Chapter 211: Tell Me, Was It On Purpose, By Accident, Or On Purpose By Accident?
"Kaguya! Get down here!!"
"You jerk!"
When the Magician announced that the volunteer could choose their own partner, Kaguya already felt a deep, sinking premonition. Bound by the rigid rules of the performance, she had no choice but to stand up, her face dark with resentment as she stomped down the aisle.
The other players in the audience let out collective sighs of relief that they hadn't been picked. Yet, confusion rippled through the crowd. Being a 'partner' in a death game's magic show was practically a death sentence. Why drag your own teammate into the crosshairs? Wouldn't a normal person pick a stranger as a meat shield?
They had maliciously given the Magician a score of seven—the absolute lowest they could manage without breaking the rules.
Kaguya stepped onto the stage. Seeing the Magician sizing her up with a morbid, calculating interest, she immediately shot him a vicious glare.
"What are you looking at? You want to fight?!"
The entire audience froze. This girl seemed even more unhinged than the previous big shot. The last guy had just impatiently rushed the host, but she was straight-up picking a street fight with the terrifying entity.
The Magician stiffened. The sheer volume of disrespect he had endured tonight eclipsed the frustration of his past several years combined.
"Apologies. I was being rude," he forced out through gritted teeth, stretching his lips into a strained smile and offering a stiff bow.
Since you don't slap a smiling face, Kaguya ignored him. She pivoted to glare at Haruto.
"What exactly do you plan to perform?"
"Since this is a magic competition, naturally, we have to do the exact same trick to keep things fair." Haruto pointed casually at the massive wooden wheel, acting as if this were the most logical conclusion in the world.
Kaguya stared at the wheel, then slowly turned her gaze back to Haruto, locking eyes with him for a long, deadpan moment.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
"I think you should be the one strapped to it, and I'll throw the knives."
Haruto immediately shook his head. Seeing her extreme lack of faith, he clutched his chest and let out a heavy, dramatic sigh.
"Do you really not trust me?"
"I don't." Kaguya shot back instantly, her tone absolute and entirely devoid of hesitation.
Haruto looked at her with deeply wounded eyes. "As your brother of many years, you actually doubt me? Where is the sentiment? Where is the love? Where is that pure, beautiful friendship we forged?"
The surviving players watched the two of them bicker like siblings in a living room. Their expressions became incredibly complicated.
Wait a minute... you guys are still in the middle of a deadly horror mission! Are you seriously just playing around up there?
Despite their bewilderment, a wave of secret joy washed over them. The longer Haruto and Kaguya stalled, the less time remained for the deadly performances, drastically increasing their chances of surviving the night.
"Please, you two. Hurry up," the Magician urged, his voice tight.
He was instantly met with twin death glares from both Haruto and Kaguya. If he hadn't overheard the audience whispering that these two lunatics were the ones who slaughtered his companions, he would have already ripped them to shreds.
Fortunately, the stalemate didn't last forever. Kaguya finally relented, turning her haughty gaze back to the Magician.
"Get me a bigger wheel!"
The Magician didn't argue. His murderous intent toward Haruto had actually faded, replaced by a desperate urge to just get this over with. If the performance failed because of his own stalling, the Troupe Leader would definitely purge him.
The three Blue Staff Members scrambled onto the stage, hauling the original wheel away. A few moments later, they lugged out a massive new wheel, easily two sizes larger in diameter.
Kaguya nodded in satisfaction. She marched over, grabbed the thick iron chains, and personally strapped herself to the wooden surface. Once secured, she shouted at Haruto.
"Come on! Just make sure you actually hit the wheel!"
The Magician stayed silent, pulling a pristine set of throwing knives from his top hat. Haruto waved them away.
"I brought my own."
Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Haruto crossed his arms and reached deep into his coat. When his hands emerged, eight gleaming silver throwing knives were perfectly fanned out between his fingers.
He even brought his own props? The Magician stared, briefly wondering if this youth was actually a rival performer in disguise.
"Hey... aim carefully before you throw!" Kaguya swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of the eight razor-sharp blades pointed in her direction.
"Don't worry," Haruto replied with absolute solemnity. "These knives were a gift from Sakuya. I guarantee they work perfectly."
Kaguya remained highly skeptical. She opened her mouth to suggest, 'How about you throw them one by one?' but the words never made it out.
Haruto casually flicked his wrists. All eight knives shot forward simultaneously.
Based on Kaguya's centuries of life experience, an amateur throwing eight blades at once meant she was absolutely going to get stabbed. She braced herself.
However, the anticipated pain never arrived. The knives barely made it halfway across the stage before losing all momentum and clattering to the floor in a pathetic, messy heap.
Dead silence blanketed the circus tent.
Haruto blinked, then awkwardly shuffled forward to scoop up the fallen blades. He turned back to the Magician with a sheepish grin.
"First time throwing. I'm a bit rusty. Can I try again?"
"Since you are an esteemed guest, I shall naturally exercise patience," the Magician agreed readily, his posture completely relaxing. He had genuinely feared he was facing a master of the craft, but that pathetic display proved this kid was a complete novice.
"If I may offer a suggestion," the Magician added smoothly, "this is a magic performance, after all. It is best not to throw the knives directly by hand."
Haruto waved a hand dismissively. He channeled his Demonic Power, letting a faint, ethereal glow coat the surface of the silver blades.
Instantly, the eight throwing knives levitated into the air around him, their sharp edges vibrating with a high-pitched, deadly hum.
"The Boundary of Hit and Miss—" Haruto murmured, his eyes sliding shut in absolute concentration.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The next second, all eight knives launched forward like silver lightning, striking their target with terrifying, absolute precision.
However... the thunderous applause and awed cheers Haruto expected did not echo through the tent. Instead, there was absolute, suffocating silence, broken only by the sharp gasps of the audience.
Haruto opened his eyes, looking up in confusion.
The players in the stands were frozen, their jaws slack, their faces painted with pure, unadulterated horror.
Hmm... Judging from their visceral reaction, Haruto could faintly guess the truth. But how was that even possible? The Boundary of Hit and Miss was a simple concept. How could he have messed it up?
With a sinking feeling, he slowly turned his head toward the massive wooden wheel.
He immediately met a pair of eyes burning with apocalyptic resentment.
Every single knife had hit.
All eight blades had struck their target without straying a single millimeter.
Unfortunately, the target they hit wasn't the wooden wheel. It was Kaguya.
The silver flying knives were perfectly, symmetrically embedded into various parts of her elegant princess dress, piercing deep into her flesh. Crimson blood continuously seeped from the wounds, staining the fabric.
"Tell me..." Kaguya's voice was eerily calm. "Was it intentional, or an accident, or was it intentionally accidental?"
"None of the three." Haruto shook his head, his face the picture of awkward innocence. "Believe me, I really intended to use the Boundary of Hit and Miss properly. It just seems... I locked onto the wrong target."
"I'm not listening!!"
Kaguya's eyes snapped wide with fury. She violently flexed her left arm. With a deafening bang, the thick iron chain binding her wrist shattered into pieces. Then, treating the heavy restraints like brittle yarn, she ripped the rest of the chains off her body in one smooth, explosive motion.
"You absolute scoundrel! Die!!"
"Hey, hey! I already told you it wasn't on purpose!"
The two of them instantly broke into a frantic, chaotic chase across the stage. Kaguya hurled whatever heavy objects she could get her hands on, while Haruto dodged and weaved, shouting excuses. Watching them tear up his stage, the Magician gritted his teeth so hard they threatened to splinter.
Meanwhile, the surviving players in the audience felt their eyelids twitching violently. Deep down, they silently gave the duo a massive thumbs-up.
If they hadn't witnessed the sheer absurdity of these two earlier, and if the blood and fury didn't look so terrifyingly genuine, they would have genuinely believed these two big shots were sacrificing their own dignity, staging this entire slapstick comedy just to stall for time and save everyone's lives.
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