"Simon says?"
Jath, Orianna, Bria, Sog, and even Mona who had been watching the battle were confused.
They had never heard of such a game before.
"What is... Simon says?" Jath asked and looked at his teammates with a baffled expression.
He hoped that one of them would at least have an idea about the strange game called Simon says, but all of them had blank expressions.
"Who is Simon?" Mona asked softly, reminding everybody that she was alive and present.
Jath, Orianna, Bria, and Sog looked at one another with blank expressions. They also had no idea who Simon was.
Clang
Clang
Simon hit his sword on a rock gently, drawing the attention of everybody.
"I’ll explain to you guys how to play Simon says, and if you pass, I’ll let you guys go and let bygones be bygones. Besides, weren’t you the one that said we should play a game?"
Jath and the rest looked at Simon in shock and disbelief.
"You’ll let us go if we pass some stupid game?" Jath stared at Simon with a skeptical and suspicious look, and the others also had the same expression.
Simon smiled, and this time around, it was not a cruel smile or a smile of madness, it was a smile of innocence and sincerity.
However, what these children did not know was that though this smile was not the smile of a demon, it was a smile of the devil.
"I swear. I’ll let you guys go if you’re able to pass the game." Simon with an innocent smile.
Jath looked at his companions, then his gaze landed on Trig who was living and breathing some minutes ago, but was now a corpse.
’I don’t want to die.’
He closed his eyes, then he released a deep breath.
"How do you play... Simon says?" Jath asked, and Orianna, Bria, Sog, and Mona listened with attentive and anticipated Simon’s words with visible anxiety on their faces.
Simon’s innocent smile widened slightly.
"Perfect. So, the way you play Simon says is like this. I am Simon, so naturally, whenever I say ’Simon says’ to do something, you do it. If you hesitate or fail to do it quickl, you fail. And obviously, if you start following orders from anyone who isn’t Simon, you’ve already lost. Ready?"
"Wait." Bria called out, and Simon looked at her.
"Yes?" He tilted his head slightly with the same smile.
"What kind of a game is this? Doesn’t it mean you can tell us to do anything no matter how crazy and insane it is, and if we don’t do it, we fail the game?"
Simon smiled. "Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to do anything extreme. Everything would be simple things to do."
Bria still had an expression that said she did not believe his words, and Simon could not help but chuckle at her expression.
"If I tell you to do something that’s absurd and insane, then you don’t have to play. You can leave. I’m not forcing any of you to play." He nonchalantly shrugged.
Bria gritted her teeth, then she glanced at her companions.
’If I don’t play the game, you’ll most likely kill me. Fucking bastard.’
She had the urge to strangle Simon, but unfortunately for her, she wasn’t strong enough to do so.
"Are you the only one that gets to be Simon? Can’t we also be Simon?"
Jath knew that they had no choice but to play this game if they wished to have a chance of survival.
’Instead of complaining about the game, then get to understand the rules better.’
Jath began to show why he was the leader of the group, and Simon’s eyes flashed with a hidden and unknown light when he noticed this.
He shook his head with the same innocent smile at Jath’s question.
"No. Only I can be Simon."
Jath frowned. "Then how do we pass the game?"
"Do seven things only Simon says."
Jath frowned. "Seven things Simon says? That’s all?"
Simon nodded. "Yes."
Jath frowned in contemplation for a few seconds, then he asked once again just to confirm if he was right.
"As long as we do seven things Simon says we should do, we’ve passed the game and you’ll allow us to leave. You’ll also let bygones be bygones?"
Simon nodded with the same smile. "Yeah."
"And you won’t tell us to do difficult things? Like maybe telling us to kill one another? Or harm one another or ourselves? Or strip naked?"
Simon chuckled, then he shook his head. "I promise you. I won’t do that."
Jath looked at Simon with narrowed eyes, then he looked at Orianna, Bria, and Sog.
"What do you guys think?"
Orianna looked at Simon while gritting her teeth.
"What choice do we have? If this bastard tells us to do something embarrassing, then it’s better we fight to the death than embarrass ourselves."
Jath and the others nodded, and Simon just kept on smiling at the group.
"You ready?" He asked, and the group nodded.
"Alright-" he paused, then he looked at Mona who was a distance away from all of them.
"You’re also part of the game by the way. So, pay attention if you want to survive."
Mona’s eyes widened, then she quickly nodded.
She had been unsure if she was part of the game, but since Simon said she was, then she was.
’How unlucky.’ she thought.
"Alright. Simon says you should stand."
Jath, Orianna, Bria, Sog, and Mona were baffled and they looked at one another with a baffled expression.
Stand?
That was it?
"You have two seconds left before you fail." Simon said indifferently while tapping the sword on a rock.
Jath and the others quickly stood in the next second, and Simon smiled.
"Good. But from now on, you only have three seconds at most to do what Simon says. Use more than three seconds and you’ll fail."
Jath and the others said nothing, but the expressions they had was one of confusion as they looked at Simon.
"Simon says take a step forward."
They all quickly took a step forward, and Simon nodded with a smile.
"Simon says take another step forward."
They quickly took another step forward with strange expressions.
Was the game meant to be so easy?
"Take another step forward."
They all took another step forward, and Simon chuckled.
"You all fail."
"What?" Jath was stunned, but before he or any of his companions could react, Simon suddenly appeared in front of Sog with his sword raised.
Shiiing!
A thin silver line appeared from the tip of the purple orchid on Sog’s head to his private part.
Sog’s eyes widened in disbelief and extreme shock, but he could not make a sound before his body fell in two separate parts.