Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 149

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I pushed Kanna onto the stage at Underground Central and positioned myself in the middle of the arena, establishing my stance. As the official observer, I had to serve as the referee as well.
“Both of you—prepare yourselves so neither will have regrets.”
One of them would die. At my words, Kanna’s Uncle checked his weapons with grim determination. Watching him twitch as he adjusted his palms, sleeves, and heels, it was clear he was the type to carry concealed blades across his entire body.
“Kanna. Are you truly certain about this?”
In contrast, Kanna simply gathered six throwing blades and crammed them haphazardly beneath her school uniform, holding one in her hand. I even verified this unusual approach myself, but Kanna merely nodded silently in response.
“I am Evan Laef, acting as official observer. By the authority vested in the Crown Princess, I hereby commence this duel—fair and square!”
The moment I finished speaking, I felt an ominous pressure emanating from Kanna. Recognizing the sensation, I opened my eyes wide and focused intently on her, only to see violet mana rising softly from her form. A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
“Good heavens….”
So I wasn’t the only one who became a mana user at this time. Though I sighed at the thought, I hadn’t actually vocalized my dismay. Just who had discovered that Kanna could use mana? But then my eyes met Reina’s.
“….”
“….”
You too? An awkward silence fell between us, and I felt a chill run down my spine as I grasped Reina’s meticulous nature. She had known how to use mana all along, yet had been relying purely on mental fortitude to activate her skills. Now that she herself had become a mana user, she must have deduced that other demons among humans had also awakened to mana—and deliberately concealed this fact.
When had it started? After she used Scorching Flame on me and coughed blood? If she had intentionally refrained from using mana even while coughing blood, then this woman was truly terrifying.
“How foolish, following me all this way!”
Ah, Uncle, that line is a confirmed death flag. I thought his dialogue was poor as I activated Free Freezing. Whether Reina concealed her mana usage or not, I needed to activate superhuman skills with mana to counter the projectiles raining down from all directions.
With soft clattering sounds, my ice shields deflected the throwing blades. Since I had to observe the life-or-death match, it was quite challenging to block only small weapons without obstructing my view. It wasn’t impossible, though.
“Insane monster.”
Don’t say that to me—you who concealed your mana usage so perfectly until now. Reina’s skill at hiding her mana seemed far more monstrous than my ability to block countless projectiles arriving in rapid succession. And her talent for deception was equally extraordinary. How many serpents was she nurturing in that belly of hers?
“Hah.”
Kanna inhaled deeply and vanished in an instant, the sound of her blade ringing out near the middle-aged man. Even with superhuman skills, my eyes could barely follow her speed as she unleashed a relentless assault. To maintain fairness in the match, I refrained from blocking the projectiles flying through the air, and both combatants evaded them while exchanging blows.
“My husband—what has become of my husband?!”
This woman had been so harsh with Kanna, yet why was she being so polite with us?! My disposition twisted, and I chose not to explain the situation. But the considerate Eugene provided commentary, marveling at Kanna’s movements.
“The current head of house is being pushed back. If Kanna is serious, she’s terrifying.”
The Northern Grand Duke who had fought alongside a dragon could observe this even without superhuman skills. Of course, Kanna’s actual movements were more impressive than merely tracking them with one’s eyes, but Eugene was not someone to underestimate.
“Haaah….”
After one exchange, the middle-aged man and Kanna separated, breathing heavily. Perhaps assassins possessed a unique breathing technique. At least it was certain that both had held their breath when they clashed.
“Assassins truly are formidable.”
“She’s probably doing that fighting style unconsciously, isn’t she?”
That must be it. There was no need to suppress one’s presence while simply fighting.
Their battle produced virtually nothing but the sound of blades clashing. The speed was so tremendous that an ordinary person would see only shadows and sparks from metal striking metal.
“You.”
The Uncle attempted to buy time by speaking, but failed. Kanna’s recovery was far swifter. Before the man could fully catch his breath, Kanna lunged forward, threw her blade backward to block incoming projectiles from behind, drew a second blade from her uniform, and hurled it at his feet. After pushing off the ground once, Kanna moved in the direction the man dodged, drew her third blade, and slashed diagonally in one fluid motion. The middle-aged man barely evaded it, but his balance was already shattered.
Drawing a fourth blade and gripping weapons in both hands, Kanna unleashed her blades like arrows. Her movement, spinning backward through the air using the recoil, was beautiful enough to take my breath away—so much so that I nearly failed to block one of the projectiles flying toward me.
“Ugh!”
“E-Evan!”
Stop worrying about me and focus on the fight, you fool!
It was an opportunity to press her Uncle, but Kanna glanced at me. Seizing this opening, the Uncle unleashed several large needle-like projectiles from his sleeve, striking Kanna directly. I heard a mechanical clicking sound—they must have been some kind of mechanism.
“Kahahaha! Now it’s your turn to end!”
This uncle has been stepping on death flags since earlier. The poisoned dart he just threw was coated with the family’s secret toxin—he’d explained in tedious detail how it would make you cough blood and die within seven breaths if it landed. It was probably that poison Kanna mentioned so often, and sure enough, black blood gushed from her mouth in a violent heave.
“Kanna!”
“Hey! If you die after dragging me all the way here, I won’t forgive you!”
Reina was genuinely worried about Kanna—I found myself moved by it. But she didn’t know that Kanna had poison immunity. Uncle knew this toxin alone wouldn’t bring Kanna down either, so he drew a dagger to drive the final blow home.
Skreeeee.
A terrifying sound reached my superhuman ears. It came from the floor where Kanna’s blood had fallen. Mana was coalescing there—Kanna must have activated a magic skill. Her magical arsenal consisted of poison crafting and shamanism, so what skill had she unlocked to create a poison that dissolved the very ground beneath it?
“Once, Uncle was, Father was.”
Kanna drew the sixth and final hidden blade she’d prepared. As her blood—trickling down her arm—touched the blade’s edge, it oxidized with a sharp hiss.
“Family was supposed to be on my side.”
That’s what I believed. Black veins of blood streamed from her eyes as she finished speaking. The woman who’d been wavering regained her balance with startling speed. Uncle’s poison no longer worked. Now holding the advantage, Kanna gripped both daggers and advanced toward the man with unwavering resolve.
One step—and she’d closed the distance. In a single stride, Kanna had already reached inches from his face. Before he could even open his mouth, the short blade plunged deep into his chest with a sickening crunch.
“Gack! Ugh!”
In that brief moment, he’d managed to resist, leaving Kanna’s body and face covered in lacerations. But Uncle breathed his last.
“Haah…”
Had she maintained her assassin’s breathing technique even during that final attack? I’d been too focused to notice. The collapsed middle-aged man, despite being dead, continued to dissolve slowly under the influence of Kanna’s poison. It was grotesque.
“Well, the judgment.”
Right, that’s true. I’d come here as an observer, so I needed to render the verdict.
I checked with my eyes that Kanna was unharmed, then opened my mouth.
“Kanna Sabah is victorious. With this, the next master of the Hashashin is Kanna Sabah!”
“Wait, hold on, Evan!”
Kanna insisted earnestly that she’d fought as a substitute for her younger sibling, so she shouldn’t be the next master—but that excuse needed to be directed at the Hashashin organization itself, not me. Those who hadn’t questioned their father’s death, who’d accepted the change in acting master without resistance, would they truly accept someone other than Kanna, who’d formally defeated Uncle in combat, as their new master?
“Hey, can I touch you now?”
“Uh, y-yes, now the poison is deactivated.”
The moment Kanna answered Reina’s question, we climbed onto the platform, petted her, embraced her, and with three superhuman women gathered together, we even lifted her in celebration. Kanna protested that she was dirty with blood, but blood could be washed away.
“You did great! Let it all out! This kind of family isn’t family at all!”
“That’s right, Kanna. If you’re ever in trouble, tell Brandenburg right away.”
“Ilam will also support the Hashashin. Once the master changes, there’ll be plenty of handover procedures and such.”
I’d probably end up wielding the Crown Princess’s authority as if it were my own, but regardless, it was best to use whatever resources I could to help Kanna. The words Kanna had spoken during the fight bothered me, and everyone was comforting her, saying to forget about family, that friends last a lifetime—but Kanna, bewildered just moments ago, had suddenly found family again.
“Um, what about Mother?”
“Yeah, that woman disappeared in the middle of things?”
At Reina’s answer, Kanna’s face went pale. The girl who hadn’t changed expression even when hit by Uncle’s poison suddenly panicked, her lips moving soundlessly as she struggled to force out words that wouldn’t come.
“S-self-destruct!”
“What! There’s a self-destruct device rigged throughout this castle?!”
I instantly interpreted Kanna’s meaning, and she nodded in confirmation while Eugene and Reina gasped in alarm, asking how I’d understood her. After living with Gerth for two years, you pick these things up.
Rumble.
The woman really had triggered the self-destruct device—the basement ceiling shook violently. I protected our heads with an ice barrier and tried to find the stairs to climb out, but the passage leading upward had already collapsed, its supports destroyed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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