Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Devil's Gamble - Rule (15)
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The table had somehow transformed into a chessboard, and right in its center lay a silver revolver, resting silently.
Black pieces and white pieces glared at each other, while the cold gleam of metal heightened the tension in the hall.
I picked up the revolver and slowly pushed bullets one by one into the revolving chamber.
──Click.
──Click.
With each loading sound, the air in the hall warped like it was creaking.
The guy, who had been sitting still at first, gradually widened his eyes as time passed, then frantically reached out and shouted.
“Hey! Stop! I said stop! Human! Just how many bullets are you loading?!”
I shoved in the last bullet.
I spun the cylinder, confirmed it was locked in place, and opened my mouth.
“What’s the problem?”
At my calm voice, his face flushed red.
“This isn’t Russian roulette! Seriously!! What kind of insane country’s Russian roulette loads every damn chamber?!”
Noisy.
“Then you should’ve set the rules.”
As his words faltered at mine, I continued slowly.
“Who decided Russian roulette only gets one bullet in the gun?”
I added one final remark.
“Anything not specified isn’t a rule. And the penalty is equal anyway.”
He tried to say something.
But I had no intention of continuing the conversation.
There was no reason to build rapport or chat idly with him.
The moment the revolver hit the table—
A dull metallic thud echoed, reverberating through the entire hall.
The game was over.
The silver pistol lay between us like a judge.
“So, are you forfeiting the gamble?”
My cold gaze pierced him.
He knew full well what forfeiting the gamble meant.
His lips parted slightly, then closed again.
Fear and humiliation twisted across his face.
***
This time,
it was different.
Everything.
The game began.
Our pieces intertwined and toppled.
Up to here, it was the same as before.
But the color of the falling pieces was no longer white.
Black pieces fell one by one.
The queen was sliced by the bishop, the knight swallowed by the pawn.
In the end, what remained on the board.
Was the staggering black king and a few remnants.
And the white forces overwhelmingly dominating every space.
“Check.”
That single word from my lips stabbed his chest.
His hand trembled as he gripped the pistol on the table.
His red eye sockets shook, then twisted into a bizarre smile as if realizing something.
And then… he pressed the gun to his temple.
The trigger pulled slowly but surely.
──Bang!
Blood and flesh sprayed as his head exploded.
The area above his nape went empty along with the black mask.
…But that was only for an instant.
Black mist erupted like smoke, filling the wound and reconstructing flesh.
Bones realigned, and red eyes hung back in place.
The severed head regenerated as if nothing had happened.
A sinister smile crept across his lips.
He probably thought I’d be shocked.
“Keekeke… It’s useless. Oh, and by the way, I don’t die from one shot. Blame your frail human body if you must. Here, I’m practically immortal—”
But his voice cut off midway.
The lips curled in mockery froze stiff, and only choked gasps leaked between bloodied teeth.
His glowing red eyes shook, then slowly widened round.
His gaze locked on me, frozen.
“…You bastard, what the hell are you doing?”
I calmly reset the pieces on the chessboard one by one as I spoke.
“Have you already forgotten the rules? I told you clearly.”
My cold voice pierced the hall’s air.
My fingers didn’t stop, moving the pieces.
“Every loss, the defeated pulls the trigger. And… the survivor takes everything.”
As if realizing the meaning of my words.
His face drained white in an instant.
Like he’d only now grasped the true intent of the rules.
“Good thing you get it. I’m not explaining twice.”
Whether he was shocked or not, my hands kept busy.
The pieces returned to their places one by one, the board neatly resetting.
The moment the last piece settled, a heavy silence blanketed the hall.
Without even glancing at the trembling guy, I pointed at the board and lightly tapped it.
Tok.
It was a short, light sound, but the echo rippled out, shaking the entire hall.
The signal that the game was starting.
The game began anew.
The time on the chessboard grew shorter and shorter.
He improved with each game, sure, but it was still just beyond beginner level.
Compared to my talent, it was like playing chess with a toddler.
As pieces toppled, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Check.”
──Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
His temple tore open, head shattering into bits.
Black mist rose, weaving flesh and bone to restore the head.
“…!”
He couldn’t finish his words.
By the moment his head regenerated, I had already reset the board.
I pushed the pieces forward.
The game began.
Pieces toppled with sounds, and soon.
“Check.”
──Bang!
His head exploded again.
Blood and mist mingled, scattering in the air.
When he opened his eyes, the chessboard lay before him.
His gaze began to shake, little by little, then unmistakably.
The game began.
“Check.”
──Bang!
The game began.
“Check.”
──Bang!
Before the repeating deaths, his face twisted completely.
The faint smile he’d clung to vanished, leaving only terror and bewilderment frozen in place.
Leaning back leisurely in my chair, I continued calmly.
“Even if you keep reviving, what changes? You die every loss, and I blow your head off every win. Pretty straightforward, right?”
He couldn’t respond.
His trembling hand clutched the regenerated head, red eyes shaking.
And I tossed out words again.
The game began.
“Check.”
──Bang!
His face held no more leisure.
The confidence of a superior being was gone, revealing the look of a loser for the first time.
Just like the others I’d faced so far.
“Check.”
──Bang!
“Check.”
──Bang!
“Check.”
──Bang!
“Check.”
──Bang!
“Check.”
──Bang!
The games continued endlessly.
Each regeneration, his face distinctly slowed.
The mask cracked, even the speed of flesh and bone knitting lagged.
Finally, recovery ceased altogether.
When he couldn’t hold his seat and staggered, I looked down at the chessboard and spoke.
My hand moved to reduce the black pieces.
“Are you forfeiting the game?”
The rules descended.
I picked up the pistol just like that.
Bullets reloaded again and again.
I’d fired so many, only a few rounds left in the gun now.
Cold sweat dripped down his face.
Tik—
“L-Let’s make a deal.”
Not this time either.
Tik—
“What do you want.”
Nor this.
Tik—
“Money… I’ll give you any amount of money.”
Krik—
The revolver’s hammer slowly cocked back.
“You still don’t get reality, huh.”
“What?”
“You can’t make offers anymore. You’re no longer the owner of this gamble.”
[Devil's Gamble owner has changed.]
I’d half-expected this.
I slowly raised my head.
Sometime ago, a mask had settled over my face.
And he still didn’t know.
That the mask over his own face had vanished at some point.
***
The metallic sensation burrowing into flesh enveloped my entire face.
Click—
As the last fragment embedded in my forehead, the mask fully sealed.
A glossy black surface gleamed like a mirror.
Red patterns etched on it pulsed like a heartbeat.
The entire hall held its breath for a moment.
At the new owner of the gambling den.
His eyes shook violently.
Power surged within my body.
I somewhat understood now what they meant by superior being.
A sensation like something fundamentally shifted deep in my bones.
The world was full of color.
And from him, I saw a sticky black.
The moment I sat here, how much I could seize.
The temptation whispered endlessly.
Want more. Take more. You can have it. Want more. Take more. You can have it. Want more. Take more. You can have it. Want more. Take more. You can have it. Want more. Take more. You can have it.
As the temptation ended, the system window approached.
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[Please issue a command.]
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My choice was simple.
I raised the gun I’d aimed at him, turned it, and fired at the transparent orb above.
──Bang!
The force from the muzzle hit some resistance, but it was meaningless.
Unlike him, this wasn’t borrowed from the gambling den’s power.
What I wielded now was strength I’d earned myself.
If it’s this kind of temptation.
Power built on others’ suffering.
I refuse it.
Unshaken, I calmly opened my mouth.
“I close the gambling den—”
For a moment, Gambling Black came to mind.
Our vow from the first run.
A thick smile formed on my lips.
“—permanently.”
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[Devil's Gamble is closing.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The declaration echoed like a reverberation, shaking the entire hall.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The guy, having tasted defeat once, could never be owner here again.
Gambling is like that.
The second game doesn’t come to those who lost their chance.
The regenerating membrane creaked, then shattered like a mirror.
Soon, the golden chips he’d piled up poured out through the hole like a wave.
The flowing golden fragments shattered and scattered in the air.
I saw the memories tied to that money.
I don’t know what he saw in it.
But to me.
—This is for mom’s surgery. You can save her, right? Now?
—This is college tuition. My son. So live a proper life, okay?
—This is for my daughter’s wedding. I can’t use it. Even if I eat instant ramen. Yeah.
Money isn’t just tied to greed.
In it, for someone, hope.
For another, affection.
For yet another, a future.
The contents finally fell to the floor, and the last chip shattered.
The casino was now blanketed in broken golden dust.
Crack—
The world of gamble collapsed.
Soon, blinding light burst from the cracks.
I moved a piece on the chessboard before me.
Toppling the king.
With a pawn.
Clack—
The king rolled and fell to the ground.
“—Checkmate.”
Ding!
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[Devil's Gamble Horror]
[Progress]: 100%
[Rulebook – Devil's Gamble Horror]
Rule 1. Invitation
1-1. The moment you grasp the yellow flyer while craving money, the invitation is already established.
1-2. There is no option to refuse the invitation.
ㄴ The act of picking up the paper itself is judged as ‘intent to participate.’
Rule 2. Game
2-1. Any game begins the instant you sit down.
ㄴ If the dealer announces the start of the game, you must bet chips.
2-2. You cannot refuse the gamble or perform actions that negatively affect it.
Rule 3. Chips and Coins
3-1. Chips are obtained from the pawn shop, and what you can pawn means ‘everything you possess.’
ㄴ Chip settlements process when all chips are gone or when you leave the gambling den.
ㄴ It doesn’t trigger immediately even if chips hit 0.
3-2. The moment chips hit 0, you become subjugated as a member of the casino.
Rule 4. Dealer
4-1. The dealer wears a ‘smiling mask.’
ㄴ The mask’s expression doesn’t change easily.
4-2. The dealer does not follow the rules.
Rule 5. Security
5-1. Security wears black uniforms and usually appears in groups.
5-2. You must follow when Security calls you.
5-3. If cheating or foul play occurs in the gamble, you can call Security.
ㄴ Seems callable by both dealer and player.
5-4. Security initiates forced settlement when a player’s chips are all gone.
Rule 6. Gamble
6-1. During the gamble, you cannot intervene until the round ends.
6-2. Attempting intervention assimilates you into the horror.
ㄴ Includes calling names or titles by voice.
6-3. Wait until cards are revealed and results are confirmed.
Rule 7. Escape
7-1. Exit is only permitted after ‘settlement’ is complete.
ㄴ Once entry fee is fully paid, you can leave anytime.
ㄴ At that moment, a second choice is given: continue the game or stop.
7-2. If leaving, never look back.
ㄴ Looking back classifies you as a ‘customer with regrets,’ summoning you back immediately.
Rule 8. Floors
8-1. The casino has a total of 4 floors.
8-2. Risk increases exponentially per floor, so escape from the 1st floor is recommended.
8-3. From the 3rd floor, escape is practically impossible.
8-4. The 4th floor houses the horror’s core.
ㄴ Reaching the 4th floor grants the right to gamble everything you have.
[Rulebook update complete]
[Current rule count: 8]
[Discovered: 8]
[Level adjustment: Danger Class]
[Next stage progression condition met]
[You have successfully neutralized Devil's Gamble Horror.]
[First clear bonus: 100 Horror Coins granted]
[First-run clear bonus: 100 Horror Coins granted]
[100% progress bonus: 200 Horror Coins granted]
[You have successfully completely destroyed Devil's Gamble Horror.]
[Hidden bonus: Complete annihilation of the horror.]
[Reward: 1000 Horror Coins granted.]
*Horror Coins can be used at the Horror Shop.
*Sponsored coins from broadcasts will be comprehensively settled after broadcast ends.
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