Riley felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he stood in the dimly lit room, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. The tension was thick, almost suffocating, as he stared at his doppelgänger, Little Riley, who was perched on the edge of the table, casually, the outcome of their confrontation was already decided in his favor.
"It's my loss," Riley admitted, his voice barely more than a whisper. The words tasted bitter on his tongue, and his heart sank with the realization that he had been outmaneuvered at every turn.
Little Riley smirked, his hands tucked in his pockets, his demeanor exuding arrogance. The carefully ironed shirt he wore was slightly wrinkled, but it did nothing to diminish the air of superiority he radiated.
"How did you win?" Riley asked, unable to mask the curiosity in his voice.
"Since you're going to die in this loop with no chance of returning, I suppose I can indulge you," Little Riley began, his tone dripping with condescension. He paused, savoring the moment as if it were a fine wine, before continuing, "The moment I realized you were the cause of the gate's anomaly, I started thinking—if I were in your shoes, newly arrived in a random world, where would I go first? The answer was obvious: your sister."But then i thought, i don't know anything about this world, and i don't know i have a shadow sister, so the next best guess was the library."
Riley's eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent, allowing his doppelganger to continue.
"So, I infiltrated the Raven household using your personal maid," Little Riley said, a sly grin forming on his lips. "From her reports, I deduced that you probably didn't know anything about the veritas or this world, considering you hadn't retained any of Ryan's memories. Using the maid, I planted the book in the library, knowing it would catch your attention. But you must be wondering how I knew about the angels, right? I had the maid draw a memory transmitter rune on you before you woke up that morning. Our efficiency in gathering information and working is impressive, isn't it?"
Riley's thoughts raced as he tried to piece everything together. The maid's strange behavior in the second loop suddenly made sense. "That explains why the maid acted differently in the second loop." he murmured, more to himself than to Little Riley.
"Exactly," Little Riley said, nodding. "She had a new assignment. And when she realized you were interested in the veritas, I knew I had to act fast. Originally, I planned to use Klein to lead you to me, but you messed up the first loop so badly that I had to give Klein the secret word to make you seek him out in the second loop. I assumed you'd look for him immediately, but you surprised me there."
Riley's heart sank further as the depth of his opponent's plan became clear. "No wonder Klein seemed surprised when I mentioned the book in the library," he muttered. "He didn't know about it."
"The maid reported that you were able to read the veritas, so I had to devise a plan to capture you quickly," Little Riley continued, his tone almost bored, as if the outcome was never in doubt. "I intended to use that knowledge for my own gain, and you were a threat to that.
I considered killing you immediately, but then I thought about what was required to gain full control of the magic circle gateway. Killing you outright seemed too risky, so I proposed a gamble—winner takes all, with the loser condemned to death, all in the presence of the gate guardian."
He gestured toward the woman in burnt sienna clothing, who stood silently to the side, her presence a constant reminder of the stakes. Her eyes seemed to gleam with an eerie knowledge, as if she knew more about the situation than she let on.
As Little Riley spoke, Riley's mind was already working, thinking back to the moment he first discovered the veritas. The manor had been eerily quiet, the halls devoid of the usual bustle. He remembered the unsettling sensation of being watched, of shadows moving just out of sight. The memory sent a chill down his spine, and he could almost hear the creaking of the floorboards as he made his way through the dimly lit corridors.
The manor had been a place of secrets, of whispers hidden behind closed doors. Riley had known from the moment he set foot inside that something was wrong, but he had pushed forward, driven by the need to uncover the truth. The veritas had been the key, or so he had thought, but now it was clear that it had all been a trap, carefully laid out by his doppelganger.
"You always knew I'd choose chess, didn't you?" Riley asked, his voice filled with a mixture of realization and bitterness.
"Of course," Little Riley replied with a grin. "It was impressive, wasn't it? I told you, I'm not like those mindless simulations who lack cognition. I'm sharper, even smarter than you. That's why I had the rules of every board game in this world stored in the memory rune carved on my temples. I wasn't taking any chances, so I decided to kill Charlotte. I knew that once you were distracted, I'd have the perfect opportunity to win. After all, your greatest weakness is your susceptibility to distractions."
Little Riley's grin widened as he spoke, his arrogance growing with each word. "Now that you're going to die, and I'll become the owner of the magic circle gateway, I intend to fulfill one of your wishes. When I reach reality, I'll help you fulfill that wish—even if it involves wiping out the Broken Swords clan."
He paused, allowing his words to sink in before adding, "You have three minutes to decide."
Riley's eyes darkened as he replayed the events in his mind. The shadows in the white room had not just been in his mind—they were real, tangible threats. The walls had seemed to close in on him, the oppressive atmosphere almost suffocating. His breath grew ragged.
A twisted and devilish smile formed on Riley's lips. "Looks like someone brought a butter knife to a gunfight. Unfortunately for you, Sprout Riley, you lost from the very beginning."
Before Little Riley could react, Riley swiftly drew the silver revolver from his inner pocket. In one fluid motion, he aimed and fired four consecutive shots, each one hitting its mark. Little Riley's right arm, left arm, and both legs were struck, causing him to collapse to the ground in agony. He struggled to suppress his screams, his wide eyes filled with disbelief, fear and horror.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the room, the sharp cracks reverberating off the walls. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, mingling with the musty scent of blood. Little Riley's breaths came in ragged gasps, his body writhing in pain as he tried to process what had just happened.
"You mastered all the rules of chess," Riley said, his voice calm and mocking, "but you forgot one crucial fact: no matter how much knowledge a simulation possesses, it can never compare to the ingenuity of a real human—even a ten-year-old could outsmart you."
Riley's expression darkened as he reminded Little Riley of the game's rules. "Winner takes all. Nobody can access all portions of the magical gateway without winning the game, no matter how."
He leaned in closer, his voice taking on a more menacing tone. "Remember the judge's statement? The gateway is different from how you imagined. I won't tell you what the gateway actually does—it's not my job to enlighten you. All that matters is that one of us has to die. The method doesn't matter."
As Little Riley writhed on the ground, Riley couldn't help but recall the rules. "You were so focused on the rules, on the mechanics of the game, that you forgot the most important lesson of all: sometimes, the best way to win is not to play at all."
"The loophole in the statement the judge or gate guardian Said earlier was 'doesn't matter how'. It meant as long as one of us dies the other party will become the owner of the magical circle gateway. The game does not determine who will become the new owner."
Little Riley's face contorted in confusion and fear as Riley's words sank in. He had believed he held the upper hand, but now it was clear that Riley had been in control all along. Panic set in as he desperately tried to understand where everything had gone wrong. His mind raced, searching for answers, but all he could focus on was the revolver in Riley's hand.
"Where did you get that weapon?" Little Riley demanded, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. "According to the intelligence I gathered, you didn't have any weapons. How did you get that revolver?"
Riley's smile widened as he saw the fear in his counterpart's eyes. "I had it all along," he said simply. "You see, while you were busy trying to outsmart me, I was setting the stage for your downfall. You thought you were the puppet master, but all along, you were just a puppet."
Little Riley's mind raced as he tried to process this new information. He had been so confident, so sure of his victory, but now everything was falling apart. His thoughts turned to the rune carved on his temples—the one he had used to monitor Riley's thoughts. The maid had sneakingly placed it on him. Riley had somehow known about the rune, he could have used it against him. Or had he? But how? Where had he gone wrong?
Suddenly, the rune on Little Riley's temples began to heat up, the searing pain spreading across his skin. Panic surged through him as he realized Riley had done something—something that had set this entire chain of events into motion before he was even captured. Little Riley screamed, his voice breaking as he struggled to comprehend the enormity of his mistake.
"You… you're cheating!"