I Awakened My Game System! Now Three Great Houses Want Me Dead!-Chapter 111: You~
This Colosseum game was a free-for-all in a sense, or at least Xenos saw it as one, so he wouldn’t help his people like last time, something that everyone knew or predicted.
So when they finally met on the day of the game...
"STRANGER!"
"STRANGER!"
"STRANGER!"
In the Colosseum’s arena, under the crowd’s screams...
"STRANGER!"
"STRANGER!"
"STRANGER!"
Arc, Aspen, Dei, and Ari held serious faces.
They all faced Xenos, who swaggered in with Gaia on his arm, looking relaxed as ever.
"Look who’s finally here."
Noticing them first, Aspen crowed, clapping the shoulder of his Lord.
Dei danced up and latched onto Xenos’s arm like she always did.
"And since when were you two an item?!"
Gaia quickly pulled Dei away from Xenos and bopped her on the head with the flat of her staff.
"D-Don’t cling to him!"
Dei squealed with delight.
"Aw, I was only saying hi!"
Gaia stared her down, only to let out a "Hmph!"
Something that made Dei squeal even louder:
"You’re sooo cuteee~!"
While those two played around, Arc gave Xenos a long, awkward stare.
After letting out a breath and looking down, a single word left his lips:
"C-Congratulations."
It was small, but Xenos saw it for what it was:
A gift.
He knew that it took the wolf-boy a lot to say that.
So Xenos gave the wolf-boy a nod that, for once, didn’t mock.
"Thank you."
Aspen nodded at his Lord and brought Xenos to a half-hug.
"Congratulations, brother. May your House Eris thrive."
Xenos nodded at him as well before glancing to his left.
His eyes landed on Ari, who separated the now giggling girls.
"Keep the show to a minimum; you’re ruining our image."
The Gryphon wasn’t exactly friends with the group, but she remained close with them.
Facing death together made you attached, no matter what type your personality was.
Xenos was an exception, of course, but that didn’t matter for now.
Clack!
Lothar’s cane came through, cutting the chatter short.
"Disciples and... Priests, it’s time."
Because indeed, it was time.
This Shepherd’s arrival meant only that.
"As you now know, some earlier than others..."
His eyes turned to Xenos, who’d skipped all classes.
"This game will be of cleansing Corruption."
He pointed at the eight massive projections blooming in the air, each one mapping out glowing sections of the Corrupted land.
"Everyone is required to wear a Divine Mask. Lose it, and even a Butterfly won’t save you."
The Disciples all stomped loudly.
"Yes, Shepherd Lothar!"
And that made Xenos raise a brow.
’It seems like they grew too... yeah, maybe the classes aren’t as useless as I thought.’
Still, that didn’t mean that he thought about joining any.
He had many more important matters to attend to.
Mostly, he didn’t want to be lectured...
But he wasn’t about to admit that.
"Then let’s begin!"
Lothar tapped his cane, and everyone sat down.
They closed their eyes, and their breaths slowed.
One by one, they equipped their Divine Masks.
Xenos did as well, his Stranger’s Mask.
"Good luck."
The spell had activated.
...
A blink later, Xenos opened his eyes to a dark world.
Or rather, it was a land that had been painted with rot.
Trees still held shape, but their green was replaced with black, while pulsating veins crawled all over their wood. And the veins didn’t stop there. Beneath him was the same, thumping veins everywhere, making it seem like the place was alive with a stuttering heartbeat.
If the sky above wasn’t blue, he’d have thought that he was in another world entirely.
Everything felt... wrong in a way his Soul despised.
His house was far from here... he couldn’t have this.
And so, slowly, he peeled the mask off.
’Be careful.’
Grinning at Eris’s usual reminder, he closed his eyes.
"Let’s find this Daemon."
***
"JUST WHAT IS HE DOING?!"
The outside commentary went wild, even as the Game had just begun.
Lothar, floating before the projections, wanted to find any chance at shitting on the kid; though he’d set that goal aside last time, it had yet to change.
"Perhaps he’s turned suicidal!"
John Tzetzes, the Inquistor who annoyed Xenos back then, had joined Lothar in his commentary endeavors, perhaps for the first time since forever, now floating next to him.
Though he had yet to say anything, even when Lothar was introducing him to the crowd earlier. But that didn’t mean that he was out of it; no, rather, his eyes seemed to show amusement.
Perhaps he knew what Xenos was planning to do...
Perhaps Xenos was the reason he came here.
***
And indeed, Xenos was planning something.
He didn’t rush, letting the rotting silence stretch.
Corruption pushed through, reaching his lungs.
He could feel it slowly devouring his Divinity.
—
[• D: 1145/1147 •]
—
Using his Divinity to sense where he could move, he began to walk.
—
[• D: 1143/1147 •]
—
Meanwhile, his reserves continued to tick down, devoured by Corruption.
—
[• D: 1141/1147 •]
—
He was using it as something of a Geiger counter.
—
[• D: 1139/1147 •]
—
If the rate at which it dropped increased, then...
—
[• D: 1135/1147 •]
—
Xenos would be nearing a Daemon.
—
[• D: 1127/1147 •]
—
’You should go quicker now.’
Agreeing with Her, he opened his eyes and began to run.
—
[• D: 1121/1147 •]
—
He felt the pull a little more.
— 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
[• D: 1115/1147 •]
—
The Corruption chewed at his Divinity even faster.
—
[• D: 1094/1147 •]
—
Way, way faster.
Xenos was heading in the right direction.
There was no need to waste any more Divinity.
—
[• D: 1091/1147 •]
—
His Divinity loss had paused the moment he reequipped the Stranger’s Mask.
"I’ve found you~!"
***
"JUST HOW SMART IS HE?!"
Lothar’s voice reached all in the Colosseum.
His tone had quickly changed, mockery traded for shock.
He leaned forward in disbelief, his eyes wide as the projection followed Xenos rushing through the blackened forest.
"The boy had just used his loss of Divinity to triangulate where the Daemon is!"
And for the first time, John Tzetzes, calm as ever, adjusted his glasses and added:
"Xenos is no doubt the fastest to find the correct direction."
That was enough to set the stands on fire.
"STRANGER!"
"STRANGER!"
"STRANGER!"
It was to be expected.
After all, the rest of the disciples were still only finding their bearings, not used to a realm so far from normal. And that alone revealed just how experienced Xenos was compared to the rest.
They couldn’t wait to see just what he’d do next.
