Chapter 2490 – 2490. The Devil’S Game
Suddenly, the world slowed down.
Without realizing it, I had heightened my concentration. It was actually a good thing. It gave me more time to think.
‘Is this a trap?’
It could be an elaborate trap to identify the killer. The moment I admit to being the killer, Shin Do-hyun’s gun would turn and fire. No matter how skilled I am, it would be difficult to deal with a gun.
‘With this concentration… no, this hyper-concentration ability, can I respond? I might not be able to dodge the bullet, but I could dodge the muzzle.’
No, that’s not the first thing to think about.
If Yoo Jin-myung’s words aren’t a trap but the truth. This is something I would welcome. Assuming it’s not a trap, I only stand to gain.
‘Yoo Jin-myung has been watching me since earlier. This can’t be a coincidence. He knows I’m the killer.’
How?
I don’t know either. Maybe he has an advice ability like me. If he used an advice ability, he could identify the killer instantly.
‘…If Yoo Jin-myung knows my identity, there’s only one option. I’ll have to face all five of them here.’
If the premise that Yoo Jin-myung knows my identity is correct, then this was a deal Yoo Jin-myung was offering me.
The important thing is whether I trust Yoo Jin-myung.
My palms were sweating as this was a matter of life and death.
And I came to a conclusion.
“I am the killer.”
A confident declaration of being the killer! Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Thankfully, Shin Do-hyun’s gun was still aimed at Oh Geun-sung.
That meant it wasn’t a trap. Shin Do-hyun and Bae Hyun-soo didn’t even flinch. It meant they also knew I was the killer.
“Yoo Jin-myung. How did you know I was the killer?”
“I’ll tell you later. First, kill Oh Geun-sung. We will all bear the sin of murder together. From this moment on, we are all killers. We have all made our resolve.”
“Wait, hold on! Now that the killer is revealed, shouldn’t we just kill the killer?! Jo Na-young! Don’t you think so too?!”
Oh Geun-sung shouted desperately.
“W-well.”
Jo Na-young’s eyes darted around. She seemed flustered, trying to read everyone’s expressions.
“Ah, Jo Na-young, you haven’t made your resolve. Then you have to choose here. Whether you will become our ally, or stay with Oh Geun-sung until the end. From what I see, your relationship is less than friends… Do you need time to think?”
“J-Jo Na-young. Haven’t we overcome hardships together!”
Oh Geun-sung’s voice trembled. He was trying to appeal to pity. It was a pathetic sight, not befitting his size. Jo Na-young seemed to have made her decision upon seeing his weakness.
“…We weren’t together, were we? The reason we survived there… was because we were lucky. We ran and hid while others died. And I also saw Oh Geun-sung push someone to Jang Hwi-chun as bait and run away.”
“T-that was unavoidable. How can I fight Jang Hwi-chun who was wielding knives in both hands? Even if I was a Taekwondo athlete, fighting Jang Hwi-chun with knives is suicide!”
Hmm. That’s true. If he tried to kick, he could just have his legs slashed. Moreover, the opponent wasn’t an ordinary person, but Jang Hwi-chun.
“I’m not trying to blame Oh Geun-sung. That choice was for survival. So, I’ll also make a choice for survival. I have my own goals.”
Jo Na-young’s eyes turned venomous. She looked like a villain from a drama. She would be good at playing a villain.
“You bitch!!”
Oh Geun-sung suddenly shouted and grabbed a desk, throwing it at Shin Do-hyun. Shin Do-hyun was startled and reflexively pulled the trigger. But the bullet didn’t fire. Oh Geun-sung’s eyes flashed. And he turned his body towards me.
Was it because I was the closest? More likely, it was because I was the killer. It would be advantageous for Oh Geun-sung if the killer died. He made the decision in a split second. He was quite sharp.
Oh Geun-sung’s roundhouse kick aimed for my head. I dodged it lightly without even using hyper-concentration.
‘It’s easier than I thought.’
Still, I didn’t intend to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
‘Killer’s Time.’
An ability that allows me to use a familiar cold weapon for three minutes.
I expected a kitchen knife to appear. The most familiar cold weapon for me was a kitchen knife. But what appeared in my grasp was beyond my expectations. It was too long to be called a kitchen knife.
At first, I thought it was a katana. But it wasn’t curved like a katana, it was straight. It didn’t have the unique blade pattern of a katana either. It was just a straight, red blade.
I gripped the hilt.
A heavy and chilling sensation ran from my hand to my spine.
Before I could even think, my hand moved.
Oh Geun-sung’s spinning back kick came in succession. I didn’t dodge, I slashed it.
*Swish.* Oh Geun-sung’s severed leg fell like a cut radish.
I didn’t stop and took a step forward. At the same time, I swung the sword. My body reacted faster than I thought.
In one step, I slashed Oh Geun-sung’s arm, in two steps, I slashed his torso. In the final third step, I beheaded Oh Geun-sung. Oh Geun-sung’s head spun in the air before falling to the floor. And belatedly, his corpse collapsed to the floor.
“……”
“……”
Everyone was silent.
In a short time, less than three seconds, a person was chopped up and killed.
Even I, who had done the deed, was surprised.
‘Was I this strong?’
I stared blankly at the sword in my hand. The red blade felt eerie. Red blood dripped from its tip.
I felt like I was being captivated. This sword felt very familiar and lovable.
‘I want to kill more.’
I looked around. Everyone flinched. I was confident that I could win even if the four of them attacked me at once.
I suppressed the rising urge as I looked at Shin Do-hyun and Jo Na-young. I couldn’t kill them.
To stir up the excitement, I swung the sword in the air.
I swung it haphazardly as my hand went. But there was no obstruction in the movement. I was confident that I could chop up anyone in front of me in an instant.
After three minutes, the sword in my hand disappeared.
“Ah.”
Feeling disappointed, I belatedly discovered the notification window floating in the air.
「You can no longer use Killer’s Time.」
「You have met the conditions. You can escape the room at any time.」
Yoo Jin-myung cautiously spoke to me.
“…Yoo Jin, have you perhaps trained in swordsmanship?”
“Never.”
“Is that so….”
Yoo Jin-myung looked like he didn’t believe me. Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it either if I were him. But it was the truth.
‘This can only be called talent.’
I was a swordsmanship genius. Perhaps Sword Master Cheok Jun-gyeong was my past life.
“We are all killers. We can call ourselves comrades. I would like to have a deep conversation with each other, but… it’s not appropriate to do it here. How about we meet in the real world and talk? We also need to think about the next game.”
“…Not bad. Shouldn’t we escape the room first?”
Shin Do-hyun offered her opinion. She was still tightly gripping the revolver without bullets.
“That’s right. We should escape the room first. Two people can enter each door… Hyun-soo and I, Shin Do-hyun, please move with Jo Na-young. Sung Yoo-jin, you can rest here. Have a beer or something.”
They naturally excluded me, the killer. I nodded. I understood. They were still wary of me, not trusting me 100%. I sat on a chair. A foul odor emanated from Oh Geun-sung’s corpse. I wanted to get rid of it, but there was nowhere to dispose of it.
And about 30 minutes later. We went up to the final third-stage room.
The third-stage room was large. As large as it was, there were many things. There were books on one side, machines on another, a playground on another. And on the other side, there was a cafe. Although there was no barista, the refrigerator was full of drinks.
It would take at least 30 minutes to check everything and find clues.
But we were relaxed. There were still two hours left.
“Yoo Jin-myung. You knew I was the killer from the start. You probably used an ability. What ability is it?”
“Since we are going to be comrades, I will tell you. I can discern the truth. I determined that Yoo Jin was the killer. I can only use it twice a day.”
“That’s quite a unique ability.”
“It’s a useful ability. Yoo Jin… is your swordsmanship an ability?”
“My ability is.”
Should I tell them? I looked around.
If we were going to be comrades, I had to tell them. More than anything, I wanted to build a relationship of trust with Shin Do-hyun and Jo Na-young.
“I can get advice once a day.”
“What do you mean by advice?”
“Like this. Hey. What’s the password for that door?”
「It is 1234567890.」
“It says it’s 1234567890. Check it out.”
Bae Hyun-soo approached the password door with a skeptical expression.
“12345678910?”
“It’s 0, not 10.”
*Beep beep beep.* *Click.*
The door opened.
Everyone looked surprised.
-Congratulations! You have escaped the room!
-You have changed your lives again. You have taken another step towards a successful life!
-This is one of the fastest escape records. We will provide a small reward according to your contribution!
-We will provide each of you with game points according to your performance.
-You can now see the game points menu.
-You can form a team. You must form a team to participate in team games.
-To form a team, the team leader must shake hands with the target and then think of forming a team.
-You can go to the real world through the door.
-An invitation will be sent to you soon. Please wait for the next game.
「Time remaining until exit 117:16」
「Time remaining until exit 117:15」
「Time remaining until exit 117:14」
It seemed like we could stay here for 117 minutes.
“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we? There’s a cafe, so we can talk here. Ah, let’s form a team first. The team leader… it would be better if Yoo Jin did it.”
Yoo Jin-myung said.
“Me?”
“Because you are the strongest here, Yoo Jin.”
“That’s true.”
I first extended my hand to Shin Do-hyun. To form a team, we had to shake hands. Surprisingly, Shin Do-hyun took my hand without hesitation.
‘Form a team.’
「Forming a team with the target. 2/6」
「Team Leader: Sung Yoo-jin. Team Member: Shin Do-hyun.」
“You can form a team with up to 6 people.”
“But you should only accept up to 5 people.”
“Up to 5? Why?”
“We can experience the same game we experienced today again.”
Indeed. If one spot is vacant, we can respond like today. If there is a killer among us, we can make them kill the remaining one. If the remaining one is the killer? Then we just kill them.
I shook hands with everyone else and formed a team.
「Forming a team with the target. 5/6」
「Team Leader: Sung Yoo-jin. Team Members: Shin Do-hyun, Jo Na-young, Yoo Jin-myung, Bae Hyun-soo.」
“Yoo Jin-myung. You seem to know the Devil’s Game well. How do you know so much? Have you perhaps experienced the Devil’s Game several times?”
“No. That’s not it. After surviving the last game, I focused on gathering information. The method was to find people who participated in the Devil’s Game besides us. And I found them.”
“How?”
“I looked for people who succeeded in an unnatural way or succeeded in a short period. My truth-discerning ability was a great help. Just like I found the killer, I found the participants of the Devil’s Game. He was devastated by guilt. Thanks to that, you could say. Gathering information was easy.”
As the team leader, I felt a sense of crisis.
I’m the team leader, but this bastard seems more capable. I wondered if he would stab me in the back if the opportunity arose.
Still, he was capable, so it was a bit of a waste to kill him.
‘Let’s kill him when he’s no longer needed. …Wait. Since when have I taken human lives so lightly? It’s all because of the Devil’s Game.’
Let’s be careful.
I quietly focused on Yoo Jin-myung’s words.
