Chapter Twenty-Five

This is bad luck. The only one who knew all my plans was dead, and I still don't know who hunted him down, or if it was my bad luck. But one thing was certain: I had to be very careful, or I would end up dead just like him. I didn't take too much time thinking about it; I ran away from the spot and went back to a place where no one could find me. I had to find some time away from all this before I proceeded to the next step that I could take.

After a while in solitude, I went back to where everyone was and found out that the corpse was gone. But how did it happen? Nobody acted as if someone had died. I was very confused, and I didn't know what to say to others, as they didn't seem to know what had happened. I still had shock in me, feeling plain stupid.

Was I hallucinating then? If nobody had seen the corpse lying here a while ago, then it must be two things: either he was faking his own death, or he was taken away so as not to add to the chaos on the ground. Either way, someone knew the connection between the two of us. What if he was the traitor? What if he was the real boss behind this whole scene?

Come to think of it, he was pure and overly clear; he followed everything I had given him too perfectly. Damn! All of it came back to me; I was secretly being led into a trap that someone had created for me by thinking I had the ability to win and then crush my ego when it all happened. If this was true, then I was really screwed. Something was going to happen soon, and to my surprise, it happened sooner than expected.

Two people in the same unit as me got near me and held me. They took me by surprise, and I knew I was screwed. They headed directly to the hall, and I was roughly handled up to the stage. When I got there, I met Iguro on his knees, and they made me kneel in front of Delta. I started laughing as if I foresaw it coming.

“You're smart, but I'm smarter. You managed to figure out my puppet. I guess he's useless, that's why he lost to you, and you caught him, even after you just spent around two months. That's how useless you are now. Everyone was left stunned, but I wasn't. And after he said everything, he killed Iguro. And that left everyone feeling crazy.

“You all think you could stand against me? I have ruled here before you all were even born, and you think you can win against me? I'm the real devil, so just believe and leave everything to me. I would resolve all your issues, and you all would obey me once more.

“Funny that you think it's that easy. You've really lost control. You've lost everything right now. You're the one on the verge of losing his life because people would believe me more than you. This hell you built will end, and everyone just wants to be free, and that's why you're going to be the one to leave. Do you want to try?” I said, and he had to think about it as he sat there without uttering a word. “I guess you realize how foolish you were all this while,” I said standing up.

“Fear isn't a process; nobody rules with fear without consequence. The best way to end fear is just a tiny bit of motivation, and that's what I gave to these people. And that's all they needed. You see, I finally came out winning. You coming out after all this made the game sweeter. You were obviously still as foolish as your puppet. I would even say he was better than you in the ways that matter. He was able to maintain the fear through his acting, but you couldn't even maintain your status for a day. Do you think anyone fears you? All they feared was Iguro, and now Iguro is gone. Let's see how they all react to this and make your life a living hell,” I said, and I could see the fear in his eyes. Luckily for me, my words got to them, and they ran towards him at full speed. But the cluster stopped when I shouted, “Wait!!!” at the top of my lungs. “You all are hopeless.

After forcefully following a set of rules for so long, you guys sure are people who would let loose? Instead of making sure to make the person suffer appropriately? I really expected more of you guys,” I said. “What do you want us to do?” someone shouted from the crowd. “Someone should come here and tie him. Even if he's so powerful and dangerous, he couldn't do anything against this many people.

I've seen you fight; you could handle five people at most. But could you handle ten at once? Or twenty? I have to spare the life of my old friend and partner, shouldn't I? So it'll be better for you to cooperate and let him be tied in a gentle manner, than making everyone pounce on you and tearing your flesh like a wild animal devouring a powerless one,” I whispered into his ears, and he surrendered while two people from the crowd came out and tied him while they dragged him outside.

I still stood on top of the podium, wondering why it had to be him. I was in no way their leader, but what would happen if they decided to make me their leader? They already listened to me. I am one hopeless thinker; I think five steps ahead before something happens, and that's why my intuition never fails. And that's why I won.

But all I wanted was to get Brielle. “Brielle!!!” I shouted as I remembered her name, and she came out from her hiding, running...