3. Let's Play a Game, Shall We?

'Kid, kid, KID! Wake up dammit!'

A voice of a certain demon general echoed inside his head. He forced his eyes to open, only to regret it later after feeling an absurd amount of pain in his entire body. His vision were still blurry. He shook his head multiple times to ease his massive headache. He tried to move his hand but to no avail, it's still stuck to the metal bed.

"Where am I?" he asked himself. "Oh right, that maniac cut my body for his stupid job. It sure hurts a lot. Not even gonna put me in a sedative? Crazy old hag," he continued to mumble. Realising the demon's voice, he turned back his attention to the vassal inside him.

"Have you been helping me with my defence? Where were you this whole time?" the demon sighed. He scratched his helmet before trying to explain the current situation. "Well, they sealed my powers and yes, I've been trying to enhance your defence. But I didn't fully commit myself. It hurts." Tears dwelled at the corner of his eyes. The captain sighed at his vassal's attitude.

Suddenly, sounds of footsteps made its way to the chamber he's currently in. Ray's body stiffened. Another torture? No way! He roughly trashed himself in the chains trying to escape from the metal grasps, but only ended up in receiving more pain. He coughed out the dark red liquid from his mouth. Worried, Ragsherum immobilized his holder to avoid him from hurting himself more.

A tick mark appeared on his head. "What are you doing? He's gonna come back here!" Ragsherum held his hand to Ray's mouth ruffling his source of voice. "No, this one sounds different. It's aura is something else," as like his questions were answered, the door opened up revealing Atlas with a first aid kit on his hand. He quickly rushed to his side after seeing his injure condition.

Before Atlas could touch Ray's palm, he trashed. But it didn't even made the butler flinch even the slightest bit. He held a small smile. Seeing a lot of prisoners injured made him understood their reasons to rough it up with other people. They can't trust anyone. It's either kill or be killed.

He softly puts his palms on Ray's chained arms to soother him, which he successfully did. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt ya. Stay calm and let me patch you up," he prepared the medical kit and started to work on Ray's injuries. He carefully attends his wounds while the said captain glanced anywhere except the butler himself. The room sounded quite excluding the sounds of Ray hissing from the pain and Atlas's professional work in dealing with Ray's wounds.

He wrapped around a bandage for the final wound to seal the bloody arm. "They really did a bunch on you. I'm surprised you're still breathing up till now," Ray clicked his tongue.

"Yeah right, as If I'm gonna let them kill me. I ain't called the next tank for nothing," Atlas chuckled at his attempt at humour. Ray hates to agree but, the butler's presence seemed to ease his worries. The said butler brings some sort of friendly aura, as if the whole atmosphere is at peace the moment he is present.

Atlas sealed his work by clamping the bandages firmly to avoid further blood loss. "Alright, I'm off from here," he stood on his two legs. He face the entrance leaving the young teen in confusion. "Wait, could you tell me a little of this place before you leave?" Ray managed to shout.

Atlas's foot stopped within an inch from the door. He glanced at his shoulder to meet the teen's dark brown eyes. "If you want to escape, I'll have to say it's a death wish. You might as well be dead from that serum you have in you," he took one more step. "But if you manage to get out even from this room, I'll help you in anyway I can. You have to promise to me,"

Ray stared at him with burning passion, "Get Storm out of here too. You'll get to know him in the other side," his hand swiftly grabbed the handle thus closing the door. Darkness crawled its way back to the room. Ray looked down at the floor while crushing his brain for an escape plan.

An imaginative hand smacked his head. He groaned at touch. He grabbed his head in a reflex motion. "Oui, remember what he said. We need to find clues about this place first, then escape you sorry excuse of a human," the demon general glared menacingly at his holder. Ray countered back with a snappy retort.

"Always hating the humans aren't you, general? Am I not a good impression for the human race?" Ragsherum scoffed. "Yeah right, a weak impression I should say," Ray slumped his head down while the demon grinned victoriously. He suddenly feels drowsy as fatigue managed to take over him. He closed his eyes drifting to a not so comfortable sleep. Ragsherum pulled an all-nighter to keep his holder safe from any incoming danger. Especially the mad professor. The demon sighed to himself.

. . . . . . . . . Morning . . . . . .

A harsh bang voiced itself in Storm's cellroom. The kid woke up with a yelp as one of the guards rubbed his belly with his filthy hands. He trashed out to release himself from the damn pedophile before the damn guy gets knocked out by an iron rod to his head. Stars swirl around his head. Storm slowly opens his eyes to see Atlas dragging the pervert out of the room by his feet. Storm let out a sigh of relief. Atlas caged the man on the other room before patting Storm's blue locks making the boy purred at the touch. Atlas smiled at him, but it turned into a frown as a scream of agony erupted from the other side of the cell. Storm jumped slightly.

"Who's that?" Atlas let out a huff. "It's the 'precious' prisoner as the doctor like to call him. Apparently he has the power of Ragsherum inside him. The doc is too obsessed with it he actually dissect his body," Atlas shivered at the thought of Ray getting his skin cut off for the doctor's experiment.

Storm's eyes went wide. "Wait, the Ragsherum? I thought the general died like a hundred years ago!" He's a fan of magical power. Before he got stuck in the cell, he read a lot of books including the history of Ragsherum in his free time. Sometimes, his mother will read it with him. But now, it's just a plain history.

Atlas frowned at Storm's sudden change of mood. He crouched down to his eye level before putting his hand on top of his fluffy hair, ruffling it. "Don't worry. You'll be out in no time. I'm sure of it," he plastered a smile. He suddenly felt a tap on his back. He turned around to see Sanders standing behind him with a frustrated look.

"Oi, stop spoiling the kid, He needs to know his place," Atlas stood back up facing the bulkier man. He's slightly taller than Sanders. "Doc wants to see you, he said something about joining his game for today," Atlas skipped a beat.

'Game?' he thought to himself. 'What is he planning now? Last time he made stuff like this all hell break lose. I had to use my own power to clean up his mess. "Fine, I'll go. Don't go rash on Storm," he left the room but not before he took a glance over his shoulder to see tears dwelled at the corner of his eyes. He shut the cell door close with Sanders and Storm alone in the room. He could only pray for Storm's safety.

'Alright then you damn scientist. What do you want me to do this time?'

......….

Ray let out a constant coughing as water made his way harshly down his throat. The scientist woke him up in a jump by splashing water down his throat causing him to scream thus jolting him up from his sleep. The scientist smiled wickedly. He motioned his two assistants to cuff him up and roughly grabbed him to a standing position.

"Come on now my dear specimen. I have a little game for you to play," he walked out of the room with the three tailing him from behind. He let out a hysterical laugh leading to Ray finally managed snap him out of his drowsiness. "I know you've been bored in there. It's only been a day but you managed to catch my interest! Oh, how I'm so glad to have you as my test subject," Ray spat at him earning himself a slap to his right cheek.

"Yeah right. Jokes aside, you're not gonna give me any food? Even like those typical villain that only gives moldy bread and infected water?" the scientist's laugh only got harder. He clapped his hand while his face the young soldier, he steadily walked backwards to his destination.

"Fascinating, fascinating! No, we care about our prisoners. We will give them their rations. Including you! But only if you follow my every instructions," they finally stopped at a silver door with a keycard detector to its right. The doctor swiped his and motioned the two guards to trap Ray on a chair. They settled down their work professionally, leaving Ray strapped in a metal wires on his arms and legs. He weakly tried to move his body, but to no avail. He struggled roughly only regret it later on as it is enhanced with electrical surge. He screamed in agony as a volt of electricity flows over his body.

He gasped for air after the feeling of pain wore off. He glared at the doctor in front of him but he only let out a grin. The guards and the doctor left the room, locking the door behind him. He grunted before a medium-sized tv screen flashed itself, revealing the doctor himself.

'How in the world did that maniac get there so fast?' he thought to himself. Suddenly, the door in front of him opened revealing a bandit wearing a dirty orange uniform being dragged by the two same guards. They placed him in front of Ray. A lone table could be seen separating the two with a deck of cards placed in front of them. Ray's eyes went wide.

'Wait, I've seen this before! It's'

A pair of speakers let out a sound. "Just as you thought my dear soldier. It's a game of death DIY poker!" A sound of confetti blasting itself could be heard from the TV. Ray let out a grunt as a sign of protest to his current situation. The scientist continued.

"Before we start, I'm gonna explain the rules to you. You're going to be facing 10 contestants before you will be declared as the winner. It's simple. Follow the cards. Everyone will be given 5 different cards. It's considered as your special ability." Ray curiously tapped his right pocket with his free right hand. He's right. There's 5 cards with different descriptions on it.

Ragsherum sighed inside his head. "I don't like where this is going Ray. This guy might get us killed in seconds," Ray couldn't agree more. Judging by the face of his opponents, he could see that he has been through similar situation, it might not be his first his time experiencing this hell.

"The winner will be decided by the number of points you gained," The screen changed revealing Ray's and the opponent's name, Jack, with 0 points under their names. The Doctor continued his rambling. "Remember, this will be the starting point, of either you live perfectly, or become a liability to your own life!" he laughed out loud. Tears starting to form out of the corner of Jack's eyes. Ray has no choice, but to win.

"Let the game commence now!"

The deck in front of him suddenly flipped a card. The card stated.

'Rules are simple. You will gain 10 cards and 5 special cards each round. You will need to have the exact number as the card on the deck. As an example, 5 is on the play. It goes on until one of you is out of the same card. The ones that failed to do so will give the points to the other based on the card that has been placed on the deck. You can only use 2 special cards each round. The winning point is 30. Goodluck.'

Jack, having to already understand the mechanics quickly shoved a 2 on the table. Ray clicked his tongue. He knew that by doing so Jack will have the upper hand in his survival. 'If that's how you want to play it. Then fine!' he puts his own 2 on top of Jack's. It goes on until Ray suddenly had to 3, resulting in Jack scoring himself 7. Ray cursed under his breath.

Time to get serious.

........

"The winner is... Ray Asaki!"

Now you might be wondering how in the world did he manage to win this sick game. It all ended when Ray managed to use both of his special cards. It resulted in the points from Jack to be transferred back to Ray and gets doubled. Jack cried hysterically as the silver wiring in his right finger tightened up, crushing his thumb. Blood gushed out of the thumb as Ray could only witness it in horror. His face went pale as he knew the consequences of losing. Jack passed out from the loss of blood. The same guards came to the room only to replace Jack with another prisoner but this one is no joke.

His face had a scar in his right eye. His body is well built and taller than Ray. He gulped at the sight.

The larger man laughed at the pipsqueak in front of him. His large tattooed arm slams the metal table making Ray's ears go awooga. He cringed at the sound while the said man spoke with his deep raspy voice.

"So you're my next opponent. I gotta tell you kid I'm impressed!" he punched his chest with proud. "But you must've had the balls to face me. I've been here longer than I could ever remember," pride took over the older male. He swiftly shuffled his set of cards positioning it neatly. Ray sweats uncontrollably. He clicked his tongue. The further he gets, the stronger the opponent that he needs to face.

Silence filled the room leaving the tattooed male grunt in annoyance. "Hey, are you gonna place your cards or what?" Ray snapped out of his stupor. Ragsherum subconsciously appeared in his mind. The demon noticed his uneasiness right at the start of this death parade.

"Don't worry kid, we got this. I ain't letting my holder lose their limbs. How else am I going to enjoy fighting when I don't have a pair of arms to use the blades. Plus, that left hand of yours could be useful when you're thinking about aiwa and kag-"

Ray knocked Ragsherum on top of his helmet while blushing madly. "Shut up! Let's continue," unbeknownst to him, his opponent had been staring at him in confusion as his sudden change of colour on his face. He shook his head. Either way, he needs to win.

But luck is not on his side. Including the others.

(TIMESKIP)

"Damn it. I guess I made the wrong move," the man smiled sadly. Blood splattered across Ray's face as he lose his index finger.

.......

"NO! NO! NO! This isn't happening. Give me a rematch. You damn imbe – ARGHHH!" a skinny man in green shirt screamed in agony after feeling his arms getting cut by the metal wires. Ray could only witness while his sanity flew as the he progress further. Ragsherum looked at him with pity.

......…..

"YOU CHEATED! I've calculated every outcome! This can't be happening. I demand you to be – huh? No, please, I beg...…. GURAAHHH!" an older female screamed like there's no tomorrow after an intense battle with Ray. Her left leg gets amputated by the same damn wires. Ray couldn't do anything as he started to tear up. Not because he fear of his health, but the others.

He's a damn soldier. He should be saving lives! But know, he's destroying them. Every. Single. One. He's grateful that Ragsherum managed to drag him all the way to this round in one piece. He looked down as the older female gets dragged out of the room.

He thought to himself. 'This is the last fight. Please, don't be a kid nor old people," the thought of innocent people like them gets place in front of him sends shivers to his spine. He looked up again when the door opened, but this time, it made the world stop for a moment.

A man in his 30's appeared wearing a black suit with a red bow placed neatly on his collar. His messy brownish hair sways smoothly as he walks inside the room in a calm gesture. Yes, he is indeed.

"Atlas.... What in the world are you doing?" Ray shouted. Atlas sat on the chair strapping himself with the wires as he ignores the younger one's outburst.

"Relax soldier. I'm not the mastermind of this sick game that you've been playing. The doctor decided to..... place me I the game, after he found out about my actions defending Storm," Ray didn't knew who Storm is, but seeing his sad face, it must've been the kid that Atlas mentioned to him when he's trapped in the cell.

Atlas hold his cards in his hands and flashed a 6 to the table. "Well, shall we get this going? The faster it ends, the faster you'll be out of this game," he said. He made himself comfortable by raising his chin on his left palm while his right hand lazily held his cards. Ray quickly flashed out his other 6.

Suddenly, Ragsherum felt an uneasy feeling inside of him. He nudged Ray a little. "Be careful, I sense something within him. Believe me this guy,"

"Will be the death of us," Oh boy how right they were.

(After a painful 10 minutes.)

'Gotcha!' Ray smirked. He pulled out his special card, forcing the number of his points to increase and stunts Atlas's points, resulting him in a clean 36 score. Ray finally let out a sigh of relief. He took a glance at Atlas, who's currently had been holding a certain card. Sudden realisation hit Ray, hard.

Ragsherum noticing this shouted. "Sh*t!" he cursed. Atlas grinned cheekily as he placed not one, but two of his special cards which reflect back the points and blocking Ray's ability to pull out his next special card. "I'm sorry Asaki. I might be trying to save Storm and you, but that doesn't mean I'll lose in this game that might cost my own life," he watch Ray as colours started to fade out of his face.

"It was a good match..... my friend,"

A heavy surge of pain flows through Ray's body as the silver wires constricted itself around his right leg. After an agonizing 5 seconds, the leg blew in blood. Completely amputating his leg causing him to shriek an enormous pain. Atlas unlocks his chain and left the room. Ray's eyes slowly started to droop at the sheer loss amount of blood. Ragsherum screamed inside his head, trying to keep him awake. But to no avail, he fainted. Two guards finally appeared beside him and took him out of the room.

The doctor laughed manically in his secret room as he witness the successful results of his plans.

'Atlas's guilt, Ray's sorrow and sadness after being betrayed. Oh, how I love it! It's all coming together!' his hands bawled into a fist as he laughed loudly causing his back to bend a little.

"Now immortalist Hikari. Either you give the info of the three siblings, or you will lose one of your comrades. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!'"