Endless Debt-Chapter 757 - 230: Game Mechanics

The scent of slaughter seeped through the train cars, and though nothing had happened, everyone sensed the chilling tension creeping up their spines.

An unspeakable fear, born from instinct, was uncontrollably growing deep inside, like a forest entirely devoured by darkness. You find yourself amidst it as countless wicked, deadly things that shouldn’t exist in this world crawl out from the shadows, accompanied by the owls’ cries and the cold wind rustling the trees’ dry branches.

Sounds of chaos quickly faded away, and everyone heard the bloodthirsty hum, along with the damp thud of viscous blood dripping onto the ground.

The tremors it caused merged with the train car’s sway; sharp claws lightly pressed against the wall, leaving a faint white scar on the metal, and with it came the piercing noise, signaling its nearing approach.

Something is coming, advancing slowly from the tail of the train towards the chessboard carriage.

As if time stopped, everyone’s bodies stiffened, standing still for too long as if unaware of the encroaching threat.

Normally carefree Cinderella was gripped by this violent frenzy and fell into panic; fortunately, the tremor didn’t last long. She shook off the fear and looked towards the chessboard.

They couldn’t see the advancing enemy yet, but luckily, everything happening in reality was reflected on the board corresponding to it.

A gruesome and tall chess piece appeared on the Dawn; this piece dripped with blood, its twisted and intricately carved monster slowly moving, with every move leaving blood covering the train cars.

"Fear-Devouring Demon."

Palmer uttered the name of the monster represented by the piece, and upon hearing this, Cinderella immediately flipped through the rulebook.

"Fear-Devouring Demon, elite demon unit," Cinderella quickly recited its stats, then explained its inherent abilities, "This unit periodically summons ordinary demons and has a certain fear range effect."

Compared to opponents Bologue and others faced, the Fear-Devouring Demon’s effect seemed ordinary; normally, Bologue could easily kill it with a single Iron Spear, but not now. They’ve become the Hunters within the story, no longer the Condensers outside it.

"We need to deal with it from the rear," Bologue took a deep breath and drew a long sword from the Sword Bag on his back, "We can’t let it approach the chessboard car.

"I’ll go with you."

Palmer knew the enemy’s might; in a standard game, the Fear-Devouring Demon is a highly troublesome unit. A single mistake can lead to a team wipe, not to mention it summons ordinary demons—letting Bologue face it alone seemed too much.

Canary picked up a Crossbow, "I’ll go with you too."

Bologue glanced at the two and raised his long sword towards Canary, "You come with me. Palmer stays here to prevent accidents."

Palmer offered no protest, and after a brief moment of daze, Canary understood Bologue’s intention; a hint of disappointment showed in her expression, which Bologue noticed.

Bologue questioned, "Canary, do you really think this is all just coincidence?"

Bologue didn’t intend to explain further and continued, "Palmer, I need you to care for the others here; they are complete novices."

Someone needed to stay behind to look after Ewen and Cinderella and protect the unconscious Hart.

"I’ll join you," Aimou proposed, "you need a medic."

"If we get injured, we’ll retreat," Bologue said, "if the situation turns grim, we’ll also seek help."

Bologue swiftly distributed the orders, then he opened the car door and, along with Canary, headed towards the next compartment, preparing for battle.

Amidst the carnage of this journey, aside from the chessboard car, other compartments had piled layers and layers of corpses and bloodstains; even with Bologue’s efforts to clean up, the frequency of demon attacks couldn’t be resisted.

The blood gradually dried and turned viscous, and with each step, his soles peeled off a dense thread. Bologue felt awful, the nauseating smell made him feel like he was walking through some monster’s digestive tract.

"Bologue!"

Before Bologue could go far, Palmer’s shout came from behind, "It’s coming!"

Palmer looked at the pieces on the chessboard, and suddenly the piece representing the Fear-Devouring Demon moved quickly, heading straight for the piece representing Bologue. To warn Bologue, he could only shout at the top of his lungs.

Just as Bologue heard Palmer’s shout, urgent and heavy footsteps sounded, not from beyond the door, but overhead above Bologue.

It was as if hailstones were pounding on the roof, a densely packed sound that made the scalp tingle. Gray and blood-stained claws, like interlocking blades, easily tore open the metal above Bologue’s head. The thickened armor didn’t hinder its destruction at all.

A fierce wind carried a pungent, bloody smell and crashed into Bologue, immediately followed by claws as solid as metal slashing down.

Blades crossed with a piercing screech, as sparks flew, Bologue was almost slammed into the wall on one side, and sticky blood covered his entire body, as if he had just crawled out of some monster’s stomach acids.

Bologue saw the monster. No wonder it chose to attack from above; given its towering stature, the carriage was indeed a bit too narrow. Wildly growing muscles were covered with a dense layer of scales like those of a snake, shimmering with a metallic luster.

The Fear-Devouring Demon had no hands; instead, scythe blades grew from its wrists, like a mantis’s forelimbs, with serrations lining the inside of the scythe, and a graceful yet deadly curve on the back.

A head resembling a human face, but much larger and more terrifying, roared at Bologue, a mouth full of sharp teeth bared wide.

Canary shot a series of arrows, but they merely clinked against the Fear-Devouring Demon’s body and were deflected off its sturdy scales.

Canary’s attack had no effect on the Fear-Devouring Demon, whose deadly scythes stirred up a hurricane of death, leaving twisted scars on the steel.

Bologue deftly rolled away, avoiding the slash, then rose to swing his sword. The blade struck the Fear-Devouring Demon, sparking wildly, scales cracking and splitting, but that was all; Bologue’s slashes couldn’t really harm it.

The Fear-Devouring Demon roared again, each shout bringing a mental impact, a tidal wave of fear overwhelming both him and Canary’s minds.

This had little effect on Bologue, long accustomed to fear through using the Face of Horror. Canary, however, was visibly affected, her actions slowing after the roar.

"Get out of the way, Bologue!"

Palmer’s shout echoed again, and Bologue grabbed Canary by the waist and fled the carriage, then kicked open the side door and climbed onto the roof.

As they escaped, Palmer pulled the trigger, utilizing the equipment advantage he’d gained earlier, unleashing a fierce rain of bullets. The bullets hailed down on the Fear-Devouring Demon, cracking its sturdy scale armor, with blood seeping from the fissures.

The powerful fire temporarily halted the Fear-Devouring Demon’s assault. Its stats were over the top, but it wasn’t entirely unbeatable.

The accompanying Demons charged one after another, absorbing the firepower like meat shields, giving the Fear-Devouring Demon a short respite. It climbed out through the tear above, leaving Palmer without a target, who cursed as he repositioned himself.

Running across the roof, Canary shouted to Bologue, "Bologue, you’re indeed an excellent expert."

Bologue didn’t understand why Canary was praising him at this moment, but he heard her continue shouting, "But things have changed now! Alone, you’re just a relatively strong mortal!"

"This is a damn team game!"

Bologue roughly understood Canary’s meaning. Just as he was about to say something in apology, the Fear-Devouring Demon climbed onto the roof, fully stretching its terrifying form in the open space.

They couldn’t stop it, not even with Palmer’s help. If Hart were around, perhaps they could hold it at bay a bit, but now Hart was down.

"Up ahead! Look ahead!"

Palmer leaned out of the train window, shouting at Bologue while attempting to fire shots.

Bologue looked into the distance and suddenly realized — this was ultimately a game. To rise from a predicament, he had to fully utilize all game mechanics.

On the chessboard, the Dawn had advanced to the edge of the wilderness, and ahead of it was a bridge spanning a canyon.

Bologue didn’t need to kill the Fear-Devouring Demon; he just needed to kick it off the game’s board.