(PS: This story takes place in a parallel world. Some rules are fictionalized. It is purely fictional, so please do not compare it too closely with reality.)
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Inside the gloomy mine tunnel, the lamps hanging on both sides cast a somewhat dim, yellowish light.
Besides the heavy smell of dust, a pungent, fishy stench now drifted through the air.
That... was the smell of blood.
The smell of fresh blood.
So vivid that it made one want to vomit...
"Squish... squish..."
What reached his ears was the sound of metal striking flesh.
He looked up.
The blade of a gleaming hatchet was repeatedly smashing into a young man's body.
"Squish... squish..."
The man's abdomen had been battered open, and blood was gurgling out in streams, long since soaking through his blue short-sleeved shirt and spreading across the ground.
His neck had nearly been severed in half.
His head lolled to one side. His eyes had remained open until death, filled with astonishment and unwillingness.
It was as though, even at the moment of his death, he could not understand why he had died.
And the culprit—
the one currently gripping the hatchet and repeatedly smashing it into the corpse in a frenzy—
was a beautiful girl.
Her long pink hair spilled down her back. Beneath her unbuttoned school blazer was a woman's blouse that should have been white, but was now spattered with blood.
The sight was horrifying.
Beneath her brown decorative tie, one could see her impressive curves. Below her light-brown plaid pleated skirt were a pair of shapely legs wrapped in black stockings.
The not-too-high heels of her black leather shoes had been submerged by scarlet blood.
The girl looked to be around high-school age. Her pretty features now carried a trace of chill and madness, while an eerie red light glimmered in her pupils. The nearly meter-long hatchet in her hands kept smashing into the corpse that was already thoroughly dead.
"Squish..."
"Squish..."
Blood splattered across her skirt and white blouse. The flowers blooming there were so vivid.
And at that moment, another person witnessed everything with his own eyes.
His body trembled uncontrollably on instinct. His face was pale, and he had already begun to stiffen.
He wanted to speak.
But he merely opened his mouth, unable to make a sound no matter what.
Fear and helplessness.
They spread throughout his entire body.
I'm going to be killed...
She's going to kill me!
That signal kept repeating in his mind.
Although he had known all along that this was a Death Game, actually witnessing such a cruel and terrifying scene still left him so shaken that he could not move his feet for a moment.
And just then, an ill-timed loli-like voice echoed in his mind, carrying a hint of delight.
'Jingle.'
'Number of players: 8'
'Number of deaths: 6'
'Rule 6: The game has entered the final round. The killer's strength, speed, hearing, sense of smell, and stamina have been enhanced.'
'As only one survivor remains, the Exorcism Talisman has become ineffective and will automatically disappear.'
'The killer's actions are locked for 3 minutes and are under system protection...'
'After 3 minutes, the final hunt will begin...'
'If the killer fails to kill the survivor within 15 minutes, the survivor will be declared the winner.'
'If the killer kills the final survivor within 15 minutes, the killer will be declared the winner.'
'Once the winning side is confirmed, this game will end. The losing side will be punished with permanent death in both reality and the game world.'
'Jingle... The countdown begins...'
'2 minutes 59 seconds...'
As the system's notification sounded, the golden wooden token clutched in the corpse's hand gradually turned into white motes of light and vanished completely.
And just before she became unable to move under the lock, the girl turned her head. Her gaze held a trace of sinister, eerie excitement as she looked toward the man, meeting his eyes head-on.
The mere glance made the man's heart turn cold, as though he had been targeted by a starving evil ghost.
He instinctively took two steps back. His body was still trembling slightly, but he forced himself to calm down.
"This... is a Death Game..."
"A real Death Game!"
He should have realized the truth long ago!
He raised his head, and as the thought arose in his mind, the system's trump-card panel appeared automatically.
Among the rows of concealed data, one set of clear figures was especially glaring.
'Alter Ego: 82%'
So that was what this strange data was...
A numerical value representing the degree to which a twisted personality was hidden deep within the mind!
In the dim, yellow-lit mine tunnel, the pungent stench of blood kept stimulating his brain and nerves, making his back turn cold as sweat soaked through his T-shirt.
How could he have imagined that the ultra-rare Qicai-limited exclusive "SSR+" card he had drawn at the start of the game—"Inner Persona Girlfriend"—would now be carrying a hatchet, ready to catch up with him three minutes later and fight him to the death?
And there was a high chance she would kill him in an extremely brutal manner!
She definitely would not hesitate!
She definitely would not hold back!
He was certain of it!
She would use that hatchet to hack into his body again and again, just like the corpse on the ground!
"Run..."
"I have to run!"
'2 minutes 49 seconds...'
'2 minutes 48 seconds...'
As the system's countdown continued to echo in his mind,
he clenched his teeth, balled his hands into fists, and, after calming down somewhat, desperately fled for his life down the tunnel.
He could not lose this "game"...
Absolutely not!!!
The pink-haired girl stared at the man fleeing for his life and let out a sickly, coquettish laugh.
"You... can't get away..."
"You can't get away..."
"My cute boyfriend~"