Chapter 250: The Ocean of Parasitism

Asagiri did not answer right away.

Instead, he turned and glanced once toward the equipment room, then toward the talisman pasted onto the doorframe, before speaking in a calm tone.

"There is no enemy that cannot be eliminated absolutely. Whether it is a ’God’ or some other strange existence, as long as we find an opening, as long as we can locate its true form, it can be done."

"What exactly are you saying?"

Disbelief filled the eyes of the woman wearing the fox spirit mask, and even her voice trembled slightly.

"Did I not already tell you? A ’God’ is a phenomenon. It is impossible to defeat one"

"Do not be such a coward."

Asagiri cut her off, his tone flat.

"There is a fundamental difference between avoiding danger out of rational judgment and stopping because you are afraid, even if the result looks the same on the surface. Think it through carefully. If you have any intention of cooperating with us, come find us anytime."

With that, Asagiri turned and left with Yuuki Asuna and the others.

...

After returning to Room 7012, Yuuki Asuna put away the crimson cape and the [Armor of Flashing Light] she had worn during battle. She unzipped her sports jacket, folded it neatly, and set it aside. Then she lifted the collar of her short sleeved shirt and fanned herself a few times, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her other hand before letting out a long sigh.

"No, this is getting ridiculous. The temperature is already close to forty degrees..."

Kato Megumi walked over to the central air vent, stood on tiptoe, and lifted her hand closer to it. Feeling the stream of cold air against her palm, she murmured softly,

"It is really strange. The air conditioner is clearly operating normally, and the temperature setting is correct, yet the room temperature is not dropping at all. Is this what that team meant by a ’God’?"

"This will not work."

Asagiri glanced at the time on his phone, then at the three bottles of mineral water that were already almost empty, and spoke in a low voice.

"Even if the temperature stops rising right now, the drinking water in Mr. Ichikawa’s inventory is nowhere near enough to last seventy two hours."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the large bags of bread, the instant bacon, and the small bucket of drinking water with a capacity of around five liters that had been placed beside the bed.

"If the temperature stops rising and we do not waste stamina in combat, these supplies might barely be enough to last seventy two hours. But we still cannot confirm whether the food and water are safe. More importantly, these are merely the supplies distributed to each floor. The seventh floor only has our team and Mr. Ichikawa’s team, yet even here it is already not enough. There is no need to even mention the other Players."

Yuuki Asuna pursed her lips, her expression a little complicated.

"If this continues, even without parasitism, the Players will eventually start fighting over resources."

"So if we kill everyone else and monopolize the resources, we can clear the Dungeon successfully?"

Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko say something so outrageous in such a casual tone, Asagiri let out a small laugh.

"What do you think this is, a battle royale? That method might indeed clear the Dungeon, but it is definitely not the intended route. I have said this many times already. The system does not set up dead ends like that, nor does it force Players into inevitable internal slaughter. When you think about a clear condition, start from the premise that all Players are capable of surviving and completing it."

He tapped the sofa lightly.

"We have already analyzed every clue we currently have. Going over them again and again is meaningless. There is only one clue left."

Hearing that, Kato Megumi slowly rose from the sofa, her expression calm.

"Mm. [Observe the Carpet]. If we want to break the deadlock, we can only start there, right?"

Yuuki Asuna immediately looked worried.

"But there are absolutely no safety measures..."

"Clearing a Dungeon is risky to begin with, is it not?"

Kato Megumi’s voice was soft and gentle, but there was unmistakable resolve in it.

"Before every battle, none of us can guarantee victory in advance. Since the system gave me that special hint, that means I am the one most suited for this. I am the one with the highest chance of succeeding."

"Alright. That is the only path left."

Asagiri nodded, then walked over to Kato Megumi and said with a smile,

"Do not worry. While you are observing the carpet, I will summon Alice. If you fall into an illusion, I will pull you back out through her ability. And if anything strange appears nearby, Necro will sense it immediately."

"Hm? Is that all?"

Kato Megumi tilted her head, then took Asagiri’s hand and placed it on top of her head, using it to gently pat herself. A playful smile appeared on her face.

"If you do this, I will not be scared at all."

...

A few minutes later, in the corridor on the seventh floor of the Hotel.

"It is about to start."

Kato Megumi took a deep breath. Just as she was about to lower her head and study the carpet, she suddenly felt warmth around her right hand. Looking up, she saw Asagiri smiling at her as he held it.

Before she could say anything, her left hand was suddenly taken as well.

This time, it was Yuuki Asuna.

"Hey, hey, hey, both of you already took one hand each, so what am I supposed to hold?"

Iwanaga Kotoko complained in a pouty voice. She looked left and right, then in the end could only grab the hem of Kato Megumi’s clothes with visible dissatisfaction.

As expected, the very next moment, Asagiri mercilessly commented,

"This was supposed to be a touching scene of mutual encouragement, but with you added in, why does it suddenly look like a bunch of elementary school kids on a field trip?"

Iwanaga Kotoko puffed out her cheeks and made a face at him.

"Tch. Mock me again and I will climb onto Phantom’s back."

Kato Megumi said flatly, "Did you ask for my opinion?"

"Alright."

Asagiri cut off the nonsense before it escalated any further.

"Clear Team, combine. Move out. Activate. Advance."

"That counts as combining?"

Kato Megumi smiled helplessly, then lowered her head and fixed her gaze on the carpet.

After Asagiri’s usual absurd interruption, the fear and tension she had been feeling earlier had already vanished.

Perhaps that was exactly why she had willingly joined this team in the first place.

Still holding hands in that strange, absurd formation, Kato Megumi began walking forward while observing the carpet, with Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko moving along with her.

After around ten meters, a violent wave of dizziness suddenly struck her.

It felt as though the entire world had started to spin.

The patterns woven into the corridor carpet twisted into bizarre revolving symbols, forcibly imprinting themselves into her vision.

By the time her sight cleared again, Kato Megumi felt an overwhelming pressure on every inch of her body.

Heavy seawater pressed in on her from every direction.

Strings of bubbles drifted past her eyes without end.

And through it all, the only thing she could truly see, the only thing that drew her gaze, was a patch of deep red light coming from some unknown place.

Within that crimson glow, something seemed to be whispering in a strange, indescribable voice, calling to her, luring her, urging her to move into it.

Just then, she suddenly felt warmth in her right palm.

Yet when she turned to look, her hand was empty.

"Was it Leader..."

A faint smile appeared on Kato Megumi’s lips.

Her mind, which had been slipping away moments ago, suddenly regained a measure of clarity.

Without hesitation, she activated the aura of her exclusive talent.

The instant her presence diminished, the countless bubbles suspended in the surrounding seawater suddenly stilled.

Her vision became even sharper.

The red light lost its strange power of attraction, and the surrounding scenery finally became clear.

This place resembled the seabed.

Clear water surrounded her on all sides. There were reefs, strands of seaweed, and fish like creatures swimming past in silence. But when she raised her head and looked above, all she could see was a vague wavering ripple.

"Because it cannot notice me, it cannot continue to distort my mind..."

Kato Megumi lowered her head and looked at the sandy ground below.

There, she saw it.

A vivid dark red trail, so obvious it almost felt unnatural, stretching off in a certain direction across the seabed sand.

"Is it really what I think it is..."

She tried taking a step forward.

At the same time, in reality, Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko, none of whom had fallen into the illusion, saw Kato Megumi’s previously still body suddenly begin to move.

"Leader..."

"Follow her."

Asagiri kept hold of Kato Megumi’s hand and turned to Yuuki Asuna, who was still holding her other hand.

"She has not descended into confusion. The link between her mind and body is still intact. That means she is not in danger. She must have found some kind of clue inside the illusion, so while she walks there, she is leading us here."

"So that is it... No wonder."

Iwanaga Kotoko, still clutching the back of Kato Megumi’s clothes, walked along behind them with a look of sudden realization.

"No wonder none of the other three of us received that special hint. Precisely because Phantom’s mental strength is lower than ours, she can be pulled into the illusion by observing the pattern in the carpet. But at the same time, her mental strength is still much higher than that of an ordinary Player, so once inside the illusion, she still has a chance to remain conscious and then use her exclusive talent to escape the notice of whatever is controlling it."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"As for the Players who were completely lost in the illusion, their bodies did not change, but their minds were contaminated. That was enough to count as ’parasitism.’"

"That is right."

Asagiri nodded and continued in a calm voice.

"There are two methods of parasitism. For Players with extremely high mental strength, ones who may be able to resist the illusion, the flesh tentacles split off during the dangerous period when the Player cannot move freely and the carpet turns red. That is the physical route."

His gaze rested on Kato Megumi’s back.

"But for Players whose mental strength is relatively weak, it only needs to drag them into confusion for a certain amount of time to directly complete the parasitism on the level of the mind."

.....

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