Chapter 12

6 months later,

On the lower floor in the room, or jail…

"Is Mizu still asleep?" Zhi asked as soon as he entered the room. His face was prettier and neat than before, he still wears his usual hairstyle yet hair was a little bit longer than before and silkier. The gray set of clothes was changed to a more stylish one and fitted to his style. It was complementing his stunning beauty.

"Yeah," Himari replied while wiping the beads of sweat on Mizu's forehead.

"Lower your voice Zhi it echoes in this close environment," Haruto said, approaching while carrying 3 pieces of clothes on his arm. His handsome face was even more endearing, now that he was extremely clean and seemed to go out from a parlor shop. Moreover, he looks even cooler in his new set of dark-blue clothes in his style while wearing a black cloak.

Giving Zhi with the same cloak Haruto expressed looking at sleeping Mizu, "She needs to wake up tomorrow or else her opponents will win by default. She must win the fight, for us to get the bonus."

Zhi suddenly elbowed him, yet it was so light that can't inflict pain, "Geez, you're still cold as ever!" he fumed. Haruto looked at him in quite confused about what is wrong with what he had said.

Akane sighed, looking at them and said undoubtedly while holding the lollipop come from her mouth, "Mizu will wake up sooner. This woman will never put us down. She's tough as iron." and stands up straight from leaning on the bars.

Himari stands up too after she makes sure the blanket covered Mizu's body completely and says earnestly,

" Akane was right, tomorrow she will surely win her fight. Now, at the time had been already quarter to 9 we need to go back to our own room before 10 o'clock," she said looking at the wall clock.

Haruto suddenly threw the rest of the cloaks towards them and they easily catch it. The black cloak sways strongly when they start wearing it. On the back, a logo of a terrifying silver dragon with an open mouth was imprinted, indicating they are from East House.

Himari looked at sleeping Mizu once again, "We will wait for you Mizu on the middle floor." she said believing without a trace of doubts. And uttered with a sense of command, "Let's go."

The rest nodded at her and walked solemnly in the pathway, beside her. Wearing their new acquired uniform, where their back and their presence was even more intimidatingly strong. The four of them look like a mystical shadow knight in a fairy tale world, walking with full of confidence and emitting a great aura of superiority.

When suddenly, "You know what? I wondered why they built a single jail inside these cave-like surroundings. Does it cross your mind that the room was a bit useless? Why they don't leave it just like a cave?" Zhi uttered curiously while walking in this too serious atmosphere.

Haruto and Himari sighed at his weird yet with point thoughts and Akane neck-locked him with her arm while the other one hit his head.

"What?!" he asked in bewildered.

Akane then said, "You just ruined our cool exit."

"Eh? What cool exit?!" his loud voice echoes in this closed and dim environment.

Just after they leave, Mizu opened her eyes robustly and sits up straight with quite an energy while chasing her breathe, gasping. When she managed to calm herself, she noticed the drops of a clear saline fluid secreted by her lacrimal gland dripping down her face mixed with sweat, soaking the blanket on her lap.

Realizing she was in reality and not in her dream again. Knowing she can never see her adoptive parents nor her peers, again, she burst into tears with a brokenhearted while mumbling each their name, "Shiro, Kuro, Yuuto, Yuira, Akito, Kaito, Taishi, Itsuki, Riko, Mom, Pa...Ma... "

Mizu covered her face with her hands, she can't stop crying, she can't stop wailing for the dearest people she had lost.

It was already half a year, yet the pain was still there, breaking her inside, tearing the tendons of her heart painfully. To her, it seems just yesterday, she still clearly remember every detail of what happened.

In just a day, she lost her parents, in just a day she lost her friends— her siblings. In just a day, she lost all her family.

Worst, the next day, she becomes a killer.

After a few minutes of lamenting, she wipes the tears pouring heavily like rain. Looking around, she saw new things that she didn't own, and a letter with familiar handwriting from Himari, telling, "Good luck on your fight. See you tomorrow."

Holding the paper tenderly, she knows that her new companions took care of her for more than 3 days, seeing the date under the wall clock. Mizu lips arc bittersweetly, things inside the hell-like place was not that hard because of them.

"I lost everything in just a day, but today, I swear, I won't lose them all."

°°°°°°°°°°

In a dazzling light, the crowds were cheering tremendously and in bedazzlement. Mizu was walking on the steel bridged towards the stage that was surrounded by pointed and sharp spears. Falling on it means instant death. As always, the stage was covered in a crystal wall for the protection of the audiences. And this time in the VIP seats, only the masters of the East and the North are watching.

"Now, now, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome our players from the East and North houses!" The host announced that being followed by a blasting cheer and continued,

"We have been shocked by her, the youngest player in her last match. We've thought she was just lucky, but not! She was fierce like her group! Our Player 11659 from the east house! One of my favorites! But unfortunately for today, her opponent was also incomparable to anybody. A lot of honoring guests love this psychotic girl came from the new batch this month." The host stated and added,

"We all know the lucky girl was a bit later than her group, but can't be underestimated too!" he was obviously biased to Mizu.

Mizu looked at her opponent in distance from the other bridge, not minding the people around and the noise the host given. Truly, from just her glance, Mizu knows that her opponent was rotten and loves blood. The girl noticed her stares and amusingly looked at her while linking the knife she holds with her rosy tongue. Telling Mizu to prepare as she was about to take her life.

Mizu averted her gaze and like before, she holds her usual knife, her weapon. However, Mizu didn't notice that the blade was about to break apart, she's careless. Moreover, the pain of the wound on her upper left arm was still there that happened during her last fight. She just wrapped it with her clothes she tears off. On the lower floor, also known as the rookie floor, tending your own wound is the thing. The personnel will only give the players cheap medicine just for them to survive, as well as flavorless food.

If they want a better life than this, they need to rush up things and go to the middle floor where everything and everyone was tended carefully by the personnel. There's even a doctor to treat the wounds of the players. As they are now officially dropping some money into the Houses that come from the interest of the audiences.

When Mizu steps out of the bridge, the said thing pulled back from its origin. Like before, there's only one elevator that serves as the only way to go upwards, but it will only open to the victorious one.

Simultaneously, Mizu and her opponent walks in the center of the stage with a distance of 2 meters away from each other and are in high guard, soon the host announced,

" Between player 11659 and player 11996, the game of life and death now begins!"

Just the second after the host declared, the girl immediately vanished and like a gust of wind that passed Mizu, she didn't notice her coming, just when she felt a blade grazes her face and followed by a sting. Blood instantly flew on the new wound. Mizu wipes it and turned back, facing her opponent who was already linking the blade with her own blood. Mizu was caught off guard by her inhuman speed.

"Your blood tastes sweet, so pleasing than any of my victims." The girl uttered, and sing playfully, "La la la lalala~ two strikes? Three strikes? I wonder how many strikes can take her life? Can you guess, people watching us?!" she shouted asking the audiences.

And they answered mostly, "twice", "thrice".

"Viola! That's quite boring if I can only hit her that way, how about— once?!" she said with gleaming eyes while grinning widely. Playing the knife in her hands.

She then added terrifyingly in one breath, muttering speedily, "If she's lifeless I can slice her several times. I wonder how tender her muscles were? How beautiful the color of her blood? Or how deep this blade can take to reach her bones?" She deviously laughs and added eyes bulging with interest.

"Or was it more enjoyable for our honored guest to hear her lovely voice singing in agony?!! In whatever way it's EXHILARATING!"

The girl, tilted her head sideways, "Ha-aah, I can't wait!" and merrily skips circling Mizu, humming. Her long black hair dances along with her movements.

And stops, grinning widely to Mizu, "I really love this place, as I can freely kill!"

Mizu only felt goosebumps from what she heard.

Watching the fight of Mizu on the screen in the middle area located on the middle floor where lots of players are anticipating the fight, Himari's group is obviously worried in Mizu's part. They didn't know that her opponent in today's fight was the rumored rookie who killed all the participants she was with, in the level one without letting anyone alive, and in just a short period of time.

She was a complete psychopath.

And Mizu was in complete danger.