Next, Asagiri did something Asuna hadn't expected.
He stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the blood-stained knife from the floor. Then, in a calm, emotionless voice, he tossed it in front of the injured man and said quietly:
"Pick it up."
The man clutched his bleeding wrist, teeth clenched in pain. At Asagiri's command, he glanced at the knife, then up at the tall, black, humanoid figure looming behind Asagiri. His face twisted with fear, and he dropped to his knees with a loud thud, forehead pressed to the cold floor as he begged for mercy.
"No... it was just a moment of impulse... please, please spare me..."
Asagiri stared down at him, voice flat.
"Begging for mercy now? Are you trying to make me laugh?"
Then, without warning, he changed his tone and extended a hand toward the trembling man.
"But... if you hand over your phone, I might consider sparing your life."
Shaking all over, the man slowly pulled his phone from his pocket and held it out with both hands.
"H-here... no password..."
Asagiri took the phone with a small nod.
"Good. Very cooperative."
He smiled faintly.
"But I've given it some thought... and you still have to die."
His voice remained soft, but there was no hesitation.
"Those who kill should be prepared to be killed. It's a simple truth—something even children understand."
As his words fell, Human Asura silently extended its massive hand, wrapping its fingers around the man's neck and lifting him into the air like a doll.
The man's face turned red, then purple. He flailed, fists pounding weakly at Human Asura's arm—but it was useless. The creature didn't even flinch.
Seconds later, his eyes rolled back. His hands lost strength. Then—
Thud.
With a dull thump, Human Asura dropped the unconscious man onto the ground.
Asuna flinched, a conflicted look in her eyes.
"He..."
"He's not dead," Asagiri said casually, without even glancing at her. "Just unconscious."
Asuna exhaled in visible relief.
"That's good. There's no need to kill him. Once the clear-time limit passes, he'll be left behind and die anyway..."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Asagiri turned to her, blinking as if genuinely confused. Then, still smiling, he bent down and grabbed the man's ankle with one hand.
"Haven't you read web novels?" he said. "Leaving an enemy behind, assuming they'll die, only for them to miraculously survive and come back later for revenge—that kind of plot is absolute poison. I'm not a protagonist, but I still don't leave loose ends."
His grin widened slightly.
"Besides..." he added, dragging the man toward the stairs, "he's still got one use left. Letting him die here would be a waste."
"Waste...?"
Asuna didn't quite understand what he meant, but she instinctively followed.
Thump, thump, thump...
Each time they descended a step, the unconscious man's head struck it with a dull, painful thud. Asuna winced at the sound.
When they reached the courtyard, she finally asked,
"Utsunomiya... what are you planning to do?"
"Do?"
Asagiri glanced back with a warm smile. His voice was gentle.
"Why, I'm helping him clear the dungeon, of course. I'm a great philanthropist, didn't you know?"
"Are you serious? That's... too much..."
Asuna almost said that it was unthinkable to help someone who had tried to kill them. But then she remembered—Asagiri had said the man would still die.
Something wasn't adding up.
Outside the courtyard gate, Asagiri stopped and held up the man's phone.
"This should count as a clear, right?"
He tapped the screen and, sure enough, there was the same strange app icon—an eye—just like the one on their own phones.
But when he tapped it, a dark red message appeared:
"'Player' Identity Verification Failed."
"As expected," Asagiri murmured. "There's a security mechanism. You can't open the app even if you steal the phone. So what happens if a phone gets lost...? Or rather..."
He summoned Human Asura again.
The towering creature appeared silently and pressed its massive black hand over the man's head. With a terrible crack, blood spilled from between its fingers like juice from a crushed fruit.
Asuna turned away, her stomach churning.
Once it was done, Asagiri tapped his own phone again. This time, the app opened and displayed the man's full status and a clear notification.
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Player Name: Noguchi Kazukawa
Physical Fitness: Normal
Talent: Not Yet Unlocked
Profession: Not Yet Unlocked
Clear Rating: C
Reward: Item – Bottled Medical Disinfectant Alcohol
Bottled Medical Disinfectant Alcohol – A 300ml bottle of standard medical-grade disinfectant.
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Asagiri didn't bother to hide the screen. Asuna, reading over his shoulder, quietly commented:
"A C-rank clear... no unlocked talent, no profession—just a basic item."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Looks like if you delay too long before clearing, you only get scraps. I guess the real purpose of the reward is to show Players that the app truly deals in the supernatural—instant storage and retrieval. It shatters any remaining illusions or innocence they might still have..."