Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Two Living Yamas

The Suit Man and the Woman with Heavy Makeup flushed red, clearly itching to argue. But staring down the dark, unforgiving barrel of Asagiri’s gun—the Equality of All Beings—their fragile courage evaporated. They swallowed their protests and kept their mouths shut.

“I truly didn’t expect to run into such… foolish players.”

Iwanaga Kotoko maintained her perfectly sweet smile. She shook her head, her tone gentle and airy, completely at odds with the grim situation. “I can understand the desire for a little excitement, but since this is the result, you only have yourselves to blame for lacking both a clear head and the strength to back it up. Still, that alone shouldn’t be enough to get you possessed by the anomalies of this hotel. Keep talking. What else did you do?”

The Woman with Heavy Makeup hesitated, her eyes darting nervously. “That… after that… we just searched the room. Walked around the floor a bit… we didn’t do anything else…”

Asagiri shook his head. His gaze cut right through the pair. “After you two finished screwing around, you drank the water from the hotel, didn’t you?”

“Huh? How did you know?” The woman froze. Catching sight of Asagiri’s index finger resting casually on the trigger, her survival instinct finally kicked in. “Yes… I remember now. At the time… we saw bottled mineral water on the desk, so we took two bottles and drank them…”

Yuuki Asuna’s expression twisted into a complicated mix of pity and absolute disbelief. “You… you… sigh. How can anyone be this stupid…”

The Suit Man scrambled to defend himself. “No, wait! We didn’t drink the tap water! It was bottled mineral water. I checked the seals myself, they weren’t opened! There shouldn’t have been any problem!”

“I called you brain-dead, and you really are purely brain-dead. Barely surviving the novice instance really gave you a false sense of confidence, didn’t it?” Asagiri didn’t bother hiding his contempt, his voice dripping with aggression. “Evil Spirits. Do you understand the concept? Do you honestly think an Evil Spirit needs to physically unscrew a plastic cap to taint the water inside? Flawless logic. There is a simple, pure beauty to your absolute lack of a brain stem.”

All the blood drained from their faces. They shivered violently. “Then… then what happens to us for drinking it?”

Asuna pursed her lips. She looked at the trembling pair, her voice softening slightly but carrying a grim weight. “We aren’t entirely sure yet. But if I had to guess… your bodies will eventually swell up and pop like balloons.”

“Pop?!”

The Suit Man’s legs gave out. He collapsed onto the carpet, immediately throwing himself into a desperate dogeza, pressing his forehead against the floor at Asagiri’s feet. “Save… please save me! If you knew there was something wrong with the water, you must know how to fix it, right?! Please! I have money! Once we leave this instance, I can pay you whatever you want!”

“Don’t make me laugh.” Asagiri stared down at him with dead eyes. “You courted death on your own time. Why should I bail you out? Am I your father? What obligation do I have to save a liability?”

Kotoko took two light steps forward. Just as Asuna thought the petite girl might take pity on them and persuade Asagiri to help, Kotoko smiled brightly and spoke in a relaxed, conversational tone.

“He’s right. Based on what we just discussed, if their bodies might burst at any given moment from the tainted water, these two are essentially walking time bombs. If they explode and their blood or viscera splashes into our eyes or mouths, we could be infected by the anomaly as well. So, my suggestion is to just kill them right here.”

Asuna flinched. She stared at the cute, doll-like girl in shock.

Not only is she refusing to save them, but she wants to execute them on the spot to prevent future trouble?

Rationally, Asuna knew Kotoko’s logic was flawless. But these were still human lives. To suggest something so cold-blooded with such a cheerful, breezy smile… It was terrifying. A girl who dared to enter a survival instance solo was clearly not a normal person.

“Hey now, you say that, but they’re still breathing. My strong moral compass simply doesn’t allow me to murder people in cold blood.”

Hearing Asagiri’s defense, the Suit Man and the Woman with Heavy Makeup nearly burst into tears of relief. There are still good people in this world!

“Besides, killing them directly is far too wasteful.”

Before the pair could even process their gratitude, Asagiri pivoted smoothly. A kind, almost saintly smile spread across his face, and his tone dropped into a gentle purr. “You two… you want to live, right?”

“Yes! So please—”

“Begging me is useless.” Asagiri cut off the Suit Man’s desperate plea with a light chuckle. “According to our current intel, there is an Evil Spirit in this hotel far stronger than the rest—one capable of casually erasing its own kind. It is highly likely the source of the anomalies. You drank the water. You are infected. Your only chance of survival is if the source of the corruption is eradicated.”

He leaned in slightly, his smile never wavering. “As the saying goes, make the best use of everything. If the source isn’t dealt with, you both die anyway. Therefore, you two are going to become our cannon fodder and pave the way forward.”

“Of course, I won’t force you. You have two choices. Option one: follow my plan, act as bait to explore the unknown areas, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll survive.”

“Option two: I put a bullet in your heads right now to eliminate the biological hazard.”

“The choice is yours.”

The Suit Man and the Woman with Heavy Makeup stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.

Good grief, is this guy a Living Yama?!

Kotoko blinked, momentarily stunned by Asagiri’s proposal. Then, her eyes lit up with genuine approval, and she nodded emphatically. “Ah, I see! Since they’re guaranteed to die anyway, it’s far better to squeeze out their remaining value as bait for our exploration. As expected, your plan is much more reliable.”

“You flatter me,” Asagiri replied dryly. “Like I said, my sense of morality is just too strong. I find the idea of outright execution a bit hard to stomach.”

Watching Asagiri and Kotoko casually discuss the optimal use of human meat shields, Asuna’s lips parted slightly. She couldn’t find a single word to say.

Why does it feel like… even though these two just met, they share an absolutely terrifying wavelength?

[Inorin’s Note: “Living Yama” (活阎王) is a Chinese internet slang/idiom referring to someone who is as ruthless, terrifying, or deadly as Yama, the King of Hell and judge of the dead in East Asian mythology. It’s often used humorously to describe someone who acts like an absolute devil.]