"H-Hey now, let’s calm down—"

"Wrong answer."

Deon pressed the katana down another fraction. A tiny bead of blood surfaced at the man’s neck.

"Jason Crowe?" he repeated, pressing the blade closer. "Funny. Because the leaderboard says you’re still sitting at three points."

"Tch...I never really should’ve trusted people like you."

The man’s face drained of all color. He tried to raise both hands in surrender, but with Deon mounted over him, it only looked pathetic.

"I—I can explain!"

"You’ve got five seconds."

"...My name is Martin Wells."

Martin forced a weak laugh. "Look, I know how it sounds, but I didn’t mean anything malicious by it."

"No?" Deon asked. "Then why’d you use another man’s name?"

Martin answered faster than he thought. "Because I was scared! There were monsters everywhere, th–the people were dying around me. And I just—I just didn’t know if I could survive alone!"

He gave a helpless shrug. "You seemed capable, uh—reliable! I lied without thinking, alright! I just knew I needed someone strong to stay near!"

Hana’s gaze seemed to soften at his sob story. But Deon only stared at him for another second before letting out a short laugh.

"Unconsciously?"

Martin blinked. "...What?"

"You expect that word to help you?"

"If lying is what comes out when you panic..." he tapped the blade lightly against Martin’s throat, "then that means deception is already your first instinct."

The man’s mouth opened, then closed.

"You were a fox from the beginning," Deon said. "You just showed your tail."

Hana looked between them nervously. "Deon..."

He ignored her. Because the moment Martin had said ’without thinking’, Deon already knew what kind of person he was. He slowly stood, grabbed Martin by the collar, then turned him flat against the concrete before pinning both wrists behind his back.

Martin grunted, but didn’t resist.

"Alright then, Martin Wells...what really happened in that supermarket?"

"I already told you—"

Deon tightened the hold.

Martin hissed through his teeth. "Ah—shit! Alright, alright!"

"...There was another contestant."

"A young guy," Martin continued quickly. "Maybe early twenties. He’d cornered one of those Hounds near the produce aisle."

His eyes flicked toward Hana, then back to the pavement. "He won. Barely."

"How badly hurt?" Deon asked immediately.

When Martin hesitated, Deon twisted his wrist another inch. "AHH—! His stomach, alright?! His arm too! It tore half the flesh off. He was bleeding everywhere!"

Martin hurried on. "He collapsed right after killing it. I hid nearby until the others moved on."

Hana stiffened. "You...hid?"

"I would’ve died if I ran out there!" Martin snapped back before remembering his position. "I mean...I had no weapon."

"The contestant was still alive?" Deon asked.

"..."

"M-Martin," Hana said softly, alarm creeping into her voice.

"He was breathing," Martin blurted. "Barely! Just shallow breaths, that’s all!"

"So what did you do?"

"I..." Martin’s voice shook. "I took the knife."

"And?"

"I thought maybe I could help!"

Even Martin knew how pathetic that sounded. "I thought maybe if I ended it quickly. It’d be a mercy..."

Hana stepped back, flinching as she put a hand to cover her mouth. "You killed him?!"

"I panicked!" Martin shouted. "You don’t understand what it was like in there!"

"No, I understand perfectly," Deon cut him off. "You saw a free weapon and a Card reward, so you just took it from him."

"That’s all it was."

"No!" Martin barked. "He was dead anyway!"

Hana stared at him in disbelief, hands trembling. "You said...you said you barely survived."

"I did survive!" Martin snapped, desperation returning. "What was I supposed to do? Die beside him? Mourn a stranger?"

He craned his head enough to glare at them both, expression twisting. "You think anyone here wins by being kind? Screw that! The world has gone to shit! But I’m not going down with it!"

For a moment, the two of them didn’t reply, simply staring at the excuses cascading from the old man’s mouth.

Deon decided he’d heard enough.

Martin’s bravado faltered almost immediately as the katana’s tip rose again, stopping just beneath his chin.

"Ah..." Martin’s throat bobbed. "W-Wait."

Deon spoke softly in response. "You’re right about one thing...Kind people lose first." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He lifted the blade before beginning to plunge it down straight toward the man’s neck.

Hana’s eyes widened. "Deon!"

Martin tried to push himself backward, but his heels only scraped uselessly against the pavement.

"W-Wait, listen—listen! I can still help! I know how to survive, I can be useful!"

I don’t need you. A liar. A coward. The type of person to stab you the second your back is turned.

I’ve had enough of people like you.

But just as metal was about to meet flesh, Deon stopped. A sudden memory, or rather, precaution, had popped into his head.

"Rule Two."

"Contestants who directly confront one another shall incur severe penalties in points."

"Tch..." Deon clicked his tongue, sliding the blade back into its sheath. "You’re lucky."

Martin, who was too terrified to even breathe, suddenly turned his expression a full 180. "Thank you! Thank you so much. What a benevolent junior! I swear, on my life, I’ll never do it agai—!"

Deon drove a straight punch into his chest as the man was too busy licking his boots.

"Gahhh!"

Martin rolled twice across the pavement before crashing into the side of an abandoned car.

"Get lost."

Martin coughed violently, clutching his ribs. "Y-You..."

"I’m sparing you because you’re not worth the points penalty."

The old man’s face twisted in a combination of humiliation, hatred, and despair, all at once.

"You’ll regret this," he rasped.

"Then survive long enough to try."

He glared at Deon for one final second before turning and limping into the darkening street, disappearing between the wreckage.

Only when he was fully gone did Hana find her voice.

"...You were really going to kill him."

Deon sighed, pushing the sword back into the [Blade] Card before turning to look at her.

"He was going to kill us someday like he did to that other contestant," Deon said. "And even I’m not sure if the story he just told us was completely true either."

Hana made a slight whimpering noise before looking back down at the ground, unsure of what to say.

Deon glanced up toward the sky. The giant clock continued its silent countdown, even while the sun had begun to set.

"...Come on," he said flatly. "We need shelter before night comes."

"..."

"Okay..."