Chapter 191

Citizens and warriors will constantly engage in deadly battles, the Cult will collect their corpses, chop off their heads and pile them up into mountains, and the rest of their bodies will dissolve into the buildings and then regenerate in some way.

Therefore, he did not see any living facilities, no schools, hospitals, parks, or elderly people or children. The things on the street could not be called 'people' at all.

This is an endless Slaughter Cycle, human-shaped leeks being used as bait, and it also indirectly answers Yuki's question:

Why, despite repeatedly defeating powerful enemies and Demon Possession, did he fail to acquire much soul energy?

It turns out that it has its own built-in loop, so of course it won't be stolen by Demon Possession.

But there should be a price to pay, otherwise it would become a perpetual motion machine, which is not scientific.

Yuki tapped lightly with his hand, going through all the clues in his mind, and then suddenly stopped.

"Hayasaka, have you noticed any place in this city that can truly be called 'safe'?"

Safety? Isn't this godforsaken place a place where fighting breaks out everywhere?

Hayasaka Ai almost blurted it out, but after thinking about Yuki's question for a while, she realized there were indeed two relatively safe places.

"The probability of battles breaking out in the Cult and the Deathmatch Arena is relatively low. No, Abate has dueled with his colleagues, so the Deathmatch Arena is the only place left?"

The deathmatch arena is Earth Collapse seem to shatter, which at first glance seems unrelated to safety. However, there is one type of person who is absolutely safe inside.

"Those spectators, protected by the eight pillars, will not be affected, and they have never fought amongst themselves!"

Yuki slammed his hand on the table, stood up excitedly, and paced around the middle of the lounge.

"These people only need to stir up trouble; they don't need to eat or go to the toilet. They're just a bunch of simple puppets. And have you noticed that every deathmatch arena has empty seats, and the empty seats appear to be completely random?"

"Do you know what this reminds me of? The patients in the Demon Hospital, the believers in Yadu Town —I knew it was impossible for dungeon combat power to be flawless."

Once players step into the deathmatch arena, they are immediately consumed by the frenzied atmosphere and have no time to pay attention to these details. However, Yuki remained absolutely calm and noticed it the first time he stepped into Arena IV.

He was puzzled at first, wondering why those sitting at the "top of the hill" didn't move to the front when there were empty seats in the front row.

"Are you saying the audience is the price of the cycle?" Hayasaka Ai immediately snapped out of her daze.

"Unless this is truly a perpetual motion machine, how do you explain those empty seats? And don't you think it's very unfair among the four roles?" Yuki turned around, his eyes shining with excitement.

The Cult, the players, the citizens, and the spectators—only the last group doesn't have to participate in the battle or die; they only need to fan the flames.

Glory and fervor stem from cheers, which are given by the audience. No matter what method Yuki uses to conquer the dungeon, he will kill the warrior. Therefore, from beginning to end, his actions are only aimed at the audience.

Without cheers, there is no fervent atmosphere; without fervor, the eight pillars cease to be excited, and extending outwards represents the Cult's clear stance.

They opposed Yuki's actions; if it weren't for the effectiveness of this suppression, they would have personally taken action to eliminate him long ago.

So for whom do we suppress our emotions? For whom do we endure these hardships?

"So the most crucial character in this instance is the audience?" Hayasaka Ai gasped, somewhat admiring Yuki's flash of inspiration; he managed to make it all work out.

In the midst of Calamity of Blood, the spectators are the least threatening. They can yell and the Roar, but they can't rush down to attack the players. People with a desire to perform and enjoy fighting might even feel a sense of closeness to them.

After thinking about it for a moment, she realized that this was not some fleeting fantasy, but rather a very logically sound chain of ideas.

This stemmed from Mai Sakurajima and her team's investigation, which uncovered the deeper secrets of the dungeon and revealed a cyclical reaction. Yuki simply found the loopholes in this cycle and then filled in the gaps in her observations.

"A very bold conjecture, but how can we verify it?" Hayasaka glanced at the tightly closed door and lowered his voice, "If this is true, it will be very dangerous. Fortunately, that Cult is too direct and has not resorted to underhanded tactics."

"If they're both strong and cunning, what's the point of me playing?" Yuki cursed.

The Cult's combat power is overwhelming; if they also know how to plot and scheme, how can the player survive? This is similar to the church in Yadu Town, except that the latter is bound by 'God'.

After thinking for a while, Yuki looked up and decided to speed up the strategy. "Hayasaka, you go find Two-Gun Zhang as originally planned. We have one more task: find a way to kill some spectators."

He didn't say how to kill him, or what the risks were afterward, nor did he need to.

"Okay, be careful, they won't give you much rest time."

Hayasaka Ai immediately accepted, knowing that at this stage, the help of other players was needed, such as freeing Two-Gun Zhang from the deathmatch rules.

"You be careful too. Oh, and by the way, lend me a prop."

"Which one?" Hayasaka didn't hesitate and instinctively reached for the Death Knell, his signature item.

"I don't need Death Knell, just lend me the Flying Boots." Yuki didn't want Death Knell; the more powerful the Chaos Item, the more it needs a complete support system.

Just like Shinomiya Hongzheng's bomb gun, it also needs to be paired with several cooling items.

Hayasaka Ai immediately threw the boots over, opened the door to the lounge, and then paused for a moment.

The guide, Abate, stood at the doorway, head bowed, seemingly hesitating about something. Seeing his expression, I immediately understood.

"Are you planning to play dirty tricks?" Hayasaka's face immediately darkened, clearly knowing that Yuki's performance was too strong, making the apostle very uneasy.

Yuki is a sacrifice, a sacrifice who must die in the championship battle, but now he is performing with ease, all his opponents have died while he himself is unharmed.

"It is indeed a bit unfair." Abate actually showed a bit of shame, rubbing his hands lightly. "The opponent for the next battle has been arranged, so please be prepared. This time, you either accept the challenge immediately, or fight the Apostle."

"When?"

"Now."

The continuous battles were meant to test the limits of Yuki's strength. If he turned out to be stronger than Adam, continuing the plan would be like shooting ourselves in the foot. It was better to cut our losses quickly.

Hayasaka Ai understood the Cult's intentions perfectly, and she understood even more why Yuki seemed so at ease, even though he had clearly struggled against that Golden Skull earlier.

'He drew all of the copy's attention, allowing us to move freely in the shadows.'

The girl's icy gaze made Abate afraid to look up. He wasn't stupid; he knew this was the Cult's arrangement. According to the rules, they should fight one-on-one, then arrange a battle every two days, and continuously publicize it on a large screen, like a grand ceremony.

However, scheduling two battles for Yuki in one day is blatant targeting.

Abate was puzzled. If the apostle really wanted to kill this man, why didn't he do it himself instead of breaking the rules he had set?

"Go ahead, Hayasaka." Yuki didn't feel angry; in fact, she found it somewhat amusing. What was there to be ashamed of? It was clearly excessive righteousness.

It was just overtime work; they weren't even willing to use the simplest and most brutal method like coercing someone to fix a match. This was incredibly touching for Yuki, who had experienced all sorts of treacherous conspiracies.

Her tone was light, Hayasaka Ai suddenly realized something.

Yeah, the best solution would be to hold a knife to my and my senior's necks and prevent him from winning; or we could pick a spot, crush Yuki with overwhelming force, and then, without killing him, we could at least find out the color of his underwear.

The people here are all out of their minds; they actually feel ashamed of such an inefficient method.

Hayasaka Ai suddenly found the 'honor' setting very useful, and her expression unconsciously relaxed slightly as she walked past Abate and left.

Abate didn't stop her, nor did he even ask where she was going. He walked up to Yuki and was about to speak when the latter interrupted him.

"Is the opponent the Demon from Arena VI?"

"Yes, the strongest warrior to date." Abate sighed, perhaps feeling guilty, and even offered some information. "The Demon originally intended to challenge Adam, but the Cult arranged for you to be his opponent ahead of time."

To force an arrangement against the will of the warriors is neither unusual nor honorable.

But in Yuki's eyes, this was actually a clumsy method. He could easily come up with ten highly efficient plans that guaranteed victory, and he once again experienced this instance's obsession with violence.

I must figure out my Limit no matter what, even if it means dying at the hands of a demon and the plan falling apart.

Yuki didn't quite understand these people's thought process. He slowly got up, as he was also quite interested in this 'demon'.

"Abate, you're my guide, aren't you?"

"Of course." The man was puzzled, then watched Yuki patted his shoulder and silently walked past him.

"Then have more faith in me."

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Demon, Wu Raian

Arena VI.

All the deathmatch arenas were practically identical, with almost no difference in layout, except that this time Yuki was facing off alone.

The frenzied cheers surged into the passageway, drowning out his ears. This made Abate, who was leading the way, look pitiful. Soon, the audience here would also be eating shit.

He quietly turned his head to look at the man behind him. This time, he didn't feel much disgust. He felt that the man's cold strength was no less than that of the passionate warriors.

Indeed, no one could see the battle unfold, but that didn't change the outcome. Regardless of strength, all enemies were slaughtered, their blood staining the arena.

As for glory? The Cult's methods are blasphemous, yet they both pursue results?

If the Blood God spoken of by the apostles truly exists, shouldn't such blasphemous acts be punished?

"Regardless of the cause of the war, and no matter where the blood came from."

"Could it be that what he said is the Truth? Should I question the Apostle?"

Reality contradicted Abate's deeply ingrained beliefs, but Yuki, a few steps behind, didn't care what he was thinking.

This time, with everyone mobilized, he can focus all his energy on the battle.

After World War I, new clues will be found by Hayasaka Ai and others, and they will no longer have to split themselves into several parts and take care of all the problems at the same time.

So Yuki didn't think about anything, only listened to the roars in his ears, stared at the light at the end of the passage, and his nose twitched as he smelled the strong stench of blood.

Like years of accumulated grime, layer upon layer, it startled Yuki, prompting a question to arise:

How does this instance function before players enter?

Judging from the building's existence time, the instance has been continuously operating. Combined with the experience of being "The Bystander Is Blind," it has most likely welcomed other players, such as that "faction" that we still don't understand.

Hiyori, warriors and passersby are constantly being reborn in a cycle. Perhaps the storyline only begins each time a player enters, becomes a warrior, and competes for the championship.

But they probably don't eat or sleep normally, and the battle must be ongoing; not every soldier will experience a cycle of death.

Gurgle.

He swallowed hard and realized that this 'demon' was more special than he had imagined, just like the extremely heavy, thick, and pungent smell of blood, which was much more profound than the two deathmatch arenas he had been to.

Stepping into the deathmatch arena, Yuki habitually glanced around, his eyes filled with the frenzied spectators and the seemingly random empty seats.

The arena below was slightly different; it was too flat, without any obstructions, just like the arena I remembered. In the center, there was a person squatting, whose style Taiyi from the opponents I had seen before.

He was about the same height as me, and looked unusually 'petite' compared to those soldiers who were often two or three meters tall. He was also not wearing heavy and strange armor.

He was only wearing a sports vest, which exposed his muscular physique. He slightly raised his head, and his dark eyes made Yuki stop in his tracks.

Such pure killing intent, is this what a proper meal should be like?

Yuki's first impression was that he was "extremely pure," and combined with the thunderous cheers in his ears, it was as if he had seen a king.

With 15 wins, how could one possibly achieve such a status?

Yuki recalled the information Hiyori had gleaned when they entered the instance; at that time, this person had fewer wins than Adam.

But he's not a player, he definitely isn't.

Intuition told him the answer: how could a mere dozen or so victories produce a champion? Yuki suddenly realized that the deathmatch itself was problematic.

"What's his background?"

"Uh, a very special existence." Abate moved his lips, unsure of how to say it, or whether he should say it at all.

"It seems he has existed for a very long time and has never died."

Yuki answered casually, and he saw Abate's expression change slightly, but there was no tense atmosphere. The latter simply nodded slightly.

"Yes, I've watched him fight here the whole time, he's never left. This might be a chance for him to change things."

Abate couldn't say what status quo he wanted to change, and Yuki didn't ask either, but he gradually came up with an idea.

He nodded slightly, descending the steps, his gaze sweeping over the fervent faces around him. If there was anything in this instance that remained unchanged throughout history, it was only them.

This is the fourth day since arriving in the instance. Yuki has already seen many strange and wonderful warriors. If this world has existed for a long time, it's impossible for it to create different warriors every time. Considering Hiyori's cyclical theory:

A world of endless killing is hell for normal people, but heaven for these people.

The endless battle, the death and rebirth, the rebirth and death—according to Abate's earlier statement, only the members of the Cult are outside this cycle.

As for why this person is so special, it's not just because he never died, but also because...

Yuki stepped onto the arena and watched the squatting man rise. His dark eyes were filled with desire, somewhat like the gaze of the apostle he had seen a few hours earlier.

"Yo, I've been waiting for you." Unlike the other warriors who started by attacking, the demon cracked his joints. "Don't you think I'm weird? I didn't try to kill you right away?"

The voice was deep and penetrating, accurately reaching the ears amidst the frenzied cheers—a skillful technique.

Okay, this person is someone you can communicate with.

Yuki raised his hand and picked at his ear, feeling a sharp, needle-like pain, but also a surge of joy. His biggest worry was that even if this person was a player, he would be unable to communicate, just like the Hunter Priest.

When will the questions raised last time be verified?

The chain of logic in the deception unfolded quickly, Yuki replied coldly, "It is indeed strange. I noticed it from the beginning. You Taiyi as the people here, but your gaze just now was off. Shouldn't you be happy to see your compatriots?"

He immediately countered with a question, as if he was certain the other person was a player.