133th Chapter: Crimson Lotus
“Shit! What the hell is going on!”
I cursed loudly as I hurriedly got out of bed. I hastily put on some clothes, slung my backpack over my shoulder, sheathed the twin swords on my waist, and went outside.
Then what I saw was…
“What is this?”
The sight of the mansion completely engulfed in fiery red flames.
The spacious garden was splattered with a large amount of blood. Countless bodies were scattered about, all wearing black masks and robes.
I recognized this sight.
It was exactly the same as the masked challengers I saw earlier today during the Godless Festival.
” Cassas…?”
A suspicion crossed my mind as I contemplated the identities of these men.
In the midst of spinning thoughts, I suddenly recalled something important.
A broken gauntlet was rolling into the corner of my vision.
It was a familiar object. My actions froze for an instant.
I shifted my gaze further afield.
“…Ah.”
Leaning against a broken tree trunk, was Adrang, his body completely soaked in blood. Beside him lay Carhalas, his chest savagely torn apart.
And that’s not all. There was also Elfride, struggling to breathe with a longsword embedded in her back.
“Wolf… Brother… We’re supposed… to protect you… Sorry… Sorry… It’s because… of me…”
With sobs, Elfride crawled towards Adrang. The ground she crawled on was saturated with crimson blood, leaving a snail-like trail of red.
It was futile. The other two were already dead without a doubt.
“Ah.”
And then. A bit further away.
I spotted Seseona’s corpse, her limbs severed, staring up at the sky with dead eyes.
My mind momentarily refused to process. I tilted my head slightly.
“A, ah?”
A face that once beamed brightly at me now smeared with copious amounts of red blood. Those once-vibrant eyes, despite belonging to a robot, were now utterly devoid of life.
Cinders flared wildly before my eyes. My mind felt like it was sizzling.
“…Luci?”
Where is Luci right now? This question hit me before I even understood the full situation.
In a desperate attempt, I looked around.
“Not here.”
But I couldn’t find Luci’s body anywhere.
Did she escape? Is she still alive? Or, has she simply died somewhere out of sight?
I don’t know. I have no idea. I can’t understand anything right now.
“Ah…”
The brief sigh of relief at not seeing her body was followed by…
A slowly creeping, chilling sense of the horrifying reality sinking in.
What the hell is going on right now?
“Ah… Ah…!”
If this is a nightmare. Just wake up already. Please wake up now.
Wake up. Please. There’s no way this is reality. Stop it. Please let me wake up.
While muttering incomprehensibly, I fully experienced the horrifying nightmare unfolding before my eyes.
The main building of the mansion, engulfed in a fiery blaze, collapsed, spilling streams of red embers into the sky.
Ssssshhh… Ssssshhh…
And at the center of the blood-drenched garden filled with chaos.
A man stood alone, clad in a black robe and mask.
Ssssshhh… Ssssshhh…
His distinctive, raspy breathing came from within his mask. His bloodshot eyes gleamed with malevolent brilliance.
Keeeeeng. The curved sword in his hand let out a low hum. The sword’s blade, shimmering with moonlight and fiery inferno, burned a vivid red.
It looked as if enveloped in the flames of hell.
Ssssshh… Ssssshh…
The eerie breathing from the mask. The peculiar shape of the crimson, sword-like scimitar. I know exactly who he is.
I clenched my teeth.
“…Gerry Levernon.”
No. No. With a disheartened laugh, I bowed my head.
That’s an alias. His real name isn’t Gerry Levernon.
I forced my trembling lips to open again. The status window I saw in my past life flooded my mind.
With a voice full of hatred and confusion, I shouted,
“Hey Zenon, what the heck are you doing you bastard?”
Though I muttered under my breath like I was chewing it, he didn’t respond to my words.
Instead…
“Whoosh!”
KAAANG! Vestark, hastily raised, barely blocked his slash.
It’s embarrassing to even call it a block. It was just the timing that worked due to the instinct honed by Hero Sense and the experience from my past life.
“You… son of a… FAHHH!!”
An intense burning sensation spread through my entire body in an instant, nearly causing me to drop the sword.
The crimson curve of the blade danced around my body. Fierce flames chased the path of the sword, heating the air a vivid red.
It wasn’t a misjudgment. The blade was really engulfed in flames?
“Damn kid…!”
The heavy impact I felt through the sword and the formidable heat wave.
Just before I was about to be thrown back by the rebound force, I swung Espada with my left hand towards his face.
“…”
SCHWEEP! His mask was split into two. A streak of blood gushed out where I might have grazed his face. The mask pieces fluttered and were swallowed by the flames.
I clearly took in his unmasked features.
“Shhhh… Shhhh…”
Wild crimson hair under a disheveled mass, pointed elf ears.
Eyes red as blood, devoid of any trace of sanity. Blackened whites of the eyes.
The grotesquely bulging blood vessels wriggling like they were alive on his face.
His dry lips constantly emitting metallic sounds.
“…”
Even after seeing his face up close, I couldn’t quite believe it, so I finally activated The Eye of Mimir.
[Title: Zenon]
[Alias: 163400157th Official Hero, Tenth Son of Garen Forest, Overlord. Heir to the Slayer].
[Level: 137]
[Health: ???/??? Mana: ???/??? Body Condition: Insanity, Corruption]
[Strength: ??? Agility: ??? Intelligence: ??? Hero Sense: 11]
X! X! This is full of question marks. The status information is much different from what I remember.
As if it wasn’t even the bastard I knew.
“Shhhh… Shhhh…”
Zenon’s arm, wriggling like another creature, lifted the scimitar horizontally.
KEEENG! The terrifying flames on the blade became even more vivid red, momentarily captivating my vision.
-What the hell is going on? How is his blade able to…?
At that moment, Vestark began to tremble. The voice of Older Brother Sooho, filled with shock, also trembled.
I was still glaring at the crimson flames on the scimitar as if enchanted.
-Hey Jung Yong! Run for your life at full speed!! This guy is your absolute worst match-up!
Older Brother Sooho shouted anxiously. His usual playful and carefree demeanor was nowhere to be found.
I, too, could feel the danger. My Hero Sense was screaming wildly.
So I tore my gaze away hurriedly and started thinking about how to escape.
“Shhhh…-”
However, at the next instant. Zenon’s distorted breathing stopped suddenly. I immediately made eye contact with him.
I felt a thin stream of wind on my cheek.
“Cough…”
I was already looking up at the night sky where sparks were flying, spreading before my eyes.
He had just passed by, slicing through my body.
“…”
I don’t know why Zenon became so powerful, or what caused him to.
However, the strike just now could have definitely been avoided. Except for the first hit, it wasn’t impossible to handle.
Then why couldn’t I react?
The moment my eyes met with Zenon’s completely deranged ones, an overwhelming sense of emptiness and despair gripped my entire body. That’s what held me back at the crucial moment.
“Huff… Huff…”
I lay sprawled, looking down. My upper body was diagonally and deeply slashed.
Even though the ribs and internal organs were neatly sliced, no blood flowed out. The flesh instantly charred from the flames that erupted upon being cut.
“You. Fck…”
I glared venomously at Zenon. Zenon wobbled and approached me.
Certainly to deliver the final blow.
“I’ll… Fcking tell you. Be careful… next time… gahk.”
Opening my mouth for the final insult, I spat out blood that burned like fire with each word.
Desperately twisting my lips, I managed to create a mockingly smile. As I did more often when cornered.
“Your head… I’ll… wait for it… you bastard…”
Though I smirked, there was no amusement in my voice.
SWOSH. I wasn’t able to finish my insult.
*
[Your Respawn Point has been updated.]
[Date – Continental Year 1108, January 21st, 8:58 PM]
[Location – Markeuteuriseu, Capital Crossshade, The Godless Tournament Grounds]
“I greatly dislike lies.”
A faint sentence from Adrang echoed dizzily in my mind.
A loud and thunderous cheer drowned it out instantly.
“…”
Wide eyes that have returned stared blankly at the respawn notification that appeared, reading it again and again.
“Uh… Hey, first… update.”
At some point, I snapped back to reality and rummaged through my pouch. I felt the familiar grip sensation of the Box of the Dead as I brought it before me.
Wooong, wooong. The Box of the Dead that emitted ominous purple light appeared.
[Item Information]
[Notice: Item Update – The Box of the Dead’s stored items from your past life have been updated.]
For a moment, it felt like time had stopped.
“Ah… Please.”
Oon. Again? Is it ‘that situation’ right now?
After a considerable while, I finally managed to pull myself together and opened the Box of the Dead. Along with the contestant identification card I had inserted earlier, a note was inside.
[Death Counter: Yee (Meaning 2)]
The note contained nothing but that one word, “yarou.”
Utterly exasperated, I sighed deeply and mumbled to myself.
“Even a second time?”
My former self’s habit of adding sarcasm, even in such a situation, was legendary. Truly a top-tier person.
Suppressing a grin at the situation, I changed the death counter to ‘3’, then placed the updated note inside the Box of the Dead.
Wooowwng, as usual, the Box of the Dead emitted the ominous purple light.
