Chapter 263: Corpses

It really is a mess.

The black luxury car carrying Eugene grew increasingly crowded with chaos the closer it got to City Hall.

The citizens of Toy City, deeply betrayed and deceived, carried wooden signs, banners, photos of loved ones, and even torches, chanting slogans like "We want the truth!", "City Hall must explain!", "Dumbledore come out!", converging into a tide heading toward City Hall.

The Stormtroopers, serving as police, stood at every intersection like reefs, blocking crowds from all directions.

They had been ordered not to let citizens reach City Hall and cause greater chaos, nor to use violence and escalate the situation.

Thus, all Stormtroopers held only riot shields and rubber batons, not their usual thermal laser rifles.

(Though Stormtroopers not carrying guns actually increased their combat effectiveness.)

Media reporters, eager for spectacle, live-streamed from the sidelines.

The atmosphere on-site was like a powder keg—tense and volatile.

This was even under Mayor Dumbledore, who had personally founded Toy City and enjoyed immense prestige.

If someone else were mayor, the enraged citizens wouldn't just be shouting in front of riot shields—they'd be brawling hand-to-hand with Stormtroopers, staging "Toy City: No-Rules Free-for-All."

"The road ahead is blocked,"

Driver Fujiwara Takuai slowed the car, tapped the dashboard screen a few times to bring up a map, and said, "I suggest taking Third Avenue and entering City Hall's parking lot from the north—its roads aren't fully blocked yet."

Before he finished speaking, Kurosaki Ichigo's face darkened; ignoring the moving vehicle, he shoved open the door, leaned out, grabbed his zanpakutō named "Zangetsu," and slashed a blade of light toward the coffee shop on the left side of the street.

Getsuga Tenshō,

This technique, like Spiral Tornado or Spacium Ray in other fiction, appears basic but holds infinite variations and countless applications.

It can be used defensively as a simple test strike,

or pushed to its extreme as a final, hidden technique. Truly, one move dominates all.

At this moment, this Getsuga Tenshō was a variant: the spiritual pressure condensed into a spiral-shaped blade, hurtling forward and shattering the coffee shop's windows.

A customer seated by the window, hiding his face behind a newspaper, jerked backward just in time to avoid being obliterated by the Getsuga Tenshō; his newspaper turned to confetti, fluttering away.

Boom!

The counter struck by the Getsuga Tenshō's residual force exploded instantly; the deafening sound startled citizens across the street who were facing off against Stormtroopers, causing them to instinctively crouch down.

"Still worrying about collateral damage? If you'd unleashed full power on that Getsuga Tenshō, I'd probably be dead by now."

From the smoke-choked coffee shop emerged a gaunt figure, accompanied by a low, gravelly male voice.

"Frankenstein?!"

Eugene, seated in the backseat, exclaimed in shock—the man before him, gaunt and wearing sunglasses, was unmistakably the transcendent from the Demon Scientists' Guild.

He had just escaped from Toy City's safehouse; his detection skill showed he still bore severe injury debuffs,

so how dare he stay in the city center?! Who gave him the courage?

"You've got guts."

Kurosaki Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "Got caught once and still not enough? You think the more dangerous the place, the safer it is?"

"Not at all,"

Frankenstein grinned. "Last time I was captured because I was foolishly hopeful.

I didn't resist much—I even thought I could defect to Toy City, use my outsider status to convince you to form an alliance against others.

I never expected that before I even offered to surrender, Eugene was already one of you.

My value plummeted, and I was injected with massive doses of muscle relaxants and anesthetics, my spinal nerves severed, unable even to voluntarily exit this world."

Kurosaki Ichigo frowned. "So?"

"You're a high-ranking enforcer for City Hall—you know some secrets.

For outsiders like me and Eugene, winning this game is like a penniless beggar suddenly holding a lottery ticket with one winning number out of six—

win, and you gain billions in cash, instant wealth, freedom from want.

No matter the cost, no matter the risk, you must kill every other ticket holder to claim that sliver of chance."

Frankenstein said calmly, "My summons are mostly dead, my energy nearly depleted, corruption level over fifty percent. It's nearly impossible to outlast other outsiders.

To win, I must gamble everything."

Kurosaki Ichigo instinctively sensed danger and no longer cared about collateral damage—he slashed another full-power Getsuga Tenshō, risking collapse of the entire building, crushing toward Frankenstein.

Hum!

Frankenstein's form blurred, dodging the fatal strike, then rushed toward Eugene while clutching a bundle of explosives.

Eugene instantly understood his intent: from Toy City's perspective, who won this mission didn't matter—only that the winner stood on Toy City's side.

If Frankenstein took the huge risk of killing Eugene right here, Kurosaki Ichigo might not avenge him—he might just drop his zanpakutō and negotiate with Frankenstein directly.

Toy City was now teetering on the brink,

the dead held no value, even if Eugene was Dumbledore's half-apprentice.

Every hair on Eugene's body stood on end; without hesitation, he gripped his wand in his right hand and drew three golden arrows from thin air with his left.

【Item Name: Arrows of Arbaris】

【Type: Magical Artifact】

【Quality: Epic】

These were the relics he had stolen at the cost of betraying his guild, being hunted by the Zhong Lou, and spending years hiding in the Shadow Realm like a living ghost.

Their origin lies in Greek myth: the golden arrows gifted by the sun god Apollo to the devout believer Arbaris.

The full set consists of seven arrows, each with unique powerful effects; once used, they require completing an entire scenario mission to recharge.

First: Law of Mina.

One golden arrow in Eugene's hand vanished; three interlocking rings of light rose above his head, each capable of blocking one fatal attack.

Second: Law of Earthbind.

Frankenstein, already in his blurred state, was forcibly slowed—his form flickered in and out, each step agonizingly difficult.

Frankenstein realized something was wrong; like a department store clearance sale, he pulled a huge pile of props and skill scrolls from the void and smashed them onto the ground, attempting to break the anti-magic effect.

Unfortunately, mystery must yield to a higher level of mystery.

The Arrow of Abaris is an extremely noble epic magical item; unless a god, demigod, or legendary mage appears in person, it is absolutely impossible to break.

The third one: the Commandment of Cursed Killing.

Blood-red graffiti formed beneath Frankenstein's feet; any physical or magical attack would deal multiplied damage to him.

The special effects of the three Golden Arrows were simple, unadorned, yet powerful.

Eugene's gaze turned cold; he flicked his wand and released a dark magic spell named 【Divine Edge, Shadowless】.

This curse, invented by Severus Snape, produced no obvious sound or light effects when cast, instead tearing huge wounds open out of thin air on the victim's body.

Compared to Avada Kedavra, it was more concealed and efficient.

Combined with the damage bonus from the Commandment of Cursed Killing, it was sufficient to tear a creature as massive as a blue whale into ten thousand pieces.

Whoosh—

The cursed effect of 【Divine Edge, Shadowless】 acted directly upon Prometheus's entire body.

His eyes were filled with utter shock; his scalp split open left and right, his ten fingers were severed into sausage slices, and countless wounds suddenly appeared on his torso and limbs as if he were being flayed alive, turning him into a bloody mass of flesh.

The brain and heart, which were the primary targets, were utterly destroyed, crushed into meat paste.

【Player Frankenstein has been eliminated】

The system broadcast rang in Eugene's ears, and he suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

The Killing Grounds' system stands above all else; if the broadcast says Frankenstein is dead, then he is truly dead.

Wasting three Golden Arrows was a slight pity; the remaining four must be saved to deal with Gouchen and Master Pi Fu.

Wait.

Eugene's pupils trembled as he looked around in disbelief.

Except for him, time had stopped.

Falling leaves froze in mid-air; Ichigo Kurosaki maintained his sword-swinging posture; parade crowds, stormtroopers, and reporters on the street all stood rigid in place, motionless.

"Hehehe hahaha."

Ten meters away, that lump of flesh which had originally been Frankenstein emitted a joyful laugh: "Your next sentence is, 'How is this possible?'"

"How is this possible?!"

Eugene subconsciously shouted the words, only then belatedly realizing what had happened; he gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at his opponent.

The mass of flesh writhed, and from within it emerged a blurry green spirit.

"Eugene, Eugene,"

the spirit shook its head and laughed: "You are still too young; you forgot an important unspoken rule of the Killing Grounds—when you reveal your strongest combat form and the opponent does not flee, the one who should actually be running is you."

Although he could not see the expression clearly, Eugene could still imagine a triumphant smile hanging on the other's face.

This domain was not within the script world, nor was it any kind of subspace or alternate dimension; it was more like a sea of consciousness.

All equipment, props, and skills were sealed, returning once again to their initial state.

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

Based on insights from his former days as a member of the Zhong Lou Guild, Eugene vaguely guessed what was happening.

He took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice: "No wonder the system broadcast announcing Joker's elimination, the news of the safe house being attacked, and the report of Frankenstein's disappearance all arrived one after another;

no wonder Frankenstein so unwisely stayed in the city center, even though Gouchen and Master Pi Fu, the two remaining competitors, were coming to kill me.

Joker possesses some kind of possession-like skill; after death, he can directly seize the body of the person who killed him."

Eugene paused, then shook his head to deny it: "No, it is not unconditional possession; that would be too unreasonable, not an ability someone at Level 20 could master.

This skill must have extremely huge restrictions; otherwise, you could simply find an opportunity to rush into City Hall, let Dumbledore kill you, and then directly possess him."

"Guessed correctly, but unfortunately, there is no prize."

Joker, or the existence that was once Joker, hooked the corners of his mouth with two fingers, making an ugly grin: "This skill is named 【The First Precept】; it drags anyone who kills me at close range into the sea of consciousness shared by both parties for a fair contest.

Here, there are no supernatural elements, no concept of time, only human will.

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

"You madman."

Eugene cursed loudly: "The Killing Grounds stand above all else; even the system broadcast has declared you eliminated and dead; do you think you are still alive?

You, who have possessed Frankenstein's body, are less like Joker and more like a walking corpse driven by fragments of memory!"

(End of Chapter)