Too late

Tears began pouring out of Xiao Lin's eyes as she was forced to give Okisato the spoils of his victory. "I- I certify that you legally and fairly bested me in the trial I set forth. As such, you earn my badge, the right to rematch me for only 10 points, and a bounty of 10,000 points."

As soon as she finished, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle as her DESPER restrained her and began tattooing her head. Within seconds, she was done. Though she could still at least walk properly with some assistance, she'd never be as good at kung-fu as she used to be. What's more, she had been humiliated in chess and now had the game log of said defeat tattooed prominently on the back of her head.

"And with that, seems like my work here is done," Okisato nodded.

"Did the president order you to do this!?" Xiao Lin glared.

"Ask him yourself. You'll be seeing him shortly," Okisato snickered as he warped away.

Xiao Lin clutched her side and slowly rose as she was forced to warp to WWCF HQ. There, she consented to having her DESPER sealed, requiring her to activate it in a special section of the facility and then throw the game. To add insult to injury, she was playing as white, meaning she essentially replicated the game she threw against Michiko.

"Poetic justice in a sense. And with this, you're now free from the DESPER and Desperado's influence. You are free to leave now," Raymond nodded as Xiao Lin's DESPER was sealed.

Xiao Lin tearfully glared and warped back to Lijiang, collapsing onto a sofa as her SPCMs gathered round.

"Ah, looks like you lost. Wonder if that means the maestro position will be opening soon," Xiu sneered.

Fury erupted from Xiao Lin's eyes as she slammed her cane down hard on Xiu's head, giving her a large lump.

...

Back in London, Okisato found himself at the base of Big Ben. Nobody else was around, prompting him to pull out his WWCF card to check on the status of everyone. Yet before he could get a good look, a figure suddenly climbed out of the Thames, huffing and puffing.

"Well, that was a long, arduous swim. I nearly cramped up and drowned. This is why we shouldn't have dragged Mimoko Inoue into this. She's too strong for members like me."

It was Dr. Hyde, one of the Desperados that had initially dragged Mimoko, Iori, and Carol to London.

"How the hell are you alive?" Okisato grumbled.

"Simple, my losing wager was merely to swim the whole Thames, and if I couldn't I'd drown and die, but as you can see, I swam the whole thing!"

But no sooner did he say that did he collapse to the ground with a mighty thud. The fatigue from the long swim he was so proud of had overtaken him.

One threat less to worry about, Okisato attempted again to check on the status of his friends, yet was once again interrupted, this time by a woman's scream. He quickly took off running in the direction he heard it come from, eventually reaching a horrific sight.

A large pool of blood stained the ground along with bits of guts and clothing. Okisato's eyes widened as he noticed the torn insignia of a Shogikawa gakuin uniform amidst the carnage. or the first time in a long time, grief overtook him as he surmised he was staring at the remains of one of his clubmates.

"... Dammit! I thought I had plenty of time to take care of business with Xiao Lin, but that damn reaper... I never knew he was this powerful," he thought as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more screaming. Sensing the source might be nearby, he ran in the direction he heard the scream as fast as he could. There, he found Yuzuha, covered in blood and guts, running away in terror as Red Reaper slowly marched after her.

"You run fast for a non-soldier covered in blood and guts, fräulein. But it ends here. The DESPER does have a range, though I think like with your friend, I'll fight you on the ground. And this time, no one will show up to save you," Red Reaper glared as he prepared to activate his DESPER.

Okisato charged for him. He no longer had any DESPER keys on him, but if he could launch himself in front of Red Reaper before his DESPER activated, he'd be the one that'd be challenged. And it looked like he was going to make it until suddenly, he found himself staring directly at a masked figure.

"Thou shan't interfere in the reaping of souls," Phantom declared as he appeared to activate his DESPER.

A blinding flash of light erupted, causing both Okisato and Red Reper to shield their eyes.

However, Red Reaper could still see somewhat well and triumphantly walked past Okisato. "You got too overconfident, Herr Oni-tiger. Now, another one of your friends shall become my quarry," he sneered as he activated his DESPER.

Okisato gritted his teeth in frustration as the light faded and Red Reaper and Yuzuha were nowhere to be seen. "Shit! There's no way she'll beat or draw against that monster. I'm the only one here capable of both!"

"You seem troubled. But worrying about others before yourself, will lead to doom," Phantom growled.

Okisato turned to notice that a chessboard had appeared before him. He stared at Phantom for a bit before glaring and heading towards the board.

"Okisato Tanabe, I've had my eye on you for a while. Now show me your full capabilities," Phantom ordered.

"I think you might actually be one of the greatest enigmas I've faced yet," Okisato glared as he stopped just before the board.

"Care to explain?"

"You never activated your DESPER, heck I'm not even sure if that "DESPER" you got is even real, but I can't read you. Nor can I see your profile. All that comes up is question marks on all fronts," Okisato stated as he enlarged his WWCF card from his palm.

"Just like Iori Ishikiridokoro, you saw through my little trick. But you are also wrong. My DESPER is real," Phantom stated as he pulled out his DESPER once more.

Okisato stared at the device. Indeed, it did look real, nor did it seem broken, yet something was off about it. But given the fact that it seemingly wasn't binding him to participate in a match, he decided to run to where Yuzuha had been.

To his surprise, he found her huddled up behind a corner along with a female Fairy grunt. Yet before he could ask any questions...

"So your comrade escaped. I still wish to see your strength, Okisato Tanabe, so how about a proposal? Beat me, and I'll remove my mask. The kaiser's match won't end anytime soon, so should we play a blitz, you'll have time to ask your friend what transpired in your absence before the kaiser shifts his eyes towards a new prey, assuming naturally, his prey is able to last the hour. That being said, this is a limited-time deal. You have 10 seconds to decide before I vanish." Phantom growled as he slowly marched up behind him.

Okisato let out a sigh and turned to face Phantom. "So be it. I'll play."