Chapter 186: Rounds

As we reached the bottom of the drawbridge, the temperature dropped instantly. A strange, heavy chill crept into the air, making the paper bag on my face feel cold against my skin.

At the front gates, two giant mahogany tables blocked the road completely.

On the left sat the Dealer in the red velvet suit, wearing the golden Queen mask. She was sitting perfectly still, her long gloved fingers resting flat on the green velvet table.

On the right sat the giant Dealer in the dark blue suit, wearing the golden King mask. He was towering over seven feet tall, leaning back in his heavy wooden chair with his arms crossed over his thick chest.

As our group stepped off the drawbridge, both Dealers slowly turned their heads toward us.

"Welcome, travelers," the Queen Dealer spoke. Her voice was smooth, cold, and layered like silver bells ringing in a dark room. "You carry the scent of the First Table. You hold the Spade Key."

"Which means you bypassed the forest trial," the King Dealer rumbled in a deep, heavy voice that made the stone ground under our boots vibrate slightly. "But to pass through the Barrier of Elaria, you must unlock both locks simultaneously."

I stopped a few feet away from the tables, keeping my grip firm on Viora’s hand.

"Simultaneously?" I asked, looking between the two masked figures.

"Yes," the Queen Dealer added. "The King and Queen do not play separately. We play together. Two tables. Two games running at the exact same time. If one table fails, both teams are eliminated."

Tim gulped loudly behind Raymond. "T-Two games at once?! But there’s five of us! How do we split up for two games?!"

"It’s simple," Carmilla said, stepping forward with her red leather jacket humming with faint power. "We split three and two."

"Wait!" Tim squeaked, looking terrified. "You’re not leaving me alone with the giant blue guy, are you?!"

"Raymond and I will take the King’s table," I said. "Carmilla, Viora, and Tim will handle the Queen’s table."

"Are you sure, Woo Jin?" Viora asked softly, her head tilting toward me. Her hand squeezed mine gently before letting go. "I can sense the mana around these tables. The King’s table has a violent, unstable flow. The Queen’s table feels... twisted. Like a maze."

"We’ll be fine," I replied, giving her a reassuring nod.

"Understood," Viora smiled faintly. "Be careful."

Carmilla grabbed Tim by the back of his armor like a small puppy and dragged him over to the left side. "Come on. Let’s go play with the Queen."

"Help me..." Tim whimpered quietly as he was pulled away.

Raymond and I walked over to the right side, taking our spots in front of the giant King Dealer.

As soon as both groups sat down at their respective tables, a massive translucent blue screen flared up directly in front of my vision.

DING!

[Dual Scenario Trial Activated: The Royal Trial of Elaria]

[Table 1 (Left): The Queen’s Game — The Maze of Lies]

[Table 2 (Right): The King’s Game — The Blood Roulette]

[Special Rule: Both tables must complete their clear conditions within 10 minutes. Failure at either table results in immediate spatial elimination.]

I narrowed my eyes behind my paper bag. ’Blood Roulette? That sounds less like a card game and more like a trap.’

The giant King Dealer leaned forward over his mahogany table. He reached out his huge, gloved hand and picked up a heavy, solid iron revolver that was resting on the dark green cloth. Beside the gun sat six glowing silver bullets, each carved with some kind of runic symbols.

"The rules of the King’s Game are brutal and absolute," the King Dealer rumbled, his golden mask gleaming under the purple moon. "Six chambers. Three loaded with Soul-Piercing rounds. Three empty. We take turns spinning the cylinder and pulling the trigger."

Tim, who was sitting across at the Queen’s table, turned his head and saw the giant iron gun. His face went completely white. "IS THAT A GUN?! WHY DOES A CARD DEALER HAVE A GUN?!"

"Quiet!" Carmilla barked, slapping the Queen’s table with her palm. "Focus on our game!"

The Queen Dealer let out a soft, melodic laugh. "Yes, focus here, dear. My game is much softer... but much more deadly. Before us sit five silver cups and one golden marble. You must guess which cup holds the marble. But every time you guess wrong, a piece of your memory is erased forever."

My brows furrowed tight behind my paper mask. Memory erasure? That meant if Carmilla or Viora guessed wrong, they could lose their memories of who they were, or worse?

’I can’t let them make a single wrong guess,’ I thought, my mind racing fast.

I looked at the King Dealer, who was slowly loading three silver bullets into the iron revolver with loud CLICK-CLICK-CLICK sounds.

"Who goes first?" I asked in a deadpan voice.

"A simple coin flip decides the order," the King Dealer said, tossing a heavy golden coin high into the air.

SPIN.

The coin flipped through the dark air, landing flat on the velvet table with a loud CLINK. It showed a crowned lion head.

"The King goes first," the Dealer declared, his voice filled with dark satisfaction. He raised the heavy iron gun, pointed the barrel directly at his own golden mask, and pulled the trigger without hesitating for a single second.

CLICK.

An empty chamber.

The King Dealer chuckled deeply, setting the gun down on the table and sliding it across the green cloth toward me. "Your turn, paper bag boy. Pick up the iron, point it at your head, and pull."

Raymond stepped slightly closer to my shoulder. His paper bag was tilted downward, his eyes locked onto the iron weapon.

"Young Master," Raymond whispered in a voice so quiet it barely reached my ears. "The cylinder is weighted with dark spatial mana. It is not random. The mechanism inside is rigged to skip empty chambers when held by a human hand. The next chamber is guaranteed to be a live round."

’Of course it’s rigged,’ I thought, letting out a small sigh. ’These Dealers never play fair.’

"What happens if I don’t point it at my head?" I asked the King Dealer.

"You will be instantly executed for breaking casino rules," the King Dealer replied. "Touch the gun. Make your choice."

I reached out my hand and picked up the heavy iron revolver.

Over at the Queen’s table, Carmilla was staring at the five silver cups sitting in front of her. The Queen Dealer had shuffled them with blinding speed, leaving all five cups looking completely identical.

"Choose, fair lady," the Queen Dealer whispered softly. "Which cup holds your truth? Guess wrong, and forget your name."

Carmilla reached her hand out toward the middle cup, her red eyes glowing sharp through her eye cutouts. But just as her fingers were about to touch the silver metal, Viora gently reached out and grabbed Carmilla’s wrist.

"Don’t touch that one," Viora whispered calmly.

"Why not?" Carmilla asked, glancing at her.

"The marble isn’t under any of those cups," Viora explained, her soft voice carrying a strange, absolute certainty. "She slid the golden marble into her left coat sleeve when she tapped her fingers."

The Queen Dealer’s golden mask twitched violently. "You... you cannot see! How could you possibly know that?!"

"I don’t need eyes to hear a marble roll across velvet," Viora said with a small, sweet smile hidden behind her mask.

Carmilla grinned dangerously, her sharp vampire fangs almost catching her bottom lip. "Cheating? You really are a pathetic piece of trash, aren’t you, Dealer?"

Meanwhile, back at the King’s table, the 10-minute system timer was ticking down rapidly.

[Time Remaining: 06:42]

"Pull the trigger!" the King Dealer growled, leaning his massive body over the table. "Or forfeit your soul!"

"Raymond," I murmured low. "Can you...?"

"Don’t worry, Young Master," Raymond replied smoothly, standing perfectly straight with his hands behind his back.

I raised the gun, placed the cold barrel right against the center of my brown paper bag, and pulled the trigger without blinking.

CLICK.

Nothing happened.

The King Dealer froze completely. His golden mask stared at me in pure shock. "WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE! THAT WAS A LIVE ROUND!"

"Must have been a dud,"

I slid the iron revolver back across the green velvet table toward him.

"Your turn, right?" I asked.

The King Dealer slammed his heavy stone fist onto the table, cracking the mahogany wood down the center. "YOU ARE TRICKING ME! NO HUMAN CAN SURVIVE THE BLOOD ROULETTE!"

He grabbed the iron gun frantically, cocking the hammer back with a sharp CLACK. He pointed the barrel straight at his own golden mask and pulled the trigger in a blind rage.

CLICK.

BOOM!

[King’s Game: CLEAR!]

At the exact same moment, over at the Queen’s table, Carmilla stepped forward and slammed her bare hand straight onto the Queen Dealer’s left coat sleeve!

CRUNCH!

"AAAGH!" the Queen Dealer screamed in agony as Carmilla’s strength crushed her arm against the wooden table.

The golden marble slipped out of her ruined sleeve, rolling across the green velvet cloth and stopping right in front of Viora.

"Found it," Carmilla said coolly, dusting off her red leather jacket.

[Queen’s Game: CLEAR!]

[Dual Scenario Trial: SUCCESSFULLY CLEARED!]