Inner Conflict

The ups and downs of life were nothing compared to waking up from a dream because your mother slapped you awake and urged you to get to school—especially when you were worth hundreds of millions, had married the woman you loved, and were in the middle of your wedding night.

At least, that was how Lone Supporter felt. The only difference was that he did not have to go to school; he had to get up and go to work.

The feeling of watching the Exorcism Talisman disappear from his hand before it had even warmed up was about the same.

With the Exorcism Talisman gone, Lone Supporter and Yimo behaved themselves again.

They carefully and properly leaned against the steel, their feelings complicated.

After a while, Yimo glanced at Lone Supporter beside him, who looked relatively amiable.

At that moment, he was gritting his teeth, his crossed leg trembling nonstop, as if he were thinking about something.

He... was too nervous...

"Hey, bro."

"Can this game really kill people?"

When Lone Supporter heard that, his leg finally stopped shaking. He put on the air of a veteran player, but felt that he could not pull it off, so he shook his head and said seriously to Yimo, "Brother Kirito, now that the game has begun, stop doubting this point."

"Otherwise, you'll definitely die!"

"At least none of the newcomers I encountered in the first two rounds survived!"

Yimo looked at Lone Supporter's serious expression and thought for a moment before asking, "How... did you survive?"

Lone Supporter closed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, "I was lucky..."

"And... you should know that term, right?"

"Chuunibyou. I've got a bit of that."

"I treated everything as real from the very beginning. Relying on my simple, honest appearance, I avoided being targeted and survived in the end."

Yimo nodded. "Is it possible not to participate?"

Lone Supporter opened his eyes and patted Yimo on the shoulder. "Brother, if you survive, you'll know."

Yimo's gaze suddenly turned serious as he looked at Lone Supporter. "Only one person can probably survive this game, right?"

"One of us, you or me, or someone else."

"You and I... are on opposing sides."

Lone Supporter suddenly laughed when he heard that. "Brother Kirito, I knew from the start that you were no ordinary person. Now I think you're incredibly smart."

"You've actually figured out a lot. You just haven't said anything."

"Don't worry. Until only the two of us are left, you can trust me."

Yimo thought for a moment before saying, "There's actually no need to ask, but I still want to."

"Is it because we have some similar interests?"

Lone Supporter waved his hand. "No. It's because you're wearing slippers and your body is relatively weak."

"Compared to the others, if I have to face you at the end, my chances of winning will actually be higher."

Yimo felt somewhat bitter when he heard that and did not continue speaking, but he instead breathed a sigh of relief.

Lone Supporter had meant those words sincerely.

That was how Yimo saw it.

'Jingle.'

'The Killer has struck a player holding the Exorcism Talisman. The Killer has died, and a new Killer has been born.'

'Number of players: 8'

'Number of deaths: 3'

Just then, someone else died.

At this point, aside from the Killer, only the four people hiding in the factory remained.

Lone Supporter did not react much this time. He merely turned to Yimo. "Is it with you?"

Yimo shook his head.

It seemed his luck was truly terrible.

"Who do you think the Killer is?" Yimo could not help asking.

Lone Supporter replied indifferently, "I only hope it's someone weak, but someone weak wouldn't have survived until now."

"Let's go stop them!"

As Lone Supporter spoke, he stood up and shouted toward the young mother and the high school student, who had already emerged from the pile of steel and seemed ready to leave. "Hey, where are you going?"

The high school student seemed somewhat hesitant, but the young mother was utterly decisive. She pulled him along and stopped him from speaking before saying to Lone Supporter, "It has nothing to do with you!"

"Don't follow us!"

Lone Supporter gritted his teeth and shouted, "How does it not?"

"If you hadn't followed me here, you might already be dead!"

"Other than the Killer, only the four of us are still alive. The Exorcism Talisman is with you!"

"And you're actually planning to leave on your own?!"

"Don't you understand? The four of us sticking together is the best way to deal with the Killer!!!"

The young mother snorted when she heard that. "Hmph. So you can kill everyone all at once?"

"You can only fool those younger kids."

"Fatty, don't follow us. Otherwise, if I become the Killer, you'll be the first person I kill!"

Lone Supporter was furious and wanted to fire back, but in the end he lacked the confidence. He could only watch as the young mother and the high school student left.

"She's really prejudiced against you." This time, Yimo patted Lone Supporter on the shoulder in consolation.

"Hey... I'm used to it." Lone Supporter spread both hands and did not take it to heart. "It was pretty much the same at school and at work. I had to rely on working a little harder just to barely get people not to dislike me."

"Unlike you. You're handsome, delicate-looking, and thin."

"You're a little short, but people like you seem to be popular these days."

Yimo was not angry at that. He shrugged and said, "Your standards for height are too high. I'm 1.74 meters. That isn't tall, but with elevator shoes, I'm not short either."

"I didn't eat well when I was little. There was nothing I could do about it."

"By the way, what do we do next?"

Lone Supporter had been leading him since the game began, and now he intended to continue listening to Lone Supporter's opinion.

Lone Supporter said, "What else can we do? Stay here and wait to die!"

Yimo looked at Lone Supporter's expression and knew he was joking, so he said, "That doesn't sound like you. I don't think you're the kind of person who gives up."

Lone Supporter nodded. "Of course I won't admit defeat so easily."

"I estimate that the young mother took the Exorcism Talisman."

"Judging from her appearance, she's not the type to sit still. She definitely wants to confront the Killer and try to kill it instead."

"After all, whoever dies, the Exorcism Talisman will change hands. She definitely won't be willing to give up this opportunity."

After Lone Supporter finished speaking, a glint flashed through his eyes. "So we just need to wait for them to kill each other."

"Whoever wins..."

"We'll wait here and have the final battle with the Killer!"

"The Killer has a greater advantage when there are more people, but when there are fewer, it's not as formidable!"

"In a sense, this game is still fairly balanced. There's nothing that guarantees an absolute victory."

"I just don't know what will happen when only two people are left."

Yimo nodded when he heard that and silently opened the game rules interface.

When the time came, the final undisclosed rule would be revealed, right...?

Thus, Yimo and Lone Supporter became considerably more relaxed than before and began chatting about anime and manga.

But...

This brief period of relaxation did not last very long.

About ten minutes later.

Two consecutive system notifications shattered the tranquility.

The Killer had not changed.

The young mother and the high school student.

They were both dead...