A day had passed since Rei left. I sat alone in the cell, lost in thought.
Will he make it out alive?
I was worried about him. The moment I realized it, something stirred inside me. Was I in love with him? I shook my head side to side, trying to push the thought away.
Ugh. What am I thinking about so early in the morning?
The morning walk began. I headed to the dining area. I placed food on my tray, filled a cup with cold water, found an empty spot in the corner, and sat down.
Without Rei, I felt lonelier, more withdrawn. Everyone around me seemed more foreign. I already missed him. I knew it, but I didn't want to admit it. I ate my food in silence.
Is it because he resembles the boy I used to like?
A young man called out to me from a distance. I raised my head.
"Hey, aren't you Lie?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Bitch, you were here?"
"What?"
"Don't you remember me? We used to beat you up in the storage room, remember?"
I looked at his face. The memories came flooding back. He was one of the bullies I hadn't been able to kill during my massacre. One of the people who had caused the boy I loved to be driven away from me.
"You know what, Lie? After that boy was driven away from you, he lost his will to live at every other school. He jumped off a roof and killed himself." He grinned. "Isn't that hilarious?"
"W-what?"
"Since you're here too, no wonder this place feels so damn unsettling."
My emotions crashed over me. My vision blurred. I fought hard to hold back the tears. Then something inside me snapped.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The scream filled the dining hall. Everyone turned toward me. They were frightened, trying to figure out what was happening.
"What the hell?"
I pulled the coin representing a duel challenge from my pocket and threw it at the man.
"You need to disappear too, Atsuoma."
He was stunned. Then he slowly began to laugh. "Let's do this!" He picked up the coin from the ground and accepted the duel.
We moved to the system room. We set the penalty as death. Next, a random game would be selected.
"Whatever game it is, I'm going to fuck you up!"
I didn't even want to respond to him. I just wanted to kill him, to erase him, to wipe away my past completely. I wanted to focus on the future. To look forward with hope.
Hope.
The screen of the old television in the center of the table flickered to life. A robotic voice spoke.
Game selected. Game name: Five Beasts.
Explaining the rules.
Text appeared on the screen.
There were five beasts in the game: Lion, Snake, Rat, Insect, and Ant. Lion defeated Snake. Snake defeated Rat. Rat defeated Insect. Insect defeated Ant. Ant defeated Lion. Like rock-paper-scissors.
The first to reach five points would win. To earn points, you either had to correctly predict your opponent's choice, or select a beast that defeated the one your opponent chose. If your opponent chose Rat, you could beat it with Lion or Snake. If you both chose the same beast, it was a draw.
You could not select the same beast you chose in the previous round. Every three rounds, you could not select the beasts you had chosen in the previous two rounds. Every five rounds, you could not select the beasts you had chosen in the previous three rounds.
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We each had one prediction right. If you correctly predicted the beast your opponent would choose, you earned one point. If you were wrong, you lost the prediction right.
The first to reach five points wins.
I felt a sense of relief when I realized the game wasn't large-scale. I breathed in and out.
The game will be played in the gray room on the left side. Please proceed.
A bald man in a suit escorted us. He unlocked the gray room. "I will be the referee for this game."
The room was simple. Everything was gray. A large gray table stood in the center with iron chairs facing each other on either side.
We sat down.
"I'm going to destroy you, Lie!"
You have learned the rules. I will give you each a tablet. You have five minutes of preparation time. After that, I will ask you to select your first beasts.
I began to think.
What would Rei do? He's the type to use deception. He'd definitely think choosing Lion first would be wrong. What's the most unexpected move? Figure it out, Lie. Figure it out. For your own life.
I stared at the screen and tried to reason it out.
That's right. Choosing Ant is more logical. It blocks Lion from the first round. Even if he thinks I'll pick Ant, Lion seems too powerful to waste, so he won't pick Insect to counter it. If he picks Lion, I score.
"Are you ready, idiot? Come on already!"
I ignored him. I looked at the referee. "I'm ready."
We made our selections on the tablets and pressed the ready button.
Lie selected Ant. Atsuoma selected the same beast. Draw. Zero to zero.
Moving to the second round. Neither of you may select Ant.
As I looked at my tablet, an idea came to me.
The strongest beast this round is Lion. Both of us would want to pick Lion, but that's too obvious. So instead of picking Lion, I could pick something else and use my prediction on Lion. But he'll realize that too, and he won't pick Lion. Will he use his prediction on Lion? I need to make the most unexpected move. He probably thinks I'll use my prediction on Lion, so he'll expect me to pick another beast and call Lion. The best counter is not to pick Lion and not use the prediction at all. In that case, I'll just pick Lion.
We pressed the ready button.
Lie selected Lion. Atsuoma selected Snake. One to zero. Moving to the third round.
"Ha, are you stupid? You picked Lion in this situation?"
"I really should have followed your stupidity."
This round, Lie cannot select Lion or Ant. Atsuoma cannot select Ant or Snake. Begin.
I'm in a very weak position this round. But he can't pick Snake or Ant, so he needs to pick Lion to win. But it's too obvious—he knows I can use my prediction. He won't pick Lion. Wait. He thought my last win was just me being stupid, not me reasoning it out. So he'll think I won't realize this.
We pressed the ready button.
Lie selected Snake and used her prediction on Lion. Atsuoma selected Lion. Two to one. Moving to the fourth round.
"H-how..."
Atsuoma was gritting his teeth.
This round, Lie cannot select Snake. Atsuoma cannot select Lion. Begin.
If he can't pick Lion, then Lion is very strong for me. He knows that. He might want to pick Ant, or pick another beast and use his prediction. So I'll pick Insect. It counters his Ant. It's very hard for him to pick Rat.
Preparations were complete.
Lie selected Insect. Atsuoma selected Ant. Three to one.
"Son of a bitch!"
He was showing signs of stress. He was scratching himself and grinding his teeth harder.
This round, Lie cannot select Insect, Snake, or Lion. Atsuoma cannot select Ant, Lion, or Snake. Begin.
I can pick Ant or Rat. He can pick Insect or Rat. Picking Ant is risky since he has Insect. Both of us need to pick Rat, but we have our predictions. I'll deliberately lose this round and take his prediction right.
Preparations were complete.
Lie selected Ant and used her prediction on Insect. Atsuoma selected Insect and used his prediction on Rat. Atsuoma's prediction right has been lost. Lie predicted correctly. Four to two.
"How? How did you predict that?"
"From your body language."
"What?"
"I can read you through every move you make."
Atsuoma tried to control himself. He seemed to believe my bluff.
This round, Lie cannot select Insect. Atsuoma cannot select Insect either. Begin.
I pressed the ready button immediately. I selected my beast. My quick movement made him even more afraid.
"You're going to die."
"Bitch!"
"You're just like you were during the massacre. You haven't changed at all."
He was screaming out of fear. Finally, trembling, he selected his beast.
Preparations complete. Lie selected Lion and used her prediction on Ant. Atsuoma selected Ant. Five to three. Game over. Lie wins.
"Am I going to die now?"
Atsuoma looked at me. Overcome with stress, he lunged at me. "YOU DAMN BITCH, DIE!"
The referee drew his gun and shot him in the head.
The room was drenched in blood. Atsuoma's body convulsed one last time on the floor, then went still. The sudden action had startled me, but then a devilish smile spread across my face.
He's gone. My past—all of it—is gone. Now I can focus on the future. I'll live for the people I love and the people I value.
Though... who do I even value anymore? Rei?
Ugh, what am I thinking? There's a corpse in front of me. I guess I've gotten used to it after the massacre. I should get out of here.
"You may leave, Lie."
"Okay."
I left the room. The people who saw that I had won the duel were stunned. I could feel an intriguing wariness from them now. After this game, I felt stronger than before. I returned to my cell to rest, lay down on the hard bed, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Rei... I did it.
On the third morning, I woke up. The same cycle: food, conversations. It felt like people were looking at me more now. After the last incident, my day was calm. I spent time with myself and waited for Rei to return.
At night, I lay down on the bed. I was so impatient that I wanted the days to pass faster so Rei would come back sooner.
Rei... I hope you come back tomorrow.
I let out a long yawn. Thinking of him, I drifted off to sleep.