Chapter 139: Pulling Out the Barrett
Save him?
Impossible.
Haruto spared the screaming player a single, disinterested glance before turning his back and heading into the garage without a second thought.
'If this had happened at the very beginning,'he mused,'I might have considered it. Lending a hand wouldn't have been a problem.'
But now? Not only had the man triggered the insect swarm again, but he was also sprinting directly toward them, clearly intending for them to delay his pursuers. "Delay" was a polite term; in reality, he was just looking for a scapegoat.
If they were ordinary players, they might have been dragged into the mess, caught too far from safety to make it back in time.
Of course, Haruto understood. It was human nature to cling to any sliver of hope, even if it meant endangering others for a chance to survive. But he was no saint. He wouldn't help, but he wouldn't go out of his way to harm the man either.
The others clearly shared his sentiment, their silence a form of unanimous agreement.
The moment they stepped into the relative safety of the garage, the desperate cries for help from outside abruptly ceased. They were replaced by a torrent of venomous curses, branding them as heartless and disgusting.
Haruto merely raised an eyebrow, his expression untroubled. There was no point in getting angry with a dead man walking.
The insect swarm, now thoroughly agitated, drowned out the man's final curses. The air filled with a rustling, crawling sound so dense it made one's scalp tingle.
'Not good.'
A knot of unease tightened in Haruto's chest, and he instantly tore open a Gap. Through the swirling portal, he saw a small, mangled corpse—only its upper half remaining—scrambling toward them with grotesque speed.
The Gap had barely formed, but the creature was already at the doorway, its withered arm raised high, poised to strike.
Kaguya, reacting with stunning speed, drew a sharkskin dagger from her sleeve. Imbuing it with the power of "Eternity and Moment," she thrust the blade through the Gap.
But she was a fraction of a second too late.
The small corpse's palm had already slammed down. With a sickening thump, the deceptively frail arm punched a hole clean through the metal garage door, accompanied by a piercing, inhuman shriek.
In the next instant, the lethal effect of Kaguya's dagger took hold, the power of "Eternity and Moment" freezing the creature in place. But the damage was done. The commotion had drawn the attention of every Human-faced Beetle in the vicinity.
"Damn it, damn it all," Kaguya cursed, pulling out a potion and smashing it over the immobilized corpse. A sizzling hiss filled the air as the grotesque creature dissolved into a puddle of viscous yellow liquid.
"Ryuko, kill him."
"Don't have to tell me twice."
Haruto had already acted. He reached into a Gap and pulled out a heavy sniper rifle. The sight of it made Yotsuya Miko and Lin Xuelao, who were about to block the door with supply crates and steel plates, freeze in their tracks.
The gun's appearance was all too familiar. A thick, intimidating muzzle, a massive scope, and a silhouette that radiated pure stopping power.
'Isn't that... a Barrett?'
Anyone who had ever played a shooting game would recognize it at a glance. But when they remembered it was Haruto holding it, their shock gave way to a sense of grim relief. If anyone else had pulled out such a weapon, it might have been a toy model. But coming from Haruto's hands, it was undoubtedly the real, terrifying deal.
BOOM—!
A dull, concussive report like a hammer striking an anvil echoed through the garage. The bullet tore through the air and struck the fleeing player squarely in the back. A wild, triumphant laugh was still etched on his face as he ran, but his body suddenly erupted in a shower of red mist and gore.
He probably never imagined, even in his final moment, that another player could simply pull out a Barrett.
"Done! Hurry and block the door!" Haruto ordered, neatly stowing the sniper rifle away.
Yotsuya Miko and Lin Xuelao, who had been waiting for his signal, suppressed the nausea brought on by the bloody spectacle. They quickly moved, using the heavy steel plates and crates to seal the breach in the door.
Even so, a few Human-faced Beetles managed to squeeze through the remaining gaps.
Yotsuya Miko's eyes sharpened. She swung the broken sword in her hand, its jagged edge slicing through the beetles that lunged at her.
Nearby, Youmu's gaze fell upon the broken blade, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. She recalled Haruto mentioning that Miko wielded a shattered sword, but seeing it in person was still astonishing. How could one even fight with such a weapon? Yet, drawing upon her years of swordsmanship, her mind instantly calculated several ways it could be used effectively.
Meanwhile, Haruto and Kaguya finished reinforcing the garage door. Once the frantic scrabbling outside subsided, Haruto used his boundary ability to restore the damaged door to its previous, unbroken state.
He let out a quiet sigh of relief. If those bugs had been stubborn enough to charge relentlessly, they would have been in for a tough fight. They would have won, of course, but it would have been an incredibly disgusting ordeal.
Suddenly, the corpses hanging from the ceiling stirred. Haruto immediately noticed and looked up. The bodies, which had been inert, seemed to have come to life, their unnaturally long necks swaying gently.
It was clear now. The Human-faced Beetles that had crawled in earlier had activated them. The beetles' unhesitating entry, combined with the special waxy layer on their carapaces that absorbed breath and sound, suggested something new. The reason no beetles were in here before wasn't that they feared these corpses, but because the corpses secreted a substance that repelled them—most likely the wax itself.
For ordinary players, this could be a life-saving discovery, a way to hide during a crisis. But Haruto had no need for it, nor did he have any desire to collect a waxy secretion from a hanging corpse.
The others also saw the hanging bodies stirring and instinctively backed away toward the door, their breathing softening. Youmu's hand was already resting on the hilt of her katana; if these things showed the slightest hint of hostility, she would cut them down in a single, fluid motion.
Haruto, however, felt no tension. Youmu was right here. While Kaguya's conceptual abilities were significantly weakened by the Death Game's rules, Youmu's power was largely unaffected. At most, her spiritual power was suppressed, but her lethality came from her own exquisite and deadly swordsmanship.
He glanced up at the hanging corpses again. Their long necks had begun to sway from side to side, as if searching.
Haruto typed a quick message into their group chat.
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: These things are mostly blind. As long as you don't get close or touch their necks, it'll be fine.]
[Her Highness the Princess of Eientei: Roger.]
[Lin Xuelao: Roger.]
[Yotsuya Miko: Roger.]
At that moment, a thought occurred to Haruto, and he typed another question.
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: @Lin Xuelao By the way, Lao Lao, can you see the content on the phone?]
[Yotsuya Miko: She should be able to, right? Didn't Lao Lao get a perception boost back at the castle?]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: That did happen, but I remember the principle of that ability was capturing air currents to form images in her brain. Logically, it shouldn't be able to identify flat text... Lao Lao, did your ability upgrade again after your last instance?]
Yotsuya Miko looked up at Lin Xuelao, a hint of surprise in her eyes. She had assumed Lin Xuelao hadn't joined them for the Cabin in the Woods instance because she wasn't invited or had simply refused. She hadn't expected her to have participated in another instance entirely on her own.
Sure enough, a reply soon appeared in the chat.
[Lin Xuelao: Yeah, I entered a hospital-themed instance, and my perception ability improved a bit more. Now I can sense basic color differences, so simple things like looking at a phone or chatting are okay.]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: That's pretty good.]
[Lin Xuelao: It's not enough... I want to see the Lord God's appearance with my own eyes.]
'Lord God?'Yotsuya Miko blinked.'She must be talking about Haruto.' She looked from Lin Xuelao's determined profile to Haruto, who was busy typing on his phone.
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Actually, I'm a youkai.]
[Lin Xuelao: I know, but in my heart, you are the Lord God. My only wish now is to be able to see you with my own eyes, to see you clearly. The Lord God must be very handsome.]
[Her Highness the Princess of Eientei: Although Ryuko's personality is a bit nasty, I have to admit, he does look alright.]
[Yotsuya Miko: +1]
[Lin Xuelao: That's great. I really want to see.]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Ahem, I'm just average.]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Kaguya, don't just stand there. Where's that ghost letter? I just remembered you have that thing. Hurry up and take it out; have it draw a map for us.]
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]