Ayano: "The next match is tomorrow..."
Lying alone in her dark room, Ayano received a message about the next game's schedule—it would be two versus two. That wasn't the problem. The problem was what she had heard from that girl in the first round.
Had Tadashi really caused his partners' deaths?
If no one wanted to team up with him, was that why he saved her from Kyle at the beginning?
What if he already had a partner—would he still have saved her?
Maybe that's why he was banned from the club.
She couldn't keep entering matches with him forever—it was a tournament. Only one winner would remain; the others would be killed.
She might not even make it to the end.
She knew that if she faced a solo match, she would die for sure.
And if she faced it with Tadashi...
he might be the one who kills her.
All these thoughts consumed Ayano alive, but the time for turning back had passed. She had chosen this path, and she had to continue—whether she wanted to or not.
After that day, when the time for the next game came, she met Tadashi at the club as usual. They were blindfolded and transported to the game location.
When they arrived and had their blindfolds removed, they found themselves in the basement of an abandoned hotel. Despite being abandoned, the place was extremely clean and shiny. And, of course, they weren't alone—two other players were present.
The first was a tall, strong-built man with neatly groomed brown hair. The other was a young boy with brown hair, wearing a backpack. He was sitting on the ground, drawing.
Ayano: "A child?"
Tadashi: "What is this?"
As soon as the man spotted them, he approached and extended his hand for a handshake.
Guren: "Pleased to meet you. I'm Kanazaki Guren."
Ayano shook his hand.
Ayano: "Ayano Sheshire."
Guren: "Pleased to meet you. And you?"
Tadashi: "Get lost."
With a glare, Tadashi said this and began exploring the first floor.
Guren: "Not very friendly, huh?"
Ayano: "Not really. Who's the child?"
Guren: "Oh, that's my brother, Shouta."
Ayano: "Why would you bring a child to a suicidal match?"
Guren: "You could say he's a secret."
Ayano: "A secret?"
A referee emerged from one of the elevators and approached them.
Referee: "Welcome to the second round. I will be supervising you for this round."
The referee immediately drew the attention of all four.
Referee: "The arena for this round will be this entire hotel. Here are the rules:
First, the objective is to collect as many points as possible. To do this, you must find dice pieces hidden in various rooms throughout the hotel.
A single dice piece grants 10 points.
Two pieces grant 9 points.
Three pieces grant 8 points.
And so on, decreasing by one point for each additional dice, down to the lowest value of 1 point. There are 10 copies of each dice.
However, collecting a die doesn't grant you points immediately. To score, you must descend to the ground floor and place your dice in your team's box. Dice pieces inside the boxes are strictly off-limits.
Regarding the hotel itself—elevators are strictly prohibited. Stairs only."
Tadashi: "That's it? No danger? No bloodshed?"
Referee: "No—actually, the hotel is full of traps."
Ayano: "Traps?"
Guren: "What kind?"
Referee: "Traps that will make you wish you'd been more careful. But don't worry too much—traps are only in the hallways. The rooms are completely safe. You have one hour. Now, let's begin."