Chapter 237: White-Haired, Dark-Skinned Demon Slayer Archer
Although Bazett's style of dress leaned towards business and masculinity, the cleavage at her chest was too striking and obvious. Coupled with her blushing, stomach-clutching appearance, anyone would inevitably have some deeper associations.
Speaking of which, Bazett always considered herself unfeminine, but she didn't realize there was a concept called "gap moe."
It was precisely because of her usual capable demeanor and disregard for formalities, which led many male colleagues to unconsciously view her as a rival, that her true display of femininity became even more prominent and impactful when it did appear.
However, being a mature adult, even though she couldn't quite grasp the current situation, Eileen quickly adjusted her mood and state, calmly asking Cheng Tian,
"Chengzi, is this your teammate from the last instance?"
Eileen, not immediately recognizing Bazett's true identity, only assumed she was a teammate who had cooperated with Cheng Tian in the previous instance.
Of course, whether she was screaming "homewrecker" or something similar in her heart was known only to herself.
"Hello, my name is Bazett. I am the Master's contracted Heroic Spirit. From now on, I will be responsible for the Master's personal safety as a close-combat guard."
As soon as an outsider appeared, Bazett immediately entered work mode, even straightening her back. This made the already substantial mountains, which were quite impressive even when she was slouching, stand out even more against her tailored suit.
Eileen's eyes were a bit wide, but the white-haired, dark-skinned girl behind her, dressed very lightly—like a white two-piece swimsuit with an apron—first looked down at her own I-line, then at the suit-clad mountains opposite, and then made a fist-pumping motion.
By estimation, her 28-inch measurement won.
Bazett, adopting a business-like attitude towards strangers, immediately exuded a strong handsome aura, causing Eileen to involuntarily lean back slightly.
The feminine blush on her face from just moments ago seemed as if it had never existed.
Although momentarily dazzled by the handsome aura opposite her, Eileen quickly caught the key description within it.
"You are Chengzi's new subordinate?"
At this, Eileen could no longer hide her surprise.
"Yes."
Bazett, having accepted that her false life was tied to Cheng Tian, very decisively admitted her status, which was similar to that of a "familiar."
Perhaps having truly died once, Bazett was very open-minded about this aspect.
"By your words, is this one also?"
Cheng Mouren, who hadn't spoken for a while, suddenly asked, naturally referring to the white-haired, dark-skinned girl.
But when Cheng Tian's gaze fell upon her, the white-haired, dark-skinned girl immediately shrank back behind Eileen, giving the impression that she wanted to communicate but was afraid to do so.
"Mina is a new partner I contracted with in the last instance."
Eileen, choosing not to use the term "subordinate," gave Cheng Tian an affirmative answer to his question... The arcade-style food Cheng Tian ordered arrived quickly, and because a new big eater had joined, the total amount increased yet again.
Gathered around the food, the atmosphere completely relaxed, and Cheng Tian and Eileen began to exchange information about their respective main story instances.
As a Black Iron-rank player, Eileen had also received a "Sword and Halberd Combat" instance keyword prompt before entering.
Her main story instance was set in the world of Samurai Shodown Zero, which simultaneously overlaid the themes of the Great Famine, Shogunate Dereliction, Peasant Uprisings, and Demonic Rampage.
As a fighting game series primarily focused on sword and halberd combat, Samurai Shodown's story background was not like The King of Fighters or Street Fighter, which have tournaments as a backdrop, allowing players to engage in fighting matches with NPCs. Instead, it was a "battle royale" mode in a sense.
The main quest for all participating players was not to defeat a specific target, but to... survive!
Yes, survive. When the number of participating players in the instance dropped below a certain threshold, it would be considered a clear, and return authorization would be granted.
Alternatively, if the number threshold was never met but they persisted for 72 hours, Heaven's Chosen Space would provide an additional evacuation route, offering an extra option for players who felt they couldn't endure any longer.
Not only did players have to be wary of each other, but many NPCs were pure psychopaths, and as for demons, they viewed all living things as enemies.
One slightly humane aspect of Heaven's Chosen Space was that the map was extremely large, and the encroachment speed of the "Hellish Miasma," equivalent to a shrinking toxic zone, was very slow. This gave players many opportunities to catch their breath.
This kind of battle royale, which didn't require defeating a powerful boss but merely surviving, was quite advantageous for Eileen, a jungle archer who could communicate with the wind and specialized in long-range shooting.
Although if caught in close combat, her health meant she would almost certainly suffer dismemberment or even death from a single heavy slash from a powerful NPC, as an archer who could communicate with the wind, one of Eileen's greatest strengths was maintaining distance from others and making quick escapes.
Furthermore, as long as she wasn't indoors, the wind would constantly transmit useful information to her, allowing her to detect various situations in her surroundings in advance, whether to flee or to snipe.
In addition to the main quest of survival, there would also be some side quests to defeat special bosses. These could be completed solo or through team collaboration, and players could even team up with NPCs to hunt monsters.
By a stroke of luck, Eileen teamed up with a female NPC named "Mina Majikina" and eventually formed a contract.
This was the slightly gloomy-looking, white-haired, dark-skinned girl currently hugging her companion spirit, Chappuru, and stuffing things into its mouth.
Mina Majikina is an archer-derived profession — a Demon Slayer, possessing powerful spiritual energy and formidable archery skills, specializing in long-range assassination of evil demons and heretics.
Powerful spiritual energy, formidable archery, the Demon Slayer profession... and her voice actress is Satsuki Yukino.
Does that sound a little familiar?
Yes, Mina Majikina's basic setting gives one the impression of a combination of the heroine's past life, "Kikyo," and her reincarnation, "Kagome Higurashi," from Inuyasha. Even the era and historical background are very similar.
However, unlike Kikyo and Kagome, who are typically fair-skinned, black-haired Yamato Nadeshiko types, Mina Majikina is a white-haired, dark-skinned girl from the Ryukyu Kingdom.
How to put it, it just feels more deliberate.
It's unclear whether Mina's dark skin is natural or if she got a very even tan later, but in Cheng Tian's opinion, judging by her place of origin, it's more likely that she got tanned.
Based on the classic trope in Japanese society where "a top student, due to being too good at studying, doesn't fit in and gets bullied," Mina, a Demon Slayer born with powerful spiritual energy, was instead ostracized by those around her from a young age, leading her to grow up alone, with only a nature spirit by her side.
This resulted in her having a somewhat gloomy thought process. She wanted to communicate with people but, being accustomed to loneliness or even trapped by it, didn't know how to communicate and eventually gave up on trying.
However, she then met Eileen, who had a similar fighting style, also excelled at using a bow and arrow, and even had a similarly tiny and cute "pet" by her side.
Their encounter began with their arrows precisely colliding in mid-air.