Chapter 266: The Weakness of the "Believers"
On the other side of the lobby, the remaining Fire-Clad Believer saw his companion fall, and his expression changed.
In that instant of distraction, a pair of dark purple eyes stared directly into his flame-filled eye sockets and launched an attack against his mind.
"Curse Gaze."
The other two Players with mental attack skills also aimed at the "fireball" they saw and attacked alongside Iwanaga Kotoko.
"Mental Shock!"
"Illusion Art!"
The mental attacks from those two Players were only basic skills, so their effects should not have been significant. However, Asagiri had just killed one of the Fire-Clad Believers, shaking the enemy's mental stability. On top of that, Iwanaga Kotoko had already pierced through his psychological defense.
Because of that, the two Players' mental attacks became the final blow, like kicking someone while they were down.
In that instant, the Fire-Clad Believer felt the string in his mind that had been stretched taut the entire time finally snap.
"Ah! It hurts... It hurts so much!"
The flame cloak around the Fire-Clad Believer suddenly began to tremble. Then, the flames forming the cloak and burning across his body surface forcefully drilled into him through his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and every opening they could find.
Under the agony of being burned from the inside out, the Fire-Clad Believer let out a scream so miserable it no longer sounded human.
Fortunately, the process did not last long.
He collapsed to his knees. The flames on his body and inside his blood vessels vanished, leaving behind only a hideous corpse with its mouth wide open and empty sockets where its eyes had once been.
"As expected..."
Iwanaga Kotoko glanced at the corpse on the ground, then gave Yuuki Asuna beside her a look.
Yuuki Asuna understood immediately. She stepped forward and slashed several times in quick succession, cutting the Fire-Clad Believer's corpse into pieces. Only after confirming that he was completely dead did Iwanaga Kotoko speak softly.
"They aren't using their own power. Under normal circumstances, they can barely control it. But once their minds are impacted and begin to waver, they'll be consumed by the flames."
After saying that, Iwanaga Kotoko glanced at Asagiri, who was still standing dozens of meters away and had not walked over.
A trace of worry flashed through her eyes.
But when she turned to Mr. Ichikawa, she smiled sweetly, her acting flawless.
"Mr. Ichikawa, please take the remaining Players upstairs and inform the guy in the white suit about what happened here."
"Oh... oh, okay!"
After Mr. Ichikawa led the surviving Players away from the first floor, Iwanaga Kotoko, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi ran to Asagiri's side at the same time and asked anxiously.
"Are you okay?"
"No."
Asagiri, who had been standing all this time, sat directly on the ground and took off his dark gray mask.
Blood was overflowing from his nose and eye sockets. His eyes were bloodshot, a clear sign that his mental strength and stamina were approaching their limit.
Even so, his voice still carried a smile, along with a hint of lingering satisfaction.
"That guy might not have been smart, but I have to admit, he was pretty strong. He made me feel a little pleasure. It was somewhat interesting."
"You really haven't changed at all..."
Hearing him still trying to act tough, Yuuki Asuna smiled helplessly, then asked softly.
"What's your current condition? Can you still move?"
"It's a little difficult."
Asagiri wiped the blood from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, then replied calmly.
"The Human Asura was destroyed four times in just a few minutes. That's already my limit. If that Persona gets destroyed one more time, I might die from severe exhaustion of both mental strength and stamina."
Before the three girls could show their worry, Asagiri added.
"But because my flame resistance increased four times, if we run into those believers again, it won't be as dangerous as this time."
Iwanaga Kotoko frowned slightly and said thoughtfully.
"But you need to recover your stamina and mental strength first, right? At least a few hours of rest, or..."
At this point, Iwanaga Kotoko paused.
Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi both looked puzzled, but Asagiri immediately understood what she meant.
"Kill those cannon fodder Players to replenish my stamina, then use the Ring of Conversion to restore my mental strength... Hmm. That is one method."
Asagiri's Cursed Rope Dart, aside from being able to eliminate spiritual entities, also had a special effect. After dealing damage, it could restore his mental strength or stamina depending on the enemy type.
If the enemy was a specter or Cursed type, like those in Kyozan Mental Hospital, it restored mental strength.
If the enemy was a biological type, like a Player, it restored stamina.
With the Ring of Conversion, it did not matter which one was restored. Asagiri could convert it himself.
Hearing the idea raised by Iwanaga Kotoko and Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi exchanged glances. Their expressions were complicated, but they said nothing.
From the battle just now, it was clear that the Players acting as "cannon fodder" could not contribute much.
Those enemies who called themselves believers were not opponents ordinary Players could handle. Even if the Players had equipment and defensive abilities capable of resisting flames, if their mental strength was not high enough, they would only see the illusion of a "fireball" and would not be able to see the enemy's movements at all.
If Asagiri had not killed one believer at the beginning, then quickly killed another and shaken the last believer's mind enough for Iwanaga Kotoko to interfere with him mentally, the result would have been uncertain.
If Asagiri had not fully recovered by the time the next wave of enemies arrived...
All the Players in this Dungeon would die.
Just then, Asagiri spoke.
"From a real world logic perspective, there's nothing wrong with that plan. But based on the system's usual behavior, it would be very strange. After all, the system knows I have the Ring of Conversion and the Cursed Rope Dart. It must know I can recover stamina and mental strength by killing other Players. And yet, there are still more than thirty hours left until the end of the Dungeon, which is beyond the twenty-four hour limit."
Kato Megumi's eyes flickered when she heard this. She said thoughtfully.
"Beyond the time limit... That means, just like before, we can't take the phones back to the real world and transfer the Player registration rights. We can only draw inside the Dungeon. If killing other Players to restore Leader's condition is the only solution, then the number of Players will decrease significantly. If the system has the ability to prevent that situation, it should take countermeasures."
As soon as Kato Megumi finished speaking, Asagiri's phone rang with a notification.
When he opened it, a new special notification appeared inside the eye icon APP.
[Due to killing two "Believers" in the first "Battle," you will receive an additional Dungeon completion level bonus and a one-time Dungeon exclusive item: Recovery Potion.]
[Recovery Potion: A one-time item usable only in this Dungeon. After consumption, it will greatly accelerate the recovery speed of stamina and mental strength.]
[Note: Can only be used outside of combat. Using any ability will interrupt this item's effect.]
Seeing the notification from the eye icon APP, as well as the Recovery Potion that appeared in his item inventory, Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and the others did not feel joy or relief.
A potion that recovered stamina and mental strength?
According to the system's usual behavior, how could it so easily provide Players, even high-level Players like Asagiri, with such a powerful temporary item?
This only proved how serious the situation was.
It meant that the upcoming trial was so difficult that the system believed if Asagiri did not recover his stamina and mental strength, all Players in this Dungeon would die.
That was why it had specifically provided such convenience.
...
Ten minutes later, the White Suit Man and the Fox Mask Woman arrived on the first floor.
Their other two teammates remained upstairs, continuing to guard the fire escape on the Twenty-fourth Floor.
"Are those so called believers... really that terrifying?"
Hearing the White Suit Man's question, Asagiri, who had already used the Recovery Potion and whose mental strength and stamina had recovered significantly, sat on the lobby sofa and shrugged casually.
"If the three of them had teamed up, even I would have been in danger. What do you think?"
"Hiss..."
The White Suit Man and the Fox Mask Woman did not think Asagiri was exaggerating.
After all, they had personally witnessed his strength before.
The first wave had only contained three believers, yet they were actually able to threaten a monster-level Player like him?
If it had been ordinary Players...
No. Even if it had been their own team...
"But they aren't without weaknesses. On the contrary, their weaknesses are very obvious."
Seeing the heavy expressions on the faces of the two people opposite him, Asagiri smiled and continued.
"Their power doesn't belong to them. It comes from that evil God. If they exceed their control limit, or if their minds are disturbed and begin to waver, they'll be consumed by the flames."
"Evil God?"
The Fox Mask Woman seemed slightly confused.
"How do you know it's an evil God?"
Upon hearing this, Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"The method to join the religion is to be burned to death by fire. If you survive, you become a believer. If you die, you become a sacrifice. Even those who have already become believers can be consumed by that power. Could that thing possibly be a good God?"
"That's true..."
The Fox Mask Woman nodded noncommittally. After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly spoke.
"You said their power doesn't belong to them. If that's the case, then combining it with the hints given to our two teams by the system, I have a theory."
.....
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