Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

61) Players of the Borderlands

"In the end, I hope the players can see past my game. It took many revisions before my game was accepted by him, but in the end, though filled with deception, I hope the players can see past the tricks."

===Kazetani Tomoyuki===
(Meguro Ward)

"Go go go!" The commander shouted. Me, Shirai, and Rafferty dove through the alleyway, my messenger bag thudding against my body, stuffed with the decoded documents.

"Decree 10:21AM, the gas pipes in the building I point out will burst and explode!"

Tezuka Eiji
Boxing Champion
Specialty: ♤

Beside us, the building went up in flames, and the three of us were tossed into the wall. I gasped, the breath escaping my lungs. In my peripheral, the King swung from his rope attached to the blimp, leaping across the rooftops.

The commander aimed his gun, as the other attackers lined up against the balconies readied their guns. The King dove between two gutters, grabbing onto one of the attackers and flipping him around.

The squad fired, and the human shield screamed, his body torn by the barrage of bullets. The King flung the corpse away like a doll, knocking two people off their ledges, who crashed to the ground into a bloody pile.

"Come on." Shirai said, pulling me and Rafferty up. "We need to lead him to the second ambush!"

As we ran, I turned around, where the King landed onto the balcony the commander was stationed at. The commander shot, but he ducked, grabbing the barrel as the automatic rifle continued shooting, spinning it back towards the commander's face, then towards the other attackers, all of whom dropped dead.

"Sh-Shirai, you're b-bleeding!" Rafferty shouted, as we passed a clothing store.

She raised her arm, which had a shard of glass slashed across it. "It's okay, we'll just get it dressed later!"

Around the corner, I pulled Shirai behind a partition, as five other attackers waited behind a fort laid across the street. Rafferty dove behind a crate a few meters away from us, as the attackers raised their weapons.

A figure emerged from the corner, and the attackers tore it apart. It dropped to the ground; it was a mannequin from the clothing store we passed, which the King had rolled out.

"Uh o-oh." Rafferty murmured.

"Decree 10:22AM, a tornado gust will pummel this street!" He yelled, pointing his finger around the corner.

The fort and everyone behind it was tossed back, like an invisible weave crashing down. Rafferty yelped, grabbing onto a bench as his crate was hurled back. A gun landed on its trigger, firing blind, as another attacker was impaled by a road sign. The King emerged, running down the length of the street as one of the attackers aimed his gun.

The King was faster, rolling and dodging the shot, before taking the gun and killing the attacker, then the two attackers who remained on the street.

He then turned to Rafferty, before eye contact, proceeding to laugh.

"H-Huh?" He asked.

At that moment, I leaped forward, grabbing Rafferty. The King fired, but missed. I pulled him back through the alley we came from, Shirai behind us.

'All this running and firing... Even when my life is on the line, it takes me back to the time I was auditioning for A Land of Carnations.'

– – – – – –
25 years ago

"Huh? My name?" I asked, putting my book down.