Her face changing, Asuna Yuuki tightened her grip on the handle of the Exorcist Longsword and turned her gaze towards the direction the sound came from.
That direction... was where the Hotel elevators were located.
A floor plan of the Hotel's first floor instantly appeared in Asuna her mind. With her intellect, it was not difficult to clearly remember the structure of the entire first floor of the Hotel.
And if she remembered correctly, from the room where the water tank was placed to the front desk reception area, the path would inevitably pass by the elevator entrance.
So... the source of the oddities in the Hotel, the one who had been hiding in the water tank, came out on its own?
Asuna Yuuki took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, but her hands couldn't help but tremble slightly. After all, she had personally witnessed the scene after the Players who drank the water exploded, leaving behind a bloody and gruesome sight that was unbearable to look at.
Just by using water, it could do such things...
How terrifying would the true appearance of that source of the oddities be?
"Violet, Necro, start putting on your protective gear." Asagiri Utsunomiya commanded.
Asuna Yuuki finally snapped back to reality. She immediately took out goggles and a disposable mask from her pocket, put them on her face, and also took out two small wads of cotton to plug into her ears.
The goggles were obtained in the staff lounge, the disposable mask was found in a guest room, and as for the cotton, it was pulled from cotton swabs.
However, these items were not recognized as equipment or items by the app. Although she didn't know if they could be taken back to the real world, they definitely couldn't be brought into the next dungeon.
After completing all these precautionary measures, Asuna Yuuki took a deep breath, staring intently in the direction the sound was coming from.
From the Hotel front desk where the three stood, they couldn't directly see the scene at the elevator entrance and exit. They could only hear the eerie *pitter-patter* sounds, which was gradually approaching.
And when the owner of the sound finally revealed its true appearance, even though Asuna Yuuki had prepared herself mentally beforehand, her expression still couldn't help but change.
They saw a disgusting creature, wearing dirty white clothes, nearly three meters tall, with wet black long hair dragging on the smooth marble floor. Its body was swollen and pale, like a corpse that had been soaked in water for ten days or half a month, slowly walking into the lobby.
With every step it took, a disgusting, unknown liquid was squeezed out from its body surface, and the stench it emitted, even at a distance of nearly twenty meters and wearing masks, made Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga frown involuntarily.
"Oh? Are you the so-called source of the oddities in this Hotel?"
Just then, Asagiri Utsunomiya suddenly jumped onto the Hotel front desk counter and struck an extremely cool pose, looking down at the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse.
Soon after, he said, "Instead of running away when you see me, you're actively walking towards me? I admire your courage, but that's the only thing worth praising."
The black pistol reappeared in his hand, and Asagiri Utsunomiya slowly raised the muzzle, then aimed it at his temple, his eyes instantly turned into bright gold, and his index finger pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Per... so... na..."
A humanoid black shadow exceeding two meters in height, with faint red flickering patterns appearing on its body surface, appeared behind Asagiri Utsunomiya.
"Go, Hitoshura!"
The moment Asagiri Utsunomiya's words fell, Hitoshura rushed towards the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse with astonishing speed that was inconsistent with its massive size.
In close combat, Hitoshura was a Persona with no weaknesses.
"I will also..."
"Wait a moment."
Just as Asuna Yuuki was about to step forward to help, Asagiri Utsunomiya jumped down from the counter, gently held her wrist, and shook his head.
"Don't rush."
"Okay, fine."
Although Asuna Yuuki didn't know why, she still obediently nodded in agreement. At this moment, Hitoshura had already arrived in front of the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse.
Hitoshura didn't make any sound. It just clenched its clawed hand into a fist and struck the vengeful spirit's face with the simplest, most unadorned straight punch.
*Thud!!!*
And the moment Hitoshura's punch hit the vengeful spirit's face, the other party's cheek instantly caved in, splashing out a large amount of unknown liquid, and the stench from its body also became more intense.
"...This smell..."
Even Asuna Yuuki, who usually maintained the dignified demeanor of a young lady from a good family, subconsciously covered her nose under this sudden stench. Fortunately, she was wearing goggles, otherwise, she was afraid that her eyes would be unable to open due to this highly irritating smell.
"When it's hit, does the liquid inside its body splash out... It's practically a walking water balloon." Compared to Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga was able to remain calm even after seeing such a disgusting scene and even had the leisure to analyze. "Looking at this guy's appearance, it should be a corpse that was soaked in the Hotel's water tank, and the reason it can spread its influence through water is because there are parts of its body in that water. Simply put, that's its drowned corpse"
"Just hearing you say it makes me feel a bit disgusted..."
"Disgusting? I'm already immune to these things."
Hearing Asuna Yuuki's comment, Kotoko Iwanaga first replied, then raised her staff, pointed to Hitoshura who was fighting the vengeful spirit, and frowned slightly as she said, "The stench from that guy is too strong, it's probably impossible to get close to it. And did you notice? The liquid erupting from its body seems to have a corrosive effect."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki looked in the direction Kotoko Iwanaga's staff was pointing and indeed saw that Hitoshura's body had been partially corroded after being contaminated with the unknown liquid erupting from the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse. A small part of its head was already missing.
"Ugh!!!" Just then, the vengeful spirit suddenly extended its two hands, grabbed Hitoshura's shoulders, and opened its mouth to an exaggerated degree. Then a dark green liquid gushed out from its mouth and immediately doused Hitoshura's body.
Before being completely corroded, Hitoshura used its last strength to directly punch a hole in the vengeful spirit's stomach. However, the opponent was a vengeful spirit after all, and no blood flowed out. This was not a fatal injury for it.
"*Cough, cough!*" Asagiri Utsunomiya coughed lightly twice and his body swayed slightly.
Asuna Yuuki immediately remembered that the description of Asagiri Utsunomiya's exclusive talent said that if his Persona was destroyed, the user would lose a large amount of stamina and mental power.
Just as she was about to step forward to help the other party, Asuna Yuuki saw Asagiri Utsunomiya once again raise the summoner in the shape of a black pistol, and once again, aimed the muzzle at his temple.
"Per... so... na... Hitoshura!"