Chapter 22: The Second Game Ends

At that moment, Alexander doubted his instincts. At first glance, He thought Yuno was a strategist—yet all of that had changed. Now, this shift made him look more thoughtless than intelligent.

“He’s willing to kill his teammates just to kill mine,” Alexander muttered. This act alone made Yuno look like the commander : selfish, controlling, destructive. A perfect product of Midgard.

“It doesn’t matter if you have a special skill. Poison is the perfect catalyst for death!” Yuno declared.

“Don’t mistake the situation. I’m not barbaric—they agreed to the plan!” he continued calmly.

“After you killed Gojo, they promised to kill you guys by any means necessary!”

“Why include them? I’m the one that did it!”

“It doesn’t matter when it comes to revenge!”

Silence flooded the space between them, tension at its peak.

Alexander was caught in a tight spot with nothing he could do about it—a situation that irritated him beyond measure.

“There’s still a chance. You could save them… if you finish this game quickly!”

Alexander’s head turned, a murderous glare fixed on Yuno. His hand moved across the board, setting a piece that created the perfect chance for victory, putting Yuno in a difficult position.

“Wow,” Yuno muttered, surprised by the trap he’d been placed in.

“That’s more like it!” he added, clearly enjoying himself.

—

Meanwhile, deep within the tunnels, poison filled the room.

Bray stood frozen, eyes darting toward the panicking Jamie. His body wasn’t resistant to the irregular air; bloodshot eyes and harsh, prolonged coughs revealed his suffering. It was just like the first game all over again—only this time, poison inflicted the torment.

“What kind of messed-up brain do you have?!” Bray screamed angrily.

“I know I can’t win,” the man replied with chilling seriousness, “but I’m glad I get to take the two of you with me.”

Bray’s system screen suddenly appeared:

[Acquired]

[+30 Strength Points]

[+20 Speed Points]

“He had the blue points…” Bray realized, staring at the new additions. Since the first game, this was his first upgrade.

In a last-ditch effort, Jamie staggered forward toward the builder, pushing himself even as his body faltered.

“I have to stop him!” he thought.

“Don’t move, idiot! You have to save your oxygen!”

The words echoed in Jamie’s ears like church bells on a Sunday morning.

“He’s right…” he admitted as his eyes fluttered shut. “I let anger get the best of me.” His body collapsed face-first to the ground.

“Jamie!!!” Bray’s voice cracked as his eyes flicked between both threats.

“There’s no use. We’ll all die here!” the suicide killer spat.

Bray stood in silence, caught between despair and thought—until his expression shifted, a thread of hope sparking within him.

Beep.

He activated his system.

[Special Skill > Elastic Potential!]

Aura burst from his body, heavy and fierce. He sealed his lips, slowing his poison intake. Inside his body, he increased his lungs capacity allowing large circulation of oxygen.

“It’s useless!” the killer mocked. But his voice shook—the poison had started to corrode him.

Phu!

He fell to his knees, blood spilling from his lips as his vision blurred into darkness.

Yet Bray stood unshaken, unaffected. Confidence surged through him.

Quickly, he rushed to lift Jamie.

“Damn, he’s heavy…” he thought, hauling him toward a freshly opened wall. The body of the man who had trailed him earlier lay twisted nearby, his face warped and disturbing—evidence of the poison’s toll.

Beside him was a half-broken wall.

“Genius… he was breaking through before the poison came,” Bray realized.

He carefully set Jamie down, then turned back to the wall. One strike after another, he slammed his fists into it—darkened vision, blurry eyes, none of it mattered. He had a goal, and that goal gave him strength.

“Our lives won’t end like this. I won’t allow it!” he muttered with each blow.

His boosted strength and endurance propelled him.

Slam!

The wall burst open, bricks scattering across the floor. Dust filled the air, but to Bray, it felt like breathing heaven compared to the poison-ridden chamber.

On the other side stood Alexander, facing a man in a white robe and office glasses. Between them was a checkers board.

“Bray!” Alexander muttered.

Squeak!

He rose to his feet, eyes snapping toward Jamie’s unconscious body.

“Quick! Poisonous gas is coming!” he shouted, rushing forward.

Alexander carefully received Jamie, his concern evident as he laid him down and checked his pulse.

“He’s alive,” he confirmed with the relief of a doctor saving a patient.

“We’re gonna die if we don’t deal with the poison!” Bray panicked.

Yuno observed them quietly. Their actions spoke louder than words—they were the very definition of what it meant to be human. He had forgotten that, letting this place twist who he was.

“Don’t worry. I know a way out.” Yuno stated.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black remote with two buttons—one red, one green. Without hesitation, he pressed the green.

Squeak!

A large gap opened in the wall, revealing a staircase bathed in bright light at the other end.

“Let’s go!”

They rushed out, leaving the other builders and the checkers board behind. Pieces cluttered Alexander’s side of the board—clear evidence he had been winning.

—

The boys emerged onto the grassy lawn outside the house.

Alexander stood off to the side, speaking with Yuno, while Bray tended to Jamie’s unconscious body.

Earlier, after checking him, Alexander had concluded that with no medical resources, their only hope was to pray Jamie survived the poisoning. It was a grim truth—they might lose two teammates at once.

“You won’t go after your friends?” Alexander asked.

“No. They’re probably dead already.”

“You care for each other,” Yuno said, admiration softening his tone as he glanced at Bray looking over Jamie.

“We only have each other here,” Alexander replied calmly.

“Glad to see some people still act like humans in this place,” Yuno said, smirking.

“Yeah… and it’s because of him,” Alexander added, nodding toward Jamie.

“So what now?” Yuno asked.

“I can’t fight you—you’re too strong. That leaves me with surrendering our base.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I promised.”

“Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. It’s what you get for acting human. Besides… you were already winning.”

“Just be careful. This place has a tendency to hate people with principles,” Yuno warned as he turned to leave the residence.

He looked back, raising his arm in a wave.

“He’ll recover,” he shouted, pointing toward Jamie.

With a smirk tugging at his lips, he walked toward the fence, enjoying every step.

“I finally played against the legendary Alexander,” he thought. “Mother would be so proud.” Memories of his old world flooded back.

—

Like Alexander, Yuno had been born into poverty. Since childhood, he worked in architecture—designing, building, constructing—just to support his family. But beneath that hardworking exterior was another dream, one only his mother knew: to become a professional checkers player.

Life, however, had a way of crushing dreams. That dream never flourished.

At fifteen, he watched tournaments from afar. At the center of them all was a boy: Alexander Smith, with extraordinary tactics. Yuno envied him, wishing desperately to be in his shoes.

Ten years later, he arrived in Midgard—only to find the legendary Alexander here too. It was his one chance to test his intellect. And in his final moments, he got his closure.

“I would’ve been trash at professional checkers,” Yuno muttered with a smirk.

As he neared the gate, he paused, turning back as though remembering something.

“Alexander!!”

Alexander’s head lifted, acknowledging him.

“Sorry for asking, but… after your parents’ death, why did you stop playing professional checkers?”

“I got tired of the fame. Wanted to go under the radar,” Alexander answered.

“Got it.” Yuno nodded, then pushed open the gate and stepped out.

Their system screens appeared:

[Builders > 0 Bases]

[Broken Shields > 2 Bases]

[02:00]

They exchanged glances, both in tense relief. The fight wasn’t over—Jamie still had to wake up.

“What’s with that guy?” Bray asked.

“One of my fans from the old world,” Alexander replied.

“Does he know about the adoption?” Bray pressed.

” how did you know about that?”

“You live in the slums long enough, you hear everything.”

[Attention Players]

The mechanical voice boomed louder than ever:

[The Second Game has officially come to an end]

[Two Teams Remaining]

[Commencing Teleportation Protocols]

“Teleportation?” Bray muttered, disbelief heavy in his voice.

Their bodies began to disintegrate into pixels—cell by cell vanishing into thin air until nothing was left.

“No, no… wait… wait… waiiii—”

And then, silence.

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