Asagiri didn't answer, and Asuna didn't answer either. Both of their gazes went past the man and landed on the person who was thrown out of the room first.
After colliding with the blood-covered attendant, that person's body went limp and fell to the ground. It was clearly visible that there was a very deep wound on their neck, from which blood continuously gushed out. The blood-covered attendant stood there motionless, seemingly somewhat puzzled, not understanding what had happened.
The next second, Asagiri and Asuna's eyes fell upon the blood-stained kitchen knife in the man's hand.
"See, I told you."
Asagiri smiled and said softly to Asuna beside him.
"I didn't expect there to be other Players here besides us—and to think they'd go so far as to use someone from the same ward as a human shield. That poor guy nearly had his neck sliced open. Just how hard was that strike? Tsk tsk… truly terrifying."
At this moment, Asuna couldn't say a single word. After all, before today, she was just a young lady from a wealthy family and had never seen such a bloody scene.
What happened before her eyes... was undoubtedly... murder.
Why? Why could Asagiri remain calm in this situation, and even have the presence of mind to joke?
Does he not feel fear at all?
"Alright."
Asagiri reached out and gently placed his hand on Asuna's slightly trembling shoulder, smiling.
"We should go, the clear time limit is almost up."
Asuna took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"Okay..."
Just as the two were about to turn and leave, the man clutching the kitchen knife finally reacted. A twisted expression spread across his face as he bared his teeth, eyes narrowing with menace.
"You saw everything… which means you're not leaving!" he snarled.
"Oh?"
Instead of fear or alarm, Asagiri's expression lit up with the satisfaction of a fisherman who had finally hooked a prize catch. His voice brimmed with the quiet thrill of opportunity.
"I didn't realize you were this ruthless. Committed to the end, are you? Planning to silence the two witnesses as well? Now that's... intriguing."
The man with the knife froze, momentarily stunned. Why wasn't this guy afraid? He had just murdered someone—any normal person would be paralyzed with fear.
Is he insane? Or does he actually believe I won't go through with it?
The man's eyes swept over Asagiri and Asuna, quickly assessing them. Neither appeared to be armed. The girl, small, delicate-looking, wasn't worth considering. She posed no real threat. All he had to do was take out the boy first...
"Go to hell!!"
The pressure of the situation, combined with the high of his recent kill, had completely shattered his grip on reason. With a roar, he raised the blood-smeared kitchen knife high above his head, his face twisted into a mask of rage and madness, and charged straight at Asagiri.
Facing the attack from the man with the knife, Asagiri just stood there calmly, a smile on his face, and turned to look at Asuna beside him.
"Asuna, if you don't do anything, he will kill me."
Seeing that the man had already charged forward, and the blood-stained kitchen knife glinting with a cold light was about to slash at Asagiri, Asuna had no time to think and instinctively took action.
"Wind Blessing."
As she uttered the skill name, Asuna felt her body become exceptionally light. The slender rapier appeared in her hand, and with an extremely agile movement, she directly pierced the wrist of the man who was raising the kitchen knife.
*Clang*
The kitchen knife fell to the ground, making a crisp sound, followed by the man's painful scream.
"Ah!! My, my hand..."
Asuna pulled out the rapier and looked at the man clutching his wrist and screaming in pain. She didn't feel any sympathy, but just looked at Asagiri, who had a smiling face, and sighed slightly, saying.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Of course."
Asagiri admitted it without any reservation.
"Even if I hadn't received a clear reward, there's no way someone like him—with nothing but a kitchen knife—could've killed me. I let him make the first move on purpose. After all, things like this are bound to happen again. Better to get you used to it now, so you don't hesitate later because of some saintly notion about not wanting to hurt people. That kind of mindset will only drag the team down."
Asuna let out a soft snort, casually raising her left hand to brush back her chestnut-colored hair. Her tone was calm, almost indifferent.
"Hmph. Someone was already coming at me—did you really think I'd just stand there and wait to die because I was afraid of hurting them? I'm not that naive."
"Heh heh."
Asagiri's next sentence directly exposed Asuna's facade of trying to act tough.
"If that's the case, why didn't you stab him through the throat just now? Don't say you were worried about me getting cut by the kitchen knife. With the speed you just showed, you could have completely pierced his wrist first and then stabbed him through the throat. You said it so confidently, but you still can't take a life, can you?"
Asuna paused for a few seconds before forcing herself to argue.
"I... isn't this very normal? This is killing someone. Who can just do it without hesitation? You keep talking about me, but you can't do it either, right?"
Asagiri wore an expression as if he had heard a cold joke.
"What are you talking about? I can totally do it, without the slightest hesitation. Since you've familiarized yourself with your ability, it's my turn to familiarize myself with mine."
After saying this, a black pistol suddenly appeared in Asagiri's hand. The next second, he did something that made Asuna's pupils contract in shock.
Asagiri raised the pistol, but instead of pointing the muzzle at the man clutching his wrist, he directly pressed it against his own temple, and his index finger was already on the trigger.
"What are you goin..."
Before Asuna could finish speaking, Asagiri's originally black eyes suddenly burst forth with golden light, and he pulled the trigger of the pistol without hesitation.
Persona...
Human Asura.
The gun did not fire bullets as Asuna expected. Instead, after Asagiri pulled the trigger, a humanoid creature over two meters tall, completely black, without facial features, and with strange red glowing patterns on its body, suddenly appeared behind him.
Is this... the so-called Persona...
Asuna saw the Persona named Human Asura appear and thought that Asagiri's action just now wasn't an attempt to commit suicide. The pistol that couldn't fire bullets and the action of shooting himself were probably the preliminary steps to summon the Persona.
It's just that...
Asuna noticed that the blood-covered attendant standing at the other end of the corridor, who hadn't moved an inch, actually retreated several meters the moment Human Asura appeared, and even his tall body was trembling.
This attendant, who was like a monster to ordinary people... felt fear because of the appearance of Human Asura?