[Noble Hunter, You have assisted in the slaying of a Matured Beast: Predator.]

[Bounty points: 223]

I couldn't stop myself grinning, as I leaned against the railings.

'No way any other teams are beating this score.'

I was definitely top 10 now.

"We did it. Ha… we actually did it. Hahaha, I told you I wasn't cra-"

'Oh.'

Song still lay catatonically beneath my coat. She didn't look any better than when I'd dropped her there. Her body still shivered, so she certainly wasn't dead yet.

I groaned a bit at the thought of having to move her back to our shelter.

'What a pain.'

The thought of leaving her behind never even crossed my mind. Not only was the girl sure to kill me if I betrayed her like that, but I also wasn't very interested in making a permanent enemy of her for something as petty as a simulation.

Yet even the thought of all that couldn't dampen my mood. I was so going to rub it in her face when she woke up.

I draped my cloak around myself once again, before kneeling next to her.

Grunting, I shifted her up into a sitting position, placing one of her hands over my shoulder. I braced myself, then stood up in one go, shakily pulling her up with me.

It seemed she wasn't completely unconscious either, as her legs still supported some of her weight.

'Good thing I took all my doses.'

It was then I turned back to face my interface. More specifically, the general chat.

[It actually worked.]

[The beast is dead.]

Both were from Maki and Racheal. There was still no sign of Lily.

'Did something happen to her?'

Regardless, I still sent a message.

[You can thank our seer for that.]

Without waiting for a reply, I began typing another.

[Help me check on Lily, you all need to get out of there as soon as possible. Just about every monster on this side of the district would've heard us.]

Before I could hit send, however, I was interrupted by a long, mournful howl. Somehow I could tell it was coming from the very center of the city.

A notification popped up soon after.

[Warning! Gate collapse imminent, do evacuate the area as quickly as possible.]

[Warning! Gate collapse imminent, do evacuate the area as quickly as possible.]

[Warning! Gate collapse imminent….]

I shut off my interface as the message looped infinitely in a bloody red font.

"What?"

Okay, this definitely did not happen in the novel. Sure, there was a gate at the center of the city, but it was largely stable.

'Is it because we killed the predator?'

The howl was joined by another, then another, until all I could hear was the screaming chorus. The symphony peaked with a massive boom from the city center.

[A nearby gate has completely collapsed. Re-evaluating rank… D >>> C. Evacuate the area immediately.]

"Fuck!"

I didn't bother trying to even understand what was happening anymore, I needed to get the fuck away from here.

Tightening my grasp on Song, I hurried into the room behind us, leaving my ruined crossbow on the balcony.

I went straight for the corridor, rushing down its length, towards the fire escape stairs at the very end of it. Song stumbled multiple times throughout the entire process, nearly sending us both to the ground.

I'd been able to prevent that using the walls as support, though it did come at the cost of slamming her face against them. I was sure she'd understand.

Eventually, I stood before the escape. It looked old, rusted, and rickety. But beggars couldn't be choosers.

Right before I stepped on it, a notification popped up.

[A cadet has been Eliminated. Remaining cadets: 4]

[You have lost a teammate. Now applying penalty…]

'Shit.'

Was it Lily or Maki? I couldn't tell. But… they were here already.

'How's this even possible?'

I shoved my confusion into a box. Right now I needed a plan, any questions could come after.

With the predator dead, the middle and outer rings would be relatively safe again. So would the outskirts. If I could just make it there, I was sure I'd be able to survive the remaining two days of the trial.

With that rough plan formed, I began descending the escape stairs.

The storm outside had already begun deteriorating, the howl of its wind mixed with the damned chorus from the city center.

No, they sounded much closer now.

Taking deep breaths, I tried focusing on putting one shaky foot in front of the other. With how derelict these stairs were, we couldn't afford a single slip-up.

Just when I reached the last stretch of stairs, I got another notification.

[A cadet has been Eliminated. Remaining cadets: 3]

[You have lost a teammate. Now applying penalty…]

'They're both dead.'

And right as I took the last step off, the interface flashed on again.

[A cadet has been Eliminated. Remaining cadets: 2]

I stared grimly at the notification.

'Even Racheal.'

I shot a glance at the girl resting on my shoulder. I tried chuckling, yet it only came out hollow.

"Can you believe it? We're the last two."

I shifted my gaze back to the road, trying to find a path to the middle ring. Instead of that, I found something I'd been expecting, yet foolishly hoping would not come true.

There on the road, four figures lay in wait.

The light from my flash revealed the darkened figures to be Predators, all four of them.

I dropped Song, letting her collapse into the snow.

"Of course… haa… hahaha"

I couldn't stop laughing, even when it began to hurt. The figures made no moves.

I should've known, and perhaps deep down I did, what kind of world this was. Regardless of how much effort, how much I'd put into planning to kill the predator, I'd still die in the end.

Was it like this in all worlds? Same on Earth, same here as well. All that effort, only to die off.

Did they all enjoy fucking everyone over? Or was it specifically me they hated?

"Fuck this!"

I pulled out my daggers, pointing them at the beasts.

I wasn't the same person anymore. I had power, I had a fucking choice, dammit.

I wouldn't just let it have its way this time, not this life. It could ruin my plans as many times as it liked for all I cared. I'd be the one laughing at the end of all of this.

So…

"Come at me! Bloody cowards! G-"

The predators took rather kindly to my invitation, as all four exploded outward at once. I threw myself to the side, barely escaping being skewered.

By the time I pushed myself into a sitting position, three of the beasts moved around me leisurely, with the fourth nowhere in sight.

A notification quietly informed me of what it'd been busy with.

[A cadet has been Eliminated. Remaining cadets: 1]

As I stared listlessly at the notification before me, I felt something pierce through me. Then another, and another.

Pain exploded instantly from my chest, yet I could only choke and gargle on my own blood as I tried to scream. It rushed up, and I puked blood on the ground.

I stabbed weakly at one of the tails going through my chest. I barely left any scratches on it.

My body felt weightless, as all three tails began raising me up, shaking me like a damned toy. Then they pulled, in separate directions.

My mind went blank at the pain of being torn apart. I lost consciousness soon after.

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