I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 67

Chapter 67 – Return to Brother’s Side

Ugh.

A black circle formed next to me as I groaned.

“If you wish to return to that strange world, enter that circle, meow. If you want to go home, come to my side and we’ll watch ‘Love is a Cat’s Meow at the Family Burger Joint -Am I the family burger place’s cat? Impossible! Or is it not?-‘, meow! Once it’s over, I’ll send you home, meow!”

Even though I wanted to go back for the children, the thought of returning to the arena filled me after hearing her words.

‘How can I watch such a dreadful thing?’

With that thought, I turned toward the circle.

“Wait, wait! Take this!”

The baby bird, which had been deflated like a punctured balloon, hurried towards me with something in hand. It was a glinting white gem.

Just as I reached to accept it, the baby bird tapped the gem against the back of my hand.

Flash!

A brief sparkle, and a geometric pattern was etched into the back of my left hand.

“With this, you can communicate with me and receive help from the temple!”

The baby bird continued in an urgent voice. Wondering why it was acting like this, I looked at it. The bird was pushing me toward the circle with its wings, as if reaching out with its little arms.

“The flow of time in the divine realm is different from the human world! Quite some time might have already passed in my world! Hurry back!”

“Eh?! Really?”

As I was taken aback, the deity watching TV chimed in.

“Ah, I forgot to explain. That’s right, meow. Of course, when you decide to go home, I can adjust the timeline for you, meow. I’m not some fallen deity like others, meow.”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o rg

The baby bird flopped onto the ground, crying a river of tears. I brushed off the thought ‘Is this… a deity from a dark fantasy world?’ and stepped into the black circle.

“Kyaaaak! Her brother’s friend’s relative was actually her own family?! That’s basically family!”

With the deity’s strange cry behind me, darkness enveloped my vision.

***

“Ugh… where is this?”

The first thing I sensed was the smell of rot and a fishy stench, pungent enough to paralyze my nose. I tried to rise, wrinkling my brow at the odour, when suddenly—
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f ro m ki ng mt l .o r g

Squash!

“Umm?”

Something embraced me tightly, so tight it was hard to breathe. Confused by what was happening, I blinked slowly, trying to see what was holding me.

My vision was blurry, and I couldn’t make out what was embracing me.

I reflexively rubbed my eyes, feeling crumb-like particles under my fingertips. Thinking it was sleep in my eyes, I scrubbed and my vision cleared.

Wondering what could have obscured my vision so, I looked at my hand to see it covered in dried blood.

“What?”

Confusion took over as I gazed dumbly at my hand, then I turned to look at what was hugging me. Flashes of white—no, fiery red hair entered my field of vision.

‘That’s too big to be Jess… More like…’

“Ah… Iris?”

“…!”

The moment I murmured softly, the person burying their face in my chest jerked their head up to look at me.

T h i s wa s c o pi e d f r o m k i ng m tl .or g
“Uh, uh… Iris?”

It was indeed Iris holding me, covered in blood.

“Hic…”

“Gasps! Iris, what happened? Who did this to our Iris—”
Th i s w as c o p i ed fr o m k i n g m t l . o r g

“Hic, waaahh!”

Tears pooled in Iris’s eyes like beads before pouring down her cheeks. I embraced her, conjuring countless mental hooks in my mind.

‘Why is Iris crying covered in blood… What the hell happened?’

Stunned, my mind was unable to process my tangled thoughts. I just patted Iris’s back, overwhelmed by the chaos.

After what felt like an eternity, as I was worrying she might become dehydrated from crying so much, I looked around.

‘Oh, this place. The corpse disposal site.’

It seemed to be the place they talked about in the arena where the bodies were left. There were decomposed corpses scattered around. Some bodies were torn open as if parts had been ripped out.

‘We should get out of here quick; this place could be diseased.’

I couldn’t get sick, but Iris could. I picked her up. At that moment—

Clang!

The sound of a sharp tool hitting the floor caught my attention. A familiar weapon came into view.

“Oh? Gargandoa?”

The familiar Demon Sword was rolling on the filthy ground. Reflexively, I sat down, placing Iris on my lap, and picked up the sword.

Th i s w as c op ie d fr o m k i ngm t l . o r g
[Huuuung… I’m tired of this…]

The sound of Gargandoa’s sobs echoed clearly in my head.

“Gargandoa?”

[Hic, sob… Now I’m even hearing hallucinations… There’s no way my partner promised never to die and then just die… especially leaving me behind for that dreadful creature…]

A voice filled with resentment, like a bear crunching garlic in a cave, reached me. Wondering if I should just drop the sword again, I spoke.

“Gargandoa, I’m not dead.”

[Another hallucination… Heh, did I love my partner this much? Acknowledge me even in the afterlife, partner.]

I decided to make a point, so I lightly cut my thumb on the blade’s edge. Gargandoa immediately reacted.

[Huh, what… Heh?]

A peculiar noise followed, and the Demon Sword vibrated.

[Pa, pa, partner? Is that you?]

“Yeah, it’s me.”

[But I thought for sure…?]

Gargandoa fell silent, then burst out laughing with a big voice.

[Ha ha ha! I knew it! My partner wouldn’t die from just that!]

I considered whether I should remind Gargandoa of his previous words, but I let it slide. After all, his concern was somehow endearing.

[Then let’s make a contract right now, partner!]

“Huh? Contract? Weren’t we already contracted?”

[After your heart was pierced, the contract was automatically terminated. I don’t know why! Let’s make it again, quickly!]
Th is w a s c o pi e d fr om k i n gm t l.o r g

Gargandoa, fearing I might refuse, shook as he urged me. I saw no reason to object and suggested we re-contract under the same terms as before. Gargandoa agreed.

Gargandoa had once again agreed to a foolish contract. This is why you should be extra careful when making deals with someone you know.

Swish.
T h i s w a s c op i ed f r o m k i ng m t l.o r g

A seal identical to the previous one appeared on my right hand. Gazing at it, my eyes drifted to my left hand.

‘I was given a means to communicate, wasn’t I?’

Clearly, the encounter with the deities wasn’t a dream, as there were traces left on my hand. But the geometric pattern I had seen was gone, leaving only a small feather shape.

‘Ugh… At least it’s still there, so I can get help from the temple, right?’

With that thought, I set the Demon Sword back on my hand. The matter of escaping here could wait. I picked up Iris and surveyed the surroundings.

Grey walls about 10 meters high stood off in the distance, and with no ceiling, the area was bright. The weather in the land of the Demon Lord was often gloomy, so I couldn’t tell the time.

An exit wasn’t far away. It was a massive entrance, about 5 meters high, with no signs of life nearby and no door attached.

To be precise -… it looked like the door had been shattered into pieces, with wooden splinters scattered on the ground.

‘The body disposal site was… connected to the arena, wasn’t it?’

As my thoughts trailed off, they quickly dissipated. My gaze settled on the huge ruins at the end of the path leading from the entrance.

This w a s cop ie d f r o m ki ng mtl.o r g
“Uh, um…?”

Blood, not yet dry, spotted the path leading to the massive ruins, and the bodies of those who had met a brutal end appeared here and there.

‘Could it be…?’

I couldn’t be certain, but something in me urged me towards the collapsed ruins. As I drew closer, I became sure.

‘This… looks like the arena?’

What exactly happened after I collapsed?

***

Rewinding time to the moment Lian was pierced by Iris’s sword.

Crack! Crunch!

As Iris’s sword cleaved through the heart and bones, piercing Lian’s body, blood gushed forth.

T h i s w as c o pie d f r o m k i n g mt l .o r g
“Gak, hack…!”

Iris gasped for air, her body trembling violently. She allowed herself a smile, mistaking the chilling sensation sweeping through her as the thrill of victory.

Thud.

A slaver’s body dropped to the ground. Completely drained, Iris sat down in front of the corpse without thinking to pull out her sword.

She thought blankly.

‘Finally… it’s over. I can return to my brother’s side now!’

Just as she was about to be consumed by joy.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i ng m t l . o r g
[The winner has finally been decided!]

A thunderous voice boomed in her ears. Iris looked up, dazed, towards the source of the sound. A sphere the size of a fist was buzzing around noisily.

Swoosh.

The red mist that had been thick in the air began to dissipate. As the air cleared, Iris’s senses started to return.

Having breathed in the Rediaholsun for so long, it took a while for her to regain full consciousness.

She blinked slowly, looking down at the fully exposed slaver.

“Uh…?”

There was something off about the slaver’s figure.