Chapter 54:

Intellect and madness

En Passant Grandmaster

Utami sat in silence as Mimoko stood with her arms crossed in a skittles room. "Utami-chan, why were you laughing like a maniac and making your opponent cry?"

"I- I, became a mad queen."

"A 'mad queen'? Was this Tanabe-kun's doing?"

"Y- Yes. I- I didn't want to get destroyed by Madman Důras, so I embraced the madness and vanquished my opponent," Utami stated as her confident persona began to crack through.

"Yet you reduced her to tears and became a lunatic in the process."

"B- But I won fair and square!"

"The point of a chess tournament is to have fun."

"I- I..."

"Why don't you play against me?"

"Bu- But I'll go crazy!"

"Then I'll vanquish that side of you on the chess board."

Utami tearfully nodded in approval as Mimoko summoned a board with her WWCF card..

"Let us begin, I shall purify you from Tanabe-kun's bad influence," Mimoko stated as she moved her pawn to e4 as Utami began laughing maniacally and moved her pawn to f5. "That is NOT a good move," Mimoko glared as she promptly captured the pawn at f5 with her e-pawn.

Utami didn't care and moved her pawn to g6 as Mimoko promptly captured said pawn with her f-pawn, then watched as Utami captured said pawn with her h-pawn. "And what did that accomplish?" Mimoko asked as she moved her bishop to d3.

"Dů- Dů- Dů- Důras!" Utami shouted as she moved her king to f7.

"I'm going to slap Tanabe-kun extra hard for tainting you like this," Mimoko glared as she moved her queen to f3.

Utami responded by moving her knight to f6, followed by Mimoko moving her queen to g3. Next, Utami moved her rook to g8, prompting Mimoko to move her knight to f3.

Utami then moved her pawn to e6 as Mimoko shook her head in disappointment. "That is not a good move, check," she stated as she captured the pawn at g6 with her bishop.

Utami let loose a maniacal laugh as she captured the bishop with her rook, while Mimoko shook her head and moved her knight to e5, forcing Utami's king to e7.

As Mimoko captured the rook at g6 with her queen, Utami moved her king to d6. "Utami-chan, you're better than this!" Mimoko glared as she moved her knight to f7. Utami simply laughed and moved her king to c5. "So you're nothing but madness now... Don't worry, I'll purify you soon," Mimoko stated as she captured the queen at d8 with her knight.

Utami then moved her bishop to d6 while Mimoko moved her knight to c3.

As soon as Utami moved her knight to c6, Mimoko stared her in the eye. "Your purification is imminent," she stated as she moved her queen to d3.

"Nah! I'm too mad to lose!" Utami maniacally laughed as she moved her knight to b4.

"So you're calling for help. Don't worry, it's over, checkmate," Mimoko stated as she moved her knight to a4.

A surge of emotions hit Utami as she burst into tears while Mimoko promptly embraced her in a hug. "Don't worry, you're safe. Now have fun. I don't care if you lose all your games, just have fun and don't hamper anyone else's enjoyment for your own gain," Mimoko smiled.

"Y- Yes Mimoko-sama!" Utami trembled as she sunk her face into Mimoko's breasts and cried her eyes dry.

...

Okisato let out a heavy sigh as Utami exited the playing room. Thanks to Mimoko, Utami's mad queen persona had been vanquished, however, Utami was now in a slump as she was now afraid of even playing aggressively out of fear that doing so could resurrect her mad queen persona.

"I take it you lost and your mad queen persona is gone?" Okisato sighed as he approached Utami.

"Yes, Mimoko-sama has purified me and showed me the light. Tournaments aren't about winning, they're about having fun. Thus, I am content with losing so long as it does not upset Mimoko-sama," Utami nodded.

"But now you'll-"

"Oi, oi, no spoilin’ things, Oki-chwan," a voice sneered.

Okisato turned to see Haruki and his entourage. "Just great. Everything's going just like you wanted."

"Yeah. If ya tell anyone bout my plan, I take out the weakest first with you-know-what."

"Lovely, blackmail."

"It's called a pin ya dumbwit. Well, have fun choosin’ whether to lose your rook or your queen," Haruki sneered as he and his group walked away.

"Utami-chan, bring back your mad queen persona NOW!" Okisato glared as Utami began stuttering in confusion.

"Remember, I'm always listening, and I got good ears," Haruki's voice rang out.

Okisato turned to see one of Haruki's men holding a smartphone. "Lovely, now I'm being stalked."

"”Threatened” is the proper term, Oki-chwan."

"I'm going to kill you."

"In your wet dreams."

Okisato rolled his eyes and immediately grabbed Utami by the wrist and began running. "Shit, if we had booked a hotel room, we could hide there, but it wasn't covered in the budget. I guess I'll just have to get someone else to watch over Gorou-san. The problem is the skill gap between me and Shouben-san is huge. Heck, he could also be taken out easily by the piece of shit if he’s not careful. Not to mention Utami-chan’s vulnerable too. if only I knew that piece of shit was here earlier, I could have informed Inoue-senpai and had her focus on Gorou-san while I focused on Utami-chan," he thought.

"YO! What's with the runnin? You tryin’ to sneak off somewhere to make out?" a voice giggled.

Okisato and Utami turned to see Iori approaching them. "Iori-chan. She seems to hide her true skill behind a mask... I'll take the gambit," Okisato thought. "Iori-chan, mind training up Utami to be as unbeatable as you?"

"Askin me for a tutorial? HELL YEAH! So where we filmin’ the collab?"

"Hmm, I know a place, but I'm going to get eviscerated."

"Then we're filmin’ there!" Iori snickered as a malicious grin appeared on her face.

"Oh no. My assbeating's going to go viral," Okisato trembled.

...

"You had some gall bringing that nuisance here," Peter snarled as he mercilessly checkmated Okisato.

"Th- That was 3 in a row, no-"

"We keep playing until the pairings go up."

"Y- Yes."

As Okisato wallowed in chess hell, Iori filmed the whole ordeal while simultaneously playing with Utami. "Three games in three minutes! Talk about minute chess! Now, Tami-chan, I heard ya got a level-up. Show me your new form, otherwise you'll go 3 and 0 like Oki-kun!"

"No. That demon has been exorcized by Mimoko-sama," Utami nodded.

"Then resurrect it!"

"No, I-"

"Let's make a bet! Loser shaves their head and eyebrows!"

"N- NO WAY!"

"Then bring out the new form. Otherwise, we make the bet live before my 4 million subscribers, and they'll give ya hell if you lose and chicken out."

"No, I'd rather shave my head than bring back that monster. In fact, I should do so anyway in repentance for my actions."

"Eyebrows too. Oh and if you're going all in, how about we get ya a sick head tattoo-"

"A HEAD TATTOO!?"

"Yeah, I mean if you're down for goin’ all in on goin’ bald, might as well milk ya for every ounce of content. So how about you get Mimo-chan's face inked on the back of your head?"

"She'd look ridiculous. Not to mention her school life would turn to hell," Okisato mumbled.

Utami began to tremble as she struggled to find a way forward.

"Then why not combine your personas?" Peter mused as he checkmated Okisato once more.

"Huh? You're giving hints?" Okisato mumbled as he slumped down in exhaustion.

"Only because I ended up frying your brain to the point where you can't give them yourself. I won't be a hindrance... Or perhaps I've been doing just as you wanted and your exhaustion is merely an act."

"I wish."

"And that is why you still have a long way to go to become a proper rival for me."

"Combine them?" Utami asked.

"Yes, intellect and madness are both necessary to be good at chess. Mimoko Inoue has yet to realize that, though even if she does, I doubt madness will ever consume her. However, she should be more open to her friends embracing it in order to improve their game."

"But she said the point of chess is to have fun, not turn into a psychopath and make your opponent cry."

"If your opponent cries, it's on them. Besides, is it not fun to embrace the madness to make the game more intriguing, or to perhaps flip the odds of victory in your favor against a strong opponent?"

"You think that's fun?"

"Yes, Perfect chess may be a show of skill, but it can be rather boring. However, surprising a top player with something like a Důras gambit or other insane plays could be the difference between you notching a win off them."

"Mimoko-sama said the goal is to have fun above all else, but I also want to improve so I'm not a burden to her. Very well, I shall sin once more. Thank you for your wisdom, Madman Důras."

"Great, now hurry and bring out your new form! I'm runnin’ low on battery, dammit!" Iori snarled.

"Iori-chan, you've been a real asshole these past few minutes, I believe punishment is in order."

"YO! Your dommy side's comin’ out!"

"No, today I will meld my mad persona with my default one to create the ultimate holy warrior worthy of standing by Mimoko-sama's side."

"So if you beat me will you confess and kiss her-"

"Iori, I'm going to destroy you on the board, just as Madman Důras is destroying Tanabe."

"She dropped the honorifics. Uh-oh, I might be screwed. Well, good thing I didn't make that bet live," Iori nervously thought.

"When I trounce you, YOU'LL shave your head in repentance."

"NO WAY!" Iori cried as she bolted.

"Do not run from me!" Utami roared as she gave chase.

"Perfect. The 4th round will begin shortly. Now I just need to see if I can pull some strings to see if the match-up is possible," Okisato thought as he gazed up at Peter.

"Go. I said I would not hinder you, did I not?"

"Thanks."

"As I said before, I would be most displeased if you were to lose this gambit," Peter thought as Okisato ran off.

The full game:

White: Mimoko Inoue (2700) Black: Utami Enoki (1001)

1. e4 f5

2. exf5 g6

3. fxg6 hxg6

4. Bd3 Kf7

5. Qf3+ Nf6

6. Qg3 Rg8

7. Nf3 e6