episode_0008

One minute after the commencement of the arena.

Mikael, who folded her twelve shining wings behind her back and entered alone, had to frown and swiftly step aside as Inyeong suddenly attacked from behind.

Then, as if she hadn’t expected it at all, with a thud! a woman who had fallen to the ground suddenly stuck out her tongue and threw a tantrum.

“Ouch…! How could you, Ella! You won’t even hug me now…!”

“Did I not tell you clearly, Gabriel, to refrain from excessive contact?”

“But our Ella’s wings… are just too soft…!”

Turning away didn’t help at all; this time, she came closer, firmly grabbed and pouted while slapping her cheeks.

Gabriel was unusually fixated on her own wings, to the point of obsession.

“Your wings are so big and pretty~ Your chest is big and pretty too~ And this pelvis too…!”

As Gabriel’s impure words spread throughout her body, Mikaela’s brow slightly furrowed.

Helplessly, she sighed and retracted her wings, once again pressing her face against the floor.

“Ugh.”

As she retracted her wings, Gabriel, seemingly completely unexpected, was touching her bruised nose on the ground.

Leaving Gabriel be, Mikaela flicked her finger and projected the arena screen.

It wasn’t the typical broadcast screen, but rather a view that only the Pantheon Management Bureau could handle.

Among them, Mikaela had only one purpose.

Yudahee, was it?

“The sun will rise from the west. Has Ella finished watching the arena?”

Normally, Mikaela would dismiss the arena as meaningless actions to fill the gods’ idle lives.

“…I have something I want to check.”

“Huh… What is it? A man~ Is it a man?”

With her face next to Mikaela’s, Gabriel looked at her with a meaningful gaze.

“Has our Ella finally… opened her eyes…? But it’s not allowed! As long as I, Gabriel, am protecting her, I must collapse first if anyone tries to take Ella away! I absolutely won’t allow it! Hmph!”

Gabriel, who was spouting nonsense, stared intently at Yudahee, displayed on her screen, after giving him a good scolding in her mind.

She had thought of him as nothing special. Just another ordinary human who, upon entering the arena, couldn’t control his own strength and behaved like any other common human. That’s why she gave him quite a strong penalty. She had warned him to behave from now on, but…

“Gabriel, my powers didn’t work on this human.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t see anything beyond his name. I couldn’t discern his thoughts, abilities… nothing about his origins or anything.”

The story that there existed a human who could evade the eyes of Michaela, who played a significant role in the Bureau of Comprehensive Management, might seem like nonsense, but…

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Gabriel couldn’t easily dismiss those words. If Michaela had been playing such a prank, the Bureau of Comprehensive Management wouldn’t have become so rigid.

“When I tried to see beyond his name, there was interference in my vision. If I had forced my way in, I could have done it, but honestly…”

Michaela hesitated for a moment about whether to speak those words out loud and then swallowed them.

[She was afraid.]

It felt like seeing a Pandora’s box that should never be touched, something one should never open. If opened, it would be an irreversible sensation, so she just held back, giving only a penalty and moved on.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Hmm… Should I take a look into the future for once?”

Gabriel, responsible for prophecy and revelation, thought she might be able to do it, but…

“What on earth is this?”

As Gabriel wrinkled her face, trying to exert her power, she exclaimed, “Wow, I can’t see anything. In cases like this, it’s usually either a deceased person or…”

“It was a divine being behind this that I couldn’t handle.”

“But the deity she contracted with is nothing special, right?”

Upon checking the registration information, the result was Justice’s Goddess, Dike Astraea. The contract date was just the day before, in a situation where she couldn’t even properly support the divine power she possessed. On top of that, an enormous debt in the Interdimensional Credit Union.

“Yess! Yes! Well done, well done, our Dahee! Keep it up, keep it up! Let’s go for 50th place!”

“….”

Watching the spectacle of people cheering toward the hologram in front of me, it seemed highly unlikely that Dike was behind this.

“Is it just exceptional innate ability? Or is it specialized in blocking skills? Even though the SSR looks ordinary at first glance, if it’s specialized in that area, it’s definitely strange… Should I take separate measures?”

Gabriel, who seemed to be taking it seriously, stroked his chin, but… Micaela sighed and waved her hand down the screen.

“Excessive intervention in the participants of the arena goes against our principles.”

“Principles, principles, principles, when will those words change-”

However, as much as Micaela disliked it, Gabriel sat next to her, leaning on her shoulder as if he didn’t mind.

“Then should we just watch quietly?”

“I’ll say it again, excessive intervention-”

“Okay okay~ We’ll just watch, we’ll just watch~”

Smiling, Gabriel tapped Micaela’s back, and his gaze remained fixed on Yoo Dahee’s personal screen, which was displayed small in the corner.

*****

At the same time, as one guy’s head was split open like Adikia, the sound of cicadas in the forest ceased.

Even though there was no wind, the bushes began to rustle, branches started to bend or move strangely, becoming noticeably visible.

Are the participants starting to move in earnest?

…Or are they snipers aiming at me?

Since there’s no benefit in staying put, Yoo Dahee farmed with her dagger and immediately set off.

A sensation gripped her hand, something seemed to be coated with poison at the tip.

As she ran through the forest, she felt fierce gazes piercing the back of her head from behind.

“Hmm…”

Considering the sound and direction, about five people.

But they weren’t all working together; they were moving while maintaining a certain distance from each other.

“Three, one, one.”

That was a relief. If they had all rushed at once, it would have been troublesome.

Yoo Dahee stopped running and, reversing her dagger, leaped backward toward the guy who had been particularly distant.

Then, he threw the dagger he was holding not as an attack to the person rushing from behind, but as if passing it over. Along with a shout that seemed to command everyone to listen.

“Enough! This guy is alone! Let’s deal with him quickly!”

In a flash, the gaze and wariness were directed towards the one who had unexpectedly received the dagger.

“Is this a trap?”

The first man who had rushed forward, in astonishment, turned his gaze and body backward, and that choice led to the worst outcome.

Taking advantage of the blind spot created by the diverted attention, Yoo Dahee easily approached and –

“You lying b****.”

The axe mercilessly struck his side.

“Wha-what-”

Although clad in leather armor, Parashu effortlessly pierced through as if paying no mind to such things.

The blow, reaching deep into the lungs, took away the right to breathe and crumbled one’s body.

Even the one who had received the dagger suddenly stiffened in the midst of the sudden situation.

“What the…”

As a body flew towards him, he belatedly tried to dodge, but the heavy weight of the corpse grabbing his ankle was faster, and once mobility was lost, what would happen next was all too inevitable.

An axe suddenly flew from the corner, aiming for the head.

“Sh-shield!”

It seemed like he barely managed to unleash magic to block the axe, but…

“I’ll take this back.”

With a gleam in her eye, his chest burned.

Unbeknownst to him, the dagger snatched away was deeply embedded in Yoo Dahee’s hand.

“D-damn…!”

As the heart was pierced, the venom coating the dagger spread deeply through his body, and his skin turned red before giving out.

Yoo Dahee thought, “If it had just brushed me at the start of the match, I might have been in trouble,” as the venom displayed its almost instantaneous efficacy, almost akin to a curse.

The two bodies that had appeared in an instant, and the figure of Yoo Dahee standing above them, left the three latecomers speechless.

What on earth was this?

It was a catastrophe that occurred in less than 5 seconds.

“Next.”

Yoo Dahee’s words echoed sharply.

*****

“Yesss! Well done. Our Yudahee!”

Deke exclaimed, pumping his fist and bursting into admiration.

“Kkuuuh, Jumoooo! Another axe here!!!”

In the blink of an eye, Yudahee’s swift handling of the two opponents deeply impressed Deke.

His overwhelming strength far surpassed that of his previous contractor, Malcolm.

His fiery start left him regretting his stubborn perseverance to earn points by any means necessary.

His bold approach, seemingly dismissing any usefulness of sniping, counted approaching pursuers as if it were child’s play, stirring up quite a commotion.

With three kills in no time, he rose to the top.

As Yudahee’s footage replayed on the largest screen in the arena, everyone buzzed with excitement.

“Was that guy even there?”

“Looking at his record… first appearance…? What the heck from the start.”

“Judging from the sniping focus… a hefty bounty must be on him, right?”

Even in U.R.F mode, such early-game kill streaks were exceedingly rare.

Recovering scattered equipment, rapidly growing in power, and picking off opponents with precision was the norm. In a typical match, it takes at least 5 minutes for battles to intensify, making this an exceptional situation.

While grand battles fueled by immense magic were indeed spectacular, these early skirmishes had their own charm, and the spectators, equally satisfied, watched the screen with keen interest.

[Next]

Without a thought of wiping the blood from his forehead, Yudahee addressed the three contractors in front of him, causing a stir among the arena’s goddesses.

“Eek~!”

Oh my, oh my, what do we do, I’m trembling inside!

The superiority emanating over Deke as he looked at the goddesses fussing over Yudahee…!

“Hehe.”

This is my contractor… Yudahee!

His eyes hadn’t deceived him; Yudahee was the SSR-class… no, SSSSSR-class contractor who would save him…

“Next!”

Deke shouted with a wide grin.