Chapter 458: Beacon

Chapter 458: Chapter 458: Beacon

Chapter 458: Beacon

"Necro."

Seeing Asagiri approach, Iwanaga Kotoko nodded.

Her usual mischievous tone had disappeared, replaced by complete seriousness.

"I already know your plan. Chibi Mita explained everything to us."

"The command is yours."

"Mm."

Asagiri reached out and casually ruffled Iwanaga Kotoko’s hair.

Before he could say anything, a flash of pink hair and a large black bow quietly entered his field of vision.

Then came Fujiwara Chika’s innocent voice.

"Can you pat me too?"

Asagiri looked at her for a moment, then obediently ruffled Fujiwara Chika’s head as well.

Immediately afterward...

Yuuki Asuna’s flaxen hair.

Yamauchi Sakura’s dark brown hair.

Hayasaka Ai’s light golden hair.

And the black hair of Kato Megumi, Kaguya Shinomiya, and Sakurakawa Rikka.

All of them subtly drew closer.

"What are you doing?"

Asagiri looked at the expectant girls in front of him and laughed.

"Do all of you want head pats now?"

"This isn’t Whac A Mole."

"What would it look like if I went down the line patting every single one of you?"

He waved his hand.

"Wait until after the final battle."

"If the other Players see this, they’ll think we’re performing some bizarre ritual to pray for victory."

Hearing Asagiri’s teasing, Yuuki Asuna and the others finally realized how undignified their behavior looked.

Especially with thousands of Players watching them.

They could only suppress the happiness in their hearts and temporarily abandon any desire to act spoiled.

At that moment, a rapid but perfectly synchronized series of footsteps echoed from the distance.

Before the surrounding Players could become wary, Asagiri spoke calmly.

"They’re not enemies."

"Let them through."

The Players quickly parted.

Blackwatch soldiers rushed down the two paths created through the crowd.

Their Commander led one particular soldier forward and stopped in front of Asagiri.

He took a deep breath.

"Mr. Shadow."

"This subordinate of mine is still suffering from Nyx’s curse."

"Mm..."

A brilliant light appeared in Iwanaga Kotoko’s violet eyes.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through the Blackwatch soldier’s eyes and directly into his soul.

Several seconds later, she turned toward Asagiri.

"His soul really has been eroded by some kind of Cursed power."

"But even if I directly examine the contamination in his soul, I still can’t determine where Nyx’s true body is located..."

"I understand."

Before Iwanaga Kotoko could finish, the Blackwatch soldier suddenly drew his pistol.

He pressed the barrel directly against his own temple.

There was no hesitation in his eyes.

No fear.

He spoke quickly.

"According to our analysis, Nyx draws nourishment from death in this world."

"If I die, my soul will most likely be absorbed by Nyx."

"Then all you need to do is track my soul when that happens."

Hearing his words, Yuuki Asuna and the others fell silent.

The surrounding Players also wore complicated expressions.

Asagiri was not the only one who had fought Blackwatch before.

Many Players had encountered Blackwatch squads while entering Dungeons connected to this world.

Because of those experiences, most had assumed Blackwatch was nothing more than a corrupt military organization hiding selfish ambitions behind noble ideals.

But now...

A Blackwatch soldier was genuinely prepared to die without hesitation if his death could help them eliminate Nyx.

"Alright, alright."

Asagiri reached out and pressed down the soldier’s gun arm.

"What are you doing, cosplaying as me?"

"You planning to summon a Persona too?"

The Blackwatch soldier froze.

Asagiri chuckled.

"If killing you could actually locate Nyx, I’d send you off without hesitation."

"But Necro’s exclusive talent detects Cursed auras. It doesn’t track human souls."

"While you’re alive, we can still detect the traces of Nyx’s curse inside you."

"If you die and your soul immediately dissipates, or gets transported directly to Nyx’s true body, then we’ll lose our only clue."

After explaining, Asagiri turned toward Sakurakawa Rikka.

"When it comes to souls, that’s more your specialty."

"Can you trace Nyx through the curse attached to his soul without needing him to die?"

Sakurakawa Rikka considered the question briefly.

Then she nodded.

"Possibly."

"But there will be some risk."

"Mm."

Asagiri answered immediately.

"Do it."

"Alright."

Sakurakawa Rikka looked toward Iwanaga Kotoko.

"Can you extract part of his soul?"

"You don’t need to remove the entire thing."

"Just draw out a small portion, then return it afterward."

"Can you do that?"

"No problem."

Iwanaga Kotoko answered without hesitation.

If she were attempting to extract the soul of an enemy, the situation would be completely different.

The target’s soul would resist.

And during battle, she would never have enough concentration to manipulate her spiritual power with that level of precision.

But this was not a battle.

The Blackwatch soldier would cooperate fully and deliberately avoid resisting.

Under those circumstances, the process was simple.

"I’m starting."

Iwanaga Kotoko slowly raised her right hand.

A massive Pale Ghost Hand materialized behind her.

The sharp black nails of its thumb and index finger descended toward the Blackwatch soldier’s head.

They pierced through without leaving any physical wound.

Then...

The Pale Ghost Hand slowly pulled upward.

A faint purple fragment of his soul was drawn from his body.

Sakurakawa Rikka immediately extended her right hand.

Her fingertips gently touched the exposed soul.

Her bright yellow eyes slowly closed.

She began tracing the origin of the Cursed aura buried within it.

As the only survivor among hundreds of experimental children who had consumed the flesh of the Mermaid and Kudan...

For the first time, Sakurakawa Rikka almost felt as if everything had been leading to this moment.

Her existence.

Her power.

Perhaps all of it had survived precisely for this.

Neither fully human nor Cursed.

Now, she would use the power she had gained from those Cursed beings to save the futures of countless worlds.

To resist the fate of destruction.

And also...

For Utsunomiya Asagiri.

...

When Sakurakawa Rikka opened her eyes again, she was standing somewhere else.

Beneath her feet stretched an enormous black platform.

It seemed to rest at the top of an impossibly tall tower.

Several dozen meters ahead stood a spiraling black staircase.

The stairs extended upward into the bizarre sky.

Higher.

Higher.

Until they disappeared beyond sight.

"This is..."

Sakurakawa Rikka tried to examine her surroundings.

Then her heart suddenly tightened.

An overwhelming sense of danger struck her soul.

The next instant...

A gigantic eye appeared in the sky.

It was hundreds of meters across.

Everything surrounding it was absolute darkness.

Its pupil, however, was a chilling crimson.

Twisted buildings resembling ruined monuments surrounded the eye.

They floated silently in the air.

And the enormous crimson pupil stared directly at Sakurakawa Rikka.

She had already experienced death countless times.

Death itself no longer frightened her.

Yet the moment that eye focused upon her...

For the first time in years, Sakurakawa Rikka experienced overwhelming fear.

Despair.

Her soul trembled.

Cracks seemed to spread through her very consciousness.

It felt as though simply being observed by that existence was enough to grind her soul into dust.

Her awareness began to blur.

The entire world dissolved toward pure nothingness.

Then...

Warmth suddenly spread through her palm.

Golden light erupted beside her like a sword piercing through the darkness.

"Shadow..."

Sakurakawa Rikka stared in confusion.

Asagiri stood beside her.

For an instant, she could not understand how he had entered this place.

She had reached it through the connection between souls.

Through thought.

Through a power that ignored conventional physical laws.

But then...

Sakurakawa Rikka realized there was nothing unusual about it at all.

Her ability was conceptual.

Iwanaga Kotoko’s abilities were conceptual.

And Asagiri possessed the most unreasonable conceptual power among all of them.

Persona.

"So that’s your true form."

Asagiri looked directly at the gigantic crimson eye suspended in the sky.

There was a smile in his voice.

"Wait for me."

"Your end..."

"Is coming soon."

...

When Sakurakawa Rikka opened her eyes again, her consciousness had returned to her body.

Beside her, Asagiri also opened his eyes.

The golden light within them slowly faded.

Through Sakurakawa Rikka’s ability, he had also perceived the location of Nyx’s true body.

Asagiri gave her a brief nod.

Then he rose into the air.

He lifted the Shura Fan and pointed toward a direction beyond the distant darkness.

"Two hundred kilometers."

"That’s the distance between us and Nyx’s true body."

His voice carried across the plaza.

"Form battle formations immediately."

"We advance no matter what stands in our way."

The thousands of Players moved at once.

Those specializing in long range attacks gathered toward the inner formation.

Physical melee Players formed the left flank, right flank, and rear guard.

And at the very front...

The position responsible for breaking through every obstacle in their path...

"It’s finally beginning."

Yuuki Asuna stood at the head of the formation.

Shining Starlight rested firmly in her hand.

Her crimson cloak fluttered gently behind her.

Her eyes contained only unwavering determination.

"ROAR!"

At that moment, a deafening roar echoed from the distant darkness.

Perhaps it was coincidence.

Or perhaps the brief connection had allowed Nyx to sense Asagiri and the others as well.

On the horizon...

A black tide appeared.

At least a thousand Special Infected charged toward them.

Their silhouettes crowded together like a living wave of death.

"Nothing will stop us."

Yuuki Asuna looked toward Kaguya Shinomiya.

Kaguya returned the glance.

No more words were needed.

The two charged forward simultaneously.

Straight into the approaching black tide.

Above them, Asagiri hovered in midair.

He summoned Ruiner Nergigante.

Then he took out his phone and opened the Eye Icon APP.

"The power created from the World Will..."

"It’s time to put it to use."

His gaze turned toward the distant darkness.

"Mark Nyx’s location with a beacon."

"This is the System’s final mission."

The moment Asagiri finished speaking...

Every Player’s phone chimed simultaneously.

Dark red mist rose from the screens.

Words condensed within it.

[Main Quest: Reach the location of Nyx’s true body at all costs.]

[Nyx’s precise location has been transmitted to every Player’s phone.]

[This is the final battle.]

[Everything is at stake.]

....

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