Members in this chapter:
“Tch. Where did that little worm go?”
VirginSmasher came to a halt as he scanned the area. The blazing sun made the asphalt below his feet feel like liquid magma, and the light from the sun reflected in the countless windows around him, making it even harder to spot his target. VirginSmasher had been one of the Fuwanovel members picked for the second week of the death game, and he had already been caught in a fight with another user. But, after a few minutes of battle, his opponent had fled, and VirginSmasher lost sight of him.
“I was this close, too…”
Kicking the ground in frustration, VirginSmasher made the asphalt below his feet explode into a million pieces, sending rubble and dust flying around the area. His powers were quite simple. His strength and agility had been increased tenfold, essentially making him a human wrecking ball. Problem was, the person he had been chasing had some kind of teleportation ability, making it impossible for VirginSmasher to land a hit.
“Ugh… What’s with this arena though?”
VirginSmasher looked up at the sky. He was standing in the centre of a massive city, in the middle of summer. It had to be at least thirty degrees in the sun, so all the moving around made him feel like he was melting.
“Last week they got a nice and cool forest, yet we’re stuck in this hellhole. What a jok— Huh?!”
Sensing something approaching from above, VirginSmasher sidestepped and turned to face whatever it was. Two arrows graced his throat, and slammed into the ground behind him, producing two large holes in the concrete.
A thin trail of blood ran down VirginSmasher’s neck. Had he moved just a fraction of a second later, he’d be dead.
“Heh. Looks like I got some new pray.”
VirginSmasher said with a smile, as he looked up at his new opponent.
“...”
Sitting on the top of a nearby telephone pole was Alden_0023, pointing a strung bow at VirginSmasher. Alden wore a grey cloak, with a quiver on his back and a range of different throwing knives stuck to his belt.
“I won’t miss a second time.”
Alden stated in an indifferent tone, and before VirginSmasher could even move an inch, Alden sent another arrow towards his target. The arrow soared through the air with incredible velocity. VirginSmasher barely managed to react in time, slamming the arrow out of the air with his palm. The arrowtip dug into his hand, ripping through the flesh like it was butter.
“Hmph!”
Not bothered by the pain one bit, VirginSmasher slammed his right hand into the ground, and a large crack in the concrete moved towards the telephone pole, which started to collapse moments later.
Alden leapt in the air, and after a graceful backlip, he reached for another two arrows, and fired them both at his target, before landing on another telephone pole about ten meters away from the previous one.
This time VirginSmasher managed to dodge the arrows completely, and jumped towards his opponent. It was an impossible leap for a normal human. The ground below his foot cracked, and VirginSmasher’s body shot forward. In the air, he thrust his healthy hand towards Alden’s chest, then, before hitting his opponent, he twisted his arm sideways and opened his palm, producing a shockwave which pushed Alden off the telephone pole.
“Kuh…”
Alden groaned in pain, but still managed to fire another arrow at VirginSmasher before he landed on the ground. While the arrow did not hit VirginSmasher, it distracted him for long enough to keep him off Alden’s tail for another second.
That second was all Alden needed. With incredible speed, he sprinted towards a nearby building, and jumped up on the wall. As if his feet were layered with glue, Alden ran straight up the wall, firing several arrows at VirginSmasher in the process.
“Tch, the hell is with this guy?!”
Dodging the arrows by a hair's breadth every time, VirginSmasher danced around on the ground below as the barrage of arrows rained down from above.
“Guess I’m switching to long range attacks as well. Hmph!”
Grabbing a nearby piece of rubble, VirginSmasher threw it up at Alden as hard as he could. The concrete block split up into several smaller pieces as it moved towards its target, smashing into the building with a loud bang. Broken glass and rubble fell towards the street below, as a large chunk of the building was torn apart from the impact.
“Did I get him?”
VirginSmasher squinted, trying to find Alden in the middle of the chaos. He soon spotted the shadow of a person rushing out from the rubble, and right after, several small objects flew towards him at great speeds.
“Tch, more arrows?!”
VirginSmasher prepared for another volley of arrows, but what was thrown at him was in fact just some rubble from the building.
“Shit!”
Realizing the attack was just a distraction, VirginSmasher spun around.
“Got you.”
Alden released the bowstring, and sent an arrow flying towards VirginSmasher’s exposed back. Although he did notice Alden’s trick in time for him to turn around, he did not manage to dodge the arrow, which dug into VirginSmasher’s chest.
“Guaah!”
VirginSmasher reached for the arrow, and snapped it in half. Then, he grabbed the arrowhead which was sticking out of his back, and ripped the arrow out of his torso.
Meanwhile, Alden landed on the ground about twenty meters away. Although his physical abilities were heightened, he had still fallen about ten meters, so he needed a second to collect himself after the landing.
“You little bastard!”
VirginSmasher rushed towards Alden, filled with rage. The pain from the wound in his chest only fueled his anger. Putting all of his remaining strength into one last attack, VirginSmasher charged his enemy.
“You don’t… give up, do you?”
Scrambling to his feet, Alden reached for another arrow. While he had not been injured from the fall, it had knocked the air out of him, making it difficult for him to avoid VirginSmasher’s sudden charge.
“Haah!”
VirginSmasher lunged at Alden with everything he had. Alden barely managed to throw himself to the side, dropping his bow in the process. VirginSmasher’s hand collided with the wooden bow, smashing it into a million pieces.
“Heh, what are you going to do now?”
VirginSmasher spat out, as he watched the pieces of Alden’s weapon fall to the ground before him.
“This.”
A sharp pain spread through VirginSmasher’s body, as Alden seemingly threw something in his direction.
“Huh…?”
Looking down at his own body, he saw three throwing knives buried into his chest.
“Well, fuck…”
The world around VirginSmasher grew cloudy, but he did not collapse right away.
“I’ll at least… take you with me…”
Raising his trembling arm into the air, VirginSmasher tried to charge at Alden one last time, but before he could move, another set of throwing knives dug into his torso.
“...”
As the life left VirginSmasher’s body, he managed to flip off Alden before his dead body collided with the ground below.
Meanwhile, on the top of the tallest building in the city:
Two figures stood face to face on the roof of a skyscraper, located in the centre of town. They were too high up to see or hear the commotion happening below.
“Heh, so you finally caught up to me, huh? I was hoping I could avoid fighting...”
Mr Poltroon paused and eyed his opponent, adjusting one of his white gloves.
“I’d especially like to avoid fighting you of all people.”
With a wry smile, Mr Poltroon took a step back, moving towards the ledge of the skyscraper.
“... Sorry.”
Snapping his fingers, Kaguya created a force field around the roof, trapping the two of them inside.
“*Sigh*... That’s what I thought. Well, I guess only one of us gets out of this thing.”
Mr Poltroon tilted his head to the side, and smiled wryly once again.
“I don’t suppose I could talk you out of this?”
Kaguya didn’t respond, and instead brought his hands together. His entire figure was drowned in a bright white light, and the outline of a moon appeared above his head.
"<蓬莱の薬>"
<Hourai elixir>
A small flask appeared in Kaguya’s hands, and he quickly brought it to his mouth, emptying the bottle in a second.
Hourai elixir, also known as the elixir of life. Those who drinks from it are, in short, immortal for a set period of time. Even if Poltroon destroyed Kaguya’s body while he was under the effect of the potion, he would just regenerate. In other words, Poltroon had to stall until the potion wore off if he wanted to win.
Summoning his trusty cane into his hands, Poltroon struck a cool pose and prepared for battle.
“I suppose it would be rude to attack first, so I’ll wait for you, kind sir.”
“You’re fighting with that?”
Kaguya looked at Poltroon’s cane.
“What, is it not to your liking? I find it quite dashing, personally.”
Kaguya shook his head, and jumped towards Poltroon, and unleashed a flurry of punches at an impossible speed. Poltroon blocked each punch with the back of his cane, deflecting the attacks with ease.
“Not bad. I expected nothing less from one of my underlings.”
A smile spread across Kaguya’s face. It would not be such a short battle after all.
Kaguya attacked again, but this time he conjured two blades of pure moonlight in his hands, slashing at Poltroon’s body.
Still, Poltroon deflected the attacks with his cane. The blades did not leave a single scratch in the wood. Needless to say, it was no ordinary stick. With each attack Poltroon stopped, Kaguya unleashed another.
Realizing he would eventually get hit if he didn’t do something, Poltroon leapt backwards, distancing himself from Kaguya. As Kaguya was about to give chase, Poltroon thrust the tip of his cane into the ground, creating four large circles before him.
Kaguya was not sure what they were, but did not really care, because of his immortality. Even if it did end up hurting him, he’d just heal right back anyways. Ignoring the suspicious circles, Kaguya rushed towards Poltroon.
The moment Kaguya’s foot grazed one of the circles, a powerful force puashed Kaguya’s body to the ground, pinning him down.
A gravity trap.
“Kuh… You think this will hold me?”
Kaguya’s body started shaking, as he used everything he had to force himself onto his feet. With sluggish movements, he moved off the circle, and was released from the magic infused in the trap.
“Guess it won’t be that simple.”
Poltroon raised his cane, and prepared for another one of Kaguya’s onslaughts.
The two moderators were caught in an intense fight for over twenty minutes. Kaguya was on the offensive the entire time, while Poltroon deflected most of the attacks coming his way. He did get a few hits in himself, too. But, each attack that hit Kaguya was useless as long as the elixir was in effect. The roof they were standing on had been all but destroyed, and the barrier kaguya had raised was long gone.
“Haah, haah, haah…”
“Haah… Haah…”
The two were catching their breath, taking a short break from the intense fight.
“It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to finish you like this.”
Kaguya raised his arm above his head, and the sky above grew cloudy. Thick clouds moved in front of the sun, leaving the city covered in darkness.
“I have to praise you for pushing me this far. But, this is where it ends.”
“<満月>”
<Full Moon>
Kaguya started hovering above the ground, and slowly floated up into the sky. Above him, the clouds began to disperse, but the sun was nowhere in sight. In its place was the moon, dyed in an ominous shade of red.
Large spheres of moon energy formed around Kaguya’s body, and with a snap of his fingers, Kaguya sent the spheres raining down onto Poltroon.
“Hmph!”
Poltroon knocked the first two out of the air, sending them crashing into the adjacent buildings. But, he could not stop them all. Eventually, one of the spheres hit Poltroon’s body, knocking him through the roof, hurling him down into the floor below.
“Ouch…”
Lifting his body up from the rubble, Poltroon tried to come up with a plan. If he didn’t do something, Kaguya would turn him into dust within a few minutes.
Poltroon made his way towards a nearby window, where he had a clear view of Kaguya, who was sending more spheres into the building. Explosions erupted all around Poltroon. It was only a matter of time before one of them hit him. Looking up at Kaguya, then down towards the street below, Poltroon made up his mind. He had no choice but to flee.
“Well, here goes nothing.”
Poltroon brushed some rubble off his shoulder, then jumped forward, crashing through the window before him. Tumbling towards the asphalt below, Poltroon knocked down another sphere, which Kaguya shot after him.
“Running, are we?”
Kaguya gave chase, flying after Poltroon, sending several spheres towards him. Poltroon kept knocking them out of the air, as he approached the ground below.
“I won’t let you get away.”
Kaguya kept on firing sphere after sphere towards Poltroon. Meanwhile, the street below was growing closer and closer.
The situation was dire. Even if Poltroon slowed his fall and landed safely, he would simply not be able to run away from Kaguya.
In a desperate attempt to slow him down, Poltroon conjured several magic circles along the wall of the skyscraper beside them. Kaguya saw Poltroon’s trick coming, and easily avoided the traps by simply stopping his fall before he reached them, hovering about thirty meters above the ground.
But what Kaguya did not expect was that the spheres he fired towards Poltroon were also affected by the traps. They were pulled in by the magical circle, and large explosions erupted all over the bottom part of the building, making the already damaged skyscraper collapse completely.
Hundreds of tons of rubble, steel and glass tumbled towards the two moderators.
Poltroon, who had somehow managed to brace his fall with a spell, just barely managed to move away from the rubble before it crashed into the ground. But, since Kaguya was thirty meters above, he did not have as much time, and the rubble pulled him down with it, pinning him below the massive pile of debris.
Kaguya's immortality potion was still in effect, but even someone as strong as him would not be able to lift the hundreds of tons that rested on top of his body. Once the elixir’s effect ran out, he would be crushed to death by the rubble.
“... Phew.”
Mr Poltroon let out a sigh, and started to walk along the street, his entire body aching from the exhausting battle. As Kaguya’s power began to vanish, the clouds he had conjured dispersed completely, and the sun once again began to shine down on the city.
A few minutes later, across town:
Weiterfechten was walking through a back alley, lifting up his top hat as he wiped som sweat from his brow with the cuff of his victorian tuxedo. His attire did not exactly help against the scorching heat.
He had seen a battle unfold a few blocks away some minutes ago, and chose to get away from them as quickly as he could, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. While a battle between two members could mean a possible easy kill for him if he snuck up on them, it was apparent from a mile away that the two fighting were not normal members. Weiterfechten had fled as soon as the giant balls of energy began raining from the sky.
“Hm?”
Noticing something stir in the darkness a few meters in front of him, Weiterfechten came to a stop, and reached for his fencing sword, which was resting in a hilt over his left hip.
“Who’s there?”
A small girl walked out from the shadows of the dark alley, gazing at Weiterfechten with an emotionless expression.
Had he not watched last week’s game, Weiterfechten might have thought of the little girl as a defenseless bystander. But, he knew better. He had seen the little girl stab her “ally” in the back in cold blood, laughing.
“Funny I should run into you here, little girl. The person you killed last week happened to be a good friend of mine. I shall take this opportunity to avenge him.”
Kiriririri opened her small hand, and a beautiful sword with a silver blade and a golden hilt appeared out of thin air.
She then brought the blade behind her head, and took a swing at Weiterfechten, who quickly drew his own sword and blocked the attack. Despite being a little girl, she was strong. The impact of her attack made Weiterfechten take a step back, and a dull pain ran down his arm. She was no ordinary girl, that much was obvious.
“初ノ型〈紫電〉”
<First strike: Purple Lightning>
Kiriririri whispered and closed her eyes. Then, her blade glowed in a purple light, and she cut at the place Weiterfechten had been standing.
Being a skilled fencer, Weiterfechten jumped out of the way on instinct, which was smart of him, as a deep cut ran through the ground where he had been standing just moments before. The light that erupted from the girl’s sword looked like lava melting its way through steel, as steam rose from the cut in the ground.
While the girl seemed to lack technical skills with her sword, she made up for it in brute strength.
If Weiterfechten was going to win, he had to wait for the right opportunity, preferably right after the girl used one of her attacks.
Testing her out a bit, Weiterfechten thrust his blade at the girl. Like he thought, she moved awkwardly, and barely managed to deflect his attack. But, as he tried to move in for another thrust, the girl’s blade began to glow once again, and she unleashed another purple ray of light from her sword. The light grazed Weiterfechten’s jacket, setting it on fire. He ripped off the jacket in a fluster, and threw it onto the ground.
“Careful with that thing. You’ll poke someone’s eye out.”
Weiterfechten pointed at Kiriririri’s sword.
“You know, I really liked that jacket. Now I’m even more angrier.”
Weiterfechten sent several precise attacks Kiriririri’s way, trying to prevent her from unleashing more of her pesky attacks. He focused on stabbing at her right side, forcing her to keep her dominant arm back, which in turn, meant she couldn’t raise her sword.
“二ノ型〈流星〉”
<Second strike - Meteor>
Pushed back by Weiterfechten’s onslaught, Kiriririri whispered the name of a different attack. Thinking he’d be fine as long as she couldn’t use her sword, Weiterfechten kept pushing forward. Then…
“Whoa!”
Barely managing to notice before it was to late, Weiterfechten jumped awkwardly to the side, as a purple circle started forming around his legs. Right as he jumped out of the circle, a rock dyed in the same color as the circle crashed into the ground, digging about a meter into the dirt before it came to a stop. Thick smoke rose from the small crater, making Weiterfechten cover his mouth with his arm.
“What the hell… Hm?”
Looking at the girl again, Weiterfechten noticed that she was breathing heavier than before. While that could just have been because she was dodging his attacks, another idea popped into his mind. Could it be that the special attacks she was using tired her out? If that was the case, all he had to do was keep avoiding her strikes, and he should be able to land a killing blow.
“Phew… Hmph!”
After catching calming his own breathing, Weiterfechten stepped forward, once again resuming his attacks. Kiriririri did not even try to deflect his attacks with her sword, and dodged them the best she could instead. Although her movements were awkward, they were really fast, so landing a hit became quite challenging, even for someone as skilled as Weiterfechten. Her small build made the task even harder, as his target was much smaller than he was used to.
Kiriririri suddenly took a step back, and her blade began to glow again.
“Here it comes.”
Weiterfechten thought to himself, and prepared for another one of Kiriririri’s attacks.
Kiriririri brought her blade above her head, and sent the biggest ray of light yet flying towards Weiterfechten. It moved faster than the previous attacks, too, making it even harder to dodge. Moving out of its way by a hair’s breadth, Weiterfechten felt the heat of the purple light searing his skin as it rushed past him.
“Guh…”
Staggering for a second due to the incredible heat, Weiterfechten took a moment to regain his balance, then moved in for a counterattack while Kiriririri herself was recovering from the powerful attack.
“Hmph!”
Weiterfechten thrust his fencing sword towards the little girl’s chest. The blade moved towards Kiriririri at high speed, and for the first time in the entire fight, Kiriririri’s expression was filled with emotion, as her eyes shot open in fear.
The sudden resistance of human flesh made Weiterfechten’s arm come to a halt.
But, he had not hit the target he expected. Kiriririri had moved her left arm in front of the blade in the last second, and the tip of Weiterfechten’s sword had been stopped a few inches from Kiriririri’s body. Fresh blood ran down her arm, and her expression twisted in pain. Nevertheless, she raised her right arm high above her head, gripping the hilt of her sword firmly.
終ノ型〈天絶閃衝(ラスト・ パフェ)〉
<Final strike - The last Parfait >
After she stated the attack’s ludicrous name, her blade lit up in a brilliant purple light, and Kiriririri cut at Weiterfechten’s body.
Weiterfechten jumped back, letting go of his own sword, to at least avoid the attack, but it was no use. The glowing blade grew longer, like it was chasing him, and even though he jumped a good meter and a half back, the blade reached his body with ease, carving into his flesh, making fresh blood sprout from his chest.
“Graaagh!”
Letting out a primal scream, Weiterfechten collapsed.
"Hehe."
Kiriririri looked down at Weiterfechten's corpse, and chuckled.
Wildcards This Week?
Yes (A user has recieved a second life. Read details about wildcards here.)
Dead This Week:
Still Alive:
Hope you enjoyed! See you again next week! (Let me know if you find any issues/ inconsistencies!)
<??> Watched the screen in front of <him/her?> intently. Everything was ready. The time had finally come. All that planning, all that preparation. It had all been for this moment.
“All the pieces are in place. Well then, let’s start the game, shall we?”
<??> Pressed the button before <him/her?> with a wicked smile.
“Hear me, members of Fuwanovel. You are here for a single purpose; to entertain me! Those who have their name announced over these broadcasts shall enter the arena, and fight to the death! Anyone and anything you see out in the arenas will be an enemy, so be careful… And ruthless. As far as the rules go… There are none, heh.
Good luck.”
Day 1:
Members in this chapter:
“The game has begun. Good luck.”
“‘Alright, time to hunt.” Ranzo jumped down from the platform he was standing on, numbered ‘11’. He had woken up inside an unfamiliar room just moments before, where he had found his suit and weapons. After a short, confusing briefing from the person in charge, Ranzo’s <cell?> had opened, and he could walk out. What greeted him was a massive forest, full of large trees towering high above him. The large trees blocked out almost all the sunlight, making it hard for Ranzo to see where he was going. But, it was either straight ahead, or back to the cell, so Ranzo chose to keep walking.
The “briefing” had been simple. “You are stuck here. You are to fight anything and anyone you come across. If you are the last alive after the game is over, you win. If you die, you lose.”
“Gee, really? If I die, I lose? That’s a shocker.” Ranzo spun his scythe around his body with precision while he walked, clearly used to handling the weapon. A sabre hung from his waist in a makeshift sheathe, crafted from his belt.
After having advanced through the forest for a good ten minutes, Ranzo reached a suspicious looking cave, marked with a number— “7”.
“Hm, another contender?” Ranzo whispered, and gripped the handle of his scythe firmly while he scanned his surroundings. If his hunch was right, the numbers represented contenders in the “game”. He was 11, and “7” was a different Fuwanovel user, also entered in the game.
Crack.
Ranzo spun around instinctively at the sound of a branch breaking behind him, and in the same motion, he threw his scythe forwards. The sound of metal colliding with metal made Ranzo flinch for a brief second, and he lost sight of the person who had knocked his scythe out of the air.
“Tch.” Ranzo gripped his sabre and chased the mystery person, like a wolf rushing towards a sheep. He had no plan. The only thing going through his head was: kill it. Whoever or whatever it was; kill it.
Meanwhile
SeniorBlitz ran as fast as he could through the forest, like he had the grim reaper himself on his heels. That was in fact what Senior had thought for a second when he saw the scythe fly towards him just moments before. Senior was not well versed in any kind of combat. He had, in fact, never been in a fight in his entire life. What he did have, however, was a special ability. The ability to know what to do, where to go. He couldn’t explain it well, but there was something guiding him at all times. If he was about to trip and fall, something in his mind would tell him to stop. If he ever got lost, something would guide him back home, even if he had no idea where he was. It was thanks to that power, that guide, that Senior was still alive. He had seen the scythe coming seconds before it was thrown, and had used the sword that was given to him at the start of the game to block its path. He had sadly dropped the sword in his escape, and was therefore now unarmed.
“Stop running my friend, I wish you no harm!”
His attacker was shouting at Senior from behind. Thanks to his ability, Senior knew that he would be able to shake off his tail if he just kept following the path laid out in his mind. He did not look back, he did not falter.
“Tch, you little… How long do you plan on running for?”
“I’ll catch you eventually you little slime! Just you wait, I’m coming for you!”
The voice of his attacker grew distant, as Senior just kept on running through the forest. Before long, he had completely shaken off the madman running after him.
“Haah, haah, haah…” Senior finally had the opportunity to stop for a breath. With his hands on his knees, he spent a few minutes calming down. He knew that the man behind him would not be able to find him for at least another ten minutes, thanks to his ability.
“Alright, time to find a better place to hide.”
Senior got back up, and started walking through the dense forest, looking for shelter. He figured it would be smart to find someplace safe to gather his thoughts. It would be best to do so before nightfall, so he started walking faster, following the path lit up in his mind.
“Just about another hundred meters this way, and— Huh?!”
“GRAARGH!”
Senior was so focused on following the path to “safety”, he paid no mind to his surroundings, and did not notice the strange creature approaching from his left. Whatever it was, its massive jaw closed around Senior’s chest, and he was lifted up into the air and shook brutally back and forth, the sharp teeth of the beast ripping his flesh apart with each movement.
“GYAAAAH!”
Senior let out a primal scream, and tried to punch the creature with his free arm, but it was no use.
The beast’s iron jaw remained closed, and the life soon drained from Senior’s body, as most of his organs and blood poured down onto the grass below him. His entire torso had been ripped to bits, and what was left of him was soon devoured by the beast, leaving only pools of blood and a few chunks of flesh behind.
About an hour later, Ranzo arrived at the scene of Senior’s death. Taking one look at the pool of blood and gore, Ranzo clicked his tongue, and turned back.
“Guess someone got to him before me. Oh well, time to look for the next guy, I guess.”
Whistling a song to himself, Ranzo spun his scythe around, matching the song’s rhythm as he walked back into the depths of the forest, looking for new prey to hunt.
Elsewhere:
Arcadeotic sat at the end of a cliff, looking at the waterfall below him with a emotionless expression, balancing a katana on his feet. A single sudden motion would surely send the sword tumbling down the fifty meter long drop.
Arcadeotic was wearing a blue yukata, stained red with the blood of a pack of wild boars he had killed an hour ago. After cooking some of their meat on a fire, he had eaten some for himself, then tossed the rest down into the abyss. He had no intentions of sharing the meat with anyone else, nor did he want the smell of the meat to attract possible predators. He had extinguished the fire as soon as he was done cooking the meat, but it might still have notified someone of his location. Nevertheless, Arcadeotic sat completely still on the cliff, staring out into nothingness.
Sure enough, after another few minutes, the sound of footsteps could be heard behind him.
Still, Arcadeotic remaind motionless, not facing his attacker.
Sneaking up behind him was Thatcomicguy, clutching his spear with his right hand. In his free arm was a wooden shield, covered in thick leather. Other than his weapons, Thatcomicguy was completely naked, though his body was covered in blue war paint.
Thatcomicguy snuck up to Arcadeotic until he was a mere two meters away, then stabbed at Arcadeotic’s back with his spear. Right before the spear hit Arcadeotic’s back, he jumped straight up into the air, grabbed his katana, and in the same motion as he drew it from its sheath, he cut at Thatcomicguy’s chest.
Thatcomicguy barely had time to block the slice with his shield, and was forced back a few steps from the impact.
Meanwhile, Arcadeotic landed gracefully on the edge of the cliff, and quickly moved in for another attack, cutting at Thatcomicguy’s left foot.
Arcadeotic closed the distance between them in a second, and mercilessly sliced a deep cut in Thatcomicguy’s calf.
“Ugh…”
Thatcomicguy groaned in pain, and pushed his shield forward defensively, hitting Arcadeotic in the chest.
Arcadeotic fell backwards, but quickly regained his balance.
For the first time in the fight, Arcadeotic glanced at his opponent, and chuckled.
“You look ridiculous.”
Thatcomicguy paid him no mind, and tried to focus on his plan of attack. He should have the upper hand, even with the cut on his leg, as he had the longest reach thanks to his spear, and a shield to block the katana’s slashes. The leather on his shield had taken a hit already, and was already starting to come apart. It probably wouldn’t last too long.
Seemingly having come up with a plan, Thatcomicguy stepped forward. Although the pain in his leg was nothing to joke about, he did not let it stop him.
“Yeah, well, we’ll see who gets the last laugh.”
Keeping just enough distance between himself and his opponent, so that the katana would not be able to reach him, Thatcomicguy thrust his spear towards Arcadeotic. Arcadeotic easily deflected the thrust, but as he was about to counterattack, Thatcomicguy swiftly changed his grip, turning his spear downwards towards Arcadeotic leg, and dug the tip of his spear into Arcadeotic’s knee. Arcadeotic winced in response, but didn’t let the pain stop him from fighting. Not wasting any time, Arcadeotic slashed two times, but both attacks were blocked by Thatcomicguy’s pesky shield.
“Tch.”
It became impossible for Arcadeotic to stand on his wounded leg, which meant he would be at an even bigger disadvantage than before. His strongest point was his speed, but without his full mobility, he would be unable to close the distance between himself and his opponent fast enough to stop the spear from keeping him at bay.
“... An eye for an eye, huh?”
Arcadeotic said to himself, as he tried to come up with a way out of the dire situation. He had cut his opponent’s leg, but in return, his own knee had been damaged. Both of them were less mobile, but it seemed like his own injury was a bit more serious.
“Well, what can you do.”
Arcadeotic walked forward with awkward steps, his wounded leg mostly just being dragged along the ground.
“I’ll end this with one strike.”
The bold statement from Arcadeotic made Thatcomicguy snicker.
“Oh, is that so? Well by all means, come at me.”
Thatcomicguy spat back, readied his spear, and covered his chest with his shield. There was no way Arcadeotic would be able to attack his opponent’s torso. And yet…
“Hmph!”
With a grunt, Arcadeotic jumped forward, and with all his might, he slammed the flat side of his sword into the wooden shield. The impact made Thatcomicguy stagger, and he let out a painful groan as he put all his weight on his wounded leg.
Still in the air, Arcadeotic slashed downwards. His sword moved along the rough leather covering the wooden shield, until it reached Thatcomicguy’s exposed shoulder. The sharp blade slashed open the naked shoulder, making Thatcomicguy drop his shield. Unfortunately for Arcadeotic, he was unable to brace himself properly after the attack, and he crashed into the ground, dropping his katana. The air was knocked out of him as his chest collided with the rough ground. But, he wasn’t done there. Although the world around him was spinning, he used his healthy leg to kick violently at Thatcomicguy’s wounded foot.
“Guaaah!”
Thatcomicguy screamed, as he too fell to the ground, paralyzed by pain.
Crawling towards his katana, Arcadeotic was ready to deliver the finishing blow. He gripped the hilt of his weapon, and turned towards his fallen enemy. Although every part of his body hurt, Arcadeotic somehow managed to stand, and moved towards his prey with clumsy movements.
“Hya!”
As he reached his target, he brought his katana above his shoulder, and slashed mercilessly at Thatcomicguy's neck.
Clink.
The sound of something breaking made Arcadeotic look at his sword in confusion. The katana’s blade had snapped in half, most likely a result from his fall. And since the blade had broken mid swing, he had not actually hit his opponent.
“Well, shi—”
Before Arcadeotic could finish his sentence, the tip of a spear dug into his throat, making a spray of fresh blood shoot out from the wound, dying Thatcomicguy’s skin in red.
As Arcadeotic’s dead body hit the floor, Thatcomicguy dropped his spear, as the strength began to leave his body.
“You… Tough bastard…”
With those words, he passed out.
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the forest:
“How’s this place?”
“Hmm, looks good. We’ll camp here for now. Someone start a fire.”
“Ugh, do you think there are any more of those things out there? I’m not sure I’m comfortable sleeping here, out in the open…”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take shifts keeping guard. #28, #6, you two take the first shift.”
“Huh? Who died and made you the boss?”
Four figures, covered in mud and blood, were talking under the cover of a giant tree, just half a kilometer from the edge of the forest. The four of them were members of Fuwanovel, and contenders in the death game that had started previously that day. But, neither of them wanted to kill their fellow members, and as a result, they had formed a team.
Shortly after they teamed up, however, they were attacked by giant monsters that seemed to live in the depths of the forest. Hungry and tired, the four of them had finally reached a seemingly peaceful area, and were setting up camp with what little resources they had.
The four members were Sayaka (#28), Norleas (#9), Shikomizue (#13) and Kiriririri (#6).
Shikomizue was the natural leader type, and had taken the lead of the group as a result, something that did not sit well with Sayaka.
“Why do I have to listen to your orders, huh? I’m tired too! I want to sleep just as much as the next guy!”
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude here, but in terms of actual combat abilities, me and #9 are the strongest. We need our rest, so that we can protect this group when the time comes. You and #6 are… Well you know.”
Shikomizue gestured towards Kiriririri, a small girl with silver hair, who was poking the ground with a wooden stick, paying no mind to the conversation that was happening around her. So far, she had not participated in the fighting at all.
“Okay, I’ll give you her, but we’re not that crazy! Master and I helped you in the fight against those… Those things, didn’t we?!”
Sayaka pointed in the direction they had come from, where the group had fought against numerous strange beasts.
Shikomizue scratched his head awkwardly in response. He did not want the group to start fighting among each other, as that would just make things worse. He wanted to figure out what was going on, and how to get out of it. In order to do that, he needed to get as many people as possible to form a team. If no one killed each other, the “game” or whatever it was, had to come to a stop. That was the conclusion he had reached.
“Fine, I’ll take the first shift, along with… Her.”
Shikomizue looked towards Kiriririri, who had just finished drawing a strange symbol in the grass.
“Alright then, let’s get that fire going and—”
“Get down, something is coming.”
Norleas reached behind his back and fished out the two daggers he was storing in his jacket, then crouched down, signaling for the others to do the same.
The group gathered together, and those who had them drew their weapons.
“What did you see?”
Shikomizue did not have to wait for a response, as a large bear, covered in metal plating, walked past them. It was looking around, like it was searching for the group. It looked… Off. It looked intelligent, just like the other beasts they had fought that day.
“Something is definitely not right with these things. They started attacking us right after we formed a team. Almost like… Someone doesn’t want us to team up.”
Shikomizue thought to himself, as he recalled the days events. Actually, every time they had been away for combat for a certain period of time, something would come and attack them.
Almost like something, or someone, were controlling them. If that was the case, then...
“Master, behind you!”
Sayaka shouted to himself, and jumped forward. In the next second, a large paw covered in metal slammed down on the very spot Sayaka had been standing.
Reaching into his maid uniform, Sayaka fished out a strange statue, in the shape of an anime figure.
“They know we’re here master, so we might as well make some noise.”
Turning the head of the statue around 180 degrees, Sayaka threw it behind the tree, where the second bear had attacked from.
“Everyone, if you don’t want to go boom, I suggest you run!”
Moments later, the figure exploded, turning the ground beneath it to ash, blowing the bear to bits in the process.
The other bear was alerted to their presence, and jumped at Norleas, who slashed at its snout with his daggers before it had time to react. The beast roared in pain, and slammed its massive paw towards Norleas, who elegantly jumped out of the paws path, and went in for another attack.
While the plate armor proved to be an obstacle, Norleas still managed to bring the massive beast down in a matter of seconds, as a flurry of dagger cuts tore into its hide like it was butter, always finding the unprotected parts of the bears body.
Meanwhile, Shikomizue was fending of two wolves with his wakizashi katanas, holding back one wolf with each blade, as he pressed them against the wolves sharp fangs.
“Where is #6? Someone cover her.”
“Yes, yes, Master and I got her, don’t worry.”
Throwing explosive statues at everything that moved inside the forest, Sayaka jumped around Kiriririri, who was sitting on the ground, watching the fighting happen around her with an indifferent expression.
“Ohh, we’re gonna make master so proud, yes we are, tralala.”
Sayaka sang as he looked up at the sky, throwing statues now seemingly at random. A few landed close to Norleas, but he simply moved out of their path with incredible speed each time, still slashing and stabbing any beast that came in his way with his daggers.
The group fended off countless beasts, until finally, only one remained. It was a massive tiger, also covered in metal plating like the bears from before. The beast’s eyes were glowing in a strange blue light, and it moved faster than any other creature they had fought so far.
Sayaka had tried throwing several statues at it, but it always got out of the blast zone before it was damaged.
Norleas was unable to get close to the beast as well, as it was simply too fast.
Shikomizue knew they were out of options.
“Tch… Is this really how it ends?”
He clicked his tongue, and started to walk towards the beast while he shook his head.
“Am I really doing this?”
After glancing over his shoulder, taking another look at his three teammates, Shikomizue nodded, and closed his eyes.
“Listen up. I know what’s going on. These things are being controlled by someone. As long as we’re in a group, we’ll be sitting ducks. They are either being controlled by whoever started this fucked up game... Someone who wants us to keep fighting, or it’s another contender, in which case we should split up to try and find the bastard.
So... Guys, split up. Run. For now, just get as far away from each other as possible.”
“GRAAWRH!”
Like it understood what Shikomizue was saying, the tiger roared, and charged at the group. It was not happy.
“Yes come on, you stupid cat.”
Shikomizue charged as well, running straight ahead, towards the beast’s fangs.
Then…
“GUAAH!”
Shikomizue screamed in pain, as the tiger bit him, its large fangs digging into his left side.
“I’ll keep this thing at bay… You guys… Run away… Now!”
Lifting up his free arm, Shikomizue gripped his katana firmly, and slashed at the tiger’s front legs, which were not covered by armor. That should slow it down. The thing was, it would have been impossible to target its legs without making it stop first. And, the only way to do that was to make it stop moving, for instance, by letting it bite one of them. Shikomizue had realized this a while ago, as he watched his comrades fail to hit the beast, and he had given his own life so that the other three could live.
“You guys better figure out what the fuck is going on here, and stop this ‘game’, alright?”
Shikomizue looked over his shoulder, watching as his allies ran into different directions. No beasts chased them.
Pleased that he his plan had worked, Shikomizue fished out a cigarette from pocket, and moved it to his mouth, his hand shaking. He didn’t have anything to light it with, but he still put it in his mouth, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
That was his last breath.
Norleas walked through the forest in silence. His daggers were still dripping with blood from the countless monsters he had killed. Still, he had not even broken a sweat. Killing was his job, after all. It was a breath of fresh air for him to kill beasts instead of people.
It was strange. The person whose job was to take people’s lives had chosen to join an alliance to avoid killing others.
It was different this time, after all. The people in question were his friends. His fellow Fuwanovel users. There was no way he could kill them.
Sensing something moving behind him, Norleas gripped his dagger, and prepared for battle. But…
“Oh, it’s just you.”
He lowered his weapons. Behind him stood the strange girl from before, Kiriririri.
“What, didn’t you hear what the boss said? We’re supposed to split up. What, are you scared in the dark by yourself?”
Kiriririri didn't’ say anything. She simply lifted her arm, pointing into the darkness behind Norleas.
“What? What is… It…”
Norleas turned around to look at what she was pointing at, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Looking down at his own stomach, he saw a silvery blade sticking out from his chest, covered in fresh blood.
“Wh-What…”
“Hehe.”
The laughter of a little girl was the last thing he heard, as his lifeless body fell to the floor.
Kiriririri pulled the sword out of Norleas’ corpse, and it soon turned into light particles, vanishing into thin air.
Kiriririri then simply kept walking through the forest with an emotionless expression.
URV reacted to Dergonu for a blog entry, Fuwa Battle Royale - Week 2 -