Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

West 8 is finally over.

This thought remained in his muddled mind, and even the damned trial the day after tomorrow seemed pleasant.

In the center of the hall, the demon statue that had always exuded an ominous aura closed its eyelids heavily with a hint of resentment the very moment the sunlight shone down.

Like a ferocious beast that has been forcibly subdued, temporarily sheathing its fangs.

But just a wall away, the angel statue, with its lowered eyelids and sleeping posture, opened its eyes.

That compassionate gaze seemed to pierce through the thick stone, looking down with a touch of pity at the battlefield where the fighting had just ended, and at the three disheveled victors on the battlefield.

"It's already dawn."

With her broken wings, Takii dragged her battered body to the window with difficulty.

Her left wing drooped at an odd angle, and every movement brought excruciating pain.

The blinding light outside the window made her squint instinctively, and she couldn't help but turn around to look at the silent changes in the two statues.

It's no different from the statues in the dungeon, including the time it takes for its eyes to open and close.

The only thing they still didn't understand was why the animal restraint chart that Iwasaki and the others threw from the demon statue in the manor fell from the angel statue in the dungeon, while the question paper was thrown in by the angel and fell from the demon.

Tian struggled to his feet, a dull pain shooting through the broken roots of his horns.

His gaze swept back and forth between the two statues, from the closed-eyed demon to the open-eyed angel, and then back to the distant banquet hall, to the stone sculpture of the manor lord.

The absence of a game prompt indicates that their mission objective has not yet been completed.

At this moment, the desire to clear the level outweighed the physical exhaustion.

He staggered toward the center of the banquet hall. He had finally reached this point, and he couldn't afford to fall at the last step.

Seeing Tian's movements, Taki followed him toward the banquet hall.

When Park Min-woo saw them approaching, he quickly got up and supported himself with his weak legs.

The three animals gathered in front of the stone sculpture that the manor owner had transformed into.

“The game isn’t over yet; we need to destroy it,” Tian said hoarsely.

Without hesitation, the three silently gathered their strength.

Park Min-woo let out a low growl first, swung his thick tail, and slammed his entire body weight down on the largest stone sculpture!

Bang! The stone shattered and flew everywhere.

It was so damn hard, he felt like his tailbone was about to crack.

But since it's effective, that's a good thing. As long as it doesn't kill them, keep crashing them to death!

Things have changed!

Taki used its still-functioning claws to frantically scratch and tear at the stone sculpture's torso.

Stone chips flew everywhere, and deep marks appeared on the manor owner's stone carvings under her sharp claws.

Faster, faster!

Despite the pain at the broken corner, Tian Qiang's dim golden light flickered back up faintly.

After gathering his strength, he slammed it hard against the base of the stone sculpture.

The three men, like a demolition crew, used their broken bodies and last vestiges of will to thoroughly crush the pile of stones.

Each attack was accompanied by painful groans and gasps, and the air was filled with stone dust and the smell of blood.

Finally, having exhausted his last bit of strength, Tian let out a suppressed growl, and after a running start and a powerful sprint—

Boom!

The stone sculpture finally couldn't withstand the pressure and shattered completely, causing the surrounding stones to collapse and turn into a pile of rubble that could never be pieced back together, the largest of which was no bigger than a fist.

Park Min-woo grinned, revealing a tired but finally relieved smile through his blood-stained mouth. Several of his sharp teeth had broken during the biting.

"Haha, now it should be over, right?"

He was panting, his body swaying slightly from exhaustion.

The trial is the day after tomorrow. I wonder what reward this mysterious game will give me?

The thought of wanting to personally crush those vengeful people flashed through my mind and miraculously dispelled a lot of my fatigue.

However, they waited and waited.

Nothing happened.

There were no pleasant system notification sounds, no cold, impersonal task completion indicator popping up in the view, and not even an option to exit the game.

The hall was deathly silent, save for the heavy breathing of the three people.

The pile of rubble lay quietly in the sunlight, as if mocking their futile efforts.

Park Min-woo's expression froze, gradually turning into confusion and panic.

What's going on? Why isn't there any reaction? He subconsciously pawed at the pile of rubble, but nothing happened.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the two veteran players, trying to find some sense of security in their faces.

Perhaps this is just standard practice in the game, and it's normal for a newbie like him not to know.

Unfortunately, the owl's expression was hard to read, so he looked at the goat and his heart sank, making him even more uncertain.

At this moment, Tian's goat looked quite grave, which was not surprising. After banging his head so many times, he was now seeing things with a dazed look in his head and suspected that he had suffered a concussion.

It took her a while to calm down, and she exchanged a glance with Taki.

With difficulty, Taki raised his intact wing and pointed it towards the demon statue in the direction of the hall: "Perhaps the demon statue is the real thing. Nobi's attacks were ineffective in the previous rounds, probably because it was nighttime."

"Our efforts weren't in vain; the manor lord's statue will eventually need to be destroyed."

Do you still have the strength?

Tian shook his head, stood up, and looked at his two equally battered companions beside him.

They had no way out. According to the letter Iwasaki had mentioned, the manor lord was immortal, and they had to eliminate the threat before he was resurrected.

"Go over there."

They had no choice but to continue.

Dragging their mangled bodies, barely better than the statue they had just smashed, they moved with the difficulty of reaching the demon statue, like three walking corpses.

The demon statue is about three meters tall, grayish-white in color, with its eyes closed and its sinister smile never changing.

Take a short breath and stop to gather some strength for an attack.

"Attack!" Tian shouted, raising his head again and slamming it hard against the base of the statue!

The dull thud sounded like a hammer blow on an anvil, but the statue remained motionless, not even a single stone chip broke off.

The force of the recoil made it sound as if bones were cracking in Tian's already injured head. He groaned and swayed.

Park Min-woo opened his huge mouth and used all his strength to bite down on the statue's leg.

quack!

A tooth-grinding sound rang out, and several teeth that were already on the verge of falling out snapped off, falling to the ground mixed with blood and foam.

Not even a white mark was left on the statue's leg. What kind of stone is this?! He was in so much pain that his vision blurred.

Taki jumped little by little onto the statue's shoulder, frantically scratching and rubbing its claws against the statue's closed eyes and ears.

A screeching, grating noise rang out, doing nothing but scraping away a little dust. Her sharp claws even broke off their nails.

It's useless. Completely useless.

Previously, when dealing with the statue that the manor lord had transformed into, at least some stone chips fell and made some muffled sounds, which could be considered as giving feedback.

The demon statue before them, however, was harder than they could have imagined; it felt like they were dealing with diamonds.

With his last ounce of strength, Tian leaped up and slammed into the statue's chest.

With a dull thud, Tian was absolutely certain that his skull had indeed cracked. Stars flashed before his eyes, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

He could no longer hold on, and after spinning around several steps backward, he collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, staring blankly at the ceiling, too exhausted to even bleat.

Is this not how you pass the level?

Park Min-woo's sharp teeth had already been broken off during the previous biting, and now he could only futilely rub his bare, bloodied gums against the cold stone base, making a screeching sound of despair, with blood dripping continuously from the corners of his mouth.

I must win! I must win, Dad, please bless me!

Park Min-woo went completely mad, his heart filled with resentment and anger, his eyes fixed on the demonic statue.

Takii was futilely sharpening his claws on the statue's head, achieving nothing but making them duller.

If this is the true form of the gargoyles, then they currently have no way to destroy them.

This statue seems to be set by the rules of the game to be indestructible, showing no mercy whatsoever.

However, Taki felt more that their mental and physical exhaustion was too great, and they were completely unable to use their usual analytical abilities. Their brains were so tired that they seemed to be about to shut down at any moment.

Has the game ended? But why isn't there any notification? Why can't I get out?

Tian's gaze struggled to leave the indestructible demon statue and landed on the angel statue next door with its eyes open.

That compassionate gaze, in that instant, transformed into a sharp thorn, piercing his brain.

A certain idea suddenly exploded, stirring up the mind.

Is it related to religion?

Do you like heights?

"Whether it is good or evil is hard to tell."

He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse, repeating the three questions that they had already answered countless times.

Each question is like a key, spinning wildly in his chaotic mind, trying to open the door that they had completely ignored.

Taki noticed Tian's unusual behavior: "Did you think of something?"

Tian was silent for a few seconds, his chapped lips moved, and his voice was hoarse: "We've made a mistake."

He slowly raised his forelegs, not pointing at the demon, but at the angel.

"For a long time, we have subconsciously overlooked the possibility of another 'life form'."

Following his pointing finger, Taki looked at the angel statue, and the owl's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints.

"The thirteenth creature is not a gargoyle,"

"Or angels?!"

25: Pure Silver Cup

(Compensation Chapter 3/3)

Three questions.

Whether it is related to religion or not—angels are undoubtedly closely linked to religion, and can even be said to be a core part of faith.

Do you like high places—that supreme paradise, naturally located at the top of everything?

Is it difficult to distinguish between good and evil? Aren't fallen angels also angels?

The answer to the angel's game puzzle was written openly on the puzzle itself from the very beginning.

They were like blind men, trapped in the gargoyle mentality.

The demon statue is a demon statue, not the gargoyle they imagined. Therefore, the key to clearing the level is clearly not to destroy it.

So this means they're being asked to destroy the angel. But is destroying it really the way out?

After uncovering the true identity of the manor owner, the group felt little joy.

They continued to frantically recall all the fragments of clues, hoping to find something crucial.

Taki seemed to have thought of something and was about to make a move.

Ta, Ta, Ta

The sound of unhurried footsteps suddenly came from the second-floor stairwell.

The sound was very loud in the deathly silent manor and was immediately noticed by the three of them.