This is Just a Game...Right?

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Last Dungeon pt. 2

Our next challenges followed the same tactics, trying to scare us off by showing us mutilated visions of our friends. Since we found out the trick, we easily slashed through the monsters. Although I did feel a pang of guilt every time I cut through one. Eventually, we reach a room with our actual party waiting for us. The room is bare except for a small throne in the middle.

Nobody dared to approach it. I learned not to touch things in a dungeon the hard way, when I woke the monster up in the first dungeon.

"What is that...?" Lily questions, and we inch closer to inspect the chair.

"It's a throne. But who uses it? And also...this must be the boss chamber, but there's no boss in sight." Darren mutters under his breath, apparently in deep thought.

"Are you sure there's nobody here?" The voice echoes in my head, louder than ever before. Actually, I've noticed this. The farther we got in the dungeon, the louder the voice gets. The owner of the voice must have something to do with this game.

"Hey, sweetie. Lemme help you, give you a hint, okay?" The voice coos, and I grit my teeth, but nod. "Okay~ See the throne, push it aside. There's a room underneath the chair." It continues, and I take a deep breath, and walk to the throne.

"Huh? What're you doing-Lyrica! Don't touch the throne!" Keiji shouts, but I ignore him and lean my weight on it, pushing it until I see a trapdoor underneath. I guess I can trust the voice for now.

"I found a door." I state simply, and everyone stares at me, mouths agape.

"How did you...never mind. Let's continue, guys!" Lily says, herding everyone towards me. I lift the trapdoor up, and see a ladder leading into the darkness below. I climb down carefully, hoping I don't fall. Soon enough, I feel the ground and touch down quickly. I light a fire, illuminating a bit of the path ahead of us. It appears to be just a straight path, and it opens out into a larger room. The large room has many torches illuminating it, and I see someone in the middle, someone with long black hair, sitting down and facing away from us.

"Welcome!" The voice calls out, and then I realize that the figure is the one speaking. So it's a girl. "I see that you all found your loved ones, no? Well, now it's time for the final boss. Me!" She turns around, and I finally see who it is. And it shocks me. It's her...but she has purple hair and golden eyes. But no mistake, it's her.

"Angie?!" I cry out, and her smile contorts into a vicious grin.

"Lyrica. Wow! You recognize me!" She replies, honey lacing her words.

"A-are you the creator of this game?" Mayumi bravely pipes up.

"Yes I am, honey. I created this game for one specific reason. Revenge on Lyrica." Angie turns to me, and my eyes widen in shock.

"What? Why me?!"

"Ah, sweetie. You still don't understand? Don't you remember? All the times when you show off your perfect life in front of me? You have an amazing best friend, a loving brother. You can live without your parents. What about me? No friends, my only brother hates me. Why do people like you deserve to have lives better than mine? So I decided to kill your brother and have you enter this game. Isn't that great?" Angie explains, twirling around a little bit.

"What?! How is any of that my fault?!" I screech, pissed as hell.

"Oh, maybe it wasn't your fault. But you know, I like causing trouble for people I dislike. And you, with your perfect voice, art skills, social life, and family, you fit all the requirements for someone I dislike." Angie sneers, and I grit my teeth.

"Well, if it's me you want, then release my friends. They have nothing to do with this!" I growl, and she shrugs.

"I dunno, they're your friends. Oh, which reminds me! You won't need to fight anything for this boss fight. You just need to pay the price to bring someone back. In this case, it's Keiji Aoki! So one of you has to face the consequences of trying to bring someone back from the dead. And I think you guys can guess what it is!" Angie cheers sadistically, and I can hear the mocking tone in her voice.

"You can't mean..."

"Yup! One of you has to die and take their place!" Angie crows triumphantly.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was so short, but we're nearing the end! Woohoo! Thanks to all who read this, and goodbye for now~