Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Deathmatch
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Before the bonus game began.
The angels gathered in one place to confer.
It wasn't just the players; they too had to choose a representative.
"Now that the zones are merged, we should pick a representative to be the guide, right?"
"Yeah. We can't fight over who's going to do it like before."
Not a single angel among them wanted to volunteer for the role of guide.
The aversion to unnecessary work was the same for both humans and angels.
"Any volunteers? Raise your hand if you're up for it."
“…”
“…”
All ten angels remained perfectly still.
"Right. I shouldn't have even asked."
"An angel who actually *wants* to work would be a real freak of nature."
At Priscilla's casual remark, Olive’s eyes shot up.
"Are you calling me a freak of nature?"
"What are you talking about? I didn't even say your name."
"You're mocking me for stepping up earlier."
"Is that how it sounded? Pfft, you're not completely clueless, are you?"
"What?"
"Hey, you two! Stop fighting!"
As they glared daggers at each other, their fellow angels stepped in to mediate.
"Why do you two fight every time you see each other? It was the same back then!"
"Do you think I *want* to fight? That birdbrain started it."
"What? Birdbrain? You're one to talk, you're worth less than cooking oil!"
"Stop it, stop it! The humans are watching."
"Yeah, and the Archangel might see us!"
At the mention of the Archangel, the two angels fell silent.
They simply huffed and turned their heads away from each other.
"Let's get back to what we were talking about. We've confirmed no one wants to be the guide… so what should we do? Anyone have a good idea?"
At Ellen’s question, the angels began to offer their opinions.
"How about we roll a random die to pick one guide?"
"Leave it to chance? Not a bad method. A bit boring, though."
"Or what if we set an order and take turns?"
"That seems unfair, doesn't it? The ones later in the order might not even get a turn. The zones will probably merge again soon."
"That's true."
Various opinions were exchanged.
Despite only picking a single guide, the angels' expressions were grave.
"Isn't there a fair and fun way to do this?"
"How about this?"
Priscilla, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.
"We're about to make the zone representatives fight, right? The angel whose human dies first has to be the guide as a penalty."
"Ooh, that sounds fun!"
"Good idea."
"I like Priscilla's way. Any other angels agree?"
"I'm in."
"Me too."
As the other angels agreed with her, Priscilla's nose rose in the air.
Just then, Olive raised her hand to voice her opposition.
"How about this instead? Instead of the human who dies first, the angel whose human survives to the very end wins. And the winning angel gets to be king."
"King?"
"Literally. The other angels have to obey the king's every command. For example, if the king appoints someone as the guide, they have to do it. It's the king's order."
"So if our human wins, we win too? And we get to act like a king, just like the humans?"
"Ooh, that sounds even more fun!"
"A king... now that's making my mouth water."
"What a brilliant idea, Olive!"
This time, the angels praised Olive.
All except for Priscilla.
"...How annoying."
Priscilla’s mood soured as her idea was ignored.
But that feeling was fleeting.
A smirk appeared on Priscilla's face.
"Hmph, proposing that the winner becomes king. You must be pretty confident, huh?"
"Of course. I am."
"Well, what a shame. My zone's representative is no pushover. He's never once lost the number one spot in his zone."
"Oh, really?"
At Priscilla's confident expression, Olive sneered inwardly.
*'You foolish birdbrain. Number one in her zone? Is that all she's gloating about? If she knew who my representative was, she'd fall right out of the sky in shock.'*
After all, Olive's representative was the monster who had never lost the number one spot in all the zones.
"So? Are you in or out?"
At Olive's question, Priscilla let out a sneer.
"I have no reason not to be."
"I'm in, too. This way looks more interesting."
"Me too."
"I'm confident too! My zone's representative is no joke!"
And so, the bet was made: the winner would become king.
"Now that we've decided on the method, shall we begin? Olive, you go tell them."
"Alright."
Flying back to where the players were, Olive flapped her wings to draw their attention.
"We will now begin the bonus game to select the unified representative! All zone representatives, please gather below me!"
Ten zone representatives gathered at Olive's feet.
Then, she spread her wings, giving a signal.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!*
The ground shook as a hill rose up.
In an instant, a circular hill-like arena was formed.
"From now on, you will engage in a deathmatch inside this arena until only one remains. You will not be resurrected if you die outside the arena, so do not leave, even if it means dying. Now, begin!"
The match began.
But no one moved.
They just glared at each other from across the circular arena, weapons in hand.
It wasn't for a lack of motivation.
Nor was the reward insufficient.
They already had plenty of incentive.
The atmosphere was so menacing that if looks could kill, they would have died several times over.
The reason no one moved was to scout their opponents.
Anyone who had become a zone representative was bound to be skilled.
*'Still, there's no one here stronger than me.'*
Priscilla's zone representative, [SuperPsycho], smiled confidently.
He was a master among masters who had never once lost the number one spot in his zone.
That was who he was.
No matter how strong his opponents were, they couldn't possibly match him.
*'Dismantling things is my specialty. Be it human, animal, or monster.'*
The reason for his confidence was simple.
His [Rune of Dismantling] was a brokenly powerful rune.
*'The ability to dismantle a body with godlike skill just by stabbing it with a blade. There's no way a broken rune like this exists anywhere else.'*
He had already verified its power in the fourth round by killing 312 people.
His rune was devastating in PK as well.
*'Once my sword is in, the game is as good as over. The sword starts the dismantling process on its own.'*
For example, if he plunged his sword into an opponent's forearm, the rune would activate automatically, carving away the remaining flesh.
As if possessed, the sword moved on its own.
*'My butchering speed skyrocketed after getting the rune.'*
His actual profession was a butcher, so the Rune of Dismantling was a great help in his daily life.
Even his colleagues were amazed.
*'Well, surviving in this other world is more important than reality for now.'*
That was why he had killed others and seized the position of zone representative.
Trampling on others made survival easier.
*'I was regretting becoming the representative just a moment ago, but to think an opportunity like this would arise. Hehe.'*
With the right to rule, no one could look down on him.
He could reign like a king.
In the end, becoming the zone representative was the right choice.
*'So all I have to do is kill these nine people to become king, is that it?'*
SuperPsycho's eyes glinted as he glared at the other representatives.
They weren't moving rashly, likely sizing each other up.
The first to act might become the target.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you fighting?"
"Hurry up and fight, humans!"
Like gamblers who had bet on a dogfight, the angels shouted from the sky.
*'What's this? Did they actually bet money or something? Why are they egging us on like that?'*
Even without being goaded, he planned to kill all the other representatives.
His opponents were surely thinking the same.
*'They're just observing because moving first is a disadvantage. They're probably hoping others will fight it out so they can jump in at the end with less effort.'*
He had planned to do the same, but they couldn't stand around like this forever.
SuperPsycho strode boldly toward the center of the arena.
*'There's no one here stronger than me anyway. If I make a strong first impression now, they'll be too scared to challenge me.'*
For that, he needed a sacrifice.
*'I'll flay one of them alive to make sure no one dares to attack me.'*
A sacrifice for his performance.
*'Come on out, anyone. I'll destroy whoever comes first.'*
In a way, he felt sorry.
He could have given them a clean death, but for the sake of his first impression, he was going to inflict extreme pain.
*'What can I do? Whoever comes at me first is just unlucky.'*
As he was pitying whoever would step up.
*Step, step—*
A challenger walked forward.
*'Finally? My first sacrifice?'*
SuperPsycho sized up his opponent.
He was a player with an impressive scythe, taller than himself.
*'What a ridiculously large scythe. That's not a common weapon…'*
He had seen players with spears or curved swords, but never one with a scythe.
*'A scythe? A scythe... I've seen nicknames with 'scythe' in them, but an actual guy carrying one...'*
As the distance closed, SuperPsycho's gaze naturally drifted to the top of his opponent's head.
The moment he confirmed the nickname, SuperPsycho's jaw dropped in shock.
*'B-Black Scythe? His nickname is Black Scythe?'*
He had heard the name before.
It was the name that was always at the top of the all-zones ranking whenever the results were announced.
*'Could it be someone with the same name? N-no. Nicknames can't be duplicated, can they?'*
He remembered trying to name himself 'Super Saiyan' at the beginning, only to be rejected because it was already taken.
*'Th-Then is that really the Black Scythe from the top of the rankings? The level 30 one?'*
SuperPsycho slowly lowered the sword he had raised.
The number '30' made him lose his will to fight before he even started.
***
"What's with that human?"
"He stepped up so boldly, why does he suddenly have that dazed look on his face?"
The watching angels tilted their heads in confusion.
The human named SuperPsycho, who had been the first to step forward, had lowered his sword, his fighting spirit completely gone.
His expression was vacant, as if a screw had come loose.
"Priscilla. Isn't that your zone's representative?"
“…”
Not in the mood to answer, Priscilla was grinding her teeth.
*'What is that idiot human doing? He's right in front of him, why is he just standing there!'*
Even though the man with the scythe was nearly upon him, SuperPsycho remained standing there foolishly.
He seemed to have no will to fight whatsoever.
Just as her irritation peaked.
"Kikik, kee-hee-hee…"
An irritating laugh came from in front of her.
Priscilla shot a venomous glare.
"Olive. You find this funny?"
"Kee-hee, sorry. But I can't help it, it's hilarious."
"What's so funny?"
"Look at that human. He's trembling like a leaf just from seeing my representative."
"Your representative?"
Priscilla looked at the opponent again.
He was a human with an impressive giant scythe, but still...
He didn't exude an aura so intimidating that one would tremble at first sight.
"So you're saying my representative is scared of yours?"
"Looks that way, doesn't it?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Olive. Do you think being number one in a zone is a joke? My representative hasn't lost the top spot even once since the first round."
"Kee-hee, *his* zone? Isn't being number one in a single zone something anyone can do?"
"What?"
"My representative has never lost the number one spot in *all* the zones."
"Number one in all the zones? Don't you lie to me..."
"You still haven't noticed? Any angel who's looked at the rankings would know from the nickname."
At Olive's words, the angels finally looked closely at the human's nickname.
"Huh? Black Scythe?"
"I've seen him! He's the human who's always there whenever the results are tallied."
The angels who recognized him late began to murmur amongst themselves.
Even angels with little interest in humans knew who was number one in the rankings.
Priscilla was no exception.
*'B-Black Scythe is Olive's zone representative...?*'
Priscilla's eye twitched.
If that human was really *the* Black Scythe, her representative stood no chance.
Just then.
"Huh!?"
A flash of reflected light passed, and the human's head dropped to the ground with a thud.
It was SuperPsycho's head.
As if on cue, the angels all looked at Priscilla.
"Well, Priscilla is out first."
“…”
Priscilla was so dumbfounded she couldn't even muster the energy to be angry.
It was an empty elimination, with no time to even counterattack.