The Cycle Continues: Alice in Borderland Novel

76) King of Hearts [7]

"I sometimes worry that they'll invest too much into the game, and fall for its big traps. I've had no choice but to lay the traps, to make the game difficult enough to be passed as a King game. If they fall for the trap... Then I will never forgive myself. But again, I have faith in them, that they'll have faith in me."

Players left: 81/116
Round: 5

Added rules:
1. Volunteers allowed for trials
2. Game Clear if Rafferty's name is drawn
3. Open lobby gate
4. Six names drawn per round

===Niko Chenay===

It felt as if I had lost complete control of my body, my vision and muscles dominated solely by a strange mixture of flashbacks and visions. It was like trying to fight the falling asleep, the sensation struggling to take over my mind. My heartrate was exploding, thumping in rapid successions, as a cold terror took over me, making my limbs shake.

There were flashes of the observation tower and of my time in the kitchen, as voices beckoned me to let go of myself.

'Come on, take control once more.' It said. 'Don't be altruistic this time. You will die.'

After I succumbed, my memory became faint, but after some further thought, I recalled tackling Benkei. He looked at me with large, confused eyes, unwilling to fight back, as someone–I think it was Ashikaga–pulled me off.

And by then, the chaos in the room was picking up, as other people succumbed to the chemical. And afterwards, all memory was lost.

As I sat there now, my face was still pale, and my hands still clammy, while everyone else gathered rope and handcuffs, placing chairs around the square tiles.

"Niko?" Benkei asked. I turned to him; he was limping towards the wall with Tori, who supported him. "Come on pal. You'll be okay."

"Yeah, I was just zoned out." I said, getting up with my cane. Aulia placed a chair down in front of, and we walked around it, closer to the wall, where people began gathering. Aoyama overlooked the process, still keeping Akagi by her side, holding his hand.

"We've returned with handcuffs!" Kai shouted, holding them up, followed by several other players.

I collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily, alongside Tori.

Tori held my hand, and I tightened my grip, swallowing hard. "It'll be okay." They said. "Just be strong."

I nodded, as Gabura handed Benkei a spool of rope. Benkei got on his knees, looping it around the pipes, as Judumai approached. "You guys will be okay. Don't worry."

"We're going to keep looking for a solution to this." Aulia said.

Benkei tied me first, securing my wrists around the beams, tightening the knot, before severing the rope.

"Is it tight?" He asked. I pulled against the rope, wiggling my wrists, but it didn't give, so I nodded. Benkei moved aside to Tori, securing their wrists. A little distance away from us, Aoyama handcuffed both of Kai's wrists against the beams.

"I think this should be good." He said.

"Is that everyone?" Gabura asked, looking around. At the end of the wall, a woman handcuffed two final people, then looked towards us. "Now that that's taken care of..."

She turned back towards the crowd. "Hey! Edano!" She turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about what happened when your game glitched." She turned to us, then the crowd. "The game glitched for both of us when we were playing... Another sign that there's something off with each of them."