Third POV
Raibaru Fumestsu.
The martial arts goddess of Akademi High.
The best friend Osana ever made.
And the only person who didn't stand up for her during her time of need.
The guilt of what she had done in the past was eating her alive to the point that sacrifice everything.
Her future.
Her career.
Her love life.
Everything.
Everything to see her best friend and apologize to her.
Now the only person who gave her hope decided to abandon her.
"I wish I didn't delete that portfolio," she muttered as she typed away at the keyboard. "I wish I didn't do that!"
Then a message appeared on the screen.
"Hey!"
She looked at it in confusion.
"I know who you are."
She stared at the screen.
"And I know you are searching for a way to apologize to your friend."
Reading that nearly caused her to fall off her seat in shock but she held on to it.
"Do you need help?"
She bit her bottom lip.
"I can help you summon her. For free. But you have to play your role perfectly understood?"
'Is this a scam?' Raibaru asked herself as she reread the message still not believing a word written on the screen but after thinking for some time, she closed her eyes, sighed, and opened them in determination.
'Anything to see Osana again.' she typed on the keyboard again.
"Where do I start."
The culprit behind the messages pushed up her glasses and gave an evil smile.
The plan was in motion.
Emma's POV
One of the robots walked passed us holding the decapitated head of one of the contestants with its right hand. It stopped, looked around, and continued to walk as if nothing happened.
“Are you sure they won’t find us here?” the male contestant asked for like the fifteenth time.
Tired of answering him, I nod and stare at my bandaged hands. The antiseptic stung but at least they won’t get infected.
“It's a good thing you brought a first aid kit.” Legos said. "I am sorry I used up all your antiseptic."
I frown at that. “Why are you doing this?”
The male contestant sheepishly scratched the back of his head before looking away. "Let's just say, I did this out of curiosity."
This made me cock an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Ye...yeah."
I roll my eyes.
"So why is he doing this?" he asked.
Not saying a word, I stand up and start walking away.
"I shouldn't forget this is a killing game," I say to myself. "One of them might betray me."
Luckily for me, my weapons were still intact and so were the pieces of the mirror. Taking out the frame, I looked at it and groan.
'I only have two pieces of it.' I groan. 'How many should I get to complete the mirror?'
Looking through it, I see an arrow leading me down the path. I take it and find myself in the middle of the carnival.
'Seriously?' I sigh and look through it again.
"H...hey!"
I look back to see the male contestant and Legos. "Can I help you?"
"Y...yeah. You see, I know we are technically enemies here considering the fact this is a killing game but..."
"Yes?" I ask because his hesitation is starting to annoy me.
Legos stepped in. "What he is trying to say is, how about we work together to get out of here alive?"
I cock an eyebrow. "No."
This shocked the male contestant. "Wh...what do you mean no?"
"Aren't you in for the money?" I ask.
"I...I told you that I entered out of curiosity and I...I..." he crumbled to his feet and started to cry. "I don't want to die!"
I sigh not knowing what to think and look at Legos. "What about you? What made you change your mind?"
He shrugged. "Let's just say I decided this isn't worth my life."
'I don't believe him.' said my inner voice.
'Me neither.' I say staring at him until my eyes fell on the male contestant. 'But I am not so sure about him.'
'I know. He looks pathetic but helpless.' it sighed. 'Do it for his sake.'
"Alright. Let's work together to get out of here. Deal?"
Legos nodded and extended his hand for a handshake but I reject it and look through the piece of the mirror.
'Great! It is taking me to another boarded path.' I put it back in my bag and walk towards it. 'I hope it doesn't lead to another death game. Speaking of death games...'
"Say, how did you guys get to that building?" I ask.
"It's on the mini maps on our phones." Legos replied taking out his phone. "See?"
I take out mine to look at it but see glitches instead. 'What the...'
"I...I lost my phone along with my friend to those robots." the male contestant said sadly. "So I ran towards the building hoping it would be safe but I was wrong."
'Okay, his explanation makes sense.' I take out a red arrow and blew up the planks of wood to ashes. 'And I am running out of arrows.'
"HE...HEY! YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO GO THERE!"
"All the more reason to venture through my dear." Legos said.
"Ar...are you sure th... there aren't any robots here?" the male contestant asked.
"I'm not so sure about that." Legos replied as we approached what looked like an abandoned western wasteland. "It looks desolate to me."
"What about that girl holding that machine gun?" he asks again.
“Oh her?” I heard him laugh. "Relax. She won't find us here."
"Don't be so sure about that," I say. "Remember our phones give away the location of the other contestants including ours."
This made Legos laugh nervously at his stupidity but I don't join in. The possibility of someone like Valarie wielding a weapon is low because she's the type of girl who dodges gym, hates getting her nails ruined, and loves to do nothing but sunbathe by the pool in school.
'It looks like being a daughter of a Loan Shark has its advantages.' I thought. 'But why would that girl be participating in a killing game? She's rich enough to sponsor this game!'
“Psst,” I thrash my head to the right and spot the kitsune standing on the fence. “You will find the next piece of the mirror over there.”
I look in the direction of where its paw was pointing and see what looks like a cabin in the distance.
'Are you sure it's safe?' I ask.
'Yeah. You might find some clues about this place while you are at it.' and with that, it ran off leaving us alone.
“Emma?” I see a hand being waved in front of my face and blink.
It was Legos. "Are you spacing out?"
I shake my head and walk on leading them to the cabin.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
The door of the cabin was unlocked so we open it to reveal a messy house. Inside, the living room was littered with papers, empty whisky, and pill bottles, and the broken-down furniture just added a creepy vibe to the atmosphere. Cross the room was a dining table where creepy mannequins wearing suits and dresses were seated and posed to look like they were having dinner.
I stumbled on one of the empty pill bottles and reached down to inspect it. "I have seen this before."
"Hey look food!"
The yelling was coming from the kitchen. Inside, we see the male contestant gorging himself with food from the open fridge.
"Mike! Are you out of your mind?" Legos yelled. "Some of those food items could be poisoned."
This stopped Mike in his tracks for a moment before he shrugged, gorging himself with food again.
"I guess he must be really hungry." Legos said in defeat.
I look at the slightly plump man in disgust. "His name is Mike?"
"Yeah. He didn't give me his surname though."
The opened fridge loaded with food and drinks caught my attention and seeing nothing happen to him when he started eating the food, I reached out to inspect a can of beans.
"These were bought recently." Legos said.
"How can you tell?"
"By the bar code on the can," he tapped on it. "These tend to wear off when placed in a moist environment but it still looks new."
He was right. It did look new. Not to mention the kitchen looked like the only clean room in the house.
'Someone is living here but who?'
Then I hear a burp and mIke stood up patting his slightly bulging stomach. "Man I am full! I wonder if there's anything left for you guys."
Then he attempted to open the cabinets but Legos stopped him.
"Hey what gives?" he asked.
"Whoever is living here is clever," he let his forefinger run down what looked like an invisible line. "Do you see this?"
Mike and I stared at the string with huge eyes.
"I wonder where it leads to." Legos sarcastically asked. "Maybe to that gun over up there?"
We looked up to see a gun attached to the ceiling and shudder. 'If he had opened that cabinet, he would have been a goner.'
“LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE AN OBSERVANT ONE AREN’T YOU?”
We decide to leave the kitchen to explore the other rooms in the cabin. Climbing up the stairs, we see different doors leading to different rooms and pick the door by the right.
"You go first." Legos said nudging me.
'What a gentleman.' I open the door and we walk into an empty room. Suddenly, thunder clapped and an image of someone hanging from a nose from the ceiling flashed before my eyes and when I blink, it disappeared.
"What just happened?" Legos asked taking a step closer.
"I don't know but..."
Slam!
The door slammed shut trapping us in the room. Panicked, Mike ran towards the door to try to get it to open but it didn't budge.
"Hey! Let us out!" he screamed banging on it.
I quickly take out a red arrow. "Move and I will make this..."
But the sound of someone typing on the keyboard caught my attention. Looking back, I see someone wearing a black hoodie sitting at the computer in the middle of the room typing furiously.
"Wait, that wasn't there." Legos said as I put back the arrow in the quiver.
"Hey," I call out but didn't get a response. "Hello?"
Whoever it was continued to type so I walk over to him.
"Emma don't go!" Mike yelled. "What if it's a trap?"
I ignore him, grab the swivel chair, and turned the person around just to see a skeleton staring back at me.
I take a step back in fear.
"What the...is that a skeleton?" Legos asked in shock.
We watched in horror as the skeleton stood up pushing the chair behind it. Face pale and wishing I had the Imperial Blade with me, we take a step back until our backs were against the door behind us as the computer screen began to flicker with unknown messages. The room's temperature went cold and the windows began to rattle violently. Everything seemed to get darker and darker as it came closer stretching its undead hands towards us.
Everything felt like a dream so my senses were numb when it touched my face and whispered something to my ear.
"Christopher!"
Suddenly the memory of someone's life flashed before my eyes, blinding me and fogging my mind. Stumbling backward, I close my eyes for a moment only to open them to an empty room with Legos holding me in his arms and Mike looking at me with concern.
"Emma? Are you alright?" he asked.
Still feeling woozy from what happened earlier, I shake my head.
"Hey, the door's opened!" Mike squealed.
Legos shushed him and helped me up. Slinging one arm over his shoulder, we walk out of the room.
"Now can we get out of here?" Mike asked.
We all agreed but the noise downstairs made us change our minds.
"Come on, let's go somewhere safe." Legos said.
"Yeah but where?" Mike asked.
Legos took out his phone and Mike did the same.
"Shoot! It looks like we are trapped here." Legos yelled.
"Yeah, but it says there are only three of us!" Mike pointed out. "Then who's the other person downstairs?"
Finally regaining myself, I spot someone moving in a distance and the last thing I saw was a trial of orange hair disappearing around the corner.
"Osana?" I shrug myself off Legos but the sound of someone exploding down the stairs caught our attention.
"Come on! This way." Legos said pointing at the door to the right and opening the door. Luckily, the door was unlocked so we rushed in and slammed the door locking it behind us. The room was littered with bottles of whisky and pills and an open cabinet showed different types of pill bottles similar to the ones I saw in the college.
"I think I know whose behind the killing game," I said out loud.
"Really? Who?" Mike asked.
"Megami Saikou?" I looked at Legos who was holding up a picture. "She's beautiful isn't she."
Staring at the picture I looked around and see more pictures of her family from her grandfather down to her.
'It looks like she had a whole polaroid of her family but I heard on the media that the family members weren't so close.' I reach out to the picture of her wearing a school uniform with a group of other students behind her. 'At least that explains why the robots are designed to look like that.'
"Cool! You guys ought to see this!" We turned to look at Mike who was standing by the desk holding out a huge sheet of paper.
"Is it just me or is he getting too comfortable with us around?" Legos asked.
I silently agree with him as we walked over to the desk across the room where we see blueprints spread on the desk.
"Strictly speaking as a college student studying technology, the design on this stuff is legit!" he held out one of the blueprints to the study lamp. "Except a few mistakes were made."
"Where?" I ask staring at the blueprint.
"On the circuit design." Mike put the paper down. "The person who created this concentrated more on the body of the robot and paid less attention to the wiring and the circuits using an outdated circuit design which fails when the machine heats up. As a machine operates, it generates a lot of heat, and electricity and heat don't mix. Too much heat causes the electrons to go haywire causing the robot to malfunction..."
"Like the robot in that death trap." I point out. "It was moving slowly for some reason."
Mike snapped his fingers at me. "Yeah like that and it is clear whoever created these...beautiful machines forgot to put a ventilation system and used some cheap metal as body parts and that's why they get destroyed easily."
"THANKS FOR THE UPDATE."
We turn around to guess where the sound was coming from.
"IF I KNEW YOU WERE THIS SMART, I WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU AN ADVANTAGE IN THE GAME."
The look on Mike's face didn't show if he should take it as a compliment or a threat but he decided to shut up.
"What a surprise. So this is what the daughter of Japan's infamous embezzler been up to after his pathetic death." Legos said with a grin. "I am sure he must be proud to see his daughter has turned into a psychopath organizing a death game."
"SHUT UP! MY FATHER ISN'T AN EMBEZZLER YOU HEAR ME!"
"Then why was he arrested for stealing money from companies and the state?" he asks and when he didn't get an answer his grin grew wider. "He couldn't answer even in court and what a pathetic way to die. Committing suicide in the jail cell he was kept in. How wonderful."
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY FATHER LIKE THAT! DON'T YOU DARE!"
The childlike voice had disappeared replaced with what I would call her actual voice; adult-like with a tint of anger in it.
"I SWEAR IF YOU GUYS TAMPER WITH ANYTHING I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND MAKE YOU PAY! ESPECIALLY YOU!"
"M...me?" Mike asked in a trembling voice.
"NOT YOU! HER!"
I was shocked. "What did I do?"
"EVER SINCE YOU GOT HERE YOU HAVE BEEN CHEATING AND LETTING THE OTHER OPPONENTS LIVE! YOU ARE SAPPING ALL THE FUN OUT OF THIS!"
"But I told you I didn't want to play your game." I point out.
"AND I SAID IF YOU WANT THE ANSWERS YOU NEED, YOU NEED TO PLAY BY MY RULES! NOW YOU HAVE FOUND ALL THE ANSWERS YOU NEED! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? ARE YOU HAPPY THAT YOU HAVE DISCOVERED MY IDENTITY BY USING LOOPHOLES?"
At this, my eyebrows knotted into a frown as frustration leaked into me. "This isn't what I am looking for."
"WHAT?" they all screamed.
I take out the book and show it to them. "I am looking for the identity of the person responsible for hypnotizing students at my school to kill themselves through this book and what did I find? A psychotic woman who decided to organize a killing game with cheap rip-offs all because her father got exposed for swindling companies and probably the country from millions. I have wasted my time, my energy, and probably my sanity for this and this is what I get? This?"
With that, I slam the book on the floor because the message to me was clear, I had been taken for a ride, and the fact it took me this long to realize this angered me. It made me look stupid.
The room went quiet for a while as the two boys stared at me in shock while I panted heavily for I was out of breath.
"OH. I KNOW WHO SENT YOU."
I cock an eyebrow.
"AYANO AISHI SENT YOU DIDN'T SHE?"
Okay, now I was surprised. "What?"
"DON'T WORRY. I WILL BE SURE TO SEND A MESSAGE RIGHT BACK."
Bang!
ns 15.158.61.21da2
