Chapter 361: Four Great Divines! Conspiracy

Chapter 361: Chapter 361: Four Great Divines! Conspiracy

The needle of the Compass spun slowly.

It soon pointed in a direction, but the target seemed extremely far away and was still constantly on the move.

’He runs pretty fast...’

Seraphina Sullivan thought, shelving her plan to track Solomon Ennis for now.

The priority was dealing with the immediate crisis.

Their own situation.

Right now, she and Sean Chandler were the most conspicuous targets.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they were cornered by "acquaintances."

They watched as a group emerged from another street corner.

They, too, had been drawn by the pillar of light.

But they never expected to run into Dustin Sullivan, Julian Shaw, Trevor Tanner, and Coco Sullivan.

Both sides froze. The atmosphere instantly grew tense and heavy.

Dustin Sullivan, in particular, was filled with a complex mix of emotions.

He had been leading his team, following the pillar of light to "hunt" any potential Divine Favored they might find.

He hoped to secure the precious slot that would allow a direct return for his team.

He had even braced himself for what was to come.

If their target wasn’t too strong, the four of them working together would stand a chance.

It wasn’t about personal grudges, merely survival.

He had to give his sister, or anyone else on his team, a chance to leave this instance—now an Inferno—alive.

But Dustin Sullivan had never, ever imagined...

...that the ones marked by the pillar of light would be the two people he least wanted to fight and was least confident of defeating.

Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler.

The expression on Julian Shaw’s face shifted from initial wariness and eagerness to sheer astonishment.

That was followed by an undisguisable awkwardness.

He cleared his throat, breaking the silence as he waved a hand.

"Hey, what a... what a coincidence. We meet again."

After that, Julian Shaw was at a loss for words, unsure of what else to say.

For a moment, everyone on the ruined street stood facing each other in silence.

The only sounds were the faint roars of distant zombies and the mournful cry of wind whistling through the broken walls.

Everyone knew exactly what was going on.

The rules of the instance had been completely overturned.

The brief trust and understanding they had built fighting side-by-side...

...had become incredibly fragile in the face of this blatant "kill quota."

No one could guarantee that the other side wouldn’t suddenly turn on them, tempted by the great prize of a return slot.

After all, they had only worked together a few times. It wasn’t a life-or-death bond.

Especially since they weren’t even from the same world.

The bedrock of their trust had crumbled along with the old system.

The fact that they hadn’t immediately drawn their weapons was a testament to their immense restraint and a final shred of decency.

In the midst of this tense and awkward standoff, the sound of hurried footsteps and faint shouts echoed from the distance!

"Quick! This way! The two pillars of light are close together! There have to be Divine Favored here!"

"This is our chance to strike it rich! Kill them and we can go home!"

Clearly, the beacon-like pillars of light emanating from Seraphina and Sean Chandler had attracted new "predators."

Seraphina glanced in the direction of the voices.

Then she looked at the conflicted expressions on the faces of Dustin Sullivan and his three companions and quickly made her decision.

She didn’t want to get into a pointless conflict here, especially one that could escalate into a multi-sided free-for-all.

She took a deep breath and looked at Dustin Sullivan.

Her tone was calm but held an undeniable distance. "With the rules of this instance changed, I’m afraid we can no longer cooperate as we did before."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Julian Shaw, Trevor Tanner, and Coco Sullivan.

She continued, "The next time we meet, we’ll likely be enemies. When that happens, I won’t hold back. Likewise, if you get the chance, you don’t need to show me any courtesy either."

"If... we all manage to survive, and we happen to meet again in another instance, perhaps we’ll have a chance to work together then."

Having said her piece, Seraphina gave Sean Chandler a look, wasting no more time.

The two moved like phantoms, swiftly darting into a narrow adjacent alley.

In just a few bounds, they vanished into the shadows of the ruins.

All that remained were the two glaring pillars of light, moving swiftly away between the distant buildings.

Dustin Sullivan and his three companions were left standing there, staring at one another.

Coco Sullivan looked at her brother’s and Julian Shaw’s grave faces, then glanced in the direction Seraphina and her companion had vanished.

Her small face was a picture of helplessness and distress. "Brother... what... what do we do now?"

Dustin Sullivan was silent for a moment before his gaze hardened, turning resolute, even ruthless.

He slowly tightened his grip on the sword hilt at his back.

"We have no other choice," he said, his voice low and clear.

"We have to find other Players and fight. To survive, to get out of this godforsaken place, we have to start killing."

Julian Shaw gritted his teeth, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes replaced by grim resolve.

"That’s right! To hell with the rules! If they want us dead, it won’t be that easy!"

Trevor Tanner nodded emphatically, gripping his weapon tightly.

Coco Sullivan looked at her three companions, took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and lifted her chin.

Dustin Sullivan cast one last glance in the direction Seraphina’s group had disappeared.

Then he turned, facing a different direction from the approaching new Players, and said in a deep voice:

"Let’s go!"

"Fuck it all!"

The curse vented their pent-up fury and announced their official entry into the cruel, inevitable Slaughter Game.

From this day forward, their path to survival would be paved with the blood of others.

...

「In the endless void.」

There was no up or down, no beginning or end.

Even the concept of time seemed to stand still.

This was the seam where rules intertwined, the dark plane where wills collided.

Four amorphous masses, immense phantoms of pure, vast Energy, sat around a "chessboard" that was not physical, yet was more stable than any matter.

The chessboard itself was in constant flux.

At times, it resembled the veins of the cosmos.

At others, it morphed into the texture of flesh and blood.

Then it would twist into a geometric labyrinth, reflecting the nature of the four beings and their grand game.

"This move of ours is a blatant violation of the ironclad laws of the Civilization Trial set by That One. We have forcibly interfered with the progress of a lower-level instance."

One of the phantoms spoke, its voice a susurrus composed of the dying whispers of a billion viruses.

The sound, filled with uncertainty and an erosive quality, was the mental projection of the God of Viruses.

"If we are discovered, I fear there will be significant trouble."

"Oh my, Brother Virus, since when have you become so timid?"

Another phantom immediately chimed in.

Its voice was playful and mercurial, laced with a soul-stealing Charm and wildness.

Its Energy form was like ever-shifting smoke and petals. This was the Fiend God speaking.

"Don’t you want to drag down those fellows sitting above you? Especially that one who’s always stone-faced, prattling on about ’order’? This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity!"

Its tone was pure instigation.

"Relax. The four of us created this playground together. We borrowed the shell of the Civilization Trial, but we replaced the core long ago. Besides..." The Fiend God’s phantom turned toward another side of the chessboard.