Chapter 79

Finally, I met up with this man, and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Yuki noticed the change in her eyes, but now was not the time for reminiscing, so he naturally took her fair hand in his.

"Okay, lead the way."

The Tyrant and Hiyori, who were a few steps behind, exchanged a glance and immediately realized that the two were more than just teammates. No wonder they dared to bet their lives on each other, even though they were separated by several layers.

Da da da.

The sound of light footsteps filled the air. With someone to guide them, the maze-like floors were no longer an obstacle, but strange things gradually began to emerge.

Thick fog seeped from the walls as the demon entered the floor. Curly suddenly overturned the table, catching Yuki off guard and disrupting Dean Fukawa's plans.

He was supposed to hide and find out why the demon had become weaker, but now, a player wants to take the plate with him.

Yuki severed the claws that were protruding from the wall with a single stroke and slowed his pace.

"Sure enough, the lower the floor, the more tricks he can pull off; this is practically a spatial rift."

"Is he still working with Curly?"

"The chances are slim. He wouldn't be completely unaware of the players. Don't forget Jack and the others!"

Yuki's reminder made the Tyrant and the others understand. They had all witnessed the 'Head-Connector Overlord,' those player heads that were attached to demons not only possessed memories but also Chaos Item.

Is it possible that Director Fukawa already knew they weren't just patients?

Mai Sakurajima had missed the show, didn't understand, but she didn't care. She walked past the corner and pointed ahead.

"There it is!"

At the intersection of several corridors was a circular room with its door wide open, through which two figures could be vaguely seen.

The blonde girl nimbly moved about, occasionally firing her gun to blast the muddy arm apart, while the slightly curly-haired youth stood on a high place, pressing his hands against the ceiling.

'There's light here too? Isn't the core of the transmutation circle supposed to be the Jinchuriki's location? It seems things are different in the Reincarnation Game after all.'

Yuki didn't quite understand the underlying principles, but that didn't prevent him from grasping the situation; after all, even in Fullmetal Alchemist, demon souls weren't used as materials.

Their eyes met, and without hesitation, Hayasaka Ai, who had just been desperately covering for them, rushed out of the room, abandoning her 'teammate'.

This movement made Curly-haired man's eyes widen in horror.

They had no intention of cooperating, and they weren't just isolated players; they were actually in cahoots with one of them. The reason they were covering for me earlier was because they were afraid I'd close the gate and we'd both perish!

The cruel answer was revealed at this moment. Watching that fleeing figure, Curly felt extreme hatred.

This is a case of using someone else to do the dirty work.

No matter what he thought, the giant hand in the mist was no longer an obstacle and reached out towards him, forcing the young man to lower his arm.

The intersection of reality and the subspace compressed the Demon Hospital into a flat plane. Curly originally planned to forge the entire fourth to ninth floors if the third floor wasn't enough, but Hayasaka Ai's sudden betrayal left him with no time.

"Two floors are enough!"

Curly lowered his hand, revealing an object embedded in the back of his left hand—a thumb-sized, polygonal, rhomboid stone, blood-red in color, with jet-black patterns.

It wasn't Chaos Item, nor did it have any special properties. He didn't even know that a true Philosopher's Stone shouldn't have black patterns; he only knew one thing:

"Hahaha, is this what bloodline skills are? If I continue to grow, I'll be able to—"

Red and black arcs of electricity surged forth, and before dozens of giant hands could crush him, the airflow accelerated, like sharp blades.

"Crush this game!"

Swish swish swish swish...

All of them were cut up, hundreds of pieces of meat scattered in the air. Curly had ignored the principle of equivalent exchange and the restrictions of the transmutation array, so this attack couldn't hurt him at all.

That's trash. Unless the dean personally intervenes, the threat level is very low. But I haven't gone to the first floor yet; I'll deal with the immediate threat first.

Brown eyes swept over the minced meat, a powerful feeling of qualitative change filling his heart. The two skills complemented each other, and even if the plan went wrong, the gains had already exceeded the entire dungeon's rewards.

"Once I've killed all the players, the 'six' prompt will disappear. Go to the first floor, and I'll be able to leave the hospital."

Curly's eyes were fixed on Yuki in the corridor outside; his target was clear.

Die!

A Yuki of killing intent washed over him, and Yuuki, who had been charging forward with every second on his hands, decisively retreated. Mai Sakurajima stepped forward, using her tall figure to block his path, causing the crimson arc of electricity that was about to be unleashed to vanish.

The contract worked, and the rules transcended power; hiding behind a woman is hardly the mark of a master.

I'm shameless, so what?

Yuki revealed a sinister smile. He wasn't a reckless fool who would charge blindly at Curly's fierce attack.

"You... coward!"

The young man was furious. The corridor was so narrow that a single attack could have covered it, but he never expected that the other party would use human shields.

"Senior, just bear with it for a moment." Yuki decisively grabbed his senior's collar, pulled her up in front of him, and then charged towards the door.

But after running only a few steps, the open door flashed with a crimson arc of light, and the steel door firmly blocked it. Then, the arc of light spread across the entire wall, and the metal barrier enveloped the room.

Clang!

Yuki made a slash, and after a dazzling spark, he was stunned to see the cut heal itself so quickly.

Damn, that was a quick reaction.

A person with intellectual disabilities can't become a seasoned player. If they realize they've cheated, they should simply hang up the white flag – that's the most effective way to deal with it.

"Hey, put me down."

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Mai Sakurajima landed on the ground, panting heavily. The feeling of charging towards a humanoid monster was unpleasant, but she couldn't blame Yuki. She gritted her teeth.

He dares to call himself a gentleman in public, but what kind of gentleman carries a girl into battle?

"What do we do now?"

"Let me think about it. This curly-haired guy is shameless. He looks like a boss, but when things get bad, he immediately shrunk his head back into his shell."

Yuki looked at the steel wall in front of him, puzzled. Then he turned his head and glanced behind him, and immediately understood what Curly was thinking.

Hayasaka Ai and the Tyrant protected Shiina Hiyori as they moved closer to this side. Mist surged on both sides of the corridor, and demonic arms kept reaching out.

Dean Fukawa has learned his lesson; he's not throwing the entire demon into the building. Since it's not fatally injured, he can just slowly repair it.

"This bastard is trying to wear us down. Inside this hospital, we're all his enemies." Yuki's tone was urgent; it was a test of endurance.

Curly was hiding alone in an enclosed space; two of the five of them weren't much of a fighter. Isn't the answer obvious?

"Why don't we go around there, go downstairs first, and let him slowly wear down the demon?" Mai Sakurajima offered a very clever suggestion.

"No, this person cannot be allowed to live."

"Why?"

"Because of rational intuition."

Mai Sakurajima was confused. If it was intuition, how could it be considered rational?

Yuki no explanation, recalling the discussion as they entered the building, and then drifted off into a daze as he watched the swirling mist in the corridor.

This is less of an attack and more of a delaying tactic; it seems they don't care at all, and they don't feel bad about wasting the puppets for no reason.

'The demons, through the contact, are not entirely ignorant of the players, especially the burly white man on the skeletal Giant, who even managed to retain Chaos Item.'

'And inside the fourth-floor warehouse, only headless corpses remained, giving the illusion of a hunt, while Curly, the informant, was completely unaware, still basking in the joy of his resounding victory.'

Yuki was startled and turned to shout:

"Tyrant, break down this door immediately!"

Chapter Thirty: Bloodline Object Discovered!

Damn coward! Despicable schemer!

Inside the steel walls, a young man with slightly curly hair was filled with impotent rage. His desperate measure had somehow become Thomas's shield. When the black-haired girl stepped in front of him, the whole truth came to light.

He was deceived, completely deceived.

But rather than saying that the old cunning man was too calculating, most of the credit should actually go to the two women.

'This acting is too good. Did you have nothing better to do than hone this skill?' Curly was a cunning old fox, and after probing several times, he still couldn't find a clue.

Fortunately, I was careful enough and tampered with the contract.

He specifically added the clause 'not to possess any of each other's belongings'; this was a constraint, but also a crucial guarantee. If that woman were to destroy the transmutation array, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Forget it, let's figure out how to solve the problem.

A competent player will remain calm; it's a form of Self-Hypnosis. He quickly analyzes the current situation:

Because of the contractual constraints, it's difficult for players to determine a winner. It would be best to let them fight the dungeon monsters to a standstill, and then I'll complete the entire hospital and fully unleash my power to its peak.

In this way, my strength will surpass the difficulty of the dungeon, and after dealing with all the monsters and players, I can calmly walk out of this hospital.

Curly-haired guy smiled faintly. He didn't know if he was human or werewolf. The best solution was to leave me as the only player, then the identity issue wouldn't matter.

In his eyes, the difficulty of this dungeon was normal. By finding patterns and taking shortcuts, and combining that with his own strengths, the dungeon wasn't difficult to conquer. On the contrary, he made a fortune from it.

"It's a pity about those two women. I was hoping you could live a little longer, which would have added some color to this journey."

The young man ran his fingers through his curly hair and frowned slightly. The group of people outside were still attacking the door relentlessly, forcing him to focus on dealing with them.

Do you hate me that much? Aren't you afraid of being worn down by those demons? The smartest thing you'd do right now is to get in the elevator and get off as soon as possible.

It didn't make sense. Fortunately, the fog in the room wasn't too thick, which meant that the mastermind behind the scenes had limited power and had to divert some of their strength to deal with them.

"Alright, let's see who can outlast whom."

Despite having the upper hand, Curly remained calm and was preparing to reinforce the door, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Um?

He turned his head and saw that the fog had suddenly become thicker, no, it should be described as a deep, black light. His expression changed slightly, and his eyes slowly moved upward.

Half a body emerged from the pitch-black ceiling, and in the contracting pupils, the head of an old man was reflected.

You... aren't on the first floor!?

The words surged into his throat like a conditioned reflex, and a crimson arc of electricity surged forth, but at the same time, pitch blackness enveloped him!

Thump!

Yuki kicked open the door and stood there, his crimson eyes narrowing.

The thick fog was like Abyss Grade, and nothing could be seen in the room. The darkness was like facing the core of a giant demon. After a moment, he raised his head.

A large, sausage-like mass hovered on the ceiling, wriggling and contracting, with crimson arcs of electricity constantly appearing. Large chunks of minced meat were cut off, and then more grew back.

It's like an endlessly proliferating tumor, holding a spirited young man in its mouth, chewing him incessantly, and struggling to swallow him whole.

Did I guess right?

The scene before him Yuki completely off guard. Just moments ago, he was thinking about how to deal with Curly, and now the situation had changed dramatically.

The initial concerns were correct. From the moment the thief's head was attached to the demon's body, the course of the story changed, no longer resembling a monotonous and tedious repetitive process.

As his thoughts raced, Yuki's sword moved swiftly, leaping up and slashing towards the crimson area, but a pure white light membrane flickered in the darkness.

Clang--

The recoil bounced Yuki back to the doorway. Looking up, he saw the head of a white woman amidst the writhing lumps of flesh.

Jenny.

Yuki recognized the female college student at a glance and wondered what kind of elite monster she was.

The head split open, somewhat like the young lady in Crimson Moon Ancient Castle whose head had blossomed, the whole head splitting into many pieces like a peeled orange.

But nestled among these Petal was an old, solemn, withered head—that was—

Dean Fukawa!

This isn't going according to the script! The Boss is showing up so early?

Even though Yuki had experienced life and death in the Reincarnation Game and was used to its Chaos Grade logic, she still couldn't hold back when she saw this old head.

The normal script should be that they work together to take down Curly, rest, and then go meet the mastermind behind it all, right? Why is he showing up now?