"That son of a bitch."

Noah slowly walks towards Giriko's body, seeing the bloody puddle around him. Glaring and looking in the direction Justin had run, Noah clenches his fists. So that's two people Justin's killed so far…Gopher might be next. Noah had been watching nearby as Justin and Giriko were having a conversation. He was shocked to see Giriko killed by Justin and then the aftermath that followed.

Noah looks all around him carefully. "Without the book of Eibon I'm just as good as dead…"

Thinking hard, the sorcerer finally develops an idea. Justin probably thinks I'm dead. He left me back there in hopes that Medusa would kill me. That devious bastard! He had planned to kill us all and make it look like accidents! Ugh…I have to hurry. I have to find Justin and kill him before Asura announces Giriko's death. He'll know I'm alive by then.

Laughing madly, Asura crosses his arms, watching the cameras in his private quarters. "Oh man…I was kind of hoping a lot more people would have died in the confrontation of the food crate. Oh well there's always next time. And hey there was at least one death. Score." Standing up, the Kishin walks over to his blackboard to X out Giriko's picture.

"So this is your little game you've come up with."

The voice was from behind Asura and as he turns around, he grins. "It's about time I showed you my little scheme, don't you think…Arachne?"

The spider witch wryly smiles as she sits down on a couch. "An awful lot of cameras you have." The Kishin chuckles as he nods. "Indeed. I have Mosquito to thank for that." Arachne's attention soon falls upon the blackboard with the pictures of the contestants. "And…what is this?" Asura takes a step towards the board with his arms crossed. "This is a list of all the poor souls I kidnapped. They're all a part of my game." Arachne raises a brow and tilts her head. "What are the X marks on those pictures?"

Asura grins widely and licks his lips. "Oh that…it simply means they're dead." The spider witch lets out a soft gasp and puts her hand over her chest. "Dead? Oh my…what sort of game have you thrown these souls into?" The Kishin snickers and smiles ecstatically. "Just a battle to the death. A battle royale to be exact! They'll all fight until only one remains." A cool smile appears on Arachne's face as she fans herself. "You've really put a lot of effort into this game of yours, haven't you?"

The Kishin lowly chuckles and gives a nod, glancing at the blackboard. "Tell me Madame Arachne, would you care for a little wager?" The witch tilts her head and her eyes sparkle with curiosity. "What sort of wager?" Asura lightly rubs his chin and flashes her a smile. "Lets place our bets…who do you think will win my little game?"

Arachne quietly laughs and stares upon the blackboard. "Hmm…well lets see…" Her eyes slightly widen upon seeing the picture of Medusa. "Oh! You've brought my poor sister into this it seems!" Asura nods and tilts his head. "Yes I have. Is that a problem?" She shakes her head and smiles calmly. "No not at all. I almost feel sorry for her. She'll be dead in a few days. Just wait and see." Asura grins and gazes at the board. "So who do you think will win then, if not your sister? I have my bets placed on either the demon swordsman child, Crona or the death scythe, Justin Law." Arachne thinks for a moment before placing her hand on Maka's picture. "This girl…Maka Albarn. I'll place my bet on her."

Confused and somewhat displeased, Asura tilts his head. "Why her of all people?" Arachne smiles and turns to face him. "She has this look in her eyes. A fiery look. A determined look. People like that are hard to kill."

Sitting on the center of the island, Kilik keeps watch while the rest of his group sleeps. At hearing a group of footsteps approaching, he lightly shoves Ox and Kim. "Guys…I hear people coming…" Waking from their sleep, Kim and Ox look at each other nervously. Kilik narrows his eyes and then chuckles, a smile growing on his face. "You're not going to believe this…its Kid and the others!"

At hearing Kilik's words, Jackie grins at Kim and the twins run in circles, happily giggling. Kilik walks over to the group, pleased to see them. "It's been a while, dudes." Kid nods and smiles, glad to see that they were okay. Black*Star smirks and fist bumps Kilik, the two nodding at each other. Ox rushes over to Maka and Soul and shakes their hands quickly. "You guys have no idea how happy we are to see you! It's been so-" He suddenly stops as he notices Crona. Maka gives Ox a puzzled look and tilts her head. "What's the-"

Before she could say any more, Ox lunges at Crona. "You little shit! You killed Harvar!" Crona cries out as Ox tackles him to the ground. Raising his fist, Ox prepares to punch him. "You're dead!" Soul quickly grabs Ox and tries to get him off. "Dude! What's your problem!"

Maka quickly kneels beside Crona and helps him up. In a blind fury, she runs to Ox and slaps him. "What's wrong with you! Why would you just attack Crona like that!" Not listening to her and struggling in Soul's grasp, Ox keeps his gaze on Crona. "Let me go! Let me go! I'm going to tear him limb from limb! Don't you get it!? Crona killed Harvar!"

At hearing this, Maka's eyes widen and she turns to face Crona. The pink haired boy looks down, on the verge of tears. "Crona…is…is this true?" Biting down hard on his lip, Crona gives a slight nod. Soul's jaw drops open and he releases Ox. Shaking and holding his arm, Crona looks up with tears rolling down his cheeks. "I…I didn't mean to! I-I was just scared! M-Mother was chasing me! I…I didn't want to die…!"

Clenching his teeth, Ox steps forward and grabs Crona by his collar and glares at him. "Just…shut up! It doesn't matter! We're all scared! You don't see us killing anyone! Harvar didn't deserve that! He didn't do anything wrong...if anything…it should have been you! You should have died!"

"That's enough!" Pulling him off, Kim looks at Ox and shakes her head. "J-Just stop it…"

Turning away, Ox walks off with his head down. "I need some air…" Kim sighs and walks after him. "I'll go bring him back." For a moment no one says anything. Then Patty looks at everyone and then rubs her stomach. "I'm hungry. You guys have any food?"

Jackie nods and points to the crate. "Yeah. We have a bit left over. Not much left though. We were planning on saving it for tonight but it seems you guys need it more than we do."

Back in the forest, Free and Eruka sit by a nearby tree. Free rubs the back of his neck and sighs. "This is pointless. Even after all that we didn't get any food." Eruka looks down, with her hat in her hands. Free looks up at her and studies her face. "You've been awfully quiet." The frog witch looks up slowly and blinks, as if barely realizing he was there. "Hmm? Oh…yeah. Sorry…I'm just thinking."

The male werewolf crosses his arms and raises his brow. "Thinking about what?" Eruka shrugs and lets out a sigh. "Home."

Free looks down and nods slowly. "I want to go home too. But it seems that isn't an option until everyone else is dead…" She looks up at the male and gently bites her lip. "Hey Free…"

"Yeah?"

Eruka plays with her hat nervously. "Lets say we make it that far…Lets say you and I make it to the end. Asura said only one could win, right? Would you…would you kill me?" Free's eyes widen and he looks away, biting down on his tongue. "I…I um…"

"Oh crap."

Free and Eruka look up to see Noah directly in front of them. The sorcerer clears his throat and nervously smiles. "Hey how's it going? Heh…"

"Ox! Ox wait!" Kim runs to the male who finally stops walking. He sighs and turns around. "What is it, Kim?" The pink haired girl looks down and knits her brows. "Those things you said back there…about wanting to kill Crona…you didn't mean it, did you?"

Ox frowns and turns away. "Of course I meant it. I'm going to avenge Harvar." Kim puts her hand on his shoulder and shakes her head quickly. "Ox! D-Don't even think about it! That's…that's just stupid! I know Harvar was your friend but if you play the game you'd be-"

"I'd be what? Doing what the Kishin wants?"

Kim bites her lip and almost breaks into tears. Why was he being so difficult?

"Ox…you…you shouldn't do anything reckless!" Kim says, her head turning to the side. Ox gives her a strange look, curiously glancing at her. "Why? Why do you care?"

"Because I care about you Ox! You're my friend! You can't die!" Kim bursts into tears and holds onto his shoulders, burying her head into his chest. He's taken by surprise and holds her in his arms, unsure of what to do. "K-Kim…"

Gazing into her eyes, he could see that she was hurting. He holds her closely and gives her a serious look. "Kim…I…"

The look that he gives her sends butterflies down her stomach. Suddenly her arms went around Ox's neck and she gently brushes her lips against his. Ox blushes a dark shade of red as he feels Kim's soft lips on his. She soon leans back and her cheeks flush red as she looks away. "L-Lets get back to the others…"

Smiling and taking Kim by the hand, Ox nods. "Of course, my beloved."

END OF CHAPTER 7
DEATH COUNT: 4