Chapter 337: Shadow's Arrancar Form
Yuuki Asuna, Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, Hayasaka Ai, and Sakurakawa Rikka all turned toward the voice.
Four figures in long black robes were slowly walking toward them. Each robe bore a bizarre pattern on the chest, like a twisted smiling face carved into a black wooden coffin. Their faces were hidden behind black masks.
"Enemies?"
Seeing the wary expressions on Yuuki Asuna and the others' faces, the leader of the four black robed figures spread his arms and spoke in a slightly crazed tone.
"That's right, we are your enemies! Instead of fighting to the death to resolve some Dead Realm, isn't it better to wait until foolish people like you exhaust your stamina and mental strength, then seize your phones directly? If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being too naive!"
Hearing his words, Fujiwara Chika, Kaguya Shinomiya, and Hayasaka Ai all gritted their teeth.
This was bad.
They had not expected that, in such a chaotic situation, there would still be players insane enough to hide in the shadows, wait until all the Special Infected were dealt with, then come out to kill the surviving players and steal their phones.
The situation was terrible.
Before arriving here, they had already gone through a battle against two Blacklight Virus Infected. During that fight, Kato Megumi had consumed a large amount of mental energy using Dawn to draw aggro, and had already withdrawn from the battlefield while covering Iwanaga Kotoko, who had fallen unconscious after using Netherworld Summoning.
Yuuki Asuna, Kaguya Shinomiya, Hayasaka Ai, and Fujiwara Chika had also gone all out, using every trump card they had, before finally eliminating those two Blacklight Virus Infected and making it here.
To be honest, Kaguya Shinomiya, Hayasaka Ai, and Fujiwara Chika no longer had the ability to keep fighting.
Sakurakawa Rikka had endured a great deal of damage on Asagiri's behalf, and her physical condition had deteriorated too much in a short time. Now, even standing was difficult for her, let alone fighting.
The only one truly still capable of action was Yuuki Asuna, and even her stamina was already near rock bottom.
"Want to kill us? It won't be that simple..."
As Kaguya Shinomiya spoke, she gestured to Fujiwara Chika beside her, signaling her to request support from Miwa Ashikaga.
However, the four men in black seemed to see through her thoughts.
Their leader laughed sinisterly.
"Want to call for support? Don't dream. We used a one time item to temporarily block all electronic signals in this area. Even the so called strongest player, Shadow, is dead. You'd better hand over your phones obediently, and we will try our best to give you a quick death."
"Damn it..."
Tears still welled in Kaguya Shinomiya's eyes as she immediately looked toward Yuuki Asuna.
"Violet, we are now..."
As Kaguya Shinomiya spoke, she, like Fujiwara Chika and Hayasaka Ai, noticed Yuuki Asuna's incredibly strange expression.
Logically speaking, with her boyfriend having sacrificed himself and with such malicious enemies now trying to kill her and steal her phone, any normal person's reaction would be grief, rage, and unwillingness.
Given Yuuki Asuna's strong, competitive personality, she should have already gripped her long sword and prepared for battle.
But...
Why did Yuuki Asuna and Sakurakawa Rikka both look as if they were trying to hold back laughter?
Why did their gazes toward the four black robed players carry a strange mixture of mockery and pity?
Could they have gone mad from excessive grief?
Yuuki Asuna had reason to feel overwhelming grief, but Sakurakawa Rikka had no personal relationship with Utsunomiya Asagiri. Surely she couldn't be so sad that she developed mental problems too, right?
However, in the next second, Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, and Hayasaka Ai witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Asagiri's body began to recover at incredible speed.
The hole in his left chest vanished.
His severed left arm was restored to its original state.
Not only did every physical injury disappear in an instant, even his long black trench coat, which had been torn in several places during the intense battle, restored itself along with his body.
"This... this..."
Kaguya Shinomiya and the other two girls were stunned.
Even the four black robed players standing not far away were shocked.
"Children..."
Asagiri stood up from Yuuki Asuna's embrace, removed his damaged dark gray mask, and spoke with a smile in his voice.
"I successfully revived after watching the ad. Now, my second stage, Shadow Resurrected Form, makes its entrance."
"Ha... Ha!?"
Seeing Asagiri stand up again, Fujiwara Chika and Kaguya Shinomiya were momentarily speechless.
The sudden shock and joy caused their brains to temporarily stop functioning.
"So now..."
Asagiri did not explain the reason for his resurrection to Kaguya Shinomiya and the others.
Instead, he first looked at the four black robed players across from him and revealed a faint smile.
"You want to kill us and steal our phones? Come on."
Hearing Asagiri's words and seeing that he was completely unharmed, the four black robed players exchanged glances.
Then their leader suddenly shouted,
"Run!"
The moment his voice fell, the four of them turned and fled at full speed.
What kind of joke was this?
Although they had not witnessed it with their own eyes, just by looking at the devastation around them, they could roughly imagine the scene of Shadow battling the three Blacklight Virus Infected and Walrider.
A monster of that level had actually revived.
If they did not run for their lives now, were they supposed to stand there and wait for death?
"They're trying to escape!? Those guys..."
Yuuki Asuna was about to give chase, but Asagiri stopped her.
Then, he looked at Walrider, who was floating motionless in midair as if trapped in confusion, and said calmly,
"Come."
The moment it heard Asagiri's call, Walrider's body immediately transformed into a cloud of gray smoke.
Although it said nothing, it gave off a feeling of eagerness.
The gray smoke that formed its body floated in front of Asagiri and instantly transformed into a phantom tarot card, which then merged into Asagiri's palm.
[Persona: Walrider]
[Walrider: The core project of Mount Massive Asylum's scientific research experiments. Its body is composed of unknown nanoparticles.]
[Strengths: Physical Defense, Stamina, Agility]
[Weaknesses: Because Walrider does not possess self awareness, any mental attacks suffered by this Persona in battle will be borne by you, the user.]
[Current Stage Ability: Nanoparticle Division]
[Nanoparticle Division: Walrider can penetrate any physical obstacle by decomposing its body into nanoparticles. In battle, it can also split body parts for dispersed combat. Note: If Walrider penetrates an obstacle that is a sentient being, the nanoparticles may collapse and dissipate depending on the opponent's mental strength.]
[Exclusive Passive: Nanoparticle Incarnation]
[Nanoparticle Incarnation: Without summoning Walrider, you can use a portion of this Persona's abilities, such as freely switching parts of your body between nanoparticle and solid states, as well as possessing the same flight ability as Walrider.]
[Corresponding Tarot Card: The Devil, Upright]
Walrider required a host.
To become its host, one crucial prerequisite was experiencing enough near death situations.
Among those present, only Asagiri and Sakurakawa Rikka met this condition. Both of them had truly died before, and both Asagiri and Sakurakawa Rikka possessed mental strength that met the standard to become a host.
If Asagiri had not been present when Walrider lost its host, there was no doubt that it would have chosen Sakurakawa Rikka as its new host.
However...
During the time after Walrider lost its host and before Asagiri recovered, even though Sakurakawa Rikka was a qualified host, Walrider showed no reaction at all.
Only when Asagiri issued the summon did it become his Persona.
This was not due to self awareness.
It was a choice made by Walrider's instincts.
Only Utsunomiya Asagiri could become its user.
"Very good."
After subduing Walrider as his Persona, Asagiri smiled faintly and looked toward the direction where the four black robed players had fled.
"Now, it's time to kill the enemies."
Before Kaguya Shinomiya and Fujiwara Chika could speak, they saw Asagiri's body float directly into the air.
After scanning the surroundings from above and confirming the positions of the four enemies, he instantly shot forward with a bang, his speed as astonishing as when he moved on the ground.
"He... he flew away?"
Fujiwara Chika raised a hand and rubbed her eyes. Then she looked at Yuuki Asuna beside her, her lips slightly parted in disbelief.
"Ut... Utsunomiya-san can fly?"
Seeing Fujiwara Chika, Hayasaka Ai, and Kaguya Shinomiya all looking dazed, Yuuki Asuna could not help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.
"Shouldn't we ask about the resurrection first?"
"Oh... oh, right! Resurrection!"
Only then did Fujiwara Chika remember Asagiri's resurrection from the dead.
She was about to ask, but seemed to think of something else. Then she shook her head and revealed a cute, sweet smile.
"If he wants to talk about it, he'll naturally tell me. This is his matter. Although you and I are friends, I shouldn't keep pestering you just because of my own curiosity. I should ask him directly when the time comes."
"That works too..."
After replying, Yuuki Asuna suddenly realized something she had overlooked earlier.
It was normal for Kaguya Shinomiya to cry.
Anyone could see that she had different feelings for Asagiri.
But...
Why had Chika been so heartbroken?
That feeling was not at all like sadness for a friend's lover, nor was it the grief one would feel for an ordinary friend.
It was like the unbearable sorrow of seeing the person she loved die right in front of her, so intense that she wished she could follow him immediately.
Could it be…
.....
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