The haunted city, bathed in its unnatural light, pulsed with the weight of impending violence. The towering 500-foot haunted house loomed over the battlefield, its dark windows like eyes watching the combatants below. Kaguro, standing among his Team Akashi comrades—Kamiko, Kashimo, Bachi, and Alan—felt a chill as he caught a subtle shift in Entity 404's chant. "Wait, that's not the traditional Reamism accent. What is it?" he asked, his voice sharp with suspicion.
Entity 404's eyes glinted with amusement. "There's no fixed accent for us. You can speak Reamism however you like. But there's a deeper reason, one you're not ready to understand." His cryptic response hung in the air, unanswered, as Kaguro muttered a quiet "Okay" and fell silent, his mind racing with questions.
The entity's voice shattered the stillness. "Now, Team Akashi versus Team Keien. A close contest, as both teams are teenagers." His tone carried a predatory excitement, as if savoring the bloodshed to come.
Kaguro's gaze drifted to the haunted house's gothic interior—creaking floorboards, flickering chandeliers, and shadows that seemed to writhe. His thoughts churned. Are we going to die? No, we'll give it our all. He knew his fight was the second of five rounds, but the first would set the tone. Team Akashi had chosen Bachi to lead, banking on his extraordinary feats—like the time he'd fended off a bear. But this wasn't a beast; it was a human, unpredictable and deadly. Bachi's shoulders were tense, his eyes betraying the pressure of facing a foe with intelligence.
Team Keien selected Minoru, their strongest, a schoolyard legend who'd never lost a fight. His knowledge of combat techniques made him a formidable opponent. As Bachi and Minoru stepped into the ring, their aggression crackled like static, their presence amplified by mutual rage. The air was thick with the promise of violence.
"Three… two… one… Go!" Entity 404's voice grew louder with each count, igniting the battle.
Bachi struck first, lunging with his knife aimed at Minoru's abdomen. Minoru sidestepped, the blade grazing air. A flurry of strikes followed, both fighters landing scratches—shallow but stinging. They stumbled, collapsing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Bachi recovered faster, scrambling to his feet and driving his knife into Minoru's leg three times in rapid succession. Blood pooled, and Minoru grunted in pain.
Alan, watching from the sidelines, felt his heart seize. The stabs triggered memories of his mother, Michelle—her cruelty, her beatings, the trauma that still clawed at him. "Aaaaaaa!" he screamed, the sound raw and anguished, echoing through the haunted house. Entity 404, hovering in the sky, laughed, his voice manifesting as a crack of lightning that split the air.
The distraction cost Bachi. Minoru, seizing the moment, limped to the corner where the violation button glowed ominously. He slammed it, shouting, "It's a violation, Entity 404! Do something!"
A translucent wall of energy materialized, separating the fighters. The crowd held its breath as Entity 404's voice boomed. "A violation has been claimed. But the fault lies not with Team Akashi, but with Team Keien. Misusing the violation call is a grave error." He turned to Minoru, whose face paled. "You will pay the price."
Minoru's voice cracked with desperation. "No, please! I misunderstood! I can explain!"
"It's too late, lad," Entity 404 said, his smile cold. With a snap of his fingers, Minoru's body glowed briefly before dissolving into nothingness.
"Team Akashi leads, 1–0," Entity 404 announced. "Two more wins to secure victory."
Round Two: Kaguro vs. Akiko
The second match pitted Kaguro against Akiko, the weakest member of Team Keien. Akiko, an ordinary high schooler, wanted no part of this blood-soaked arena. His eyes pleaded for escape, for peace, but the rules of the Realm of Darkness offered no mercy. Kaguro, by contrast, radiated confidence, his gaze piercing Akiko as if reading his soul. There was no doubt, no fear—only the certainty of victory.
"Three… two… one… Go!" Entity 404's voice rang out.
Akiko struck first, his knife slashing toward Kaguro with surprising ferocity. Kaguro dodged effortlessly, his voice calm but cutting. "So, you'll leap at me like an animal?"
Akiko's mind reeled. Is he right? Am I an animal? The doubt sowed chaos in his thoughts, but he shook it off, lunging again. Kaguro sidestepped each attack, his movements fluid, almost mocking. Then, with surgical precision, he stabbed Akiko twice—once in the shoulder, once in the side. Akiko staggered, blood seeping through his clothes.
"I can't endure this!" Akiko gasped, his voice breaking. In a moment of despair, he turned his knife on himself, plunging it into his chest. He collapsed, lifeless, his choice a final act of surrender.
Kaguro stood over him, a mix of triumph and unease flickering across his face. The victory was his, but the cost was heavy. "Team Akashi, 2–0," Entity 404 declared. "Victory is within reach."
Back in the Real World
In the real world, the school was a cauldron of confusion and fear. "Where are they? Where have they gone?" teachers whispered, their voices trembling. The CCTV footage was reviewed obsessively, but it offered no answers. Kaguro, Kamiko, Kashimo, Bachi, and Alan had vanished mid-class, as if they'd turned invisible or teleported. The footage showed nothing—no trace, no clue. The school authorities contacted the boys' parents, who were equally baffled and distraught. The mystery of their disappearance gripped the community, a puzzle with no solution.
Round Three: Alan vs. Kosuke
Back in the Realm of Darkness, Entity 404's voice heralded the third round. "Alan versus Kosuke." Alan stepped into the ring, his surgically altered face pale, his body rigid with trauma. The sight of knives, the violence—it all summoned memories of Michelle, her rage, her betrayal. Kosuke, a master strategist from Team Keien, entered with calm confidence, his mind a labyrinth of tactics.
The fight began, but Alan stood frozen, unable to move. Kosuke lunged, his knife aimed at Alan's chest. At the last moment, Alan's instincts kicked in, memories of Michelle's cunning flashing through his mind. He executed a backflip, evading the strike with a grace he didn't know he possessed.
Fueled by desperation, Alan attacked, his knife meeting Kosuke's in a clash that shattered both blades. Kosuke smirked. "Your strongest weapon is gone, little boy." He delivered a brutal punch, sending Alan sprawling, blood trickling from his lip.
Alan's vision blurred, his trauma overwhelming. Each hit from Kosuke felt like Michelle's fists, her cruelty reborn. Time seemed to slow, and in that frozen moment, a ghostly figure appeared—Michelle, her face soft, almost remorseful. "Don't give up, sweetheart," she whispered. "I hurt you because I was lost in rage. But now, you must live. Fight to survive, not to join us."
Tears welled in Alan's eyes, but her words ignited something within him. She extended a spectral hand, her voice resolute. "Take my strength. Show them who you are."
Alan's senses sharpened, his pain dulled by newfound resolve. He rose, gripping the jagged remnant of his knife. Kosuke, sensing victory, pressed his attack, but Alan was no longer the broken boy. With Michelle's strength coursing through him, he deflected Kosuke's strikes, redirecting the sharp edge of his broken blade. In a final, desperate surge, Alan drove the shard into Kosuke's skull. Kosuke collapsed, his strategies undone by Alan's raw determination.
"Team Akashi wins, 3–0," Entity 404 proclaimed. "The second team in 50 years to claim victory without a loss." With another chant, the remaining members of Team Keien glowed and vanished, erased from existence. Kaguro, watching closely, noted the shift in Entity 404's accent again. Something's off, he thought, suspicion gnawing at him. The Reamism language was hiding secrets, and he was determined to unravel them.
The battlefield grew quiet, the haunted house absorbing the echoes of the fight. Team Akashi stood together, battered but unbroken. They had survived, their bond forged anew in blood and triumph. But the Realm of Darkness held more trials, and Kaguro's instincts warned that Entity 404's game was far from over.
Chapter 26 ends
To be continued…