The world had changed again.
The trenches had collapsed into rubble, replaced by towering black fortresses that loomed like fangs in the night. Barbed wire stretched across the ground, searchlights cut through the smoke, and mechanical guns mounted the walls like hungry predators.
This was no battlefield. This was a slaughterhouse.
The rules appeared in glowing letters across the sky:
"Objective: Breach the fortress. Secure the command core.
Time Limit: 6 Hours.
Failure: Battalion Elimination."
The group stood in silence. Aya's hands trembled as she clutched Arata's sleeve. Haruto cursed under his breath. Riku spat bitterly into the dirt. Sayaka adjusted her glasses, calculating. Ren… Ren just smiled, humming softly as if waiting for blood to spill.
Finally, Haruto snapped. "We can't storm that! It's suicide!"
"Exactly," Riku growled. His glare fixed on Arata. "And I bet he already has a plan. Go on, mastermind. Tell us how many you'll sacrifice this time."
The soldiers around them muttered nervously. Suspicion thickened like poison in the air.
Arata tilted his head, calm, unbothered. "Sacrifice? No. That word doesn't fit. I'm not throwing anyone away. I'm using the pieces on the board exactly as they were meant to be used."
"Pieces?" Aya whispered, eyes widening.
Sayaka smirked faintly. "Now you're not even hiding it."
Arata smiled. "Why should I? You already know what I am."
He stepped forward, voice carrying through the huddled survivors.
"Listen closely. Charging the fortress is impossible. We'll be shredded before we take two steps. So here's what we'll do. Half of you will form a distraction unit. Run loud, run hard, and draw every gun on the wall. The rest will follow me underground — through the sewer tunnels leading inside. Once the walls are cleared, we'll gut the fortress from within."
Gasps. Shouts. Rage.
"That's a death sentence!"
"You're insane!"
"You expect us to just throw our lives away—?!"
Arata's eyes gleamed coldly. His voice cut through the chaos like a knife.
"Not throw away. Choose. Those who can't handle it will die screaming in the mud. Those who obey me will survive. That's the only rule this world has ever followed."
The battalion broke into arguments, fear tearing them apart. Riku shouted for resistance, Aya begged for calm, Haruto cursed and punched the wall in frustration. Sayaka watched with quiet interest, arms folded, while Ren's grin only grew wider.
And through it all, Arata stood perfectly still, letting their panic swell. Then, softly, he spoke again.
"Fear won't save you. Panic won't save you. Only obedience will."
His eyes scanned them, one by one. For a moment, no one could breathe.
Aya whispered like a prayer. "…Arata-kun…"
In the end, desperation won. Half the battalion agreed to distract, their eyes hollow with resignation. The others, trembling, followed Arata into the darkness of the sewers.
The fortress loomed above, merciless. Searchlights swept, guns rotated. The bait unit broke into a charge, shouting, firing wildly — and instantly, the walls lit up, raining fire upon them. Screams tore through the night as bodies fell.
But the gates… the gates cracked open just slightly as defenders moved out.
And from below, Arata emerged with his unit, stepping into the fortress like a phantom.
Inside, the screams echoed even louder. The corridors were tight, suffocating, filled with traps and armed guards. But Arata led them like a conductor leading an orchestra of death.
Every turn, every shot, every scream — he had calculated.
Sayaka murmured behind him, almost in awe. "…You're terrifying."
Ren's giggle echoed. "Deliciously terrifying~"
Even Haruto, covered in blood, couldn't hide his fear anymore. "…What the hell are you, Arata?"
Arata glanced back at them, smiling faintly. "The only one willing to play the game the way it was meant to be played."
Hours bled away. The distraction unit had been annihilated. The underground squad was half-dead. And yet, step by step, they climbed higher into the fortress until they reached the command chamber.
The final door groaned open.
Inside stood the enemy commander — tall, armored, his eyes burning with rage.
"Congratulations," he growled. "You made it this far. But this is where you die."
Arata's grin widened. For the first time, his mask wasn't a mask at all — it was his true face, sharp and merciless.
"No," he whispered. "This is where I win."
And then the chamber exploded into chaos.