Chapter 63:

For Mimoko-sama

En Passant Grandmaster

A pool of blood began to flood the board as Haruki's worried face morphed into a gloating one. "AHAHAHA! LOOK AT THAT! SHE COULDN'T LAST! AND AS PER THE RULES, THAT COUNTS AS A DOWN!"

"1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! KO! Mimoko Inoue is unable to continue. Elijah, wins!" the loudspeaker stated as Mimoko was imprisoned in a bubble.

"OI! SHE NEEDS TREATMENT!" Yuusuke yelled from within his own bubble.

"Huh? Whoops, forgot to mention those things are soundproof on the outside, so we can't hear ya," Haruki sneered.

"He said she needs medical treatment," Okisato glared.

"Not my problem. If she dies before this is over, that's on her," Haruki sneered as a man clad in Australian outback attire entered the ring.

"I'll go," Iori nodded as she stepped into the ring and turned towards Haruki. "What happens if someone dies? Does the murderer lose?"

"Nah, if someone dies in the ring, that's on them for being weak, so sorry, sacrificing yourself won't get you a win, or even send my boy to prison. Besides, Niles used to run wild in the Australian outback back in the day, so he's already got plenty of killing experience in more ways than one, so don't worry, you'll die just as you want, and seal my victory," Haruki sneered.

"I see," Iori somberly nodded as the bell rang.

Before anyone could react, Iori immediately unleashed a lightning fast uppercut, sending her opponent flying into the air before crashing down into the ring. Blood oozed out of Nile's mouth as the 10-count began.

"1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! KO! Iori wins!"

"Oi, oi, The hell just happened!? Did he just die!?" Haruki fumed.

"YO! My Knock-Out!! skillz finally paid off! I'm streamin’ that game again in celebration!" Iori gloated as she struck a pose.

Grigori glared as Iori exited the ring. "Based on Haruki's reaction, that proxy has likely been killed. That woman... So there was a lurking threat," he thought.

"That move, it wasn't an ordinary punch... Now I finally understand. Iori-chan, you've killed... a lot," Okisato thought.

Utami clenched her fist as she stared at Mimoko.

"Damn, I'm surprised she's still alive. Who knows, she might even die before this is over," Haruki sneered.

"YOU FIEND! YOU SAID-"

"Sure, IF ya win, all the injuries you all received will be healed, but the DESPER can't bring the dead back to life. See my poor man that your clown-haired wacko just killed won't come back to life even when I win. Must be a double sucker for ya, not only did Mimoko-tan collapse just before winning, but even if you do win, she'll likely be dead before she can be healed. After all, you'll need to win all the remaining rounds straight, which will take up a bunch of time."

"Don't you DARE try to kill off Mimoko-sama!"

"So you're next then. Alright, my boy Alejandro will f*** you up nicely," Haruki sneered as a large man with menacing tattoos on his back and arms stepped into the ring. "You know he used to run a gang back in the day, but got caught and went to prison. He was gonna be sent to death row, but luckily, I had a connection in the government that allowed me to meet with him, and get him out scot-free."

"I wouldn't call becoming a mindless puppet getting out scot-free, nonetheless, I guess he had it coming," Okisato glared.

"So heartless, I thought you felt bad for my boys."

"Only the ones that used to be decent people."

"How mean, well guess Kazuya's gonna owe me one for f****** up his sister."

"What makes you think she'll lose? She beat you once before."

"A fluke, besides, she'll likely go down after a single hit," Haruki sneered as the bell rang.

Alejandro immediately charged at Utami, who didn't seem to be phased in the slightest, nor dodge as Alejandro landed a direct hit on her face.

"And it's over," Haruki sneered as Utami began to fall.

STOMP!

Everyone stared in shock as Utami maintained her balance. "You think I'd go down after what you did to Mimoko-sama!? BRING IT!" she shouted as she wiped the blood off her face.

Alejandro once again began his assault, but this time, Utami dodged all his punches.

"Oi, oi! How the hell is a scrawny girl like her still standing!?" Haruki fumed.

Okisato began to smirk. "So Utami-chan had untapped potential just like I thought. As for why she's suddenly so strong, her alternate persona is likely to blame. There are cases where someone also undergoes a physical transformation when assuming an alternate personality. It is hard to notice, but I can clearly see that she now has toned leg muscles when she previously didn't a moment ago. Seems my intuition was right, she truly had potential," he thought as the bell rang.

Haruki began to seethe with rage as Utami glared at him. "That bitch! How dare she still stand after taking that punch! Fine, I'll destroy her in chess," he thought as the first round of chess began.

"Don't stall, we're ending this bout with this round," Utami glared as she moved her pawn to e4.

Haruki had Alejandro move his pawn to c5 as Utami moved her knight to f3.

"She tryin' to replicate Mimoko-tan? Whatever, I'll play around. She only beat me before cuz of a fluke. Hmm, that actually gives me a good idea," Haruki sneered as he had Alejandro move his pawn to d6.

The two began replicating the game between Mimoko and Elijah to the tee. Since Haruki believed he still had the entire thing in the bag, he decided to give Utami a freebie. Not to mention, he believed that Utami winning would only sting more when Rodeo would play and botch the whole thing. Thus, Utami managed to mate Alejandro, and by extension, Haruki, with ease.

Haruki chuckled to himself as he gazed at Rodeo. "I should have made Utami-tan's death more gruesome when her team loses. Well, guess there's nothing to fear, that dumb lug may be able to survive in the ring, but on the chessboard, I'll down him instantly."

As soon as Alejandro was taken outside the ring and placed in the prison area, Rodeo hopped into the ring.

"Hold up, you're not gonna square off against me? Well, shucks, I was hoping for a 7th round victory," Haruki sneered as the last of his proxies entered the ring. "Gustavs here used to be a champion shot putter from Latvia, but lost to me at chess. He may not be my strongest, but he's easily my sturdiest."

"I'll win... I have to," Rodeo nodded as the bell rang.

The full game:

White: Utami Enoki (1070) Black: Alejandro Gómez (n/a) (controlled by Haruki Kamoshida (2100))

1. e4 c5

2. Nf3 d6

3. Bb5+ Nd7

4. Ba4 Nf6

5. O-O Nxe4

6. Re1 d5

7. c4 b5

8. Bxb5 Rb8

9. Bc6 Bb7