Back in the Tokyo No. 1 Colony, in Shinjuku, another high-resource area.
"It hurts so much!"
The girl who had tried to act cute to gain Mukuro's sympathy and affection was now clutching her severed arm, screaming as blood poured out.
She collapsed onto the ground, her body trembling, while the delicate makeup she had carefully applied was completely ruined. Tears and snot covered her face.
She couldn't understand it. This was nothing like what she had imagined, nothing like the men she had dealt with before.
She was a cute, youthful girl. Shouldn't men be protecting her?!
'I really am smart!'
Watching her miserable state, Amai felt even more relieved about his previous decision to switch sides.
So what if she was pretty? In front of someone this strong, the only thing to do was lower your head and behave.
"Now, shut your mouth and take me to the players staying in Shinjuku."
Mukuro casually tossed aside the severed arm he had been holding. The number in his right eye shifted to "1," and in the next instant, the girl's arm returned to normal.
It wasn't like Reverse Cursed Technique, where flesh regrew from the wound. Instead, he used an illusion to replace the missing part and erased her sense of pain.
If she kept screaming like that, it would just be too noisy. It was annoying.
Mukuro could have simply wiped through all of Shinjuku, but having someone lead the way was more convenient.
"Y-Yes!"
Even though her arm looked "perfectly fine" again, the piercing pain from before and the pressure Mukuro gave off still lingered in the girl's mind like a nightmare.
'I'll curse him… I'll definitely curse him!'
She nodded frantically, her bloodshot eyes filled with hatred.
Mukuro, however, didn't care at all.
* * *
A short while later, the two men followed the girl into a nearby building.
Creak~
As she turned the handle, a man with long hair and a messy appearance came into view. His clothes looked like they were stitched together from hundreds of receipts.
He had forty-one points. A reincarnated player from the past, Reggie Star.
"Looks like you caught something, Remi."
Remi. That was the girl's name.
"Reggie! Hurry and kill this guy. He did something terrible to me just now!"
The moment she saw him, Remi rushed forward as if she had found her support, not even caring about the two behind her, because Reggie… was her "knight."
"Oh? Not even showing any mercy to a woman? But you look pretty weak."
Reggie looked the two of them up and down. One had very weak cursed energy, while the other had none at all…
No cursed energy?!
He suddenly caught onto something.
Was there really someone in this world without even a trace of cursed energy, or had he mastered such precise control that he could completely hide it, even at this distance?
Either way, judging from Remi's reaction, it was clear they had come here on their own, which meant they had some ability.
In the Culling Game, players like him, who were somewhat strong, but not at the level of monsters like Higuruma or Kashimo, were everywhere.
If it was someone weak, he would treat them like livestock and kill them. But if they were on the same level, it was better to work together.
Only then would they have a chance, when the game ended, to face whatever unknown "bomb" Kenjaku had prepared.
"Say, you're pretty strong, right? How about joining us—"
"There's one upstairs, one to the side. How about you all come at once? Saves me the trouble of dealing with you separately."
Reggie had just been about to invite Mukuro, but before he could finish, he was interrupted.
At this distance, even if the other two were suppressing their cursed energy, they couldn't escape Mukuro's perception. His sensitivity to it far exceeded that of ordinary sorcerers.
"So, no room for negotiation then?"
The smile on Reggie's face disappeared. He had already prepared a long speech. After all, getting high-level strength for free sounded like a great deal.
"Reggie, what are you talking about? He bullied me badly just now!"
Remi looked confused. She had never heard anything about recruiting strong allies. All she wanted was for her knight to teach this man a proper lesson.
"Well then, since cooperation is off the table, don't blame us. Negotiations have broken down."
With a wicked grin, Reggie clapped his hands.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind rushed past their ears, and behind Mukuro and Amai, a middle-aged man with a bare upper body and a strong build suddenly appeared.
He had twenty-eight points. A reincarnated player from the past, Chizuru Hari.
His movements were swift as he charged at them at incredible speed.
Bang!
In the next moment, a loud crash echoed, and the entire building seemed to shake.
"You've got to be kidding…?!"
Reggie's smile froze.
The man who had just launched the attack was sent flying by a casual slap. After smashing through a nearby wall, his body ended up embedded in another room's wall.
His eyes rolled back, a clear handprint marked his face, and his cheekbone seemed shattered. If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, anyone would think he was already dead.
Just one hit…
That "ally" of his was by no means weak, yet he was defeated instantly.
"Don't worry, I held back."
Mukuro raised his hand with a friendly expression.
To be honest, he hadn't expected that even while holding back, he would almost kill the man in one strike. He would have to be more careful.
Whether those bodies could still be saved was another matter, and gathering points was also an issue. He couldn't go too far.
Suddenly, from the corridor above, a bloody eyeball dropped down, its pupil still facing them.
Bang!
A sound came from the rooftop, like a signal being given. Then cursed energy surged out from the eyeball.
Boom!
It exploded, carrying power comparable to a small bomb.
"Already dead?"
On the rooftop, a man with wild hair touched his bleeding, empty eye socket and spoke with a grin.
He had thirty-five points. A reincarnated player from the past, Iori Hazenoki.
"You idiot, take it easy! I'm still here too!"
Reggie cursed.
Just now, at the critical moment, he had crouched down in advance to avoid being caught in the blast.
As the smoke cleared, Mukuro was holding a heavy iron door he had torn off from a nearby room, completely blocking the explosion.
"You know, bombs aren't toys for kids."
He said casually, then hurled the battered iron door upward with force.
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