Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Blood Moon
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The long-awaited final day of the survival exercise.
The fourth day was uneventful, so I'll skip it.
All I did was follow the toilet around and watch a few fireworks set off by eliminated students.
-Pew— Bang!
Just then, a firework went off somewhere.
Another student must have been eliminated somewhere.
I've already seen those fireworks go off dozens of times.
As it was the final day of the survival exercise, many students had been eliminated.
From Class A to Class F, the total was somewhere around 150 students.
More than half of them have been eliminated, and now only about 40 people remain on the island.
Of course, not a single one of them would be a demonic human.
The demonic humans' priority is the attack, so to avoid elimination, they would have minimized contact with other students and avoided all monsters to conserve their strength.
After all, being covered in wounds at the crucial moment wouldn't be very helpful.
"But Luke. Last time, you hunted down and killed the demonic human student. Why aren't you seeking them out to kill them this time?"
A cruel line Yui wouldn't have said just a month ago. How did that innocent girl end up like this?
Of course, as Yui said, it would be best to resolve things before the incident happens. It's less of a hassle.
But it's not that I don't want to do it; it's that I can't.
"Because they give more experience as demonic humans than as regular humans."
A demonic human who hasn't transformed is still human on the outside, even if their insides are demonic.
As someone who has killed many humans, I can tell you that no matter how strong the opponent, you only gain a maximum of one level for killing a human.
But what about demonic humans?
The experience they give varies based on their strength. Didn't I gain several levels with ease just from killing that necromancer before?
You might think they'd transform if pushed to the brink of death, but demonic humans are far more obsessed with their objectives than ordinary people.
Normally, if their life was on the line, they'd abandon their comrades and everything else just to save themselves, but these guys are the type to commit suicide for the sake of their mission.
If one of them transformed now just to save their own skin, Lucia would find out, and it could disrupt the plan. So those bastards wouldn't transform even if it meant death.
"Besides, there are too many of them."
Another reason is that there are just too many demonic humans.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to hunt down and crush every single one of them on this vast island?
I'd have to go back and forth from one end of the island to the other, and I'd have to find where they are.
A simple calculation shows I'd have to walk at least 100 kilometers. My legs would hurt, and it's a pain.
"Are there really that many...?"
"Probably? I'd say nearly half of the students still alive are demonic humans."
"Woah..."
Probably.
I'm not certain. The student who was supposed to be seducing others into becoming demonic humans died early.
I don't know if something happened to make their numbers greater or smaller.
"For now, let's wait until evening. If nothing has happened by now, it's definitely going to be tonight."
"Okay."
"Yes!"
To get a front-row seat for the fun that would unfold tonight, we followed the toilet's group from behind.
***
That evening.
"There are only a few hours of the practical exam left. You've all worked hard."
Arthur was the first to speak.
At night, they took turns standing guard, hunted monsters for food, and occasionally defeated other students who wandered their way.
For five days, everyone had done their best.
"You worked hard too, Arthur."
"But it's not over yet, so we need to stay on our toes!"
While everyone was exchanging pleasantries as if it were all over.
Liche alone felt that something was wrong.
She knew that demons were supposed to appear before the end of this practical exam.
Yet, even though the exam was just a few hours from ending, nothing had happened.
In fact, it was so peaceful it was as if Luke had been lying.
'Was Luke really lying?'
The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but Liche quickly shook her head.
The Luke she had observed until now was one of two types.
He either said something, or he didn't.
If he hadn't said anything at all, it would be a different story, but it was hard to believe he would lie after even giving a hint.
Liche lifted her gaze from the ground and looked at Arthur.
He had said he knew about it too, but his continued carefree attitude only added to her confusion.
If Arthur were also involved, he should have been making some sort of preparation, but he showed no signs of it.
Honestly, he spent more time flirting with Tia and Stella and trying to win her favor.
'...Should I ask him?'
Luke. He was probably still outside.
She had felt him following them throughout the survival exercise.
Not only that, but he'd also tormented Arthur from time to time.
So, she figured she could just go outside and ask him.
She didn't worry about whether he'd tell her or not. He was a better source of information than Arthur.
"Hey, everyone. I'm going to step outside for a bit."
"Huh? R-Right now?"
"Yeah."
"Um... Should I go with you, just in case?"
"No, it's fine. I won't be long."
Shaking off Arthur, who tried to follow, Liche was about to leave the cave alone when.
-Pew— Bang!
The sound of a firework came from somewhere.
Someone else was eliminated. That's what she thought.
Until she heard the successive sounds of fireworks.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
"What the..."
"Liche! Don't go out! Stay inside the cave!"
But Liche was already out of the cave.
The first things she saw upon exiting the cave were fireworks exploding in every direction and a chilling, red moon.
"That's..."
The Blood Moon.
She knew it at a glance.
That red moon was one of the hints Luke had mentioned.
For some reason, Liche couldn't tear her eyes away from the red moon.
As if possessed, her pupils filled with the sight of the red moon.
Suddenly, she felt her body grow hot, as if it were on fire.
No, it wasn't just a feeling.
Liche's body was actually burning.
A sudden feeling of weakness washed over her as her body burst into flames.
"Hngh... Hnghaaaaaaahk—!!!!!"
***
"Wow— look at her burning with passion like that."
If passion alone was enough, she could have killed the Demon God long ago.
"Is that really passion...?"
"Of course. How else could a person burn like that?"
For reference, the island had instantly turned into a battlefield.
Where there should have been a sea of stars and a moon illuminating the dark sky, there was now a red moon and a crimson sea of blood.
At first, I had my doubts about whether the blood moon would rise outside its scheduled period.
But seeing the current situation, there's no room for doubt.
-Pew— Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fireworks were exploding all over the island. It was chaos.
This meant the students who had been lying in wait had transformed into demonic humans and begun their assault.
The other students who weren't demonic humans must be in a state of utter confusion.
First, the terrifying blood moon, and now, someone who was their classmate just a few days ago has turned into a demonic human.
Those friends have, at some unknown point, betrayed humanity and are now trying to kill them.
If it were me, I wouldn't care if they were my friend or not; my life comes first, so I would've killed them mid-transformation. But one of the classic clichés in web novels is to just stand there and stare dumbly when something happens right in front of you.
The headmaster and professors, realizing the gravity of the situation, are probably scrambling to respond, but the island is so vast that it will take some time to handle everything.
And if Arthur doesn't stop him, Hex will have already escaped by the time the professors clean up the mess.
"Luke! Luke!"
Yui tugged insistently on my sleeve.
"What."
"Is-Isn't that dangerous?"
Yui was pointing at the still-burning Liche.
"You worry too much. As if the author would kill off the main heroine."
Does it make any sense to kill the heroine in an event designed to let the hero save her and gain affection points?
These days, there are many types of heroines, like the losing heroine or the dead heroine, but no insane author would kill the main heroine.
If they did, the comment section would burn so fiercely that Liche's current state would look tame in comparison.
"It looks spectacular on the outside, but all that's happening is her mana is being drained."
The reason Liche appears to be on fire isn't because she's actually burning.
It's just that the sheer amount of mana leaving her body makes it look that way.
There's so much of it that even I, who can't feel a speck of mana due to having none, can see it with my own eyes.
"When it's all over, Liche will collapse from mana exhaustion."
This whole process is just the enhanced Hex pushing out all of Liche's mana to escape his seal.
Once the process is complete, Liche, with not a drop of mana left like an empty water bottle, will pass out.
This is why I said I couldn't win no matter how hard I tried.
What's the point of being strong?
When the event starts, all she can do is faint.
"And that's when it's the toilet's turn to shine."
It's the toilet's job to deal with the resurrected Hex.
For reference, Arthur was just standing there gawking at the burning Liche.
Because there's no way to stop it until the entire process is finished.
No, to be precise, there is one way.
Just kill Liche before the seal is broken. It's the fastest and easiest method, but there's no way a so-called protagonist would do something so cruel.
"So, what should we do now?"
"For now."
We watch.
When I gave my frank and simple answer, Luna looked at me as if to ask if I was serious.
"If you're bored, you can go around the island and kill some demonic humans or something."
I came here to watch in the first place.
The toilet is right there, so there's no need for me to handle it, right?
-Thud.
"Hm?"
Just as I was about to pull out some popcorn, settle in, and watch, I felt a presence beside me and turned my head.
"So what they said was true."
Daio Brando. It was him.
The guy I hadn't seen in a while and figured was living well somewhere had appeared, blocking the toilet's path.
"D-Daio?!"
The toilet was flustered.
It was only natural. Daio was never supposed to be here.
"I've thought about it for a long time. Why can't I win, no matter how hard I try?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?! It's dangerous here, so get away quickly!"
"I am not the one who is wrong! This world is! Why must I, a noble, be placed beneath a commoner's heel!"
Hm. They're all just saying whatever they want, so I have no idea what's going on.
"Therefore! I reject my humanity! Arthur! I will transcend humanity!! I will kill you here, and I will kill that bastard Luke too!!"
Crack, crackle.
With a chilling sound, the whites of his eyes turned black.
Along with a surge of dark mana, his already pale skin turned ashen, like that of a corpse.
'Oh... now this is a development I never expected.'
The rival-esque main character has become a demonic human.
The demonized Daio, and Arthur and the heroines, who looked ready to fight him at any moment.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the burning Liche suddenly collapsed.
"Hahaha! I have arrived!"
To make matters worse, Hex had appeared as well.
"Wow. This is a complete shitshow."