Chapter 339: Sleeping Play? No, It's Bathing Together
Several hours later, at Asagiri's home.
"Mm..."
Iwanaga Kotoko slowly opened her eyes. Her deep purple gaze was still clouded with the faint confusion of someone who had just woken up. But the moment she saw Asagiri's face in front of her, a sweet smile bloomed on her lips.
"Oh my, isn't this my handsome boyfriend? To think you'd voluntarily give me a lap pillow. Should I pretend to stay asleep a little longer and enjoy more of my boyfriend's gentle treatment?"
Asagiri replied solemnly,
"Actually, I was considering whether to try the sleeping play."
Hearing that, Iwanaga Kotoko first widened her eyes in shock, then immediately closed them again. As if afraid Asagiri would not understand, she even whispered a reminder.
"Oh my, no, I'm too tired. I'm going to fall into a deep sleep. The kind where I have absolutely no consciousness, won't wake up no matter how you mess with me, and you can do whatever you want."
Faced with Iwanaga Kotoko's abstract words, Asagiri countered with an equally abstract line.
"My tastes don't include vegetative states, haha."
"Then I'm awake."
Iwanaga Kotoko quickly sat up.
After sleeping for twelve hours, she felt both thirsty and hungry. Before she could even speak, Asagiri handed her a glass of water and a bento box.
"This is the bento Asuna made for you."
"Great~"
Iwanaga Kotoko first took the glass and gulped down a mouthful of water, then opened the bento box. Seeing the still-warm, delicious dishes inside, she immediately began devouring them, not even bothering with the "elegance" she usually prided herself on. While eating, she mumbled indistinctly,
"What happened after I fell unconscious?"
"I was just about to tell you."
Over the next few minutes, Asagiri recounted everything that had happened after Iwanaga Kotoko used Netherworld Summoning and fell into a coma.
"Blacklight Virus Infectees... They maintained intelligence close to humans and could transform parts of their bodies into weapons. Just three Infectees plus Walrider were enough to push you that far?"
Iwanaga Kotoko murmured to herself, a thoughtful look appearing in her deep purple eyes.
Just then, Asagiri added,
"Strictly speaking, those three Infectees were failed experiments. The truly successful fusion form of the Blacklight Virus should be able to switch between different forms at will depending on the environment, enemy type, and the host's own will. Their physical functions would also reach an extremely terrifying level. Those three Infectees only had their hands strengthened. Although their bodies had also fused with the Blacklight Virus, the degree was very low, and they could even be killed by destroying their brains. True Blacklight Virus Infectees are far beyond that level."
"Oh?"
Listening to Asagiri's words, interest appeared in Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes.
"From what you're saying, you seem to know quite a lot about that Blacklight Virus?"
"Sort of. Assuming that virus is indeed the Blacklight Virus I know, and not something else."
"I see."
Iwanaga Kotoko merely nodded and did not ask too many questions, because she had absolute trust in Asagiri.
"What about the other matter? Those players in uniform black clothes, the ones you called Laughing Coffin. Could they cause trouble for us?"
"Yes, but it'll probably be over soon."
Asagiri shrugged and replied indifferently,
"Laughing Coffin didn't just try to attack us. During this Trial phase, they took advantage of players' weakness after clearing Dead Realms, killed a large number of players, and stole their phones. In the short term, they definitely gained a lot, but all player factions, including the official one, have already marked them as targets that must be eliminated. Now, every player faction, including Ashikaga-sensei's side, has launched investigations. Laughing Coffin players are still people living in this world, after all. Cutting off their own retreat is utterly foolish."
"Indeed..."
Iwanaga Kotoko nodded at first, then turned over and straddled Asagiri's lap. A shy and embarrassed look appeared on her cute face, but her words remained as blunt as ever.
"Since it's finally just the two of us, all alone... then tonight..."
"Let's take a bath first."
"You're right. I've been running around all day, but..."
At this point, Iwanaga Kotoko revealed a slightly mischievous smile. She sat sideways on Asagiri's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and spoke in a playful, coquettish tone.
"I'm out of strength. It seems you'll not only have to carry me to the bathroom, but also help me wash~"
Asagiri asked earnestly,
"Just wash?"
Iwanaga Kotoko's face flushed slightly. She covered her lips and whispered softly,
"Really, no matter what, I'm still a shy girl. Don't make me say it so clearly..."
"Then of course it's not just washing."
Asagiri carried Iwanaga Kotoko into the bathroom.
The moment he helped her get ready, she slipped straight into the already prepared hot bathtub. Her fair figure was hidden by the warm, misty steam, leaving only her playful, charming voice drifting out.
"I've changed my mind. Bathing together is more fun than having you wash me~ Hurry up and come in~"
"Typical of you."
Asagiri listened to Iwanaga Kotoko urging him on. Seeing the excitement and anticipation written clearly across her cute face, he replied while taking off his shirt,
"Why are you acting like a middle-aged lecherous uncle?"
"I'm not lecherous."
Iwanaga Kotoko leaned against the edge of the bathtub, resting her chin on her hands as she admired her boyfriend's slender, well-proportioned, yet powerful physique. She smiled sweetly.
"I'm only fond of you. The God of Wisdom has only one standard for a partner, and that is you."
"Although your words are very touching, your eyes are glazing over, and you're drooling."
"Eh? Drooling?"
Iwanaga Kotoko raised a hand to wipe her mouth. Seeing Asagiri also enter the tub and sit opposite her, she explained with a blush,
"Th-that's steam! Not drool!"
Asagiri nodded knowingly. Although his tone seemed full of admiration, his words were clearly teasing her.
"What impressive steam, condensing only at the corner of your mouth."
Iwanaga Kotoko's fair, pretty face turned crimson. She stood up indignantly, then turned around and sat in Asagiri's embrace.
"If you keep moving around like this, it's hard for me to control myself."
Hearing Asagiri's words, Iwanaga Kotoko turned again. This time, she did not stand up. Instead, she leaned close, her fair skin brushing against him as she shifted into a face-to-face position. Then she cupped Asagiri's cheeks with both hands and kissed him directly.
"What I want is for you to lose control..."
Before Iwanaga Kotoko could finish her provocative words, the mist in the bathroom grew thicker, swallowing the two of them together with the sound of splashing water.
By the time her voice emerged again, it was already soft, breathless, and almost swallowed by the steam.
"Don't... don't call me Princess at a time like this..."
Her fair face turned completely red. She leaned against Asagiri's shoulder and whispered in a voice so small it was almost inaudible.
"Th-then... be a little rougher..."
...
The next morning, on the streets of Shibuya Ward.
"There's hardly anyone around..."
Yuuki Asuna walked beside Asagiri, looking at the unusually quiet street that should have been bustling with people. Her expression was complicated, and she pursed her lips.
"The descent of the Dead Realms... the blow it dealt to a city living in peace is simply devastating. Why did the system arrange things this way? The Trial is for players, so why involve ordinary people...?"
"Perhaps this isn't something the Game system can decide."
Asagiri held Yuuki Asuna's hand, softly comforting her.
"A system that can be interfered with to some extent by Crazy Mita, and seems to need players more than players need it, probably doesn't possess that much authority. Perhaps it wasn't the system that chose this Trial method. Maybe those Cursed phenomena would have descended upon our world anyway, and the system is merely providing an early warning."
"If that's the case..."
Yuuki Asuna sighed. Although she tried hard to think through it, she still could not fully understand the current situation.
"Then what kind of Trial did the players in the Blackwatch world face? Since there is a rule that players won't enter a Dungeon location from their own world, was their Dead Realm also a Dungeon where players were wiped out?"
"Who knows."
Asagiri shrugged indifferently, replying with a casual smile.
"Maybe the Dungeon where players were wiped out on our side last time descended on their side instead."
...
Meanwhile, in the Cursed world where Blackwatch was located.
The bodies of Blackwatch members lay densely across the ground, and the smell of blood permeated the air.
In the shadow of eternal night stood a person dressed in a black trench coat, wearing a dark gray mask, with a metal Rope Dart chain wrapped around their right arm.
Their attire was identical to Asagiri's previous appearance.
However, beneath the dark gray mask, their eyes were pure pitch black.
"This guy... damn it..."
A Blackwatch sniper lying in ambush on the rooftop of a distant building locked onto the figure through his scope and pulled the trigger without hesitation, only to find that the opponent's body did not even sway.
Immediately afterward, those purely pitch-black eyes turned toward his direction.
The figure instantly vanished from its original position. When it reappeared, it was already in front of the building where he was hiding.
With a slight bend of its knees, it leaped straight onto the rooftop of the building, which was dozens of meters high, and grabbed the sniper by the neck.
"You... you..."
The Blackwatch sniper's body struggled instinctively from suffocation. His gradually reddening eyes stared at the emotionless black eyes beneath the dark gray mask.
Behind that figure, a red-clad swordsman appeared.
Then came a girl in a long Western dress wearing a masquerade mask, and a girl holding a pitch-black longbow who only now revealed her figure.
Despair surged in his heart.
He naturally knew that the person about to kill him was not the real Shadow.
The system's Trial for their world, for the Blackwatch players, was very "simple."
[Dead Realm: All high-level players from another world will descend into this world in their projected state after clearing a Stage Three Dungeon.]
.....
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