Chapter 32: Chapter 32: REPLAY

Sagiri limped across the corridors toward the Shadow Colonnade arena. He was the last to arrive, and everyone was already gathered but in their respective groups. There was a distinct smell of purpose in the air, which was absent in the previous game. Some groups had already formed temporary pacts, and a clear line of hostility was drawn between them. The creepy-looking twins were staring at Team 25, not caring to hide their hostility. Their team 4 was made of stronger opponents, too, and they were looking at Sagiri, the queen, like a target. Instructor Lakiya had not arrived, and the few minutes were spent with teams glaring at each other with hostility.

“Cadets face backwards.” Her voice tore through the silence, and everyone instantly turned around to face her, maintaining their team positions. Twenty-four other instructors were standing behind her. They were wearing special gear, hiding their faces and ears. “Since there will be limited visibility even with special gear, each team will be monitored by the instructors. They will only watch, and they will not intervene.” They each had a number tag, which they lifted from one to twenty-five. Miss Lakiya held one.

“You already know the objective. One queen per team. Protect yours. Eliminate the others, the environment will change,” she continued. “The gas will reduce visibility and neutralize scent. You will not track by smell. You will not see beyond close range. Communication will be limited.

“Move to the instructor with your name tag!” She announced, and each team stood in line behind an instructor with their number tag. Sagiri could recognize their monitoring instructor even with their special gear covering their face and ears. It was only Lotaga who stood with a hand on his waist.

“Stimulation begins!” Miss Lakiya announced, and there was a moment of silence before paces high above in the arena opened gases pouring from them in different colors, especially black, grey, and green, which mixed to form dense fog that it was impossible to see one’s hand before them. “You all have been trained to work under limited visibility, and now you are going to use other senses not affected. Still, you have to move as a team, and if a team loses half its members, they will be immediately disqualified. You have to move as a unit while fighting your opponents and protecting your queen. But unlike yesterday, you can use force and throw anything at the enemy, if you can find them that is,” she continued before she put a whistle to her lips, she announced.

She paused.

“You will be given five minutes before the engagement begins. Use that time to position, memorize terrain, and establish formation discipline. Now move!” she said, and teams started moving.

“Around me,” Kiuga announced, and everyone clustered around him. The gases were getting denser and denser, and they could barely see each other’s figure outline. “The fog is about to get heavier. We have maintained the formation since yesterday, but just a foot apart. After two steps, you tap pose and tap your neighbor. We can’t talk because we will draw attention to ourselves, and with everyone losing two senses, using sound could be like putting a target on our backs, but we will pause after every ten steps and scan our surroundings. No one on our team is from the Tamelku tribe, whose secret art is using all six senses equally. Those two freaks are from the Tamelku clan, and they have had it out for us. So try to stay as calm as possible and use your sixth sense to the fullest.

“We go left. Find a strategic position to protect our queen, and we remain on the defensive. Move out!” Kiuga gave the command, losing all his silly humor. The team moved just like Kiuga had instructed, keeping Sagiri in the middle. Sagiri was feeling even more beat up, and he limped, making the team slow down every couple of steps. If leaving a teammate behind couldn’t guarantee an elimination, and he was the queen, Kaka could have already suggested they leave him behind because every time they stopped, he could curse and give a frustrated grunt, but he remained silent not to give away their position.

Everyone might have lost their senses, but Sagiri’s senses were even more active. He had removed his Oru shells to perceive everything and he could perceive each one’s presence and position.

“Stop!” He said after they had been moving for a while, deep into the broken pillar and shadow arena. A team was lying in ambush waiting for them. it seems that they had one of the Tamelku clan tribe on their team. It was not the wins, but he seemed to be good, too.

“What?” Kiuga asked, but everyone halted.

“We are surrounded. Three in the front. Two on the sides and two on the left protecting their queen.” He said in one breath, and a moment after speaking, the ambush moved. “Now!” he said, and just then, others perceived them and got into a defensive position.

“Ulekai and Zolinka, go for their queen!” Kiuga yelled. “Kaka front, I’ll go right N’varu Neni protect the queen!” He instructed while he himself jumped into action, followed by the two he tapped on the shoulder, while Kaka attacked the incoming three on his own. The remaining two went left, covering for Ulekai and Zolinka, who were going for the queen. A moment of silence passed before bodies collided in impact. Kaka did not have to hold back anymore, and after being given a head start on the enemy’s position and permission to go hard without holding back, he was in his best element. He moved even better than how Sagiri had seen him train alone the night before. He ran into the first full body ramming into him, making him fly a few feet back, hitting a broken pillar with so much force that the ground shook. The other two got into position, not expecting the team they had planned to move that first. The sank into attacking position, and Kaka opened his stance and lowered himself in an open arms stance.

Kiuga and his team had already neutralized the two. The two he tapped to aid him were just decoys to distract the two opponents on the right, for him to go around stealthily and hit their vital points on their backs, rendering them immobile for a few minutes, and that is all he needed. He instructed the two to protect the queen while he joined Ulekai and Zolinka to take the sash. The two were in a fierce battle with the two protecting the queen. The queen was good in combat, unlike Sagiri, and he dodged. Perhaps that was Kiuga’s goal to act as if he was going for the sash and predict where he could move to so he could tap his shoulder.

“Team 9, one member eliminated!” their monitoring instructor said from above. They posed for a minute, frozen, trying to decide who to eliminate,

Kiuga was canning and strategic, and Sagiri had to realize what Captain Salka said when he said Galka Academy was not short of geniuses. It had taken him just a moment to draw out the battlefield that Sagiri had drawn with his words to come up with a solid plan. Kaka, fast on his feet, reached his distracted opponent in an instant. He held him by the head using his momentum to twist both of them twice in the air before spinning him and stomping his back to his knee. The opponent groaned before he rolled on the floor in pain.

Kiuga had simultaneously used the opening to tap the queen’s vital point on the neck before stealing his sash, leaving him unconscious. He then took the sash slowly before wrapping it around his neck.

“Team 25 eliminated team 9!” Lotaga announced. “Team 9, move out of the arena, carry your wounded comrades!” he added.

The team moved back surrounding sagiri again and he could perceive the rising morale oozing off of them in waves.

“There are two teams, north west and one on the east, engaged in combat.” He said again, lowly, and this time nobody questioned him. Even Kaka nodded slightly in approval but remained facing forward.

“How about the north east?” Kiuga asked, turning to face him. Sagiri was getting even weaker after staying focused for long, but his mind was still clear even as his body begged him to rest. He fell to his one knee, touching his right hand to the ground to feel for any movement, and focused his senses northeast.

“No team is there,” he announced after listening for a moment.” No team is there,” he announced after listening for a moment.

“We head north west. Since our queen is still bad at combat, we avoid unnecessary battles and find a place to lay low and only attack if necessary.” Kiuga announced, and the team resumed their movements north west

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