September 2, 2018.
Tokyo No. 2 Colony.
"Five points added."
"Ah... do you announce it every time?" Kashimo crouched beneath the bridge, a trace of impatience in his voice. A sorcerer lay opposite him, arcs of electricity still crackling from the gaping hole in his abdomen.
The water reflected his teal hair and expressionless face. Ripples stirred the image, then settled again.
He bit his nail, producing a faint crunch between his teeth.
"When Kenjaku gets here, I'm really going to give him an earful. Every sorcerer he picked is weak as hell." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the sorcerer who had stopped moving, and his lips curled slightly.
"They're every bit as worthless as those losers four hundred years ago."
He slowly rose from the water. Droplets slid down his trouser legs and fell onto the shallows beneath the bridge with soft pattering sounds.
"Your score has reached three hundred and fifteen points. Would you like to spend one hundred points to add a rule to the Culling Game?" Gold Beetle fluttered its wings beside him, its voice as thin, bright, and businesslike as ever.
Kashimo tilted his head, as though he had only just remembered that was an option.
"Oh, right. There were rules, too."
"Gold Beetle, add two rules."
"One: make information on all players public."
"Two: allow players to freely enter and leave the colonies."
Free entry to and exit from all colonies meant being able to travel to any colony at will. Players would no longer be obstructed by the barriers and could reach the other colonies. This was also part of Kashimo's plan.
To turn every colony into his own-
Slaughterhouse.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong-"
A rapid string of clear chimes burst into the night sky without warning, as though someone had