Asagiri did not answer, nor did Yūki Asuna. Both of their gazes went past the man and fixed on the person who had been thrown out of the room first.
After hitting the blood-faced Careworker, that person's body went limp and slumped to the floor. They could clearly see a deep gash on his neck, from which blood was constantly gushing out. The blood-faced Careworker just stood there motionless, seemingly confused, not understanding what had just happened.
The next second, Asagiri and Yūki Asuna's eyes landed on the blood-stained cleaver in the man's hand.
"See, I told you so."
Asagiri smiled, speaking softly to Yūki Asuna beside him.
"I didn't expect there to be other Players besides us, and one who actually used their roommate as a meat shield. That person's neck is almost severed. How heavy a hand did he use? Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's truly terrifying."
At this moment, Yūki Asuna couldn't utter a single word. After all, before today, she was just a young lady from a wealthy family who had never seen such a bloody scene.
What had just happened before her eyes... was undoubtedly... murder.
Why? Why can Asagiri remain so calm in this situation, even making jokes?
Does this guy... not feel fear?
"Alright."
Asagiri reached out and gently rested his hand on Yūki Asuna's slightly trembling shoulder, smiling.
"We need to go. The clearance time limit is almost up."
Yūki Asuna took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"Okay..."
Just as the two were about to turn and leave, the man holding the cleaver seemed to finally snap back to reality. A ferocious look appeared on his face, and he gritted his teeth, yelling fiercely.
"You both saw it... so, you can't leave!"
"Oh really?"
The expression that appeared on Asagiri's face upon hearing this was not fear or caution. Instead, his voice was filled with the joy of a fisherman who had finally hooked a big catch.
"I didn't realize you were such a ruthless person. You intend to go all the way and kill us two eyewitnesses as well? That's quite interesting."
The man holding the knife froze, unable to understand why the person facing him, who had just murdered someone, wasn't afraid at all.
Is he crazy? Or does he think I won't follow through?
The man sized up Asagiri and Yūki Asuna, confirming that neither of them seemed to be carrying a weapon. The pretty girl was no threat and could be ignored. He just needed to kill the boy first...
"Die!!"
The high-pressure environment, combined with the fact that he had just killed someone, caused the man to completely lose his mind. He raised the blood-stained cleaver high, his face twisted in a look of madness, and charged toward Asagiri, who was standing there.
Facing the cleaver-wielding man's attack, Asagiri simply stood still, a smile on his face. He turned his head to Yūki Asuna beside him.
"Yūki-chan, if you don't make a move, he's going to chop me."
Seeing the man charge forward, with the cold, blood-stained cleaver about to strike Asagiri, Yūki Asuna had no time to think and instinctively took action.
"Wind's Blessing."
As she muttered the skill name, Yūki Asuna felt her body become unusually light. The slender rapier appeared in her hand, and with an extremely agile movement, she directly pierced the wrist of the man who was holding the cleaver high.
Clang.
The cleaver fell to the ground, making a clear sound, immediately followed by the man's pained shriek.
"Aah!! My... my hand..."
Yūki Asuna withdrew the rapier. Looking at the man clutching his wrist and crying out in pain, she felt no sense of compassion. She only looked at the smiling Asagiri and sighed softly.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Of course."
Asagiri admitted it without hesitation.
"Even without the clearance reward, there's no way I would have been chopped to death by a guy like this with a cleaver. I just wanted you to make a move. After all, similar things are bound to happen in the future. I want you to get used to it early so that you don't become a burden to our team later because of some 'holy mother' complex about not wanting to hurt people."
Yūki Asuna let out a light hmph sound, lifted her left hand to smooth her chestnut hair, and said calmly.
"Hmph, when someone intends to attack me, why would I sit and wait to die because I'm afraid of hurting them? I wouldn't be that foolish."
"Hehe."
Asagiri's next sentence immediately shattered Yūki Asuna's pretense of toughness.
"If that's the case, why didn't you stab him in the throat just now? Don't tell me you were worried about the cleaver hitting me. With the speed you just demonstrated, you could easily have pierced his wrist and then his throat. You speak so firmly, but you still can't bring yourself to take a life, can you?"
Yūki Asuna paused for a few seconds before forcefully trying to justify herself.
"I... Isn't that normal? This is murder. Who can just do it without hesitation? You're talking about me, but you can't do it either, can you?"
Asagiri wore an expression as if he had just heard a bad joke.
"What on earth are you talking about? I can absolutely do it, without the slightest hesitation. Now that you've familiarized yourself with your abilities, it's my turn to familiarize myself with mine."
After saying this, a black handgun suddenly appeared in Asagiri's hand. The next second, he performed an action that made Yūki Asuna's pupils contract in shock.
Asagiri raised the handgun, not pointing the muzzle at the man clutching his wrist, but directly pressing it against his own temple. His index finger was already resting on the trigger.
"What are you doi..."
Before Yūki Asuna could finish her sentence, a golden light suddenly burst forth from Asagiri's normally black eyes, and he pulled the gun's trigger without hesitation.
"Persona..."
"Jaki-ō"
The firearm did not fire a bullet as Yūki Asuna had anticipated. Instead, after Asagiri pulled the trigger, a two-meter-tall humanoid creature suddenly appeared behind him. It was entirely black, lacked facial features, and had eerie, faint red glowing patterns covering its body.
"Is this... the so-called Persona..."
Yūki Asuna watched the appearance of the Persona named Jaki-ō, realizing that Asagiri's action was not an attempt at suicide. The gun, which didn't fire a bullet, and the gesture of shooting himself must be the casting animation for summoning the Persona.
However...
Yūki Asuna noticed that the blood-faced Careworker, who had been standing motionless at the other end of the corridor, actually retreated several meters the moment Jaki-ō appeared. Even its massive body was trembling.
This Careworker, which is like a monster to normal people... is experiencing fear because of Jaki-ō's appearance?