I Became a Leader in a Wretched Prison - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 31

“What, what are you saying? Don’t tell me, this time we have to kill those scarec— no. We have to kill people to… clear this?”

I didn’t say anything. Then I slowly opened my mouth.

“What if that were the case?”

At that, the party made various expressions. I carefully observed Ged’s Group.

‘Two people who turned pale or stiffened, one person who steeled themselves, and one person who remained calm…’

And Helios had an expression mixed with confusion.

“I’ve stopped the spiders, but I can’t hold out for long!”

Haira used her ability extensively and stopped the spiders. The boss of This Floor, which had somehow multiplied, could be seen among the spiders.

“Do we really have to kill people to end this?”

I stared at Helios’s light purple eyes for a while, then chuckled.

“Come on, would that really be the case?”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry. Not yet, anyway.”

I reached out my hand. The disc that appeared behind the boss exploded.

Bang!

The flying boss fell at Helios’s feet.

“…A scarecrow?”

The charred and mangled remains weren’t a human corpse. It was a scarecrow that they all knew well.

“They disguise themselves well, don’t they? These scarecrows.”

“…”

“B-Boss! Then those things deliberately… appeared like humans?!”

“It’s an ability you all know well.”

I tapped around my eyes and gestured toward Haira.

“Bewilderment.”

“…”

“It deceived your eyes to make them look like people. Once you break free from the suggestion, they’ll look like scarecrows now.”

“B-Boss? Then you… even though it looked like a person, you still ex-exploded it?”

At Seth’s words, I tilted my head. Before I could say anything, someone’s voice cut me off.

“No.”

It was Helios.

“He’s not that kind of person.”

His expression was cold. When he looked directly at Seth, Seth flinched.

“…Whatever the case, it’s resolved now, right? I’m getting tired and feel like I’m about to collapse, so is it okay if I release Kia?”

The moment Bewilderment was first dispelled, all the scarecrows now appeared in their original forms rather than as humans.

After that, it was like facing scarecrows that were slightly stronger than those from previous floors.

And it was to a degree that Ged’s Group, led by Helios, could handle.

“Haah… I’m dying.”

All the scarecrows had fallen and no more spiders appeared.

It was the signal indicating the floor had been cleared.

‘That is, if this had been the 24th Floor.’

While most of the party was sitting around exhausted, I was the only one still standing.

“Huh, Boss? Why aren’t you sitting and resting like usual? Ah, you didn’t use much strength?”

“No.”

I smiled brightly.

“Because it’s not over yet?”

* * *

Along with Mint’s words that felt somehow strange, the ground shook.

‘The ground? No. It’s the wall!’

Helios quickly assessed the situation. The wall was moving.

No, to be precise, one side of the wall was lowering.

It was one of the walls that had risen to divide the sections when the 25th Floor began.

And on the opposite side were people who had undergone the 25th Floor’s trial just like Helios and Ged’s Group.

“…Are they dead?”

Those standing numbered one more than on this side, but five could be seen collapsed on the ground.

They all seemed dead.

“What, what is this, isn’t the 25th Floor over? Why… why is only one wall coming down?! Huuung!”

“Wait and see. It’s not over. Look over there!”

“Boss, how is this…”

Seth, Haira, and Ged showed their confusion in that order.

“It’s exactly as I said. It’s not over yet.”

Mint shrugged lightly.

“…Don’t tell me, they’re new opponents?”

Mint nodded.

“As expected, Helios is the quickest to catch on?”

Mint’s face slowly turned.

In that zone were faces filled with malice.

‘They have the numerical advantage too. And…’

Faces that would do anything to survive. Generally, they were faces that only those who had truly tried everything possessed.

“Oh dear.”

Mint clicked her tongue briefly.

“Where are you going?”

Helios urgently grabbed Mint. He felt an ominous premonition for some reason.

“Unfortunately, with Disciple’s current abilities, it would be too much.”

“What? So you’re saying you’ll kill them?”

“Yes.”

His grip tightened on Mint’s hand.

“What, aren’t you prepared to kill to survive here?”

“….”

Mint easily slipped away from Helios’s grasp. Helios had simply lost hold of one hand.

The fleeting sense of loss and emptiness startled him with how much greater it was than expected.

“I really don’t like this place.”

Mint didn’t particularly like the 25th Floor.

The reason was clear.

First, the boss used Bewilderment abilities to appear wearing human skin.

And second, like the 24th Floor, real people appeared after defeating the variants and boss.

These two factors made it clear what the Tower was encouraging.

As Mint moved, those in the dead-end zone began falling one by one.

“Ked is down!”

“What, what is it? Where did he go?”

“Everyone use Kia! He was a scrawny man! Catch him!”

“Musculoskeletal System, grab him!”

However, those screaming like demons with bloodshot eyes and necks collapsed one by one as Mint passed by.

The remaining man widened his eyes and stared into the darkness.

‘His colleague looked weak! I should at least take a hostage….’

But the man who thought this soon received a fierce attack to his back and couldn’t get up.

Whoosh―. The disc that had struck the man returned to Mint.

“Aaaahhh!”

The last remaining man struggled and desperately fled backward. But soon his back was blocked by a dead-end rock.

“You’re the last one.”

“Ugh, what? What is this! This time, this time for sure I’m going up!”

“Sure, sure. You’ll definitely go up on your next attempt. You have the skills for it.”

Mint casually lifted up a man larger than herself by the collar.

Nearby was a giant hole in the ground. It was where variant spiders had been crawling up from this zone just moments ago.

Mint’s hand gripping the collar extended toward the hole. The man desperately struggled over the hole in the ground below, then went limp.

Helios, who had been watching this scene, widened his eyes.

“…Is Boss going to end it like that?”

Hearing Ged’s gloomy words, Helios instinctively tried to run forward.

But Mint, catching his eye, smiled and simply let go.

“…!”

After a few seconds, a familiar broadcast echoed through the massive floor.

[Trial complete. Congratulations, mongrels. Was your first taste of the 25th Floor’s madness refreshing?]

A solemn voice, different from the previous floors, echoed through the air.

[For those who failed, another chance awaits. For those who succeeded, another delightful hell awaits. Good luck, mongrels!]

Helios slowly blinked his eyes.

‘A next chance for those who failed?’

Where could there be a next chance?

They died.

Could there be such a contradictory phrase?

Helios couldn’t even tell when he had left the 25th Floor.

When he came to his senses, he was standing on the withered Grass Field after exiting through the Door.

“I didn’t expect Boss to step in personally at the end… That was amazing.”

“Right, that was, well, quite surprising.”

“Haha, he was always an amazing guy anyway.”

Strangely, while everyone seemed somewhat uncomfortable about Mint’s actions at the end, no one appeared as shocked as he was.

It felt strange.

“Everyone, are you okay with this?”

“Huh? What do you mean, Helios? Ah, Boss worked hard today too. Thanks to you, I saved my life several times again today.”

Right, Ged was telling him that he had saved his life, and yet…

“Someone… died, but you’re okay with it?”

“Huh?”

Then, surprisingly, all of Ged’s Group stared at Helios with wide eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“Haha. Don’t tell me, Helios didn’t know? Really?”

“…How could he not know?”

Haira looked around at the Party and quietly raised her hand.

“He’s always been with just that person. And more than anything, Helios isn’t interested in others.”

“What does that…”

The more the conversation continued, the more Helios’s expression hardened. Ged scratched his neck with a troubled face.

“Helios, you have good eyesight, right? Take a look over there.”

Helios slowly turned his head. Soon his eyes widened greatly.

There, someone was constantly rubbing their neck with an unpleasant expression while complaining to the person next to them.

‘That person is…’

It was the person who had fallen into the pit at Mint’s hands at the end.

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