Chapter 11: Performance Ability Is an Important Skill
If there's one way to understand something most quickly, hands-on experience is generally the most straightforward method.
At least for Kaguya, who had just endured the terrifying ordeal of her entire body tearing apart, disintegrating, and vanishing like a nightmare, she now had an extremely profound understanding of the horrors concealed beneath this apartment's dilapidated exterior.
"Did you turn back the clock's time, so we returned directly to the beginning?"
Kaguya quickly got up, opened the living room door, and glanced at the wall clock in Room 204, confirming that the time had indeed reset to the initial moment.
Could something like this really be possible?
Simply turning back the hands of a room's clock could actually reverse time.
Kaguya felt that all the common sense she had learned over more than a decade had completely shattered in this moment.
"It does seem that way. In any case, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. If we really have gone back to the start, then soon, the woman next door will start screaming to summon that invisible thing again."
As he spoke, Kaito picked up the rules sheet from the bedside table, folded it, and stuffed it into his pants pocket. Then he glanced at the mysterious black watch on his left wrist.
In truth, during the critical moment, his first attempt had been to move the hands of this strange watch on his left hand.
After all, both Maki and Kaguya beside him had begun to collapse, their bodies breaking apart, and his own body was following suit. In that situation, he hadn't dared to touch either of them, so he had tried moving the hands of his own watch first.
But it had been completely immovable.
This bizarre, broken watch had only a minute hand left, yet it was unbelievably sturdy, as if welded to his wrist—utterly impossible to adjust.
As the situation grew increasingly dire, with everyone on the verge of disintegration, Kaito had no choice but to take the risk and touch Kaguya, attempting to move the hands of the wall clock she was carrying. Only then had it finally worked.
Maybe this watch on my wrist isn't bound by the rules?
But if that's the case, why did it appear on my hand in the first place, and why can't I take it off?
Kaito silently pondered this as he walked ahead of Kaguya, his steps never faltering.
"Thank you. Without your actions just now, I don't think I would have survived."
Kaguya, walking behind him, removed the wall clock from Room 204 and caught up, expressing her gratitude with a solemn tone.
"Don't thank me yet. We still haven't confirmed the exact scope and characteristics of this wall clock's ability. Once I open the door, be extremely careful. We don't know if only those who hold or adjust the clock retain their memories, nor can we be sure whether the three who turned into... monsters have returned to normal. If something unexpected happens, you must turn the clock's hands immediately. If we can't reunite with Miss Shijo, we'll only have one chance to test this."
Taking a deep breath, Kaito struggled to support his weakened body as he continued to move forward.
"Only one chance?"
Kaguya grasped the implication in Kaito's words.
"Turning that clock isn't without cost. First, the time we can rewind is likely limited to the duration we've spent in this apartment. Before the rewind, I tried to turn the hour hand further back, but it wouldn't budge—it felt stuck, only allowing a slight adjustment. Second, whoever turns it once probably can't do it again. They might not even be able to touch it afterward."
As he spoke, Kaito had already reached near the entrance. He turned back to glance at the wall clock in Kaguya's hands, offering a faint smile before facing forward again, looking through the broken door of Room 204 that he had pushed open.
He didn't look back at the severed head Kaguya was holding.
A head identical to his own, its skull cracked, dangling three clock hands.
From start to finish, the head's gaze had remained fixed on him—unwavering, palpable, impossible for Kaito to ignore.
He had a premonition: even if he survived this horrifying place, that gaze would never leave him.
From now on, every day, every moment, everywhere, he would forever feel that stare—the chilling eyes in the darkness—haunting him until his last breath, until his consciousness ceased to exist.
So, was this why the rulebook hadn't explicitly stated how to use the clock for self-rescue? Because doing so would burden the user for life?
Even so, they could've been clearer. Do you have any idea how much trouble we're in because of your vague, outdated, useless rules?
Kaito grumbled inwardly, but it was just that—grumbling.
He knew complaints changed nothing. Action was what mattered now, so he didn't voice his grievances aloud, keeping them locked inside. He didn't dare dwell on them too long, either, afraid some mind-reading entity might respond.
Creak—
As he opened the door to Room 204, Kaito saw Maki stepping out of Room 208, her eyes slightly red, clutching another wall clock. She had moved faster than Kaito and Kaguya, forcing herself to regain composure and rush out with the clock.
Well, in Kaito's vision, it was another severed head. Great—now he felt double the stares. In a way, as long as Maki and Kaguya held those damned clocks, he could always track the two beauties.
"Stay calm, everything will be fine. Ah, three more of you came out? Are you all okay?"
Old Guo was in the hallway, speaking to the Black guy, trying to soothe his panic.
Sun Dajun leaned against the wall, his face pale with fear as he warily scanned his surroundings. His expression twisted with clear disappointment when he saw Kaito and the others emerge.
It seemed that the person who had disappeared in the hallway earlier and turned into a monster was now completely normal again.
Kaito noticed Lao Guo's gaze—though it was just a seemingly casual glance, Kaito could easily discern the difference in that look. He was now certain that this man who called himself Lao Guo must have retained his memories and knew what had happened.
So, when the pendulum clock was used to rewind time, everyone who was still alive and hadn't died retained their memories and knew what had occurred?
Sun Dajun was about to take a step forward, heading toward Kaito.
It looked like he intended to ask the same question as last time, using the "reality show" excuse to deceive himself.
But this time, before he could even speak, the burly white man who had previously refused to interact with anyone suddenly shoved Sun Dajun aside and hurriedly approached Kaito.
"You're veteran players, right?"
The man's voice trembled slightly, his gaze at Kaito and the other two filled with intense anticipation.
"Just now—was it you who used a Relic? There's actually a Relic that can reverse time? That's... that's unbelievable! My name's Grimm. I can do a lot of things—can you let me join you? Please, I won't cause any trouble."
Grimm.
The man gave his name.
Well, it was a pretty common and generic name, though still better than overused ones like Tom or Jack.
But he mentioned veteran players?
The idea that there were veteran players who had cleared this so-called Sacrifice Game before didn't surprise Kaito. He had long suspected that the man called Lao Guo was one. Now, this man named Grimm had confirmed that he, too, was likely a veteran player—though probably the type who had luckily survived one mission. Of course, that was assuming he wasn't acting or pretending to be this way on purpose.
"What veteran players...?"
Sun Dajun, who had been about to ask questions, hesitated upon hearing Grimm's words.
"Can you pick locks?"
Before Kaito could figure out how to respond, Kaguya stepped forward, looking up at the towering 6'3" white man with an icy tone.
The aura of the "Ice Princess Kaguya" was honed in the cutthroat world of a true zaibatsu family, completely different from Kaito, who was just a small-time writer scraping by at the bottom. Even though she appeared to be just a teenage girl, the authority Kaguya exuded in that moment was enough to intimidate Grimm, who had already formed preconceived notions in his mind.
This kind of presence—this was what a veteran player should have.
Yes, just like those veteran players from his last mission, the ones who effortlessly found escape routes and ensured no casualties from start to finish. It was only by following them that Grimm had survived that terrifying urban legend game despite knowing nothing.
Thus, he had concluded that the best survival strategy was to latch onto the strongest players.
Looking for experienced players to latch onto and follow their lead. Even if they refuse to protect me outright, as long as they're willing to step in during danger, my survival chances would significantly increase.
"No problem, I can pick locks, I can do it!"
Grimm, a former thief from America, hastily nodded while pulling a wire from his pocket and moving toward Room 205.
"Do you want to attract that thing back with your loud voice?"
Maki Shijo spoke up coldly, her tone as icy as Kaguya's.
"Y-yes, I understand."
Already treating the trio as veteran players, Grimm hurriedly replied, sweat beading on his forehead in panic.
Meanwhile, Kaito, who had just processed the situation, glanced at Kaguya's indifferent expression as she stood with arms crossed to his left and Maki's disdainful look as she rested her chin on one hand to his right. He couldn't help but marvel at how these two 17-year-old girls far surpassed him in social maneuvering, reaction speed, and acting. Then, he turned his attention to Room 205—the source of the team wipe, where the loudmouthed blonde girl resided.
Click—
A crisp sound echoed as the door to 205 slowly creaked open.
In just over ten seconds, Grimm successfully picked the old-fashioned security door, revealing the darkness within under the corridor's pale fluorescent light.