The hum of the chessboard grew louder, an unnatural energy coursing beneath their feet. The Alchemist’s voice crackled through the comms, but for the first time since the game began, he didn’t sound amused… he sounded focused. “Three moves,” he said. “That’s all we need.”
Sakura’s screen flickered with the updated board state. The white pieces had been whittled down, only the Queen, a Knight, a Rook, a few Pawn, and the King, remained. The Black side had only the King, a Knight, and a Rook.
A sudden countdown timer ticked in the corner of the screen, five minutes. A drone swings past the students, “If you fail to checkmate by then, the game would force an automatic loss, wiping out your entire team.”
“What, what is this?” Sakura asked, voice shaking.
“I am playing to win,” The Alchemist muttered.
White to move.
Riku, the Queen, spoke first. “We need to box the King in.”
“Agreed,” The Alchemist said. “Duchess, advance your Knight to threaten f7. If they don’t respond, we’ll corner the King.”
Sakura nodded inside her Knight shell. She moved forward in an ‘L’ shape, taking position near the enemy King’s escape route. The board rumbled beneath her as her piece locked into place.
Black’s move came immediately. A sickening crunch sounded as the Black Rook smashed through their remaining Rook piece. The player inside barely had time to scream before the shell collapsed inward, crushed like brittle glass.
“Shit… SHIT!” Kaito’s voice cracked through the comms.
The Alchemist clicked his tongue. “They’re playing aggressively. Good.”
“Good?” Riku cried.
“Because it means they’re panicking,” he replied smoothly.
Sakura watched as a White Pawn surged forward. “Pawn to e7,” The Alchemist commanded. “Promote next turn.”
Sakura’s eyes widened. If they moved one more space, the Pawn would reach the final row and be promoted into a Queen.
“That’ll force them to react,” Riku murmured.
Black moved again. Their Knight repositioned, setting up a potential fork against Sakura’s Knight and the Alchemist’s King.
“They’re trying to force a trade,” Kaito said grimly.
“Let them try,” The Alchemist muttered.
Sakura gritted her teeth,her breath hitching. They were so close as her screen flickered, highlighting the looming enemy pieces.
The Black King stood still in the back row, its towering form shadowed by the wreckage of fallen pieces.
Suddenly, The Alchemist issued an order that made her stomach drop. “Duchess, sacrifice your Knight. Take their Rook.”
“What?” as Sakura’s hands froze on the controls.
“You heard me.” The Alchemist tone slowed, “Move your ass to capture f7. The Rook will take you. Then we push for a checkmate.”
Sakura swallowed hard. She stared at the gleaming Black Rook—knowing full well that if she took it, she wouldn’t survive the next move.
“No,” Riku said sharply. “We don’t need to lose another piece.” Riku’s Queen piece surged forward, striking with a brutal force. The obsidian knight staggered as Riku, queen, grew tall, and the swing of its spector smashed the knight to pieces.
Sakura felt everything, as the pieces ricashed against her, she exhaled shakily.
The Alchemist’s voice was firm. “Stuped women! The sacrifice was necessary.”
The Black Rook surged forward, cutting through the space where Sakura’s Knight should have been. But instead of capturing her, it was now bearing down on The Alchemist’s King.
A loud, blaring alarm filled the comms. "WARNING: KING IN CHECK."
The Alchemist cursed under his breath. “You reckless”
“Save your breath and MOVE!” Riku snapped. “I’ll cover you.”
The Alchemist had no choice. He moved the King diagonally, avoiding immediate capture, but he was running out of space. The Black King was watching.
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A sharp beep sounded on Sakura’s screen. The Black King was activating as its massive, obsidian form shifting, Sakura’s stomach dropped.
And then Sakura saw it. The play. Her eyes flickered toward the Pawn at e7. One move from promotion. “Promote the Pawn,” she gasped.
“What?” Riku said.
“It’s our only shot. We promote the Kaito, force the Black King into a corner, and checkmate.” Sakura exclaimed.
The Alchemist inhaled sharply. Then, after a moment, he laughed. “Well, well, well,” he murmured. “Perhaps you’re not as useless as I thought, you finally saw what I wanted”
Kaito’s Pawn surged forward as he let out a shuddering breath. “Holy shit.”
The board shuddered violently as the Pawn reached the eighth rank. A bright pulse of light shot across the chessboard as the promotion triggered as living metal sharped around it.
"PAWN PROMOTED TO QUEEN."
Riku’s eyes widened. “We have two Queens now.”
The enemy Black King moved immediately, sensing the threat. It took a step back, looking for an escape. It had only one square left to move.
Sakura’s screen flickered, and a new move appeared. A forced sequence. The final play.
Riku understood immediately. She and Kaito’s newly promoted Queen would box the Black King in.
White to move.
“Queen to f7,” Riku commanded, her voice steady. Her Queen gilded forward, cutting off one of the Black King’s escape routes.
Black to move.
The Black King shifted again, its last available square.
White to move.
The Alchemist smiled. “Checkmate.” He ordered Kaito to move his own Queen to e8, trapping the Black King.
The chessboard locked in place. The tiles flashed red. The game’s voice boomed across the room: “CHECKMATE.”
The Black King froze. For a brief second, it twitched, as if refusing to accept defeat. Then, slowly, its obsidian body cracked.
A horrifying, metallic screech filled the air as the massive King shattered, collapsing inward. The remaining Black pieces crumbled alongside it, dissolving into fragments of nothingness.
Silence.
Sakura gasped for air, pushing herself up with trembling arms. Her whole body ached. The air smelled of metal, sweat, and something burnt, the aftermath of their brutal game still lingering.
Then, the drones moved.
A sleek black drone hovered low, scanning the survivors. A metallic voice boomed overhead, sterile and void of emotion. “Game Over. White side victorious. +1000 Points awarded to all remaining players.”
A sharp chime rang out as each surviving player's ID screen flickered to life. The system updated automatically.
Rank/Name: Student Sakura
Kill(s): 17
Points:0 to 1000 as the numbers roll up
Special Item: Fire Axe
Team: White
Sakura stared at her screen, barely processing the numbers. The others were checking their own ID cards, their reactions mixed. Kaito whistled low. “A thousand points…”
The Alchemist grinned, flipping his card in his hand. “A few thousand points are well-earned between us, my dear Lady Riku. A fitting reward for playing the game correctly.”
Sakura felt sick. How many had died for this?
The drone hummed again, issuing its final statement. “Please enjoy you winnings and please gain” Then, with a soft whir, the drone retreated, disappearing into the rafters.
Suddenly Sakura felt a hand gripping her shoulders, steadying her.
“Sakura!” Riku’s voice. Concern. Relief. Anger.
She barely had time to process, Riku didnt call her Duchess, before Riku turned. And punched The Alchemist across the face. “It’s blood money,” Riku muttered, her fingers clenching around her ID.
The impact sent him staggering back, blood trickling from beneath his mask.
“You sacrificed her, and the rest of them” Riku hissed, rage simmering in her crimson eye, voice cut through the silence like a blade. “You think this was a victory?” She held up her ID, displaying the glowing points. “How many people died for this?”
The Alchemist sighed, sounding almost bored. “If you’re asking for a refund, my lady, I doubt the game masters will accommodate.”
Riku’s fists clenched again. “You”
“You’re angry because I played the game to win,” The Alchemist continued smoothly. “Because I made the hard choices you couldn’t.”
“Shut up.” Riku screamed. The weight of Emi’s death. Jun’s. The others.
Sakura flinched, never seeing Riku like this before, dropping her act, this was pure Riku.
Riku’s voice trembled with barely contained rage. “You didn’t play to win. You played to control, throw away my friends!”
The Alchemist tilted his head, amused. “And what’s wrong with that?”
Riku’s breath was unsteady. She took another step forward. “You sacrificed them.”
“I sacrificed pieces,” The Alchemist corrected, crossing his arms. “And we won. Would you rather we all died in some noble, idiotic last stand? Would that have satisfied you?”
Riku moved fast. Her hand snapped out, grabbing The Alchemist by his collar, yanking him closer. “You’re a monster.”
The room shifted. The other students stiffened, watching the exchange unfold like a match hanging over dry grass, ready to ignite.
For the first time, The Alchemist’s smile faltered. Just a flicker, but Sakura saw it. Then, he laughed.
He pried Riku’s hand off his collar, stepping back. “And you’re naïve.”
A moment of silence. Then, one of The Alchemist’s followers, Scab, stepped forward. “Boss, are we done here?”
The Alchemist rolled his shoulders, sighing. “Yes, Scab, I do believe we are.” He turned toward the remaining survivors. “Ladies, gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure. But I do believe our time together has run its course.”
Riku narrowed her eye. “What?”
The Alchemist spread his arms. “My dear Riku, it’s clear we’re no longer compatible. You don’t respect my methods, and I certainly don’t care for your self-righteous theatrics.” He turned to his group, Scab, Lan, and a few others. “We’re leaving.”
Sakura’s stomach twisted.
Kaito stepped forward, glaring. “You’re splitting us up?”
“I’m separating the winners from the dead weight,” The Alchemist replied smoothly.
That was the final spark. Riku grasps her staff “You bastard!” as she lunged, but Kaito and another survivor held her back. “You don’t get to decide that!” she shouted, her voice raw. “You don’t get to act like you’re some kind of king!”
The Alchemist met her gaze evenly. “Then try to stop me.”
No one spoke.
Then, The Alchemist turned on his heel. His followers followed. As he passed Sakura, he paused. “Duchess.” He nodded slightly, a glint of something unreadable in his masked gaze. “Don’t let them drag you down.”
Sakura didn’t answer. She simply watched as he and his group vanished into the corridor.
The room felt smaller. Colder. Then, Riku exhaled, shaking with rage. “We should have killed him.”
Kaito let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t think that’s the last time we’ll see him.”
Sakura remained quiet. Because deep down, she knew it wasn’t over.