I, a Reincarnation Stream Player

Yuki felt the earth trembling beneath him. The Giant was only seconds away, and he had no time to settle the score with Li Dan.

Boom—

A huge palm slammed down, sending dust billowing everywhere. Li Dan and Yuki rolled to the side together, but neither could use the chance to climb the wall. With surprising coordination, they leaped backward as the chains swept past their feet.

Neither dared to stop. They raced back to the middle of the spacious hall, then looked up to see the Giant's enormous body completely blocking the exit. It was slowly turning around.

The area was in ruins, a sign of just how powerful its attacks were.

"Brother Li, we need to hurry. The door Senior Mai closed won't hold much longer." Yuki licked his lips. He could feel the ground trembling faintly.

The Living Corpses inside the Ancient Castle were rushing here at full speed, pounding madly on the door Mai Sakurajima had closed. The Giant alone was trouble enough; with the endless horde of Living Corpses on top of that, no one would make it out alive.

So now you're calling me Brother Li?

Li Dan felt sick, as if he'd swallowed a fly. He said coldly, "Then don't try anything. We cooperate one last time."

"No problem. Honesty and trustworthiness are my principles." Yuki flashed a wide, toothy grin like a cheerful boy next door.

I wouldn't believe a word of that, but I had no choice.

Li Dan couldn't be bothered to complain. He slowly pulled back the hammer and stared at the Giant, which was hunching toward them like a human spider. There was no time to think things through.

"Buy me three seconds. Split up!"

The two of them darted in opposite directions. A tremendous boom sounded behind them as the Giant's massive foot stomped down where they had been standing.

The stomp was only the beginning. The Abnormal Type spun like a ballet dancer with a severe case of hyperactivity, its two chains whistling as they tore up the floor and shattered the air.

It was incredibly agile and immensely strong, never staying still for a moment. It was almost impossible to aim at. Yuki saw most of its attacks converging on Li Dan, forcing him to flee in a panic.

Wham, wham, wham.

Whip strikes, stomps, punches—Li Dan had to use everything he had just to stay alive, let alone fight back. One crater after another appeared in the floor.

Three seconds? Just like in the footage Hayasaka Ai secretly recorded. And there were clearly still two bullets in that revolver.

Yuki recalled the footage Hayasaka Ai had taken when they killed the Tyrant. With that earlier intel, he could already guess what Li Dan was planning.

Cooperation? Sure. I couldn't trust a single word of it!

Yuki seemed to realize something. He tossed aside his empty pistol, gripped the greatsword in both hands, and charged forward instead of retreating.

Clang!

Sparks burst as a chain lashed against the saw teeth. Even with his body at peak strength, Yuki felt a tightness in his chest and his palm split open. He skidded across the ground, carving a black "braking mark" into the floor.

He watched the severed chain spin through the air. Then the Giant's head turned toward him, and a chill rose in his heart.

It was deciding who to kill first. Yuki was covered in wounds, and his threat level had risen considerably. It seemed safer to eat him first.

The Giant rose onto the balls of its feet, its hungry gaze fixed on Yuki. With a single step, it bounded more than ten meters, its immense shadow falling over him.

His heart stopped. Yuki saw the chains draw taut and the countless furious attacks poised to strike.

I couldn't dodge. I couldn't block. But that man's greed had never let me down.

Bang!!!

The chain slammed into the ground beside his shoulder, gouging a palm-deep trench in an instant. The shock wave made Yuki lose his footing, so he rolled away with the momentum.

The Abnormal Type couldn't possibly have a lazy eye. Yet its "wise" goldfish eyes were full of confusion. Its prey was gone, replaced by a Giant standing with its back to it.

Why have I suddenly gotten smaller? Why does that Giant look so much like me? The intelligence bestowed by the Crimson Moon left it bewildered, unable to make sense of what was happening.

So it really was that thing—his trump card.

Yuki rolled across the ground and saw Li Dan standing not far behind the Giant, a gun raised in his right hand and a cylindrical object clutched in his left.

"Chaos Item. Distortion Kaleidoscope."

Li Dan smiled. Taking advantage of Yuki's delay, he had activated the item and given the Giant his own vision, senses, and perceptions. Brain or no brain, the distortion would leave it confused, and it would be shaken by attacks coming from itself.

The hyperactivity was gone. The Giant stood before him like a huge target. Li Dan exchanged a glance with Yuki, then pulled the trigger.

Death Knell rang!

Bang—

The enormous gunshot echoed through the underground chamber like a cannon blast. The Abnormal Type's huge head shattered on the spot. It looked as though someone had shoved it from behind; it toppled heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

It was over.

Since entering the dungeon, Li Dan had blown apart the heads of countless Living Corpses. He glanced at the Giant, now completely motionless, and didn't pause for even an instant. His gun smoothly followed his gaze and settled on Yuki.

Click.

He chambered the last bullet. At last, a hint of pleasure crept into his gloomy eyes, because the little brat who had slapped him in the face raised both hands without hesitation.

"Brother Li, we're on the same side! Don't shoot!" Yuki dropped his greatsword, looking shocked, as if he hadn't prepared for this at all.

"Who's your brother? Who the hell's on your side?" Li Dan laughed in anger. A minute ago, this bastard had been setting him up. If he'd had the chance, he probably would've Backstabbed him, too.

It was as if the game of chess had finally reached checkmate. He was pleased, but restrained his excitement and swallowed his taunt. He merely furrowed his brows, his expression stern.

"There are a lot of things you want to ask. The way I do things is simple—"

"To survive, if people stand in my way, I kill them. If gods stand in my way, I commit Godslaying."

His voice was as firm as iron. He kept stepping backward, a move that ignored every convention and left Yuki utterly speechless.

After turning the tables, he should've laughed out loud—or at least acted like a villain and trampled all over my pride. Why shut down the conversation so quickly? At the very least, he should've let me ask a few more questions before giving me his final answer.

"Villains die from talking too much. I understand that better than you do." Li Dan looked as if he'd seen right through Yuki. A mocking smile finally tugged at his lips. When Yuki opened his mouth, Li Dan snapped his fingers without hesitation.

Snap.

At the sound, the fat man's corpse in the corner sprouted fine strands of fungus. The body looked as though it weren't made of flesh and blood. The strands crept up the wall, moving to block the opening.

The Giant had fallen, but the Ancient Castle's horde was right on their heels. The fungus wasn't blocking an opening; it was sealing off their last way out.

The whole sequence was decisive, smooth, and utterly without hesitation. Yuki's mouth twitched. All the lines he'd prepared had become useless, so he could only force out a question:

"Did you never intend to let us live?"

"Don't just make conversation. You've known the answer all along." Li Dan said nothing more. He fired his Rope Gun into the wall and gripped the line. As he ascended, he saw Hayasaka Ai struggling to her feet, and Mai Sakurajima running into the hall from the direction of the Ancient Castle.

Finally, his gaze settled on Yuki's expressionless face. Everyone was here at last, and he had exposed every one of the newcomer's tricks. As he rose, he could even see the horde of Living Corpses roaring down the corridor.

Only then did the stern face finally take on a victor's pride. He lifted his chin slightly.

"I live, you die. We'll never meet again. That's how simple the Reincarnation Game is."

Ever since they'd fallen out, his intentions had been perfectly clear. Every move had flowed smoothly, all to leave his opponent no chance to turn things around. An ordinary newcomer might not have even understood what was happening by now, let alone fought back.

Yuki slowly tilted his head back and watched Li Dan draw closer to the barrier. Two or three meters more, and he would pass through the red mist.

"Li Dan, you've given me plenty of valuable advice. It's just a shame this game can't accommodate two players." He spoke sincerely. Whether deliberately or not, Yuki had learned a lot from Li Dan and made it through the beginner stage much faster.

"Yeah. I'm glad you're not going on about good and evil with death staring you in the face." Li Dan nodded, thinking it wasn't bad to speak honestly at the end. At least this young man had made a deep impression on him. "By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Are you really not afraid of dying? An ordinary person would've died ten times over at this difficulty, and you almost managed to turn the tables." Li Dan had almost asked what kind of monster Yuki was. But as he finished speaking, he saw Yuki's lips part in a grin, revealing a few white teeth.

"Of course I'm afraid of dying. But there's something I want to tell you, too—" Yuki took a deep breath, as if a beast were roaring deep inside him.

"You know my secret. Likewise, I never intended to let you make it back from the start."

!?

Li Dan's pupils contracted. His first thought was that Yuki had gone mad. His second was that it was a side effect of the Distortion Kaleidoscope. He only needed three more seconds to leave the dungeon; then the fungus would block the way out and trap them in the Crimson Moon.

Ha! You won't let me go back? Who the hell are you?

A sarcastic retort rose to his throat, but the clatter of chains made him swallow it. He instinctively turned around.

The Giant was standing again, steam pouring from its head as a deathly white jawbone reconstructed itself. Its head had not healed, but that didn't stop it from moving. It stretched its body like a bodybuilder.

"It's not dead? How is that possible?" Li Dan instinctively tried to dodge, but the rope had stuck to his hand and he couldn't break free. No—he could only rise at a steady pace.

Had this been part of Yuki's plan, too?

Time seemed to slow. Li Dan watched the Giant raise its arm and swing the thick chain straight at him, the chain gradually filling his entire field of vision.

Only then did he hear a voice, brimming with mockery, answer him.

"Who told you the Abnormal Type's weakness was its head?"

### Reversal, reversal, and then another reversal.

Hayasaka Ai leaned against the wall and watched the taut chain tear through the air and slam into Li Dan.

Splat.

The veteran player, who had survived at least two dungeons, didn't even get out a grunt. He burst into a blooming spray of blood. As severed limbs and chunks of flesh flew everywhere, Hayasaka Ai felt no joy or fear, only a hint of numbness.

Her emotions had been on a roller coaster. When they'd been surrounded by the horde, she'd been on the verge of death. Then Yuki had rescued her, moving her slightly. Robert's sudden betrayal had left her stunned, and then they'd made it through the final night and lived to see another day.

After that, Li Dan and Yuki had joined forces to take down the Giant. Before she could see any hope, Li Dan's ruthless betrayal had doused it like a bucket of cold water. Just as she was wrapped in despair, Li Dan, who had been so composed and victorious moments ago, was blown to pieces.

It was chaotic and thrilling. Hayasaka Ai didn't even have time to wonder how Yuki had known the Giant's weakness. Pain and exhaustion filled every nerve, until the noisy whir of a chainsaw against the floor reached her ears.

The sound of cutting, whimpers, and chains crashing came one after another. Hayasaka Ai looked around in a daze and saw that the Living Corpses had poured into the basement. Mai Sakurajima came running into the hall, gasping for breath, a detonator in her hand.

She was in a sorry state, teeth clenched as she pressed the button hard.

Boom—

The planted explosives flared brightly before their eyes. The passage collapsed, burying itself beneath a pile of rubble. Countless Living Corpses slowly began forcing their way through it. One look was enough to tell that the barrier wouldn't hold for long.

But just then, a dark figure streaked past her.

Unlike the way he'd been slacking off before, Yuki threw himself into the fight. Before the Abnormal Type could fully recover, he charged at it with his greatsword raised.

He couldn't see the approaching horde, and seemed not to notice Li Dan's mutilated remains. He charged the Giant head-on, facing its chains, and roared:

"Help me!"

Hayasaka Ai shuddered and snapped back to reality. Like a robot rebooting, she forgot her exhaustion, pain, and numbness. She pushed herself up against the wall and turned her eyes toward a severed arm nearby.

The hand was gripping a huge silver revolver, with the final bullet already loaded. The girl jumped over without a moment's thought.

"Okay."

The final battle!

The Chainsaw Sword had begun to fade from its peak, sending an intense wave of exhaustion back to its user. But Yuki fought it with an almost desperate hunger.

The way out was open. He could already see the light beyond the door. How could he give up now?

"I haven't had a moment to catch my breath in two whole days. I'm going to kill you no matter what!"

All the suffering and resentment he'd endured erupted at once. He saw the Giant's skull already reconstructed, muscles growing over it. Its chains swept toward him like whips, but he didn't retreat.

Whoosh—

Yuki leaned backward, then slid forward with the momentum, watching a silver chain sweep past the tip of his nose. He drove his greatsword into the ground, forcing his sliding body to stop.

Thud.

A huge foot stamped down in front of him, making the entire basement shudder. Without the slightest hesitation, Yuki slid low toward the Giant's heel.

Cut!

With his current strength, he couldn't chop off the thick foot. But Yuki found the Achilles tendon and severed it. The Giant swayed, and its clasped-hands hammer strike missed its target.

Thud!!

This impact was even more violent. The tremor sent Yuki flying into the air. He saw steam billow as the tendon repaired itself at a visible speed. The Giant fell to its knees, its shadow completely covering him.

The Giant didn't rise. Instead, it toppled forward like a mountain collapsing. Yuki hurriedly rolled to the side, then turned his head and saw the Abnormal Type raise a hand, palm skimming the ground as it swept toward him like a wall.

He couldn't dodge. There was no need to.

Yuki turned toward the center of the hall. The blonde girl was holding the gun in both hands, aiming the enormous revolver, which looked awkward in her grip, his way.

[Enhancement Point used: Firearms Proficiency—Advanced.]

A strange whisper rang out in Hayasaka Ai's mind. She locked onto the rapidly moving hand and the nearly buried Yuki.

Smiling, she pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!!