Chapter 90

Chapter 89. The Ritual of Sacrifice (3)

Magic spread throughout his body.

His heart raced with a pleasant thrill.

'Yeah, this is the taste.'

He felt like he wanted to run wild right away?

He didn't know how he had held back for the past few hours, feeling so good.

Jinhyuk clenched and unclenched his fists in satisfaction.

'Good.'

Perfect.

Now that his abilities had fully returned, there was nothing to fear.

Right at that moment.

"Now it's your turn. I hope you die beautifully."

The warden chuckled at the players.

At the same time.

Boom!

The door that separated life and death opened.

***

A gust of wind.

The smell of blood mixed with sand stung his nose.

Seven Breakers looked at the new sacrifices.

"Roar!"

"Ooh!"

They held massive weapons and were visibly excited.

Their bodies, painted red, still emitted heat.

"Grumble..."

And in the center was a large monster with black spines on its back, a creature of a different dimension, boasting an abnormal size.

'Predator.'

The tower's cleaner, devouring massive amounts of prey.

Drool dripped from its mouth, still containing the remnants of a human it had eaten.

"We have to run right now."

"Damn it. Where are we supposed to run? We're like rats in a trap!"

"Sniff. Mommy..."

There was nowhere to run.

No matter how far they ran, they were surrounded by walls over 10 meters high.

Everyone took a step back to try to survive a little longer.

Just as despair filled the air.

Thud.

Someone stepped forward in front of the people.

It was Jinhyuk.

"What? That idiot?"

"Hahaha! He must be crazy, wanting to die first."

"Hehehe! Well, maybe it's better to go to the gods first than to tremble in fear from behind."

The fanatics in the audience seats spouted mocking words.

It must be ridiculous.

He approached them completely unarmed and defenseless.

However.

"Huh!?"

"How...?"

Even as Jinhyuk approached the Breaker's nose, the Breaker did not attack him.

No, it didn't even notice his existence, not even giving him a glance.

'Sure enough, it's a useful skill.'

Jinhyuk moved calmly to the center of the monsters.

The 'Faint Scent,' which could be used three times a day.

One use could disrupt the opponent's senses, but three simultaneous uses could make his presence completely nonexistent.

'Normally, I'd be satisfied with three lives, one at a time.'

But for a veteran, it's different.

He would use the single opportunity to completely turn the tide.

Just like now.

Jinhyuk, who had already reached the center, stomped his foot on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

Two stomps echoed.

Then.

[The red pill 'Flame' has been activated!]

Boom!

A massive pillar of fire shot up from the ground.

'Fireworks are best when they're spectacular.'

He had calculated the exact location of the sewer and the speed of the water flow before activating the pill.

There was no room for error.

He had done this dozens of times.

"Roar!"

"Keeek!"

The Breakers, engulfed in flames, screamed.

No matter how indestructible they were, being burned alive was undoubtedly painful.

"Why are you making such a fuss?"

Didn't you like burning things?

"J-Just calm down! Servants of the god."

The warden tried to extinguish the flames on the Breakers' bodies.

But bringing a bucket of water close was a mistake.

The Breakers' eyes, now sharpened, saw nothing but their target.

The hammer swung horizontally.

Boom!

"Kwoah!"

The head exploded like a watermelon.

It was a natural consequence of a foolish act.

However.

[You have been involved in the death of a villain.]

[You have gained 0.1 adaptive stat points.]

[Current adaptive stat points: 10.1]

An unexpected status window appeared.

Hm?

Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.

'Do I gain stats even if I don't kill them directly?'

Just by indirectly causing death through the red pill, the condition was met.

This was quite interesting.

Jinhyuk nodded slightly.

On the other hand, the fanatics, who saw the unbelievable scene, were greatly astonished.

"What, what is that? That pillar of fire!"

"Could... could it be a skill?"

"Impossible! Here, the god governs everything. The god's laws and rules are the only principles that sustain this floor!"

With their unique abilities and skills sealed, no one could use evil powers.

There must have been some trick.

However, the unexpected turn of events didn't end there.

The truly shocking part was just beginning.

"I'm sorry, but I only have 10 minutes, so I'll finish this quickly."

To be precise, he had about 8 minutes left.

Jinhyuk drew the Twin Dragon Sword.

As 'Tomb of Swords' activated, a black aura swirled around the blade.

A crescent moon of darkness descended.

"Grumble?"

The Predator, sensing something was amiss, raised its spines.

At that moment.

Swish!

A sword strike, devoid of any incantation, cut through the air, aimed solely at killing the enemy.

One strike.

With a single slash, the massive Predator's body crumbled.

There wasn't even a scream.

Instead, blood spurted like a fountain from the spot.

"I won't let you run anymore."

No matter how powerful they were in this place, that was only when their abilities were sealed.

They were only as strong as named monsters on the first floor.

They were no match for a proper fight.

The atmosphere changed drastically as the trusted monsters became combat-incapable.

"Ah!"

"Monster!"

"What kind of human is that...!"

The ease and arrogance turned to fear.

Those who had been watching the deaths from above now had to run to escape death.

Of course, Jinhyuk wasn't going to let them.

"What a shame. You valued your lives so much?"

Jinhyuk, chuckling coldly, took out the last pill.

[Black pill 'Darkness' has been used.]

[A 'Black Wall' has been deployed within 200 meters of the user!]

A black curtain completely enveloped the entire arena.

The place meant to praise the god.

It had now become a death trap.

***

'Hmm...'

Jinhyuk stood in place, frowning.

The only thing left was to complete the hidden quest. But one thing bothered him.

It wasn't that he had a moral issue with killing.

If he were a good person, that might be different.

But he didn't consider the fanatics who had laughed at others' deaths as human.

It was just that...

If these people scattered and hid, it would take too long to find them.

'I need a more effective method.'

He had already confirmed through the warden that he didn't need to kill directly.

Just being involved was enough.

So...

"Hey."

Jinhyuk called out to the players crouching on the arena's outer wall.

"Y-Yes? Yes?"

"Y-You're talking to us?"

"Why are you all like that? Aren't you going home?"

The monsters were either dead or combat-incapable.

It meant they no longer had to worry about being eaten.

"Can we go home?"

"Really?"

"Of course. Everyone, get up."

Jinhyuk smiled.

Then.

"Yay!"

"We're alive! We're alive!"

A huge cheer echoed.

All the pent-up emotions exploded in an instant.

But.

It's a bit too early to celebrate.

There's still a huge obstacle to overcome.

"But can we just leave like this? As long as the fanatics are on the 5th floor, we might run into them again."

The atmosphere, which had heated up, rapidly cooled at Jinhyuk's words.

"Ah!"

"That's... that's..."

The reality they had tried to forget was approaching.

The thought of possibly encountering those terrifying people again made everyone's faces stiffen.

"Then, what should we do?"

What else?

"We need to eliminate the threat."

Jinhyuk tore something from a monster's corpse.

Crack!

One of the spines that had grown on its back.

A sharp, gleaming blade.

This would be sufficient as a weapon.

"There are people above who locked you in here."

Jinhyuk pointed to the audience seats.

The fanatics, who had been arrogant relying on the monsters, were visible.

"Before you're captured in a place like this again, return what you've done to them."

Kill them.

Or be killed.

If there were only two choices...

The obvious choice was one.

"Roar!"

"Those... those bastards, kill them all!"

"We can't be trapped in this damn place again!"

"Let's make them pay!"

The frightened sacrifices turned into beasts at that moment.

Everyone, armed with weapons, rushed to the audience seats.

"Wait, wait!"

"Stop!"

A few guards tried to stop them, but the numbers were too different.

The players, ignoring them, climbed to the audience seats.

With weapons, the situation would be resolved soon.

Eliminate them all.

For no one else.

For me!

***

"Ugh!"

"Ah!"

The underground soon filled with desperate screams.

As if seeking retribution for their lives, which had been as fragile as flies.

The revenge was cruel beyond measure.

But why?

Even in the blood-soaked scene...

There was no trace of sympathy.

It was rather exhilarating.

They were reaping what they had sown.

What made his heart race the most was.

[You have been involved in the death of a villain.]

[You have gained 0.1 adaptive stat points.]

[Current adaptive stat points: 32.9]

[You have been involved in the death of a villain...]

The fact that points accumulated even without action.

He had already gathered 33 points.

Having diligent workers was so beneficial.

Jinhyuk, smiling contentedly, lifted his head.

'I need to move before the people reach the cult leader.'

Although he was deeper in the tower compared to where the cult leader was, it was only a matter of time.

He needed to deal with the most important goal before it was too late.

Jinhyuk looked at the fanatics on one side.

These were not the fanatics who followed the cult leader.

They had challenged the tower to conquer it but were captured as prisoners.

In the end, they had killed their fellow players to save their own lives.

Among them were those who had been in the same room as Jinhyuk.

They had tried to escape through the ventilation ducts but hadn't gotten far.

'The black woman and the Asian woman are not here.'

Only the white man and woman remained.

The fate of the other two was obvious.

"Disgusting."

Jinhyuk spat out.

The ones who met his gaze trembled.

"We... we only did what they told us to do!"

"That's... that's right! We had no choice..."

Some of them struggled.

"Damn it! Do you think we enjoyed it? If we didn't kill, we would have died! It was an extreme situation!"

"Don't talk about others' situations so lightly!"

They had just followed orders.

They had no other choice. They shouted roughly.

Of course, they might have killed willingly.

Or they might have been forced to kill.

"I understand the situation. It wasn't entirely wrong to say it was unavoidable."

Could killing someone to save yourself in an emergency be forgiven?

I don't know morally, but legally, it might be considered self-defense.

But here, such distinctions were meaningless.

Everyone had different standards.

Besides, this wasn't a moral lesson.

"But the one who decides whether to spare your lives isn't me."

With a flat tone.

Pierce!

A hole appeared in the heart of the player at the front.

"Ku...?"

[You have eliminated a villain.]

[You have gained 0.1 adaptive stat points.]

[Current adaptive stat points: 33]

The system defined it.

These were also villains.

That was enough.

"I have no personal feelings."

This was sincere.

Sizzle!

The Twin Dragon Sword began to burn fiercely again.