The maze twisted endlessly under dim artificial lights, the air thick with silence and the looming presence of unseen eyes. In the west quadrant, Satoru moved like a tactician, eyes sharp and calculating as he led Hana, Sota, and Ten through the winding paths.
They had tracked a cluster of citizens hiding behind stacked crates and makeshift barriers. Satoru raised a hand—halt. With a silent nod, they surrounded the area, Sota circling around back, Ten flanking the side. The ambush was swift.
"Now!" Satoru whispered, and in a heartbeat, the killers moved.
Hana, though not skilled with weapons, used distraction well—tossing a stone that clattered down the hall, drawing a pair of citizens out from hiding. Satoru moved in, swift and clean, his shot knocking one to the ground. Sota leapt from behind, disabling another with a chokehold before silencing him completely.
But in the chaos, Ten—brave and reckless—rushed forward, determined to take down a fleeing citizen. What he didn't see was the sharpened rod the man had hidden behind his back. In one fatal moment, the citizen spun, driving it straight into Ten's side.
"Ten!" Hana screamed.
Satoru's eyes widened, fury flaring. In one motion, he raised his gun and fired—cold, precise, the citizen dropped. Hana dropped beside Ten, pressing her hands to his side, but the blood was already soaking through too fast.
Ten looked up at them, his breathing shallow, a half-smile forming. "I guess... I wasn't fast enough," he muttered.
"You idiot," Satoru whispered, voice tight. He knelt beside him, the weight of command pressing on his chest.
Ten's hand reached for Hana's. "I think I wasn't fated to survive after all," he said, eyes fluttering shut.
And just like that, Ten was gone.
Satoru stood slowly, his expression unreadable now. "We have to finish this," he said to the others, voice like steel. "So that we don't have to loose another one. "
Sota nodded grimly, while Hana wiped her eyes, her jaw clenched.
The shadows of the maze seemed darker now. And the killers, fewer but fiercer, pushed forward.
After defeating Unit 2 and leaving a trail of destruction behind, I, Inaya, Riku, Brother Cheng Hao, and Ryu moved swiftly through the maze-like battlegrounds. Our task wasn't over yet. The detectives weren't done, there was still another squad to deal with: Unit 1, led by the formidable Renji.
The air was thick with tension as I and the others approached the area where Unit 1 was waiting. They were cornered now. The strategy was clear: Inaya would handle two of the detectives, Riku would focus on Renji, and Brother Cheng Hao and Ryu would take care of Naomi and the other detective. My job was easy. Only to stay on guard, link up with Satoru via Tokie Dokie, and direct their team.
But things never went as planned.
"Ryu... are you okay?" I asked quietly.
Ryu's eyes, usually filled with resolve, now held nothing but confusion and hurt. His voice trembled with barely-contained anger as he muttered,
"I... I'll be fine. But Riku... what the hell was that?" His fists clenched.
Before I could respond, there was a sudden movement, and I turned in time to see Naomi, one of the detectives, charging toward me with a knife raised. Her gun had run dry, and now she was desperate.
My heart nearly stopped . I wasn't wasn't ready for this.
"Shin!" Inaya's voice cut through the chaos. She was there in a flash, appearing like a shadow in the night. She drove her blade through Naomi's chest just as Naomi reached mine, the sound of steel slicing through flesh chilling the air.
Naomi fell to the ground, dead before she could even utter a word. I stood frozen, my eyes wide with shock. The fight had moved so fast, so suddenly. One second I was trying to stay alive, and the next, I was saved by Inaya.
"Inaya…" Shin whispered, relief flooding his veins.
Inaya looked down at Naomi's body, her expression unreadable. She turned to me, her face softening slightly. "Are you alright? Guess you need to be alerted more " she asked, her voice calm .
I nodded, still catching my breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for that. "
Inaya's lips quirked into a faint smile. "I can't just let my teammate die like that now, can I? "
Before I could respond, I turned my attention back to Riku, who had just finished dealing with Renji. He stood over Renji's body, wiping the blood from his blade.
"I took care of him," Riku said flatly, his voice emotionless. "Let's move."
But I couldn't shake the feeling of unease in my chest. I glanced at Ryu, who was still recovering from his forced role as a shield.
"Ryu... are you sure you're okay?" I asked.
Ryu didn't answer at first. He only nodded stiffly, still glaring at Riku. " Now I won't die easily you know."
Inaya took her eyes lingered on Riku with a look that said she would be watching him closely.
The battlefield was eerily silent. The echoes of gunfire and clashing blades had faded, leaving only the heavy breathing of the survivors. The sun's first rays began to pierce the horizon, casting a golden hue over the carnage.
I turned to check on Ryu, expecting a weary smile or a sarcastic remark about the fight. But he lay unnaturally still. His eyes, usually sharp and observant, stared blankly into the sky.
"Ryu?" I called out, my voice trembling.
No response.
I rushed to his side, kneeling beside him. I grasped his hand, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. I pressed my fingers against his neck, desperate to find any sign of life. Still nothing.
"No... no, this can't be," I whispered, my heart pounding.
I checked his veins, his palms—anywhere a heartbeat might be found. But it was all in vain. Ryu was gone.
Tears welled up in my eyes as the reality sank in. Just like that, Ryu had died.
I activated the Tokie Dokie, my hands shaking.
"Satoru, we have finished our business with the detectives as we planned but..we lost Ryu while doing that" I managed to say, my voice choked with emotion.
There was a pause on the other end before Satoru responded, his voice heavy.
"I know... Ten didn't make it either. He was killed by one of the citizens during the chaos. But aside from that we are done here as well. "
The weight of our losses pressed down on me. Two of our own, gone.
Just then, a soft chime echoed through the air. A white screen materialized above us, floating serenely amidst the devastation.
𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 '𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒'
𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐍 𝟔. 𝟐𝟓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎.
𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 '𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒'
The message hung in the air, stark against the backdrop of destruction. We had won.
We still had an entire day left in this twisted game. But with the sun rising and our comrades fallen, the victory felt hollow.
Exhausted, grief-stricken, and numb, we all collapsed onto the ground, the weight of our actions and losses bearing down on us.
The sun continued its ascent, indifferent to our pain, heralding a new day that none of us were ready to face.