"He fears me," Desmond said, his eyes glaring at Arlen's back. "That's why he doesn't want me to be with him in the same carriage."

Kai mutely listened, his face flushed from the all the wine they had drunk. Arlen had divided them into two groups. Arlen, Shae, and Sonia would guard Mr. Beedle in one carriage. On the other, Desmond, Simon, and Kai would have all the brooms.

"Humph!" Desmond snorted. "We are doing it. Before taking the broomsticks to the air."

"What?!" Kai spat. "This wasn't the plan. We agreed to blackmail Arlen and get some Mission Credits and Items."

"That was then, this is now," Desmond said, his eyes blazing red.

"He is a wizard," Kai said sharply. "No kind of ambush guarantees our victory."

"Don't forget my Skill - Minor Soul Shaker,” Desmond said. “It’s a Charged Triggered Skill."

"But he is the Captain of Guard."

"Your Mission has nothing to do with what happens to Arlen. Or who the Captain of Guard is."

Kai’s eyes narrowed at Desmond’s reply.

"You want me to hold back Simon," Kai said, guessing as much. "I am not too sure about it."

"You are worthy enough," Desmond said, with an iron certainty. "If you can escape the full might of a 2nd floor's Contestant, then you can easily resist a weaker opponent for some time, can't you?"

He had Kai then.

If Kai were to say no, then Desmond would surely get to know Kai was lying about the shop's incident.

So Kai nodded. He had to.

*

*

Boom!

45 minutes into the journey, a sudden jerk jolted Kai, Desmond, and Simon. The horses seemed to have gone berserk. From afar, the sound of a boom came to their ears. But it was the ear-piercing voice that truly shook them up.

"SONIA!"

Desmond jumped out, kicking the carriage door open. Kai followed Desmond, with Simon behind him.

Some dozens of meters away, Arlen was clutching his head. Blood was running down through his hand, dripping over the ground like a faulty tap. Half of his face was bloody, and in his right hand was the wand. Its tip pointed at the figure standing against him.

Sonia was standing tall there. Her back was to the carriage, from which Shae's face could be seen, horrified beyond doubt. There were two black daggers in Sonia's hands, and a strip of paper was attached to their ends.

"Explosive Kunais!" Simon exclaimed. "Red, help me! Throw the water can at the captain."

Simon dashed towards Arlen, but Kai was upon him before that. He slid under him, tripping the one-eyed man, and before he knew what was happening, a knife was at Simon's throat. Of course, Kai never remained weaponless for long.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Simon asked, a terror on his face. "Desmond, what have you done?"

Arlen and Sonia didn't look away from each other. Sonia's hands lifted, and she was just about to throw the Kunais when a burst of Mana came out of Arlen.

"Expelliarmus!"

A brilliant flash of scarlet light came out of the wand, almost blinding Kai. In the next moment, the two Kunais were flying high in the air, and Sonia's hands got thrown outwards like dead branches.

Suddenly, Desmond’s eyes lit up with the brightest gold color.

"Hahaha!" Arlen laughed madly. "You! You two! Worms, do you think you two can take me on by just catching me off guard? You think I only know the Disarming Charm? Fools!"

"You are right. They are."

Kai's gaze spun towards the darkness beyond the first carriage. The moonlight wasn't as clear as it was yesterday, but he could see the figure. It walked towards them, juggling 3 Explosive Kunais in its hands.

"You've lost my gifts, Sonia," the man said.

Arlen was shocked beyond belief. His hands were trembling in rage and a stream of fresh blood escaped out of the wound on his head.

"Traitors…" he muttered. "You fucking… TRAITORS!"

Kai saw a blurry hint of himself embedded in Arlen's lone figure. In his previous life, he too had gone through the same emotions.

"Desmond," Kai called out. "Who is he?"

"Haha!" Desmond laughed, the terrifying gold in his eyes on the brink of bursting out. "He is a friend. You just keep Simon in check."

Or I will suffer the same fate as Arlen’s… Kai knew what Desmond was implying.

"Now we aren't just two," Sonia said, taking a step towards Arlen.

The Order’s Contestant was the strongest of the three. Sonia had already injured Arlen and had made him use a Skill. Desmond could fire the Minor Soul Shaker anytime.

If not for a miracle, Arlen was a man destined to die.

If…

*

*

A few hours before,

"And now," Arlen said, with a threatening tone, "You will tell me what's the meaning of this."

In the basement, Arlen unrolled the flaky piece, letting out its content in open. Under the light of dozens of oil lamps, the single word written over it shimmered with a yellow-orange glow.

That word was…

Confringo.

“It is what it is,” Kai shrugged.

"Don't play games with me, boy." Arlen fumed. His blue eyes had almost become black, darkened by the abundant lamplight behind him. "It is a powerful Spell. Who told you about it?"

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"No one told me, captain," Kai said. He snatched the paper, tore it, and threw it into a lamp. The parchment became ash in no seconds. "It was used against me."

"Haha!" Arlen let out a roaring laugh, but never took his eyes off Kai. "Used against you, you say. Am I talking to a ghost, then?"

He doesn't think I can survive, Kai thought. And why should he? I would be dead if it wasn't for my Glitch.

"A witch from the Order used the Skill," Kai said. A longsword appeared in his hands, not before the appearance of the wand in Arlen's hands. The Captain of Guard took a step back, like a beast about to lunge on its prey. Kai ignored him. "There were two others with her. I got this from the Contestant of the 1st floor after killing him."

"You? You killed a 1st floor's Contestant?" Arlen asked, his voice full of doubts. But the longsword was proof even he couldn't deny.

The longsword disappeared back to his Inventory and Kai took a seat on the empty stool Sonia had left behind.

"You see, Captain, I have two Elementary Abilities," Kai admitted. It must have shocked Arlen because the man's mouth opened to say something, but no words came out. "He wasn't as strong as Simon, I can tell. But there was a newbie with him."

Then Kai briefly told him all about the ambush.

"When the witch came downstairs, she was already injured," Kai said, adding some lies. "If I wasn't already running for the door, the spell could have hit me. Let's cut to the chase, captain. You already know what I am trying to say."

"Desmond…" Arlen gritted out.

"Yes." Kai nodded. "But he isn't the mastermind."

That shocked Arlen. "What do you mean?"

"Sonia's the one who had set up that meeting," Kai said. "But something went wrong between that witch and Desmond. Something, I don't know."

"What if it was I who had contacted the Order's Contestants?" Arlen asked, his shoulders relaxing for the first time.

"I asked myself that," Kai said. "After killing me and Desmond, you would have to kill Sonia too. You know it. It would have cost you two powerful guards and a meat shield. And for what? I refuse to believe there isn't a Contestant of your caliber among the enemies. Why would he or she give up on the mission for just the three of us?

"No, captain, you couldn't have been in cahoots with the enemy. Because you had nothing to gain, and everything to lose."

Kai's reasoning was so flawless that even Arlen hadn't thought from this angle.

An awkward silence took over their conversation then.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Arlen asked warily. "Desmond and Sonia's plan is flawless."

"Unlike you, they both have everything to gain and nothing to lose," Kai said. "I can only guess, but I believe it was Sonia who meant to go with me to the shop. But you paired her with Shae. And whoever newbie had gone to the shop was destined to be sacrificed as a token of Sonia's goodwill.

"But you would have gone mad if Shae had gone missing. So Desmond used me. If I am being honest, I feel a little offended."

"Humph!" Arlen snorted at the mention of Shae. But he didn't deny it was truly so. "It still doesn't explain why you are helping me. You could have easily helped Desmond and Sonia too."

"If I had helped them," Kai said, shrugging, "what would I have got in return? With them I have nothing to lose and nothing to gain. And I don't like it one bit. Not at all! Thank you very much."

Arlen and Kai looked into each other's eyes.

"Good thing I still have your proof letter," Arlen said, at last. "Otherwise, I would have thought you weren't a newbie. Go on. Tell me what you want, then."

"A Side Mission, all kills, and loot." Kai listed.

"Loot?"

Kai replied with an evil grin on his face.

*

*

Presently,

Sonia's stride turned into a dash. But she hadn't even taken the third step when she stumbled, falling on the ground, rolling and tumbling.

The gold in Desmond's eyes also dimmed when his knees buckled and he shook his head as if he couldn't see clearly anymore.

"What's happening?!" the Order’s Contestant asked, taking a step back. "What magic is this?"

Arlen had already made a run towards him.

"My head," Sonia said, struggling to even raise her hands. "My…"

The brilliant gold in Desmond's eyes became sick-yellow. He had managed to remain standing, but his knees were still shaking as if they were made of paper.

Then terror struck Desmond as he snapped his head towards Kai.

But Kai wasn't there anymore. Nor was Simon.

"Power…" Kai hissed, standing behind Desmond, in his shadow. "It had become enough a reason for me to betray."

A scalding hot air blurred Kai's figure. His skin had a hot pinkish color, and his eyes were two narrow slits.

Elementary Snake Instinct!

"Some betrayals bring more Power than others," Kai hissed, a longsword appearing in his hand. "And some Powers are sweeter than others."

Kai hacked the longsword at Desmond's neck. Blood showered, a deep gash appearing at Desmond's neck.

The power behind the slash wasn't enough to behead him.

Desmond fell, his hands motionless, and his eyes lost and confused. Kai brought down the longsword again, blood covering his body. The small red dots became a brilliant work of art on his handsome face.

The longsword struck again.

Desmond's head separated from his body, the yellow in his open eyes still disappearing.

…

[You have killed 1 Chaos' Contestant]

…

"But…" Kai mumbled, remembering a spear-wielded black-eyed man. "… Nothing is as sweet as a well-planned revenge."

…

[

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn

You have unlocked a Title

…

Title: Traitor

Specification: Kill 10 Chaos' Contestants collectively. The Contestant must be from the same or higher floor than yours.

Status: (2/10)

Effect: Correspondence +2, Worth -5

Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time

]

…

From the massive 5 points drop in Worth, one could tell that killing the Contestants of same System was heavily frowned upon, even in the eyes of Chaos and Order.

Kai, though, could afford it easily.

Boom!

From the other side, a booming sound followed a scarlet flash.

“No00000000….” A man’s scream.

Kai stepped towards Sonia, ignoring Arlen’s fight.

Desmond's head, after rolling down the road, had stopped just under Sonia's eyes. There was a twitch in her body, but she couldn't move. Her eyes were red, and tears were rolling out.

"How…" A mere whisper came out of her mouth.

"Poison." Kai told her what he had told Arlen. "It was impossible for you two to not take advantage of this chance. Arlen certainly couldn't fight with more than 2 Contestants of your level. So I helped him. Desmond didn't know, but I had taken a potion out of the shop's shelf.”

This was the same lie he had told Arlen, too. Otherwise, he had no justification for the poison.

"It isn't something great,” Kai continued. “Its effects are delayed and weak. Just enough for you two to lose your bearings and give me and Arlen a chance.."

"How…" Same question, different meaning.

"How did you never get to feel the danger?" Kai completed her question. "I asked myself what causes dizziness, confusion, and weakness, but nobody minds it one bit. Wine. A lot of wine. You never questioned yourself why Arlen sent Simon for surveillance when it is clear I who has the greatest Charisma?"

The question must have struck her hard. Kai had a greater chance to get information out of characters than Simon. Yet, none thought about it, because everyone knew Arlen hated Kai.

After their return from the basement, everything was a ruse. The jests, the mockery, and the obvious expressions. Kai and Arlen didn't even need to plan for it. They both were natural, as Kai had found out.

Kai caressed Sonia's hair. They were smooth, roughened from the wind, but smooth.

So, he had to grip them tightly.

Kai banged her head right on top of Desmond's legacy.

"Do you know why this is happening?" Kai asked.

Another bang.

"You can still think, right?" Kai whispered.

A crunch.

"You should know, shouldn't you? For Desmond's sake." Kai suggested.

Something broke and fell off Sonia's face.

"OK, OK." Kai gave up.

It was her teeth.

"Pawn..." Kai sighed.

The bangs had turned into muzzled squishes.

"You shouldn't have…" Kai had to catch his breath.

She was already dead.

"You shouldn't have used me as a pawn."

…

[

You have killed 1 Chaos' Contestant

…

Side Mission: Assist Thunder Faction's Captain of Guard in killing the traitors

Side Mission Status: Success

Side Mission Rewards: 100 Mission Credits

]