Upon Twelf's death, Fortwen grabbed the pendant of the necklace from her neck, and she stabbed her neck repeatedly. And because it has a diamond-shaped 4-inch pendant with a pointed tip, it severed her neck badly. Blood is flowing, her eyes turning back into red. The pendant was made of glass, that is why it penetrated her skin well. We were all stunned and unable to move. Thirtwen went near her and grabbed her hand to stop her, but she slashed Thirtwen's right arm. She stopped stabbing herself until the pendant was completely shattered into tiny glass shards that were stuck in her neck. She fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
"Fortweeen!" Thirtwen put Fortwen's head on his lap as he sat and cried. Fortwen was his classmate, and they became closer when they arrived on this planet. Three of his friends have already died. The first two who were mauled to death by Neinuko, Eleventh and Thirzen, and now it's Fortwen.
"W-What just happened?" Fifzen was shocked too.
Why did the clone suddenly attack Twelf even though she was doing nothing to them? Twelf was only standing on the side, unable to move because she was frightened. The boys who charged in must be the ones the last clone finished. What's even more unpredictable is why Fortwen committed suicide. Did she really commit suicide?
The turn of events went so fast that we didn't stop her earlier from hurting herself. Others wept over the deaths of our friends. Two girls died today.
"We were stunned when the monster appeared and strangled Twelf." Forzen commented.
"I-I didn't notice it either! T'was g-gruesome." Sixth covered her mouth.
"Damn! I stabbed the monster while it was strangling Twelf but, it wasn't even scratched." Ninth added.
"Why did Fortwen do that?!" Sectwen is also confused.
We are full of remorse as we recollect the things that happened before our eyes.
"Game over," a voice whispered. It was Author.
The iconic hologram appeared in the middle of this empty area. It released an image of our pictures. And the picture of Twelf and Fortwen has a big red X mark and a 'game over' stamp below their faces.
"Again, two of your friends died. Stage 2 has been carried out."
No one is glad about Author's news, even though Author is quite amused by his announcement.
"The corpse of the two will be dispatched." The bodies of the Twelf and Fortwen disappeared like a bubble in front of us.
"Why did you kill them?" Aeizen asked with a stern look. This may be the first time I've heard her comment or that she talked to Author.
"Because... in this game, the weaklings are eliminated."
"Fortwen? Why did she do that to herself?" Thirtwen also questioned angrily.
"You again? Maybe you should avoid having friends because they die when you are involved. You might be bad luck." Author mocked him. What is wrong with this hologram? It does not even empathize with us.
"What did you say?!" his fist clenched, and he was about to punch the hologram when Third held his arms to stop him. "You're not in any position to treat us like this!"
"What did you do to the two?" I asked Author firmly to stop its madness and to show that it's no laughing matter.
"First of all, the reason why Fortwen was chosen to be the bait is because she is the weakest of you all. She got scared when the arrow was about to choose the lucky one. That arrow detects your intense heartbeat and how you feel. The more you fear, the more you attract what you fear."
This is totally absurd!
"That explains why some of you were given a short sword, not a spear. The more courage you have, the more powerful a weapon you will have."
I look at the nine of us who are holding short swords. It was I; my classmate, First; our leader wearing eyeglasses, Third; my bubbly friend, Aeith; the arrogant one, Ninth; an introverted girl, Aeizen; the funny boy, Ninezen; our chubby leader, Firstwen. And the one who has his 3 friends passed away, Thirtwen.
"As for Twelf, she is second to the weakest. She was panicking when some of you attacked the five clones. To prevent her from running away, she was killed by the last clone finishing its business. And you were right that the five clones are far better than the first seven you killed. They gain powers when their targets are shrouded in fear. The main target of this game is the feeble. However, some of you are such a nuisance, that's why the monster Fortwen was manipulated to kill herself instead."
"I also got scared! I admit it! But why do I have this sword?" Firstwen asked.
Yes, even I. I don't deserve this short sword. I was frightened when the twelve clones were about to attack, and my feet were glued to the ground.
"The fear intensity differs. Assumingly, any one of you surpassed the fear intensity of Twelf and Fortwen, but the thing is, you resisted and fought back. Slight courage can outgrow extreme fear."
So, this is what it's all about, huh?
"In short, this is a test of your dauntlessness, and the preys are the weaklings."
Did it kill Fortwen and Twelf just because of that?
"Is it because of their fear that you're killing them?" Firstwen asked while keeping his composure.
"No other reason. If your fear outgrows you already in the first level of tri-games, then isn't it better that you'll be eradicated so that your friends won't sacrifice themselves just to save the frail?" Author has a point, but it was indeed a harsh quote that cuts through hearts.
"The vigor wins, the feeble loses."
Author disappeared, and the roof is slowly closing automatically, so it is getting dark again. We were left standing, trying to absorb what had just happened.
"Let's go," a phrase from our leader, Third. I can see the exhaustion in his face as he fixed his eyeglasses.
Fourth went close to her brother as we descended back to our rooms. She is dazed and looks traumatized.
"It could've been me…" I heard she mumbled. They are behind me.
Fifth pat her back to comfort her. "Don't think about it. What should've happened has already happened."
I looked behind. I held her hand and smiled.
She hugged me and she cried.
I hugged her back and patted her back. "I won't let anything bad happen to us."
Maybe that was wrong of me to say such a bold thing. But… what can we do to prevent such?