"Ahhhhhhhhhhh-"


    Kyle often found himself jealous of his friends. They were all Supers, stronger than him, faster than him, and smarter than him. They also were all able to stick the landing. Even Hope. He, however, was unable. So, as soon as he found himself being warped through space, he also found himself screaming as he blinked into existence above the ground.


    He dropped down fast, smashing onto his back, leaving him as a groaning mess. His world was still spinning, but he was able to tell right away that he wasn''t in Oleander City anymore. He took several moments to steady his breathing and clear his blurry vision, but eventually, he sat up, letting out one last moan of pain.


    "No, no, no—this can''t seriously be happening, is it?" Kyle winced and stared with wide eyes at where he was. "Seriously. Why me? Why did my dad have to be right? Why did I have to be picked for this stupid fucking game!"


    He knew enough about the Murder Games. His father had forced him to study up on them. Two years ago, he was caught in the middle of one, although he wasn''t a player at the time. Whenever the game was held, it would take place in a city, and five players would be selected. It would go until the rules of the game finished, and then a few years later a new game would be held in a new city. Since these games took place in cities, there were plenty of people who weren''t players that were caught in the crossfire. Those people would have the privilege of being players for the next game if they were chosen. That was how Lucifer got his players, each game constantly marking the poor bastards caught in the middle to be future players.


    It was made all the worse by the fact the heroes couldn''t do anything once the game started. A shield would appear around the city in question, coating it from top to bottom. Not even the Victorian could get through. So, the only help the players would get was from the heroes trapped in the city with them.


    This was most of what he had been taught by his dad. His father had always been paranoid and feared something like this would happen one day. However, as Kyle used the knowledge his dad had drilled into him, he instantly became confused by what he saw.


    He wasn''t in a city. At least none that he knew.


    There weren''t any massive towers or small buildings. There weren''t any people running around, and there weren''t any roads or anything like that. Instead, he was in an open field. One that seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see. In the distance, he saw a running river, and even further past that, giant mountains hung. He knew that each city could be vastly different, but this was just too insane to be any of them. It was as if he hadn''t been teleported to any of the ten great cities.


    But if that was the case... Then where the hell was he?


    "Hello!"


    "Ahh-" Once more, Kyle screamed and stumbled back, falling onto his butt as he stared up at the thing that had spoken. Gabriel was back. At least that weird chibi doll form of her was. The thing stared down at him and looked almost like some sort of anime mascot or something, having a bigger head than its body, a weirdly tiny mouth, and massive eyes. "G- Get the hell away from me!" Kyle yelled as loud as he could and did his best to sound cool and brave. As he crawled further away from the thing, he managed to scoop up some rocks and chucked them at the floating doll, but just like before, his attack went right through it. This thing was more like a hologram than a person.


    Gabriel giggled and floated closer. "That won''t work, silly. Now, be silent. I need to explain who I am."


    "Who you are? I know who you are!" Kyle hissed out. "You''re Gabriel! One of the Immortals!"


    "Not exactly." The weird creature giggled again and twirled. "I''m actually Gabby! I''m a construct made from her power! Pretty cool, huh?"


    "No!"


    "Ah, what do you know?" Gabby folded her arms and rolled her eyes, still floating in the air. "You''re just a dumb human anyway."


    "Hey!"


    "Now listen!" Gabby snapped her fingers and landed on the ground in front of him, staring up into his eyes. "I am Gabby, and I am here to serve the role of an assistant. I will be monitoring you as well as helping you out."


    "H—helping me out? Y- You''re lying!" Kyle stood up and glared down at Gabby. He tried to stomp the doll out, but of course, his foot phased right through it. His efforts only managed to make it giggle again.


    "I can''t lie. Trust me."


    "I don''t!"


    "Too bad, so sad! Now listen." Gabby let out a soft hum and tilted her head up. "This year''s game is a little special and different. You might have noticed the city you have been transported to?"


    "What city? I''m in the middle of nowhere!"


    "It might look that way to you, but I assure you, this is technically a city." Gabby hummed. "See, in a normal game, we spawn you five players randomly throughout the city. You then have one hour to prepare and get ready before the hunt begins. During this hour, you are allowed to use anything in the city to protect yourself, even the people, should you wish. We have no issue with you using them as meat shields. In fact, we encourage it. It gives us more things to slaughter!"


    "You''re sick..."


    Gabby''s smile only grew. "That said, this isn''t a normal game. See, recently, Father has teamed up with a... Well, he''s quite a rude fucker if I do say so." Gabby said in a crude tone. "But Father has agreed to his terms. You would know him as the Emperor." Kyle flinched and felt his face pale. He felt sick at his stomach. As if he was about to throw up at any second now. It really was a nightmare. Not only was he trapped in the Murder Games, but the Emperor, the man who hated humans more than any other person, was also here. He was basically dead already. "It is thanks to working with the Emperor that Father is able to host the games in this city." Gabby continued. "Because of how harsh it is this year, Father has decided to handicap us and give you players an advantage."


    "W- What do you mean?" Kyle stared down at the creature weakly. Surely it didn''t matter. Not anymore.


    "Instead of giving you one hour to prepare, we will be giving you one week. There will be one week where we, the Immortals, shall not come after you. You will not see or hear from us. However, at the full moon of the seventh day, our hunt will begin, and rest assured, we will find all of you, and we will kill you. Slowly, painfully, and we''ll have one hell of a time while we do it." Gabby giggled when he collapsed again. He dropped to his knees and had to hold the contents of his stomach in. "I should also mention that Father has released several other obstacles in this city, and there were other dangers that were here even before we arrived. Many villain gangs, such as the ones the Emperor took over, have been placed in this city. Unlike us, they will be hunting you down right away. They have been promised vast wealth and fortune should they catch a player and slaughter them. As we speak, some are likely looking for you."


    "So I''m dead." Kyle let out a weak laugh and shook his head. "That''s what you''re telling me, right? That I''ve already lost. Yeah, real helpful you are, you useless piece of shit." In a way he was actually happy. If another villain found him and killed him, he at least wouldn''t have to worry about being added to Lucifer''s tome.


    Gabby just giggled again. "I did say I was going to offer help, did I not? There is one more thing I will tell you. You are allowed one bodyguard."


    "What? What do you mean?"


    "This year is truly a special game. Not only is Father part of it, but the Emperor is as well. In order to even allow you to stand a chance, Father has agreed to let you pick one hero to select as your bodyguard, and I will teleport that hero to your side-"


    "Victorian! I want the Victorian! Make her my bodyguard!" Kyle yelled it out as loudly as he could, his eyes wide. Maybe it wasn''t all lost. Maybe he could actually come out on top if someone like her was allowed to join-


    "She cannot be invited-"


    "Oh fuck you!" Kyle threw another rock at the floating creature. "Battery then!"


    "He can not-"


    "Then who can I have! Those two are the only ones that even stand a chance!"


    Gabby let out another hum and tilted her head. "The hero must be someone you know. Someone personal to you that you have a connection with. I can''t just grab any random hero. You must be able to put your trust in them, and they in you."


    Kyle felt a knot in his stomach, but he managed to nod. "Okay... Yeah... I have someone in mind." He stopped for a moment and suddenly felt guilty. To force them to join the game was cruel, but what other choice did he have... "Cinder. I pick Cinder. I want her to be my bodyguard."


    Gabby gave a nod. "Yes. She may be selected as your—and she''s gone."


    "Huh?"


    "Someone else has selected Cinder as their bodyguard."


    "Son of a bitch!" Kyle dropped onto the ground and grabbed his head. He rolled around and tugged at his hair, letting out an assortment of curses and screams. Slowly, he calmed down and sighed. "M- Myth?"


    "Not able to be picked by you, I''m afraid-"


    "Fuck it, just give me Metal Ronin."


    "Very well."


    "Really? I can pick him?"


    "Yep." Gabby glowed with a bright white color, and then in a loud ''pop,'' another person suddenly tumbled to the ground. Rowan let out a loud groan and rested on the ground, staring up at the sky. "Metal Ronin has been selected as your bodyguard. His role is to keep you safe and ensure you live."


    Rowan managed to push himself up and clutched at the back of his head, letting out a weak hiss. "What the hell just happened?" He stopped suddenly when he saw Gabby and Kyle. "Kyle?"


    "It actually worked," Kyle said, stunned. "She brought you here."


    "Wait, you''re why I''m here?"


    "Y- Yeah. I was told to pick a bodyguard."


    "Why didn''t you pick the Victorian-"


    "Wouldn''t work."


    "Ah." Rowan nodded and frowned as he looked around. "Shit, this is real, isn''t it?" I''m not dreaming. I''m a member of the Murder Games now, aren''t I?"


    "You have been assigned the role of bodyguard," Gabby said cheerfully. "Your job is to keep your player safe."


    Rowan''s eyes narrowed at the doll, and he tried to take a swing at it with his fist, but his hand phased through it. He let out a sigh and stood up slowly. "Seriously, screw all of you Immortal assholes."


    Gabby chuckled. "You may ask your player the dangers you will face. I have already informed them of what''s to come. Now that the two of you are together, I suggest you get on the move. You have one week before we hunt you down. In other words, you have one week to finish the game."


    Kyle helped Rowan up, and the two boys looked around at where they should go. Besides the mountain and the river in the distance, the field they were in seemed to stretch on for miles, with no obvious structure in sight. If they really were being hunted down, then it likely wasn''t good to be out in the open like this. Rowan looked back at Gabby and frowned. "I don''t really get what''s going on. Normally I''d be freaking out, but I''m going to keep it together for my friend''s sake. That said, I do have a question."


    "What''s that?" Gabby cocked her head to the side.


    "How do we win?"


    "What do you mean?" Kyle looked at his friend, confused.


    Rowan just smirked. "If this really is a ''game,'' then there has to be a way for us to win. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be fair, and they seem to at least care about giving us a fighting chance if they let you bring me here and also are giving us a head start. If the goal is to just kill us, they''d kill us, but a game has to be able to be beaten, right?"


    Gabby''s eyes lit up. "Oh. You''re kind of clever. Another bodyguard asked this question as well, so I''ll tell you what I told her. The players have two ways to win the Murder Games, while we Immortals also have two ways to win. For us, our way of winning is to take all you players out. Either because you die from a villain attack or one of our member''s hands, it doesn''t matter. We just need to kill all but one of you."


    "All but one of us?" Kyle frowned at that.


    "Yep. One of you will leave. See, we hold these games to get new bodies. We wear these skin suits, and eventually, they get used and need to be exchanged. The last player standing will be allowed a place at our side and made into a new member of our games." Gabby''s words caused both boys to turn a little green. "That''s actually one of the win conditions you players get. See, if you can hunt down the other players, you can kill them all and be the last one left standing. That''s how the last game ended. We got to play for a bit, but one of the players, oh, was she feisty. She killed all the other players and allowed herself to join our family. Metatron really is a sweet girl." Gabby cued.


    "Shit." Rowan shook his head. "So not only do we have to deal with wherever the hell we are, we also have to deal with other villains, the Immortals, and other players as well that will try to save themselves. And I''m guessing each player gets a bodyguard as well?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Correct!"


    "I''m sorry for getting you involved." Kyle sighed.


    "Don''t be." Rowan shook his head. "I was placed as your bodyguard even before this game. It''s my fault you''re in this mess; I should have never let my guard down. Maybe if I had been paying more attention, I could have stopped you from getting teleported or something." Rowan folded his arms and grunted. "What are the second conditions? You said each side has two win cons."


    Gabby clapped her hands together, her grin getting even larger. "The second way the Immortals win is secret. I can''t tell you. As for how you players can all win without killing each other, it''s actually simple. You just kill us instead. Or actually, I should really say, you kill Father."


    "Father is Lucifer, right?" Rowan let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "Bastard Immortal, if Full Monarch couldn''t do it, I doubt I can. Shit. Oh well, I''ll figure something out."


    Kyle stepped forward, shifting slightly. "I have another question before we go."


    "Yes?" Gabby once again cocked her head to the side and fluttered her eyes slightly.


    "W- Where are we exactly?" Kyle questioned. "You said we only got here thanks to the Emperor and that it''s a city? But it isn''t a city that I recognize."


    Gabby''s grin faded, and the girl''s look grew serious. "To tell you the truth, I hate this place. I really wish Father didn''t come here, but he knows best, I guess. This is a city, but it has been changed quite drastically. You would know it as Chrysanthemum."


    Rowan and Kyle both froze as the name of the city left Gabby''s mouth. This time, Kyle was unable to stop himself, and he threw up. Things were so, so much worse than they knew. Not only were they in the Murder Games, not only was the Emperor involved somehow, but they were in a city that no longer existed.


    They were past the walls of the Chrysanthemum and resided in a place where a calamity-level threat resided. In other words, something just as powerful as the Beast, or the Emperor, resided in this city...


    "Fair game, my ass..." Rowan bowed his head. "Shit... Yeah, sorry, Kyle, but I think we''re dead..."


    ***


    "Chrysanthemum, huh?" Hope crossed her legs and used the hilt of her sword to spell out the city''s name in the mud. "That''s not good."


    "Chrysanthemum? Isn''t that the city that got covered in a lot of walls?" Alexander asked, folding his arms. He stood behind his daughter, who had remained shockingly calm as he watched her draw on the forest floor.


    "Yeah." Hope nodded her head slowly, a small frown on her face. "Seriously bad stuff for us. I think."


    "You think?"


    She knew a bit about Chrysanthemum. She and Armin used to stay up late reading horror stories about the city. It was the newest Calamity to face the world. Chrysanthemum used to be a city, but a few years ago, it was destroyed by the Beast. Like always, the Beast ended up causing more chaos after it left. A few members of the Cleanup Squad had been sent in to check out the city''s state as well as try to find any survivors who had been left behind. It was during that time they stumbled upon the corpse of Legend. Legend had been a member of the Enforcers who died in the fight. Or at least, he ''had'' died. He didn''t stay dead...


    That corpse of his woke up and nearly killed Myth and Poseidon. It had been around this time that the Cleanup Squad arrived on the scene. They had called for the Victorian, and she arrived just in time to see Legend''s body changing. It was twisting and morphing into something else. Not just him, but the city around him, as well as the poor Cleanup Squad members that had been caught in the radius of the strange energy he had been giving off.


    Boy Genius wasn''t a member of the Enforcers at the time, but Avalon was able to scan the energy and inform the Hero Branch it was the same type of power Lucifer had. Legend''s walking corpse was letting out a strange radiation that caused all humans that got near him to shift and change. The Victorian tried to fight Legend at the time, but due to the state she was in after the Beast, she fled and took Myth and Poseidon with her. Avalon later blocked off the city, deeming it too late to do anything, as Legend''s new power was far too dangerous. The man had woken up as a Calamity, one that would end all life if he ever got out of the city.


    That was why Chrysanthemum was considered to be a Calamity-level threat. The entire city was flooded with Legend''s radiation, and Avalon had formed several massive domes, which he placed over the city, walling it in and blocking it off.


    People sometimes referred to the city as the ''Zombie City'' and viewed what was inside of it as a real-life zombie virus. She honestly wasn''t too sure about that and had no real clue what was in it; she just knew that it was bad. Armin had constantly insisted it was worse than zombies and was actually robots, but she didn''t really trust that view either...


    Either way, if they were in Chrysanthemum City, then it wasn''t good for them. Especially because she knew what had actually happened to Legend, he had become a Ruler. Or rather, he was always a Ruler, able to come back from the dead, much like Lucifer and the Emperor could. The reason his energy was like Lucifer''s was because they all got it from the same source.


    "Why doesn''t it look like a city?" Hope looked up at the floating Gabby doll that was in the air above them. The thing had teleported her here and told her the rules, the fact they had a week, and she had to keep her father alive; she had basically asked it every question she could think of and was confident she knew the basics. She at least had an idea of how to get out of here. She just needed to kill Lucifer.


    "Legend''s body became totally corrupted by the energy that was held within him," Gabby explained. "This power normally brought him back, but he had used it so much it kept growing and growing until it soon spilled out of him. Avalon called this energy a type of radiation, but it would actually be akin to saying it''s more like magic, simply defying logic."


    "What does that mean exactly?" Alexander asked hesitantly. "And is it safe for me to be here?"


    "Of course, it''s not safe; you''re in a death game." Gabby laughed at her joke but slowly came down to land on Alexander''s head. "Don''t worry, though; Legend has since gained control of the energy within himself. Or at least whatever is now in control of Legend''s body. It doesn''t really do anything. Not anymore. It simply stays put in its home and stares up at the sky. I think it''s waiting. As for why you aren''t in a city anymore, you actually are."


    "That''s not possible." Hope shook her head and looked out at the vast expanse of forest that was around her. She felt her eyes sting a bit as she forced her enhanced senses to kick in, and she stared past all the trees, seeing further in the distance than any human should be able to. It just kept going. The forest would end, and she''d find herself staring past a field. That would eventually end, and a series of hills would meet her gaze. For miles, they stretched. Hundreds of times bigger than any city should be. "I''ve never been to Chrysanthemum, but I doubt it''s this big."


    "It is odd, isn''t it?" Gabby smirked slightly. "You''ve seen something like this before, though, haven''t you, sweet Cinder?"


    Hope closed her eyes and thought for a moment. She recalled the Beast fight. More specifically, what happened toward the end of it? Sky had forced her realm into the real world. "We''re in a realm?" She finally asked. Most realms had different colored skies or strange grass, but this one was shockingly normal.


    "Correct." Gabby nodded her head. "That was the true reason this place was locked down. Avalon was scared what would happen if Legend''s power kept growing. It wasn''t truly the people that were affected by his radiation. Instead, it was the world itself. That''s why I said it was like magic. Legend turned the very ground he stood on into a new world. Everything that touched his energy found itself changing and shifting, growing and molding. Chrysanthemum was placed under a series of massive barriers that sealed it off, yet that wasn''t able to stop the growth within the walls. What was once a small city has been changed into a world. One nearly as big as the planet itself. Should Avalon have not stopped Legend, it''s possible the man''s power would keep growing like a cancer until soon the entire universe was replaced by his realm. His kingdom. Thus is the power of a Ruler. The Ruler of Ash and Ruin, the God."


    Alexander bit his lip slightly as he placed his hand on a tree and rubbed it. "Seriously? So we''re in a realm of some sort? That''s so odd."


    "Is it?" Gabby''s eyes flashed with amusement. "This is something any Lord could do. Father is a Ruler, and thus it is only natural Rulers are just as good, if not better than the Lords."


    Hope slowly stood up. She still had the jacket Dense Iron gave her, as well as the backpack that now held her sword. She grabbed the straps and adjusted it slightly, her mind racing. "So, if I understand correctly, the Murder Games has five players. Each player gets a bodyguard, and the job of a bodyguard is to keep their player safe. So I have to keep my dad safe. We''ll be faced with various villains that have been set loose who will all be coming for us. The place we''re in is basically a mini planet, and God only knows how big it is. We have one week to come up with a game plan before the Immortals come hunting for us. Oh, also, the freaking Emperor and Legend might also both get involved as well? Did I get all of that?"


    "Yep! That sounds about right-"


    Hope tried to swat at the doll, but her hand went right through it. "You guys are so cheating! Fair my ass, how are we supposed to win!" She huffed. "Seriously, you guys have three mega-strong dudes on your side! That''s not fair for us! This entire game is rigged!"


    Gabby poked her tongue out at the raven-haired hero and flew into the air, getting off of Alexander''s shoulder. "All you bodyguards and players are big babies. You''re taking all the fun out of this, you know."


    "Such a shame; how about you just let us go since we''re no fun?" Alexander begged.


    "No," Gabby responded in a flat tone. "I will do something just as good, though."


    "Just as good as letting us get out of here? I''m going to go ahead and press ''F'' to doubt that." Hope said, rolling her eyes. "What do you have, though? Have you been holding out on us?"


    Gabby gave a large smirk and flicked her hand out. "This is something for the bodyguards only. We only pick humans as players, and they don''t get anything special. The Emperor knew you''d be a player, Cinder, so he made something special for you and the other bodyguards. I was debating not giving it out, but since you''ve all whined, I''ll go ahead and hand it over. See, he''s a real nice guy to Supers; he truly does love our kind, just as much as he despises humans. So without further ado, I''ll give you the Emperor''s gift."


    She almost didn''t want to know what it was, but any help they could get was needed. She watched as Gabby snapped, and suddenly, something appeared in front of her. It glowed brightly and formed a floating square. It was a light blue color, and her father gasped and stumbled backward as the thing phased into existence before her eyes. She stared at it in shock. It was something she knew.


    A system window.


    Armin and she used to read a ton of web novels, and a lot of them seemed to have some weird fascination with giving the main character a set of video game-like powers. The MCs of those stories had something called the system, and it was usually a floating box like this that showed off their stats. This wasn''t exactly the same; that would have been too helpful, but it was something almost just as good.


    In the center of the box, the words ''Select your Class'' appeared. They flashed a bit before the box suddenly changed and was replaced with what looked almost like a set of playing cards. Each card was a golden color and had a strange picture on it as well as a series of fancy letters. There were twelve of them in total, and her eyes roamed over each one, reading it off one by one.


    The first card had the outline of a figure that wielded a spear made of lightning. He wore what looked like robes, something all the figures in the cards had on, but each picture lacked in major detail, having no face or anything like that, just being a rough outline. The words ''ZEUS'' were written at the bottom. The next card was also a man, this one holding a trident. She was taken aback when she read the word ''POSEIDON'' at the bottom of it. After that was a taller man wearing a jagged crown. ''HADES'' was its name. The fourth one was a woman and didn''t seem to be holding anything. ''HERA'' was written on it. The next one was also a woman, and this one, for some reason, made a point to show off its rather large cleavage, being listed as ''APHRODITE.'' The next two cards seemed to go together, one being a man who held a bow and the other being a woman who also had a bow, both being listed as ''APOLLO'' and ''ARTEMIS,'' respectively. After that was another man, this one holding a sword listed as ''ARES'' and then a woman holding a shield, with the name ''ATHENA'' on it. The final three were all men standing in front of an anvil, a bottle of wine, or a pair of large running shoes. They held the names ''HEPHAESTUS'', ''DIONYSUS'', and ''HERMES''.


    "These are your classes," Gabby explained softly. "Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Dionysus, and finally Hermes. These twelve names used to be gods at one point in time."


    "Really?" Alexander asked in shock.


    Gabby shrugged. "Well, actually, I don''t know. Those names are old. Older than even the four Lords. Before the age of Supers, before the Lords even arrived, mankind had hundreds of thousands of stories to tell, and these names were some of them. Some of those stories passed down and survived being engraved in the Egos of people. The Thaddeus clan, in particular, always held a strange interest in these old tales. The Emperor used his power, as well as a mix of Lucifer''s and Legend''s, to create these. He was trying to figure out how to create new Egos, and, well... He didn''t exactly succeed."


    "What do you mean?" Alexander asked, stepping away out of fear in case the screen was going to explode.


    "The cards don''t last forever. They only have a set number of uses before they get burned out, and they can only be used by Supers. It''s still impossible to fully convert a human to a Super, even with this new method." Gabby sighed and shook her head. "On top of that, these cards took a while to create and seemingly only work here. Sadly we can''t use them in the outside world. They also have... other side effects... Because of that, Father deemed them useless, and the Emperor viewed them as a failure. And since they''re both such nice guys, they decided to give them to you guys!" Gabby clapped slightly. "You may select one card, and it will be given to you. This card will hold a one-time-use power that you can use while you are here. Simply tear the card in two, and it will activate. The description of the power will be on the back for you to read about what it does. You will only get the card once you select a class, though, so you''ll have to go off of the names for now."


    "What if you get a bad one, though?" Hope asked, frowning.


    "Then you got unlucky. No take backs!"


    Each card glowed with a faint energy around it, and her eyes traced every single one, taking in what little detail was present. It reminded her almost of a video game where you would select your starting class and background. She nodded softly, staring at them. She really didn''t trust Gabby, but part of her was still giddy at the thought of getting a new set of powers, even if they would be one-time use. She knew just the one she was going to pick as well.


    "Alright then. In that case, I''ll go ahead and pick." She reached out and pressed the second one. "I select you, Poseidon!" If it was anything like the Poseidon she knew, then it had to be strong. "I want water powers!"


    Instantly, the card grew gray, and a weird buzzing sound came from the screen in front of her. "Oh, so sorry." Gabby made a fake pouting sound. "Looks like another player already selected that one."


    "What!" She stared in shock as the Poseidon card vanished. It wasn''t the only one, either. The Zeus card, the Apollo and Artemis cards, and the Hephaestus card all also faded and vanished. "Oh, come on! I was going to pick the Zeus one next for the cool weapon he held!" She pouted. "And hey, wait a second! Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, and Hephaestus? That''s five cards? I haven''t picked yet, so that means someone got two?"


    "One of the players was assigned two bodyguards-"


    "Bullshit!" Alexander and Hope both yelled.


    Gabby just sighed and shrugged. "Sorry, he made a convincing point. Now, just hurry up and pick. You know you don''t have all day, right?"


    Hope sighed and rolled her eyes. She looked back at the remaining options she had. ''Hades, Hera, Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, Hermes, and Dionysus'' all stared back at her. She glanced back and forth between the different options. She really wished she had someone like Myth or something here with her. She bet he''d know enough about all these different guys. "I- I don''t know who I should pick." She winced slightly and bit her lip.


    "Pick the guy with the sword or the woman with huge boobs!" Alexander said, shrugging.


    "Why that second one?"


    "I dunno. Kind of just curious, honestly."


    "We should probably take this a little more seriously, Dad..." She glanced back at each of the cards. Her hand stretched out, and she was about to pick one but stopped suddenly. Her enhanced senses went off, and her eyes went wide. "We got trouble."


    "Huh?" Her dad spun around just in time to hear a branch snapping. Something was coming toward them. But it wasn''t a person. This was an animal. A wolf. A really, really big wolf. One covered in thick gray fur that was nearly as big as a horse. It was like something Avalon would make. It wasn''t alone either. Behind it, four more wolves were stalking towards them, each as big as the last. "G- Good doggy." Alexander squeaked out and jumped to hide behind his daughter.


    Hope sighed as the wolves growled at them. She reached up and began to slowly draw her sword. "Guess I took too long deciding. Screw it." She waved her hand and randomly picked a card, not even bothering to see which one she had selected. The screen vanished from her view, and she felt her free hand become full as one of the cards seemed to magically appear inside of it. She didn''t bother looking down at it, though. Instead, she kept her gaze focused on the wolves. "Alright then. Let''s do this! I''m not scared of a couple of large puppies!"


    And with that, the first of many challenges in the Murder Games began...


    ***


    Sometime Earlier...


    "So I get a bodyguard?" In a dark cave, a man resided in the shadows, not allowing his face to be seen. Gabby floated in front of him and giggled softly.


    "That''s right, sir. One hero-"


    "Two."


    "Huh?"


    "I want two bodyguards." The man hummed. "In exchange, I won''t pick any heroes."


    "What do you mean?" Gabby frowned as she stared down at the strange man.


    "Villains." The man said simply. "I want two villains as my bodyguards. I know just the ones I have in mind."


    "That''s against the rules—" Gabby went silent for a moment. "Hmm... Father has accepted these terms. Very well, sir. You are allowed two villains of your choice to be your bodyguards."