Death Cast

1.33 | Grecia Bella Theatre

The more Jaerim thinks about it, the more it makes sense. Or else, he could not explain the jester's obsession. Elias probably has Bella as his first love, second is his love of performing. It's impossible for him to be missing in action, especially since his lover might be watching.

"What if part of the condition is to win the competition without performing? And he must get the first prize.”

That’s a logical explanation. The father's putting up such conditions will make things simple.

Jaerim tapped his finger on the table with a dazed expression. He feels like something is still missing from his deduction. Although it had pinpointed everything, there seemed to be a few more missing scenarios. His gut is saying that he is missing something.

What could it be? A thought came into his mind.

“The theatre will end up getting burned at the end,” he muttered. “But why?”

What could be the reason for the fire?

He had only seen two illusions along the way, both showing a landscape of fire. It had encompassed two different timelines, representing the time in which the theatre was still owned by someone and the future that they would be facing. The intensity of the fire is no joke. He was only watching from a distance, but he could clearly sense the feeling of getting burned alive.

It is the fourth day - one day left before the judgment time. They have to search for the door or whatever way they could do to escape from this world.

So, how are they supposed to end this world?

The two grim reapers are simply listening to both sides. None of them made any remarks. It's possible that they're either unable to share something crucial or simply don't care about Jaerim's murmuring. For the first time, Silvester removed his glasses and cleaned them with a white towel. When he had the spectacles on and when he didn't, he looked completely different. It caused Jaerim to pause for a while as he looked at the scholarly grim reaper in astonishment.

Silvester opened his eyes as if he has something to say. Jaerim waited for him to finish cleaning the glasses before restoring them.

“And why are you sharing this with us? It’s not like we could help you.”

He said it as a matter of fact.

Jaerim snorted. He leaned forward and cupped his chin on the back of his hands while his elbows rested above the table. His expression remained calm and serene, as if Silvester’s taunting had not affected him. In any ways, the grim reaper is right. There's no use in sharing information with the grim reaper since they don't have any use for it.

But they are the safest people around me.

He believed that the two grim reapers were the only ones he could truly trust at this time. They may not be part of the test, but at the very least, he will have the impression that these two are sincerely concerned about his well-being. That's all he needed to know, now that he's aware that someone was plotting to murder him. Who knows why that person, or those people, desired his life?

He doesn’t think like a murderer.

As Silvester said, there is no use for Jaerim to stay around so he eventually left the room after an hour. It’s the fourth day and it’s already expected that many clues would appear. The two grim reapers didn’t say goodbye or tell him to be safe. They just watched the human walk out from the door with unconcerned eyes. The moment Jaerim was no longer around, Barron began to talk.

“How is it? Did it go well?” He asked.

Silvester stopped watching the closed door and faced his senior with respect. He pushed his eyeglasses up, allowing light to reflect on them, covering the emotions dwelling in his eyes. The red-eyed grim reaper had a stoic expression as he reported the task he’d done with uncertainty.

“They hadn’t heard of it. Or at least, it had not reached their ears yet. The higher-ups didn’t know the existence of that person and are now only looking at it after handing out the report,” Silvester said.

Barron hummed with a nod. “How long will it take for them to finish the investigation?”

“It has been estimated to last at least one human year. They are placing people to handle the case, so it would be quicker. That’s all they could do now since they don’t have any idea about that person.”

“That’s good,” Barron agreed to his own statement. “Let’s just be more careful this time.”

Silvester watched his senior calmly drinking despite the sudden issue they found in this world. Since Barron is not worried, he does not need to worry too, and nodded. He poured himself another cup of tea to soothe his nerves. His attention was then shifted to Jaerim, who got off their room.

“He seems to be doing well,” Silvester stated. “Doing very well for his first world. Aren’t humans supposed to fear the unknown?”

Silvester had been a grim reaper for so long, though still short in accordance to their time duration, but it was enough for him to see many kinds of people. Normally, humans would fear the peculiar and the unknown. Although there are rational beings that could control their emotions, it would still be evident in their microexpressions that they were afraid.

Yet, Jaerim only showed fear when they were meeting for the first time. Many days later, he had gotten comfortable with them, even sharing a table while discussing the world simulation. He quickly adapted to the situation, as if he had only changed places or countries. Barron smiled after Silvester mentioned his contracted Death Cast. It is clear from his eyes that he is satisfied with Jaerim.

“Humans could not be simply understood by observation and data,” he said. “They are genuine beings that grow and die at the most unexpected times.”

That must be the reason why they are favored by the gods. Of all the beings that existed in this whole universe, only humans were given grace by the gods. They even created supernatural beings like grim reapers that would handle human souls so they could get reincarnated into the next life. It could be summed up that grim reapers are here since there are humans.

They were born from the idea of escorting souls from the unique race.

“Anyways, let’s just see what he can do. I’m curious how he will end this game.”

The two grim reapers continued their chat leisurely while Jaerim is walking out holding his death and fate in his hands. He had just stepped out of his room for a while, walking a few steps away toward the dining area, when someone suddenly attacked him. It appeared to be a shadow since the entirety of the person was covered in black. Jaerim didn’t expect the attack to come and got stabbed by a small knife in his arms.

“What the hell-”

He immediately went into full attack mode and kicked the shadow away from him. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late for Jaerim to defend himself, so the shadow only managed to leave a small cut on his skin. However, even though it is just a small cut, it is now bleeding profusely, making Jaerim a bit lightheaded. He bit his lower lip hard to wake himself up from fainting.

The shadow did not seem to be scared from Jaerim suddenly retaliating. It actually seems to have gained some energy now that it has seen the youngster bleeding. Another attack would have been made if not for the sudden entrance of another character. Ken walked in with Carl, wearing colorful clothing, apparently their costume for today’s presentation. They were just chatting about trifling stuff when they found Jaerim holding his elbows while blood was trickling down his arm.

The first to react is Ken, who pointed at Jaerim as if to ask why he was bleeding. The next one to move forward is Carl, whose attention is not on Jaerim but on the running shadow that is trying to escape. Jaerim smiled shyly toward Ken as if his injury was not a problem. The blood trailed from his elbows down to his arms until each of his fingers pointing down is now dripping with red blood.

Ken approached Jaerim as he yelled to his companion, “Make sure to catch the culprit!”

Carl did not answer, or probably had answered, but they were unable to hear it since he had turned the corner. Jaerim heaved a sigh of relief the moment he was safe. The senior fished into his pockets as if trying to get out something when he realized that he had changed clothes. He looked at Jaerim with wide eyes.

“I forgot I changed clothes! The first aid kit isn’t here,” Ken exclaimed.

Jaerim looked at Ken weirdly. How could a first aid kit fit in pockets? But he didn’t ask further. He had known that there are many things in this world that cannot be easily explained by reason so he just let it go. Ken frowned as he did not expect to make such a mistake at such a crucial time. He thought that he should be more careful next time.

“Let’s bring you to the infirmary. We have to treat this wound immediately. It’s no good if you get injured right now,” Ken said.

Jaerim nodded. “But senior, you are presenting a program now, right? If you bring me to the infirmary, you might miss the dance. Is it okay?”

Ken paused and looked at Jaerim with obvious reluctance. Of course, it won’t be okay. Being part of the competition is one of the requirements for passing this world. He could not miss it even though he was not playing any important position.

“Well,” Ken calculated his time. “I could still bring you to the infirmary within the five minutes but you have to treat it yourself. I’m sorry.”

The senior is kindly helping a fellow Death Cast to survive. Jaerim had been wary to Ken and his group from the start since they tried to clump the Autumns into one group, though it has been explained later. But this time, Ken is still showing his genuine concern as if they are sworn brothers or something. Jaerim remembered that their relationship is only limited to a comrade in arms that has to face the same trial.

Ken seems to have noticed examining him and could not help but chuckle. The youngster who had the darkest color of eyes and hair he had ever seen raised his vigilance like how it should be. He nodded in satisfaction as he patted the bleeding person on his shoulders. Jaerim is still alright. The loss of blood is only making him a bit dizzy.

“How old are you this year?” Ken suddenly asked.

Jaerim wondered why he was asking such a trivial question, but he revealed, “About twenty years old.”

“You are not sure?”

“I am an orphan.”

“I see,” Ken said, nodding in understanding. “Too young,”

“Excuse me?”

“You are too young to die.”

Actually, all of them here are all young. The usual range of their ages is from fifteen to thirty years old. Those who are older were the ones who had already survived many worlds. But Ken and his comrades are an exception. Jaerim remembered that Ken is already forty-ish something this year. It made him wonder why an old man like him is here.

“I’m one of the officers of Autumn's Special Dispatch Division. Anyone coming from that division was given a choice of dying through euthanasia or extending their life through the contract with grim reapers.”

Jaerim is surprised. “That is allowed?”

“Why not?” Ken shrugged his shoulders. “Anyways, we are here to maintain order based on our contract. The more people who can survive in the simulation, the greater extension we could have.”

There’s no wonder Ken and his group are so adamant about uniting the Autumns. Their life extension is commission-based. In addition, Jaerim now learns that the contract has different distinct premises. His contract is by living through simulations so the people behind the grim reapers could get data from studying the behaviors of Autumns.

“Let’s go now,” Ken said as he tried to support Jaerim.

Though, Jaerim could pretty much walk normally since it was his arms that got wounded. It is such a shallow wound too. He is about to protest when someone came out of the corner. Noel is walking out of the kitchen, satisfied, his hand caressing his bulging stomach. His eyes wandered around lazily when he found Noel and Ken standing on the corner. He found Jaerim bleeding.

“W-what happened?” He rushed toward the two people and looked at Jaerim’s condition. “Y-your arms! It’s bleeding!”

“It’s okay,” Jaerim dismissed the notion nonchalantly.

“How is it okay? It’s bleeding a lot!”

Ken is happy to see Noel. He patted the youngster’s shoulder and stated, “Go take him to the infirmary and get his wounds cleaned and dressed.”

Noel nodded like a pecking hen. He walked beside Jaerim as if wanting to assist him. Jaerim pushed Noel away and said, “I can walk. It’s my arm that got hit and it’s only shallow. There’s no need to carry me.”

“But-”

“Just lead the way.”

Noel compromised and lead Jaerim towards the infirmary. Ken watched the two young people help each other. After a few seconds, Carl returned to his side. Carl looked okay but there is a weird expression on his face. His scrunched nose and furrowed brows made him look scary.

“What’s up?” Ken asked.

“It’s weird,” Carl scratched the back of his neck. “The shadow suddenly vanished.”

“It is?” Ken felt that it is weird. “Is it a foreign being?”

Carl shook his head. “That’s impossible.”

The two looked at each other while thinking about the shadow. It’s impossible for foreign beings to enter this simulation with the grim reapers roaming around. They would be the first ones to notice if someone infiltrated the system.

Ken would have wanted to investigate the matter but the drums on the stage made a sound call. It means they are now gathering since the program is about to start. The two hurried over the backstage and prepared their selves.

Anyways, they’ll just look at it after they’re done with their task.