Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Devil's Gamble - Rules (14)
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The footsteps of the Security team echoed in unison.
Men in black suits lined up on both sides, naturally clearing a path.
I walked silently down the center of that path.
In the quiet gambling hall, only the sound of footsteps cut through the silence, resounding heavily.
3rd Floor.
Compared to the floors below, the number of tables had dwindled to a mere handful.
The spots that had once been packed with dozens of tables were now gone without a trace, leaving only five tables occupying the space.
And with fewer tables, the path I had to walk had narrowed accordingly.
I was guided to one of the tables and took a seat.
When I raised my head, four masks came into view.
Pig mask.
Rooster mask.
Donkey mask.
Ox mask.
Last time, they had given me a thorough thrashing.
Endlessly raising the stakes.
Making sure anyone who rose up couldn't do a thing.
I held no grudges against them.
Because they would soon experience the meaning of "force majeure" just like I had.
"Long time no see."
At my words, the four of them wore puzzled expressions for a moment.
I greeted them warmly.
I smiled but didn't bother replying.
I simply placed my hand on the table and tapped it lightly.
Tap, tap.
A couple of times.
A short, clear echo spread out.
The greetings were over.
Locking eyes with the Dealer, I repeated the words stuck to my lips, letting them flow out.
"Deal the cards."
My voice naturally lowered.
There was nothing strange about it.
On the 2nd floor, there had been at least some acknowledgment.
They dealt the cards and even showed mercy at times.
But the four before me now were different.
They took pleasure in others' suffering, finding ecstasy only in the moment of collapse.
To such people, I had no intention of offering even a shred of mercy.
If evil had sprouted, it had to be crushed thoroughly so it could never bloom again.
That was how I'd dealt with every monster I'd faced so far.
"..I'll deal the cards."
***
The Dealer on the 3rd floor, Gray, was breaking out in cold sweat.
This was weird.
Something was off.
A person talented at gambling? Sure, that could happen.
Exceptional senses beyond others? That too.
While in here, Gray had seen countless people.
Every year, droves entered boasting superior handiwork, senses, and luck.
Among them were naturally those who had made names for themselves in the real world.
Card sharps and pros called that.
Even then, he'd felt admiration but never fear as a Dealer.
Talent varied, but it had limits.
People could run.
But fly through the sky?
No way.
Like fleas in a jar.
Talent soared quickly at first but eventually hit a ceiling.
From then on, no matter how high they jumped, they couldn't cross that line.
They bumped their heads and realized their own limits.
And plateaued.
After the casino's system was established, excluding the early days.
No one had ever surpassed the 3rd floor. Not a single one.
But.
That conviction—
"Raise."
Was shaken to its roots for the first time.
Clink— clink—
The chips were sucked toward the newcomer.
'Talent plateaus?'
Only then did Gray realize.
It was simply because he'd never encountered real talent before.
No matter what strategies they used.
No matter what dirty tricks.
They didn't work on the man.
The chips trickled over, visibly piling up.
On the man's side of the table.
"..This can't be real."
A voice filled with despair came from the rooster mask.
The cards in his hand fell limply onto the table.
And before the terror-stricken rooster mask could act.
All his energy was sucked away as if into a void.
Kaaaaaaaah!!!
The scream faded.
All that remained in his spot was an empty animal mask.
Gray recalled who the vanished figure had been.
Keen eyesight, handiwork, senses.
The first to reach the 3rd floor, the first to set foot on the 4th.
When he'd come, the Dealer had thought.
No talent could shine brighter than this.
Yet even he crumbled.
His brilliant talent faded before one that shone even brighter.
Next was the donkey mask.
The mask who was always calm and never excited.
"Raise."
Even he began losing emotion bit by bit.
As if realizing that more rounds would only lead to death.
He abandoned gambling tactics.
The raises climbed endlessly.
Now, only the donkey mask and the man were in on this raise.
"Raise."
"—Raise."
The endless relay of raises stopped.
The cards were flipped.
8 full house.
9 full house.
A difference of one.
In disbelief, the donkey mask jumped up in excitement.
"Th-this! No way!! It's cheating!! Cheating, I say!!"
But it meant nothing.
Once victory was decided, resistance was pointless.
Kaaaaaaaah!
His energy drained out while he was still standing.
Through his eye sockets and gaping mouth, all vitality was pulled away, and as the noise died down.
Only chips remained on the table.
A chilling silence enveloped the 3rd floor.
Tap tap—
A knock cut through the silence on the table.
The Dealer couldn't meet his eyes.
He kept his gaze down and shuffled the cards.
He dealt to the ox and pig masks, who shook their heads in refusal.
Even the ox mask, who had maintained the most composure, finally snapped as his mask slipped.
"Fuck fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!! Why me! What did I do wrong!! Was screwing over you retarded fucks a crime?!"
Snorts burst out.
The ox mask could no longer calm down.
He ruffled his hair, gripping his cards tightly.
And the moment he was consumed by emotion.
The odds of beating the man—who he'd never matched anyway—dropped to absolute zero.
The ox mask couldn't hold out.
"Raise."
"Call."
"F-Fold!"
This room held those who once believed in their talent.
People who had made names in the real world.
But now.
They were no different from the common losers.
Finally, with a death rattle, the ox mask vanished.
Only chips remained in his spot.
One pig mask left.
The pig mask, who always charged in greedily first, had lasted the longest.
The pig mask stayed consistent throughout.
Not because his skill outshone the other three.
Simply because his instincts were the sharpest of the four.
The moment cards were dealt, the pig mask screamed.
"F-Fold!"
Aside from the opening bet, he never wagered a single chip.
The pig mask decided to play dead.
Just to breathe one more minute, one more second.
And every time the pig mask's fear-soaked cries erupted.
The mood at the other tables on the 3rd floor shifted.
From arrogance in their skill to terror.
And the end, which had seemed distant, approached.
Finally.
"..Fold."
With the pig mask's cry, the round ended.
No one sat at the table with the man anymore.
Chips piled up at each seat.
Staff approached and dumped the chips into bags.
The man rose from his seat.
It could have ended there.
But the man from the pawnshop didn't step onto the stairs leading up.
Gambling began at another table.
Each time he entered the pawnshop and emerged.
The tables saw joy and sorrow.
Relieved their lives were extended, if only a bit.
Relieved it wasn't their turn yet.
They met their end in the way they'd survived until now.
By dragging others down with them.
Now, the 3rd floor held no one but the Dealers.
The man slowly raised his head.
The 3rd floor was already silent as the grave.
Empty tables, seats with only masks remaining.
And one Dealer, head bowed in terror.
As the man swept his gaze over them—
The taut air collapsed all at once.
Thud, a chair scraped back as he stood.
In that instant, the Security in black suits, frozen in place, moved in unison after the man.
A black wave.
They lined up endlessly on both sides, opening the path.
Staff followed carrying bags full of chips.
The clinking of metal matched the rhythm of the massive procession.
At the front was the man.
Behind him stretched an endless throng like a giant shadow.
At the end of that path—
The final staircase awaited.
***
Ascending to the 4th floor, the air shifted.
The floor was vast and empty like a plaza.
A single table dominated the center of the hall, swallowing all the space.
I headed toward it.
Only one final gamble remained.
As long as I didn't break the rules, the anomaly couldn't intervene.
The reason the anomaly made rules was simple.
They themselves could only exist within those rules.
And so far, I hadn't broken a single one.
Which meant the bastard was bound by the rules too.
Countless footsteps echoed through the empty hall.
When I reached the table and stopped.
The hall soon fell into silence.
I looked up at the ceiling.
The hanging transparent orb no longer divided black and white.
It merely faintly illuminated the space with the dim light of a bulb about to flicker out.
Lowering my gaze.
At the end of the table sat the bastard.
Black suit, devil mask.
Red light poured from his eyes.
He spoke first.
"Don't gamble with me. Ever.”
He said nothing. Silence weighed down the air.
“The game is chess. And Russian roulette.”
I continued slowly.
“Loser pulls the trigger each time. Bets tailored to you. Survivor takes all. …How about it.”
In our locked gazes, his red eyes soon deepened, and he spoke.
The words didn't match the atmosphere.
"...If I... r-refuse.."
His words didn't make sense, so I tilted my head.
Was he refusing now?
The anomaly?
He'd never had a right to refuse in the first place.
Our eyes tangled across the table.
Soon his red eyes wavered, then hardened.
After a brief silence.
The devil mask's voice finally leaked out, suppressed.
"..Do it."
In that moment, the corner of my mouth slowly rose.
“Good for you.”
I chuckled lowly and added.
“Know your place.”