บท 43: Chapter 43: The Traitor
With a swift swing of the blade, two giant-headed infants were instantly slain, earning another 400 curse points.
"Help... Help!"
"I don't want to die, someone save me..."
"Get out of the way! Don't block the path!"
Shinsuke immediately looked up to see a group of 'refugees' desperately fleeing for their lives.
Behind them was a massive blue beast, towering over ten meters tall, resembling a dinosaur.
This blue beast was not only enormous but also had sharp, strong teeth protruding, sending chills down one's spine.
Its limbs were powerful, each with only three bony fingers, yet adorned with sharp, hooked claws.
Like knives, a simple flick of these claws could impale an unfortunate straggler, tossing them into its mouth to be chewed and swallowed.
Its entire spine was covered in long, brown fur, soft and smooth, as if it had used a hair conditioner.
Despite its massive size, the beast was surprisingly fast and agile.
In just a short moment, it had already bitten down and killed three or four people.
If not for its desire to evoke fear and despair in these people to absorb their intense negative emotions and grow stronger, these people would have been dead long ago.
This torment wasn't just some sick pleasure.
It was also a way to make its prey more delicious and nutritious!
Especially when people started to turn on each other to survive, betraying and fighting, showcasing the worst of humanity's nature in its most vivid form.
Shinsuke, holding a decapitating broadsword, concealed himself in the shadows.
If he hadn't just used up his [Invisible Strike] he was confident he could have killed the beast in one blow.
But now, he had to consider the size difference. After all, he wasn't even as tall as the beast's leg—what, was he going to give it a manicure with his sword?
"Move aside!"
A man wearing a Kusagakure headband kicked someone nearby, causing them to fall and be immediately devoured by the monster.
As a Chunin, he had tried to escape.
But when all his comrades died, he hesitated.
Every day he fought over food, blending into the crowd at night, letting the monsters hunt.
His secret to survival was discovering that these monsters weren't just killing or hunting for food—they seemed to revel in seeing the worst of humanity.
The more desperate, the more fearful, the more resentful... the more it pleased these monsters, making them eat happily.
After realizing this, during each 'hunt,' he would cooperate with the monsters, creating tragic scenes.
After all, only another human could understand how to maximize that deep-seated hatred and anger!
He wasn't sure if his guess was correct, but since it increased his survival rate, he did it.
Until last night's hunt, when he ran into trouble—two other Chunins had teamed up against him, defeated him, and threw him in front of the monster.
He thought he was dead!
But just as he was about to be eaten, a monster with a human-like form stopped the others and even let him return to the crowd.
It was then that he realized—he wasn't wrong!
These monsters were intelligent and needed him to do what he was doing.
As long as he cooperated, creating more fear and despair, he could survive until everyone else was eaten.
And indeed, he was right.
He had even taken the risk to be the last one to leave, but the monsters still didn't target him first.
So he didn't hesitate and started dragging his feet among the crowd.
To survive.
Yes, that's right, to survive!
It didn't take much for him to convince himself with this reason.
Suddenly, he noticed someone running at the front.
It was the same person, along with another, who had nearly gotten him killed by the monster.
Though he had benefitted from it, he couldn't just let this grudge go!
He quickly began forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Snake Flame Jutsu!"
A serpent of fire quickly shot towards the person in front, jaws wide open.
Kusagakure was a village that specialized in learning and researching other countries' jutsus, so its ninja had a variety of techniques.
The heat from behind made the long-haired man immediately aware he was under attack, so he jumped to the side without thinking.
The attack missed, but the Kusagakure ninja wasn't surprised, closing the distance while forming more hand seals.
He didn't need a powerful jutsu to kill; he just needed to slow down his target so the monster behind could catch up and end it.
The long-haired man glanced back, surprised and frowning.
"It's you? That disgusting guy—you're still alive?"
"Heh, today you die!" the Kusagakure ninja sneered.
"Fire Style: Ghost Lantern!"
Countless ghostly flames shot towards the long-haired man from all directions.
These flames weren't very powerful, but there were many of them, and this delay allowed the monster behind to catch up.
The long-haired man's face changed; while dodging, he shouted, "The monster is getting closer! Stop now, and I won't hold a grudge."
The Kusagakure ninja sneered, not responding, only attacking more fiercely.
"Damn you! If you want to die, don't drag me down!" the long-haired man raged, his heart racing with anxiety.
Seeing the monster getting closer, he had no choice but to charge forward.
Boom, boom, boom!
Several ghostly flames exploded on the long-haired man, burning him, but he still managed to escape, albeit injured.
However, the Kusagakure ninja seemed unwilling to let him go.
"Water Style: Water Whip!"
Focused on escaping the flames, the long-haired man didn't notice the danger at his feet until it was too late.
A water whip wrapped tightly around his right leg!
"Now let's see you run!"
"Are you crazy? The monster's right behind you! If you don't run now, it'll be too late!"
"I'm crazy, but I won't die. You're the one who's going to die!"
Crazy—this guy was really crazy!
The long-haired man regretted not getting rid of this menace earlier, leading to this deadly grudge.
"Fine! Let's see if you die or not!"
The long-haired man thought he still had a chance since the monster was closer to the other guy. If the Kusagakure ninja died, he might still escape.
But then something happened that he couldn't comprehend.
The monster looked at the Kusagakure ninja, ignored him completely, and excitedly charged toward the long-haired man.
"How is this possible?!"
The long-haired man's mindset collapsed; he couldn't understand why the monster ignored the other guy and came after him.
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PatriarchPlotArmor
PatriarchPlotArmor My bad guys, finally got around to playing Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty and fell down a rabbit hole.
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