A mouthful of blood sprayed onto the chessboard.
The black and white were instantly buried beneath crimson. The broken pieces already scattered across the board now looked like the shattered walls of a ruin.
"No!"
"I won't lose!"
The man controlling the pieces growled under his breath.
Even with the system concealing the man's face, the coward could sense the savage madness twisting his expression.
The coward stood up without hesitation.
He was ready to leave.
For him, having lost only three rather disobedient skeletons, leaving was the best choice.
Otherwise...
Looking at the crimson chessboard, the coward shrank back.
He had no intention of throwing away his life as well.
"Our partnership ends here."
"The Flame Demon isn't someone I can afford to provoke."
"Hopefully... we'll have another chance to work together."
After a pause, the coward continued.
In his heart, however, he had never entertained the possibility of working together again.
He didn't believe the other man could survive the Flame Demon.
With that, the coward turned and left.
The shadows filling the room swallowed his figure in an instant.
"Our partnership ends?"
"You never understood. Once you entered this castle, you lost the right to end it."
The man controlling the pieces paid no attention to the blood at the corner of his mouth. As he spoke, he raised his right hand and abruptly clenched it.
Splat!
Amid a sound like a watermelon hitting the ground, a scream broke off almost as soon as it began. A mass of flesh and blood floated over and landed on the chessboard.
"Sacrifice!"
"I offer this flesh and blood as a sacrifice!"
"I will turn this around!"
His voice echoed through the shadow-filled room, and the blood-soaked chessboard immediately began to glow faintly.
The light shone through the flesh and