Chapter 211
It doesn't want to interfere; watching others struggle desperately inevitably brings a sense of pleasure.
"Since it's all in vain anyway, you must burn out here."
Endless battles may not kill them, but synchronized prayers can.
The area that allowed them to maintain their sanity had shrunk tenfold, forcing Yuki was providing close cover, to occasionally jump out. Even with similar tools, they weren't enough to get close enough to him.
"Of course, if you do not wish to kill yourselves, you may choose to die at the hands of God."
The apostle raised his head. The blood-red sky had completely changed. The ripples spread like giant waves, forming wave after wave, while a sea of fire burned at the center.
Flying in mid-air, the sea of fire filled the apostle's entire field of vision, roughly the same size as an arena formed by eight giant pillars compared to the past.
Brutal, terrifying, insane.
The apostle quickly lowered his head, feeling that if he looked any longer, he would lose control of his fighting spirit and either challenge the heavens or join the bloody battle.
"But all I want is to leave this place and regain my former power."
The apostle murmured to himself, gazing at the ruins of the city with genuine regret.
Once, this place consisted of only eight deathmatch arenas and a group of natives. It was this place that used the ruins to build this city, restarted the Slaughter Cycle, and yearned to break through the barriers of the dungeon and return.
But this is a poison. As the killing goes on, its rationality will be completely burned away, and it will eventually become a monster that only knows how to kill, destroying everything. At that time, this world will lose its dungeon qualification.
And I became a caged beast, never to return to that vast world.
"So I have to thank you for letting me bet all my chips."
Unable to hide his smile, he watched as Yuki and the others approached the edge of the arena, feeling a destructive force coming from above.
It's almost over. A bloodbath of this level would bore the Blood God with just a glance, and he would then bestow upon it a devastating destruction.
"Faster, the smell above us is getting weirder and weirder."
Yuki dared not look up at the sky, nor did he need to. The oppressive force from another dimension was indescribable; the absurdity of 'killing someone with a glare' was becoming a reality.
The beam of light was just a kilometer away, rushing in from the city center, burning with the potential of every player.
The apostle had already flown hundreds of meters into the air, looking down like a god. Yuki didn't have time to waste words with it and went straight to Mai Sakurajima.
"Senior, prepare to detonate; it won't dare to attack you right now."
Yuki is gambling on that obsession, and now he's clearly just one step away from victory. No matter what Mai Sakurajima and the others do, the Apostles won't dare to turn around and launch a counterattack.
"Okay, detonate both points simultaneously, ten-second countdown, then I'll go to the next point." Mai Sakurajima spoke quickly. Explosives were loaded into four arenas, but detonation would take time, and the arenas were too far apart to detonate simultaneously.
"Hurry up, and tell Hiyori not to wander off; just wait for me outside."
With his senior there, Yuki didn't need to worry about anything; he simply turned around and looked at the chaotic scene of carnage.
In the distance, figures were engaged in a bloody battle; closer, a group of people stood in a line with their backs to the light barrier, firing wildly.
But figures kept rushing out of the ruins. They were knocked down and shot, but as long as they had a breath left, they would pounce on them frantically.
Unlike the Living Corpse in Crimson Moon City, they don't form hordes. However, the regular enemies here are extremely strong, almost all of them are at the level of Licker.
"I'm out of arrows."
"I have one magazine left; after that, I can only shoot my own soul."
Bad news kept coming in: the team was no longer at its peak, with about 80% of its strength being used on Adam, and it was impossible to replenish its strength in a short period of time.
That's not even worse; the domain's aura has shrunk to a mere two meters square, leaving the four of them with absolutely no room to maneuver.
Ten minutes left.
Yuki glanced at his watch and decisively stepped forward. Having replenished himself from Adam, he was the most exhausted but also had the most energy left.
"Who still has the Quiet Dew?"
Stepping outside the designated area means ingesting 'radiation'. He had just finished drinking the Quiet Dew, but as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Hayasaka Ai put away her gun and turn around.
Without a word or a second thought, Yuki only saw a pair of deep blue eyes appear before him. Before he could even read their expressions, he felt a warmth on his lips.
My lips were pried open, our tongues met as if electrocuted, and then a cool liquid was poured in, quickly calming my suddenly racing heartbeat.
Boom! Boom!
Yuki instinctively followed the wonderful sensation, when two loud noises came from behind, startling Hayasaka Ai awake first.
"What are you standing there for? Go now!"
Her tone was as usual as she grabbed the man's shoulders and shoved him behind her. Yuki could even process what was happening, her frantic the Scream pierced his ears.
The air grew Incandescence, and the surging killing intent diluted all superfluous emotions, Quiet Dew maintained the last vestiges of rationality.
Yuki lost all interest in reminiscing. He slashed down the figure in front of him with his sword and, upon closer inspection, realized that he was indeed calmer than before when he stepped out of the domain.
It works; the fewer the audience, the less psychological erosion there is, and even the pressure from above decreases.
"Senior, faster!"
Kill one more person, it's as if there's a timetable in Yuki's mind.
Mai Sakurajima's remaining characteristics, the speed at which she ascends as an Apostle, the rate at which her Thinker's Domain shrinks, and the time she can resist mental attacks...
Everything was progressing in sync, ultimately compared to the duration of the deadly battle.
Five minutes.
Even as he sipped slowly, the Quiet Dew in his mouth dwindled, his vision turned bloodshot with the carnage, his logic began to crumble, and only one will remained in his heart:
Kill!
He began to actively rush towards the battlefield, moving away from the light barrier behind him, which made Hayasaka and the others sweat profusely, but they were helpless.
Stepping out of this area, let alone pulling Yuki back, he'd probably be cut down the moment he got close. But seeing him leave, is he planning to stay in the instance?
Boom--
At that moment, an explosion rang out, and as the roof of the deathmatch arena collapsed, thousands of spectators were wiped out, and the resonance of their the Scream was weakened as a result.
Yuki stopped charging forward, retreating hastily as if waking from a dream, not even caring about the fear that followed.
"Not enough, senior, it's still not enough."
The rate at which the area was shrinking had slowed, but Hayasaka Ai and the others were already huddled together and would soon be exposed to the bloody light.
They don't have the mental resistance to Demon Possession; they'd probably have guns pointed at each other's heads within five seconds, killing each other bloody.
"I know, don't rush me." Mai Sakurajima was well aware of the importance of her trump card. She hadn't let her use it while she was locked in a fierce battle with Adam, and had held back until now.
The redundancy of the Scream was greater than she had imagined; it had blown up three death arenas and it still wasn't enough. The apostle did not intervene as expected, but it could control the remaining members of the Cult and was rapidly expanding the perimeter of the alert zone.
The eight deathmatch arenas are arranged in a circle. Predicting which one they will blow up is not difficult. Arenas II-IV have already been detonated, so it must be arena I next. They can't possibly cross the arena to the other side of the circle.
The key point is that this fourth detonation point was part of the initial experiment, and its destructive effect was certainly not ideal.
"And just at this crucial moment, my special ability timer has come."
She was extremely anxious. Even if the Scream couldn't make Yuki and the others fight each other, the gaze above her head was also reaching a critical point.
"Senior, let me handle this." A gentle voice rang in her ears. Hiyori, who was supposed to be waiting for evacuation under the pillar of light, had arrived, panting heavily while supporting her knees.
"The Void Puppet has cooled down. Give me the lightning ball, and I'll control the puppet to charge straight in, drawing the guards away. You detonate it immediately afterward. It knows we're there, and it knows there are only two of us. If you detonate it, it will concentrate its remaining forces in the next deathmatch arena."
Shiina Hiyori explained the matter concisely and calmly.
Yes, if we detonate Number I, they will converge on Number VIII, which is next in line. Then the Void Puppet can rush in with the lightning ball, causing an even more violent explosion.
Mai Sakurajima's eyes lit up, but she hesitated slightly. "You used the Void Puppet five times in a row, won't that...?"
"It's alright, as long as you're alive, the game can be fixed after you return. Make a decision quickly."
Mai Sakurajima glanced at the pillar of light; it was the tallest mountain of skulls, standing right next to Arena IV. If they could draw away the enemy forces, their regrouping would be safer.
"Okay, you focus on controlling it, I'll carry you away!"
This was no time to hesitate. She quickly tossed the azure crystal ball to Hiyori and faced the burly man in a suit coming down the long street head-on.
Two minutes.
When the fourth explosion was heard, the Thinker's Domain had been completely annihilated, exposing everyone to a deep, bloody light.
Kaguya and the others suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed and wanted to abandon their bows and spears and rush in to fight. After the cyclical attrition, one-fifth of the audience had been eliminated, and the intensity of their the Scream had greatly decreased, so they were barely able to maintain their rationality.
"Swallow the remaining Quiet Dew slowly." Yuki also retreated. After dealing with Adam, the chaotic battle in the arena was no longer a problem.
The four of them practically leaned against the light shield, focusing most of their energy on the Scream. They were almost out of ammunition and relied entirely on Yuki for cover.
"Hurry up, senior! We're still a kilometer away from that beam of light. It will still take time to get there."
As Yuki mentally counted down the seconds, he swung his sword and fought against the mental erosion, making each second feel like an eternity.
"Hayasaka, a Death Knell."
Bang!
Without pause, gunfire erupted, and the five charging figures instantly exploded into a cloud of Blood Mist.
"One bullet left." Hayasaka Ai kept pulling the trigger. She had killed more enemies than Yuki, after all, Death Knell had unlimited regular bullets and considerable power.
"Keep it, and watch your luck." Yuki habitually left one of his cards behind. Suddenly, a bright light illuminated his profile, and he instantly turned his head away.
The Roar arcs of electricity even reached the ceiling of Arena I, the Chaos-level artifact unleashing all its energy with a force several times stronger than explosives.
I knew my senior could do it!
Yuki clenched his fist, feeling the mental erosion level drop another notch, and even Night Capital, who was clutching her head, felt much more relaxed.
"Twenty seconds. Hayasaka, support Kaguya. Zhang Jin, use whatever tricks you have up your sleeve. We absolutely cannot let ourselves get entangled."
"Damn it, I've really lost big this time." Zhang Jin had indeed lost a lot of money, but he knew that he couldn't hesitate at this moment.
He glanced at the citizens constantly rushing out of the ruins, determined to kill them all before the cycle ran out. He raised his hand and clenched it in the air, veins bulging on his forehead.
Zhang Jin forcibly tore a large piece of his soul, kneaded it into the last few bullets, and transformed it into Spirit Particle Thunderbolt, which rained down in front of him.
This is the last chip we've bet; now it's up to Yuki to reveal his hand.
Ten seconds.
Yuki had lost all will to fight; he was completely focused on the light shield behind him. This thing was beyond the reach of even Transcendental Grade player, and it was his last card.
Through the strategy guide, he learned that there are two ways to end the deathmatch. The first is that all enemies are killed, but this is obviously not feasible. There are still endless streams of people coming to kill, and as long as the Slaughter Cycle continues, the deathmatch will never end.
"The second possibility is the time Limit; Kaguya Shinomiya out for two hours and twelve minutes."
Yuki's eyes were bright; Zhang Jin wasn't playing the gambling game Zhang Jin was seeing at all, and his resolve never wavered.
Even if the Reincarnation Game targets me and bares its fangs at me, it will still abide by the rules it has set!
Three seconds.
As the Spirit Particle Thunderbolt blasted the citizens who had passed through the hail of bullets into the air, the insurmountable barrier of light began to flicker, reflected in Yuki's constricted pupils, as if trying to drain all the strength from his body.
Yes, just as I thought.
Before he could even feel joy or savor the feeling of surviving a disaster, he reached out and grabbed Hayasaka's shoulder.
"Run!!"
Chapter 41 Welcome to the New Phase
With an escape route now available, there's nothing more to say. Take advantage of the Spirit Particle Thunderbolt to block the surging citizens and quickly escape this damned arena.
The light barrier vanished in an instant, the insurmountable chasm opened up, and there was no longer any obstacle between the pillar of light and Yuki.
Ah?
As the apostle approached the sky, it slightly opened its mouth and saw the rats escape from the cage—no, the cage itself disappeared.
Is there a time limit for deathmatch?
Even the apostles didn't know this rule, because in this blood-red city, no one could last more than two hours.
Never holding back, every move is designed to kill; losing the ability to retaliate will result in immediate self-destruction, and players are completely consumed by the deathmatch.
With all these factors combined, it's either kill someone or be killed, making a protracted war very difficult.
"I see, I underestimated those women."
The apostle snapped out of its daze. Mai Sakurajima and the others were too weak; in its eyes, they were practically invisible. All its attention was focused on Yuki, and then several women delivered a resounding slap to its face.