Chapter 116: Perfect Clearance
The moment Alice's voice fell, the hundreds of dark red monsters surrounding Asagiri all froze at the same time.
Their bodies went stiff, as if their strings had been cut. One by one, they lost all vitality and toppled onto the dark red lava ground.
Bang.
The sight of hundreds of monsters collapsing together, densely packed like fallen dominoes, sent a chill of shock through Iwanaga Kotoko and Kato Megumi even from a distance.
And in the middle of that ocean of corpses, Asagiri stood in silence.
His black clothes were soaked in blood. Even the dark gray mask carried a smeared tint of crimson.
Then he began to walk.
Step by step, he climbed over the carcasses, moving toward Prototype Mita, who was crawling not far away, desperately trying to escape.
"Don't come over…"
Prototype Mita's puppet face could not change expression. Its voice, too, was rigid and monotonous, like an ancient recording. But the violent trembling of its body betrayed the fear inside it.
Driven by terror, it launched one last attack.
Its neck stretched again like a Rokurokubi, its jaw opening wide as it lunged to bite for Asagiri's throat.
It achieved nothing.
Asagiri avoided the bite with a simple sidestep. And the moment Prototype Mita launched its head forward, its body was left exposed, a weakness so absolute it might as well have been an invitation.
"Game Over."
Asagiri switched his equipped Persona.
Human Asura.
In the next instant, with physical ability that had broken through human limits, he appeared beside Prototype Mita's body at a speed the naked eye could not track. The cursed Rope Dart in his right hand flashed, slicing cleanly through the spinal bone that connected the extended neck.
Thud.
Prototype Mita's head dropped to the ground. The black holes that served as its eyes slowly closed, and the creaking, puppet like body finally went still.
"Leader!"
Iwanaga Kotoko rushed to his side, or rather, she hopped.
In her panic, she had pushed too hard and the connection of her prosthetic leg had broken again, forcing her into a slightly ridiculous one legged hop.
Normally, she would have cared more than anyone about how she looked.
But now she did not care at all.
Her dark purple eyes were full of worry. She ignored the blood staining Asagiri and reached out to support him, voice tight.
"Are you okay? Phantom, get the medical kit…"
"No need. Look how anxious you are."
Asagiri answered with a faint smile. With Kotoko supporting him, he sat down on the ground and removed the gray mask.
Only then did the exhaustion spill across his face, impossible to hide.
"Hoo… the backlash after the adrenaline wears off is brutal."
"Player!"
Mira and Yuuki Asuna, who had finished clearing the failures on the other side, ran over with Kato Megumi.
"Player, are you okay?!"
Asagiri shook his head, a little helpless.
"Why is everyone asking me that? Do I look that bad?"
Kato Megumi nodded seriously.
"Yes. Very bad. You look like you were dragged out of a swimming pool full of blood, and…"
Her gaze flicked downward for a moment. She turned her head away, cheeks faintly flushed, yet her voice stayed calm.
"Your clothes are torn."
"Eh? Eh? Eh? What did you see?" Iwanaga Kotoko instantly returned to her abstract mode, craning her neck like a shameless ghost. "I want to see too, I want to see too!"
"No looking!"
Yuuki Asuna's face flushed bright red. In her mind, she was already fuming. I'm his actual girlfriend and I haven't even seen it, and you two are already trying to sneak a peek?
She quickly took off her crimson cloak and draped it over Asagiri.
Asagiri stared at them, then spoke with complete seriousness.
"Is our team… not quite proper? We just survived a deadly battle and finally cleared the Dungeon. This should be a joyful victory scene. Why does it feel like we just finished an orgy?"
Yuuki Asuna didn't know what that word meant, but from his tone she could tell it was nothing good. She snapped irritably.
"You're really talking? You're the captain. You set the example and turned the whole team's atmosphere abstract. Necro, what are you laughing at? You're not getting away either!"
"Violet, your hand."
Asagiri noticed the wound on Yuuki Asuna's left arm, still oozing from when a failure bit her earlier.
He immediately took out the bottle of magic hand sanitizer from his inventory and offered it to her.
"Use this. It'll heal instantly."
Yuuki Asuna's eyes softened. She gently pushed his hand back.
"You're the one covered in injuries and you still refused to use it. Mine is just a superficial wound. Save something that precious for a critical moment."
Iwanaga Kotoko muttered under her breath.
"Why didn't I get injured? Care about me too."
Kato Megumi leaned closer, raised the dark purple dagger in her hand, and spoke expressionlessly.
"Do you want me to help you get injured?"
Kotoko immediately shrank back.
"Eh… don't say such terrifying things with a calm face. That's too dark hearted, isn't it?"
…
Half an hour later, the team returned to the core area with Mira.
The two dimensional Mita could not come along, since she existed inside Mira's computer.
"Player."
Kind Mita, acting as Core Mita's translator, looked at Asagiri's bloodstained, wounded body with clear distress in her eyes.
But she was more mature than Hat Mita. She forced the emotion down and spoke softly.
"Core Mita says she can feel it. You've eliminated the source of Anomaly in this world, but it's only temporary."
Kind Mita's gaze shifted to Kato Megumi behind Asagiri, then to the head of Prototype Mita in her hand. Her lips pressed together.
"Please give that to her."
Kato Megumi nodded and handed Prototype Mita's head to Core Mita.
Core Mita repeated the same process she had used on Crazy Mita earlier. She pulled out a thick cable like strand of hair and connected it to the head.
With a harsh electrical sizzle, Prototype Mita's head vanished.
In its place, a cartridge appeared.
"She says this can also become your Persona," Kind Mita relayed. "With this method, even a formally launched Mita like Prototype Mita will not resurrect again."
She paused, then continued in an even gentler voice.
"She also said… you didn't have to save Mira and the two dimensional Mita. But you still risked your life to do it, even knowing how dangerous it was."
[Core's affection toward you has greatly increased, reaching maximum level]
[Congratulations, you have completed the hidden condition of this Dungeon: Save all normal version Mitas]
As Kind Mita finished speaking, Core Mita slowly rose from where she had been sitting. She walked up to Asagiri and extended her hands.
A bright sphere of light bloomed in her open palms.
"This is the Mita World, the core authority of this world."
Kind Mita's lips curved into a gentle smile. Hat Mita, Short haired Mita, Pocket Mita, Cute Mita, Mira, and all the other Mita models stood beside her, all gazing at Asagiri.
"You are the most outstanding Player. Please accept control of this world. From now on, those of us who live here will become your assistance."
"Become my assistance…"
Asagiri looked at the glowing sphere and the cartridge in Core Mita's hand. He didn't take them right away.
Instead, he looked at Kind Mita.
"Does that mean you'll become my Persona?"
"Yes, but please rest assured."
Kind Mita tucked her long hair behind her ear, smiling softly.
"We will still live in this world. And because control will be given to you, from now on, unless you agree, no one will be able to enter this world."
She continued calmly.
"And when we are summoned as your Persona, even if we die in battle, our memories will not be reset. So please understand, Player, handing control to you is our unanimous decision."
"Exactly, exactly!"
Hat Mita swayed with lively energy, grinning.
"Once you have our core authority, you can come visit us anytime, and we can also go out to visit you. And this way, our world won't be a Dungeon for that game you mentioned anymore. That's safer for us, right?"
Asagiri nodded and returned the smile.
"If that's the case, then yes. That's certainly good. But my Persona slots are already full."
"It doesn't matter."
From behind him, Crazy Mita spoke in her usual flat tone.
"This world, and all the Mitas in it, including me disguised as a Mita and Prototype Mita, count as one whole."
She looked at the light in Core Mita's hands without a hint of emotion.
"So it will only take up one Persona slot."
.....
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