At the Last Moment

Q Dalang could not help wondering what was wrong and asked through his earpiece, "Lodem, what's the matter?"

Lodem answered haltingly, "He... is starting to become very dangerous. We have to be careful. We can't let him keep preparing..."

"What's going on? Lodem, what are you on guard against?"

Q Dalang still did not understand, but he suddenly shouted a warning: "Lodem, behind you! Dodge!"

Bang!

As soon as he spoke, Lodem sprang into the air, dodging a bullet fired at him from behind.

Lodem landed firmly and turned to see Akagi Shigeru in the distance down the corridor, holding a pistol.

Beside Akagi Shigeru stood Baku Madarame and Takaomi Kaji.

Meanwhile, Q Dalang was staring intently at the flashing tracker in his hand, unsurprised by the appearance of the three.

"Lodem's words were strange. What did he mean, 'starting to become very dangerous'? But then again..."

"Ha... haha! That's hilarious!"

"You three didn't go downstairs. You went back to the fifth floor... and now you've gone up to the sixth!"

Q Dalang laughed so hard he could barely breathe. "Whether you fled with your tails between your legs or came to the fifth floor to take me hostage, you would have had some chance of winning. But instead, you just had to chase him up to the sixth floor."

"Is this what they call 'protecting your companion'? How stupid! The Lie Eater and the Man of the Divine Domain have both been overrated..."

At this point, Q Dalang was certain victory was in his grasp, and he laughed so hard he could not stop slapping his thigh.

"A mere pistol can't deal with Lodem. You have nowhere left to go!"

Q Dalang ground his teeth and gave an order in a low voice.

"Shiraki Uke is already finished, but it'll still take some time to finish him off. So kill the prey with the gun first!"

"Go, Lodem! Kill those three!"

"..."

Seeing Lodem approach step by step, Takaomi Kaji panicked. "H-hey! Weren't we going to the fifth floor to take the old man hostage? Why did we come this way?!"

Baku Madarame, however, put an arm around Takaomi Kaji's shoulders and explained with a smile, "Little Uke hasn't finished warming up yet. He needs time to adjust, so we're going to cover for him!"

Takaomi Kaji's scalp went numb.

How could a few ordinary people like them cover for him against a modified monster that even Shiraki Uke could not fight head-on?!

Then Baku Madarame started teasing Akagi Shigeru. "Say, mister, your aim isn't very good. You've fired so many bullets without hitting the enemy once."

"Ah—we're—doomed!"

Baku Madarame recited in a flat voice, "You're going to get us all killed!"

"...Heh, it wouldn't matter if we died, would it?"

Akagi Shigeru chuckled helplessly. "After all, life is like a gamble you have no chance of winning. No matter who you are, you'll eventually lose the right to keep gambling..."

Akagi Shigeru raised his head and looked past Lodem at Shiraki Uke behind him.

"What matters is how you play the gamble called 'life.'"

"What matters—is the whole process..."

Chapter 33: At the Last Moment

"Lodem! Close in slowly."

He truly was a mercenary who had been on a real battlefield.

Even with every advantage, Q Dalang did not let down his guard, instead considering various possibilities.

"I'm afraid they've set some kind of trap and are waiting for us to walk into it..."

"But don't worry, we're lucky! We father and son are aiming for the top of Kakerou!"

"Ah, behind me... dangerous. Must kill him quickly..."

As Lodem listened to Q Dalang, he made several hoarse sounds in his throat, his head repeatedly turning back to look at Shiraki Uke, who stood where he was.

"What is it, Lodem? You don't need to worry about that man."

Q Dalang paused and was about to tell Lodem to act when he suddenly heard Baku Madarame speak.

"Old man, can you hear me?"

Huh?

Q Dalang was taken aback and had Lodem turn to face forward.

Baku Madarame wore a relaxed expression. "I advise you to give up on taking Kakerou. If you overestimate yourself, you'll end up bringing death upon yourself!"

"Tch, Lodem, you... wait, something's wrong!"

Q Dalang was about to give an order when he suddenly noticed something. "What did the Lie Eater just say?"

"He said 'taking Kakerou'—how does he know what Lodem and I were talking about?!"

The communications earpiece did not play audio aloud, so there was no way Baku Madarame could have heard Q Dalang's words, unless...

A listening device?!

Q Dalang was immediately irritated. Recalling an unusual action Yagyou had just taken, he said, "Mr. Yagyou, may I take a look at the 'pen' you just picked up?"

Yagyou said nothing.

Honestly, Yagyou regretted it a little now.

He had gone along with it and helped Baku Madarame hide the existence of the pen bug because he wanted to be entertained.

But that bastard Baku Madarame had clearly heard him pick up the pen and had turned it to his advantage, using it to shake Q Dalang in the end.

That... was interesting, though.

Was Baku Madarame not afraid he would tell Q Dalang about the bug?

But no amount of thinking could change what had already happened. Baku Madarame's use of the "unexpected development" had indeed been quite brilliant!

"..."

When Yagyou did not answer him, Q Dalang flew into a rage out of embarrassment.

He drew his Shakujo, first chopping the pen in half, then pointing its tip at Yagyou.

"This is a listening device! Yagyou, you old bastard, can you explain yourself?"

Q Dalang gritted his teeth. "As the referee—you're actually favoring one side?!"

"..."

Yagyou's expression did not change as he said slowly, "Q... Lord Kokonoe, please don't misunderstand. This gamble has no rules."

"Although I'm the referee, I'm free to choose which side to stand on or to take any action."

Yagyou sighed helplessly and said perfunctorily, "Kakerou's referees each have their own personalities and characteristics."

"If it makes the gamble more entertaining, I prefer to put in a few extra words—for example, didn't I warn you many times before, Lord Kokonoe?"

"..."

Yagyou opened his eyes slightly and glanced at the gleaming sword tip, feeling somewhat displeased.

He had warned Q Dalang repeatedly, but Q Dalang had refused to listen and had instead mocked him again and again, undoubtedly doubting his professionalism. And now he was threatening him with a sword...

To be fair, Higashi Kōichi was not a particularly patient man—especially when dealing with fools.

"Although I haven't favored anyone, even if I really did want to help the Lie Eater, don't stand there running your mouth at me!"

Sixth floor, corridor.

Before the listening device was completely destroyed, Baku Madarame heard Q Dalang and Yagyou arguing.

"Oh, they're fighting?"

The corners of Baku Madarame's mouth lifted slightly as he looked behind Lodem. Shiraki Uke was still standing motionless where he had been, the air around him seeming to congeal.

"Looks like Little Uke needs a little more time to warm up. We'll have to stall a while longer."

Baku Madarame turned his gaze to Lodem and said to the two beside him, "Gentlemen, get ready. Q Dalang is just about out of patience!"

Everything went just as Baku Madarame expected.

"Hmph! Yagyou, I knew you couldn't be trusted! But now isn't the time to deal with that!"

"Lodem! Kill the Lie Eater! Don't give them a chance to struggle in their death throes!"

"Kill!"

At the command, Lodem moved, stepping forward and breaking into a mad dash.

"Ah, here he comes."

Baku Madarame raised an eyebrow and, while reassuring little Kaji beside him, asked Akagi Shigeru with a smile, "Say, Akagi, do you think we can win this gamble?"

"Heh, who knows?"

Akagi Shigeru knew Baku Madarame was teasing him and answered with a faint smile, "If our odds of winning were one hundred percent, it wouldn't be gambling at all. And we've already done everything we should..."

Akagi Shigeru's eyes shifted toward the oncoming "demon." "What happens next—depends on our luck!"

Fifth-floor office.

Q Dalang's expression grew increasingly ferocious.

Usogui, you've underestimated me. Did you really think I couldn't see through your little trick?