Seeing Asagiri Utsunomiya summon his Persona again and have Hitoshura charge towards the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse standing in the hall once more, Asuna Yuuki's expression became extremely solemn. The knuckles of her right hand, gripping the sword hilt, were slightly white from excessive force.
Asuna Yuuki wanted to go up and help, but from time to time, highly corrosive dark green liquid that could instantly melt even Hitoshura would burst out from the vengeful spirit's body, and it also emitted a stench that was unbearable even while wearing a mask.
If it weren't for this, Asagiri Utsunomiya wouldn't have let Hitoshura fight alone while she watched from a distance.
Was this the true difficulty of the dungeon?
No. That was not right.
According to the normal process, Players wouldn't need to come to the first floor hall at all, and wouldn't even go down to the fifth floor of the Hotel. Instead, they would encounter the floor's earth-bound spirit around the tenth floor and then start a game of chase and escape like cat and mouse.
It's even possible that the red-clothed vengeful spirit that Asagiri Utsunomiya captured at the beginning of the dungeon was the most powerful earth-bound spirit that Players would encounter according to the normal process, and they wouldn't directly face this vengeful spirit that was nearly three meters tall.
At this time, Asuna Yuuki only regretted that the Job she unlocked was a close combat type, and not a ranged Job like Warlock, Mage, or Archer. Otherwise, she could provide remote assistance to Hitoshura who was fighting the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse from a safe distance where she wouldn't be affected by the corrosive dark green liquid.
"Wait a minute... This guy..." Kotoko Iwanaga said as she saw Hitoshura extend its hands and forcefully crush the vengeful spirit's head, but the vengeful spirit did not dissipate. Instead, a dark green corrosive liquid gushed out from its neck and it instantly recovered to its original state. On the contrary, the liquid that splashed out when it was injured corroded a part of Hitoshura's body.
Seeing this scene, Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly showed a look of realization and immediately said to Asuna Yuuki beside her, "Violet, I know why that guy is attacking proactively! Because the one fighting Hitoshura right now is not its real body. Its real body should be very fragile, so it doesn't even dare to face us directly. As long as the real body is still there, its power will not dissipate, so... we need to find its real body!"
"Real body... water tank?"
Asuna Yuuki immediately reacted, first saying that, then immediately gripping the hilt of the Exorcist Longsword in her hand, and shouting at Asagiri Utsunomiya.
"Captain, don't get entangled with that guy here, we need to go..."
Just as Asuna Yuuki was halfway through her sentence, the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse seemed to have guessed her intention. Its mouth split open and it let out a sharp roar, trying to break free from Hitoshura's restraint and charge over, but Hitoshura's speed was faster than it. It directly locked the vengeful spirit's neck in a standard locking posture, and then pulled its head off.
"I heard what you said." As he said this, Asagiri Utsunomiya didn't turn around, just stood with his back to Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga. Then he continued speaking in a calm tone: "I'll hold this guy off; you two go find its true body."
Although Asuna Yuuki was very worried about Asagiri Utsunomiya's condition, she also knew she couldn't hesitate too much at this moment, so she immediately replied with a nod: "Okay, I understand."
Seeing Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga leave the lobby and head towards the room where the water tank was located, the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse's face became even more hideous and terrifying. It bared its teeth, aiming at the retreating figures of the two. But before it could spray that corrosive dark green liquid, Asagiri Utsunomiya spoke softly.
"Hitoshura, block its mouth."
The moment Asagiri Utsunomiya's words fell, Hitoshura raised its arm without hesitation and directly shoved its entire arm into the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse's wide-open mouth.
"Ugggh..." The Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse made a sound like it was being gagged, which was indeed the case; its body continued to struggle and its eyes that were fixed on Asagiri Utsunomiya were filled with intense hatred and malice.
"Very anxious, aren't you?" As he asked, Asagiri Utsunomiya leaned against the reception counter, looking directly into the vengeful spirit's eyes, a taunting smile on his face. Then he said with a mocking tone, "Hehe, just be anxious, it's useless even if you are. There's no way I'll let you pass. Knowing your real body will soon be destroyed, clearly powerless, yet still trying to cling to life, refusing to accept the reality of defeat... it is—"
He paused for a moment, then continued speaking:
"—truly ugly."
◆—⊰✧⊱—◆
On the other side, Asuna Yuuki looked at the metal object in front of her, about two meters high, which almost occupied an entire room of nearly one hundred square meters, and her brows were tightly furrowed as she said, "Is this the water tank where that guy's real body is... Necro, help me look, if it's a normal water tank, there should be..."
Before Asuna Yuuki could finish speaking, Kotoko Iwanaga had already raised her staff, pointed to the top of the water tank, and said, "It should be up there."
To ensure the cleanliness of the water source, the Hotel not only used filters, but the water source tank was also cleaned internally on a regular basis. Therefore, the water tank was not a sealed metal box, but it had a lid on top that could be opened to allow people to enter for cleaning.
"On top, huh... Wind Protection!"
Asuna Yuuki used her skill. Her body turned very light, and her movements became very agile. Wasting no time, she quickly climbed into the water tank with incredibly fluid, parkour-like movements, appearing to be clinging to the outer walls of the tank.
As soon as she arrived at her destination, as expected, she saw something like a lid, and it wasn't locked. She walked to the lid and opened it.
The moment she opened the lid, she immediately smelled an extremely pungent, unbearable stench. Moreover, there was about half a meter of water accumulated in the tank. Her expression couldn't help but become a little nervous.
If Kotoko Iwanaga's speculation was correct, then after she entered the water tank, Asuna Yuuki would see the true body of that Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse, which was... a corpse, bloated and swollen from who knows how long it had been soaking in the water tank.
Actually, Asuna Yuuki had a slight phobia of dirt. In the past, it would have been absolutely impossible for her to enter this foul-smelling rotten water that had accumulated for who knows how long.
But now, there was a reason she had to act.
"Captain... Utsunomiya-san... Asagiri-kun..."
Thinking of Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was currently delaying the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse, enduring even after consuming a large amount of stamina and mental power, yet still forcing himself to summon his Persona once again in a short time, Asuna Yuuki made up her mind, gritting her teeth, and jumped into the water tank.
In the dimly lit interior of the water tank, she saw a swollen and bloated corpse in a corner, barely recognizable as human, with only black seaweed-like hair floating on the surface of the water.
The next second, the tip of the Exorcist Longsword in Asuna Yuuki's hand had already pierced the center of that corpse's forehead.
"Got you."