Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 53

Chapter 53: The Evil Spirit Within Private Toyosaki

Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko evade the shadowy figure’s ambush with such fluid, acrobatic grace, Yuuki Asuna froze in momentary disbelief.

“Necro… didn’t you say you lacked combat abilities? How did you…”

“I said I wasn’t suited for frontline fighting, but that hardly means my physical fitness is lacking,” Kotoko replied, a bright smile on her face as she casually shook the detached prosthetic leg in her hand. “You see, while my physical parameters far exceed those of an ordinary human, this prosthetic is merely the highest-end commercial model available in the mundane world. If I push my movements to the extreme like I just did, the joint mechanism snaps to protect the user’s actual flesh from tearing.”

Tossing the broken limb aside, Kotoko turned her gaze toward Asagiri. Her tone instantly shifted into a saccharine, coquettish pout.

“Leader, just to help you test out your new trump card, I had to sacrifice one of my very expensive legs. I don’t care about the money, but you absolutely have to compensate me. And I will only accept compensation in the form of a romantic date.”

Asagiri nodded, his expression completely flat. “Understood. Then I’ll take Violet out on a date. Consider your compensation paid in full.”

Kotoko’s face flushed crimson. She hopped frantically on her single good leg. “If you’re compensating me, then you have to take me on the date! What kind of logic is that?!”

“Keep your voice down,” Asagiri said, casually dismissing her outrage. “Let’s handle the actual business first.”

He shifted his gaze toward the top of the darkened staircase. Heavy, ragged breathing echoed down the steps, accompanied by the clatter of something hard scraping against the concrete. The true form of the so-called ‘Evil Spirit’ finally dragged itself into the dim light.

Its head bore a sickening resemblance to the legendary Yokai known as the ‘Kudan’—a creature of folklore said to prophesy disasters. It possessed the thick, muscular skull of a bull, yet stretched across its front was a distorted human face. Its eyes were a deathly, milky white, completely devoid of pupils.

Below the neck, its body was roughly humanoid but covered in patches of coarse, matted beast fur. Most disturbing of all, the extremities of its limbs did not end in human hands or feet, but in heavy, cloven hooves.

Hearing Asagiri’s low whistle of appraisal, Asuna felt her stomach churn. The creature was genuinely repulsive. The Bloated Corpse Spirit they had fought previously was disgusting, but it at least fell within the recognizable boundaries of a former human. This Evil Spirit radiated a bizarre, unnatural aura that made her skin crawl. It was only natural that Asagiri would react to such a monstrosity with—

“Could it be… is this the legendary Minotaur?” Asagiri asked, his eyes practically sparkling with the eager curiosity of a child spotting a rare animal at the zoo.

Asuna stared at him, utterly exasperated. “Minotaur my foot! Don’t tell me you want to capture this hideous thing and raise it as a pet?”

“Of course not,” Asagiri replied, his tone deadpan. “You can’t keep a Minotaur around the house. It’s terrible for your luck.”

Maintaining their guard, Asagiri, Asuna, and Kotoko slowly backed away. They waited until the Minotaur-faced Evil Spirit lumbered down the remaining steps and fully entered the spacious first-floor lobby before shifting into combat stances.

“Violet, get ready.”

Asuna gave a sharp nod. Locking her eyes onto the beast, she clenched her right hand. With a flash of pale light, the Exorcist Longsword materialized in her grip.

Asagiri had no intention of summoning his Persona for this fight. His primary goal was to test his newly acquired weapon., he needed to feed the kill—or rather, the bull’s head—to Asuna so she could trigger the speed boost from her exclusive ‘Flash’ talent. If he simply obliterated the Evil Spirit in one shot, the entire expedition would be a waste of time.

Clang…

A harsh metallic scrape echoed through the lobby as a length of heavy, coiled chain materialized in Asagiri’s grasp. Attached to the dangling end of the iron links was a wicked, dagger-like blade.

“Here we go.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Asagiri’s arm blurred. The Curse Gaze Rope Dart sliced through the air with a vicious hiss, shooting straight toward the center of the Minotaur Evil Spirit’s forehead.

“Roar!!!”

The beast unleashed an ear-piercing shriek, instinctively raising a thick, fur-covered arm to shield its face. The razor-sharp dart tore through the tough hide and sank deep into its flesh. The sheer kinetic force behind the throw sent the two-meter-tall monstrosity stumbling backward.

Before it could regain its balance, a cold glint of steel swept in from its blind spot.

With the sharp whistle of a blade cutting the air, Asuna slashed her Exorcist Longsword across the monster’s other arm. However, the holy steel only bit about a centimeter into the dense muscle, completely failing to sever the limb.

‘Tch… brute strength really is my weak point…’

Without a microsecond of hesitation, Asuna ripped her blade free and threw herself into a sideways roll. A massive, cloven hoof slammed into the exact spot she had just occupied.

Bang!!

The sheer weight of the Minotaur Evil Spirit’s stomp shattered the hard floor tiles, sending a spray of sharp gravel ricocheting across the lobby.

‘This thing’s physical power is absurd,’ Asuna calculated, her mind racing as she found her footing. The brief exchange had laid her own flaws bare. Although she possessed a combat-oriented class, her raw strength and defense were mediocre. Her true advantages lay in her explosive speed and reaction time.

To efficiently convert that velocity into lethal damage, she couldn’t rely on wide cleaving strikes. She needed to use…

A sudden, guttural bellow interrupted her thoughts. The human face stretched across the Minotaur Evil Spirit’s skull twisted into an agonizing grimace. The holy damage from the Exorcist Longsword and the lingering malice of Asagiri’s Curse Gaze Rope Dart were eating into its spiritual form.

Its dead, milky eyes locked onto Asagiri, who stood casually a few meters away. Hot steam blasted from its nostrils. Unhinging its jaw, the beast lunged forward and clamped its teeth directly onto the taut metal chain of the Rope Dart. Dropping onto all fours, it abandoned its bipedal stance entirely. Like a rabid, charging bull, it lowered its massive horns and barreled straight toward Asagiri.

“Hoh? You even have a phase two stance? How interesting.”

Asagiri didn’t move a single muscle to dodge. He stood perfectly still, watching the two-meter wall of muscle and fur charge him down. Just as the beast closed the distance, his fingers clamped down on the iron chain with a vice-like grip.

In the next fraction of a second, Asagiri took a single, pivoting step to the side. Using the monster’s own terrifying momentum against it, he whipped his arm in a brutal, sweeping arc.

He swung the massive beast by the chain like the head of a medieval flail, smashing it directly into the reinforced concrete wall of the lobby.

The deafening impact sent a violent tremor through the entire first floor. Dust and pulverized plaster exploded outward in a thick cloud.

“Heh.”

Asagiri casually yanked the Rope Dart free from the rubble. He looked at the mangled Minotaur Evil Spirit, now deeply embedded in a spiderweb crater within the wall, and let out a dry chuckle.

“See? Putting random things in your mouth will only get you hurt.”

A heavy silence fell over the lobby.

Asuna and Kotoko stood frozen, staring blankly at Asagiri’s back as the dust settled around him. The two girls slowly turned their heads to look at each other, their minds completely short-circuiting.

Hold on. That was a two-meter-tall, heavily muscled demonic beast. And he just grabbed the chain with one hand and casually whipped it into the wall hard enough to crater the concrete?

Are you even human?!

Kato Megumi will appear in the next chapter 10

[Inorin’s Note: In Chinese internet slang, “Minotaur” (often translated as Tauren from World of Warcraft) is a homophone/slang term for “NTR” (Netorare / cuckolding). Asagiri is making a deadpan joke that keeping a Minotaur around the house is “unlucky” because it implies you will get cheated on.]

[Inorin’s Note: The ‘Kudan’ is a Japanese Yokai typically depicted as a calf with a human face. It is born, delivers a single prophecy (usually of a disastrous event like war or famine), and then immediately dies.]