A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

Page 57

Asagiri walked up to Hat Mita, squatted down, looked directly into her face, and spoke with a smile.

"From the moment we entered the game, this place was no longer just a game, and you are no longer a program bound by the system. If you want to come with me, then you can."

"I……"

Hat Mita remained silent for a few seconds, then looked firmly into Asagiri's eyes and nodded vigorously.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to go with you. I don't want to stay here any longer!"

"Okay, let's go."

Asagiri stood up and walked towards the living room door with Hat Mita. Following behind them were Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi. They discovered that the cement wall that had been blocking the door had completely disappeared, replaced by a long corridor with many oil paintings hanging on it.

Kato Megumi looked at the changes before her eyes and muttered to herself.

“I see… Is the layout of the room related to Miss Mita’s own thoughts? She felt that she could not leave here, so there was no way to go elsewhere. But after the Leader invited her to leave together, and she made up her mind to leave, a path appeared.”

"Is that so?"

Mita looked surprised, but then couldn't help shaking it and said triumphantly.

"As expected, I'm pretty amazing!"

Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato all realized that Mita, who was wearing a hat and gloves, had a lively, energetic personality.

"This long corridor outside..."

Kotoko Iwanaga stood at the doorway, observing the long corridor in front of her, whose walls were covered with oil paintings and which seemed to have no end. A look of vigilance appeared in her dark purple eyes as she spoke softly.

"I can sense a strange atmosphere in this corridor."

Even without Kotoko Iwanaga's special reminder, just looking at those oil paintings with their chaotic colors and distorted patterns—which were completely meaningless and only made people feel creepy—Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato knew that there was definitely danger in this corridor.

"I'll go scout ahead first."

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's words, Megumi Kato immediately spoke up.

"Then I'll go with you..."

"Do not."

Kotoko Iwanaga waved her hand and smiled.

"Have you all forgotten the effect of my talent? The strange things won't attack me on their own, so the most reasonable plan is for me to go in alone first and see if there's anything odd about this corridor, and..."

At this point, Kotoko Iwanaga took out her phone, handed it to Asagiri, and said with a smile.

"Leader, I'll leave my phone with you for now. You can find out if I'm dead just by touching the app, right?"

Asagiri nodded slightly and said in a calm tone.

"But we also need to consider the possibility that you might get trapped."

"Too."

Kotoko Iwanaga nodded, and after thinking for a while, she spoke.

"Okay, start counting from when I leave the house. If I haven't returned by then, use that item."

"it is good."

"Okay, I'm off then~"

Kotoko Iwanaga stepped out the door without hesitation, showing no sign of fear whatsoever. She simply used her cane to support herself as she walked quickly forward.

Watching her petite figure gradually disappear into the corridor, both Kato Megumi and Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but show admiration in their eyes.

As expected, Kotoko Iwanaga is very capable.

Although one of her talents is "not to be attacked by monsters", the app also specifically states that there are exceptions, such as when a monster feels that Iwanaga Kotoko has invaded its territory.

Even so, despite knowing that there was something strange about the corridor, Kotoko Iwanaga still chose to explore it alone, without the slightest hesitation or wavering, as if she felt no fear at all.

After Kotoko Iwanaga had walked about ten meters, a sudden change occurred.

The oil paintings hanging on the walls on both sides suddenly began to shake violently. One of them, a strange oil painting that looked like a human face but also seemed completely meaningless, with chaotic colors that made people feel very uncomfortable, even fell off the wall.

"Clap."

With a crisp sound of shattering glass, the oil painting landed right in front of Kotoko Iwanaga, as if blocking her path.

Kotoko Iwanaga gazed at the oil painting, a slight smile playing on her lips as she murmured to herself.

"Are you feeling your territory has been invaded, so you're issuing me a warning?"

95

Chapter 95: The Corridor Filled with Evil Spirits.

Upon seeing this, Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly.

"Necro, why don't we come back first? Now that they've issued a warning, if you continue forward, won't you be attacked?"

"It's possible."

Kotoko Iwanaga nodded, her dark purple eyes gazing into the darkness ahead. She first lifted her foot, seemingly wanting to take a step forward, but in the end she just shook her head, turned around, and began to return.

Seeing that she didn't act impulsively but chose to return first, before Yuuki Asuna could even breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly saw a figure slowly crawling out of an oil painting less than five meters away from Iwanaga Kotoko. The figure was wearing a dirty white dress stained with various colors of paint, barefoot, with long black hair flowing down, and only a pair of eyes filled with resentment were visible. The figure began to slowly approach Iwanaga Kotoko.

Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato were startled and their pupils shrank. Both of them wanted to speak up immediately to warn her, but at that moment, Kotoko Iwanaga raised her left hand and made a shushing gesture to them.

Because she was facing away from him, the vengeful female ghost in the dirty white dress did not notice Kotoko Iwanaga's movements, and simply followed behind her step by step.

Seven meters, five meters...

When Kotoko Iwanaga was only five meters away from the living room door, the vengeful female ghost seemed to be sure that she would not go any further, so she stopped and slowly turned around, as if she was going to return to the oil painting from which she had crawled out.

at this time.

"Clap."

Kotoko Iwanaga raised her cane and swept a framed oil painting off the wall. The crisp sound of shattering glass broke the silence of the corridor and froze the vengeful female ghost in her tracks.

"Oh dear, I'm so clumsy."

Kotoko Iwanaga raised her hand, gently tapped her head, and stuck out her tongue, looking playful and cute. Mita, who had been waiting obediently, saw her make such an expression and, like a clever imitator, imitated Kotoko Iwanaga's actions and expressions, as if they were competing to see who was cuter.

After Kotoko Iwanaga smashed a framed oil painting, the resentment in the female ghost's eyes intensified. But before she could make any move, Kotoko Iwanaga raised her cane again and, without any pretense, smashed another oil painting.

Seeing this, the vengeful female ghost finally couldn't hold back any longer. She opened her throat and let out a sharp, piercing roar. Her dirty hands, covered in paint, reached out and pounced madly towards Iwanaga Kotoko, who had her back to her.

"Violet, help me!"

"coming."

Hearing the scream behind her, Kotoko Iwanaga took two steps forward and then squatted down on the ground. As she did this, a long sword gleaming with a cold light appeared in the female ghost's vision.

"Prickles".

A blinding light flashed from the tip of the exorcist's longsword, piercing the female ghost's shoulder across a distance of three meters.

This wasn't because Asuna Yuuki missed, but rather...

“Leader!”

"it is good."

Asagiri gazed at Yuuki Asuna, who had already reached the female demon due to the momentum of her sprint, and spoke softly.

"Castling."

The next second, Asuna Yuuki disappeared, and Asagiri appeared in her original spot.

Seeing this, the female ghost's eyes burned with even more resentment, but she did not attack the nearby Asakura. Instead, she turned around and tried to climb back into the oil painting from which she had emerged.

"Human Asura".

Before the female ghost could even take a step, two dark, ghostly hands had already grabbed her shoulders.

"what!!!"

The moment the female ghost was caught, she suddenly let out a shrill scream, which shattered the glass frames of the oil paintings hanging on the walls on both sides.

Dozens of oil paintings fell to the ground at once, and the next second, just like the female ghost, dozens of evil spirits covered in paint quickly crawled out of the paintings.

"Did they call their companions...?"

Asuna Yuuki frowned and quickly stepped forward, swinging her exorcist sword without hesitation. Just like Asagiri had done in the hotel instance, she severed the female ghost's limbs. Then, she grabbed the ghost's long hair with one hand and dragged her towards the living room door.

At this moment, several of the dozens of evil spirits that had crawled out of the oil painting were already close to Asagiri.

"The Grip of the Underworld"

Before the evil spirits could touch the morning mist, a huge, pale ghostly hand suddenly emerged from the void, its five fingers quickly closing together, and with a shrill scream, crushed the evil spirits into pieces.

“Leader!”

Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's call, Asagiri turned around and saw that the other party had already dragged the female ghost, who had been chopped into human form, into the living room of the apartment owned by Hat Mita. Without hesitation, she had Shura block the group of evil spirits, while she herself quickly ran towards the apartment door.

But when they were less than two meters from the gate, a pitch-black, waving ghostly hand suddenly emerged from an oil painting on the ground, trying to grab Chaowu's ankle.

The next second, a sudden flash of cold light appeared.

It's unclear when it started, but Kato Megumi, who was standing outside the door, held that ominous, deep purple dagger. Her expression remained as calm and composed as ever, but her movements were swift and decisive. From top to bottom, she plunged the dagger directly into the palm of that ghostly hand.

"Come in quickly."

Having learned from the experience of the last instance, Kato Megumi has clearly grown; even in this critical moment, her voice remains gentle and calm.

After Asagiri and Kato Megumi entered the room, Hat Mita quickly closed the door and even used her shoulder to hold it shut. However, the world inside the door and the long corridor outside seemed to be two completely different worlds. After the door was closed, the piercing screams of the evil spirits disappeared instantly, and the whole room returned to silence.

"What...what are those things?"

Hearing Hat Mita's question and noticing her somewhat flustered expression, Kato Megumi took two steps forward and asked in a gentle voice.

"Miss Mita, you've never seen those things before, and you didn't even know they existed?"

"I do not know……"

Hat Mita shook her head, looking nervous.

“I had no idea at first that there were other places in the world besides my own home… This house is my whole world.”

Noticing Hat Mita's slightly forlorn mood, Asuna Yuuki felt a pang of sadness. Just as she was about to comfort her, she saw Hat Mita smile again, run to Asagiri's side, and once again make a cute, slightly swaying gesture.

"But as long as the players stay by my side, even if it's just this one room, I'm very content~"

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga both appeared somewhat displeased. However, before the two women could react, they saw Megumi Kato silently, like a ghost, walk between Hat Mita and Asagiri, separating her from Asagiri.

“Miss Mita, we can’t fully trust you right now, so please stay away from him, okay?”

"Eh?"

Hat-wearing Mita seemed to understand the situation but not quite, staring at Asagiri as if trying to read something from his face.

"That's enough. This is a dungeon. If you want to create a chaotic battlefield, we can do it when we get back."

Asagiri simply said this, then looked at the female ghost whose hair was being pulled by Yuuki Asuna. She stopped screaming and instead scanned everyone in the room with her venomous eyes before slowly walking over.

Yuuki Asuna understood immediately, and like handing over a plastic bag filled with goods, she lifted the limbless female ghost from the ground and handed it to Asagiri.

"Can you talk?"

The female ghost remained silent, only staring intently at Asagiri with her venomous eyes, as if she wished she could devour him alive...

"Snapped!"

Asagiri raised her right hand and delivered a resounding slap to the female ghost. Because she had been pulled up by the hair by Yuuki Asuna, the female ghost's limbless body swayed like a swing after receiving this powerful slap.

"Wuhu, Wuhu~"

Seeing this, Hat Mita clapped her hands behind her, looking very excited.

"Let me hit it! Let me hit it! It looks like so much fun!"

"Then come on."

Under the somewhat speechless gazes of Kotoko Iwanaga, Megumi Kato, and Asuna Yuuki, Hat Mita walked directly to the female ghost, a hard baseball bat appearing in her hand. She adjusted her hat as she did so, then twisted her hips and swung the baseball bat at the ghost's waist.

"boom!!!"

Mita the Hat swung his baseball bat with such force that the female ghost's body was like a yo-yo. Her long black hair, like a yo-yo string, wrapped around Asuna Yuuki's hand, following the curve of her body, before falling down and continuing to swing.

"Wuhu~ Home Run~"

Seeing Hat Mita's appearance, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but ask curiously.