The First Stage

It was an unforeseen circumstance. Celia couldn't believe their luck. They were facing off against her old team which had abandoned her. It was almost as if someone was pushing the agenda so that she could get a chance at revenge.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Exclaimed Paul. "To think that little Celia and her friends would face off against us! This must be fate!"

"The poor little things are going to die here..! I almost feel bad for them!" Supported the girl with red hair.

Celia and the rest of Team Shadow Liege did not respond. Instead, they stood quiet, analyzing the situation. This was when the announcer began to speak.

"This match will be between Teams Death Trap and Shadow Liege!" Began the announcer from above. "The name of this game is, Aíma Malliá. Each team has one member whose hair color changed to blood-red after receiving an item from an NPC. These individuals will be referred to as, Aíma. The rules of the game center around these individuals!"

Shade glanced back at Tristan who stood behind him. It was as he had initially suspected. The one with the red hair would probably be vital to the game that they were about to play.

The announcer then continued; "This game is similar to capture the flag. A team must kill the enemy team's Aíma to win. The game will not end unless one of the two Aíma present in the game dies. The team that fails to protect their Aíma will be eliminated permanently! Please note that players are forbidden to seriously injure or kill other players who are not one of the two Aíma. If a player does bring serious harm to another player who is not an Aíma, then the player who inflicted the damage will be terminated."

Tristan then gave a slight yelp after hearing the rules of the game. This meant that he would be the Aíma for his team. He would also be one of two players to die on the stage.

"No..! Damn it, Shade!" He whined quietly. "I'm gonna die because you made me accept that item!"

"Keep calm and don't give a reaction, idiot. We're all wearing hats so they can't tell which one of us is the Aíma. Besides, since the game is similar to what I had initially suspected it to be, we're guaranteed to win."

"Oh, you've got a point... Man, I knew I made the right choice to partner with you, even though you're a pain to deal with sometimes!"

Shade then slowly moved to Celia's side to decide what their next move would be. Since Team Death Trap had been the one to hurt her, Shade thought it was only fair if Celia decided how they'd be punished.

"With all the intel you've helped me to gather, we're bound to win this. The only question is; how exactly do you want to get your revenge?" Asked Shade.

Celia didn't give an immediate response. Instead, she continued to analyze Team Death Trap. None of its members were hiding their hair. The only one with red-colored hair on their team was the annoying girl who made fun of them.

"Shade," responded Celia. "...I'm not planning on revenge, so you don't need to think about that."

Shade narrowed his eyebrows in bewilderment. He didn't understand why Celia didn't want revenge despite the pain Team Death Trap had caused her.

"Why wouldn't you want revenge after all they did to you? That sounds retarded."

"Maybe, but I'm still not interested in it. Revenge has no benefit to you. It can't change the past. Whatever happened to you remains the same whether or not you gain revenge. It's just a selfish act to hopefully bring yourself some relief and self-satisfaction. I don't need that."

Shade then averted his eyes. He didn't want to think about what Celia had said to him. Rather, he turned his attention back onto the game.

"Everyone, we know who our Aíma is. However, Team Death Trap doesn't. Given the stringent rules of the game, they can't attack us carelessly either."

"Hold on and allow me to give everyone a quick rundown of Team Death Trap," interjected Celia. "First is, Paul. His Class Ability or CA for short is the Executioner. He wields an axe. Next is the girl who currently has red hair, aka their Aíma. Her name is, Jessie. CA is Healing Mage. The other two guys with black hair have a Warrior CA. They both wield spears. Finally, the other girl's CA is Attack Mage. She can use magic but she has to use hand signs to do so."

Everyone then allowed themselves to digest the information before they continued. Though they had the advantage, it still seemed quite difficult to kill the enemy's Aíma.

"So, what's the plan then?" Queried Tristan.

"All of you stay behind unless I call for backup. I'll commence the attack by myself," instructed Shade.

"What? That's crazy! Not even you can handle five opponents on your own, Shade!" Argued Arora.

"It's fine. I know what I'm doing."

Following this, the announcer quickly initiated the match. Immediately after, Shade ran recklessly towards all five members of Team Death Trap as if he intended to fight them all alone. Upon seeing this, Paul quickly shouted his orders to his team.

"All of you stay behind and protect Jessie! I'll handle the kids by myself!"

To Shade's surprise, instead of facing him directly, Paul ignored him and went directly for Celia and the others. It was evident that he didn't intend to waste time on a pointless fight. However, this did not bother Shade.

Shade continued to run towards the enemy team's Aíma. Before him now stood four enemies. One was an Attack Mage, two were Warriors, and the other was their Aíma.

Hurriedly, two of the men then attacked by thrusting the tip of their spears towards Shade's arms and legs. However, he skillfully dodged their attacks before countering with a swing of his blade.

The two men groaned in pain as tiny cuts appeared on the sides of their faces. Soon after, they came to the horrific realization that they were unable to move. Shade's sword's special ability had paralyzed them where they stood. Everything had gone almost according to plan.

"What the hell?! I can't move!!" Cursed the two men.

"Pathetic," replied Shade.

Unfortunately, Shade had failed to notice something. While he was busy fighting the two men, the Attack Mage had been performing hand signs so that she could cast a magic spell.

"I've got you!" She exclaimed. "Light Magic: Four-sided Barrier!"

Shade's eyes widened with astonishment as a transparent barrier formed around him, trapping him on the inside. The Attack Mage had him right where she wanted.

However, without a second of hesitation, Shade turned his head and shouted towards Celia.

"Celia, ignore Paul and attack their Mage!"

Celia was worried. Did Shade have a plan to counteract this predicament or was he simply spouting orders out of desperation? She wasn't sure but she chose to listen to Shade's instructions.

Paul, however, did not stop her. He too had a plan. He already knew that Celia was not the Aíma for Team Shadow Liege because she was his ex-captain. This meant that she couldn't have gained a new item from the NPC since they were handed out one per team. This also meant that one out of the two players before him had to be the Aíma. The game seemed to be in his hands.

"Do it now!" Shouted Paul to his Attack Mage.

Following this, the Mage quickly formulated a few hand signs before releasing a powerful gust of wind. The wind blew the hats off the heads of Shade and the other members of Team Shadow Liege, revealing their hair color.

This seemed perfect for Paul and his team. He would be able to kill the enemy Aíma before Celia could even attack his Mage. However, this was when Paul noticed a slight smirk from Shade.

To Paul's unpleasant surprise, both Tristan and Arora had the same hair color. He was unable to tell which of the two was the Aíma, leaving him in panic.

"W-what is this?!" He screamed.

Meanwhile, Celia dashed forward towards the Attack Mage who was desperately trying to formulate hand signs for an attack. Nonetheless, Celia was much too fast. She threw a powerful punch into the gut of the Mage, forcing her to the ground in pain.

Due to this, the barrier surrounding Shade immediately disappeared, freeing him from his confinement.

Taking advantage of this, Shade threw himself forward towards Team Death Trap's Aíma.

"Noo! Please, don't kill me!!" She begged as she flailed her arms wildly.

Unfortunately for her, Shade did not care about her plead for help. Instead, he swung his sword violently, removing her head in a single swing. Her bloodied head then hit the ground as it bounced across the floor like a soccer ball. The game was over.

Paul looked on in disbelief. He had lost and was about to die.

"No..! This can't be happening!!!!" He screamed as he looked towards Celia. "I can't die! I'm sorry, Celia! I promise that I'll never betray your trust ever again! Don't let me die!!!!"

However, Celia averted her eyes from Paul. She did not wish to see his final moments.

On the other hand, Shade calmly walked towards him with a lifeless expression across his face.

"It's funny, isn't it?" He began in a calm voice. "One mistake resulted in your death. If you hadn't betrayed Celia then you might have lived. How does it feel knowing that the kid you stabbed in the back is going to survive while you're going to die here?"

Paul couldn't help but cry like a five-year-old child. He regretted what he had done but it was now far too late.

"I'm sorry... Damn it! If only I had another chance! If only I'd known..!"

Shade stood calmly above Paul watching as his health bar steadily seeped into the red zone. It was truly a pathetic sight. People like Paul never regretted their actions until it was far too late for redemption.

"At least tell me how you managed to win! How did two of your teammates have red hair..?!"

Shade then slowly stooped to look Paul in the eyes with a slight smirk across his lips. He then whispered the answer which would be the final words Paul would ever hear.

"Our Aíma was Tristan. Arora only has red hair because that's her natural hair color. I knew you'd eventually fall into that trap which is why we won. How ironic though. It seems the trap you fell in was actually a Death Trap."

A second later, Paul and his entire team exploded like massive grenades.