Chapter 21: — “Death Game: Part 1” — (Season 1 Episode 9)

The lights flickered on, flooding the warehouse with a harsh, white glow. Sprawled across the cold, hard floor were Riku, Akari, Kenji, Sakura, and Miyuki. None of them noticed yet —

Mika was missing.

Groaning, they all slowly got to their feet, eyes squinting against the sudden brightness.

“W-Where are we…?” Sakura muttered, rubbing her head.

“I don’t know,” Riku replied, just as confused.

“W-Who are you?” Miyuki asked, pointing at Akari suspiciously.

“I’m Mika’s sister. Who are you?”

“Mika has a sister?” Sakura asked, her voice rising in disbelief. “She never told us anything about that!”

“Well, who even are you?” Akari snapped back, clearly annoyed.

“We’re Mika’s besties — AKA the NAKA-CHAAAN!” Miyuki chimed, throwing up jazz hands.

Akari blinked. “Mika has… friends?”

“Yeah, she does,” Sakura huffed. “Just like she apparently has a secret sister.”

“I didn’t know that—”

“Will you girls PLEASE stop talking about Mika having friends and sisters and blah blah blah?” Riku yelled, clearly done with all of it.

“Wait…” Kenji scratched the back of his neck. “Where even is Mika?”

Everyone froze.

Akari’s and Riku’s eyes widened simultaneously.

“Mika?” Sakura looked around, panic building. “No seriously, where is she?!”

“Mika! Mika!” Riku shouted, scanning the area.

“Where are you, sis?!” Akari yelled, her voice breaking.

Suddenly, a faint click echoed across the warehouse.

A dusty TV sitting atop a cardboard box flickered to life. The screen lit up, revealing a figure wearing a cracked, cartoonish mask.

“Greetings, everybody!” the distorted voice laughed. “Welcome to the DEATH GAME! MUAHAHAHA!”

They all stared at the screen, their faces painted with confusion and dread.

Akari stepped forward, fists clenched. “Where’s Mika?! WHERE IS MY SISTER?! What did you do to her?!”

“Calm down, Hanabira,” the masked figure chuckled. “Your sister’s perfectly safe… for now.”

The screen suddenly adjusted, tilting down to reveal Mika, tied to a chair, frowning but unharmed.

“MIKA!!!” they all shouted in unison.

“I’m sorry…” Mika whispered, barely audible.

Before anyone could respond, the camera snapped back to the masked figure.

“To free your little friend, you’ll need to play a game.”

“YOU PIECE OF SH*T!!” Riku roared. “GIVE US BACK MIKA! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!”

The goon laughed calmly. “Aozora. I was sent here to deliver a warning: the demon is coming. And Riku, he wants your soul. Consider this your first sign.”

Kenji turned sharply. “What the hell is he talking about?” His eyes locked onto Riku. “A demon?!”

Riku hesitated. “I… it’s complicated. A demon’s after me. That’s all I can say right now.”

“What?” Sakura and Miyuki’s eyes widened.

“Who told you that?” Miyuki asked.

Riku opened his mouth, unsure how to explain, until Akari stepped forward.

“I did,” she said clearly. “Because I’m a witch.”

Everyone stared.

“Mika may be a normal human,” Akari continued, “but our mom and I were born witches. She received a prophecy… one that said Riku would be killed by a demon. That’s why I’m here... to protect him.”

“Wait…” Kenji stepped back. “So you’re saying you’re… dying?” he asked, looking at Riku.

“It’s less likely now that Akari’s here,” Riku said quietly. “But yeah… if we don’t stop what’s coming, I’m dead.”

The masked figure coughed dramatically.

“AHEM! As I was saying, I was sent by the demon to claim one of your lives… and test your IQ!”

“IQ?!” Kenji scoffed. “What kind of dumb game is this?!”

The screen buzzed.

“To save Mika, you must complete a logic puzzle. Fail, and the consequences will be… unfortunate.”

A long table extended from a wall, revealing a Sudoku grid printed on paper and a single mechanical pencil next to it.

Everyone stared in silence.

Kenji looked at the grid and frowned. “Is this… math?”

“This game is ass,” he muttered under his breath.

“I heard that!” the masked figure snapped.

Riku stepped forward, arms crossed. “Yeah? Then maybe make the game fun next time. Ever heard of that idea?!”

The goon waved a hand. “Complain all you want — you’ve got one hour.”

As the goon’s laughter faded from the TV screen, a mechanical hum echoed through the warehouse. A panel slid open in the floor, revealing a dull metal table with a single sheet of paper on top, a large Sudoku puzzle, already partially filled in. Next to it lay a pencil, and a small blinking timer displayed 60:00 and began counting down.

“This is the dumbest hostage game I’ve ever heard of,” Kenji muttered.

Akari, arms crossed, narrowed her eyes at the board. “We don’t have time to argue. Let’s just do it.”

The five of them huddled around the table. Riku squinted at the grid, trying to make sense of it. “We just… fill in the rest of the numbers, right? Every row, column, and box has to have one through nine?”

“I think so,” Sakura said, though her tone was far from confident.

Minutes passed. Frustration built fast.

“No, no, you can’t put a seven there, it’s already in that box!” Akari snapped.

“Oh come on, we erased that one like five minutes ago!” Miyuki groaned, her hands in her hair.

Kenji threw the pencil down. “I swear this game was designed by demons!”

“It kinda was,” Riku muttered.

They kept working, arguing over placements, erasing numbers, rewriting them — only to find contradictions and start over again. The tension was suffocating.

By the forty-minute mark, they were all drenched in sweat, annoyed, exhausted, and one wrong number away from flipping the entire table.

“Okay…” Akari said, circling the final square. “Nine goes here. That’s it. It’s done. We finished it!”

The screen on the TV flickered. The goon reappeared, clapping slowly and sarcastically.

“Wow! Forty minutes? You’re geniuses. Seriously. That was… mildly impressive.”

“Just let Mika go already!” Sakura shouted.

“Oh, no no no,” the goon said smugly. “That was just game one. Up next we’ve got Color Tiles, Tower Defense, Human Chess, maybe even a little—”

“ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME?!*” Riku snapped.

Everyone jumped.

He stormed toward the TV, eyes blazing with fury.

“We just spent forty damn minutes playing your dumbass math puzzle and you’re saying we have to do more?! What kind of clown sh*t is this?!”

“R-Riku, calm down,” Kenji muttered.

“NO!” Riku pointed a trembling finger at the screen. “You wanna kidnap our friend, treat it like a damn game, and think we’re just gonna stand here playing Color Tiles like it’s a fun little party?! You’re a joke!”

The goon looked genuinely caught off guard. “W-Well I mean, if you’d just—”

“SHUT UP.”

Riku didn’t wait.

He turned on his heel and stormed across the warehouse, kicking aside boxes, eyes scanning everything, until in the far corner, he saw something.

A rusted metal door.

His heart slammed in his chest.

Without hesitation, he ran full-speed at it, braced himself, and kicked it down with a crash.

The metal groaned and gave way, swinging open with a heavy slam.

Inside the dark room, he saw Mika, still tied to a chair.

And standing beside her… the masked goon, frozen mid-step, clearly not expecting Riku so soon.

Riku stepped inside, fists clenched, eyes like fire.