Hearing the Banshee's broken response and seeing her now trembling figure—no longer Red-Clothed, but White-Clothed—Asuna stood in stunned silence.
Does something like this really exist?
Could the passive skill of the Diplomat class truly be that powerful? Strong enough to reduce a hostile, blood-soaked Banshee to a pitiful, obedient creature, trembling like a kitten? Even the red garments, a clear symbol of her malevolence, had faded away.
But no—something felt off.
Asuna's gaze shifted to Asagiri's profile. If she had the same passive skill, there was no way she could have shattered the Banshee's resistance in just a few short minutes.
A passive skill was just that—passive. Its true power depended entirely on the one using it.
Asuna had always believed she wouldn't feel pity for non-human entities like Banshees. And yet… there was one thing Asagiri had done that she knew she could never replicate.
He had enjoyed it.
Genuinely. Thoroughly.
This guy…really found it fun.
The more the Banshee trembled and struggled, the more pleasure Asagiri seemed to draw from it. He wasn't doing this out of necessity or strategy—he was a pure embodiment of chaotic evil, a fun-seeker through and through.
It wasn't just the Banshee who was terrified.
Even Asuna, merely watching from the side, felt a chill crawl down her spine.
"You can talk? Good."
Asagiri's smile deepened, satisfied. Without a hint of courtesy or hesitation, he fired off his questions one after another:
"How many Banshees are in this hotel? How are Banshees created? Is there a weapon hidden somewhere here that can kill them? Anything important on the first-floor lobby? What triggers a Banshee to attack humans? Is there a way to completely avoid them?"
The Banshee blinked, momentarily stunned by the rapid barrage. But faced with this human—this thing—who had just tried to drown her and still looked at her like a curious scientist studying prey, she didn't dare pause for long.
Her voice quivered as she spoke:
"I...I don't know how many of us there are. I don't even know how I came to be..."
"Heh... still trying to play stubborn with me?"
Asagiri grabbed the Banshee's long hair once more and effortlessly lifted her from the floor, dangling her above the bathtub's surface. His tone was calm—cold, even casual.
"In that case, I'll send you on your way."
"No—don't! Please don't!"
The Banshee's hoarse voice broke into a panicked cry. Seeing Asagiri preparing to submerge her again, she scrambled to speak.
"I don't know those things because I've never left the seventh floor! I can't leave! But I know the answers to your last two questions!"
Her voice cracked with desperation.
"If a human steps into the seventh-floor area of the hotel, I'm allowed to attack. But since I can't leave the floor, as long as you stay away—stay off my floor—I can't do anything to you!"
"That's a lie."
Asuna frowned and took two purposeful steps forward. Locking eyes with the Banshee, she spoke slowly, deliberately.
"If what you say is true—that you can't attack us unless we enter your floor—then why did you make those crying sounds and scratch at the wall with your nails earlier? Wouldn't it make more sense to stay quiet and wait for a surprise attack?"
"I… I…"
The Banshee's eyes flickered with confusion as she struggled to find an answer.
"I don't know why... I just felt… you absolutely couldn't go any further down…"
Asuna considered this for a moment, her expression tightening. Then she turned her gaze toward Asagiri and said quietly:
"Asuming it's telling the truth, then this Banshee must be an 'Earth-bound Spirit'—one of those legends you hear about. Its role isn't to attack humans who enter the hotel, but to stop anyone from going deeper. Combined with the special hint you received, it basically confirms that the first floor of this hotel is the core key point of this dungeon."
Asuna understood why Asagiri had asked if there was a weapon inside the hotel capable of completely eliminating Banshees. Only if such a weapon existed—and could be acquired—would the special hint she'd received upon entering the dungeon hold any real value.
The app with the eye icon couldn't have given her completely useless information.
"Going down is dangerous... So does that mean the condition to clear the dungeon is to stay put? Or to try moving to the upper floors? No, this isn't a beginner dungeon—the clear condition can't be that simple..."
Asuna muttered to herself, pulling out her phone to check the time. Less than ten minutes remained until the agreed meeting.
She looked up at the Banshee in Asagiri's grasp and asked, her voice steady but sharp,
"Why are you so afraid of water? Was your death caused by drowning—or is the water in this hotel… different?"
The Banshee's eyes flickered as she tried to respond.
"Water…"
Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and her body began to swell rapidly.
"Watch out!"
Asuna's instincts kicked in without hesitation. She swung open the bathroom door, pushed Asagiri out first, then slipped out herself, closing the door firmly behind them.
Two seconds later, a wet, muffled pop echoed from inside the bathroom—like a water balloon bursting.
Bang!
Asuna could feel something hitting the bathroom door, and the entire room's floor shook slightly.
Then, a heavy silence fell—broken only by the steady tap-tap of water droplets hitting the floor.
"Did it…explode?" Asuna whispered.
Before closing the bathroom door, she had taken a quick glance inside. Seeing the Banshee's swollen body, she instantly recalled a term she'd read about online: Giant Corpse. It described a phenomenon where, after death, putrefactive bacteria rapidly multiply inside the body, producing gas that causes the corpse to bloat grotesquely.
Truthfully, the sight had made her stomach churn—but that wasn't the real concern.
Asagiri's gaze remained fixed on the bathroom door as he spoke quietly,
"It didn't want to answer that question…so it self-destructed."
He paused, his voice lowering further.
"There's definitely something strange about the water in this hotel. And there's a powerful Banshee here—stronger than that one—who can control it at will."
.......
A few minutes later, Asagiri and Asuna arrived at the suite door on the twenty-second floor—the top floor of the hotel.
There, they found Kotoko already waiting.
Seeing her alive and well, with the white dress she wore spotless and unstained, Asuna let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Asagiri's guess had been right.
Kotoko must possess an incredibly powerful talent—or perhaps a rare profession.
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