Even with the Death Scythe's blade pressed against his neck, Sistoi’s expression remained unchanged.
His gaze was fixed on Rei, showing no sign of resignation. Because his mantle was still draped in a camouflage-like protective coloration that made him blend into the surroundings, the sight would have appeared truly bizarre to any outside observer.
"Now, what’s your next move? As far as I’m concerned, you’re out of options. I’d prefer it if you surrendered quietly and gave me some information."
"Unfortunately, I have a certain degree of attachment to the organization. I can’t bring myself to betray them so easily."
The words Sistoi spoke were the truth. It was a fact that they committed inhumane acts, such as using children as they had a few days ago. Nevertheless, Sistoi and Mura only survived as long as they had because of the organization known as the Requiem Bell. He could not, and would not, betray them.
"Then do you want to die?"
"I’d appreciate it if you spared me that... Hah!"
With that shout, a single dagger streaked through the air from beneath the mantle. Rei’s expression flickered with a hint of surprise at the strike aimed at his face, but he immediately pulled the Death Scythe's butt end toward him to parry the blade.
"Gugh!"
The Death Scythe's blade must have grazed him when Rei pulled it back. Sistoi let out a groan of agony as his mantle was torn and his arm was wounded by the very limb that had thrown the dagger.
"Trying something like that in this state is nothing more than a desperate struggle—!?"
It was nothing more. Just as Rei was about to finish that thought, he heard the whistle of wind from behind and instinctively leaped to the side. A dagger sliced through the air where Rei's body had been a moment before. Watching the projectile fly past while he was mid-air, Rei landed and immediately shouted toward the direction it had come from.
"Who is it!?"
The shout escaped him because he had been caught completely off guard. He had been under the impression that only he and Sistoi were left in the waiting room, and all that remained was to extract information and claim the magic item mantle.
However, when Rei saw the figure at the other end of his gaze, he caught his breath. Standing there was a man who should have been dead—someone whose body had been severed into upper and lower halves by the Death Scythe.
(He's still alive like that? Is he some kind of undead!?)
Following that judgment, Rei readied the Death Scythe and turned to face the threat. But as he turned... the man who had thrown the dagger just seconds ago let his arm fall to the floor as if all strength had left him. It was as if he had expended every last drop of his life force on that one act.
"...What?"
The figure in Rei’s sight was no longer alive; it didn't twitch. It was a genuine corpse. It was fundamentally impossible to remain alive with only an upper body, but there was no doubt he had thrown that dagger. Such a feat was absolutely impossible for a normal human. In fact, none of the other corpses were moving. Yet, since it was an event that had undeniably occurred, Rei had to acknowledge it.
If it had been a monster, Rei wouldn’t have been so surprised to see it move with only half a body. However, the fact that the target was human was what had truly caught him by surprise.
For Sistoi, this was the ultimate opportunity he had been waiting for. He slammed a magic item—a stone-like object only a few centimeters long—against the floor to create a smokescreen as a distraction. A thick cloud of smoke billowed instantly, filling the waiting room in the blink of an eye. Sensing Sistoi’s movement, Rei swung the Death Scythe toward the smoke.
He regretted damaging the mantle he wanted without getting any information. Even so, he made the split-second decision that it was better than letting Sistoi escape. Sistoi, who naturally didn't expect Rei to let him go so easily, moved according to his primal instincts. Through an act that could only be described as miraculous, he evaded Rei’s strike and bolted for the door.
Rei’s first priority was caution. He assumed Sistoi might attack from within the smokescreen, but the presence he felt was moving away. Seeing this, he instantly retrieved a dagger from his Misty Ring and threw it.
Normally, the spear—which he was most proficient at throwing—would have been better, but he was too close to the wall to swing a long weapon. A dagger, however, could be thrown with a mere flick of the wrist. Furthermore, the fact that the dagger was one of the poison-coated ones used by the puppet men aided his split-second decision.
"Gugh!"
A scream of suppressed agony rang out. Rei didn't know the exact potency of the poison on that blade, but since it had been prepared specifically to kill him, it was clearly no ordinary toxin.
"Did I get him?"
Rei muttered to himself. Haunted by the puppet man who had attacked despite being severed in two, he wasn't inclined to wander blindly through the smoke. He stayed put, searching for any signs of movement while he waited.
Several seconds passed, but no more puppet men moved. At the same time, Rei heard hurried footsteps outside the waiting room and finally exhaled. It wasn't a sigh of relief, as the feeling that he had let his target escape was far stronger.
"Letting him go was a major mistake. He was a troublesome opponent in more ways than one."
His murmur was tinged with bitterness. He still didn't understand how the man had managed to keep evading his attacks. The fact that Sistoi had dodged multiple lethal strikes left Rei with much to contemplate. And...
"I didn't get that mantle in the end, either."
He let out a small sigh. The magic item—a Chameleon Mantle, as one might call it—mimicked the surrounding scenery. While movement would reveal the discrepancy, it would have been incredibly useful for making an opponent misjudge his range during close-range combat, which would have been invaluable for his upcoming fight against Noise.
As he was thinking this, a voice came from the direction of the door.
"Whoa, wh-what is this... I can't see inside!? Hey, is someone in there!"
"Yeah, I'm here! Sorry, but wait a bit. The smokescreen in the room is..."
Just as he said that, the smoke that had filled the room vanished instantly, as if the previous scene had been nothing more than a dream. It dissipated literally like actual smoke.
"...This is..."
The sudden change was unexpected even for Rei, and he found himself at a loss for words. Standing in the doorway was a man in his twenties looking at him with a stunned expression. He was a tournament official Rei had seen a few times during the Fighting Tournament. Though they had never spoken, the sight of a familiar face allowed Rei to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, but could you go get someone? As you can see, things got a bit complicated."
"Y-Yeah. I mean, are you alright? The room is in a terrible state..."
It was only natural for the management committee member to be dazed. Almost everything in the room—the shelves, boxes, tables, and chairs—had been shredded. Even the walls were covered in deep gashes from multiple strikes.
The man approached Rei as if worried about him, and Rei was about to tell him he was uninjured when a doubt suddenly crossed his mind. It was true that the room was covered in slash marks. That was undeniable. But shouldn't something else be catching the man's eye? Specifically, the corpses of the puppet men who had been severed in half, with their blood, flesh, and organs scattered across the floor.
The moment that doubt took hold, Rei felt a chill like ice against his spine and instinctively threw his body aside. A dagger pierced the space where Rei had been standing a moment ago. The sword tip was wet with some kind of liquid; given what had just happened, it wasn't hard to conclude it was poison.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
Rei asked the management committee member, Death Scythe in hand. His voice was sharp with irritation—irritation at himself for failing to see through the opponent's true nature. As he observed the man, he felt a definite sense of wrongness. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but it was there.
"Oh, is something wrong? Still, this is quite a problem. If you destroy the waiting room like this, my superiors will be furious with me."
The man spoke as if the attack he had just made was of no concern, and the sense of wrongness within Rei deepened. It was as if the man's words and actions were completely disconnected. Maintaining that same expression, the man swung the dagger at Rei again.
"Honestly, every participant in this tournament is so violent. It’s quite a headache. Not that I’m complaining, of course. I suppose you wouldn’t be the type to fight in front of a crowd if you weren't like that. But leaving the waiting room in this state makes things difficult for us..."
He continued his script while swinging the blade. Because his facial expression didn't match his movements, his strikes were incredibly difficult to read. The poisoned dagger only made things more dangerous. Rei knew his body wasn't that of a normal human—it had been crafted using the combined knowledge of the Zephyle Clan. However, it still felt pain if injured, and while poison might not kill him, it would certainly cause him suffering. He wanted to avoid that at the best of times, and he had his match with Noise in three days. He absolutely had to avoid taking unnecessary damage here.
As he read the man's movements, Rei realized something. The speed of the dagger wasn't something a mere amateur could achieve. On the other hand, the strikes lacked any true technical refinement; the man clearly hadn't been trained as a professional assassin.
Rei glanced at the corpses of the puppet men in the corner of his vision and realized the truth.
"I see. You're just like them."
"I beg your pardon? If there is a problem between participants, I’m afraid I’ll have to disqualify you from the Fighting Tournament."
Rei frowned slightly at the fact that despite the total lack of actual communication, their verbal exchange was somehow superficially functional. But he was certain now. This man was the same as the puppet men he had just cut down.
"Tsk. A two-stage plan. They’re certainly thorough."
"Yes, I understand. Your next opponent will be a halberd user, so I will come get you once the preparations are finished."
The man likely didn't even understand his own words anymore. Even as he spoke, he swung the dagger wide, trying to thrust the blade into Rei. Rei dodged and moved to thrust his Death Scythe, but then stopped himself. He realized that killing the man right now would cause a massive amount of trouble.
Unlike the men he had killed earlier, this man was undeniably an official for the Fighting Tournament. If Rei killed him here, there was a high probability he would be disqualified. That would mean failing the request he had taken from Vihera and Theoreme—to draw the attention of the Bestia Empire Upper Management by standing out.
(I'd like to knock him out and subdue him, but... that's probably not going to work.)
Thinking back to the puppet man who had moved even after being severed in half, he suspected a concussive blow would have no effect.
"This is a pain."
"I agree. But these are the rules for the smooth operation of the Fighting Tournament."
It was the same as before—a conversation that seemed to mesh but didn't. Just as Rei clicked his tongue, a loud shout came from the door.
"Hey! What on earth..."
A man in his thirties poked his head into the room, shouting. Seeing that he wore the same uniform as the man swinging the dagger, his identity was immediately clear.
"Lironei!?"
The name that left the newcomer's lips was likely the name of the man attacking Rei. However, the man called Lironei showed no reaction to his colleague and continued to swing his dagger at Rei.
"Lironei, what are you doing! Stop it... I said stop! Have you lost your mind!?"
"Only the top three from the qualifying rounds are allowed to proceed to the main tournament."
The man called out desperately, but his words had no effect.
"Damn it, what's happening... Lironei!"
"It's no use... Hup!"
Rei spoke as he parried a strike aimed at his face with the Death Scythe's butt end part. He wasn't panicked; if anything, he felt a sense of relief. A witness had appeared who could prove he wasn't unilaterally murdering Lironei.
"As you can see, he's been completely brainwashed."
"...Brainwashed? Who would do such a thing?"
"Who knows!"
With those words, Rei dodged a dagger strike and used the butt end to sweep Lironei's legs. No matter how much he had been enhanced, it seemed his basic physical capabilities hadn't been upgraded to match his speed, and Lironei tumbled to the floor. Rei immediately followed up with an upward strike that knocked Lironei into the air. As Lironei crashed back down, Rei forcibly planted a foot on his back and looked toward the man by the entrance.
"Can you take custody of him?"
He spoke with the intent of confirming their next course of action.