132: Dance, Coffin Boys
In a damp corner of the storage room in Adrang’s mansion,
I stood silently lost in thought as I stared at the corpse with a gaping hole in the middle of its chest.
[Name: Greg Marent]
[Nickname: 117153882nd official hero, Cassas’s Apostle, Selphy Helman, Master]
[LV. 321]
[Health: 0/2360 | Mana: 0/1100 | Status: Deceased]
[Strength: 452 | Agility: 519 | Intelligence: 101 | Hero Sense: 13]
“This guy’s name is Greg Marent.”
He is the one who almost defeated Portia in the preliminaries and then attacked Adrang. His appearance matched the description Adrang gave before – a middle-aged man with a bearded face, exceptionally tall with a muscular physique.
Moreover, his level was exactly as Adrang had estimated – around the early 300s.
“–Man, this guy’s giving me goosebumps. Can you estimate someone’s level just by fighting them? Pretty cool, huh?”
Even Sooho, who prides himself as a human scout, was impressed enough to mutter under his breath. I nodded subtly while making sure no one else saw.
At that moment, Adrang, who had been deep in thought, turned to look at the witch hunters around him and said,
“Thoroughly investigate the name Greg Marent. Use every available means, and don’t miss any minor clues. Move out.”
At his command, the witch hunters quickly dispersed in all directions.
Only Elfride remained, exclaiming, “He’s so cool!!” But she quickly scurried away with her tail between her legs when Adrang gave her a stern glare.
Adrang’s sharp gaze then turned toward me.
“Then let’s go. To the arena of the faithless.”
“… Yes.”
As if by some unspoken agreement, we both jumped onto the roof of the building and crossed the night sky. It was to avoid being detected by Cassas’s apostles – or perhaps because it felt like an infiltration action movie, which made it somewhat thrilling despite the circumstances.
Upon arriving at the arena, Adrang quickly dismissed all the guards. During that time, I finally reached the entrance of Arena No. 33.
“… Ugh. Seriously, this is just too disgusting no matter how many times I do it.”
I leaped over my dismembered corpse and slowly approached the center of the arena. I shuddered for a moment in front of the ominous blood-red magical circle.
It’s easier to pull out iron horns while they’re hot. Clenching my eyes shut, I quickly placed Izanami’s Heart into the magical circle.
[Item Activation – Izanami’s Heart]
Thud. The heart momentarily pulsed, and a torrent of memories flooded my mind.
Powdered remains of my previous life floated before my eyes.
[You have obtained residual memories from your previous life.]
[You have recovered 0 points of Strength, 0 points of Agility, and 0 points of Intelligence.]
[You have not recovered any lost skills from your previous life.]
[You have fully recovered all memories from your previous life.]
“Khuaaaaah!”
I tried to suppress the scream knowing Adrang was there, but I couldn’t help it.
Was it the pain gripping my head? Certainly, that was part of it. But what tormented me even more…
“Damn it! What the hell is this?”
My previous self showing incredibly foolish behavior, getting decapitated after spouting inflammatory lines – it was even worse than I imagined.
That was the first shock.
“… You, damn it… Why… Why that name…”
The name glimpsed in my last moments’ status display – that was the second shock.
“Hey, are you alright, Jung Yong? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
Adrang rushed over as I was flailing about from the various shocks.
Once I saw the worried look in his eyes, I stopped my tantrum. I quickly shook my head and tried to pretend everything was normal.
“Ah, nothing. Let’s go.”
“Hmm? Are you done with your business already?”
“Yes. I have learned everything I needed to.”
Scratching my head, I quickly left the arena. Adrang repositioned the guards and began walking beside me as we headed back to the mansion.
On the way back, I tried to organize the tangled thoughts in my mind.
“First, I remembered who killed me.”
The masked figure wielding a curved sword resembling a katana. His alias was ‘Jerry Levernon.’
Since aliases chosen at the start must be used until the end of the main tournament, he’d likely use the same name and weapon tomorrow.
“Still, why would such a situation arise?”
The status window I saw just before death kept overlapping in my mind.
Confusion and questions mixed together, making my head a mess. I gritted my teeth and massaged my aching forehead with my palm.
Anyway, this wasn’t the time for deliberation. There was nothing to do but take whatever precautions were possible.
“Adrang.”
I called out as we neared the mansion. Adrang immediately turned to look at me.
“What is it?”
“Through my investigation at the arena, I uncovered another person who’s infiltrated.”
Adrang’s eyes widened.
He struggled to steady his trembling voice and asked,
“Who is it?”
I hesitated for a moment. Should I tell him the real name? Or should I keep it to myself?
How much do I trust Adrang? And how much does he trust me?
After some intense consideration, I made my decision. Closing my eyes tightly, I said,
“Contestant No. 512. Be cautious of Jerry Levernon. He’s extremely dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?”
“Perhaps on par with me, or perhaps even stronger.”
A line reminiscent of some copying ninja teacher.
Adrang’s expression grew serious. The usual animal-like smile disappeared, replaced with a statue-like lack of expression.
His frozen face turned toward me as he spoke.
“I find it interesting how you came to know this. Can you tell me?”
“…”
I cannot.
As I’ve stated multiple times, to explain would require revealing the temporal regression and the true nature of Ruci. Of course, this would inevitably lead to Adrang’s gauntlet piercing my abdomen.
Maintaining silence and feigning ignorance, I kept my mouth shut. Adrang twisted his lips into a distorted smile.
“Had we not shared today’s experiences together, I might have responded to your silence with a punch just then.”
“… Haha. What, what a funny joke.”
Even as I chuckled, I already knew it wasn’t a joke.
It was half pressure to speak quickly, and half a warning that if I refused to speak, I should at least not betray him.
“As it’s late, let’s call it a day.”
Adrang seemed to have given up on getting an answer and entered the mansion.
Regret and bitterness lingered visibly on his face.
“I will thoroughly investigate this person you mentioned starting tomorrow.”
“… Thank you.”
“Not at all. On the contrary, I should thank you. Please be careful during tomorrow’s loser’s bracket matches.”
“Yes.”
I watched him leave, then sighed before entering and shuffling toward my room.
Thud. I collapsed onto the bed. With all that’s happened today, I was hit with wave after wave of exhaustion.
My eyes started to close. I didn’t resist.
“…”
Was it due to the inexplicable tightening in my chest?
I could only fall asleep after tossing and turning for a while.
I had a dream. For the first time in so long, I actually dreamed.
How do I know it was a dream? The surreal scenery was so over-the-top that even dream-me thought, “This is a bit much…”
“…”
“…”
I stood dumbfounded in the middle of my old apartment from my Earth days.
Looking out the window, a black-clad African-American brother with sunglasses stared intently at me.
I stared back for a while, then opened the door and stepped outside. Beyond was only deep, impenetrable darkness.
“… Coffin Boys?”
And in the middle of that darkness, six black-clad African-American brothers carried a massive coffin.
Ah, that familiar… incredibly familiar EDM began to play automatically in my ears.
Tun-duh-tun-duhp, duh-duh-duh-dah.
Shuffle-shuffle, the six Coffin Boys slightly shrugged their shoulders, beginning to tap dance enthusiastically.
Woo! The surrounding crowd cheered and made a racket. Examining their faces, they were all my inter-world acquaintances.
What? When did these guys appear? Before I could question it, they all rushed toward the Coffin Boys.
“Yeehaw!”
The Marquis of Halsenberg leapt joyfully onto the coffin with a cheerful shout.
The coffin promptly swallowed him whole.
“Whaaaat!!”
Next, Adrang jumped into the coffin with a shout akin to a discharged soldier.
The coffin swallowed him whole.
“Aahh! Big Brother Wolf! Can I come too… Cough!”
Elfride hurriedly tried to follow, but Adrang’s full swing knock sent her reeling.
“Ahaha! Master Jung Yong! Life is Yasu!”
Seseona, speaking incomprehensible words, leapt into the coffin.
The coffin swallowed him whole.
“Ooooh beloved Guin! Why is your name Guin?”
“Because the author is a crazy soul music fan!”
Guin and Leira muttered incomprehensible words to each other, then held each other tightly and leapt into the coffin.
The coffin swallowed both of them whole.
“Ahh! So fun, Astarte!”
“I.. too… fun.. fear…”
Astarte fragments and Seop Baek held hands, waltzing into the coffin.
The coffin swallowed the two of them whole.
“Go on old frog!”
“It’s too late!”
“Move aside, you cowards!”
The three brothers of the worthless triad – Aldcon, Skaro, and Grenade – leapt in last.
The coffin swallowed the three of them whole.
“No, what? What is it?”
Isn’t the coffin nice?
What’s in there to make everyone jump in? Isn’t it mean to leave me out?
I began walking toward the Coffin Boys, matching my steps to the joyful rhythm of the EDM. My heart pounded furiously. My pace quickened gradually. Like a runaway train, I could no longer stop now.
Shuffle. Someone grabbed my sleeve from behind.
I turned my head quickly.
“… Ruci.”
It was Ruci. She looked at me with an expression I’d never seen before, shaking her head wildly.
Her lips were firmly shut, expressing much but saying nothing. She looked like she was about to cry.
“Why… are you making that face?”
The Coffin Boys’ rhythmic dance moves slowly disappeared into the darkness. The sound of the EDM music faded away.
Ruci’s indescribable expression, like a mirage, also vanished.
“Hey Jung Yong! Jung Yong! Park Jeong-yong! Wake up, damn it! Why don’t you wake up?!”
The voice that woke me was Sooho yelling directly into my head.
My body reacted before my mind fully woke up. I abruptly sat up.
“What..?”
“–Hey! Look outside! Something isn’t right outside!”
My mind was still half asleep. Yet instinctively, my hands moved toward Vestark’s handle.
I shook my head violently, trying to clear the fog and looked around.
“…”
First, an astonished gasp escaped my lips.
Not just outside the window, but every direction was blood red. The undulating red light swallowed the darkness with a crackling sound – ta-dak, ta-dak.
The heavy smoke everywhere made breathing difficult, so I covered my nose with my sleeve.
It was then that I realized what was happening.
‘This…?!’
A fire.
A fire had broken out in Adrang’s mansion.
