When the banshee wearing blood-stained red pajamas heard the word "bathtub," her pupils suddenly contracted, and even her shoulders couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"As expected..."
Asagiri noticed the change in her emotions, showed a slight smile, and said softly.
"Since that's the case, it's easy to handle."
As the words fell, Asagiri grabbed the Banshee's wet black hair, dragged her, pushed open the stairwell door, and entered the Hotel corridor.
Seeing this, Asuna looked up at the floor number displayed above the stairwell, confirmed that this was the seventh floor of the Hotel, and quickly followed.
"Bang!!!"
Asagiri pulled the banshee's hair with one hand. After entering the hotel corridor, he immediately found a nearby room, kicked open the door, and then dragged the struggling Banshee inside.
"Violet, go into the bathroom and fill the bathtub with water."
Hearing Asagiri's command, and seeing the Banshee, who was being pressed to the ground by the Human Asura, struggling non-stop, but could only make almost inaudible whimpering sounds because her mouth was stuffed with that arm, Asuna didn't hesitate at all. She nodded directly, then entered the bathroom and turned on the bathtub faucet.
Along with the sound of rushing water, the water level in the bathtub gradually rose.
While waiting, Asuna wasn't idle. She carefully observed the environment of this bathroom, not wanting to miss any detail that could provide useful information.
Just as she had guessed, this Hotel was indeed a very high-end type. Not only the suite where the Players first entered the dungeon, but even this ordinary double room had a bathroom with wet and dry separation, with three separate compartments for the bathtub, shower, and toilet, separated by opaque frosted glass.
Asuna tried turning the faucet handle, but only cold water came out.
"Is the hot water supply system broken...?"
As the young lady of a wealthy family, Asuna knew that high-end Hotels like this wouldn't install household water heaters in the rooms. Usually, they used large gas boilers and then transported hot water to the rooms on each floor of the Hotel through pipes via a water tank.
Asuna silently noted this information. After all, forty minutes had passed since entering the dungeon. If it weren't for the Banshee who was...who was "captured" by Asagiri, this place would look exactly like a normal, operating Hotel.
The corridor lights were on, indicating that the power supply hadn't been interrupted. There was no bloodstain or anything on the carpet and corridor walls. To be honest, the horror atmosphere was far less than the previous dungeon location. The only potential clue now was the small detail of no hot water in this Hotel that otherwise seemed to be operating normally.
"Is the water ready?"
Hearing Asagiri's voice, Asuna turned around, looked at her opponent holding the banshee's long hair with one hand, and nodded with a slightly complicated expression.
"Yes, almost."
"Okay, then let's begin."
Asagiri dragged the Banshee in, then glanced at Asuna and smiled.
"Do you want to watch, or wait outside?"
"Aren't you underestimating me too much?"
Asuna crossed her arms over her chest, frowning slightly.
"Isn't it just immersing it in water and torturing it? It's not human. Don't worry, I won't have any pity for it."
"With your words, I feel relieved."
Asagiri replied with a faint smile, then calmly walked to the bathtub. Without hesitation, he grabbed the Banshee by the hair and slammed her head against the edge of the tub. Squatting down, he met her gaze—eyes wide with terror, trembling as they locked onto the water's surface. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then stopped, as if realizing it was pointless.
"Forget it," Asagiri said coldly. "We're past the point of talking. I'm too tired to waste words, and you're not worth hearing them anyway. After some suffering, maybe you'll understand. And even if you don't—I don't care."
He glanced at the bathtub, then back at her.
"Consider it an experiment. Let's see if a Banshee can drown—and how long it takes."
Saying this, Asagiri stood up. A moment later, his Human Asura stepped into the bathroom—a towering black silhouette radiating an overwhelming sense of dread. Then, right before Asuna's stunned eyes, the Asura grabbed the Banshee and tore off her remaining arm and both legs as effortlessly as one might rip apart a rag doll.
Witnessing the scene, Asuna felt a wave of nausea rise within her, but she forced it down. She knew this was the safest approach—merciless, but effective—so she stayed silent. She simply watched as Asagiri dismissed the Human Asura, then grabbed the Banshee by the hair and slowly lowered her mutilated body into the bathtub.
"Mmmph! Mmmble—mmmble!"
The instant her body touched the water, the Banshee let out a strangled cry, trying to scream. But with her own severed arm still jammed in her mouth, all she could manage were muffled, pathetic whimpers.
"Stay still. It'll be over before you know it," Asagiri said calmly.
Then, with a faint smile, he added, "Of course, even if it does hurt, I don't care. In fact, the more it hurts, the more entertaining this becomes. So, keep it up."
"Mmmph! Mmmph!"
Just as Asagiri was about to shove her head beneath the water, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
Asagiri held the Banshee, who had lost her limbs, with one hand, and took out his phone from his pocket with the other, opening the APP with the eye icon.
[Diplomat passive skill activated, Diplomacy method type: Intimidation]
[Diplomacy effect: Outstanding]
"The app notification saved you."
Asagiri glanced at his phone, then smiled. He pulled the Banshee out of the tub and tossed her roughly onto the cold tile floor. Kneeling down, he reached over and removed the severed arm that had been jammed in her mouth, then gave her a gentle, almost pleasant smile.
"Since that's the case, I'll give you a chance. Can you speak?"
The Banshee trembled violently, trying to recoil, but with her arms and legs torn off by the Human Asura, even that small motion was impossible.
She lay helplessly on the floor, staring up at Asagiri towering above her. Her whole body shook like a leaf in a storm. Then, slowly, the vivid red of her dress began to fade, the bloodstains dissolving into a muted, yellowish white. Finally, in a voice like rust scraping metal, she croaked:
"Yes...I can talk..."
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