Unexpected Pain

Death Bringer: “Okay. Okay. It’s time to start the 4th round. It seems these games are going by rather quickly. That’s fine as long as everyone is having a good time. Now, please pay close attention to the screen above you. It will demonstrate what you will have to do, but I will also explain it for you all. Lights off please…In this game, 2 decks of playing cards will be spread out in front of you. They will go player to player by floating in the air. Both sides of the cards will not be shown to you, so you will be asked to pick a random card that you want. Once picked, then you will not show the card to anyone else or it will result in severe punishment. The card will quickly turn into a number and a suit. On the screen in front of you, you will pick 3 players in the room that you believe has the same exact number as you. If by chance you get lucky and get all 3, then you win and get triple the death tokens. If you get 2, then you get double, and if you get 1, then you get the standard amount, which is 5. If you happen to get 0, then you will survive and get no death tokens. In this game, you will get 5 different chances to guess. In total, you can guess 15 people before you get no death tokens. Since we are using 2 decks of 104 cards, then we will not be using 2’s. Just like last round, we will implement the laser system. However, each round that you do not guess someone with the same number as you, then the laser will be aimed at a different part of your body and you will experience that pain for the remainder of the round until your death. If you survive with those injuries, then we will also heal you at the end of the round. Now, everyone, get ready…Let’s play!”

The floating cards got passed around the room until they eventually reached Welpen with about 14 cards left. Death Bringer was definitely telling the truth. The cards were covered on both sides. He couldn’t see what number or suit he was getting. Not like the suit mattered in this case, but the number was important. He picked one at random as the rest of the cards went around the room.

Astro and Izumi had their cards picked as well. Death Bringer announced overhead that the cards would now be revealed. Welpen wasn’t allowed to show anyone his cards or else it would result in severe punishment. He didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t want to find out. Welpen and Astro had not been traveling for a long time, but on the walk here, there were many, many miles to talk and discuss strategies. They had created a few words and numbers, so this was perfect for this. Welpen peeked at his index finger on his card as Astro tapped 4 times indicating he had a 4.

Astro thought, ‘I could just use telepathy with the kid, but I don’t know if they can sense that. There is too much going on and too much to question. I better stick to the rules for now. No reason for me to cause chaos when we need to get out of here and figure out what to do next.’

Welpen looked at his card. He had 7 of diamonds. ‘Tch. It’s all luck. How am I supposed to know who has a 7? That’s ridiculous. I have to guess 3 people each round? There are 98 people to pick from now. Who do I even pick?!’

The screens popped up in front of them yet again. This time, it listed all 100 contestants' pictures and names. ‘When did they take my picture?’ he thought. ‘Oh man, oh man. Who do I pick? Should I just pick random people? Sure, why not. No point in thinking too much. Let’s see…Kanna Kisejoro, Jinpei Soren, and…Oh? Let’s do Izumi. Why not?’

Welpen waited for a little bit after he picked his 3 people. A lot of people were still choosing who they wanted to pick. After a while, a timer began to count down to speed people up. This was the first game that Welpen had seen people be cautious about their picks. Welpen was actually one of the first to lock in his people.

10 seconds remained for people to pick. He looked around the room for the people he had chosen. A black boy with crazy hair that was at least 4 feet long. It was poofy and extended everywhere in the air. The second man had long blonde slicked back hair with bright green eyes. He wore a suit similar to Reiken, Welpen’s leader. The third person he had picked was shocking to Welpen. On the screen it looked like a boy, but it wasn’t. He double checked to make sure he was right. The hair and horns matched the image. It was a girl with a cat-like face. She looked like a samurai. Welpen was confused how he had never noticed her before this. She had a long sword in a sheath and a bushy tail. Her feet had nails as sharp as talons and her hands were like claws. She wore armor on the top and a dark dress all with a matching color similar to the rest of her body. She was drenched in dark black, orange, and red color. Welpen admired her. She looked strong.

The timer ticked down to 0. The cards remained in everyone’s hands. On the screen in front of them, it showed either a check mark or an X to indicate if you were correct with someone or not. Welpen looked down at his screen. All at once, red X’s filled in the squares. ‘Agh! Tch! It’s okay. I’ve never been shot before though. I wonder if it hurts.’

Welpen: “Astro, Izumi, did you guys get it right?”

Izumi: “No. Mine all came up red. What about you?”

Welpen: “Mine are all red too.”

Izumi: “Oh…Sorry Welpen. You are going to get shot somewhere with the laser.”

Welpen: “That’s okay. I’m ready for it! Astro…Did you get it?”

Astro: “No. Mine are all red.”

The three of them looked around the room to see if anybody had stood up. The first 2 people were Naoki and the man with pink messy hair. They stood up together as if they were in sync. The other 4 stood up. Kunikise and Kael both stood up and argued. They continued at each other’s throats until they eventually got face to face.

Kunikise: “I know you picked me, you two faced loser! I’m gonna rip off your freaking tail and shove it down your throat.”

Kael: “Hehehe. I can’t wait till these games are over so I can chop you into pieces far away from the city. The guild won’t stop us there now, will they? Hehehe.”

They continued at it for another 30 seconds until the woman that Welpen had picked split them apart. Her name was Kanna Kisejoro.

Kanna: “Boys are so stupid. Sit down and act like a man you fools.”

Both: “Huh?! You stupid bit–”

They both jumped at her to attack. Kael’s tail extended with sharp spikes to pierce her and Kunikise took his chains to whack her head.

She easily jumped out of the way and knocked them both on the ground without drawing her sword. She walked back to her seat awaiting the laser to hit her. The other person that had gotten it right was the person sitting directly next to Welpen that he hadn’t been paying much attention to. He had flat black hair and glasses. He looked really young even in Welpen’s eyes, yet he was probably in his early 20’s. He spoke as he pushed his glasses up to his eyes. “Too easy,” he said.

Kunikise and Kael still argued as they headed back to their seats.

Kunikise: “Pick me again in one of these games and there will be consequences.”

Kael: “Hehehe. Sure. Hehehe.”

The laser pointed at the 6 of them first each aimed at the heart yet again. It fired as they all dropped dead in their chairs. The lasers then pointed at each and every other person in the room. 94 people awaited a laser being shot at them. Everybody had it aimed right at their top left shoulder.

Welpen: “Please don’t hurt. Please don’t hurt. Please don’t hurt.”

It fired and Welpen winced in pain. He screamed even as low as he could, almost like a whisper, but a little more to where some people could hear him. Most people didn’t even flinch. Actually, a lot even smiled. A few touched the blood and licked their hands to taste it. Astro and Izumi just sat there ready to play as if nothing happened as well.

Even through Welpen’s pain, he looked over at Ryoko, who sat in his chair in immense pain. He cried underneath the hoodie that hid most of his face. Welpen had shed tears too without knowing, but he stuck through it. He felt bad for Ryoko, but he was having trouble thinking with his own mind at the moment.

The next round started.

The same screen pulled up the contestants. The 6 people that were killed showed up red on the screen along with the 3 people that Welpen had picked. However, Welpen was unlucky. He had picked Kanna along with Izumi and Jinpei, but Kanna was already out. His screen only had 8 red figures.

Astro looked down at his screen too. He had picked 3 different people than Welpen, so he had 9 red figures showing. Although, he wanted to confirm something. He clicked on Kunikise’s image. When it pulled up, he was still able to select his name.

Astro: “Welpen. This game is harder than it looks. Just because they show up red on the screen doesn’t mean that they didn’t have your number on your card. Actually, it makes it extremely difficult. Try to select someone that comes up red.”

Welpen: “Oh. I can still pick them?”

Astro: “Yeah. What makes it worse is that 3 of those people that were killed could’ve all had the same card as you. There is no advantage in this game. It’s just listening to your gut and keep picking. Try to remember who you picked each round.”

Izumi: “Isn’t there a way to find out who picked who? I mean, Kael and Kunikise seemed to have picked each other with all that bantering and they were right.”

Astro: “That probably was just a guess. Although, what if Kael didn’t pick Kunikise and he made it seem like that. He could’ve picked anybody in the room and got lucky. Even if he did pick Kunikise, he might’ve not had the same card, but just wanted to go at it with him. Either way, we don’t know anything about who anyone picked. Just like every other game, it’s all based on luck.”

Welpen: “How come Naoki and the guy with the red glasses stood up right away then? They seemed to know that they were going to get it right. Agh! My shoulder is getting worse.”

Astro: “I don’t know. Just go with your gut though. The next round is starting.”

Welpen looked down at the screen again not knowing who to choose. He only knew that 4 people in the room were not correct, along with himself of course. There were 95 other people to choose from. ‘Let’s see, let’s see. I really don’t want to get shot again. It hurt worse than I thought. I think I’m still crying. I can’t even tell. Umm, let’s go with these 3. Ryukoko Mikaka, Mio Replina, and Tsumugi Uupori. They were all girls. One was standard looking with long red hair. Mio, the same way with long black hair, but Ryukoko was different. Welpen looked at her across the way. She sat directly across from him. As he looked up, she was starting right back into his eyes. He quickly looked down. ‘She looks scary!’ he thought.

She had short black hair, but her face was half stitched together. It looked fairly similar to her other side, but was different. Her right eye was much bigger and her mouth didn’t really match with the other side. Her skin was as white as a ghost. Welpen looked up one more time to the same image of her smiling with wide black and red eyes. He looked down once more at his screen as the timer buzzed in the room. All Welpen saw was red on his screen. The three he had picked were wrong again. He looked up at Ryukoko. She stayed smiling with bold eyes at him. ‘Creepy,’ he thought.

Izumi: “Ah! I didn’t get anyone again. More pain is going to come now. These stupid lasers…Welpen, let me see if you got anyone.”

Welpen: “Go ahead and look. I got nobody though. Astro?”

Astro: “No. I got all red again.”

6 more people stood up. All unfamiliar faces to Welpen. The round went quicker without anybody bickering. They sat down and were shot with the laser much faster than the previous round. 12 people were out. 88 remained.

Welpen hoped that the laser wouldn’t pinpoint a vital area. He didn’t know much about how the body works, but getting shot anywhere was going to hurt. He wondered where the laser was going to point next, but before that thought could even process, the red dot was aimed at his right knee. It went off quickly on everyone in the room.

Welpen screamed loudly this time. Everybody definitely had heard him scream. He cried uncontrollably and bit his lip to try and stop the pain, but it wouldn’t stop. He could feel the bones in his body shaking. He could feel the hole that was pierced in his kneecap that burned like an everlasting wildfire and only more was to come.