Chapter 753: The Demon Lord of Absolute Evil
"Hey, Boss, what are you saying?!"
The man holding the magic staff realized something was wrong. Why would his boss agree to such an unreasonable demand?
He noticed at this moment that the guy walking step by step from the surface of the lake clearly had no Stars or a bracelet on his wrist.
This meant the other party was not a participant in the [Gift City Tournament] at all.
Fighting this guy, even if they won, they could only seize his Gifts and wouldn't obtain the qualifications to participate in higher-level Gift Games.
He was about to speak again but suddenly made eye contact with the man walking toward them. The next moment, an invisible impact struck him head-on.
Thud!
The man's face caved in, and his sternum collapsed. He didn't even have time to cast a spell before being directly hit by a terrifyingly massive force.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It didn't end there. While still in the air, he was continuously hit by that impact force. Amidst a series of crashing sounds, his bones shattered and pierced his internal organs. The man died instantly.
The pupils of the other man, who had already drawn his bow, dilated, and cold sweat instantly soaked his forehead.
Looking at the man who had already walked up to the two of them, he finally realized that this guy who killed the black dragon possessed terrifying strength.
He had never even heard of a Gift that could kill invisibly like that.
[Silver Sword Binks's Gift Game — Labyrinth Hunt]
[Hosts:] Binks, Ouroboros
[Rules:] After the game begins, participants will be thrown into a labyrinth that strips away vision. Players take turns acting as hunters and prey. The hunters can freely track and kill the prey within 30 minutes, and the prey cannot fight back. After 30 minutes, the roles swap.
[Reward:] The winner obtains the loser's most valuable Gift and one Star.
[Participants:] Binks, Poppy, Manda (Deceased)
Kaito Shirogane looked down at the handwriting on the tattered parchment. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Binks begin to alter the rules. To the items the winner would receive, he added the bracelet that represented the qualification to participate in the massive Gift Game covering the entirety of Underwood.
Seeing this, Kaito Shirogane gladly signed his name.
The next moment, the Authority within the parchment instantly took effect.
Under Binks's despairing gaze, a massive labyrinth manifested from the parchment.
The vision of the few people was immediately stripped away.
Poppy, quick-witted and agile-handed, immediately cast a Gift on Kaito Shirogane before being sucked in.
He felt a bit of relief in his heart. Fortunately, the guy hadn't attacked him just now; otherwise, his defensive capabilities were no different from Manda's.
If he died, the other two, lacking this [Hunter's Mark] Gift, definitely wouldn't be able to use this Gift Game to kill the guy.
The three of them lacked strength. They didn't even have the guts to find people near the city to play Gift Games. Even if this parchment allowed them to add many beneficial conditions to the rules...
Relying on their "One-Star" authority, they simply couldn't completely distort the rules to a level where they could overcome a massive gap in combat power.
Their current setup—utilizing a Gift they already possessed that allowed them to ignore vision deprivation, combined with a special rule to uniformly strip all participants of their vision—was already the most effective method they could think of and execute.
Creak, creak, creak~
The sound of chattering teeth emerged continuously. Poppy spoke up in the darkness.
"What's wrong, Binks? Are you hurt?"
"I marked that guy; he's not far away!"
He didn't bother hiding his voice when speaking. This labyrinth only stripped away vision; hearing remained perfectly normal.
But so what? The Gift Game specifically included a rule that the prey couldn't fight back for 30 minutes. During this time, they were invincible.
Binks had a special Gift. As long as...
"Oh no, oh no... this is a disaster!"
Binks's voice rang out, trembling uncontrollably. He clutched his head; the burning pain, as if his nerves had been torn apart, still lingered in his mind.
That man... just now, with just a single look, his spirit was torn apart. Yet afterward, he actually felt that the man was incredibly important to him, as if he should accept whatever the other party demanded.
That kind of charming ability... Damn it, is he a demonic species? An Incubus?!
Indeed, Binks had realized there were flaws in his rules. He only stipulated that the prey couldn't fight back, but he didn't restrict the prey from using other abilities or traits to interfere with his attacks.
If, assuming he was something like an Incubus, and Binks couldn't kill him within 30 minutes, then in the next 30 minutes, wouldn't he...
"Heh, you're overthinking it, Binks~"
A clear voice echoed in the ears of Binks and Poppy. Poppy immediately looked in the direction the voice came from.
Because of the special labyrinth's existence, even though they were only a hundred meters apart, the sound still echoed for a while before arriving.
Binks tilted his head and drew the silver rapier at his waist.
This sword was his most valuable Gift.
This sword contained blessings of guaranteed hit and guaranteed pierce. As long as it was thrust at a target, the target absolutely could not dodge; and as long as it hit the target, the target's defense would absolutely be pierced.
Hum~
An intensely strong fluctuation appeared in the labyrinth, but Manda, the one most skilled at perception among the three, was already dead.
That power... it wasn't magic, but it was incredibly dark. Was it a soul-type Gift?!
"You don't have a next 30 minutes."
Kaito Shirogane stood his ground. He had indeed lost his vision, but the [Gaze of Pride] had already placed marks on those two.
For him, there was absolutely no possibility of losing this Gift Game. In fact, even if he just stood there and let those two weaklings—who barely touched the threshold of a 6-Digit at best—attack him, it would be difficult for them to kill him.
And he only needed a single strike to kill them completely.
But Kaito Shirogane didn't want to waste 30 minutes. He looked at the bracelet and Star on the man's wrist, combined with the intelligence he gained from mind reading.
He became increasingly interested in the changes in this world.
A certain Reincarnator had entered this world one step ahead of him and Azure Sky, and had acquired the ability to host such a massive Gift Game...
No, this was no longer just at the level of a Gift Game. In this ultra-large-scale Gift Game, the other party had granted all participants the qualification to host minor Gift Games within it.
It was equivalent to distributing the authority to host Gift Games.
Moreover, judging by this Gift Game set up by Binks, there were clearly unequal, distorted rules within it.
And in the Little Garden world, those who distorted rules and authority to conduct unequal Gift Games were mostly known by one title...
[Demon Lord]!
Tsk~
Kaito Shirogane licked the corner of his mouth. Had a Reincarnator truly become a Demon Lord in this kind of world?!
That wasn't something an ordinary person could achieve.
A spark of electricity flashed through his mind, instantly dispelling the numbness and stinging pain in his nerves. Amidst the flash of thought, he remembered a person.
That man—the one Seven-Seven was determined to kill at all costs—who abandoned his identity as a Reincarnator and entered the primal world where the Celestial Canopy Dynasty was located.
So... it's a guy of that type?!
Compared to Reincarnators who could only stay in a task world for about 30 days, guys who directly stranded themselves in task worlds had far more space and time to cultivate their presence there.
If it were that kind of guy, not knowing how long he had already stayed in this world, it wasn't impossible for him to become a Demon Lord.
While he was thinking, Satoru Gojo appeared before Kaito Shirogane, striking a pose toward his host with a look of absolute unbridled confidence.
The two opposing cursed techniques, [Azure] and [Red], began to forcefully merge. Bolstered by his currently terrifying amount of cursed energy, a devastating [Hollow Technique: Purple] condensed instantly.
"Yo, if you get hit by this, it's not my fault~"
Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes were similarly deprived of vision in this labyrinth, but the connection with his host still allowed him to effortlessly aim in the direction of the targets.
Kaito Shirogane smiled freely and spread his arms.
"Hurry up and end this boring farce. I think you and the others are already impatient to let loose completely in a world like this~"
BOOM!
Hollow Technique: Purple shot from Satoru Gojo's fingertips, instantly tearing through the surrounding space.
Kaito Shirogane, on the other hand, paid it no mind; Muso Tensei was already active.
Hollow Technique: Purple passed straight through Kaito Shirogane's body, then carved a path of destruction through the massive labyrinth.
By the time Binks and Poppy sensed something was wrong, they were instantly torn apart by the devastating spatial power.
Their flesh and blood were shredded in an instant.
Hum!
The illusory labyrinth disintegrated in mid-air. When Kaito Shirogane landed on the ground, he only saw a silver rapier stuck in the earth.
And a black bracelet with a Star on it.
Kaito Shirogane raised his hand, and the bracelet automatically flew into his grasp.
[You have obtained the Gift: Bracelet of the Gift City Tournament (1 Star)]
[You have obtained the Gift: Blank Gift Game (Small)]
The tattered piece of parchment appeared in Kaito Shirogane's hand, and he noticed that compared to how it looked in the hands of the other two just now, it had become even smaller.
Kaito Shirogane roughly understood the gameplay of this Gift Game.
It was designed to encourage all participants to design their own different Gift Games and play against each other. The winner wouldn't just seize Gifts but would also gain stronger authority and a larger piece of parchment.
Thereby allowing them to further set rules that were more advantageous to themselves.
It was a game where the strong got stronger, constantly devouring the weak.
Kaito Shirogane felt a sense of amusement.
"Quite talented, that guy~"
Kaito Shirogane grew increasingly curious about the guy who had stayed in this powerful world and successfully obtained such authority.
Just based on what he had seen so far, this completely surpassed the guy who stayed behind in the powerful primal world, only to ultimately just use his death to complete Seven-Seven's Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light.
What was that guy's name again? Kaito Shirogane realized he barely had any impression left.
In Kaito Shirogane's eyes, the value of a guy who could only think of using his own death to push his companions forward was entirely inferior to this guy in this world.
The next moment, Kaito Shirogane spread his hands, directly activating the [Myriad Tribulations Yin Spirit Underworld Body].
Spirits were released from his body one after another.
Pitch-black spirits flew out in all directions like a tide.
Kaito Shirogane didn't expect these spirits to achieve much in this kind of world, but simply helping him gather some intelligence was the greatest value these spirits, unable to reincarnate, could offer.
Kaito Shirogane showed no mercy.
Hakumen, looking completely cold, was also released under these circumstances. She crossed her arms. Earlier, unable to resist the temptation when Mercenary Tao lost consciousness, she had seized control of the Throne of the Heart.
Yet she ultimately ended up being toyed with by Mercenary Tao, who even used that opportunity to completely reorganize her abilities.
Hakumen now fully believed that the powerful bloodline Mercenary Tao had plundered via her Taishan Hukun Ritual possessed terrifyingly high potential.
Not only could it command numerous spirits, but it could even replicate the abilities of the commanded spirits.
The corners of her mouth turned down, her eyes hidden behind her bangs, revealing an extremely gloomy expression.
Despite plundering such a powerful bloodline, he was still single-mindedly obsessed with some martial arts, some Ki, still thinking about swinging his ridiculous fists.
Hakumen's heart almost bled with ache; she felt that Mercenary Tao was a complete and utter fool.
But what made Hakumen even gloomier was that she had to repeatedly accept reality: she, whose intellect was practically demonic, had indeed been defeated by this fool twice in a row.
If the first time in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, her main focus was still on Kai of the Fifth Element and the plot character Suguru Geto...
Then the second time, she was completely defeated while possessing known intelligence and the advantage of world renown, controlling a Servant of Gilgamesh's caliber.
Thinking of this, Hakumen cast a sinister look at the golden-armored Heroic Spirit who had just been released from the cage of the heart as well.
"Mongrel, who permitted you to look at this King with that gaze?!"
The void behind Gilgamesh rippled constantly.
Hakumen grew increasingly disgusted with him.
Gilgamesh's power and stupidity were practically neck-and-neck. If the other party were a bit more obedient, the one standing here commanding the horde of spirits right now would be her...
Madara Uchiha appeared with his arms crossed. He looked at the host. His instincts, honed through hundreds of battles, told him the man had grown stronger again.
That physique even surpassed the guy he faced on the battlefield.
That boundless vitality practically rushed at his face.
The Black Visage was the last to appear. He stood directly behind Kaito Shirogane, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his white tachi.
Looking very much like he would draw his sword for his King at the slightest disagreement.
"I know you all desire power!"
"And I also know you've been locked in my cage for far too long!"
"It doesn't matter. Right now, before you lies a world containing countless powers and countless Gifts."
"Go and plunder freely. In this place, there is no shortage of Gifts capable of allowing you to break away from me and regain your freedom!"
Kaito Shirogane spread his arms, declaring loudly.
He truly didn't care if this group of spirits broke away from him, nor did he intend to adopt a summoner's combat style.
He was even more dissatisfied with Shigeo Kageyama's previous method of forcefully bearing the burden of hundreds of thousands of spirits.
Subsequently, extremely intense magical energy began to radiate from Kaito Shirogane's hands, accompanied by an irresolvable malice.
Plop~
Black Mud appeared from Kaito Shirogane's hands.
This scene stunned Hakumen.
Then, to her utter disbelief, that incredibly stupid—well, perhaps not so stupid—Mercenary Tao signaled for her to step forward.
Hakumen's pupils trembled violently.
"Do you not care about my previous attempt to seize control of your body?!"
Judging others by herself, if a spirit under her control had attempted to possess her, she would absolutely destroy or control that spirit at all costs.
But this guy, Mercenary Tao... this guy actually...
She found it incomprehensible, but Kaito Shirogane merely smiled and raised his hand, as an A-Rank Singularity Point and Dimensional Points vanished.
The Black Mud flowed down.
Hakumen felt boundless stinging pain and malice assault her, but at the same time, intense magical energy and various physical sensations began to return.
ROAR!
Suddenly, a roar echoed in Kaito Shirogane's mind. His entire body shuddered, and the next moment, his skin began to crack and bleed.
Kaito Shirogane looked at the Black Mud in his hands, then looked down at the ground.
Was there something utterly terrifying reacting to the Black Mud in his hands?!