[For those who haven't cleared the ruins, I'm so sorry~ all the ruins will collapse!]
Following the voice, loud explosions rang in every part of the entire skyscraper with blood-curling screams echoing everywhere.
"Ahhh! The ruin collapsed!"
"Another one collapsed here!"
"Ahhh! Help! Help!"
The sounds of crying, screaming and pleas of help sent a shiver down the survivors outside of Leinster's safe zone and those inside.
Everyone huddled together, their faces pale until a different kind of voice rang, this one stiff and mechanical.
DING! [Dear citizens inside the Active Ruin Zone, the blockage has been lifted!]
[You can now enter and leave the zone ^^]
The survivors, who thought that they would die, immediately brightened at the sound.
"Ah! The zone's barrier is gone! We can leave this building!"
"Stay calm, everyone. So many ruins collapse just now and many monsters will roam around the building. It's better to wait for reinforcements to come!"
The woman with bob hair shouted from inside the safe zone, reminding those outside of the safe zone not to act rashly.
Those outside felt a twinge of jealousy for those survivors hiding safely in Leinster's safe zone but they just grumbled and stuck close to the safe zone's door, not moving away even for a step.
After the different voices spoke, definitely the one who had been "talking" to Leinster finished the announcement, the familiar eerie sweet voice sounded again.
DING! [Since the preliminary round has ended, let's go straight to our favorite— ]
[The elimination round!]
A new interface dyed in crimson suddenly popped up in front of the challengers while the ordinary people found their phones buzzed and the Death League app flashed a few times.
The ordinary people quickly opened the Death League App and found two sets of ranking displays—
[Preliminary Round: Power Ranking] and [Preliminary Round: Popularity Ranking].
On the power ranking list, rows after rows of challengers' names were listed alongside their clearance grade and additional points related to how they cleared the ruin.
Some names at the bottom were greyed out and crossed with a striking red line, clearly showing that the owner of the name had perished.
On the other hand, the popularity ranking listed the number of the challengers' highest Life Votes and Death Votes they had received during the preliminary round, not counting the welfare life votes outside of the ruin.
The Life Votes were marked in green while the death votes were marked in red.
At first, the popularity ranking ranked the challengers from top to bottom by the number of their life votes with those at the top earning a staggering amount of Life Votes that wasn't a part of the ruin clearance reward.
But then, the two big words [ELIMINATION ROUND] flashed and the ranking display suddenly changed the name from [Popularity Ranking] to [Death Ranking].
This time, the one being counted was...
The number of Death Votes.
Following the rapidly changing names and numbers, the sweet voice sounded again, speaking in a deliberate low voice,
[Dear challengers, the league will now highlight the top 10 challengers in the Death Ranking!]
[Since this is the preliminary round, rejoice~ only the top 3 on the list will be eliminated!]
Immediately after, a dark, eerie crimson spotlight flashed in some places and one of them accurately landed on a certain alien.
Flash!
"Ugh!"
Leinster subconsciously shut his eyes while wiping the biological tears, unaware that the surrounding survivors, even those inside the safe zone, stared at him with pale faces.
"A-ah! H-he got the Death Spotlight!"
"Just how many death votes did he get to receive a spotlight meant for the top 10 in the death ranking?"
"Wait, if he died, his safe zone would also disappear. All of us will be done for!"
"Is it too late to give him life votes?"
"The number of life votes can't offset the number of death votes! Unless someone in the world out there has more death votes than him!"
Leinster's sharp hearing caught all the voices and his eyes instantly snapped open.
What the hell? Is this what the crying bunny said about him being listed on the Death Ranking??
So...this is how the death votes work?
To eliminate "unpopular" challengers?
Leinster's heart skipped a beat as he waited for the Death Ranking interface that recorded the death votes of challengers all over the world to stop scrolling.
He waited and waited until a few monsters— some chairs, tables, whatsoever -- came to their gathering place and were effortlessly dealt with by a certain scythe guy...
Only then did the Death Ranking flash three times in a row and the familiar sweet voice sounded.
DING! [Announcing the top 3 challengers on the Death Ranking!]
[Let's start with the first rank, the most hated challenger of this season's preliminary round!]
The blurry numbers on the ranking slowly solidified, showing a specific number of Death Votes.
[3500]
3500 Death Votes.
Leinster's heart almost leapt to his throat.
That's only 500 away from his own Death Votes!
Soon, the blurred name next to the number of Death Votes appeared, along with a tiny photo of a person.
[Arlo Zucchini]
This person...was surprisingly, a handsome young man with white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes, looking like a prince out of a fairytale.
The alien couldn't think about why this person was so hated among the new challengers drawn into this season's preliminary round.
It was the survivors around who gasped and clicked their tongues, mumbling to each other.
"Ah, it's this guy. I thought that one from our country is already a madman, but hey, this one is even worse."
"Isn't he the leader of what cult...anyway, I heard he sacrificed a few hundred thousand people at the famous amusement park?"
"Yeah, and it's not just one park but several!"
"Most of his victims are children and families too..."
Oops. So there was someone worse than this bipedal body?
That's a relief.
Leinster, who didn't even know what his new body did, gloated at the first-rank challenger in the Death Ranking but then, his smile froze on his face.
[2nd Rank]
[3000 Death Votes]