Board Game (9)
Episode 68: Board Game (9)
A tension unlike anything seen before hung heavy in the duty room.
The three female students who had known about this game from the start.
Perhaps overcome by despair, the three of them sobbed and shed tears.
“This isn’t what we were told….”
“I knew it would end up like this….”
“Sniff, Mom….”
It seemed that a similar mission had appeared in a previous game.
‘The Game Monster… is making a last-ditch effort to prevent its own defeat…’
It was a moment when, if everyone moved just once more, they could almost certainly clear the stage.
But at that very last moment.
The game monster used a trick to prevent anyone from moving.
“Lana….”
“……”
I looked at Lana with a tense expression.
Since even the girl with the wavy hair had passed the mission, it was Lana’s turn next.
Lana glanced at me briefly, then.
Clatter…
She rolled the dice.
The number that came up was 4.
Lana had three spaces left.
If she succeeded in this mission, Lana would be able to clear the game safely.
But…
‘It’s definitely going to be a difficult kind of mission….’
It would likely require actions amounting to physical mutilation.
In that case, she had to pass.
She had a puppet, but using it meant she couldn’t sustain any injuries.
Missions like pulling out her fingernails were impossible to complete from the start.
Passing was the only option.
“But then, what am I supposed to do from here on out….”
The game doesn’t stop until there’s a loser.
Even if you quit the board game midway, you’ll eventually have to play it again.
They say that if you stop in the middle, the game will torment the player until they play it again.
I knew that part well because the girls had told me about what Sera and Miel had gone through.
Just then.
“……”
Swish.
Lana picked up a mission card, checked the contents, and
gently held the card up toward the ceiling.
Then she studied the card carefully, front and back.
“Lana…? What’s wrong…?”
“……Yeah, I saw it.”
“You saw it…?”
Lana immediately gave a sly smile.
A moment later, she put the card down and spun the roulette.
──Whirrrrrrr.
The roulette wheel spun, and the arrow found its target.
‘I can see it…? What is it….’
While I was pondering the reason for Lana’s smile and the meaning behind her words,
‘Ah…!’
I realized something.
But I didn didn’t dwell on the answer.
‘The monster is currently parasitizing me… so. ……Don’t think about it.’
I mustn’t let it be discovered.
I have no idea what kind of desperate measures it might take.
And a moment later.
Clack-clack-clack….
The arrow came to a stop.
What it pointed to was.
“…….”
It was me.
“Ah, …it’s Ares.”
“…Is it something awkward?”
“Hmm~, I don’t mind it, but it’s a little embarrassing…”
In response to my nervous question, Lana, unusually for her, blushed and gently averted her eyes.
“I put it in thinking it would be fun, but I didn’t expect I’d be the one to get picked.”
“…What, what is it?”
Without answering, Lana stood up and approached me.
“Come on, lie down here for a moment.”
“Huh? Uh…”
And she laid me down on the floor.
Immediately.
“You have to hold your breath. Got it?”
“Huh…?”
Lana approached me as I lay there.
And then.
She climbed onto my face.
“Guh…?!”
“H-hold your breath…! Don’t move…! Gah…”
The moment I caught a glimpse of her snow-white underwear, her lower body settled right on top of my face.
With my view blocked by her dark skirt,
I felt the sweet scent of fabric softener and
and a soft, warm sensation across my entire face.
“I told you not to move…! Ah…!”
Lana’s thighs gently squeezed my head as it shifted slightly, stopping my movement.
As a result, that intoxicating softness and warmth spread to both sides of my face.
And a moment later.
Tap, tap, tap.
With my vision blocked, I heard the familiar sound of plastic clinking in my ears.
Then, Lana, who had been sitting on top of me, stood up.
The happy moment was over.
“……”
“Yeah, I scored. I’m in first place, right?
Lana returned to her seat, blushing and smiling awkwardly as she said that.
“W-what just happened…?”
“Why…?”
However, the other girls were more focused on the moving pieces than on what we had just done.
The girl who had just passed the mission looked at Lana as if she couldn’t understand.
“I’ll explain when it’s your turn. Okay, next. Ellie.”
“Okay.”
Then Lana handed the die to Ellie, and Ellie rolled it onto the board.
‘Please… don’t figure it out yet…’
I tried my hardest not to think about the answer.
If the game monster parasitizing me found out… it would definitely resort to other means.
“Okay, …shine the light.”
“Okay…”
The number Eli rolled was 5.
With only two spaces left, she too would reach the finish line if she succeeded in this mission.
Lana looked at Eli’s mission card alongside her and they exchanged a few words.
“Wow… we got this one…”
“Why did they even put this in…!”
“But isn’t it good if Ares gets it?”
“If someone else gets it…!”
“IT’s a girl anyway~.”
After checking the mission details, Ellie blushed and scolded Lana, and Lana replied as if teasing her.
It seemed both of them had checked the mission details.
‘Alright, if I can just pull this off properly this time….’
No matter what the mission is, if we just pull it off this one time, we’ll clear the game.
I prayed that Ellie would be able to do it.
And then.
─Swoosh.
Swoosh….
The roulette spun, and the arrow moved toward Ellie’s mission target.
And the target that appeared was.
“Huh…?”
“Eek…”
It was me again.
‘What kind of mission is this…!’
Ellie and I locked eyes and blushed.
Thinking back on the conversation I just had with Lana, this definitely wasn’t just ordinary physical contact…!
━ No…
‘Oh no…!’
Perhaps sensing something from my thoughts just now, the monster began muttering inside my head.
━ Tormentingly
━ Painfully…
‘Calm down… I mustn’t get excited…’
I need to clear my head.
If I get worked up and start thinking clearly about the situation, this monster might catch on and act differently.
“Alright, Ellie. Hurry up!”
“Uh, uh…?”
“Hurry…!”
“Okay…!”
So I urgently called out to Ellie.
I don’t know what it is, but stalling isn’t a good idea.
Whatever the mission entails, I just need to quietly follow Ellie’s instructions.
And then.
“I, I’m going to be rude….”
“…….”
Ellie gently climbed onto me as I sat there.
Gulp.
What is she trying to do?
No, I mustn’t think about it.
I need to clear my head.
This is surely going to be a cruel, agonizing, and painful mission.
━ Yeah, cruel and painful…
Extremely cruel and agonizing, something I never want to remember again….
Swoosh….
Click, click….
Then.
Ellie undid her tie and began unbuttoning her shirt.
“…….”
“…….”
Her massive… breasts were revealed through the opening in her shirt.
And then.
She even unhooked her bra.
Click.
Sway.
“…….”
“…T-this is really… a mission.”
Blushing, Ellie gently lifted her bra up.
Then, her massive, snow-white bare breasts appeared right before his eyes.
“Ares… has to do it.”
“…….”
He has to do it…?
Do what…?
‘What else, you idiot…!’
There’s no man alive who doesn’t know what to do in this situation.
After all, this is an instinct that’s been in human DNA since infancy.
━ A torturous
━ agonizing punishment…
Shut up.
‘Surely… this much was okay…?’
Up until sucking here.
It should have been fine.
I’d already confirmed that back when I was with Ellie’s mom.
So, with my body tense, I gently wrapped my arms around Ellie’s waist.
And opened my mouth.
“Haa…, uh, Ares, your tongue, your tongue….”
“…….”
Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp.
Something plump and soft fills my mouth.
Along with the ecstatic sensation, my mind goes completely blank, and I can’t think of anything else.
I just suck on her breast, as if driven by instinct.
“Ahh…”
Then, Ella gently wrapped her arms around my head and let out a soft, pleased-sounding moan.
That voice made me even more aroused.
And then.
Click, click.
The sound of plastic clicking signaled that Ella’s mission was a success.
“……”
“Ugh, ah, haa, Ares….”
But we didn’t pull apart for a while; we stayed like that, holding each other for a moment.
To be honest, I didn’t want to let go.
Sss, sss….
“Um… it’s my turn now. Is it okay if I…?”
“Ah….”
“Ugh, …uh, yeah.”
But at the sound of Claire’s voice that followed, we snapped back to our senses and pulled away from each other.
Ellie blushed as she put on her bra and buttoned up her shirt.
“…….”
Watching her, I recalled the soft yet firm sensation I’d felt in my mouth just moments ago.
━ Cruel and painful…
It’s painful.
It’s cruel.
Why do happy times end so quickly?
━ No, no, no
━ No, no, no, no, no, no, no
“Guh…!”
Suddenly, the monster’s voice, mixed with a scream, echoed in my head.
“Ares, are you okay…?”
“I’m fine… so hurry up….”
“Yes…!”
At my urging, Claire rolled the dice.
Claire only had four spaces left.
Clatter, clatter, clatter….
And the number she rolled was 4.
“Then the mission….”
Claire immediately checked the mission card.
But then.
“Huh…?”
Her expression froze, and a look of bewilderment clouded her eyes.
“Why? What is it?”
“Well….”
In response to my question, Claire quietly showed me the card.
And the mission card was…
──covered in bright red blood, making it impossible to see anything.
“At this rate, even if we hold it up to the light….”
“…….”
We’d been found out.
The fact that the mission could be cleared simply by completing the original mission, not the one covered in blood.
The monster had realized this and completely smeared the mission card itself.
So that we could no longer carry out the mission.
“It’s, it’s invalid!”
“Huh?”
“We can’t tell what the mission is, right? So draw another card!”
“Oh, okay!”
Claire discarded the card as I instructed and drew the next one.
But.
“……Ares.”
“…….”
Sure enough, the next card was also smeared with blood, making it impossible to make out anything.
The next card would surely be the same.
‘What on earth can I do….’
I stared at the blood-stained card.
If things continued like this, I’d never be able to finish the game.
If that happened…, I’d wither away, tormented by this phenomenon, unable to end the game.
‘A crimson card… I can’t see a thing….’
There must be a way.
There has to be something.
‘Something…, something….’
So I kept thinking while running my fingers over the surface of the blood-covered card.
And then.
‘……The surface is hard.’
I realized the blood had congealed.
“A pen… a pen! A pencil or an awl! Quick, anything!”
“H-huh?”
“Hurry!”
I shouted urgently to everyone.
A girl with short hair pulled a sharp pencil from her bag and handed it to me.
As soon as I received the pencil, I placed the card on the floor.
I used the pencil to scrape away the blood and form letters.
‘Before this guy notices…!’
Scratch, scratch….
If no mission is written on it, this mission is void.
But in a different sense.
This card is essentially a blank check that allows me to write any mission I want.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
──[Shake Hands]
I scraped away the dried blood to create the most concise mission description possible.
“Okay, Claire!”
“Eh, oh, is it ‘Shake Hands’?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Well….”
━ I want something naughty too…
“Is this really the time to be thinking about that?!”
“Ugh, s-sorry…!”
“Come on, hurry up and shake hands!”
“Yes!”
If the monster notices, this plan could go up in smoke.
I have to complete the mission before that happens.
I held out my hand to Claire, and she took it with a disappointed look on her face and shook it.
Then.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Claire’s lips moved.
“Done…!”
“Great! Next is me!”
━ No...
With that, Claire has safely cleared the game as well.
Now, Lana, Ellie, and Claire are completely safe from any harm caused by this urban legend game.
‘All that’s left now is... for me to lose the game...’
If I lose, this strange entity possessing my body will likely disappear.
Lana must have already confirmed that in Ellie’s future diary.
Now, all I have to do is watch out for the monster’s traps to make sure that future doesn’t change.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
I rolled the dice.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter what number comes up.
I’m going to pass on the mission anyway.
And after that, the three thugs just need to clear the mission.
A moment later.
The dice rolled a 3, and I drew a mission card.
But without even checking it, I immediately shouted “Pass!”
“Pa…!”
No, I tried to shout it.
Shiver, shiver, shiver…
“Pa…”
My voice wouldn’t come out right.
My body wouldn’t even move properly.
━ I can’t lose…
━ I can’t lose……
━━ I can’t lose
“……Pass.”
“Ah, Ares…?”
“Are you okay?”
Cold sweat trickled down my back, and my throat felt constricted.
Even as Ellie and Claire called out to me in concern, I couldn’t move.
And then.
My trembling hand revealed the mission details on the card I hadn’t checked.
Shak-shak-shak-shak….
“…….”
[Gouge out both eyes of the woman on the left.]
The moment I saw the phrase written in blood, I realized.
That this was the game monster’s final desperate act.
“Guh, gah…, Pa, sniff…, Pat…!!”
“Ares? Are you okay?”
I tried desperately to shout “Pass.”
But it was no use.
The monster had taken control of most of my body and wouldn’t let go.
And soon after, I found myself clutching the sharp pencil I’d used to scrape off the blood just moments ago.
Click, click…
My head turned against my will, and I looked at the girl with the ponytail sitting to my left.
“Why, why…?”
At that, the ponytail girl flinched and quietly stepped back.
‘If I gouge out this girl’s eyes…, I can prevent her from clearing the game….’
That way, at the very least, I could stop myself from losing the game and receiving a penalty.
The game monster intends to incapacitate one player as a last-ditch effort.
“……”
“Why, why…?”
The ponytail girl begins to sob.
And at that moment.
Thwack!
“Aaaargh!!”
“……”
I placed my hand on the ponytail girl’s shoulder to hold her in place, then raised my hand, still clutching the pencil, high above my head.
“Nooooooo!!”
Ponytail screams in agony.
At the same time.
I brought the pencil down with a sharp stab.
Thud.
“Guh, ugh, GAAAAAAH!!”
The pencil had pierced my own hand.
The hand that was gripping Ponytail’s shoulder.
Blood flowed from my hand along with intense pain.
“Ares—!!”
Immediately after, Ellie screamed and clung to my hand, which was still holding the pencil.
“Are you okay? Ares! You’re bleeding…! What should we do…!”
“Guh, haa, haa….”
The pencil that had been stuck in my hand was pulled out, and blood flowed down.
Since the last time I used the puppet doll, the effect was on a bob haircut, so it doesn’t work on me.
But.
Thanks to the wound, I regained my physical freedom, if only for a moment.
“Pass!! I’m passing on the mission─!!”
━ Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
At the same moment I screamed, the monster’s agonized cry echoed in my head.
“Hurry…! It’s your turn…!!”
“Huh? Oh, got it…!!”
My body twitched again, and fearing I’d lose control, I crouched down and hurriedly told Ponytail.
Ponytail snapped out of it and rolled the dice.
Clatter, clatter, clatter…
I couldn’t see the number that came up.
But the delinquent girls were mostly in a position where they could finish the game in a single turn.
“Ellie… hold me tight…”
“Okay…!”
Huddled in Ellie’s arms, I looked at the three delinquent girls.
━ No…
Starting with Ponytail, they rolled the dice, drew a mission card, and carved the phrase on the bloodstain.
Soon, Ponytail shook hands with the girl with the bob cut and passed her the dice.
A look of relief.
It seems she cleared it.
‘Just a little more….’
Twitch, twitch….
━ No, no, no, no…
My body is writhing, trying to move.
A voice inside my head is screaming at me to burst out right now, gouge out those women’s eyes, and render them helpless.
━ Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…
“It’s okay….”
But I don’t move.
I decide to focus on something else instead of the voice in my head.
“Ares…!”
Ellie, holding me tightly in her arms.
The feel of her full breasts.
That ecstatic sensation from just a moment ago.
I feel it in her warm embrace.
I.
Don’t want to leave this place.
Therefore, I will not move.
━ Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
“Last one…!”
The girl with wavy hair rolls the dice.
Clatter.
Their expressions brighten as they see the dice roll.
After that, the last girl also draws a mission card and writes a phrase on it with a pencil.
A moment later.
The girl with the wavy hair kisses the girl with the bob.
Just like she did at the beginning.
‘…That was just… something she wanted to do, right?’
A kiss not out of compulsion, but one they chose to give of their own free will.
And between two girls, no less.
It’s so…
Naughty….
━ No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
The game.
Is over.
━ Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
━ Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
And the hole that had opened in the center of the game board began to suck something in.
“━━Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The voice echoing in his head soon became a physical scream, reverberating throughout the duty room.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
“…….”
After that, only silence remained inside the duty room.
Everyone was staring at the game board with their mouths shut.
It was all over.
“Did we take care of it…?”
Muttering to myself to celebrate the end, I stood up from Ellie’s embrace.
And then, in an instant.
“Whoa….”
My body staggered.
Thud.
Losing my balance, I collapsed.
But I didn’t fall to the floor.
“…You did well.”
“…….”
It was Lana.
Lana had caught me and laid me down.
“IT’s over, right…?”
“Yeah. It turned out just as the future predicted.”
“I see….”
“Get some rest, Ares.”
“…….”
“…See you on Friday.”
Lying on Lana’s lap, I stared at the ceiling and felt my vision blurring.
Ellie and Claire approached me within that blurring vision.
“──!”
“──!!”
I could hear the two of them calling out to me.
But I couldn’t hear them clearly.
Huh?
I’m losing…
What’s happening to me?
“…….”
For a moment, I saw Lana’s smile.
A gentle smile.
Seeing that smile put me at ease.
She’s a monster trying to kill me, but…
For some reason, seeing her smile…
I felt a sense of relief that everything would be okay.
Author: Student Council Terrorist
Title: When did that bastard Ares say he’d be back?
I’m bored just because he’s been gone a day.
Comments
[Night Mouse: He said he’d wake up on Friday.]
ㄴ[Student Council Terrorist: Will he log in right after he wakes up??]
ㄴ[Night Mouse: According to his diary, he’s supposed to come back]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: It’ll be fucking hilarious when he shows up lol]
ㄴ[For Glory: Seriously lol]
ㄴ[Lunchbox Collector: Predicted first line: “Guys, what’s going on here?”]
ㄴ[Student Council Terrorist: If he comes, are you guys gonna tease him a bit??]
ㄴ[For Glory: They say he’ll recover in a week, so we should tease him a little]
ㄴ[Night Mouse: But if we lie and he gets too worked up and crosses the line, that’d be a problem]
ㄴ[Red Night Sky: I’m more curious about how the other girls will react lol]
“……”
I opened my eyes.
“……”
A pure white ceiling.
Pure white curtains.
It’s an unfamiliar scene.
…No, it also feels somewhat familiar.
“Hmm…”
I sat up and looked around.
Six beds, including mine.
A pure white room.
A potted plant.
Flowers.
“A hospital…?”
It was clearly a hospital, no matter who looked at it.
And just then, someone walked in.
“Oh my, patient. Please wait just a moment…!”
It was a nurse.
The nurse hurriedly left the room to call for someone.
“……”
So it is a hospital.
“But….”
I rubbed my head.
“……Who am I?”
I can’t remember a thing.