Chapter 203: Failed to Satisfy Lord "Shadow"

Even after merging with the cursed power, the Blackwatch Commander’s power still had limits.

After all, he was not the true source of the Cursed power within Kyozan Mental Hospital. He was merely an existence that had absorbed a portion of its power through that evil wooden box, the experiments performed on certain mental patients, and the resentment born from the hospital riot.

In other words...

This Commander, whose vision was damaged, whose physical abilities had already begun to decline with age, and whose combat power was far below what it had been in his prime, was actually the true subject of Black Watch’s experiment.

The result of that experiment could be called either a success or a failure.

It succeeded because he had indeed gained a degree of cursed power while still retaining basic rationality, becoming the ideal "complete biological weapon" Black Watch had pursued.

It failed because, after merging with part of Kyozan Mental Hospital’s cursed power, he had also become something akin to a localized spirit, utterly incapable of leaving this place.

And from the very beginning of the fight, the Blackwatch Commander had made a mistake.

He had assumed that once Asagiri was separated from Yuuki Asuna and the others, defeating him would be easy.

The reality, however, was the opposite.

He was at a disadvantage on both battlefields, not only because creating those evil spirits had split his strength, but also because the Supreme Magic Bullet had completely erased Chris Walker, causing him to suffer a backlash.

"If..."

A thought surfaced in the Blackwatch Commander’s mind.

If it were only "Shadow," then perhaps he could still win. As for the others...

Capturing "Shadow" was Black Watch’s highest priority mission at this stage. Compared to that, everything else could be sacrificed.

With that thought, the Blackwatch Commander subtly altered the power governing this floor.

On the other side of the battlefield...

"Hm?"

When Yuuki Asuna saw the bodies of the mental patient cursed spirits melt back into blood and sink into the ground, she frowned, though she did not lower her guard.

"The mental patients disappeared? What is he planning now?"

At the elevator, Iwanaga Kotoko seemed to sense something. She raised her head, looked upward, then let out a soft chuckle.

"So that’s what he’s doing..."

The viscous blood that had sealed the metal plate above the elevator had vanished. Even the ground within several meters of the elevator had reverted to green stone tiles, as if deliberately clearing a path for escape.

On Asagiri’s side of the battlefield...

Bang!!!

The Blackwatch Commander’s fist slammed into Asagiri’s abdomen.

His speed and strength had clearly risen to another level. That punch sent Asagiri flying back several meters, and only after landing did he barely manage to steady himself.

"My internal organs are damaged..."

Even as he said that, Asagiri’s tone remained astonishingly calm.

The Blackwatch Commander slowly retracted his fist. A layer of viscous blood covered the surface of his body.

"To remain expressionless while enduring that level of pain, without even the slightest tremor in your voice..."

The Commander stared directly into Asagiri’s black eyes beneath the dark gray mask and spoke in a low voice.

"You are an admirable warrior."

"Don’t make me laugh."

Asagiri shook his head and answered with a smile.

"What do you think this is, some hot blooded shonen manga? Let’s skip the nauseating part where mortal enemies start admiring each other."

"As you wish."

The moment he finished speaking, the Blackwatch Commander, wrapped in blood, appeared before Asagiri again.

He was still using the same plain, direct combat style as before, but now every punch had already exceeded the bounds of human speed and strength. Even the air seemed to tear apart beneath his fists.

"Human Asura."

Asagiri instantly switched to Human Asura and summoned it on the spot.

Yet the moment Human Asura blocked one of the Commander’s punches, its chest caved in.

Then, moving at terrifying speed, the Blackwatch Commander bypassed Human Asura and unleashed a stepping side kick toward Asagiri.

Bang!!!

Asagiri clenched his right fist and drove it straight into the Commander’s knee.

Crack.

The Commander’s knee exploded on impact, bending into a grotesque angle. But in the next moment, his body sank back into the blood sea, slipping away before Human Asura could seize him.

"So that’s your trick."

The Commander’s body resurfaced in the distance. Looking at Asagiri and the towering Human Asura at his side, he spoke slowly.

"When you summon that thing, your own physical abilities reach their peak. If you summon anything else, your physical strength drops somewhat."

Then he continued.

"I have already lifted the seal on the exit to this floor. On one side is a terrifying enemy. On the other is an easy escape route. Do you really think your companions will risk their lives to save you..."

Bang!

Before he could finish, the rising wall of blood suddenly trembled.

"What..."

"They’re trying to break through."

Asagiri spoke calmly.

"Time is running out."

The Blackwatch Commander frowned. He clearly had not expected the bond between Asagiri and the others to run that deep. Even with an escape route opened before them, they had still chosen to break through and come back for him.

Even so, he forced himself to sneer.

"Heh. Waiting for them to save you? How naive. I only need to split off a little more power to reinforce the wall. Before they break through, I will crush you completely. There is still plenty of time..."

"You seem to have misunderstood me."

Asagiri interrupted him and spoke flatly.

"I mean my time is running out. I’m going to destroy you before they get through."

Those arrogant words finally shattered the Blackwatch Commander’s composure.

Now that he had pushed all his cursed power to the limit, rational thought was beginning to slip away. Fury rose within him, and he laughed coldly.

"If you can..."

Dark blood flowed from his blind eye. His face twisted into something demonic.

"Then try it!"

The instant the words fell, both men moved.

One was crimson, the other pitch black, like two meteors colliding head on.

Their clash shook the entire hall, and ripples spread across the sea of blood.

Asagiri held the Rope Dart in his left hand while his right locked onto the Blackwatch Commander’s left wrist.

"Got you." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Is that so?"

A cruel, tyrannical smile spread across the Commander’s face.

Compared to his previous calm analysis and poker faced demeanor, he now looked exactly like what he truly was: a demon whose soul had fused with something strange.

A blood red tentacle shot from his abdomen, piercing straight toward Asagiri’s stomach.

At this moment, the Commander had already withdrawn his orders from the mental patient cursed spirits. Aside from maintaining the blood wall, he had concentrated nearly all of his power onto himself. The curse damage on this tentacle was enough to pierce through Asagiri’s defense.

At the critical moment, however, a pitch black hand reached in from the side and seized the blood red tentacle.

Human Asura’s other hand swept toward the Commander’s neck, trying to hoist him up and forcibly sever his connection to the blood sea below.

But before the hand could close around him, the Commander’s body had already sunk beneath the blood again.

This time, though, Asagiri already knew exactly how to break that ability.

As long as he could sever the Commander’s connection to the ground, causing even a fraction of a second of rigidity, that would be enough for the Supreme Magic Bullet to lock on and end it all.

At that moment, Asagiri finally began using everything he had.

"Alice."

The moment the Commander sank away, Human Asura vanished.

Alice appeared in her place, a cute little girl with golden hair and blue eyes, yet also an existence of dreadful power. She raised a tiny hand and pointed toward a specific direction.

"Big Brother, there."

"Mita."

Asagiri dismissed Alice the instant she pointed it out and immediately switched Personas again.

Crazy Mita appeared.

"Found you!"

Wearing her maniacal grin, Crazy Mita struck before the Blackwatch Commander had fully emerged.

Her chainsaw roared downward, slicing through both of his lower legs and completely severing his connection to the blood sea beneath him.

"How is this possible!?"

The Commander’s eyes widened in horror.

His left arm transformed into a bright red tentacle, lashing toward the ground in a desperate attempt to reconnect.

But Asagiri had no intention of giving him that chance.

"Cold Frost Spear."

"Human Asura."

Human Asura’s massive body reappeared at once, blocking the blood red tentacle. At the same time, Asagiri raised his right hand, condensed an ice spear radiating freezing mist, and drove it forward at a speed nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.

The Cold Frost Spear pierced straight through the Blackwatch Commander, who now lacked both footing and leverage, and sent him flying into the air.

"Zzzzz..."

Strange dark red patterns spread around Asagiri. His black eyes turned bright gold.

"No... no!"

The moment he saw those patterns, the Blackwatch Commander felt a terror and despair deeper than anything he had ever known.

But he could do nothing.

In his final moments, all he could see were Asagiri’s golden eyes, brilliant and suffocating, and that pitch black beam of light.

And just before he was completely erased, a thought he had never once entertained in life surfaced in his mind.

Perhaps...

Even Black Watch itself would not be able to stop the monster named "Shadow."

"Supreme Magic Bullet!"

The pitch black beam swallowed the Blackwatch Commander whole.

There was no sound.

Only an absolute silence, the silence of death itself.

"Leader!"

The instant the Commander was annihilated, the sea of blood and the wall of blood both vanished.

Yuuki Asuna and the others had only just been startled by the sudden disappearance of the wall before they immediately rushed over to Asagiri.

"Are you okay?"

Hearing Yuuki Asuna’s anxious voice, Asagiri merely waved a hand.

Sakurakawa Rikka noticed the blood spilling from his eyes and the slight cough he was suppressing. A hint of surprise appeared in her gaze as she said calmly,

"He’s badly injured. We need to clear this Dungeon as quickly as possible. Once the Dungeon is cleared, even severe injuries sustained inside it will be restored."

.....

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