
The latter was sent flying back, but suffered no damage. It merely floated back into midair.
A figure wearing a dark gray mask and a long black windbreaker appeared in the players' field of vision.
Asagiri stared at the gray humanoid creature floating in the air and slowly spoke.
"Can you bring me some fun..."
"The final BOSS of Mount Massive Asylum, Walrider."
.....
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