Cyan had never imagined that the timid Black Widow Spider would willingly attack someone far stronger than herself just to protect her. She had also never thought that this cowardly little creature would die at the hands of a survivor in such a way.
The protective flames burned on her body, but they couldn't make her take even a single step back. She had enough recovery items to endure until the flames ended.
This time, she would not let the blue-clothed ninja escape!
Bloody Tear stabbed into the red clone's body. Cyan violently smashed it into the ground and tore it in half before turning around and raising her blade to block the blue-clothed ninja's attack.
The protective flames granted immunity to physical and energy damage, but they couldn't protect against the deadly poison the Black Widow Spider had injected before the skill was activated. The blue-clothed ninja's muscles convulsed violently. Even though he tried his best to control his body and kill Cyan before the protective flames ended, the interference from the poison made it an impossible dream.
Asama Ai raised her shield to block the bear-man Orlov's descending paw. The immense force pushed her back two steps. Nishi, glowing with faint blue light, appeared behind Orlov and swung her short blade, cutting through the fur on his body and leaving a wound.
A pale pink mist sprayed out from the short blade. A continuous bleeding debuff from melting gas appeared on Orlov.
Orlov roared and swung his claws backward. Nishi easily dodged the attack. Her short blade moved continuously, light and agile like a butterfly dancing around Orlov, leaving wound after wound on his body!
The bleeding effect from the melting gas quickly stacked up to 5 layers! The damage reached a terrifying 25 points per second!
Even with equipment reducing damage, Orlov was still losing over ten HP every second!
[Bearman Transformation (Active)]
[Skill Level: LV3.]
[Activates the beastification chip inside the body. HP is fully restored. Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Perception are temporarily increased by 150%. Lasts 15 minutes.]
[Cooldown: 12 hours.]
Even though Bearman Transformation fully restored Orlov's HP upon activation, continuing to fight like this was extremely dangerous for him. So he made a decision. While eating recovery items to keep his HP at a safe level, he focused all his attacks on Asama Ai. As long as he killed her, he could retreat safely. As for the blue-clothed ninja who was convulsing nonstop, he couldn't care less whether the man lived or died.
If he had known this idiot would end up like this after being bitten by a spider, Orlov would never have cooperated with him. He thought he was teaming up with a king, but it turned out to be a piece of plastic!
No one had ever screwed him over this badly!
He acted so arrogant, but the moment it came to real combat, he completely fell apart!
Asama Ai noticed that Orlov was completely ignoring Nishi's attacks and charging straight at her. It was clear he intended to kill her.
He really looked down on me, huh!
Asama Ai glared at the charging Orlov and raised her greatshield before charging forward herself.
Shield Charge!
This was a skill that could only be used while equipped with a shield!
The greatshield collided with the charging Orlov. Asama Ai was pushed back repeatedly. The 150% increase in Strength, Agility, and Constitution turned Orlov into an extremely high-damage, fast-moving tank for the duration of the skill! Or rather… a blood bear!
Nishi slid forward and kicked Orlov's left leg, but no matter how much she wanted to trigger the fracture effect, it just wouldn't activate.
Orlov ignored Nishi, who was basically just tickling him, and kept swinging his claws at the greatshield.
At that moment, a cold wind blew past. A figure appeared behind Orlov.
"You're pretty late."
Asama Ai couldn't help but complain when she saw Kayako finally arrive. Asama Ai, who could summon Kayako, was Cyan's hidden card. Since she had almost no presence and stayed in a safe place without running around, she was completely safe. Because of that, Orlov and the blue-clothed ninja easily overlooked her existence.
The only thing they feared was her ability to trap people in terrifying illusions. If she wasn't around, Orlov and the blue-clothed ninja would actually feel more relaxed. If she had been present, they would have prioritized killing her first.
However, they didn't know that Asama Ai could summon Kayako — and that Kayako's actions weren't restricted by distance.
Kayako glanced at Asama Ai. Her hair rapidly grew and wrapped around Orlov's limbs.
"Ku… Kura… Kayako?!"
Orlov recognized Kayako's familiar appearance. He struggled violently and broke free from the hair wrapped around him before swinging his claws at her.
The ferocious bear claws passed straight through Kayako's body.
Physical damage had no effect on Kayako. Her body was a spiritual entity — only energy damage could harm her.
Of course, weapons specifically designed to deal with ghosts could also hurt her.
Even if she was killed, it was only one clone. As long as Asama Ai summoned her again, she would reappear. Her true soul wasn't in the clone. Losing one clone only cost her some resentment energy.
On the other side, the protective flames were about to disappear. The blue-clothed ninja's muscles convulsed violently again.
Kayako?!
The blue-clothed ninja glanced at Orlov. The moment he saw Kayako, he turned and tried to run. However, another muscle spasm made his movements stutter. The convulsions were becoming less frequent — the deadly poison was almost over.
"You don't deserve to die by my blade."
"Crack!"
Cyan stabbed the demon blade into the ground and punched the blue-clothed ninja's right arm — the one that had crushed the Black Widow Spider. The arm twisted at an unnatural angle, as if it had no bones left, only flesh.
Then, Cyan grabbed his hand and squeezed with force. Blood mixed with flesh sprayed out from between her fingers!
Ten fingers connected to the heart. His fingers were crushed alive. The blue-clothed ninja roared in pain and swung his other hand to stab at Cyan, but another muscle spasm made him freeze for a moment.
"She was protecting me."
Cyan stared at the blue-clothed ninja with cold eyes. With swift and brutal movements, she broke his left arm and both of his legs. Then she stepped on his mangled right hand and ground her foot down hard.
Kayako's eyes widened. Two streams of bloody tears flowed down her face. Her pale, bloodless arm stabbed into Orlov as her body slipped inside him.
Orlov's muscles twisted. He suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood.
A bear's roar echoed from inside Orlov's body. Kayako was forcefully expelled by the power of the beastification chip inside him.
"The rest… is up to you…"
Kayako looked at the half-dead Orlov, then glanced at Nishi and Asama Ai. Her body sank into the ground and disappeared.
"Summoned… So it was one of you…"
Orlov wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, Asama Ai's image flashed through his mind. He suddenly understood and said, "I see. No wonder I felt a cold, uncomfortable sensation whenever I got close to her. The one who summoned Kayako was her! Was this also part of your plan?"
As he spoke, Orlov looked at Cyan, who was walking toward him while dragging her blade with one hand and carrying the blue-clothed ninja — whose limbs had been broken — with the other.
"That's right. All of this was part of my plan. The only thing that went beyond my expectations was her actions."
Cyan threw the half-dead blue-clothed ninja to the ground and stepped on his chest. She stared at Orlov. The Black Widow Spider's actions had gone beyond her expectations. If she had known the spider would suddenly pounce like that, she would have reached out and stopped her.
There was no medicine for regret in this world. In that situation, if the amulet's special effect hadn't triggered, the one who would have died was Cyan. She hadn't had the luxury of stopping the Black Widow Spider.
"That spider, huh? I see."
Orlov glanced at the miserable state of the blue-clothed ninja. He suddenly laughed, grabbed his own neck with his bear claws, and with a flash of struggle in his eyes, roared as he violently tore his own throat apart. Blood sprayed onto the ground.
Cyan was stunned by Orlov's action. Nishi and Asama Ai were also shocked. The blue-clothed ninja's eyes widened as he realized something. Through gritted teeth, he said, "It's… the Red Falcon Badge."
(The Red Falcon Badge — the badge representing lives in Contra.)
In the survival space, only an overpowered revival item like the Red Falcon Badge would force a survivor to choose suicide in a desperate situation!
As soon as the blue-clothed ninja finished speaking, a red eagle-shaped badge floated out from Orlov's corpse lying on the ground. Cracks appeared across its surface.
As the badge shattered, Orlov's corpse turned into nothingness. His wounds rapidly healed as he returned to human form and climbed up from the ground.
"This round of the survival game is over for me. What a waste… I even used up a Red Falcon Badge."
Cyan swung her blade. The demon blade passed straight through Orlov's body.
"It's useless. My round of the survival game already ended the moment I was revived by the Red Falcon Badge after dying."
"I hope I don't run into you again."
Orlov grinned widely and waved at the dark-faced Cyan before disappearing on the spot. A Golden Card (Pseudo) was left behind where he had stood.
It seemed his luck wasn't very good — a precious Golden Card (Pseudo) had randomly dropped from his inventory.
"He dropped something pretty valuable…"
Asama Ai looked at the Golden Card (Pseudo) on the ground and laughed with schadenfreude. She took two steps back and sat down on the ground. The continuous fighting had completely drained her stamina.
"Die!"
Golden mist-like light appeared around Cyan as she threw a punch straight at the blue-clothed ninja's head.
"Wait! I have a way to revive—"
"Boom!"
Before the blue-clothed ninja could finish speaking, his head was smashed by Cyan's punch. Red and white matter sprayed across the ground.
Cyan had deliberately slowed down not to let him speak, but to make him experience the feeling of death approaching.
[Survivor #11766, you have killed Survivor #8187. Based on the target's current kill count, you gain +2 Bloody Card draws.]
[Note: Since Survivor #8187 maliciously attacked you, this kill does not increase your kill count!]
"Query: Special quest to revive a pet."
Cyan silently stared at the blue-clothed ninja's corpse. She focused on the Survival Brand on her chest and inquired about the special quest to revive a pet.
[Would you like to activate the Pet Revival Quest? If activated, you will receive a special quest to revive your pet in the next round of the survival game.]
[Confirm activation.]
[Activation successful. You will receive a special quest to revive your pet in the next round of the survival game. The pet can be revived upon completion of the quest.]
Cyan felt the Survival Brand on her chest grow slightly warm. Although she didn't know what the special quest would be, she was certain of one thing — no matter how difficult the special quest in the next round was, she would complete it. All for that little one who had protected her without hesitation, even though she was weak.
Cyan picked up the Bloody Card that dropped from the blue-clothed ninja but didn't plan to use it now. She took out a chess piece and summoned Unabi.
With a flash of light, Unabi appeared. She shook her head and snorted, cautiously looking around as if checking for something. Her gaze moved toward the fur on Cyan's collar, as if expecting a large spider to suddenly pounce out at any moment.
Cyan looked at Unabi's actions and gently stroked her mane as she spoke softly, "She's dead…"
"..."
Unabi sensed Cyan's sadness and lowered her head to nuzzle her hand.
"Master… this is the spider's body…"
Nishi, with red eyes, handed Cyan the cake box containing the Black Widow Spider's body. Tears fell onto the box as she lowered her head.
"She can be revived."
Cyan took the cake box and put it into her inventory. She raised her hand to wipe the tears from Nishi's eyes, then helped the exhausted Asama Ai stand up. She pointed at Unabi and said, "You ride Unabi."
...
Asama Ai lay on Unabi's back, watching Cyan and Nishi walking silently beside her. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say to comfort them.
Remembering the Golden Card (Pseudo) that Orlov had dropped, Asama Ai took it out and said, "This card… I wonder what it'll give. Do you want to open it?"
"You open it."
Cyan glanced at Asama Ai and replied calmly.
[Used Golden Card (Pseudo). Obtained 1700 Survival Points, Phantom Strike, Phantom Step, and Large Vegetable Salad.]
[Phantom Strike]
[Type: Plot Character Weapon]
[Attributes: Attack Power 27~41, Strength +1, Agility +3, Thrust Attack Speed +20%.]
[Special: When attacking, there is a 25% chance to trigger Phantom Step LV1 effect for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.]
[Equipment Requirements: None]
[Remark: Stab! Stab! Stab!!!]
[Phantom Step]
[Type: Skill Book]
[Function: Learn the passive skill Phantom Step at LV1. Phantom Step creates afterimages through special footwork to confuse enemies.]
[Learning Requirement: Agility 25.]
[Remark: Play hide and seek with my shadow!]
[Large Vegetable Salad]
[Type: Recovery Item]
[Function: Restores 90 HP and 50 Mental Power.]
[Remark: Sweet and sour delicious vegetable salad! The favorite of people on a diet!]