Second Update (Continued)

This was the first time they had seen such a bloody scene, such a large number of dead people.

The others were no better off. Their faces had gone pale, their stomachs churned, and they stood there blankly staring at the scene.

Those high-level players who usually swaggered around and bullied others could not even last a move or two against Tsukikawa Shu. From start to finish, it had been a one-sided slaughter.

They had always called Tsukikawa Shu a "demon" before, but only now did they truly understand what a demon was.

His usual arrogance had merely been a demon's mercy. The one bathed in blood now was the true demon!

But who still dared call him a demon now? No one did.

Because they had just had their lives spared by the demon.

This was the demon's mercy.

"Could it be that we actually misunderstood Tsukikawa Shu...?"

After recovering somewhat from their intense discomfort, everyone found a shocking question surfacing in their minds, one they had always overlooked.

Because he had brazenly posted about "Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives" on the forum, and because he had never shown the slightest gentleness when dealing with outsiders, everyone had viewed Tsukikawa Shu as an utterly evil, tyrannical demon.

And because of that, everyone had misjudged how Tsukikawa Shu saw things.

For example, today—if Tsukikawa Shu had truly been a great villain, then he certainly would have accepted Nita Goichi's offering, taken Fujiwara Chika into his harem first, and conveniently granted them a few favors.

But everyone's mistake had been misjudging Tsukikawa Shu's nature.

He was neither a great villain nor an overly kind man. He was someone with basic principles.

He could suddenly kill someone, but he would not kill casually. Those he killed were all people who had offended him.

But Nita Goichi did not understand that. Neither did those high-level players, Kyuutake Itsuki, Miyamoto Daichoku, and the others.

If they had not collectively forced Fujiwara Chika into submission this time, but had treated her properly and let her persuade Tsukikawa Shu herself, perhaps that would have been the truly correct approach.

It was precisely because he regarded Fujiwara Chika as future family that Tsukikawa Shu had truly become enraged this time.

"Fujiwara-senpai really didn't choose the wrong person. Entrusting her life to someone like him... might be a pretty good choice."

Iino Miko murmured.

As for the classmates who had also been killed, they could only mourn for them in silence.

Perhaps some had not acted willingly, and perhaps some had only been blinded by profit for a moment. But this was the Inner World. Everyone had to bear the consequences of their own actions, and they could not blame anyone else.

For Hiratsuka Shizuka and Goto Hitori, this was also the first time they had seen Tsukikawa Shu's anger, and the first time they had killed so many people.

But this was the Inner World. They might grow accustomed to such situations in the future.

As for Fujiwara Chika, the changes in the situation had come too abruptly. She remained rooted to the spot, unable to react for a long time.

The entire slaughter had taken less than five minutes.

This was also the first time she had faced such a bloody reality.

Yet she did not feel afraid. On the contrary, she felt somewhat happy.

At first, she had resigned herself to it. Coerced by the Elite Committee, she had no choice. Besides, her impression of Tsukikawa Shu had improved quite a bit, so this outcome was not entirely unacceptable. She only hoped he would treat her well.

But thoughts were one thing. When she saw Tsukikawa Shu happily thanking the Elite Committee members, not only allowing them to run the dungeon but even promising rewards based on merit, Fujiwara Chika felt terribly conflicted.

Although she no longer had the right to protest, and her future life would surely mean following her husband's lead, she still... could not come to terms with it.

But the developments that followed took another sharp turn.

Tsukikawa Shu, who had seemed to be purely driven by profit, suddenly drew his blade and killed everyone who had tried to force her into submission through collective oppression and coercion.

At that moment, Fujiwara Chika truly understood.

This was a man willing to draw his blade for her.

At that moment, Fujiwara Chika saw the man walking toward her.

Blood stained Tsukikawa Shu's face, and his clothes were splattered with it as well. He looked fierce and terrifying, yet for some reason, she was not afraid of him at all.

"Do you hate me now?" Tsukikawa Shu asked.

Fujiwara Chika looked at Tsukikawa Shu too.

"How could I?"

She smiled and wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"Then let's go."

Tsukikawa Shu smiled as well and took her hand.

Watching Fujiwara Chika and Tsukikawa Shu leave, Tanuma Tsubasa and the others remained where they were.

"So... what do we do now?" Tomioki Nagisa asked.

They looked at one another.

The Elite Committee's core members had all been wiped out, and none of the high-level players had survived. The organization now existed in name only.

"It's already good enough that we survived."

Tanuma Tsubasa spread his hands helplessly.

Tsukikawa Shu had killed a total of eight players. He gathered up all the equipment they had dropped and took stock of it.

All eight players had exclusive classes, and each possessed some skills. After their deaths, those skills and classes had all turned into Skill Cards and Class Cards.

There were four Warrior Class Cards, three Mage Class Cards, and one Gunner Class Card.

The Skill Cards varied widely, ranging from the lowest ordinary skills to Rare Grade skills. There were more than ten in total.

As for weapons, only Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku had used Rare Grade weapons. All the others were Fine Grade. Kyuutake Itsuki's Rare Grade weapon had even been chopped in half by him.

The broken cleaver and the Fine Grade weapons were of no use, so most were dismantled into Refined Ore. Only a small portion was kept, perhaps for trading with others.

As for the other Rare Grade weapon, Tsukikawa Shu checked its attributes.

[Weapon*Rare: Executioner]

[Magazine Capacity: 10]

[Pistol-type weapon, restricted to the Gunner class]

[Weapon Skill: Special Ammunition]

[After activating the skill, the next bullet gains 100% attack power and penetration. Cooldown: 5s]

It was a fairly standard Rare Grade weapon, so he would keep it for now.

Dismantling it would be a waste. The best choice was to list it on the forum for trade.

Besides that, Tsukikawa Shu also picked up a Gunner-type Skill Card.

[Precision Snipe]

[Quality: Rare]

[After 1s of adjustment, increases the player's mental power by 100% and shooting accuracy by 100%. Effective firearm range increases by 100%, and enemy weak points are marked. Duration: 15s]

This was not bad either. He could keep it.

Other than that, the eight players had only left behind miscellaneous useless items. Tsukikawa Shu simply dismantled all of them, since he had no use for them anyway.

"Eight players together didn't even yield a thousand Refined Ore." Tsukikawa Shu was a little disappointed.

It was not even as much as the system rewards. What a pity—after shearing the sheep twice, the entire organization was gone.

As the future hard currency of the Inner World, the more Refined Ore he stockpiled, the better.

After taking stock of the spoils, Tsukikawa Shu stood and walked to the door of the room beside him.

After bringing Fujiwara Chika over, he had let her rest in the room first because her emotions were still unstable.

Tsukikawa Shu knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A voice came from inside.

Tsukikawa Shu pushed open the door and entered. Fujiwara Chika was sitting on the bed, and her expression had largely calmed down.

"Feeling better?" Tsukikawa Shu asked.

"Yeah, I was never really upset." She blinked, still as lively as ever.

She then looked at Tsukikawa Shu, shifted over to make some room, and patted the mattress. "Sit here."

Tsukikawa Shu sat down beside her.

It was already evening.

"You could have simply gone along with it. In that situation, I couldn't have resisted, and I had nowhere else to go."

Fujiwara Chika sat on the edge of the bed, lightly kicking her feet.

"If you weren't willing, I wouldn't like taking advantage of you," Tsukikawa Shu said.

"Really?" Fujiwara Chika tilted her head. "Then if I wasn't willing, would you let me go?"

"I have never forced you," Tsukikawa Shu said.

"Then what if I went back and entered a marriage alliance with someone else?" Fujiwara Chika asked again.

"Then you'd owe me a life." Tsukikawa Shu paused. "I'm fair in what I do, so either you or your husband can repay it."

"So in the end, you just don't want me to leave!"

Fujiwara Chika muttered, then suddenly grew bolder. She moved closer to Tsukikawa Shu, reached out and pinched his cheek, then laughed with the air of someone whose scheme had succeeded.

"You look so imposing outside, but I never expected you to be such a tsundere."

"..."

Tsukikawa Shu showed no reaction even after being exposed.

What man did not have feelings like that? He was just finding excuses for being sentimental.

"I'm joking. If I really hated you, I wouldn't have come to you on my own."

As Fujiwara Chika spoke, a faint blush appeared on her face. "Likewise, I can't leave you anymore."

Before, she had only felt that Tsukikawa Shu was not a bad person. She had still hesitated over whether the two of them should be together.

But after what happened today, Fujiwara Chika had already made up her mind. She had chosen this person.

It was also because of the Elite Committee's collective coercion that Fujiwara Chika had been forced to truly confront her own heart.

Did she truly want to remain by Tsukikawa Shu's side?

Faced with that question that struck directly at her heart, Fujiwara Chika had given herself an answer.

Since she was willing, what was there left to hide or hesitate over?

"You still haven't signed the contract. You don't need to decide so quickly. You still have time to think about it, after all, this concerns your whole life."

Tsukikawa Shu said, "Of course, once it's signed, I'll have to take responsibility for you too."

"Still acting tsundere~" Fujiwara Chika boldly moved closer and wrapped her arms around Tsukikawa Shu's arm.

"Actually, after we talked that night, I had basically made up my mind. It's just that people like us aren't very free, you know? Our families keep a close watch over us."

She sighed softly.

"I originally thought I should go back and discuss something like this with my parents and grandfather."

"But now, I don't think that's necessary."

"After all, since meeting you, I haven't found anyone better. Even if my family disagrees... I think I would still choose to be with you."