The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 64

“Apologies, everyone, but it seems we have a little situation that requires urgent handling~”

The dealer lifted both hands, palms up, as the bloodstained glass walls were slowly hoisted. Several piled-up corpses tumbled down the steps, and a steady stream of blood flowed down like a breached dam.

“A historic record at Deton Manor in Berren City—eighteen consecutive victories! Is there still a brave challenger willing to step forward?”

The dealer swung his arm dramatically, and four bloodstained banners descended from above.

“Young Lady”—8,900!!!

A severed head rolled to the feet of a gambler. He trembled and took two steps back, his heart pounding as he looked up at the girl on the platform—the girl who had calmly slaughtered eighteen men.

8,900 pounds in chips was certainly tempting, but… life was more important.

The gamblers’ feverish ambition had been cooled by the streams of blood flowing down from the stage.

She has to be cheating… but how?!

No transcendent abilities! No sealed artifacts! How the hell is she doing this?!

While the gamblers below stood in eerie silence, two men wearing green chip masks rushed up the stairs.

Knock, knock, knock—

They stopped before a door at the far end of the third-floor corridor. One of them stepped forward and knocked.

Inside an opulent study, a woman in a black chip mask, clad in an elegant dress, stood at her desk.

Before her lay a game board of two wooden panels, adorned with black and white pieces. She picked up two dice with her gloved right hand, rolled them on the board, and moved a few pieces.

Then, she walked to the other side, rolled the dice again, and examined the result—double twos. She fell into deep thought.

Knock, knock, knock—

The knocking interrupted her contemplation. She looked toward the door with mild displeasure. “Come in.”

As the two dealers hurried inside, she tossed the dice into the air and caught them again. “What is it?”

“Administrator, someone has won seventeen consecutive rounds in Death Roulette!”

“The eighteenth match is happening now—she’s probably broken the record already!”

“Oh?”

The woman stopped playing with the dice, her interest piqued. “Which ‘Gambler’?”

Death Roulette was typically played by “Gamblers.” The second-tier “Harbingers of Misfortune” had a tendency to die from their own bad luck.

As for those at the third-tier “Fated One” level, gambling was meaningless. Especially in Death Roulette—if a “Fated One” stood still, bullets wouldn’t even be able to hit them. Even a “guaranteed hit” round could end in a misfire.

“Not a Gambler—she’s a newcomer.”

The dealer spilled the details in one breath. “Three dealers have already been rotated in, but we detected no transcendent abilities, no sealed artifacts, and absolutely no signs of cheating!”

“A newcomer?”

The woman in the black chip mask tossed her dice back onto the table. “Who sponsored her?”

“Miss Roswell, her bodyguard, and Adele from the Redemption Society.”

The dealers reported everything.

Hearing the names, the woman hesitated slightly beneath her mask.

Those two… how did they end up together?

Well, that made things easier.

As the administrator fell silent, one of the dealers hesitantly asked, “Administrator, should we halt the game and notify Ansu headquarters? She’s a promising candidate—the main office would be very interested…”

“No need.”

The woman shook her head and walked straight toward the door, passing the two dealers without another word.

The two dealers bowed their heads as she left, silently tracing a strange symbol over their chests with their hands.

Descending to the second floor, the woman entered the VIP viewing room. The terrace overlooked the manor’s interior, providing a perfect vantage point for the gambling matches below.

The bloodstained glass chamber was rising before her, revealing the scene within. She looked down and saw the severed heads and bodies tumbling down the stairs, followed by the steady trickle of blood.

On the right side of the high platform sat a beautiful girl with long, gray-blue hair, her expression eerily calm. Opposite her, corpses were stacked in a grotesque heap.

The entire hall had fallen into a deathly silence. Even as the banners displaying the massive prize amounts unfurled, no one dared to step forward.

The woman in the black chip mask stared intently at the girl below, a slow smile spreading beneath her mask.

An excellent candidate…

Even if she was currently associated with those two who had disrupted her plans, that didn’t change the fact that she was just an ordinary person.

And ordinary people… were easy to manipulate.

The woman pressed a switch beside her. The gas lamps around her flickered to life, drawing the attention of the dealer and the girl on stage.

“Oh! Our esteemed administrator, Lady Kitty, has graced us with her presence! Let’s hear what great news she brings!”

The dealer enthusiastically played along, directing the crowd’s attention toward the VIP balcony.

Once nearly everyone was looking her way, Kitty adjusted the fingers of her black gloves and rested both hands on the stone railing before her.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

Her voice was spirited and commanding as she spoke. “Today, we have witnessed history being made at Berren District’s Death Roulette!”

“This is a moment to be remembered! And as the administrator of this establishment, I have decided—”

She raised her hand, gesturing toward the banners. “To add 2,000 pounds worth of chips to the prize pool!”

A few seconds later, a new banner dropped.

“Young Lady”—10,900!!!

“In addition to the increased prize, I am introducing a new rule!”

Kitty slammed her palm on the railing and declared loudly, “If a challenger can defeat the reigning champion—”

“They will inherit her entire win streak, receive all accumulated rewards, and have all debts erased!”

“This is your chance to turn the tables!”

“If you win, you will make history! You will be elevated to the ranks of Deton Manor’s elite! This is your shot to completely change your life!”

As Kitty’s words rang out, the crowd erupted into frenzied cheers. Their earlier fear was shattered—now, only the desire to win remained.

Kitty pressed down on the railing and leaped from the VIP balcony.

The gamblers, breathing heavily, instinctively parted for her, creating a path as she strode toward the high platform.

Click.

Her boots stepped into the sticky pools of blood, leaving streaks behind as she walked the blood-soaked path to the gambling table.

“Congratulations on setting a new record, Miss.”

Kitty smiled at the girl, then clapped her hands lightly.

Two dealers approached with trays, swiftly ascending the bloodstained steps and placing them before Ciel.

Kitty pulled back the black cloths covering the trays. Inside were two potion bottles.

One swirled with stormy thunderclouds, crackling with electricity. The other looked like a pool of black oil, something writhing within.

“Gambler” and “Harbinger of Misfortune.”

Kitty set both bottles before Ciel and spoke softly, “Go on, continue making history.”

“The ‘Gambler’ potion—you may drink it at any time.”

“From now on, I will be your dealer.”

Ciel eyed the potions warily, her instincts tingling with caution.

This administrator… gave off an incredibly dangerous aura.

Ever since she arrived, she had been manipulating the emotions of the entire room.

It was almost as if there was an unnatural force in her voice, compelling people to believe her words.

And when she had suggested drinking the potion, Ciel had genuinely felt a momentary thirst—a bodily urge to consume the “Gambler” potion.

The original dealer stepped aside, and Kitty took his place.

The freshly cleaned glass chamber lowered once again, enclosing the two of them inside.

With Kitty’s influence and the crowd’s bloodlust reignited, more desperate gamblers began ascending the bloodied staircase, eager to challenge Ciel.

And because of Kitty’s presence, many gamblers from other parts of the manor abandoned their games and flooded into the hall. The sheer number of spectators was now enough to pack the space to bursting.

The growing frenzy of the crowd and Kitty’s presence filled Ciel with a sense of foreboding.

Something urged her to end Death Roulette immediately—but she didn’t.

If danger could be uncovered in the simulation, she would be safer in reality.

“You’re not afraid?”

A voice suddenly echoed in Ciel’s mind.

Startled, she turned her gaze to Kitty—certain the voice had come from her.

“You have great potential, child.”

Kitty slowly raised a hand and gently touched the mask on her face.

“Let me see your limits…”

This mind-projection ability—Ciel had only encountered it once before.

The ‘Ascetic’ path.

Back when Ciel had faced Hugh, the Radiance Bishop, she had directly projected her voice into Ciel’s mind, blocking out all other noise.

Was Kitty not from the “Gambler” path?

Avena had told her that the core members of Deton Manor were all either from the “Adventurer” or “Gambler” paths…

“Defender, Young Lady, you have the first move.”

Kitty raised the black revolver in her hand and smiled. “How many live rounds would you like to load?”

“One.”

Ciel took a deep breath and replied.

No matter what Kitty was planning, Ciel had no choice but to play along.

“A bold choice.”

Kitty loaded a single live round into the revolver, spun the cylinder, and then flipped the gun around, offering the grip to Ciel.

Ciel took the revolver. After so many consecutive rounds, her right hand was already slightly numb, and the gun felt even heavier than before.

Just as Ciel grasped the revolver, she saw a faint wisp of blue smoke rise from its barrel.

The gun… had already fired?

In one second, it would automatically fire a blank?

Ciel instinctively tried to turn the gun toward herself—but to her horror, she realized her body was no longer under her control.

Click—

Even though her finger wasn’t on the trigger, the revolver fired on its own.

“Oh! ‘Young Lady’ has just fired a blank shot!!!”

Kitty stepped past the gambling table and turned toward the crowd, shouting, “She finally made a mistake!”

Ciel’s mind went blank. She quickly looked down at her shadow—only to see a faint white figure crouched over it, almost perfectly fused with her.

Because she was in the simulation without any transcendent abilities, Ciel could barely make out this vague silhouette—completely unable to resist it in any meaningful way.

Kitty had already walked over, taking the revolver from Ciel’s grasp before stepping in front of the next challenger.

“Your turn, brave challenger.”

Kitty handed him the gun.

“Hah… Hahaha…”

The gambler could hardly believe his luck. He snatched the revolver eagerly and burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha!!! Fortune has finally smiled on me!”

He laughed maniacally, flipped the revolver around, and pressed it against his own forehead, pulling the trigger without hesitation.

Bang—!

The barrel spat fire, and the glowing blue bullet tore straight through his skull, bursting out the back of his head and splattering blood against the glass wall.

“Nineteen consecutive wins!”

Kitty retrieved the revolver from the corpse’s grasp, then turned back toward Ciel, shouting to the audience below, “See?! ‘Young Lady’ isn’t flawless! She’s finally starting to falter! If you want to win—strike while you can…”

What is she trying to do?

Ciel was now almost certain—Kitty also had the ability to manipulate shadows.

Ciel simply watched her coldly, allowing her to continue rousing the crowd, luring more gamblers up the bloodstained steps.

Her control over her body returned, but Ciel did not act. Instead, she played along, executing the next challenger without hesitation.

Ciel wanted to see exactly what the other side was scheming.