Chapter 39

Friday, January 14, 2023.

*Vibrate*

"Hmmm, who's that texting me at this hour?" The vibrations from my phone wake me up.

I rest my head on the pillow, trying to forget the message I've just received. But after only a few seconds, I slowly move my arm and grab my phone, turning it on.

"Ten o'clock in the morning, who can it be... Shuka?" I sit up, surprised.

In truth, this is hardly surprising, given that we often talk to each other, but never this early, especially at weekends.

"Hi Senji! I don't know if you've noticed, but the event will start this afternoon, let's meet at 11 o'clock at this address, see you then!"

(Huh... She was right to warn me, it's been a while since I opened the app. Hmmm... it's a good idea to meet before the event starts, so we can help each other out.)

I get up, change and head for the bathroom to splash some water on my face. The only living thing here awake apart from me is Monji, the cat Inaho found a few months ago. He comes to me and purrs at my touch.

"Hi buddy, I'm going out, so I'm counting on you to watch the house okay?"

He meows softly, probably because he too has just woken up. I stand up and go out, heading for the address Shuka gave me.

I step out of Shibuya station, having sent a message to Shuka that I was on my way, and look around me, surrounded by these huge buildings and this sheet-covered statue, the scene of a massacre a few months ago.

Senji! Youhou!" I turn to see Shuka dressed in a black dress, with a big ribbon at the hip and velvet gloves. "Haven't I kept you waiting too long?"

"No, I just got here."

"Perfect. Then come quickly!" She grabs my arm and pulls me toward her.

"Where are we going?"

"To the restaurant, for starters!"

"What?"

We enter a café-restaurant for a hearty breakfast, but I'm still unsure, not really knowing what's going on.

"Aren't you hungry?" Shuka asks, seeing me like this.

"Yes, totally, but I thought you wanted to talk strategy for the Darwin's Game event..."

"Don't be in such a hurry! We've still got time. And I've got a few things to tell you about that. But first, tell me Senji, did you know about Darwin's Game before you joined?"

"Um, no, I haven't."

"That's what I thought, in Japan it hasn't become a phenomenon yet, but you should know that in other countries, Darwin's Game is universally recognized."

"Talk about a game..."

"Some time ago, you couldn't pronounce the name Darwin's Game in public, or you'd end up Game Over, but given the number of players that has exploded, the game has become completely transparent to the world, it's caused a huge amount of debate, especially in governments. But unfortunately for them, Darwin's Game is untouchable, like so many other things."

"Wait, if you're talking to me about this, here in Shibuya..."

"Hehe! Bingo, indeed, I didn't choose Shibuya by coincidence, as it had been shown on TV at the time, the statue under the blue tarpaulin had been damaged by quite a fight!"

"12 dead if I remember correctly. But what does that have to do with the story you're telling me?"

"Back then, a fight of this magnitude could never have happened in a public place, but now that it's over..."

"Right, that's when Darwin's Game blew up. Anyway, all this to tell you that the neighborhood has become the center of attention for players, even today! Maybe there are even some in this diner! Plus Shibuya is Eight territory, one of the main clans, it's notorious for its violence!"

"W-why did you make me meet you in such a dangerous place?!"

"I'm not afraid, you're here to protect me!"

(This girl...)

"Pff..."

(After lunch, shopping... she only buys clothes too! Strange, she reminds me of someone... Blonde hair, petite, free-spirited... yeah, you don't need a photo, they're the same... All this after telling me we were in the territory of a bunch of dangerous lunatics... I feel like I've already got one foot in the grave.)

"La la la la!" I can hear her singing in the bathroom.

(It's strange, walking around with Shuka, I don't see anything out of the ordinary about her, except that she's very cute. Why would someone like her participate in fights to the death? She's flirtatious, she likes sweets, in short, she's like most girls her age...)

The images of our duel in the hangar come back to me. I reach for my phone to inspect the Darwin's Game app.

(As for Darwin's Game... I wonder who the "developer" of this game is and how he manages to remain invisible, I know we live in a strange world, but to be untouchable by the governments themselves...)

Suddenly, something passes very quickly by me, grabbing my phone as it goes.

I turn to see a hooded guy, stopped in front of the store exit, juggling with my phone.

"Seeing as you've got the Darwin's Game app on your mobile, I'm guessing you're indeed Senji Emiya!" He pulls back his hood, a young blond, hair pulled back, a proud look on his face. "Can you come here for two minutes?"

(Come on, it's not just a robbery, is it?)

"You are Senji Emiya, aren't you?" He asks me.

"Yes, and who are you? How do you know my name?" I ask in turn, on guard.

" Come on! You want it back, don't you?" He says, waving my phone.

I watch him start to leave, and follow him without question, leading me into an alleyway out of sight.

(Who am I dealing with? I hope he's not one of the eight; if Shuka is to be believed, they're even worse than the Yakuza.)

"Well, now that you've got me where you want me, tell me what you want, and let's get it over with." I call out to him, breaking the silence.

"You shouldn't just whip out the phone that contains the Darwin's Game app, you don't know how important it is yet!" I see him, he's on my profile page.

(Ah, yes, if he ever gets around to tampering with my profile...)

"You're definitely more serious all of a sudden! I can guess what you're thinking, don't worry, we can't modify another player's account! That said, Darwin's Game isn't the kind of app you'd find on the internet, so you'd better not lose the phone that contains it! Imagine, no more warnings before battles, no more search function, no more way to buy a shelter to avoid duels... In short, it's certain death!"

"Thank you, for the warning. And so, you've come to give me advice?" I retort, half-joking.

"Well, here's fine!" He finally turns around, facing me.

"If you're done with your little speech, give me my cell phone back! Unless you're planning to blackmail me?"

"It's all right, there's no need to get upset! You've made quite a name for yourself, you know!"

"What do you mean?"

"A beginner beating the noob hunter and the invincible queen, that's attention-grabbing!"

(Are these the nicknames of Panda Face and Shuka?)

"It's rare for a solo player to survive his first match, and even rarer for him to win two fights in a row against celebrities! Anyway, the noob hunter was more of an attraction with his super flashy costume! Shuka, on the other hand, is a different story! She made it all the way to level A without losing a single game, hence her nickname of "Queen Invincible"! She eliminated practically all the other players in her hunting ground, the Roppongi district. So when I hear that a beginner has beaten her... It makes me want to see what he's got!"

(Great, another moron.)

"Except that I have no desire to fight, I never asked to be dragged into this game."

"I see! In that case, here, I'll give it back to you!" He throws my phone at me, which I catch without any trouble.

(What's he playing at?)

"The nice thing about this app is that no matter how much you don't want to fight, you can still be forced to!" He in turn pulls out his phone. "To both of us!" At these words, a message of a fight in progress appears on my phone.

(The bastard...)

"Since you're a beginner, I won't use my sigil!" He takes a step towards me, assuming a boxer's stance.

(A sigil? No, now's not the time to think about it).

I get into position, ready to intercept his attacks. He throws a right hook, which I dodge with ease. Seeing his face, he seems surprised. He follows up with a left jab, which I stop with my left hand, catch him and hit him in the ribs with my right fist, causing him to spit saliva, then release him, pushing him back and kicking him, falling to the ground.

"Nice talker, you've got good moves, but they're amateurish, I don't know who you were planning to damage with those fists, but it'll tickle him more than anything else."

"Tsss, this position, these punches and this pattern... You're a martial arts pro, aren't you?" He staggers to his feet.

"I've been taught quite a few things yes, by the way what's the 'sigil'?"

"Are you serious right now? This is the power given by Darwin's Game. I'm guessing if you're asking the question, it's because you already had a power."

(This game is able to give powers?!)

"Um... okay, I didn't know actually. So you'd better use it, you haven't got a chance otherwise... but now that I think about it, that speed you used to take my phone, that's your sigil?"

"You? Did you manage to notice me then? Ok, I understand better, I really caught a big fish. All right, then it's time to get down to business."

He resumes his position, exhales a deep breath, then imitates dodging, going faster and faster, until these movements start to become slightly blurred.

(He's fast, but not as fast as Kiba.)

I strengthen my body and suck in energy, ready to face him, in a single step he's in front of me. Surprised, I step aside, dodging his left fist. He continues to lunge and pull his right fist towards me, I reciprocate the blow, striking his fist with mine. I can see it's hurt him, grimacing in pain. I block the attack with my right arm, but the blow is so strong that it sends me sliding a few metres.

(I felt it in my bones...)

He prepared to leap when a wire with a spike at the end stuck in his leg.

"What the... It hurts like hell!" He quickly grabs it, pulls it away and steps back.

Two more wires plunge in his direction, taking curves impossible to predict, he leaps back to dodge and moves his head just in time to avoid a spike passing very close to his face.

"You're dead!" I turn to see Shuka, on the outside stairs of a building, manipulating the wires.

"So you're together now? I'd thought about it, but it still surprises me! I was going to wait a while before challenging the invincible queen, but I don't mind going through the motions! You did well to come!"

Seeing the tension rise between the two, I conjure up a sword and point it at the blond's phone, which I picked up earlier.

"That's enough, let's stop!" I call out to them. "Hey, fight maniac! Give up the fight or I'll smash your smartphone."

"You bastard! When did you take it from me?!"

"I thought you were supposed to avoid taking your phone out in public, you should take your own advice, buddy." He'd kept it in his hands during the fight, and it was when he lunged to strike with his leg that I picked it up.

"You're one smart son of a..."

"Well, what do you decide? Are you ready to say goodbye to your cell phone and fight one on two?"

"Grr... Darn! You've won!" He raises his arms in the air. "I surrender! That's it for today!"

"The game is over! The Inukai player has surrendered!" My opponent's phone announces.

"Besides Shuka, if you want us to team up, you're going to have to calm down a bit, so avoid the death threats, okay?"

"Pff, alright..."

"Here!" I toss him his phone, which he eagerly retrieves.

"Are you in high school?" He asks me.

"Hmm? Yes, first grade."

"Really? Then that's what I thought. Me, I'm Inukai, from the Danjo boxing club, I'm in my last year of high school at Kuoh."

"Are you younger than me? No, you flunked a year, there's no way..."

"Who asked you to do the talking?! You're our enemy, I remind you!" Shuka snarls next to me.

"Bah, it's okay. We've made our peace, at least for today." I can see her pouting. "By the way, thank you so much for coming to save me." I pat her head.

"It... It's normal, between allies!" She said, looking away and blushing.

(By the way, she also received her powers from Darwin's Game, is that why she's taking part, for the powers?)

"The game starts in a minute!" Suddenly, our phones ring.

"Ah, that's it, the event's about to begin." I look at my phone. "What do you think is waiting for us?" I ask Shuka, who's looking beside me.

"No idea! We'll see when it happens!"

"Did you receive the ad too? Welcome to the club!" Inukai shows us his phone, with the same ad as mine.

"Huh... I thought it was reserved for a handful of players, but maybe there'll be a lot of us then." I'm thinking out loud.

"I told you to stop the familiarities, dog!" Shuka can't help herself.

"You think you're funny? It's Inukai, not dog, you moron!" Inukai snarls.

"Come to think of it, we were supposed to be preparing for this..." I sigh.

"And how?" Inukai asks.

"Since we have to find treasure, we could have brought shovels!" Shuka suggests.

"You want to dig holes?" Inukai asks, not sure about the idea.

"...True, that's probably not the point of the game..." She thinks back.

"At the very least, we should avoid battle royale-type scenarios." Says Inukai.

"Because it exists?" I ask, surprised.

"It's already happened a long time ago, according to an elder of my clan, a hundred participants and only one survivor, a real monster by the looks of it!" Inukai explains.

"Damn!" Shuka exclaims.

"By the way, I was wondering how long Darwin's Game has been around..." I'm cut off by the sound of an alarm coming from our phones.

"Ding Dong Ding Dong "

"Does that ringing announce the start of the treasure hunt?" I wonder.

Suddenly, lines of white light begin to surround our bodies, forming cubes.

"But... these cubes are... ?" I remember the death of the sensei I confronted in the parking lot.

"Don't panic, they're linked to teleportation!" Shuka explains.

"Are we going to be teleported?" I'm more and more surprised by this game.

"This is where we part ways." Inukai announces. "See you again! Try to survive until our next fight!"

"Senji! Nothing says we'll be sent to the same place! If we get separated, we'll have to join up as soon as possible!" Shuka tells me.

"Okay! I'll call you as soon as..." All I have to do is blink and I'm somewhere else.

(It's almost the same as with Rias and Akeno's teleportation, where did I land?!)

I look around to see that I've landed in what appears to be a hotel room.

(According to my gps, I'm still in Shibuya, but no longer in the same area).

"Trililili!" My phone rings again and Darwin's Game opens to show the rules of the event.

"The bastards! 'Seek treasures in joy and good cheer', they're fucking with us! I've got a really bad feeling about this! And this, 'If no one has completed the game within the allotted time, players with fewer than three bracelets in their possession will be game over'! Just say you want everyone to die!" I punch the wall, getting annoyed as I read the rules.

I take a deep breath in and out to regain my composure, having sworn not to die in this stupid game. Before anything else, I decide to call Shuka, as two of us will have a better chance of getting out of this. But the phone doesn't answer, leaving only a "Tuuuut Tuuut".

(No network? The bars are displayed though.)

I then open our discussion on the game and send her a message, giving my position, hoping that we'll be able to get together without too many problems. Suddenly an announcement appears on my screen.

"It's time for the first distribution. 300 bracelets have been scattered around the treasure hunt area! Look for them using the map and the "Detect" function!"

"Here it comes..." I murmur, reading the announcement.

(300 wristbands, in other words, exactly the number of participants... Given that you need three to escape Game Over, there won't be enough for everyone, which sucks... although, if they're talking about a "first distribution", that means there'll be at least one more, at least I hope so).

I decide to follow the advice in the advert and open my map, seeing images of bracelets scattered roughly across the map. Having been assured of this, I open the detection function.

"Um... What's that?" I can see through my phone the city of Shibuya in black and white, but completely ruined, with bright light scattered here and there, probably the wristbands.

I look around a bit and bingo, there's a bright spot just below the bed. I lie down to see the bracelet in question, a simple tin ring. I look through the phone to see that it looks like a piece of luxury jewelry, a red stone encrusted in a large gold bracelet with highlights. I go back to the rules and look at the given scale and see the "Ruby" category.

(Wow, I can exchange it for 500 points. In other words, it's worth 50 million yen...

Now's not the time to get carried away, screw the money. All I care about is getting three of these things together to save my ass. I've already got one, so it's not a bad start).

I approach the door and open it slowly, and the first thing I see is the silhouette of a corpse carved into the floor and wall.

(Already some dead... Beware, the culprit may still be around...)

Then I almost stumble on something, I look up to see a dead body, who hasn't disappeared, a woman in her forties, her face set in fear.

(Wait... don't tell me civilians are involved in this...?)

A deep feeling of disgust takes hold of my guts, and I lift my head to see the corridor filled with dead civilians and players.

"That's... what Shuka was telling me... so Darwin's Game is no longer afraid to put civilians in danger... It's horrible..."

"Stay focused partner, or you'll end up like this." Ddraig's voice brings me back to my senses.

I look around with my phone to see several moving points of light, which must represent a player with a wristband, or worse, a civilian with a wristband...

"Damn, now that sucks. So much for the rings, I gotta get out of here." Further on, I see the doors of an elevator.

"Do I take the elevator? The problem is, if someone's waiting for me downstairs behind the doors, I'm dead..." I turn to the floor plan. "There are two fire escapes, I'd better take one of them."

I turn my gaze to the elevator to see that it's going up. I pick up my phone and see a rapidly rising point of light.

(Shit, there's a bracelet in the elevator, it's a player coming up!)

I start running towards the stairs but stop after a few metres.

(No, wait. It's not a good idea to run away blindly; I'll have less chance of escaping if I know nothing about the enemy. Not to mention the risk of running into another player by accident.)

I go down a few steps and sit down, letting only my head through to see the floor.

(There'll always be time to set sail once I've seen who I'm dealing with...)

I turn on the magic circuits in my left arm to project a short sword, preparing for battle.

"DING" The elevator stops.

(I was sure he was going to stop here, let's see what he looks like...)

The person emerging from the corner of the corridor is clad in modern armor. Military bulletproof vest, helmet covering his entire head, visor and skull-like mouth mask. All in black, he wears a long jacket, gloves and, most dangerous of all, an RPD light machine gun in his hands. He picks up his phone and looks at it.

(Huh? Can I at least pierce his armor with my blades?)

Then he points his gun at me and fires without warning. I slide down the stairs to dodge the hail of bullets and descend the stairs four at a time.

(Of course, I had to go up against someone with a gun! There's almost nothing I can do about it.)

I stopped dead at floor 26, unable to descend any further due to roots and ivy blocking the stairs. I don't dare approach, feeling magic emanating from all this.

(Damn, it's impossible to get through! Where did that come from?! No, no time for questions, I've got to get away from the other guy.)

I head for the other staircases at full speed, but when I arrive I see that they're blocked in the same way.

"Don't tell me I'm stuck here?"

(Is this a shot from the guy with the machine gun? What do I do now? If I go up, I'll be trapped on the roof! No choice but to take the elevator. I'd better hurry up, otherwise...)

I pick up my phone and look behind me, but I don't see him and his bracelet.

(Huh? He's not chasing me? But why?)

I lift my phone and see him above me, preparing to take the stairs behind me. Seeing this, I waste no time and run for the elevators.

"Where do these roots come from?! Did you grow them?! No, what am I saying!? You wouldn't be stupid enough to block the road yourself!" I hear him further behind me.

I round the corner of the corridor just as he fires, narrowly avoiding the bullets, which literally destroy the walls they hit.

I get to the elevators and smack the button to get it to come to me, but I see that he's thought to get it to the top floor, so I don't have to make a quick getaway.

"Sorry kid, it's game over for you!" He's right behind me. "Say your prayers!"

"Wait! I surrender!" I raise my hands in the air. "I'm giving you my bracelet so don't shoot!"

"Oh, really?"

"Here you go! Take it!" I toss the bracelet to the floor.

"I'm not going to mind!" I don't know what's going on behind me, but I assume he's picking up the bracelet.

"That's it, you got what you wanted! I don't have anything else on me."

"It's true that with this event, you don't earn points by killing your opponents... whether I kill you or not is the same to me!"

"Y... You're going to let me go..."

"Except you're armed!" I widen my eyes. "He who has a weapon in his hand has nothing to complain about if he gets shot... Don't you agree?"

I heave a sigh and reluctantly drop my sword, which falls heavily to the ground and disappears in a luminous bluish cloud.

There's a long silence that lasts only a few seconds, yet seems to last for hours, and then I hear him lower his weapon.

"Well, I don't know what you've just done, but effectively, you're empty-handed, that's enough for me to leave you alive, seeing as you're going to die at the end of the game anyway!" The elevator finally shows up. "But I've got to admit, you're clever, too bad you ran into me." He climbs into the elevator. "Hi there... Why don't you just stand there and wait to die!" The doors close, leaving me alone.

I lean against a wall and slide down until I'm sitting on the floor.

"That bastard, he was really ready to pull the trigger on a 15-year-old, the worst part about it is that it doesn't even surprise me."

I get up and press the elevator call button again.

(That's it, I'm out of here. I'm not staying here another minute. My objective hasn't changed, I need to get three bracelets to survive, except that next time, I'll be the one to take the initiative...)

"Tell me, are you really planning to take the elevator?" Hearing a voice behind me again, I project a sword and turn quickly. "A word of advice: if you want to stay alive, give up the idea."

She's a little girl with violet eyes with a beauty spot at the corner of her left eye and medium-length black hair in a bob cut. She wears a large, light-colored coat that covers her body from the shoulders down and on her back, a briefcase almost her size.

"Where did you come from? Are you a civilian? This is no place for a kid..."

"You're messing with me? I'm in seventh grade!" She says with a cold look.

(Even younger than Sakura and Shuka...)

"Ding" The elevator is finally here.

"Sir's elevator has arrived. Go on up if you're in such a hurry to die!"

"It's not that I want to die, it's just that I'd like to get out of this hotel as soon as possible." I move toward the elevator while keeping my gaze on her. "And since the stairs are blocked, there's no other way down."

"And he doesn't change your mind?"

"Who?" I turn toward the elevator shaft to see the guy from earlier, lying covered in vines. "I can't believe... He got killed too... What happened to him?"

"Hmm..." The little one steps forward to get a better look. "So the four elevators are well booby-trapped. It's confirmed, one player is using his power to eliminate everyone in the building!"

"So it's the work of one person? Yet with the camera I spotted more than a dozen players." I remember what I saw.

"At first there were supposed to be 24, but now I think we're the only ones left!"

"You're right, all bracelets are motionless." I take my phone to scan the building.

"We have to be next on the list. Since we're both stuck here, I propose an alliance until we manage to escape!" I'm surprised by her proposal. "My name is Rain, in Darwin's Game I'm known as 'The Analyst'."

Vol. 7 End.