The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 104



Only Krnovel

Episode 104. Atala’s Judgement (7)

A wealthy man and a wealthy man were facing each other in the drawing room of a luxurious mansion.

Yubik drank down his glass and looked at Kadim. Using the slight alcoholic effect, he was able to open his mouth.

“Good, very good. You’re doing well, Demon Slayer… … . You’ve killed that northern spear in one go and passed the preliminaries, that’s quite an achievement. Thanks to you, this tournament is going to be a huge hit… … .”

With the appearance of the ‘Demon Slayer’, the regular season was met with unprecedented success. The revenue from the preliminaries alone was comparable to the total revenue from the previous regular season.

But Yubik’s expression wasn’t entirely bright.

“But, hmm, but… … .”

“… … .”

“Could you, from now on, fight a little more lightly? Of course I know you won’t, but the other mercenary leaders keep raising objections. They say you seem to be cheating… … And also, the spectators are disappointed that the match ends too quickly… … .”

Kadim crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

“It’s not that I’m strong, it’s that my opponent is weak. Why are you blaming me when you brought a weakling who could die from one swing of an axe to me?”

“… … I can’t say anything since he’s already dead, but he was definitely not a weakling of a gladiator from the North. He was the kind of gladiator who could win in close combat, except for Agon’s angry horn. Who could have predicted that… … he would be met with an axe thrown from the other side of the arena?”

“Then there is nothing more to see. I will fight Agon’s angry horn right away. If he can hold out, you will be able to watch a match that will not end quickly as you wish.”

“… … .”

It couldn’t be like that because he had to make the most of his money by playing as many games as possible. Yubik washed his face dry and sighed as if the ground was sinking.

“Phew, then I won’t force you to fight without any strength… … . Instead, let’s have just one event match before the main event begins. That way, I can calm the crowd’s complaints and buy time to convince the other players… … .”

“… … .”

Kadim accepted the offer only after hearing that they would instead move up the schedule for the finals.

But after arriving at the stadium, I regretted accepting the offer.

This wasn’t just a game of fighting gladiators.

“Waaaaaaaaah, demon slayer!!”

“Kill them all! Tear them all to pieces!”

The crowd beyond the wall was still running wild like beasts. The only difference was that this time there were beasts inside the wall too.

“Huh, huff, huff, huff… … .”

“Please, please save me, please save me… … .”

They were not bloodthirsty beasts, but blind beasts running away in fear.

For spectators who are tired of just hitting and fighting, the arena has prepared a variety of bloody entertainment in addition to regular matches. This ‘black-eyed hunting’ is one of them. The rule was that for a set amount of time, slaves, blindfolded and with their arms tied, would run away and gladiators would chase them and kill as many as possible.

“Kill! Kill it! Kill it! “Kill it!”

“Hurry after me, demon slayer! “Hurry and kill them all!”

“Huh, please save me, please…” … .”

“Run! Everyone, don’t just sit there, run away quickly!!”

Everyone had already seen how mercilessly the demon slayer had killed humans. The audience was looking forward to the same brutal slaughter as before and ran wild. The slaves were pale and struggled to survive somehow.

And a shadow darker than darkness fell over Kadim’s face.

The reason he killed gladiators without hesitation was not because he enjoyed killing. It was because they came to kill him. The gladiators entered this slaughterhouse willingly in the hope of wealth and fame. If the power balance had been reversed, it would have been he, not them, who would have ended his life in blood on the dirt floor.

But these were not slaves. He didn’t come to kill himself, nor did he come willingly. It was just that he was driven by sadistic malice to look like a beast.

I had no desire to satisfy the desires of scum with innocent blood. Kadim glanced toward the VIP section. Then, instead of chasing after the slaves and hunting them, they opened the iron bars and escaped the stadium at will.

Gigigigigigig… … .

“Uh huh?”

“Where are you going, demon slayer!! “I have to kill those bastards!!”

Ignoring the audience’s denunciation, I climbed up to the VIP entrance. A group of mercenaries stood guard, but they were no match for Khadim. After lightly strangling them all and knocking them unconscious, I approached Ubik, whose jaw was trembling in confusion.

“What, what are you doing, you! Aren’t the audience waiting for you? Go back down and kill the prey!”

“Yeah, I get it. But they’re all so skinny, I don’t think hunting them would be fun.”

“… … ?”

At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about. But after seeing her approaching him with a blindfold on, Ubik realized what crazy Kadim was thinking.

Before he became the prey himself, the king of the arena quickly canceled the match and refunded all ticket prices to the spectators.

*

After the death of the Northern Spear, all of Agon’s mercenary group leaders were in a state of shock.

“The Window of the North… … Rumak… … Ugh, ugh… … .”

“… … .”

The mercenary leader who had been his sponsor had become a wreck. The other mercenary leaders were equally depressed.

If he had died fighting fiercely, there would have been a glimmer of hope. However, the Northern Spear, the strongest group, died a meaningless death like an insect. Now I couldn’t even figure out how to defeat the monster called Demon Slayer.

But at that time, someone came up with this suggestion.

“… … “It’s already come to this, so how about sending Malkes out in the first game of the finals?”

““… … !!””

The mercenary leaders were more agitated than last time.

Marquess, the ‘mean hunter’.

He boasted an incredible record of 23 wins and 0 losses, but he was a gladiator with almost no followers. After all, more than 90% of his victories were obtained through foul play, traps, and tricks.

However, the ‘Dirty Hunter’ was not kicked out of the arena.

If there is a good character on stage, a villain is also needed. He took the curses and boos from the audience and did a good job of providing them with a dark catharsis. Since each game was guaranteed to be a hit, even the king of the arena tacitly tolerated his tricks.

The question is, will they tolerate such tricks against the demon slayer?

“This should already be seen as a fight between Daeju and us for food! The Great Lord is now completely focused on the special product called ‘Demon Slayer’. From now on, no matter what he does, I will protect him unconditionally. Even if we kill all the gladiators below us!”

“Then shouldn’t you even touch the demon slayer? It looks too dangerous… … .”

“No, just the opposite! We need to wake up the spirit of greatness! Either set a trap, use poison, or kill the demon slayer somehow! I will protect it desperately before I die, but what can I do after I am already dead? If the Great Lord also has an idea, he will not give up cooperation with us and choose revenge!”

“… … .”

The mercenary leaders looked at each other carefully and eventually agreed to let Malkes compete.

I decided in my heart that if things went wrong, I would blame Danju for saying that.

*

Now, there was no gladiator who did not know the infamy of the ‘Demon Slayer’. If they were told that they were being singled out as his opponent, nine times out of ten they would have made a face similar to that of someone standing on the gallows.

But it was not the ‘mean hunter’ Marquess.

He burst into laughter, unable to contain his supreme happiness.

“Ugh, uhhhhhhhhhh… … .”

The most rewarding moments in his life were when he hunted down a formidable opponent that he could never defeat if he fought fair and square, using dirty tricks. He couldn’t help but be happy when he had the chance to hunt down a popular figure that he had already chosen.

Malketh’s hunting did not only take place during the game. The moment the prey was decided, it had already begun. Even though the war was still far from over, he diligently thought about what kind of strategy he would use and worked hard.

‘Yes, after all, there is nothing as certain as poison… … .’

Feeding poison in advance and applying poison to weapons. It was a simple and ordinary hunting method, but it was certainly effective.

However, I couldn’t use something as ordinary as poison. Given the circumstances, it seemed like the demon slayer had committed some kind of ‘unlawful act’ and had superhumanly strengthened his body. If I wasn’t careful, I might have an unfortunate incident where the poison wouldn’t work.

So, Malketh went to Agon’s black market and purchased a very special ‘extreme poison’.

A poison that even the strongest human cannot withstand. If inhaled, it causes hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, causes the internal organs to become distorted, causes blood to spurt out from orifices all over the body, and inevitably leads to death as there is no antidote.

“Give me 10,000 Luden. Don’t ever go anywhere and say that I sold it… … .”

“Uhhhh, yeah, yeah… … . Uhhhhhhhh… … .”

“… … .”

It was difficult to handle, and it was a material that was being eyed by even the magic tower, so it had not been easy to purchase it. Fortunately, the number of items for sale had increased considerably recently. Markes hugged the poisoned bottle as if it were a precious treasure and left the black market.

I have already decided how to feed this poison.

‘Before or after a match, sometimes a little bearded squire would hand the demon slayer some wine… … . Then, if we could just swap that wine for poison, he could drink it without much suspicion… … .’

Just before the main event began, Marquess finally put his plan into action.

After finishing his work, he hid behind a hole in the wall and observed the situation.

“Your Majesty, if you are thirsty, would you like a glass of wine?”

The wine had been poisoned long ago. The servant served the wine without knowing anything. When the demon slayer took the glass, the lowly hunter thought that the hunt would be easy.

But the demon slayer did not drink wine.

“… … .”

He glanced at the blood-red liquid and frowned.

The guy seemed to be asking the servant something, and then suddenly looked towards the wall. Mal Kes thought for a moment that he had been caught and took a deep breath.

But that didn’t seem to be the case. He didn’t even come close and left right away. However, he did not even drink the alcohol and left it on the chair.

‘… … Damn it, did I fail?’

It didn’t take long for me to feel disappointed. She had already applied poison to the throwing weapons and knives anyway. The sneaky hunter slowly retreated and tried to prepare for the real match.

But at that moment, the demon slayer came back.

Malkes was close to the hole again. The guy was staring at his glass with bloodshot eyes.

“… … .”

His fists were shaking, the corners of his mouth were twitching, his shoulders were twitching slightly, and his complexion was flushed. He looked like a drunk who had decided to quit drinking and was trying his best to endure the alcohol in front of him.

‘… … Umm, why is he doing that?’

Just as Malkes narrowed his eyebrows in doubt.

Suddenly, the demon slayer picked up his drink and took a gulp.

As if he was drinking cold water after a long thirst, as if possessed, ravenously, without leaving a single drop behind. He even drank everything and looked around urgently to see if there was anything left. His bloodshot eyes were filled with earnest madness and obsession.

Malketh was almost entranced for a moment by that strange sight. But he quickly came to his senses and fell off the wall. The corner of his mouth split open and he ran towards the waiting area on the other side.

Since he drank so much poison, I expected him to vomit blood and collapse as soon as the match started.

*

The gong signaling the start of the game rang loudly.

Dae-Ang!

The prediction went in a strange direction. Sure enough, as soon as the game started, someone collapsed and vomited blood.

It wasn’t the demon slayer, it was Malketh himself.

Sigh!

“Uh, uh… … .”

Jje-uh!

The blade that had pierced his neck twisted and was pulled out. Blood gushed out, and the scent of blood flowed back into his esophagus and trachea, making his stomach turn. He tried to exhale, but only a foul-smelling foam of blood rose up from his throat.

“Off, off, off…” … .”

The excruciating pain caused his vision to narrow drastically. The ‘vile hunter’ looked at his prey who had hunted him with a desperate gaze. It was as if he was asking this question.

Did you know that the wine was poisoned? If you didn’t know, why didn’t you drink it in the first place? If you knew, why did you come back and drink so greedily?

How can a person drink ‘devil’s blood’ and not only not die, but also become more monstrous than before?

“… … .”

Instead of answering the question, Kadim stomped on Malketh’s head with all his might.

Pur – Wow!

Under the footsteps of the berserker with glowing red eyes, the bone that had been carrying out a dastardly trick was shattered into shapeless pieces.