[40:00]
Confusion struck Alexander the moment the words left the man's mouth. His ears struggled to accept what he had just heard, and his eyes narrowed slightly as disbelief clouded his vision. Every enemy he had encountered since entering Midgard had asked for one thing—a fight. Blades, fists, powers, traps… every conflict had been decided through violence.
But this time—
He was being asked to sit down and play a game of checkers.
"I know you don't have time!,that's why I'm going to make a deal with you," the man continued calmly. An intuitive strategist's aura seemed to radiate from him, quiet confidence rising like steam from boiling water.
Alexander leaned forward slightly, curiosity pulling him closer despite his suspicion. He waited silently for the proposal that was clearly coming next, studying the way the man's eyes glittered behind the thin glass of his spectacles.
"If you win, we will give you our base!"
The declaration hung in the air for a moment.
Alexander didn't respond immediately.
"And what about if you win?" he finally asked, his voice measured but intrigued.
"You will stop your siege," the man answered without hesitation, his tone steady and confident, as certain as the sunrise.
"See? A good proposal,i just want a game with you!" he added smoothly, spreading his hands as if presenting something obvious.
He leaned forward slightly, trying to persuade Alexander into making a decision.
Alexander rubbed his chin slowly, his thoughts circling the offer like a predator studying prey. Something about it didn't sit right. It was too easy, too clean.
This had to be another trap.
"You know what happens when you lose your base, right?" Alexander asked, raising one hand slightly as if weighing the idea aloud. His tone carried curiosity, but his eyes searched for reassurance.
The man dressed in white smiled brightly.
He lowered his arms in a relaxed gesture, his expression open and welcoming, showing no visible hint of deception.
"I know," he replied simply, the smile never leaving his face.
Alexander remained standing for several seconds, silently reconsidering the choice that was forming in his mind. Whether it would turn out to be a brilliant decision or a catastrophic mistake remained impossible to know.
Eventually, his instincts nudged him forward.
His legs began moving on their own.
Step by step, he approached the wooden chair positioned across the table. The man across from him lifted his right hand and pointed politely toward the seat, his face lighting up with a small, satisfied nod.
Squeak!
The wooden chair scraped against the floor as Alexander pulled it out.
Then he sat down.
The man introduce myself," he said politely. "I am Yuno Shigaraki."
Alexander's gaze hardened slightly.
"Before we start," he said firmly, "I want to know where my friends are."
Yuno didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he calmly lifted his hand and made the first move on the black-and-white checkerboard.
A piece slid smoothly across the squares.
"Don't worry," he said lightly, almost casually. "They will be o…kay."
His fingers tapped the board once.
"Just do your part."
The game had begun.
Across the tunnel network, two figures stood ready for battle.
Confidence pulsed through them, tension humming beneath the surface. Golden strands of hair shimmered faintly under the tunnel lights, drawing attention from their enemies.
Opposite them stood the builders and miners.
Unlike the assassins, this group was the second-largest faction inside Midgard, eight members strong.
Some of the Commander's former teammates had eventually joined their ranks, drawn in by Midgard's family-like philosophy of unity and survival.
Bray stepped forward slightly.
Sweat rolled down his hairline, but his upper lip curled into a mocking grin that threatened to spill into words.
"We beat you already," he said loudly. "We can do it again!"
He expected anger.
Maybe rage.
Instead—
They laughed.
The sound was loud and confident, completely different from the reaction Bray had expected.
From the back of their tight four-man formation, one of them finally spoke.
"You're just a talkative boy without manners!"
The insult echoed through the chamber, bouncing against the cement walls and feeding the growing tension.
Bray didn't react.
The jab slid off him harmlessly.
Jamie's eyes, however, wandered elsewhere.
Far away from the argument.
His thoughts had drifted into darker territory.
Debates about the righteousness of his recent actions churned inside his mind.
The shadows of the people he had killed refused to leave him.
The Commander stood in his memories, smiling through a face soaked in blood, a massive hole carved into his chest by Jamie's own hand.
Behind him, the underlings appeared.
Headless.
Their bodies sprawled lifeless across the ground.
In Jamie's mind they began walking toward him.
Step by step.
Their presence brought darkness with them, spreading across the landscape like a suffocating veil.
The closer they came, the heavier the shadows pressed against his thoughts.
Then—
A light appeared.
A blazing light of justice burst through the darkness, devouring it in an instant.
But the peace never lasted.
The cycle began again.
A punishment Jamie now understood he would endure endlessly if he truly intended to bring justice to Midgard.
"Why is your hair golden?" a muscular man suddenly asked.
It was the same man who had ordered the retreat earlier, when one of their members had died at the Love Symbol residence.
Jamie didn't answer.
His silence became a stare. The look alone sent chills through everyone watching—including Bray.
The man hesitated under that gaze.
But his pride pushed him forward.
"I'm talking to you, baby face!" he snapped, his voice cracking slightly as anger fought against unease.
"When are we going to fight?" Jamie asked calmly.
His voice was quiet.
But the words carried the weight of war.
"Hmh."
A smile slowly spread across one of the miners' faces.
"I was thinking the same thing!"
Phu!
They attacked.
The battle erupted instantly.
Four against two.
Jamie blocked a vicious kick aimed directly at his ribs. Before he could reposition, another strike came from the opposite side—faster and sharper.
He dropped low.
Then surged upward.
A punch flew toward his face.
Jamie raised his right hand to block—
Clang!
A strange metallic sound rang out on impact.
Pain shot through his arm.
"Ah…"
The sensation caught him off guard.
He didn't understand where it had come from.
Reacting quickly, he jumped upward and twisted his body midair before launching a double kick that struck his second attacker square in the chest.
The man was thrown backward.
Jamie landed lightly and stepped away.
A drop of cool liquid slid down his forehead.
It slipped through the strands of his golden hair.
Jamie lifted his hand and touched it.
His fingers rubbed together.
"...Sweat."
He frowned.
He hadn't imagined it.
The moment they entered this tunnel system, something had felt wrong.
The temperature,the air itself was hot.
Too hot.
"This could be a problem," he murmured quietly.
On the other side of the chamber, Bray was also fighting.
Punches flew.
He blocked.
Kicks came at him from both sides.
He returned blows of his own.
But something felt wrong.
His enemies weren't slowing down.
He was.
Each movement felt heavier.
Dodging became harder.
His vision began to blur as sweat poured into his eyes.
Phu!
A punch slammed into his jaw.
Bray staggered backward.
His breathing became deep and ragged—
Interrupted by the laughter of his opponent.
"You're feeling hot, right?We've made the conditions hard for you.But for us it's normal.It's always like this in the mines!"
....
Far away from the heated battlefield, two of the sharpest minds in Midgard sat across from each other in complete silence.
Between them lay the checkerboard.
Each piece stood tall.
Every move carried invisible weight.
Strategy clashed quietly between them.
Yuno leaned back slightly, a confident smirk playing across his lips as he slid another piece into position.
"So,after telling you everything that's happening…Who do you think is going to win?"
Alexander leaned forward slowly.
His expression remained completely calm.
"Well,I like your plan.It's a good take on combat…"
he said while reaching forward to move his own piece across the board.
He paused, fingers hovering briefly over the board.
Then he completed the move.
One of Yuno's pieces disappeared instantly.
"But you have one weak point in your plan."
Yuno raised an eyebrow.
"And what would that be?"
Alexander's lips curled into a small smirk.
"It's simpl,you chose the wrong enemies."