Chapter 2515 – 2515. The Devil’S Game
Yoo Jin-myung preferred a swift takedown over stealth. Of course, doing both would be even better.
So, we split into two groups. I would go straight ahead, while the rest of the team would circle around and infiltrate the tower.
‘Basically, large buildings like towers don’t have many entrances.’
There were six people on the first floor. Naturally, six people couldn’t control all the entrances. They could only lock or block the entrances except for the one in front.
The reason there were only six people on the first floor was the observation deck. From the observation deck, they could look down at the ground. Also, they were complacent, thinking that the participants weren’t enemies, and that we wouldn’t possibly warn our powerful forces.
‘Avoiding the gaze of the observation deck was easy.’
We just had to move carefully through the buildings. It wasn’t difficult. Now that we were close, it was a case of the darkest place being under the lamp, so even if we moved openly, the observation deck wouldn’t spot us.
‘According to the map I saw earlier, there are three people at the front entrance and three near the internal elevator.’
Yoo Jin-myung’s side would do well. With Yoo Jin-myung’s all-purpose key, the Cutter of Slashing, and Jo Na-young’s invisibility, they would take them down easily.
I looked at the three people standing at the front entrance from behind the building. They were wearing comfortable tracksuits. Their only weapons were steel bats, crowbars, and bicycle helmets. Since the equipment was something they found here, it was safe to assume they had special abilities.
‘Even so, they wouldn’t be as lethal as firearms.’
The axe I held was also just a normal axe, except for the fact that electricity flowed through its blade. Ascalon? It was the same, just a normal sword except for the fact that it could kill demons. In the end, the power of a weapon depended on one’s own skill. Rather, the gauntlets of power and the shoes of wind I was wearing would be more useful.
‘Even if they had firearms, they wouldn’t give them to low-level gatekeepers like those guys. Even if those guys have combat abilities… I don’t think I’d lose.’
I ran various simulations in my head. I didn’t think I’d lose. If necessary, I could use the pistol I received from Shin Do-hyun.
‘I should save the bullets, so I won’t use it. I don’t need to. Has it been five minutes? By now, Yoo Jin-myung’s side should be inside and causing trouble. Shall we begin?’
I moved openly. If I fought, I would win, so I had no intention of moving like a rat. It was also difficult to deal with them secretly since they were all together.
They didn’t seem very tense, probably because I was alone. Three against one. They were relaxed due to their numerical advantage.
“Hey, stop. This is a place we’re controlling.”
“Who are you to control this place? Did you rent the whole place?”
“Something like that. Participants have joined forces. Aren’t you here to join us too? …Stop. I told you not to come.”
They raised their steel bats and crowbars. Their weapons shimmered. The steel bat turned into a sword, and the crowbar turned into a morning star.
I paused, narrowed my eyes, and looked at their weapons.
“What is that?”
“We don’t need to be hostile. The victory condition of the Grand Game is to kill the demons. If we kill the demons, we can all achieve our wishes.”
“The ability to change weapons? I guess you can’t change them into guns.”
“…Are you going to keep fighting? We don’t want to fight. If you don’t want to join us… let’s go with non-interference. The cup isn’t overflowing yet. We can still turn back.”
Ignoring their words, I tensed my body. They might not be as weak as I thought.
Ascalon in my right hand, and the lightning axe in my left.
‘I used to be right-handed… It was probably after participating in the Devil’s Game for the first time. I became good at using my left hand too.’
They call it acquired ambidexterity. Still, my right hand was a bit more comfortable.
I walked towards the enemies.
“We warned you.”
Suddenly, dizziness washed over me. Dizziness that came without any warning. Anemia? There was no way I, who was healthy, would feel anemia at this crucial moment. This was the enemies’ ability.
‘…The distance is a bit strange. Ah, is my sense of perspective messed up?’
It’s okay.
My other senses were fine. If I was aware of it, I could respond. I was calm now.
I threw the lightning axe at the guy in the middle. He spun around and deflected the flying lightning axe with his sword. Clang! He aimed for the handle, not the blade, which was flowing with electricity. He was quite skilled.
‘My sense of perspective is definitely messed up.’
Still, I could confirm their positions through sound. I also roughly knew the difference between the actual distance and the perceived distance. I ran towards them with Ascalon.
“You crazy bastard. Are you trying to commit suicide? I’ll block you from the front.”
The guy in the middle stepped forward and blocked my sword with his. I immediately felt the difference in strength. I was stronger.
‘I’ll finish this before the other two attack from the sides.’
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ascalon slid down the blade. Orange sparks flew wildly. It would go down and hit the guard. Even if it didn’t break, it would give him a considerable shock. If he dropped his sword because of that, I would win.
Feeling the danger, the guy shook off Ascalon’s blade and stepped back. I consciously activated hyperfocus.
‘Even better.’
I swung the deflected Ascalon horizontally. The tip of the blade barely grazed the guy’s neck. Blood splattered. That was enough. Even if I didn’t completely sever his neck, he would die.
Hyperfocus.
With my vision slowing down, I saw the morning star and sword falling towards me from both sides. I rolled forward to dodge. I wasn’t going to run away, of course. I grabbed the lightning axe that had fallen on the ground.
Crack. Crack.
The axe blade was still sharp, and the electricity was still threatening.
‘I shouldn’t have thrown the axe. If I had fought with this, the enemies would have been electrocuted and it would have been easier.’
Actually, I threw the axe to make it easier, but I didn’t expect him to deflect it.
“Oro-guchi-san was hit….”
“Damn it. He’s not normal.”
Were they Japanese? In the Devil’s Game, everything sounded like a familiar language, so I didn’t know.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
I rushed at them.
Whoosh, whoosh.
I swung the axe haphazardly. That was enough. The electricity flowing through the axe blade made them flinch.
‘These guys are focused on the lightning axe anyway. I’ll make them shrink with the lightning axe and then cut them with Ascalon.’
The lightning axe was a feint. The real deal was Ascalon.
Ascalon’s blade cut through one guy’s abdomen. Blood and guts spilled out. The guy was startled and lost his balance. I kicked him away and swung Ascalon at the remaining guy.
Whoosh!
A miss. The guy stepped back and dodged Ascalon.
‘Did the aggro shift to Ascalon?’
The lightning axe wasn’t just for show.
Whoosh.
‘He dodged that again?’
Looking at his shaking eyes, it seemed like that dodge was a fluke.
I threw the axe and swung Ascalon at the same time. The axe embedded itself in his torso, electrocuting him, and Ascalon cut through his upper body.
The guy fell to the ground. I picked up the axe and shook off the blood.
“What… what are you…?”
“I am.”
Come to think of it, I was an unemployed bum with no real job. I lived off the allowance I received from my live-in girlfriend. In professional terms, a gigolo.
“…Shin Do-hyun’s man, and Jo Na-young’s secret man.”
“……”
The guy died with a look that said, ‘What the hell is that?’
Their weapons returned to their original forms of baseball bats and crowbars. I ignored the corpses and went inside the building.
My teammates were already inside. Three corpses were lying in a corner. They were cut by something sharp, so it seemed like they used the Cutter of Slashing.
Yoo Jin-myung, who was in front of the elevator, said to me.
“Yoo Jin-ssi. You’ve arrived. I wanted to save the Cutter, but they saw through Na-young-ssi’s invisibility, so I had to use it. And we’re installing dynamite around the elevator. We can detonate it all at once with the detonator.”
Shin Do-hyun had the detonator.
“Is that… a walkie-talkie in your hand?”
“Yes. It seems they’re contacting Pang Cheon-soo on the observation deck through the walkie-talkie. I think it might be someone’s game tool.”
“That’ll be useful.”
“Indeed. Would you like to use it?”
“Can I?”
“The installation of the dynamite is almost complete. It’s okay even if the elevator comes down now.”
I took the walkie-talkie.
Static.
“It’s me.”
-…Your voice is different. Who are you?
“Pang Cheon-soo. Can’t you grasp the situation yet? You’re trapped.”
-…….
“Is Park Tae-san there? Put him on.”
-Oh. Shit. That voice sounds familiar. Sung Yoo-jin. Is that you?
Park Tae-san’s voice came from the walkie-talkie. It was a voice I hadn’t heard in years, but it was also a voice I couldn’t forget. Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten my voice either.
“Long time no see, Park Tae-san.”
-Yeah. Long time no see. But this seems a bit out of line.
“I killed Jin So-ha. I heard you’re a small dick and terrible at sex.”
I didn’t say that I slept with Jin So-ha. Shin Do-hyun and Jo Na-young were staring at me. I had to choose my words carefully.
-You son of a bitch…. Don’t even think about dying peacefully.
Park Tae-san’s voice was surprisingly calm. He used to go wild when he got angry. Had he grown up?
No way. Jin So-ha might not have been that important to him. Or maybe he knew in advance that he was defeated by Jin So-ha’s ability.
“Jin So-ha told me about your ability before she died. Dice and intuition. How’s your intuition now? Are you trembling with anxiety?”
-Hey. Sung Yoo-jin. Do you know when I awakened this ability? It was in high school. I knew in advance that your parents would die in a car accident, and that Bitcoin would crash. Hehehe. Do you know how funny you looked sitting there dumbfounded at the funeral? But you looked more desperate when Bitcoin crashed than at the funeral?
“Yeah. I heard your bullshit. I don’t know about Bitcoin, but you wouldn’t have known about my parents’ car accident either. Your intuition isn’t that great of an ability. If your ability was that great, you wouldn’t be in this mess now. Jin So-ha wouldn’t have died by my hand either. If you’re upset, come down. We should get revenge on each other.”
-…You son of a bitch. What did you do to the elevator?
“Elevator? I didn’t do anything. If you’re scared, come down the stairs. Just imagining it makes it sound exhausting. Hehe. Hey. How much food and water do you have left? I know there’s no electricity in this city, but there’s no water either. Are you going to survive by drinking your own piss? Hehehe.”
-I’m really going to kill you, Sung Yoo-jin.
“Yeah. You’ll die by my hand~”
Click.
I turned off the walkie-talkie.
And a moment later, the elevator started moving.
