The arena was a massive circular basin with an inward slope resembling a bowl or a "pot." The floor was covered in reflective, dark green tiles etched with glowing runes, giving it an hypnotic look.
"Man, this one definitely looks different than all of the other arenas so far." Amamiya said while standing inside the basin.
"…" Haruto was silent. He still had his entire head covered with a cape, some kinda wizard roleplay maybe.
[RULES FOR THIS FIGHT]
—THE POT OF GREED - THE POT AT THE CENTER OF THE BASIN FEEDS ON THE ENERGIES AND ABILITIES OF THE FIGHTERS. EVERY ATTACK, MOVEMENT OR SPELL CAST IN THE ARENA CHANNELS THE ENERGY INSIDE THE POT, EMPOWERING IT.
—ONCE FILLED TO THE BRIM, THE POT WILL RELEASE ITS GREED BY UNLEASHING SOME RANDOM EFFECT IN/ AGAINST THE FAVOUR OF THE FIGHTERS.
—LAST ONE STANDING WINS THE MATCH.
—THE LOSER WILL BE SENT BACK TO THE WAITING LIST AND THE WINNER WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT ROUND.
—THE LOSER WILL BE GIVING UP SOME PORTION OF THEIR EGO FRAGMENT ABSORBED BY THE WINNER.
-ANY WEAPONS ARE PROHIBITED. ANY SUCH ACTION ATTEMPTED WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PUNISHMENT.
[BEGIN]
Amamiya shook his head in disappointment as he thought, "Such intricate preparation… it's a shame that I won't be able to use it to its maximum potential."
Haruto just stood there like a statue, as if waiting for any kind of reaction from Amamiya.
It was a weird atmosphere—neither of them was displaying any pressure, nor were they showing any bloodlust, willingly or unwillingly.
Amamiya took the first step. He started walking swiftly towards the still Haruto, his intentions unclear. As he stood in front of Haruto, he moved his hand and grabbed Haruto by his cape.
He looked straight into Haruto's eyes with the same monotonous smile, as if it was nothing to fret over. Haruto, on the other hand, had a faint smile of his own—a weird one, I'd say. Some sort of… infatuation, maybe?
And then, out of nowhere—without a single ounce of warning—Amamiya leaned in.
A soft, almost unnoticeable moment. His lips brushed against Haruto's, a sudden kiss breaking the standoff.
For a second, the air froze. It wasn't just me; everyone watching was caught off guard. Haruto's eyes widened, and even I could feel the shock ripple through the room.
The moment passed just as fast as it came, but Haruto's stunned expression lingered. His smile turned into something else entirely—was it anger? Or… something else?
"Good girl…" Amamiya whispered in Haruto's ear, his tone as calm as ever.
And then, without a second thought, he shoved his hand through Haruto's guts, thrusting it deep enough to reach the other side.
"Huh?!!" I was stunned.
"Aough!!!" Haruto splurted out blood, but his smile… it didn't fade.
Amamiya pulled his hand back from Haruto's body, shaking it intensely to get the bloodstains off. Haruto collapsed, his cape slipping away—and that's when we saw it.
Her.
Long golden hair spilled out as the cape fell. The expression on her face was mixed—pain, surprise, and something else I couldn't put into words.
"Seriously though, what a shame," Amamiya said, licking the blood off his lips as he looked at the pot nearby, still completely empty.
The arena was silent.
It was too quick.
Anticlimactic, if I may say so.
But what did he just do? What happened? And who is this Amamiya guy, really? Questions flooded my mind, and I didn't have answers to any of them.
[WINNER OF THE LAST BATTLE IS]
[!!!AMAMIYA SHION!!!]
As it was announced, the final participants were both teleported out of the arena in pixels similar to how it happened with me.
[THE FINAL BATTLE IS OVER AND THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF BY THE MEDICS]
[UPDATING POINTS]
AMAMIYA SHION - 200 EGO FRAGMENTS
HARUTO KISHINUMA - 0 EGO FRAGMENTS
WITH THIS, THE FIRST ROUND : SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST COMES TO AN END AND WE WILL BE LISTING THE RANKINGS FOR THE HALL.
No.8: Haruto Kishinuma – 0 Ego Fragments
No.7: Taiga Akabane – 70 Ego Fragments
No.6: Rize Kurogami – 80 Ego Fragments
No.5: Jin Shigure – 90 Ego Fragments
No.4: Aisaka Ren – 110 Ego Fragments
No.3: Kaede Arashiya – 120 Ego Fragments
No.2: Ryouma Saionji – 130 Ego Fragments
and the one leading the absolute maximum is -
No.1: Amamiya Shion – 200 Ego Fragments
I was ranked second, but I don't really feel like it. It's as if it's not me who won, but something inside me. If someone ever tried to delve into my thought process, they might as well consider me a lost cause—the way I overthink.
But something did change, and it was quite visible. Ever since I ate that seed, it's like something awakened inside me. As if it had been dormant until now, waiting for something to trigger it. I don't know if I should be afraid of it or consider it a weapon to make use of.
Whatever it is, I'll delve into it sooner or later, so… meh.
The other four weren't with us. Well, expected, since I only see four beds here.
Aisaka was still not awake; maybe the fight took a heavier toll on him than I thought.
Jin was back to sleep again. If anything, that man is very handsome. No homo, but it is what it is. You gotta admire what you can.
Well, it was me and Taiga now… or so I thought. This dumbass fell asleep while sitting in the same position. Couldn't blame him—it's me who's weird right now.
With these thoughts in mind, I went back to sleep as well. Nothing's better than a good sleep in a peaceful environment… peaceful, huh…
~ Few days later ~
It's been a few days since the entire PvP thing. We were all dispatched yesterday, ensuring a full recovery. Honestly, recovering this fast should be illegal, but then again, there are a lot of things that don't make sense right now, so this isn't much of a big deal.
We were all called into the main hall once more. I guess it was that time of the day.
When we're in our rooms, it's complete isolation. There's no pathway where you can just head over, jump into your friend's room, and chill together. It's like living in a bubble inside a void—only connected when needed.
Food and other essentials are provided to us at exact times, like clockwork. Honestly, it feels like being treated like dogs. We're nothing more than cattle, trained to die for them. Sure, the output of this whole program might not be bad, but the methods? Definitely questionable.
Anyway, enough of that. I entered the main hall once again, scanning the room for familiar faces.
What I expected was a chaotic environment, but instead, I was met with silence. A cold, unnerving silence. Everyone looked disinterested, with disdain painted across their faces.
Did something happen? Hmm?
I was the seventh one to join. Haruto was nowhere to be seen. Though, knowing her, I had to hand it to her—the way she camouflaged herself will never not surprise me.
And then, the silence broke.
—bzzzt… Bzztt… Hello—Hello, my pieces of trash!—
—How's it going? I see that y'all have completed your first task successfully. So, how was it? The taste of power?—
And there he was—Eida Kisaragi, with that same skeletal grin on his face.
—So, before moving forward, I'd like to sort some things out. The total number of people moving on to the next round is… seven—
"Huh?" I exclaimed. "What do you mean by that?"
—HARUTO KISHINUMA IS DEAD!!!—
My eyes widened in shock as his words echoed in my ears.