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ArabicAnime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Endgame Regeneration
When Asuna and Kotoko stepped back into the dimly lit hotel lobby, the suffocating pressure that had previously choked the air was completely gone. The towering, grotesque form of the Bloated Corpse Spirit was nowhere to be seen, prompting Asuna to finally release a long, trembling breath.
Regardless of what Kotoko’s true identity was back in the real world, it was abundantly clear that the petite girl possessed a terrifying amount of experience when it came to dealing with the supernatural. Amidst the absolute chaos of the situation, she had instantly deduced that the hulking monstrosity fighting the Demi-Fiend was nothing more than a puppet, a mere extension of the anomaly haunting the hotel.
Only by taking a spiritual weapon and destroying the true body hidden away in the rooftop water tank could that Evil Spirit be completely eradicated.
Just as the tension began to leave Asuna’s shoulders, her amber eyes darted across the ruined lobby and landed on a familiar figure. Asagiri was slumped against the shattered remains of the hotel reception desk. She gasped, her heart leaping into her throat, and sprinted over to him.
“Asa… Leader! Are you okay?!”
Asagiri’s voice was incredibly faint, carrying a hollow rasp as if his life force was bleeding out onto the floor. His dark eyes, which usually gleamed with a mocking amusement, had lost their luster. The gun-shaped summoner lay discarded and quiet by his limp hand.
“It seems… this is as far as I go…”
“How could that be…”
Asuna’s face drained of all color. Panic and absolute helplessness flooded her features as she dropped to her knees beside him.
“No… this is impossible… How could something like this happen? Just hold on a little longer… I, I will never let you die!”
“Huh? What death?”
To the utter bewilderment of both Asuna and Kotoko, the dying boy suddenly let out a soft chuckle. Asagiri waved his hand dismissively, his tone instantly shifting back to its usual relaxed, deadpan drawl.
“You misunderstood. I’m far from dying.”
Asuna froze in place, her outstretched hands hovering awkwardly in the air. She stared at him, her brain short-circuiting for a second. “Eh? Then why were you just now…”
“I just suddenly felt like saying that line. It fit the atmosphere.”
Asagiri pushed himself up from the floor, brushing the dust off his clothes. He looked over at the massive, corrosive mess a few meters away, where the dark green liquid from the Bloated Corpse Spirit had melted through the expensive marble flooring, and sighed wistfully.
“Truly a strong opponent. I’m afraid I’ll never forget you, Elastic Water Balloon.”
Asuna’s expression rapidly cycled from sheer panic to utter disbelief, and finally settled on a deep, helpless anger. She rolled her eyes so hard they nearly strained.
“What Elastic Water Balloon… If someone who didn’t know the context heard you say that, they would think the terrifying monster we just risked our lives against was some cute mascot from a children’s cartoon!”
After snapping at him, Asuna quickly turned her head away, raising a hand to furiously wipe at the unshed tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. When she turned back, she glared at Asagiri with a fiercely serious expression, her tone leaving absolutely no room for argument.
“From now on, you are not allowed to make jokes like that again! Do you hear me?!”
Asagiri merely offered a faint, unapologetic smile in response before tapping his chin thoughtfully.
“Killing a Boss outside the normal clear process should count as a massive bonus point in the APP’s evaluation, right? It seems that this time, all three of us are guaranteed to get at least an S-level clear rating.”
Hearing the shift in topic, Asuna pulled out her phone and checked the screen, letting out a tired sigh.
“Even though it felt like an eternity in here, it has only been a little less than three hours since we first entered the dungeon…”
The moment the words left her mouth, a sharp, synchronized chime echoed through the quiet lobby. Asuna, Asagiri, and Kotoko all felt their phones vibrate at the exact same time.
[You have eliminated all hostile Evil Spirits in this dungeon and uncovered the truth of the Hotel’s strange event. You can choose to leave the dungeon at any time using the APP function.]
However, on Asagiri’s screen, a second, exclusive notification silently popped up.
[Your Persona “Demi-Fiend” has grown and unlocked a new characteristic.]
Scrolling down to check the details, Asagiri found that the Demi-Fiend’s stat panel had undergone a significant evolution following the brutal battle.
[Demi-Fiend: Facing the fear of death head-on, the Persona born from within your heart.]
[Strengths: Strength, Endurance, Defense, Speed, Agility.]
[Weaknesses: No ranged attack methods.]
[Demi-Fiend’s Passive Effect: When switching to this Persona, your physical abilities will be massively enhanced. Because the Demi-Fiend represents unwavering determination, you will be entirely immune to attacks of all mental types, such as illusions, brainwashing, and hypnosis.]
[Current Characteristic: Endgame Regeneration.]
[Endgame Regeneration: Every time the Demi-Fiend is completely destroyed in a true battle, its basic abilities will grow, and its resistance to the corresponding attribute attacks will permanently increase (no upper limit). You yourself will also gain the resistance enhancement provided by the Demi-Fiend. Currently enhanced resistances: Corrosion, Curse.]
[Corresponding Tarot Card: The Emperor (Upright).]
Asagiri immediately understood the implications of this newly unlocked characteristic.
In the simplest terms, every time his Persona was shattered to pieces, it would come back stronger. The specific defensive resistances it gained were directly tied to whatever elemental or conceptual attribute had managed to destroy it.
During the fight just now, the Demi-Fiend had been melted down by the Bloated Corpse Spirit’s vile corpse water, an attack carrying both heavy corrosion and curse attributes. Consequently, the Persona had absorbed those traits and developed a permanent resistance to them. The most terrifying part was the bracketed text: no upper limit.
However, even without the system explicitly warning him, Asagiri’s pragmatic instincts told him there was a catch. The Demi-Fiend could only trigger this evolutionary growth through genuine, life-and-death combat. Trying to exploit the system by deliberately letting the Persona get destroyed in a controlled environment to farm stats simply wouldn’t register.
After reviewing the data, Asagiri casually tossed his phone over to Asuna and Kotoko, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
“My Demi-Fiend unlocked a new characteristic.”
“A new characteristic?”
Asuna caught the device. She and Kotoko leaned in to read the glowing screen together. As their eyes scanned the text, both of their expressions gradually morphed into absolute disbelief.
“Endgame Regeneration? Growth of basic abilities? Unlimited resistance scaling? And it can share all of that gained resistance directly with your main body? This…”
Asuna slowly handed the phone back to Asagiri, her lips pursed into a tight, complicated line.
“Honestly… isn’t this exclusive talent of yours a bit too ridiculous? This is already at the level of a cheat code, isn’t it?”
Asagiri chuckled, raising an eyebrow in mild amusement. “Oh? The model student knows about cheat codes now?”
Asuna crossed her arms, looking thoroughly annoyed by his teasing.
“Didn’t you tell me to? You said I needed to learn more about games, to put myself in a Player’s shoes, and to analyze these dungeons from a gaming perspective. I am not the kind of person who knows they need to study something but refuses to change out of sheer laziness.”
After defending her gamer vocabulary, Asuna glanced between Asagiri and Kotoko, her shoulders slumping slightly as she muttered under her breath.
“Sigh… both of you have unlocked incredibly powerful exclusive talents, and I’m the only one who hasn’t… I know most Players at this stage haven’t unlocked a profession or a talent yet, but being stuck in a party with you two cheat-level monsters makes it really hard not to feel a massive sense of disparity…”