SURVIVAL 37: TRIUMPHANT

I punched Leonthan directly in his leg, but he avoided me again. I tried his nape, but he stood up again. He tried to punch me, but I escaped and twisted his arm tightly when I caught him.

"I'll finish him off!" Trake attacks and a knife are aimed at Leonthan.

Leonthan just dodged Trake's blows and the pointed knife at him. Because of his avoidance, he backed away when I was about to come at him.

Trake scoffed. "Is this all you’ve got? Where did that confidence of yours go?" Trake must have been provoking him.

Leonthan’s side of his stomach and neck are wounded. He also spat out blood and coughed.

"I might die," Leonthan mumbled while catching his breath.

Trake gave him a beating first. What are you doing, Leonthan? At least, defend yourself!

"But not right now.” Leonthan stated.

"You’re done.” Trake declares his victory.

I opened my eyes and saw Leonthan standing up again and fighting back. He was already holding a knife. Wait! That's why he retreats and keeps on avoiding Trake's attack so that he can get back to his knife that he dropped when I kicked his hand. He’s outsmarted us.

"Agh!"

Trake's knees gradually weakened, and he fell to the ground.

"Trake!" I called out to him.

I ran closer to him and laid his head on my thighs. His abdomen is bleeding.

"I lose”

"N-No...”

"Sorry, Cy, I lost," I just kept sobbing. "Your promise to me, huh? Keep it. If you don't, I'll haunt you," he coughed. He still managed to crack a joke.

"How can you haunt me if I'm a ghost too?" And we laughed together. I never thought that I’d even ride his joke in this situation.

He mumbled. “I’m a bad guy…”

“Huh?”

“I acted a god guy these past games to gain your trust because I expect that either Leonthan or you will win this game.” He coughed. “I needed to eliminate all of the remaining players. I’ll finish Leonthan first so that it will be easy afterwards. You were my last target until I won.”

This was his plan all along.

“Forgive me… It’s a game of life, Cy.”

"What about the last promise you made me do? That no matter what happens, I will live. How could you witness whether I will live if you die?”

“I am a traitor, Cy. I made you that promise so you’ll stay alive, and we'll kill Leonthan. Then I’ll have you for myself to kill.”

I was left speechless.

“It didn’t go as planned.” He’s having a hard time speaking. “S-Still…you should fulfill your promise to me. My death won’t allow Leonthan to win this. You’re naïve and have a good heart. You deserve to win.”

Then he’s gone. I laid his head on the ground.

I stood up and faced the boy I now bear a distaste for. I bit my lower lip to hold myself back. I feel extremely frustrated to the point that my lower lip is bleeding.

"Let's finish this," I declared.

He kicked me in the head. I bent down and punched him in the stomach. I was stunned when I remembered that I had a wound on my right hand, so I had to use my left one.

"Ah!" I twitched.

I wasn't hit, but my back wound seemed to open because of Seyah's stab earlier. I moved too much, and the wound opened. The cloth wrapped around my back wound came loose.

"Running away?”

I ran very fast and entered the mansion. I went to the comfort room and immediately took off the cloth wrapped around my hand. I washed the cloth with clean water and wrapped it again. I took off my uniform blouse and removed the cloth wrapped around the back of my chest. I touched it, and the wound was open. Ouch...

"Where are you?”

I was horrified when I heard the creepy tone of Leonthan's voice. I immediately got dressed and felt as if he was just near the door of the comfort room. I got out of the comfort room and slowly closed the door.

"What?!" I shrieked when he startled me.

"Do you think you can escape me?”

I still have my knife with me.

I avoid my eyes at his eyes because every time I see his brown eyes, I forget we are opponents. I can’t believe that I still yearn for him.

"Look out!”

I turned my gaze to the one who had just spoken and was surprised when he ran towards me.

He grabbed my head and hugged me tightly.

Then I realized that I was lying down. It surprised me when he was on top of me. I saw his forehead. It’s bleeding! I observed my surroundings, and the whole mansion had collapsed! It has no roof, and the walls are crumbling. The floor has cracks.

"C-Can you stand up?" I knelt on the floor facing him.

I grabbed both of his arms to support him.

"Ugh," he grunted.

He put his head on my chest. I raised my head and... there was an iron bar in his back!

"Leonthan"

I touched his back, and it was warm and wet. I saw that my hand had red liquid.

"Leonthan!" My eyes are getting watery again.

"Now that I'm dying, it's time to tell you the truth." I waited for him to speak again. "I killed them for you not to be killed. I know that you have trauma when it comes to violence that's why you can't kill. That Trake guy’s primary goal was to kill you last because he was saving the easiest for last. If he can’t win against me, a strong enemy of his, then there’s no point in killing you earlier than me.”

I must be dead. I should be gone now and died more than two days after our ceremony, but Leonthan sacrificed his prize from winning the third Tri-Games and risked his life to save mine.

"Why do you even have to pretend? You even sacrificed your life just to be able to participate in the fourth Tri-Games again." This has been bugging me. What’s the need for doing that?

"For you to kill me. I want you to do it, but you can’t. I became a villain to protect you… This game is an awesome game. You get to play with different players. You get to know their purpose in winning the game. And you have a chance to save your loved ones, just as what I did.”

He’s reminiscing about the first time he played Tri-Games. All of his memories must have been fully recovered.

"No, no. You can still live. You got stabbed in the back. Author mentioned, you will only die if you are stabbed in the chest so-”

"I struck myself with my knife.”

"Why did you do that?! No, we’ve got this. There’s still hope.”

“This one’s different.”

It took me seconds to realize what he meant. “Don’t tell me?”

He was just silent, meaning it’s true. No! His knife is the one that contains poison. Just a simple scratch on the skin can kill you. So, that’s why Seyah and Trake died without being hit on their chests. He got the smallest, the sharpest, and the poisonous knife.

"Was it just an accident?" I questioned him.

"No, I purposely chose the knife with a poison, to simply kill others and myself.”

"But how did you know it was poisonous?”

"I was the winner of the third Tri-Games. My memories came back, so I already envision the outcomes of this last level." I am trying to absorb his statement. “By now, you must be aware of the whole truth.”