Chapter 293 - Walking Corpse

Chapter 293: Chapter 270: Walking CorpseIt really is... utter chaos.

As Eugene’s black luxury sedan got closer to the direction of the City Hall, the more chaos he saw along the way.

Feeling deceived and betrayed, the Toy City citizens, holding wooden signs, banners, family photos, and even torches, were chanting slogans like "We want the truth!" "City Hall must explain!" "Dumbledore, come out!" as they converged and marched towards the City Hall.

The Stormtroopers, acting as the police force, stood at every intersection, blocking the crowds from different directions like reefs.

They were ordered to neither allow civilians to go to the City Hall to cause more chaos nor to actively use force and escalate the situation,

so all Stormtroopers just held anti-riot shields and rubber batons, without their usual heat ray laser guns.

(Although the Stormtroopers were not using guns, in reality, it actually increased their combat effectiveness...)

Sensationalist journalists were broadcasting live on one side,

the atmosphere on site was as tense as a powder keg.

Even under the reign of Mayor Dumbledore who personally established Toy City and commanded great respect,

had it been someone else as the mayor, the agitated citizens might have already bypassed the anti-riot shields to brawl with the Stormtroopers, staging a "Toy City all-out free-for-all."

"The road ahead is blocked,"

Driver Fujiwara Takumi eased off the accelerator, slowing down the car, and tapped the screen of the car’s central control to bring up a map, "I suggest we take the Third Avenue and enter the City Hall parking lot from the north, that road isn’t completely blocked yet..."

Before he could finish, Kurosaki Ichigo, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly turned grim. Ignoring the fact that the vehicle was still moving, he pushed open the car door, leaned his body out of the car, and with his right hand drew the Soul Cutting Sword named "Zhan Yue," unleashing a slash of sword light towards a café on the left side of the street.

Crescent Moon Sky Strike,

this skill, much like the Spiral Ball or Spacium Beam from other literary works, seems like a basic move but is infinitely versatile, capable of a myriad of marvelous applications.

It can be used as a Normal Attack to probe the opponent’s strength,

or developed to the pinnacle, serving as a trump card. A single move that excels in every situation.

In this instance, the Crescent Moon Sky Strike is a variant move where the spiraling sword energy formed by the Spiritual Pressure rapidly moves forward, shattering the café’s glass windows.

A customer seated by the window, hiding his face behind a newspaper, suddenly recoiled, avoiding the fate of being shattered by the Crescent Moon Sky Strike. His newspaper, however, turned to confetti, scattering all over.

Boom!

The bar counter struck by the residual force of Crescent Moon Sky Strike exploded on the spot, the loud noise startling the citizens on the other side of the street who were confronting the Stormtroopers, instinctively ducking to the ground.

"Still worried about collateral damage? If you had used your full Strength to unleash a Crescent Moon Sky Strike, chances are, I’d probably be dead by now."

With the man’s deep, husky voice, a slender figure emerged from the café filled with smoke and dust.

"Frankenstein?!"

Eugene, seated in the back of the vehicle, exclaimed in astonishment. The man before him, haggard and wearing sunglasses, was unmistakably the Transcendent from the Demon Scientist Alliance Guild.

Having just escaped from Toy City’s safe house, his Detection Skill showed that he was seriously injured with debuffs,

how could he dare to stay in the city center?! Who gave him the courage.

"You’ve got quite the nerve."

Kurosaki Ichigo squinted and asked, "Getting caught once wasn’t enough for you, or did you think that the more dangerous the place, the safer it is?"

"I wouldn’t say that,"

Frankenstein smirked, "The reason I was caught last time was because I was hopeful.

Back then, I didn’t resist much, thinking to seek an opportunity to join Toy City, hoping to convince you using my status as an outsider, forming an alliance to confront others.

I didn’t expect that Eugene was already on your side even before I could offer my loyalty.

This heavily reduced my utilization value, and I ended up being injected with a large dose of muscle relaxants and anesthetics, having my spinal cord severed, unable to even proactively leave this world."

Kurosaki Ichigo frowned and said, "So what?"

"You’re a high-level enforcer for the City Hall, you must know some secrets.

For outsiders like me and Eugene, winning this game is like a pauper, suddenly getting a lottery ticket that only needs one matching number out of six,

just one win would mean billions of cash, instant financial freedom, free from all worries.

No matter the cost or risk, it’s worth killing other holders of the ticket to snatch that slim chance."

Frankenstein spoke calmly, "My summoned entities are mostly dead, and most of my energy has been spent. My Erosion Level is also over fifty percent. It’s very tough for me to win against other outsiders.

To claim victory, I have to risk it all, betting everything..."

Sensing impending trouble, Kurosaki Ichigo didn’t care about collateral damage anymore and unleashed another full-powered Crescent Moon Sky Strike, risking the collapse of the entire building, bearing down on Frankenstein.

Buzz!

Frankenstein turned intangible, dodging the lethal slash, while holding a bundle of explosives, quickly closed in on Eugene.

Eugene instantly understood what the other was trying to do. From Toy City’s perspective, it didn’t matter who won this task, what mattered was that the victor had to be on Toy City’s side.

If Frankenstein, taking a huge risk, chose to take out Eugene right here and now, Kurosaki Ichigo might not avenge the latter; instead, he might put down the Soul Cutting Sword and start negotiating terms with Frankenstein.

Now that Toy City was in turmoil,

the dead had no value, even if Eugene was considered half an apprentice of Dumbledore.

With his hair standing on end, Eugene, without any hesitation, gripped the Magic Wand in his right hand and conjured three golden arrows from the void with his left hand.

This is the secret treasure he was willing to betray the guild for, be hunted by Bell Tower, and hide in the Shadow Realm for years, living a life that is neither human nor ghost.

Its original form comes from Greek mythology, where the sun god Apollo bestowed a golden arrow upon the devout follower Abalis.

There were seven golden arrows in total, each with a different, powerful special effect, and after use, they required the completion of an entire Script Task to recharge.

The first, Curse Killing Decree.

Eugene’s golden arrow silently dissipated in his hand, and three interlocking rings of light rose above his head, each capable of blocking a lethal attack once.

The second, Earth-binding Decree.

Frankenstein, already in a state of near invisibility, was forcibly slowed down, his figure flickering in and out, struggling to move.

Frankenstein, realizing something was wrong, pulled out a large pile of items and Skill Scrolls from the void and smashed them on the ground like a store clearing sale, trying to break the anti-magic effect.

Unfortunately, mysteries yield to higher levels of mysteries.

The Arrow of Abalis is an extremely noble Epic Magic Tool; unless a deity, demi-god, or legendary mage comes personally, it is impossible to break.

The third, Curse Killing Decree.

Blood-written graffiti formed under Frankenstein’s feet, any physical or magical attack could cause multiple times the damage to him.

The effects of the three golden arrows were simple and practical yet powerful.

Eugene’s eyes were cold as he flicked his Magic Wand, casting a Black Magic called Divine Blade Shadowless.

This Evil Curse, invented by Severus Snape, made no obvious sound or light effects when cast; it simply tore a vast wound out of nowhere on the person who was cursed.

It was more covert and efficient than Avada Kedavra.

With the damage boost from Curse Killing Decree, it was enough to shred a creature as large as a blue whale into pieces.

In an instant, the effect of Divine Blade Shadowless’s Evil Curse worked directly on Prometheus’s entire body.

His eyes were full of astonishment, his scalp split on both sides, his ten fingers sliced into pieces like sausages, his torso and limbs sprouting numerous wounds out of thin air, as if he was being executed, turning into a bloody mess of flesh.

His brain and heart, which were under special attention, were directly destroyed, ground into mush.

Eugene’s ears heard the system broadcast, and he let out a huge sigh of relief.

Above all, the system of the killing field rules supreme. If the broadcast announced Frankenstein dead, then he truly was dead.

It was a bit of a shame to waste three golden arrows; the remaining four should be saved for dealing with Gouchen and Ant...

Wait a second.

Eugene’s pupils shook, looking around in disbelief.

Except for him, time had stopped.

Leaves were frozen in mid-air, Kurosaki Ichigo still in a sword-swinging posture, and the parade crowd, Stormtroopers, and journalists on the street were all frozen in place.

"Hehehe hahaha."

Ten meters away, the chunk of meat that was once Frankenstein made a pleasant laugh, "Your next line is ’How is this possible.’"

"How is this possible?!"

Eugene subconsciously exclaimed, then realized belatedly, gritting his teeth, staring intently at the other.

The clump of flesh wriggled, and from within emerged a blurry green spirit.

"Eugene, Eugene,"

The spirit shook his head with a smile: "You’re still too young, you have forgotten an important unspoken rule of the killing field—when you bring out the strongest battle form and the other person doesn’t run, it’s actually you who should be running."

Despite not being able to see expressions, Eugene could still imagine the smug smile on the other’s face.

This domain wasn’t in a scripted world, nor a subspace or alternate dimension, but more like the Sea of Consciousness.

All Equipment, items, and Skills were sealed, returning to the initial state.

"You’re not Frankenstein; you are...Joker. Or rather, you were Joker."

Eugene’s insight as a former member of the Bell Tower Guild vaguely guessed what was going on,

He took a deep breath and said somberly, "No wonder the system broadcast of Joker’s elimination and the news of the safe house attack and Frankenstein’s disappearance came almost back-to-back,

No wonder Frankenstein stayed so unwisely in the city center, keener on killing me than facing competitors Gouchen and Ant.

Joker possesses a Skill similar to bowing that allows him to directly take over the body of the person who killed him after death."

Eugene paused, then shook his head and denied, "No, it’s not an unconditional possession. That’d be too unreasonable and not a power you, at Lv20, could possess.

There must be a colossal limitation to this Skill, or else you could’ve found an opportunity to rush into City Hall and let Dumbledore kill you so you could directly possess his body."

"You guessed right, but too bad, there’s no prize."

Joker, or rather the entity that was once Joker, hooked his fingers around the corners of his mouth and made an ugly smile, "This Skill is called the First Commandment, bringing the person who killed me at close range into the Sea of Consciousness of both parties for a fair contest.

Here, there are no Extraordinary Elements, no concept of time, only the will of people.

Whoever has the firmer self, the more tenacious will, can engulf the other and walk out from here."

"You’re a madman."

Eugene cursed: "The system broadcast overrules all and has announced your elimination and death; do you think you’re still alive?

The you that has taken over Frankenstein’s body is less the Joker and more a Walking Dead driven by fragments of memory!"