Chapter 36: Fighting a 4th-Floor Contestant - Mirror Dimension!

Chapter 36: Fighting a 4th-Floor Contestant - Mirror Dimension! A few minutes before, It was all a game of HP Regeneration Rate. No matter when the prophecy would have come true, it didn’t matter. If his HP wouldn’t drop to 0 instantly, then his HP Regeneration Rate must overcome the depletion rate for him to survive. Kai would have never followed Petyr, knowing this, if it weren’t for the Titan’s Buff given by the Skill - Relentless Love. It wasn’t just a buff. No. It was his lifeline. A 5 point increment in Stamina meant not only a temporary higher value of HP but also meant a higher regeneration rate. Then there was the magical flesh of Hippogriff he had stored in his MRB for exactly such emergencies. Combine all this with the Elementary Fear Manipulation, and even the loss of a corner of his head couldn’t bring down Kai. The rest was a struggle. There was a dull metallic visorless spartan helmet over his head which shone dark bronze. A black-colored smooth mane crowned the helmet. The Titan’s helm had darkened Kai’s facial features, making it impossible for an outsider to see his eyes, but even it couldn’t hide the sheer amount of blood running down Kai’s neck. The Titan’s Buff kept eating away his MP, and Kai kept stuffing blood and meat into his mouth as he walked away from the crime scene. Even then, Kai didn’t forget to leave behind some blood to bait the attacker. There was murder in his eyes. And yes. Questions. Kai felt an unprecedented strength coursing through his veins. The only downside was... well, he was dying. So he waited. It was a bullet, Kai told himself, his sight lingering at the boundary of light and dark; life and death. It was a fucking bullet! Kai had an inkling when he had seen the prophecy, but this new world had shown him too many weird things for him to think of only firearms like a simpleton. For all he cared, it could have been the work of an invisible person. Gulp! Gulp! Kai put the blood jar on his lips and drank as much as he could. More carrion went down his throat than he had hoped for. The bullet had scratched the top of his head. If it was any other time before the buff, Kai would have died there and then. But the ugly wound had all but healed now. The bronze helmet disappeared. Kai also felt the young Petyr inside him vanish then. But the task was done, and he was out of danger. The only thing that remained now was to let the HP and MP regenerate at their usual pace. Kai hid in a corner, keeping himself in the shadows. He wanted to prey on his attacker’s fear, enhancing his HP and MP Regeneration Rates. It was then Kai thought he heard a noise. Not a killer, Kai reflected. No killer would walk so loudly anywhere. He switched between Misdreavus and Blue-tailed Boa Constrictor’s Blood Essences. Hisssss! "Who’s there?" a high-pitched voice demanded. "Sparrow, is it you? It’s me. Cuckoo." Cuckoo? Kai’s slitted eyes narrowed. He took out the sabers and slithered. Before attacking her, it was best to make her fear him. Hisssss! The hiss surrounded him like armor, his red hot skin steaming in the darkness. As Kai dashed in the voice’s direction, he saw the silhouette coming alive. Kai kept dancing around her in the shadows, switching between the Blood Essences. With the girl absolutely terrified, she became the greatest source for him to regain his HP and MP for full. When the red and blue bars in his Stats hit the limit, Kai knew it was time to stop playing with her. With one swift motion, he dashed toward the girl. Then the danger banged against his Perception suddenly. Kai could see the silhouette holding two pistols, but they were pointed in the wrong direction. Twin-Saber Style... "Who... Who’s there? I... I am Set Lord’s daughter..." Kai was running so low that for a moment, it seemed he was a snake slithering on the ground. Kai put one saber point into the handguard of the other, and suddenly his reach doubled. He didn’t want to get accidentally shot at while cutting her up. .... Giant Serpent’s Severing Whiplash! The two sabers in his hand became a metallic whip, and Kai lashed out. A crack resounded as the front saber’s edge effortlessly cut the knees of the silhouette in a single stroke. But this crack got outmatched by the sudden cacophony of the two pistols firing, not at Kai, but the sky. ... [ Elementary Snake Instinct: Proficiency 21% (+5%) Elementary Slither Footsteps: Proficiency 51% (+4%) Elementary Twin-Saber Style: Proficiency 50% (+4%) Elementary Fear Absorption: Proficiency 11% (+5%) ] ... Kai panted, approaching the silhouette. He had realized it was a girl, but he didn’t know she was beautiful. What a cutie! he thought, amusingly. Set Lord’s daughter, she said. Heh! Her Inventory must be full of riches then . "Well, well," Kai said, towering over her stupefied face. "Someone’s being a little naughty bird." * * Presently, The girl screamed, her throat bulging in a monstrous swell, but no sound came out. Kai had stuffed her handkerchief in her mouth so deeply that snot and tears ran down her nose and eyes. Losing her legs, she was in a world of pain. Alas, Kai couldn’t care less. "Take everything out of your Inventory, birdy," he commanded again. "I just might give you a clean death, I promise." "Mmm... Mm-hum.." Cuckoo was begging, cursing, and if her hands weren’t tied behind her back, she would have flailed them too. But the only thing she could do in the state Kai had left her was to sway her half-legs, showering the ground with blood. She was dying. But Kai wouldn’t let her. He took out a piece of meat and stuffed it into her mouth, taking out the cloth. The girl clenched her teeth. Slap! Kai slapped her so hard that her eyes lost focus. He stuffed the cloth back down her throat after making her eat. He couldn’t afford for her to vomit the flesh. Cuckoo’s face was incredibly pale, and the beauty of her face was all but gone. Now five-fingered bruises had taken over the milky-white soft skin. Her hair, which had shone with brown and red, was getting pulled out as Kai kept dragging her towards the sewer’s entrance like a sack. It was hell. Kai reined this hell like a demon Slap! "Take out the pistols," Kai casually said, making her ear burst with blood. "I know you have them. I saw you firing. Take them out." "Mmm... Uhmm..." Slap! Sigh! Kai let out a breath, pulling the girl towards a dark corner. The noise of their fight had woken up the entire castle. Guards were running here and there, trying to find even a hint of something alive. So Kai had taken a roundabout way to return to the Tower of Hand. He just couldn’t fathom why this girl wasn’t taking out the pistols. "You are forcing me now, you know," Kai scowled, throwing her onto a small pile of hay. "Last chance. Take out the pistols, and empty your Inventory. Then I will end your misery, OK?" Cuckoo, with all her might, twisted her head and looked at her hands. Then she looked back at Kai, giving him a disgusting and pleading look. Kai stared at her. She sure is gutsy, he thought. Bitch is still asking me to let her go. "Good," said Kai. "Very good. I like your spirit. Now let’s see if you like the feeling of your eyes exploding out with slimy juices." This was no empty threat. The simplicity with which Kai had declared his intentions got only bolstered by the calmness on his face. Cuckoo squirmed like a chicken who had just got to know her fate. She was going to be slaughtered by this butcher. Suddenly, the entire world cracked. Kai looked around and saw the cracks appearing everywhere like a broken mirror. The sound of glass shattering took over his senses. The girl scornfully grunted at the sight of mirror shards. What is this? Kai asked himself in awe. What’s happening? No! Kai’s mind roared, and he lunged for the girl. But in-between them, a golden ring appeared. Kai stepped back, distancing himself as he gawked at the scene. The golden ring was sparkling as if little fireworks were going off at its rim. Through the golden ring, Kai could see little buildings, a street, and a few people in rags. It was like the golden ring was nothing but a round door; a hole adjoining two worlds. The woman walked in then. She was wearing a yellow monk’s garb, and white-gray hair flowed behind her like some aged waterfall. On her face, there was a plain white mask. The mask had only two eyeholes, but Kai couldn’t see her eyes through them. The only thing he could see was the exquisite picture of a sparrow on the mask. Strong, Kai’s eyes widened with realization. Stronger than even Arlen Willey. She is from at least a 4th floor Contestant. Kai had met a 4th floor Contestant in his Initiation Mission. He remembered the feeling still. It was like an itch in his bones. Kai licked his lips. The golden ring behind her vanished, and new mirror-like cracks kept appearing around him. It was only then Kai noticed the strange ring on her left hand. It was a flat metallic slab, and it covered two of her fingers. The woman looked at Kai, who kept backing until his back hit the mirror wall. Then she looked back at the girl and her legs. Her eyes planted on Kai, she backed up, taking out a red pill. Kai took out his sabers. He saw her ripping out the cloth stuffed in Cuckoo’s mouth. The girl screamed, squealing like a pig on its way to the slaughterhouse. The pain didn’t make her feel better either. It ate her from below, her legs wreathing, bleeding out thick juices. "Aunt!" Cuckoo bellowed, crying bloody tears. "Aunt! Kill him. Kill him, aunt! It hurts so much." Aunt?! Oh, Haha! Kai grinned inwardly. So that’s how it is. This is getting interesting. Very interesting! It was amazing how he could still show this side of himself when he had almost no hope of winning against his enemy. When the woman fed the girl that red pill, in a matter of seconds, all the bleeding stopped. Her pale face became rosy, and her dead eyes brimmed with life. Kai could feel her strength rising with every passing second. "Lose your weapons, spawn of Chaos," Sparrow said calmly. "You must pay the price for this cruelty." "I don’t agree," Kai said, licking his lips lustily. "Her cunt wasn’t even worth a penny, I am afraid." "Humph!" the woman snorted, but there was no anxiety in her voice. "Give up all struggles, boy. You can never leave this Mirror Dimension without my permission." Kai’s gaze moved from the flat metallic ring on her fingers to the strange cracks around him. It was true. There was no sound coming in. Kai even saw a guard passing by, looking at them, or through them as if they didn’t exist. Kai gulped. Then he grinned even more. "OK, I give up," Kai said, stepping towards the woman. "Good, leave your..." Before the masked woman could finish her words, Kai dashed. His feet almost slid, slithering as if there was oil on the ground. His black sabers glistened silver in the dark.