Chapter 54: 22 Unfortunate Souls

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: 22 Unfortunate Souls

The Wheel of Fortune... Victor couldn’t even begin to imagine what that meant, but he was surprised to learn that this scenario had a story of its own and that he was now part of it, assigned a specific role.

However, if this scenario was supposed to have a hero and he was merely the Wheel of Fortune, then who was this so-called hero, and how many other roles were there for the participants?

He turned his attention back to the origin of the event.

The woman lying trapped inside the bubble, as though in a deep slumber, was perhaps the most beautiful woman Victor had ever seen in his life.

She had long ocean-blue hair, fair skin, and wore an extravagant magical girl dress in dark blue and pink. A small, colorful magic wand floated beside her hand, with a crystal heart at its tip. In fact, hearts seemed to be the central theme of her entire outfit.

’Whatever this place is, I can’t stay here for long,’ he thought.

His nose could no longer pick up the flowery scent of that crazy woman, so he ignored the existence of the other woman trapped inside the bubble and continued fleeing toward the other end of the dark area.

Once he had gotten far enough away, he hid inside one of the houses and caught his breath. Running away in such a hurry had drained his energy, and he needed to recover before someone or something came looking for him.

[The god "Serpent That Bites Its Own Tail" displays curiosity about the scenario’s roles while biting its own tail.]

[The god "Fisher of Opportunities" begins to grow suspicious of the good opportunities this scenario has to offer.]

[A nameless god is trying to find clues in everything that has been presented so far.]

’Who would’ve thought? The four of us are equally clueless right now.’

The scenario had presented a variety of seemingly unrelated events that left anyone trying to make sense of them utterly confused. Victor tried to find connections between the event, the monsters, and what had just been revealed at the Center of the Scenario, but he came up empty-handed.

He sighed, exhausted, and sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

’If things keep going like this, I’ll only be wasting my time. Every time I think I’m making some progress, a whole bunch of new things show up one after another just to make my life miserable.’

He could feel anger flaring up like a fire in his chest, but the Fairy Tear took care of calming him down. Right now, what he needed most was to clear his head and think again, so he focused on what he’d been doing before that crazy woman started chasing him.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust when he caught the putrid stench of a Golden Bone Penitent, reminding him that he needed to continue his hunt if he wanted to make it to the next scenario alive.

He then got up from the floor and gripped his sword tightly. He still didn’t know how to use the thing properly, but it had proven far more useful in battle than the Hunter’s Knife. So he was going to keep using it, even if he had to swing it around like a stick.

As soon as he stepped back outside, Victor felt a chill run down his spine, warning him that something bad was about to happen.

Without questioning that constant sensation warning him of imminent danger, he assumed his stiff, novice swordsman’s stance and waited. A few seconds later, a Golden Bone Penitent appeared at the other end of the street, reciting phrases that perhaps made a little more sense now.

[The Banquet of the 22 Souls began with a bloodbath.]

[It was blood that led them to master the darkness.]

The specter looked at Victor and pointed at him. Then came a spectral whisper, and several shadowy dogs emerged from the dust, creatures Victor had already fought before. He already knew how to deal with them, but he had to take the initiative if he wanted to avoid getting hurt.

He pressed his boots firmly against the ground and, the next moment, propelled himself toward the magical beasts that dared to attack him.

The dogs opened their jaws and lunged at him from different directions, but Victor didn’t give them time to surround him.

He came to an abrupt stop among the dogs and, without getting any closer to the Penitent, spun around his own axis, using his sword as a guide. In other words, he swung it like a helicopter blade, whether he knew how to wield it properly or not.

Thanks to this extravagant trick, which delighted the Serpent That Bites Its Own Tail, several dogs fell. However, the Golden Bone Penitent wasn’t going to just float around doing nothing. It spread its arms and shouted:

[The stars shall fall upon those who stand against the heavens.]

Lights flashed behind the specter and soon transformed into dozens of black spheres pulsing like hearts. Victor noticed the incoming attack and ran to the side as the spheres shot toward him.

The spheres exploded as soon as they touched the ground, leaving enormous craters more than a meter in diameter after each blast. The stones lining the streets flew through the air, and dust covered the surroundings after every impact. It was a devastating attack, the result of the Golden Bone Penitents’ steadily increasing power, and each sphere came dangerously close to Victor’s heels.

However, he was faster thanks to his Gale Mantle and managed to get behind the specter just in time. He propelled himself forward once more, raising his sword high to cleave the Penitent in half, but the creature manipulated the dust with its powers and turned it into another sword.

The two weapons, one made of dust and the other of metal, clashed in a spectacle of particles engulfed in flames. The impact sent vibrations through Victor’s arms, forcing him to grit his teeth to keep his grip. For an instant, the force of the collision brought his advance to a complete halt.

Victor dropped back down after the clash and propelled himself backward once more.

The Penitent took advantage of this brief opening and invoked its magic again with those mysterious phrases. Then, tiny stars descended from the sky like fireflies, whispering even more strange prayers, causing the lifeless bodies of the dogs to rise once again.

The bones and shadows began moving anew, forming creatures that wasted no time turning their jaws toward Victor.

At the same time, the area began filling with the thick black mist that had initially been every participant’s worst nightmare.

Victor clicked his tongue in annoyance. The increase in the Penitents’ power was far too noticeable; one could even call it unfair. However, considering the rewards they offered after being defeated, it wasn’t such an unreasonable difficulty after all.

Once again, he took the initiative and charged straight at the dogs as the black mist filled the area. This time, he couldn’t use his spinning move because the Penitent was also making his life miserable by launching explosive spheres at him. The battle had turned into a constant game of cat and mouse.

Victor had to keep changing directions to avoid the attacks. Sometimes, a sphere exploded so close that the shock wave pushed him forward, forcing him to regain his balance before the dogs could catch up. Other times, he had to fend off the creatures with his sword, never spending too much time on any single one of them.

Chased by the spheres and attacked by the dogs, Victor felt increasingly cornered, so he considered using another flare. He still had three charges left in his gun, and it was a good bet if he wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible.

With a plan in mind, he ran around the specter and pulled out the gun. Since he was moving so fast, he hoped he wouldn’t miss, but suddenly, the flowery scent mixed with the Penitent’s putrid stench. Then he heard that woman’s voice from behind the mist.

"Wheel of Fortune! I’ve found you!" she said.

’Goddammit! Just what I needed!’ Victor thought.

He hadn’t even finished dealing with this damned ghost, and now he had to deal with that crazy woman all over again. However, the Penitent fell silent for an instant before suddenly exploding as a brilliant, blinding light pierced through it.

The light illuminated the entire street and consumed the specter’s body within seconds. The mist dispersed a moment later, and the dogs stopped moving without their master’s commands. Then, atop the roof of one of the houses, the woman pointed her finger at empty space as though she were holding a gun.

She then smiled maliciously and brought her finger to her lips.

"Shhh... Don’t say a word and hand over your items. Only then will I spare your life."