Depraved Hero's Path

Kill or be killed.

Just the way the world is now. Humans killing each other.

Accept it and-

Marianne took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

"Are you really…" Her Golden Eyes shone brightly, yet her gaze was colder than ever. "Foolish enough to do this?"

"What's the little girl going on about?" Petra sneered.

Marianne's advance actually gave the White Army some confidence. To be precise, the two Rooks and the Pawn, who had almost killed her, regained some confidence.

"The Skill that increased your Stats might be impressive, but it won't help you win. You will lose. You will all lose." Marianne raised her hand, and pointed at each and every Participant on the opposing side.

"What the hell is she talking about?" The former Rook chuckled.

"You should be the first to realize this." Marianne said coldly, turning in his direction. "Once the Black Fog is cast, there is nothing you can do. You might think that our Queen will remain the Queen, but that's not the case. If we go another round, then I will be the Queen."

"Is that supposed to scare us? We had you-"

"I could have killed the three of you in an instant." She interrupted. "You must remember that, don't you? I slashed your knees so quickly you didn't even see me coming. Sure, your Queen might have a Skill that boost her Stats substantially but…" her hand presented the Black Army. "Every single one here will be going after your Queen." Marianne stepped forward, Twin Daggers of Ice and Fire in her hands. "While I will fight the rest of you. No," she corrected herself. "While I will kill the rest of you."

Before the opposing side could retort, Marianne continued.

"I will slash every single one of you in the throat, and you won't even see me coming." Her piercing gaze moved towards the three who had ganged up on her. "The only reason I didn't kill the three of you was because I didn't want to kill. But after what you said, what you did…"

"You know about my Skill, yet you think that anyone other than a Queen stands a chance against me?" Petra scoffed.

"It doesn't matter. You used your Skill once there were about 45 seconds left. It's a Skill that only lasts for that amount of time. Can you really kill everyone here in 45 seconds? I doubt it. I, however," Her gaze moved towards the other Participant. "Can kill all of you in 45 seconds."

Just when Petra was about to retort, her sleeve was suddenly grabbed.

"Petra! Petra, it's true! She was… She nearly crushed my skull… With ease, she brought down-"

"Shut up."

"They had the Rook Buff! Both of them! Yet she defeated both of them in an instant! One Rook defeated two Rooks and a Pawn in an instant! Petra, listen to me! She could have killed the three of us in an instant! After what we did to her, she will-"

"I told you to shut up!" Petra shouted as she punched him in the face.

"Alternatively…" Marianne turned in the Succubus's direction. "You and I can take their Queen."

"...?" Zarath raised an eyebrow.

"Based on how fast you moved after the Skill activated, I would guess that it increases your Stats by 30%. My Quickstep increases my Agility Stat by 50%. Two of us have that Skill, and you've seen Léa use it earlier."

'That's true, she did!'

'She was going even faster than Petra was!'

"Your other Stats might increase more, but those don't matter if you can't catch me. And that's ignoring the difference in Skills and Items."

Zarath stepped forward to stand by Marianne's side.

"Plus," she raised a hand and a magic circle appeared. "My chains will keep you in place. Just long enough for Marianne to cut your throat."

"No matter how you play this…"

Both stood at the front, their eyes shining.

"You will all die."

A heavy silence settled in the vault.

It was broken a dozen seconds later.

"Hahahaha! What kind of bullshit is this??" Petra shouted. "We won't know until we do it! Talking doesn't do anything!"

"Do you even know what that liquid in which you sank was?" Marianne asked. "Do you even know who cast it? What about the Black Fog? Or that Summon? If you all want to die, then bring it on. Even if we fail once, we will still have another attempt left. But make no mistake, some of you will get their stomachs split open and their skulls cracked three times in a row. Do you really want to go through that just because there is a slight possibility that some of you will survive and succeed?"

"You're bluffing." Petra spat.

"Am I?"

"Petra… We didn't see her coming at all."

"She cut our knees so easily, it was like she was completely used to it!"

"She almost cracked my skull!"

"And I will, this time."

Please, Resign.

"I'll make sure that all of you suffer…"

Please, don't make me do this.

"Just like you three wanted to make me suffer."

Please, Resign.

Silence reigned over the vault one more time.

One by one, the Participant turned towards Gin.

"You're not actually considering it?" Petra frowned. "Gin, what the fuck?"

"Can you answer any of her questions?"

"Ha?"

"The dark liquid that suddenly appeared, the Fog, the Summon… These Monsters that are fighting on their side, including that girl with horns. What's to say that they don't have more Monsters waiting outside, ready to rush in once the next round starts?"

"That's bullshit and you know it-"

"Do I? Why would you believe that they threw everything at us right away?"

"T-That's right!"

"They might have more Monsters on their side!"

"They knew that it wouldn't end in one round!"

"They knew that, so it's only natural that they wouldn't throw everything at us right away!"

Please, Resign.

"This is bullshit!" Petra shouted before turning in Rifna's direction. "Make me the King instead! Let me choose! We can win this!"

"If you're the King, then we lose your Berserker Skill." Gin muttered. "The chances of winning would decrease even further. Not that switching Kings is even possible."

"It isn't♪"

"Then…? Gin, we can still..."

Gin's gaze moved towards each of the Participants on his side.

"You said you were sorry earlier." Marianne muttered. "You'll be even more sorry if you take this to the end."

Gin clenched his teeth.

"This way…" He pushed himself off the Throne after a couple of seconds. "Only one of us has to die."

[The White King has Resigned the King's Game.]

[The Black King and his Army are Victorious.]

[The King's Game has been Cleared!]

Marianne's hands trembled violently as she took a breath in.

She turned around and clenched her fist. A silent celebration for not having to fight, not having to kill, or be killed.