At the end of the third day, the game between females came to an end. Out of twenty-four, nine of them had survived, and the game masters were waiting for them. In the process, one was subdued and defeated, making eight. These remaining eight were Akira Mado the CCG officer, Saiko Yonebayashi artificial half-ghoul CCG officer, Maka Albarn the Meister, Nora the Shinki of many names, Rika Furude the child, Minene Uryuu the terrorist, Celty Sturlson the Dullahan, and Touka Kirishima the ghoul.

The final showdown had been against Eto, the One-Eyed Owl, the infamous one-eyed ghoul of the Realm of Ghouls. Celty, Touka, Akira, and Maka with Nora all teamed up against her while Rika, Minene, and Saiko all tried to make it to the endpoint. The final blow against Eto came from a combo attack of all five of them at once. At last, she had fallen. It was Rika, Minene, and Saiko who saw the game master reveal themselves, smiling a casual and sly smile. His scalp was cleanly shaved, with a goatee that stretched around his mouth. "What's up?" he inquired, eyebrows shooting up. His arms were crossed over his chest.

It was Minene who pounced, but the man, Durden, merely stepped to the side. Saiko held onto Rika closely, though it seemed like the younger wanted to try and help. Smirking, the terrorist was ready to blow herself up, if it meant taking this guy down with her…

"Hey, hey," said Durden, holding his hands up. "That's not going to get either of us anywhere. Completely uncalled for! In fact, you probably want to save that trick for when you meet all of us at once – I'm just one of the game masters, you know."

Minene froze. Did he just use a plural form? There were more? "Fuck you!"

"Sorry, but the story's nowhere near over yet," Durden grinned, eyes shining with cold amusement. "We're just getting to the fun part!"

"What."

"Congratulations!" the Voice resounded, but it wasn't Durden speaking. He merely stood, crossing his arms again with a satisfied smirk. As the dust from the debris cleared, it was easier to make out his dark hoodie and jeans. He looked to be in his thirties. "You've all reached the end of your game! Game two… start!"

Durden smiled at them. "Heavy metal," he nodded, pleased.

None of them had any time to argue before they were transported away without any other explanation.


"…So my guess is that the girls are going to be showing up here…maybe tomorrow morning? The sun is setting now," said Aureus, looking thoughtfully into the screens.

"Y… er, is there, is there anyone else we know that survived?" asked Yukiteru.

Aureus shook his head. "Just the terrorist," he answered with a shrug.

A-ya frowned slightly, tired red eyes narrowing in thought. "How many things can we ask you?"

"Depends; does that count as a question?" the golden-haired boy grinned, and A-ya and Yukiteru looked nervously to one another. Aureus laughed. "No, no, questions are unlimited."

"Thank goodness," Yukiteru sighed.

"Do we know anyone who has died in that game?" asked A-ya seriously, and Yukiteru stiffened. He didn't want to know.

"Anyone you know… There's a girl named B-ko – she was killed by Eto on the last day," he said thoughtfully.

A-ya froze. B-ko? One of the others from their little club at school… His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach, and he suddenly longed for all that was ordinary. He didn't think he'd mind being bored forever; he just wanted to go back… It was bad enough losing C-ta, but now… Eyes wide and unseeing, he bowed his head.

Yukiteru was considering trying to hold his hand for support when Aureus pointed at him instead. "As for you, Yuno's dead."

"Y…Yuno?" Yukiteru repeated, incredulous. Yuno, the crazy, undefeatable Yuno? Yuno, his stalker? That Yuno? His heart seized in his chest. Why should I…be upset over losing someone… like that?

"Yep, Yuno. Pink-haired Yuno, like, stalker-like-C-ta, Yuno."

"Like C-ta?" A-ya repeated with a lost voice.

"Sorry," said Aureus. "Too soon?"

"Don't talk so casual about people who have died!" Yukiteru snapped, blue eyes smoldering.

Aureus held up his hands in peace. "Sorry," he whispered, grimacing. He peeked at them with one eye, and Yukiteru glowered at him. "Oo, crap, and you were really nice at first." He lowered his hands. "Look, I'm sorry, but to me, this is all just a story," he tried to explain.

"A story? What, do you have a God Complex, or something?!" Yukiteru cried.

"Do I really sound like that?" he asked with a pained look. "Jeez…" He rubbed at his head. "No, I'm just an Easter Egg, an items master, and the guy you're allowed to ask anything. Hey… how about this?"

"What?" Yukiteru asked, eyes guarded.

"First of all, you guys still have your items you can pick. You still have the 'dark-clad hero' ability, the god-like powers thing, and the reset button. Along with that, because you found me, one of my obligations is to tell you guys where the other game masters are."

A-ya stepped forward. "Oh?"

"Yep!" He gave them a double thumbs up, twisting his hands back and forth with a closed-eye grin. He then looked at them in all seriousness. "So, the other game masters – there are six others in all."

Yukiteru paled. "Six?" he repeated.

"Don't worry; don't worry! Not all of them are bad! I mean, some of them are jerks, like Muse, for example…" He trailed off, frowning with thin lips into the distance.

"…Muse?" A-ya repeated, and Aureus waved him off.

"Anyway," he continued, "not all of them are all for the game, y'know? Some of them are against it, in fact. I'm very conflicted about all of this, myself, but… eh." He shrugged. "Perspective."

"And if we find them, we can end the game?" asked Yukiteru.

"That's right," Aureus confirmed.

"What are the prizes at the end, then?" asked A-ya, and Yukiteru straightened.

"Yeah! Will we go home, or…?"

Aureus shrugged and gave that lazy 'I'unno' again. "I am, however, allowed to tell you everything I do know."

Both of them nodded, listening intently.

Aureus smiled. "Okay!" He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together in preparation. "You are a part of the Emina Games, run by seven game masters in all, including me. The one you need to reach in order to end the game is Muse. In the female game, they've already figured out that they need to reach the control center, which is what they're raiding right now. For them, it was a woman named Celty who found me, and I told her everything just like I'm telling you now. I'm still kinda impressed that she refused my offer to give her her head back…"

Yukiteru furrowed his brow, somewhat frightened. "What?"

"So the control center," Aureus continued, ignoring Yukiteru, "is in the highest tower of the city. That's where you'll find them. The only way to get in is underground – I've gotta tell you that because, well, I didn't tell Celty and then the terrorist girl – Minene? – she kinda blew the whole thing up, which didn't help anyone, so…" He shook his head. "Not-so-well played. Anyway. So that ultimate showdown that just went on earlier; that's a huge turning point. That makes eight dead for your game, which means more people are gonna start coming in. Tonight or tomorrow morning, each group is going to be given a choice: heal their remaining members, or acquire one new team member for each one that has fallen. Because of me, you can get a little more time to think on that choice. You're also the only ones who know that soon after that, all of the females are gonna be showing up. They won't come into your game with full health; they're going to be coming in with whatever stats they have at the end of their game. I think Rainbow and Greyson will be the ones determining where they show up, which means that you guys are probably going to be with Minene and… uh… Rika. You guys didn't know the kid, but she knew Keiichi, so that's why she might show up as a part of your group."

"How strong are they?" asked A-ya.

"Minene's pretty impressive… I mean, she's a terrorist, so." He shrugged. "And Rika's just a kid. A scary smart kid, but just a kid. Seriously scary smart though. Oogh." He shuddered.

"Can we have any idea who we might get if we get the new recruits?" asked Yukiteru tentatively.

"Mm, I couldn't say, but if I were to guess, I'd have to tell you that you wouldn't know either of them. Keep in mind, too, that the ultimate goal is to reach the control center… Unfortunately, everyone in-game has to approach at the same time, so you've got to get everyone on the playing field to cooperate. If it's someone like Kuroha, who definitely won't agree to a group effort, they've gotta get killed before you head in, unless you somehow manage to convince them to work with you. Good luck with that. Let's see, is there anything else…? Oh, so after the decision is made by every group whether they want to heal or replenish, all of the special items points will be reset. So… if there are any spots you've already been to, you can head there again and they'll still work for you."

Both of them took in this information. "Can we… ask about the weaknesses of the other players?" inquired A-ya.

"Yep," the items master grinned, "but I can only tell you about the players in-game right now."

A-ya nodded. "Alright then," said Yukiteru, and Aureus nodded, spinning around in his swivel chair to riffle through some papers on his desk attached to the wall.

"Let's see here… Okay, so for Group 1 we only have Kaneki – the albino half-ghoul – and Shirazu – the orange-haired one – left. Kaneki's weakness is that the longer he doesn't eat, the weaker he'll get – it also makes him more unstable, so that's… bad. He hasn't eaten since before this game, unless you count the hunks he took out of Tsukiyama, Shinichi, and Seidou. There's a spot on his back a bit above his tailbone that's a great weak spot… Uh…" Aureus squinted at the page. "…Yeah. He also feels a need to protect everyone, so that can be a problem, too. Shirazu's weakness is that he can only do short-range instead of long-range, for the most part. He's not as strong as Kaneki, though, so that's cool. I severely underestimated the guy," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Anyway, so Group 2 still has Seidou, Shintaro, and Roppi. Seidou – he's got the crossbow and the piece of hair sticking up – his main weakness is that he can't do short-range as well as he can do long-range. His low underestimation of himself stunts his abilities too – really bothers me… Shintaro has something similar going on, but his main weakness is that his physical ability sucks. He's the guy with the red jersey. Be careful, though, since he is smart… Roppi's the scary one with the black hair and red eyes… Wait." He looked at A-ya sheepishly while Yukiteru furrowed his brow. "Right, well, creepier than you, I mean. That sounded bad. But he's the one with the red-fringed jacket? Um. His weakness is mainly that he couldn't care less about himself, so he's more likely to do stupid stuff.

"Group 3 only has A-ya and… Yuki…teru." He looked at them, then back at the page. "Group 4's got Shinichi and Ciel left. You know them, though."

"Sebastian was defeated?" A-ya asked, incredulous.

"Yes, by Yato the god guy."

"Migi too?" Yukiteru asked worriedly.

"Yes, by Kuroha, that snake jerk. Shinichi's weakness is that, well, he doesn't have his right hand man anymore…" He made a sad frown for a moment before continuing. "For Ciel, he's just pretty weak without his butler in general.

"Group 5 has Kuroha the snake jerk and Tsukiyama… the dramatic—purple one. Kuroha's weakness is that he can't survive a strong enough blow to the head, and his injuries right now are really slowing him down. Tsukiyama's weakness is the same as Kaneki's: he needs to eat. Also, Kaneki is a major distraction for him – if they're in the same fight, if something happens to Kaneki, Tsukiyama's open to get attacked.

"Group 6 has Izaya the Eskimo and Yato the god left. Yato can't do much without his weapon, not to mention he's practically dead on his feet right now because of how much energy he's expended… Yato…" Aureus closed his eyes and shook his head. "I really underestimated him. Izaya's weakness is that he really only has his manipulation of other players and a switchblade on his side. He's skilled with his knife and he's great at dodging, but most of his goals are attained through other people."

"Who has alliances with who right now?" asked A-ya.

"Right now, Group 1 with Kaneki and Shirazu and Group 2 with Seidou, Shintaro, and Roppi are in an alliance. Group 6 was allied with them, but I don't know about now… Kinda like I'm really not sure about you guys and Group 4."

A-ya nodded. "Who would be the best to ally ourselves with?"

"Well, that's all perspective," Aureus mused, "but I can give my own opinion if you want."

"Please," Yukiteru nodded.

"I think that Shinichi is the best guy to be with… or at least, he was. Even without Migi he's pretty strong, but even though I'm pretty sure he'd still take care of everyone around him, I don't know how he's doing in the head right now, so it's tough to tell whether he's the best option… So, either him and Ciel, or a double alliance with Groups 1 and 2 – everyone's good-natured there, except maybe for Roppi… I'm still trying to figure that guy out. Plus, they've got more people, and numbers are good."

"Is it possible for us to attain our ultimate objects of the dark-clad hero and the god abilities without activating them yet?" asked A-ya.

Aureus blinked. "Hm. Yeah, sure; if you want."

"Are there any side effects of these abilities that we should know about?"

"Well, A-ya might get cat ears, I think," Aureus said thoughtfully, earning confused looks from both of them. "Don't ask me," he said defensively, holding up his hands. "And anyway, other than that…" He thought on this. "…Don't get corrupt with power, you two."

A-ya nodded. "Makes sense."

"Not the cat ears, though," Yukiteru frowned.

"No, those don't make sense," A-ya conceded, looking away. That most certainly had never been a childhood wish of his… No, not at all… He cleared his throat.

"Now, I have a question," Yukiteru said firmly. "What is the point of this game? Was A-ya right; is it fake? Why is any of this happening?"

Aureus only smiled, touching the tip of his index finger to the tip of his nose. "That's a secret," he said childishly. "But!" He spun around again, only to spin back with two softly-glowing stones, one orange and one red. "The orange one is for Yukiteru, and the red one is for A-ya. Do you still want your extra-special items?" he beamed.

"…Yeah," said A-ya, reaching for his own and pocketing it in his black hoodie. Yukiteru put his in the pocket of his shorts.

"Because you wanted the portable versions, they might have a time limit once they're activated," Aureus warned. "I'm not sure on that, so be careful."

"Thanks," said Yukiteru, while A-ya nodded.

"They're like… an invincibility star in Mario!"

"Oh, yeah, okay!" chirped Yukiteru, brightening. A-ya blinked.

"…But you're not invincible," he added.

"Oh. Yeah. Well, right."

A-ya sighed. "Yukiteru, is there anything else you think we need to ask?"

"Huh? Uh, I don't know…" Yukiteru frowned a bit, looking down. "Do you… I mean, Aureus, who—killed Yuno?"

"Yuno…," Aureus sighed. "She was scary…"

"No kidding," Yukiteru agreed nervously, rubbing at his arm. "So—how'd she actually die?"

"Granted, she was badass – managed to kill an android person on her own. Yuno was killed by a girl named Maka – she might be coming to your game, actually. The only reason she killed Yuno, in fact, was because Maka can sense when people are crazy, I guess, so she just kinda…" He made a clicking sound with his throat while bringing his thumb across his neck.

"Sounds accurate…," Yukiteru responded, looking downwards.

"Come to think of it, she and B-ko were in the same group," Aureus remarked, putting a hand to his chin. "Well… anyway… I hope you two make it out alright," he beamed his goofy grin. From here he began to rock his arms back and forth as he had in the beginning of their encounter. "I'm gonna make sure you guys aren't ambushed anywhere near this area, and I'm gonna try and give my own input on those special items pillars for you guys, and I'm gonna keep watching the game, and it's gonna be a good time…" He stopped rocking his arms, looked at them, then grinned, waggling them quickly back and forth for a moment before getting to his feet. "And by the way, you're not allowed to communicate to anyone about me, or about this place. Players in-game have to find me for themselves. If you pass any kind of information about me or this place…" He glanced back at the screens. "It's not like I won't know. Don't do it. Or I will eat you." A pause. "No? No? Fine, well, not really, but don't do it." He eyed them, getting an odd glint in those orbs as his smile dissipated. The air seemed to chill, if slightly. "And that's something I am serious about."

A-ya's mouth twitched as he took an unconscious half-step backwards.

"…Not that I'm not serious about everything I just said," Aureus added, returning to his original demeanor. "Hi!"

Yukiteru gave A-ya a nervous glance.

"So… so… so…" He paused. "Good luck, guys!" He beamed. "Yu-ki-te-ru, don't go too far. A-ya… Just… good luck, man, this game has been a wreck. I like you, too. I wish I could take care of you, but…" – he pouted – "…I can't."

"It's…fine," said A-ya, shifting. "Thanks for all your answers, and for the items…"

"Yeah!" Yukiteru bowed. "Th…thank you very much, Aureus." When he straightened up again, there was the fire of determination burning in his eyes. "We'll do our best, I promise!"

"Cool," Aureus answered, smile stretching his mouth as he waggled two thumbs-ups in front of him again. "Bye!" he yipped, plopping himself back onto his chair as they exited the room. He waved as they shut the wooden door behind them.