In the year 20XX, deep within a remote forest, a white facility stood alone.
Ryo woke up on a bed. His memory was completely blank, except for his name.
Nine other men were in the room, all looking just as confused. They were all around nineteen and had also lost their memories.
A woman in a white coat appeared and announced, "You will now undergo a psychological test."
But the test was extremely strange. Questions like, "Who in this group is the odd one out?" and "If you had to sacrifice so
Ten Men Who Lost Their Memories - Awakening of Reversal, The Oath of the Three
Darkness.
The hard, cushioned floor of the isolation cell pressed coldly against his back. Shutarou kept his eyes closed.
Takeru's death scream, visceral enough to shake his very organs. The sensation of warm blood on his own hands. These things replayed in his head, over and over.
(I killed him.)
The weight of his sin froze him to the core. But even so—
(Even so, I...)
The faint light that had kindled deep within his eyes had not yet gone out.
He didn't want to abandon anyone. He didn't want anyone to die.
Even with his memories gone, that alone was a truth carved into his soul.
That was when it happened.
*Clank.*
A heavy metallic sound tore through the silence.
The lock on the thick iron door sealing the underground isolation cell had been opened from the outside. Shutarou slowly sat up. His eyes, beginning to adjust to the darkness, caught the red light of the emergency lamps in the hallway streaming in through the narrow gap of the opened door, like blood.
Against the backlight, a massive shadow lumbered a single step inside.
The man standing imposingly before the door had short, cropped black hair. An old scar ran from his left temple behind his ear. His sharp eyes, like a hawk targeting its prey, glinted fiercely.
It was Gou.
In his right hand, he gripped a dully gleaming iron pipe.
"..."
Shutarou didn't speak. As if he had forgotten how to form words, he simply looked up at Gou with vacant eyes.
"Get up."
Gou gave the order in a low voice.
Pressing a hand against the wall, Shutarou rose to his feet. His entire body moved as stiffly as a rusted machine.
"Orders from Kazuki. Told me to bring you. That damn brat plans to keep you as a hostage, so he's ready whenever the next 'Judgment' comes."
Gou spat the words out, as if to rid himself of a bad taste. Blue veins stood out on his thick neck.
"But I ain't the type to dance to his tune."
Gou took a step closer to Shutarou. His presence was so overwhelming it made the room feel cramped. The tip of the iron pipe was pressed gently against Shutarou's throat.
"I still don't trust whether you're the tenth intruder or not. That freakish leg strength of yours. The lack of hesitation when you killed Takeru. I find it all suspicious."
The iron pipe pressed coldly against his skin.
But Gou continued.
"...However. Your eyes, at least, I thought they were the most decent ones here."
Gou stared intently into Shutarou's usually vacant brown eyes. Not with the intent to kill prey, but with a gaze that seemed to measure something.
"The rest of these scumbags only think about themselves. They're either scared and selling out their comrades, or getting high on carrying weapons. That's it. But your eyes are different. Trying to protect, getting hurt, and still not giving up."
A moment of silence.
*Clink.* The iron pipe pulled away from his throat.
"So, I've got a proposition."
Gou extended a rugged hand. It was a hand covered in scars, hard and knotted.
"Let's team up. I don't trust you. Don't you trust me either. But when it comes to the goal of destroying this rotten game, I figure we can run the same path."
It was, in his own way, the highest form of praise.
Shutarou stared blankly at that hand.
(Team up...?)
He had thought that everyone, even those who doubted him, were his enemies.
Amidst all that, here was someone who, for the first time, saw him as an equal "while still doubting him." That fact spread a faint, gradual warmth through Shutarou's heart.
The center of his chest felt slightly hot.
"I..."
Shutarou murmured.
"I don't want a killing game. Not from the start, not ever. I just... wanted to talk."
It was a typical line from him, completely oblivious to the atmosphere, the timing, everything.
But Gou grinned, the corner of his mouth lifting like a beast.
"Ha, Kazuki was right. You really can't read the room at all. But I don't hate it, that stupid honesty of yours."
The two clasped hands.
A cold, hard handshake.
It wasn't trust, but a contract to confirm each other's resolve.
"First, we analyze the surveillance cameras' blind spots. This way."
Gou turned on his heel and strode down the hallway. Shutarou followed after him.
The facility's corridors were deathly silent. Surveillance cameras installed at regular intervals on the walls recorded their every move with countless red eyes.
"Here. Based on the camera's panning angle, the shadow of this pillar creates a three-second blind spot."
Behind a thick pillar in the hallway, Gou spoke rapidly. Tactical knowledge. Even though he'd lost his memory, he knew the battlefield. The suspicion that he might be the tenth intruder flickered through Shutarou's mind.
But, more than that, right now—
"With my legs, I can reach the end of the hallway in those three seconds."
When Shutarou murmured this, Gou raised an eyebrow.
"The end? That's seventy meters from here."
"Probably, it'll be fine."
"'Probably,' huh. You're funny."
That was when it happened.
*Bzzt.*
A spine-chilling burst of static crackled from the ceiling speakers.
"Greetings, my dear subjects."
Both of them froze in their tracks.
"In the first Judgment, you showed me some splendid decisiveness. Based on those results, we shall proceed to the next stage. From this point forward, the second Judgment begins."
Shutarou's fist clenched.
"The time limit is three hours. Within this facility, you are to kill the individuals deemed to be the leaders. The targets are three: Kazuki, Ryou, and Shutarou. If any one of these three is killed, the Judgment will conclude. If no one dies before the time limit, three people will be executed at random."
Gou's expression changed.
"You bastard...!"
"You have already cleared the first Judgment. This is proof that you are adapting to this game. To evolve to greater heights, I shall give you a more difficult task. Now, it is time to choose. Make a wise decision."
*Bzzt.* The broadcast cut off.
Silence stabbed at their ears.
"Screwing with us...! Trying to speed up the infighting!"
Gou slammed his iron pipe against the wall. A dull impact echoed hollowly.
The targets were the three called the leaders. Shutarou, who had tried to encourage cooperation. Ryou, who had tried to lead with his sense of justice. And Kazuki, who had begun to dominate the group with cold logic. If they were killed, the others could survive. For the other participants, desperate to live, this was a golden opportunity.
"Dammit...! If it's come to this, there's no room for negotiation. Before anyone else makes a move, we strike first—"
"I won't follow the Judgment."
Shutarou's words cut Gou off.
"Huh?"
Gou turned back, looking puzzled.
In Shutarou's vacant eyes, a quiet, strong light now dwelled, different from before. He clenched his hands, still stained with Takeru's blood.
"I'm not playing the game anymore. I'm going to destroy the system itself."
It was a rebellion named resolve.
"I'm going to the power room. If I stop the generator, the surveillance cameras and the PA system will stop too. I'll blind the Game Master."
He spoke in a mutter, but as if confirming each and every word.
"The power room? Don't be stupid. We don't even know where it is, or if it even exists. And we've only got three hours. That's reckless—"
"There's an unconfirmed area underground."
"What?"
"When I was in the isolation cell, I heard knocking from the other side of the wall. Three times, clearly. There should be a space that isn't on the mechanical room's piping schematics. The key to the power room might be there."
Gou's eyes widened, and then he let out a dry laugh, "Ha ha."
"You heard knocking on the wall, so there's a power room? That's incoherent. You're not just bad at reading the room, you've got a few screws loose up there."
But there was no anger in Gou's eyes like before.
"Still, betting on that crazy plan of yours might be interesting. I'll go along with it. Beats sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting to die."
"Thank you."
"Save your thanks for when the plan succeeds. So, what's the move?"
"I'll run and investigate the underground passage. I want you to go to the cafeteria and stop Kazuki, who's gathering weapons."
"Kazuki, gathering weapons?"
"He'll try to sacrifice someone right away in the second Judgment. With his rational thinking, he'll monopolize the weapons and offer up a 'target.' Stop him."
At Shutarou's words, Gou was taken aback.
"Predicting Kazuki's moves and acting on it... Looks like your head works at least somewhat decently after all. Got it."
Gou hefted the iron pipe onto his shoulder and started walking down the hallway.
"You use your legs, I'll use my arms. Division of labor, huh. Fine by me. My blood's boiling for the first time in a while. Let's meet at the cafeteria."
Before the words were even finished, Shutarou was already moving.
The starting signal.
He felt like he could hear a roaring cheer.
The next instant, Shutarou's body was tearing down the hallway like a gale. Astonishing leg strength. Superhuman acceleration. Weaving through the surveillance cameras' blind spots, he vanished around a corner seventy meters away in just three seconds.
Gou watched his retreating figure, squinting as if looking at something dazzling.
Shutarou flew down the stairs leading to the basement, taking them two at a time.
The area containing the mechanical room and storage was even colder than the first floor, the air stagnant and musty. The sound of water droplets crawling along the pipes echoed unnaturally loud.
Deep in the storage room. Past the tools and bedding piled haphazardly, he placed his hand on the wall. Cold concrete.
(Here.)
His fingertips sensed a faint gap. More brittle than it looked. Shutarou picked up a crowbar lying nearby.
Using the full spring of his body, he drove the crowbar into the gap.
*Clang!* A harsh, grating sound.
"Hngh...!"
Twice. Three times. Using the principle of leverage, a chunk of concrete crumbled away. Dust billowed, choking his breath. Beyond the cloud of dust, a gaping darkness opened its maw.
The underground unconfirmed area.
A hidden passage not on any piping schematic. He crawled inside. The walls were bare earth, cold groundwater seeping through. The air was thick with the smell of soil and mold, almost suffocating.
Deep within the passage, the hum of a generator rumbled low, like a seismic tremor.
(The power room is definitely up ahead.)
He was certain.
But now was not the time to rush in.
(First, a weapon...!)
Shutarou retraced his steps and ran back up the passage. The determination to protect his comrades drove his legs beyond their limits.
In the hallway leading to the cafeteria, he heard voices arguing.
"This is my rational judgment. I'm telling you, it's the optimal solution for all of you to survive."
It was Kazuki's cold, unhesitating voice.
At the entrance to the cafeteria, Kazuki stood with a few followers, using the kitchen counter as a shield. At hand were knives, forks, ice picks. Weapons scavenged from all over the facility were piled up like a small mountain.
"In the second Judgment, the targets are three: myself, Ryou, and Shutarou. Shutarou's extraordinary physical abilities can be a weapon to protect you all. Therefore, the most rational choice is to offer up Ryou, who is the most powerless and the cause of the group's discord."
He presented his conclusion matter-of-factly, as if solving a math problem. The participants around him nodded eagerly, their faces a mix of fear and relief.
That was when it happened.
"Don't screw with me!!"
His blond hair disheveled, Ryou burst into the cafeteria. His usually bright and cheerful face was now twisted with despair and anger.
"Hoarding all the weapons and making me the next sacrifice!? All you're doing is helping a murder happen, you bastard!"
"Incorrect. This is risk management. Sacrifices are necessary to survive. I am merely showing a ration
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