Observations

Izumi: “Welpen! Are you okay?”

Welpen didn’t answer, but just cried. Eventually, he brought himself to ask a question, jittering with his teeth.

Welpen: “W-Wh-Why? Wh-Why is…Nobody in p-p-ain e-except me?”

Izumi didn’t know how to answer that question. Astro stayed silent, but knew what the answer was. For him, he had experienced pain like this over and over and over. It was nothing new to him. For everyone else, well…’They had probably experienced similar things in these games,’ he thought. ‘Everybody here loves the pain. Very few are struggling with these games. Welpen being one of them and that kid I was paired up with before, Ryoko. He’s not holding up well. He looks like he might go into shock. Hmm…That didn’t seem like that before. He was good at that game.’

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Astro: “How about I let you win this game, kid? You don’t look too good at these. There might be a forfeit option.”

Ryoko: “N-No. I want to win fair and square. I have confidence that I will beat you. Just pick.”

Astro: “I’m not gonna argue with you. But, confidence in this game is a joke. All these games have been based on luck, would you not agree?”

Ryoko: “Y-Yes. I’ve been paying attention quite well. I may seem nervous, b-but I know what I’m doing. I’ve played once before.”

Astro: “You’ve been here before? Interesting. You shouldn’t be telling people that though.”

Ryoko: “Why not? You’re not a threat.”

Astro: “I’m not a threat? True, but very untrue. I may not be a threat to you.”

Ryoko: “No. That’s not what I mean. You’ve never been here before. I can tell. This is your first time here.”

Astro: “Huh? How do you know?”

Ryoko: “I just know.”

Ryoko was biting his fingers now as he talked. He was nervous and talking extremely fast.

Astro: “Okay. I won’t ask how you know that. Not like I need to know. However, tell me. If you know so much about things, then how do I get out of here? I couldn’t use the doors I came in.”

Ryoko: “Hmm, I’ve never tried leaving, but those doors are the only doors in and out unless you want to travel to the Beast's Lair.”

Astro: “What’s that and how do I get to it?”

Ryoko: “Just go the opposite direction of the front doors. Keep walking until you hit the other side of the barrier. Although, nobody knows where it leads. Nobody dares to go out there. We all stay in the city. The guild will go after you if you venture outside the city.”

Astro: “How do you know this?”

Ryoko: “My friend tried it for me one time. They killed him though. What a shame.”

Astro: “I see…What’s in the Beast's Lair?”

Ryoko: “I-It’s on the other side of the barrier. Far out there…Monsters. Big monsters. Small monsters. All kinds.”

Astro: “How is that any different than the ones above here?”

Ryoko: “Above here? What do you mean?”

Astro: “Mhm. I see. Nevermind. One more question kid before we start rolling here.”

Ryoko: “What’s that?”

Astro: “Where were you born?”

Ryoko: “H-Here of course. Stupid question. Can’t process. Let’s start game.”

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‘He’s smart. Like a freakin robot. Maybe too smart. He adapts extremely quickly, but he can’t handle too much pain,’ Astro thought. ‘I might need to keep an eye on him.’

Astro: “Welpen. Are you hanging in there?”

Welpen: “Y-Yes, j-just a little c-cold.”

Astro: “We’re almost done. 3 more rounds to go.”

The screens appeared once more. Welpen randomly selected three people this time. There was no point in thinking, but the only people he didn’t choose were the ones already out. He didn’t want to second guess himself. The round ended swiftly this time. People began to think similar to Welpen and just started guessing instead of thinking. Maybe the pain was getting to them more than they portrayed.

Red covered the screen like the image of blood. Welpen was so weak anyways that he wasn’t even thinking about how he got it wrong. His eyes fluttered a little, but he managed to stay awake to see Astro’s and Izumi’s screens out of the corner of his eye. Both of theirs showed up red again. Welpen looked back at his screen as he leaned against the chair.

‘Ahh. This hurts. I’m going to get shot again, aren’t I? Isara…Am I that weak?’ he questioned in his mind.

The lasers went off rapidly. Only 3 people had guessed correctly this round. They were killed off right away with the laser aimed at their hearts. The remaining 85 sat awaiting where the laser would go next. Welpen laid back to rest as much as he could before the red dot appeared over the shin on the left leg. All he heard was ‘Crack!’ as his bone was pierced now on the other side.

“AAAAAGGGHHH!” Welpen screamed out in agony. It felt like his bone had snapped in half, though only a hole the size of a bullet had gone through. For Welpen, the pain kept getting worse and worse. Every time the laser grazed through his skin, it built up the discomfort. He was slowly fading from the blood loss. This was the first time ever that anything like this had happened. Before he knew it, he was out looking for Isara, fought some creatures, ran from monsters, and ended up here with Astro.

‘Participating in these games might’ve been a mistake,’ he thought. That idea slipped into his mind quickly. ‘Why am I even here? Isara clearly isn’t here. I shouldn’t be here. Sir Astro must have a plan. He promised he’d help me find Isara. Fine. I’ll keep playing for sir Astro and for Clara. She told me not to give up on anything. I won’t give up on you Astro, but please help me find Isara. Please.’

The fourth round began.

It was the second to last round before people would lose for not guessing their correct person. Before this round began, Death Bringer had an announcement.

Death Bringer: “Hello. Hello. How is everyone doing? I see we have many survivors. Not a good sign. Anyways, I regret to inform you all on this message, but 2 people have been caught cheating. Unfortunately, that is against the rules. Please refrain from showing others the card in your hand. May Fuijo Hayaka and Ushio Sansai please stand up and exit through the open doors in the wall.

Fuijo: “Tsk. I didn’t think they’d catch us babe.”

Ushio: “Don’t worry about it. As long as I’m with you, I could care less.”

Fuijo: “You’re so hot. Come on. Let’s see what this ‘Severe Punishment’ is.”

Ushio: “Severe Punishment? How about you give me that later.”

They both laughed as they walked through the doors that now closed on them. Welpen wanted to question where they were going, but could hardly speak now. He focused on breathing very softly. Izumi noticed this and tried to talk to him to keep him awake.

Izumi: “W-Welpen…Hang in there.”

Welpen: “Y-Yeah. I-I’m t-t-t-trying.”

He started to cough up blood onto the screen in front of him. A good amount of it covered some of the contestants. He could only see about 10 of them unless he wiped the blood away, but he didn’t care to. He chose 3 more people that he could see with his finger that shook as he tried to select them. With 1 second left, he got it off. He had chosen 3 random people. All he saw was red again though.

Izumi: “No, Welpen. Sorry. I’m leaving you. I got 1 person right. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”

Welpen: “O-Okay.”

Astro: “I’m with you kid.”

The lasers went off as Izumi was shot right next to both of them, along with 4 others in the room. Welpen caught a glimpse of the girl across from him that still smiled at him oddly. He saw the laser pierce her heart as she died, but her eyes remained open and her smile did not fade. Welpen just looked away and was creeped out by the girl, but had to focus on the next laser. The red dot aimed down at the rest. This time, it targeted their stomachs. It pointed on the left hand side in a spot to avoid any ruptured organs. ‘Boom!’ is what it sounded like to Welpen this time.

It pierced him hard. “AAHH! AGH! AHH!”

The pain was immense.

He bled from 4 different spots. Tears flooded down his face and onto the floor. Blood covered the entire area where he sat and covered his black and red leathered clothing. He couldn’t even move. The final round was starting, but he couldn’t even lift a finger.

Astro: “Don’t fight it, kid. It’s not worth it. This isn’t your goal. Your goal is elsewhere, not here. You know you’re going to come back. Don’t choose to experience the pain. You’re young. You don’t need to learn what this feels like. Leave that for people like me.”

Welpen: “B-B-But…”

Astro: “Nope. No buts. Let it go and let’s get these stupid games over with. Once we find what you’re looking for, then we’ll go back to where you came from. I don’t need to witness that pain again with you. I already fight against that everyday.”

Welpen cried even more as he said this. Blood oozed out from him. His eyes flickered rapidly. He took his hands off his wounds as they fell to his sides. His body tried to fight for him, but his heart and mind let go internally. His eyes closed and the dark filled him.

Astro: “There you go kid. Don’t worry. You’ll be back soon. I know you didn’t want to die, but it’s better this way.”

He thought, ‘Now. I got one more chance, right? I think I know just who to pick…’