63) Assault

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"'Think of the thrill!' I told him. 'Get to experience the old times just for one night!' And he trusted me a lot, you know. He thought I was being genuine, and wanted to push him to experience a source of nostalgia. But an added benefit was that, if he felt his life was in jeopardy, he could take the fall capsule, which would've been a safety net."

===Tezuka Eiji===

All around me, the crowd cheered.

Within the ring, my gloves were raised. A couple of camera lights flickered in the stands. Sweat dripped off my chest, and my breathing was heavy, chest pumping.

Isn't the adrenaline what makes life worth living? The thrill? The being on the edge? Just having fun? Living for today?

It's only on this edge where people's true colors unfold. It's only with death on the constant horizon, where people's rawest hearts are shown–their beauty, or their ruin.

In a way, that's what I've always wanted to see, what I've always wanted to bring out of people. It's in this gray-area between life or death where the best and worst of humanity is able to shine. And, in my opinion, people are innately good; the best is what's usually shown.

The ring brings a small portion of this salvation, of this enlightenment. It's not life or death, but it's certainly for safety, and for glory. People reveal a small portion of their truest selves in this line of adrenaline.

Time seemed to pick up again, as my opponent honed in on me. Breathing in, I charged.

. . .

Walking down the streets, that memory replayed itself in my mind. Indeed, this game has allowed people to achieve this enlightenment. I've seen friends traveling through a blizzard to get resources through the King of Clubs to save survivors. A sick woman clearing the Jack of Spades with her crippled husband to replenish his Visa. A gang of college students–a found family–sticking with each other and not running ahead even as the road around them plunged into itself.

This was what the constant threat of death has done: allow the brightest of humanity to shine. I'm not going to pretend to be a hero; I know my game has killed many. But I hope in the end, I have brought at least one person to their enlightenment.

===Aoyama Tōka===

The concrete beneath me began glowing red. Under the piles of rubber, fragments of rock began sinking into the ground, which grew molten.

"The getaway cars are around the corner!" Kai shouted. "We can't get back to the car you came in, but we have three cars, enough for all of us!"

We ran, the ground turning solid again as we escaped the hazard zone, the King of Spades blimp still looking over us. At the end of an alleyway were the three cars.

"Split the injured folks up!" Kai ordered. One of his men also had a hand that was crushed badly, and another with a severely bleeding abdomen.

"I'll drive!" Kazetani barked. "Ashikaga, you're coming in my car!"

Chihaya got into the passenger seat, and I dropped Ashikaga at the back. Rafferty and Benkei went into another one of the cars, Rafferty driving, with Kai behind the wheel of the final car, taking off first and leading the way.

Kazetani floored the gas pedal, and with a loud screech, we followed, Rafferty's car behind us. In the distance, something rumbled. The shadow of the zeppelin grew, hanging over us. I rolled down the window, pointing my eyes up. The blimp rose higher, the King hanging onto the rope, overlooking the entire avenue.

"He's going to see where we all are!" I shouted. "We can't escape!"

"Decree 3:07PM, an asteroid will strike into the Karuma Tire Shop!" His voice blasted.

"How did his voice get so loud?" Chihaya asked, clinging onto the edges of the seatbelt as Kazetani drifted into a sharp turn, which threw all of us aside.

"And why a tire shop?" Ashikaga screamed.

In the horizon, a large chunk of rock crashed into a building, and Kai's car veered sideways, as dozens of tires rolled into the street. Kai's car swung to the side, pushing all the tires aside, before turning straight again and continuing to drive. A few missed tires struck our car, skidding the side, as Kazetani shifted the car, dodging what remained.

From behind the wheel, Kazetani threw me a pair of binoculars. "You were a vigilante in the past world, doing dangerous busts. I assume you'd have sharp eyesight."

"Why?"

"Notice how when the King is far from us, his voice is automatically amplified so we can hear?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, if you think back, you'll remember that when he first attacked Maindo, he was still a good distance away. But he had a megaphone. Now, he doesn't have a megaphone, but his voice is still automatically amplified."

"There's probably more rules to Decrees than we thought, now that you mention it." Chihaya said between breaths, leaning forward. "To make it ever so slightly more fair for the players."

"None of us have had the time to take a good, long look at the King of Spades, ever." Kazetani said. "He's always been too far away, or we've always been too busy running for our lives. Take the time now to take a good long look at him."

I put the binoculars to my eyes, and honed in on him. His facial features were sharp, and his fists were scarred and bruised–a clear sign of a boxer. His arms were very bulked, and his leg muscles were clear-cut and defined. I focused back towards his face; there was a single earring on his right ear.

"There's an earring on his right ear!" I said.

"That's probably the microphone!" Ashikaga said, her foot propped up. "If it can pick up on the fact that players cannot hear the decree, it'll automatically turn on and boost his volume."

"That's why he never whispers decrees!" Kazetani shouted. "Think about how much harder this game would be if we didn't know what any of the decrees were. What's stopping him from whispering every decree under his breath? But no, he shouts each one out at the top of his lungs. That has to be an unsaid rule."

"And this probably isn't too significant, and is also pretty obvious, but I also noticed how the King of Spades can only order decrees around the areas he's in." CHihaya said.

"Sp these two rules..." I murmured.

The King of Spades' decrees must be loud enough for players to hear. If the King of Spades is too far from the players and has no other way of amplifying his volume, the microphone device on his ear will automatically pick up on his decree to boost the voice like a speaker

The King of Spades can only issue decrees in the area he is present in, with the exception of catastrophes.

"Decree 3:10PM, two asteroids will strike the intersection of the road I'm pointing at, cutting off the survivors I'm chasing and trapping them!"

Kazetani shifted the gears. "Hold on tight, it's going to take a miracle to escape this."

Ahead of us, Kai's car picked up speed, as did we, the entire world outside the window bleeding into a single blur.

From the sky, two asteroids large enough to obstruct the road descended, growing in size. The rev of the car blasted into my ears, as Kazetani sped up further.

"It's going to be close!" He shouted. "Get down and cover your head!" We did as he told, the car passing under the asteroid's shadow. A few moments later, the ground shook, as a shower of debris showered the back window, shattering it.

Ashikaga screamed, shaking the glass off of her. I turned around, breathing a sigh of relief to see Rafferty's car was okay.

"Did you guys see the music store on the way to the clocktower?" Kazetani asked. "I have an idea."

I nodded.

"Aoyama, you're a musician. What we're going to do is blast music so loud, the King won't even be able to hear his own decrees. If we the players can't hear the decrees, it's not valid. We can fight him if there aren't any decrees."

"Kazetani, that's genius!" Chihaya shouted.

"I think I saw a fireworks store too." Ashikaga said.

"And a party store!" Chihaya recalled. "And a broadcasting station. All on that road."

"Music store would have a DJ station; that's Chihaya's call." Kazetani said. "Broadcasting? That sounds like Ashikaga's call. The rest of us will launch the fireworks and use whatever we can to ensure there's deafening noise at all times!"

Ahead of us, Kai's car pulled to a stop with a screech. Kazetani yelped, flooring the breaks, the rest of us launching forward, myself slamming into the back of Chihaya;s street.

"The road ahead is all gone!" Kazetani yelled. "It collapsed from yesterday's catastrophe!"

"Tell them to get back to the music store!" Chihaya yelled. He and Kazetani rolled down to their windows, signaling to the others.

"Get back to the music store near the clocktower!" Kazetani barked. "We have a plan!"

"W-What?" Rafferty shouted. "That's s-so far!"

"Don't question it, we don't have time!" Chihaya yelled. "We'll use the music to drown out the King's decrees! We'll explain more there, just trust me!"

"And keep your car floored the whole way, we'll need to be ahead of the King to set up our plan!" Kazetani said. "Get going now!"

"You've heard him!" Kai ordered his men in front of us. "Get back!"

Rafferty's car screeched, crossing the shadow of the blimp as it crossed us again.

"Decree 3:14PM, earthquake on Kongoji avenue!"

The ground beneath us began rumbling, but Kazetani only pressed the gas harder. "Can't be caught in the disaster if we drive out of the affected area!" Asphalt crackled, rising ahead of us, and the car lurched upwards as it drove up the split.

"Take a detour, split up." Chihaya said. "So it's harder for the King to track all of us."

"Good call." Kazetani said, drifting the car down an alleyway. Chihaya yelped, as the car drove through garbage cans, papers fluttering and sticking onto the windshields. He flipped on the wipers, cursing.

"We're already losing him!" Ashikaga reported.

"I've always wanted to drive this fast." Kazetani said with a smirk, turning another corner. Within a few more minutes, the clocktower was back in view, the blimp in the far distance.

"Unsurprisingly... We're almost out of gas." I noted. "Just in time."

We pulled into the street, just as Kai's car did so on the other end. A moment later, Rafferty's car barreled through an alleyway. We got out, and I peered into the music store, where dozens of drums, electric guitars, and speakers laid. I laughed. "Jackpot!"

"So w-what's the full plan?" Rafferty asked.

"First thing's first, we hide Ashikaga and Benkei." I said. "They're in no condition to fight. I'll keep them in the closet of the music store, so I can protect them in the worst case scenario."

The two of them limped over to the facade, Ashikaga supported by a cane and Benkei supported by one of the men.

"We'll set up the music store while I explain!" I said, kicking the door open. "Is there any power source in here?"

"I'll check around the back for a generator!" Kazetani said, shuffling outside. Ashikaga and Benkei were led to a hall near the back, into a storage room, where a large glass window allowed them to look into the store. I pulled out an amp and a karaoke machine, wheeling it to the front display window, as Chihaya dusted off a DJ set near the side of the room. With a clink, the lights in the building turned on, basking the store with a warm purple lighting.

"It works!" Kazetani shouted, returning through the door.

"Alright, s-so can w-we start running through j-just w-what the plan is?"

"Notice how the King always shouts his decrees? Why does he shout them even though he could just whisper it and never let us know what the decree is?" I asked. "There has to be some rule that says we the players have to know each decree. If he's too far, his voice is somehow automatically amplified; that's the work of his secret earring, which is actually a microphone and a speaker. Ever noticed that? So our plan is to surround him with so much noise, his decrees can't be distinguished. From there, we attack."

"That's... Genius!" Kai shouted. He paused, then rushed to the windows, looking up. "There's apartments above each of these stores, and also the party store and fireworks store..." He turned around and checked his quiver; four arrows remained.

"Here's the game plan." He said, crouching down. "Me and my men will prepare bags of confetti and water balloons from the party store. You two," he pointed to me and Chihaya, "will man the music. The rest of your friend group will set off fireworks. We'll also set off additional noise bombs where we can. When the King comes swinging down on his rope, we'll launch everything at him, and I'll try to get a shot. After he falls, we unleash all the sound and my men ambush him. Any questions?"

No one said anything.

"Alright!" He clapped. "Everyone to position!"

I pushed the amp and karaoke machine near the entrance, chose a neon purple guitar, and turned on the karaoke machine. Chihaya slipped on a pair of bright blue headphones, adjusting some of the mixers on his table.

Turning on the amp and pushing it to the maximum volume, I connected it to the guitar, also readying a microphone stand while pulling up the lyrics to one of my favorite English songs. I didn't know a word of English, but that didn't matter–sound was sound, in this situation.

"Oh man... It's been so long since I've been behind the table." Chihaya said, rubbing his hands. "Excited for this."

"Good luck!" Ashikaga shouted from the closet.

"I have first row seats to the two best performers in the world!" Benkei chuckled, giving a thumbs up. I laughed, slinging the guitar around me as the lyrics loaded.

Neon Roses - The Technicolors

"You could've chosen to just strum random noise and scream." Chihaya said. "But you're going to put on an actual; performance?"

"Hell yeah." I said. "If I go out... I'll go out in style. The Queen of Spades made me feel this way."

Outside, Kai's men emerged from the party store, each holding a bag of water balloons with bags of confetti and siren lights. They duct taped air horns to the doors, putting a brick between them.

"The blimp is coming, I reckon ninety more seconds!" He said. "Come on!"

Four of them barged into the doors that led to the upstairs apartments, as the shadow began entering the street. I sighed, the adrenaline in my veins tingling.

The rumbling of the zeppelin grew louder, and in the distance, the King made his appearance. Ahead of us were the trackers of Kai and his men, inside the apartments windows,

"Come on... Come on..." I muttered.

He could see the trackers. On his fingers, he counted to five. "Decree 3:25, the–"

The window flung open and they tossed bags of confetti out from both ends, the bag slit open. The wind blew it into a vortex around the King, as he gasped, as someone else began pelting him with water balloons.

He grit his teeth, opening his mouth again, before Kai leaned out the window, firing an arrow. He flinched, sliding down the rope, as Kai fired another one downwards where he was sliding.

It struck through his shoulder and he hissed, falling off the rope and onto the street below. He dove to the side, under a table. "Decree 3:25, this–"

I started my guitar with the opening riff. Beside me, one of Kai's men who remained behind ran door to door, taking the brick out of them. The doors closed, pushing against the airhorns, sending a wave of blares that filled the street. Chihaya's began filling the room with a dubstep beat, blasted to full volume.

"Neon roses after my mind, wanna feel like you feel tonight~"

To my left, Rafferty lit up a roman candle, which began launching flares, as Kazetani set off a chain of fireworks, sending thundering flashes of colors into the sky. Kai and his four men turned out sirens, which spun with flashing red-blue lights and a constant ringing police horn. They threw it to the ground and upwards, landing it on roofs, awnings, and balconies.

"Say your prayers and I'll be alright, spit me up and I'll wonder why~"

Little pebbles on the ground, as well as my body, shook with every second of pulsing music. Kai's men leaped down from their stations, as the one man that remained on the ground charged forward as well. Rafferty, while waiting for one of his fireworks to set off, broke the windows of all three cars, setting off their alarms.

"'Cause I'll never~ see this place again."

They closed in, half of them wielding knives. He ducked through their legs, rolling under and leaping back up, kicking one of them in the back. Another one struck air with his knife, and the King took his arm, chopping it, freeing the knife. He swung, and they dove. Kai rolled next to him, attempting to free the knife. Nothing could be heard over the alarms, the music, the singing, or the fireworks. My voice began shaking; we were outmatched by a single man.

"But I still~ can't find a malice~ It's a thrill~  slow shot reaction."

The King won the struggle, pushing the knife. Kai shifted to the side, but couldn't avoid getting sliced at his side. The King rolled into a series of punches, striking Kai and the man next to him.

"But I never~ knew you at all~ Don't let it happen to ya."

Another man dove for his knife, but the King resisted, punching hard enough to send the man towards the ground. Spinning the knife in his hand, he sliced through his neck.I gasped, but had no time to watch, as the next guitar riff began, leading into the second verse. This is a battle we were losing.

===Kazetani Tomoyuki===

I set off another chain of fireworks, which exploded into a flowering spiral of rainbows over the sky. My ears rang, beaten by the guitar which shook my core and the constant siren horns.

"We aren't winning!" I shouted to Rafferty. "But if we leave our own station, there won't be enough noise!"

"L-Look, Kazetani!" Rafferty yelled. "I think our n-noise is attracting curious p-people, w-why are there more trackers near us?"

Then, around the corner three haggled players entered. Two were men, and one was a blonde woman wielding a gun.

"Huh?" I gasped. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We saw all the trackers and lights near the blimp, and heard the noise!" One of the men shouted. "We knew it must've been a unique assault, and wanted to help!"

"You h-have a gun!" Rafferty pointed.

"Quick!" The King shouted from the crowd. "Shoot the King of Spades!" He grabbed Kai, pressing him forward. The woman aimed her gun.

"No!" I yelled, holding my arm out. Kai slammed his head back, dodging the bullet and launching the King over him. "That bastard's lying! He's the King!"

While the three were stunned, I snatched the woman's gun. "Can I borrow this? Thanks." Rushing forward, I closed in on him. "One of you stay behind to make noise, the rest of you two join us!"

Before the King rose back up, I was over him with the gun, and pulled the trigger. He swung his head, kicking me off, and I stumbled backwards. The woman and one her friends got behind him, latching onto his shoulders, as Kai struck his legs. Before I could shoot again, he grabbed onto the gun, then kicked his feet back while spinning on the axis of his other feet. The two behind him were swung aside, as was I, still grabbing onto the gun as he pulled the trigger.

Kai dove forward, pushing the gun out of his hands as it fired. The blonde woman picked it up before the King could, and he cursed, slowly

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