'Damn it!'
As the chips before her dwindled one by one, Ryuu realized she had fallen into a trap. Her eyes burned with bitter regret.
'I've been had.'
'These people aren't cheating—they're all ganging up on me.'
When one person takes on the entire table, even without cheating, the group can ensure someone wins each round. By circulating chips among themselves, they could systematically drain her stack.
'They're exploiting my suspicion that they're cheating. They've been wearing me down with this tactic all along.'
She glanced down.
'Only two-thirds of my chips remain.'
Ryuu's brow furrowed deeply. In this situation, she could hardly find a way to break the stalemate.
If she chose to cheat, the two skilled players watching her would expose her immediately.
But if she didn't cheat, she likely wouldn't be able to preserve her chips either.
'This is troublesome.'
This was a situation Ryuu had never anticipated. She hadn't realized everyone present was part of the operators' interest group. From the moment she was brought into this room, her defeat had already been predetermined.
The realization made her expression darken further.
'Has my disgust for these people narrowed my vision?'
Had she remained calm, Ryuu believed her observational skills could have detected their secret signals and uncovered a countermeasure. But earlier, she had been too focused on spotting cheating to notice their coded communication.
She could still try to decipher their signals now.
But with only two-thirds of her chips left, both spotting and breaking the codes would take time. If her opponents deliberately stalled without signaling, dragging things out to waste her time, this gamble would end in complete failure.
"What's wrong? You look rather grim."
Like a petty villain gloating, the Operator's face twisted into a sinister grin.
"Your chips aren't exactly plentiful, you know. One misstep and you'll likely lose everything."
A chill crept into Ryuu's expressionless face. The Operator noticed it, yet showed no restraint. Instead, his lecherous eyes drifted toward Syr, seated beside her.
"Oh, I haven't mentioned the price you'll pay if I win."
"Your wife beside you is truly lovely—so young, so beautiful. If you lose, how about lending her to me?"
...Disgusting man!
At that moment, Ryuu's rage boiled to the brink of eruption. Now she fully understood their tactics.
They used gambling to lure their chosen prey into a trap, then exploited their network to strip the victim of every last chip. When the prey faced crushing debt, they offered a choice: abandon their lover or their wife.
What a revolting, despicable tactic.
At that moment, Ryuu could no longer contain the rage burning within her.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A sudden burst of applause echoed through the quiet casino.
"!?"
The commotion startled everyone inside.
Turning toward the sound, all eyes landed on a figure in a white hooded cloak standing behind Ryuu.
The sight made the two Level 3 adventurers behind the Operator widen their eyes in shock—they hadn't even noticed how or when this person had appeared.
"Having listened to your rules just now, I must say, I'm impressed by your gray-market operations."
"Using a coordinated group to toy with your prey, then forcing them to leave behind whatever you covet as compensation for gambling debts."
"Alright, I'll admit it—you really are revolting."
A faint sneer curled at the corner of the hooded figure's mouth.
"Guards!"
The Operator's heart clenched as he shouted for his guards.
But the moment he turned around, he froze.
The two guards he had hired at great cost now had gaping holes in their chests. Crimson blood sprayed relentlessly from the wounds.
"....."
They still held a flicker of consciousness—only for it to vanish as their hearts were ripped out, leaving them dead on their feet.
"Two measly Level 3 vermin—was that your trump card? Or did you think the other insects in this room could make me stop?"
The voice from behind made the Operator's entire body tremble. His neck creaked as he turned back.
"!?"
His breath caught in his throat.
Two still-beating hearts now sat on the gambling table. A surge of nausea hit him so hard he almost vomited.
But it wasn't disgust at the sight of spilled life.
It was the terror of realizing his own life was no longer under his control.
That fear spread like a virus through the hearts of everyone present.
None of the dozen or so attendants dared move. Even breathing had become difficult.
The sheer pressure—the fear that stemmed from being looked down on by something so far above them—made one truth unmistakably clear.
Control of the room had shifted.
And no one was getting out.
"Wha—!?"
Even Ryuu's breathing was affected.
'I can't see anything.'
She had been facing the two guards directly, yet in that instant, she knew she hadn't caught even the slightest trace of movement—and still, their hearts had been ripped out and placed before the Operator.
"Who are you?"
Trying to keep his voice from trembling, the Operator still couldn't stop the quiver in his tone.
He had once been an adventurer himself. He knew how terrifying a top-tier adventurer could be.
But he had never imagined such a person would appear before him—especially like this.
"Who am I? A mere insect like you doesn't have the right to know."
"Besides, it doesn't matter who I am. What you should know is that even the Ganesha Familia outside won't be able to save you."
The voice wasn't threatening. It was gentle, like a spring breeze.
Yet those words stabbed into the Operator's heart like a knife, sharp enough to make it clear—this was no bluff.
"You can't kill me... I'm the operator of this Grand Casino!"
"If you kill me..."
"Then we'll just replace you."
The voice cut him off, calm and casual, yet the words alone nearly stopped his heart.
"You don't actually think you're important, do you?"