While the audience was still immersed in the heartache brought by the haunting tragedy of the shadows, Lucas raised the kitchen knife once more—and dropped it without hesitation.
Two shadows, two swift strikes. Silence followed.
"Ten… He's really going to live up to the title: the Woman Hunter with a Kitchen Knife!"
"As expected of you, Lucas. Cruel. Cold. Relentless."
Confusion spread like wildfire.
"I don't get it," one viewer commented. "Why kill both shadows? Even if he didn't help them, why outright murder?"
In the livestream, players and viewers alike speculated wildly about Lucas's motives. Some tried to rationalize it. Others were too stunned to speak. Emotions surged on the live chat.
: Has Lucas lost his mind? He just killed the victims!
: Definitely brain damage.
: That was... brutal.
: Why are some of you defending him? There's nothing 'normal' about that.
Arguments erupted across the comment stream, a cacophony of chaos. Yet more and more curious viewers began to click in, drawn by the controversy unfolding on-screen.
A pop-up revealed the real-time stats:
[904,681 people are watching the live broadcast of Supernova player Lucas. 835,297 have sent gifts. 138,461 have disliked the player. Total popularity points: 835,297.]
[Lucas's live stream is just 300,000 views shy of first place. Keep it up!]
[System prompt: Due to Lucas being in a super-livestream zone, dislikes and reports will not affect his broadcast.]
Lucas's hand twitched, still trembling from the knife's impact. The pain in his palm slowly began to dull.
"The toxin level… too weak," he muttered, ignoring the gash in his hand.
His eyes fell back to the reclining butcher—an imposing figure that once seemed unstoppable.
[Initiating danger assessment based on host capabilities...]
[Target: Butcher of Angel Orphanage — Classification: Intermediate Tier, Extraordinary Threat Level.]
Just as Lucas predicted.
"Killing the shadows didn't hurt the butcher. It fed him. Their resentment only deepened the butcher's rage. Killing them actually lowered the butcher's overall threat... The only way forward is bloodshed."
Facing the butcher once again, Lucas felt calmer than before—focused. Sharpened. Dangerous.
"And if I didn't take them out? If I'd cooperated with the shadows, they'd have feared me more than they feared the butcher. That fear... would've made everything worse."
Lucas's voice drifted into the livestream audio, quiet yet unmistakably confident.
"How the hell did he figure that out? I didn't see anything!"
"Lucas's cognitive ability surpasses 99% of players. Sure, he's insane, but that doesn't mean he's stupid."
"I support him. Those shadows couldn't even scratch the butcher. What's the point of sparing them?"
"Wait... is he wrong again? Or is he more right than anyone?"
Suddenly, a system notification interrupted the tension.
[Player 'One in a Hundred' has exited the livestream.]
Only the greatest players receive that title. The departure sent ripples through the audience.
Lucas leaned down toward the butcher.
"No reaction," he murmured. "He won't wake during the rest phase…"
Suddenly, he pressed one hand on the butcher's forehead. With the other, he drove the kitchen knife straight toward the throat—pulling hard.
But…
Instead of the satisfying, smooth slice he expected, the blade stuttered, stuck halfway in gristle. A grotesque [MOSAIC] effect distorted the gore.
A massive hole gaped open in the butcher's neck—but it wasn't enough.
Then—
A monstrous gasp. The butcher's chest lurched. Bloodshot eyes snapped open.
: !!!
: LUCAS'S CONDITION HAS WORSENED???
: Didn't the system warn that waking the butcher during rest would be fatal? And he still did it??
: He's lost it. Gone full lunatic.
: I thought he was going for a stealth kill… not suicide!
The butcher's grotesque form twitched and trembled. He surged upright.
But Lucas was faster.
He slammed the butcher's head against the recliner's backrest and plunged the knife down again.
Over and over. Every strike thundered like a hammer, each more violent than the last.
"This… is exactly how the butcher slaughtered that pig earlier," a viewer whispered in horror.
BOOM!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!!
[MOSAIC] for bones.
[MOSAIC] for muscle.
[MOSAIC] for gore.
Chunks flew, coating the room in red. Any normal NPC would've died long ago… but the butcher was no normal NPC.
Still, he resisted. Still, he struck back.
Lucas did not stop. He could not stop.
"So this is... Extraordinary danger," the thought flickered through Lucas's mind—but he shoved it aside.
The butcher thrashed beneath him. Legs kicked. Fists swung wildly.
Yet Lucas clung on, grinding the kitchen knife deeper with both hands.
[Player Lucas has been struck in the abdomen. HP -20, HP -20, Stamina -30…]
[Player Lucas has been struck in the head. HP -30, HP -30, Stamina -30, Sanity -10…]
[Player Lucas's arm is hit. HP -20, HP -20, Stamina -30, Strength -40…]
[Player Lucas's leg is hit. HP -20, HP -20, Stamina -30, Strength -30…]
Every attribute on his panel plummeted into crimson alert.
But on Lucas's face—a smile.
His pupils were radiant. Drenched in blood, broken in body—yet something in him burned brighter than ever.
[Player Lucas… HP -35… initiating data scan.]
[Data anomaly detected...]
[Rescanning...]
[WARNING]
[WARNING]
[Player data unreadable. Abnormal condition detected.]
[System prompt: Due to severe anomalies in Player Lucas's profile, data has been forwarded to the Trial Review Team.]
The livestream glitched.
Dozens of viewers covered their mouths in horror. Some were crying. Others were typing in rage, or awe, or both.
And through it all…
Lucas kept carving.
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