[The fourth voting has concluded. There is no winner.

The fifth round's team leader is Amy Hart. The fifth public hearing will start in 15 seconds.]

Two times in a row, the round concluded in a par. It was already time for the fifth hearing, and the players were restless.

 

Luca calmly observed their faces. He had already settled the problem with identification, however, there were still things he could gain. The subtle emotional changes could give him a clue of the mental fortitude of the players. The flashing specks of resolution in their eyes could prepare him for unexpected setbacks. Anyway, this was all he could do.

 

At this point in time, most challengers decided to refrain from speaking or rashly wrap it up with a few words; This was a very logical behavior.

 

There were three main reasons. The first was related to the passage of time and the inevitable end of the game. The atmosphere was heavy as all challengers could feel their ending. Half would live, while half would perish. They all were anxious about which half they would be.

 

The second reason was them gaining more information. The rest time before starting an election was 15 seconds, and the election time was 1 minute. Even with the 1 minute of speech added, the time to digest this information was very insufficient. Adding more data could lead to indigestion. Therefore, people preferred to make good use of the little they already had.

 

The last reason was because of their lies; These challenges were ordinary people a few days ago. Not everyone could lie smoothly. And after getting their schemes exposed, they were red with shame.

 

Anyway, it didn't matter. To Luca, this was even for the best.

 

More importantly, he likely wasn't exposed in the last round. Yuna strongly believed that he was Good, not only because of Jack but because of her duplication too. Luca's behavior throughout the game and his choice of players in the fourth round were reassuring. The draw was a plausible result. On the one hand, Yuna was restricted and couldn't double Luca's vote, and, on the other, both John and Amy were enemies. And to John, Yuna and Amy were the enemies. Therefore, Luca successfully fooled them both.

 

Now it was time for the 5th round. And as Luca predicted, he didn't partake a part here. Very reasonably after his previous choice of partners.

 

[ The team leader Amy Hart has selected Jack Davis, Motoe Yuna, and Ivan Vladimirovich as her temporary teammates. You have 1 minute to cast your vote.]

...

[The fifth voting has concluded. The winner is Reversed. One point to the Evil.

The sixth round's team leader is Motoe Yuna. The sixth public hearing will start in 15 seconds.]

 

This was the result that Luca was the most nervous about, sighing in relief after its announcement. Even without him on the team, Amy somehow managed to get that point. Honestly, with a draw, he could still control the ending. However, if they had lost a point here, even if Luca got it back to 2:2 in the sixth round, it would be difficult to win the seventh round. In the seventh round, Ivan would be elected as a team leader. Then he probably wouldn't even choose Luca to participate in the voting.

 

If Luca's speculations were correct, the election probably would have looked like this:

|Amy -> Reversed + Hypnotising Ivan|

|Jack -> Reversed + Peeking at Ivan|

|Yuna -> Upright + Duplicating Ivan|

|Ivan -> Oh come on, stop bullying me!!!|

 

Jack was a simpleton. He had already spied on Yuna, and he felt hostility toward Ivan from the first round's results. Not that it mattered at this point, whom he observed. The Prophet's privilege was powerful at the beginning. Later in the game, it became more negligible. And in Jack's hands, it was a suicide weapon from the start.

 

In Amy's eyes, both Yuna and Jack were Evil, so there was no point in preventing their votes. She would naturally hypnotize Ivan.

 

Then what about Yuna? Amy and Jack were definitely Evil. And Yuna could only duplicate votes other than her own. Therefore, she could only choose to copy Ivan's vote and hope it is Upright.

 

The essential points in this election were two. First, Amy had to choose Ivan and not anyone else. After deciding on Jack and Yuna, she could go for John, Luca, or Ivan. Her answer was predetermined. Ivan was pivotal because he was a Traitor; He could not affect the votes. The second crucial fact was that Hypnotist suppressed Duplicator. The logic was simple. How can you duplicate a non-existing vote? Yuna doubled a 0 and received a 0. The result was 2:1 in favor of the Reversed.

 

The sixth public hearing began. Players on the side of the Evil looked happy, while those on the side of Good were anxious. Of course, Luca continued with his indifferent expression. He swept his eyes over the challengers stopping for a few seconds on Motoe Yuna. It was a hint. After all, weren't they fellow Good pathway followers? He had to do at least that much.

 

At the same time, Ivan Vladimirovich looked at Luca deeply. He already knew Luca's plan; Ivan had grasped a bit of it even earlier. And he felt it was very amusing. He loved intelligent people, people with drive and imagination. Such people made him feel alive. He couldn't bear to break such people. Yet, he desperately wanted to break them.

 

It was time for the last election.

[ The team leader Motoe Yuna has selected Luca Lawrence, Jack Davis, and Ivan Vladimirovich as her temporary teammates. You have 1 minute to cast your vote.]

 

It was going according to Luca's plan; He got selected. Since the beginning of the game, not even half an hour had passed, but Luca planned and schemed, lied and pretended, just for this moment!

 

Yuna couldn't be sure who the last ally was. It could be Ivan or John, but she would never risk choosing John; The previous round made her even more certain in this. As she excluded Amy and John, she could only pick up Jack and Ivan. She picked up Jack because he was the Prophet. His privilege was useless at this point in the game. Her strongest ally Luca was here. Ivan was probably the Traitor, but it didn't matter even if he betrayed them. With Luca's vote doubled and her own, they would prevail with three Upright over two Reversed. If Ivan didn't betray them, their victory was absolute. Then in the next round--

 

[The sixth voting has concluded. The winner is Reversed; A point to the Evil.

Congratulations to the Evil pathway challengers. The Magician's Election of Good and Evil has concluded.

Challengers Luca Lawrence, Jack Davis, and Amy Hart will receive The Arcana of Deceit and Desire's recognition.

In half a minute, all challengers who cleared The First Arcana - The Magician will return to their personal spaces and receive a 3 days rest time.]

 

The unpleasant mechanical voice resounded in the room as Motoe Yuna's eyes dilatated. She couldn't believe it! Her heart was beating faster than when she had to run five kilometers for her shitty school anniversary.

With trembling hands and bloodshot eyes, she turned to stare at the Traitor; She knew he probably wasn't positioned as such, but at this moment, she couldn't find better words to describe him.

She wasn't the only one with a similar reaction.

Both friends and foes were currently confused or passionate. Some people cried while others laughed. There were myriad emotions, ranging from joy to despair, from anger to resignation. There was only one person who was as calm as the surface of a lake.

 

The next second, a spray of blood died everything red. Before anyone could react, a man moved with remarkable speed. In his hand was a kitchen knife. It was unknown where or when he had acquired this weapon. However, although it was already dripping with blood, the blade was crying for more.

With a swift motion and a flick of his hand, the knife flew diagonally across the table; But before it could pierce its target, the space in front of it was already empty. The blade could only continue on its trajectory and hit the marbled war behind Luca, leaving a bright bloody stain.

 

Actually, there were two calm people in this room.

 

Since a while ago, Luca felt strange. Every time he swept his eyes over the challengers, he could find nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, the moment he looked away, he could feel someone's passionate gaze dancing all over his body. It was not less disqusting than the lecherous Jack when he was looking at Yuna or Amy.

 

And besides, Luca already had guessed the biggest trickery of this game. It was hinted at in the name of the Arcana and mentioned in the rules.

 

Of course, just a few people would perceive this. This challenge was The Magician - The Arcana of Deceit and Desire. The game's name was The Magician's Election of Good and Evil. What was the real Evil in this name referring to? Was it the pathway's name? Was it the Deceitful element of the game? Or maybe it was the Desire?

 

This was a challenge not only of Deceit but of Desire as well.

Is there a stronger Desire than the Desire to live?

 

The answer was hidden in the rules:

[1]. Violence is prohibited throughout The Magician's Election of Good and Evil.

[3]. The game consists of 6 rounds.

[8]. At the end of the game, the players of the pathway with more points will receive The Arcana of Deceit and Desire's acknowledgment. If, at the end of the 6th round, the number of points for both pathways is equal, new rounds will be played according to the established order until one pathway prevails. The players with the acknowledgment will successfully complete the challenge of The Magician and return to their personal spaces. The losers will be disqualified and fail the Path of Life.

 

Violence was prohibited only throughout the game. And after the 6th round (if there was no continuation), the game was officially over. Once the game was over, the winners of the game will receive the Magician's acknowledgment. However, the game was not equal to the challenge per se. This was a game of wits, but the challenge was of Deceit and Desire. The Desire could freely come into play once the game of Deceit has ended.

 

Luca had successfully kicked his chair and ducked under the flying knife. At the same time, he moved to grab the chair and throw it toward his assailant. But before he could do so, the mechanical voice rang out again.

 

[ The time is over.

Congratulations to the challengers Luca Lawrence, Ivan Vladimirovich, and Amy Hart for successfully clearing the challenge of The Magician.]

 

The last thing Luca saw before the white light engulfed him was the smiling noble-looking man and the lifeless corpse of Jack Davis.