Mina and I returned to Base 2-D late in the evening. Sector E-2. The protective shield, cameras, our two guards on post—everything was in place. And yet, there was an unfamiliar shadow in the air.
"They're waiting for us to make a mistake," Mina said, taking off her earpiece and wearily sitting down on a bench.
"No," I shook my head. "They're waiting for one of ours to do what they've already planned."
She looked at me, a hint of fear in her eyes—not because of my words, but because I said them so calmly, as if I already knew who it was.
I remained silent. Ay Sanado's plan had not been activated yet, but the details were slowly becoming clear, like a hidden message on old film.
The next morning, I sent Aoi and Hino to Sector C-1. There was a secondary terminal there, temporarily offline according to the data. An ideal location to use as a decoy control center.
I headed to Sector D-5 myself—neutral ground, but critical for logistics. There, one of 2-A's students was already waiting for me. His face wore its usual cold mask. In his hands, a access chip.
"This is from Ay," he said. "Give it to Mina. Only to her."
I took the chip but didn't say anything. I simply nodded and walked away.
Ay was making her final move.
That night, I opened the chip. I was expecting a trap. Instead, there was a recording.
> "You're getting too close, Takumi. But even a king can't save a chessboard if he forgets about the queen."
I understood. She was giving me a choice: retreat while there's still time, or lose everything, including Mina. But Ay had made a mistake—she thought I was still playing her game.
"Mina," I said in the evening, "you need to be at E-4 tomorrow. Right at 09:00. Meet Aoi. You'll take the terminal."
"Is this a trap?" she asked.
"Maybe," I replied. "But I'm done guessing. Now I'm the one creating the game."
Mina nodded. Then, almost in a whisper, she added:
"I'm with you, no matter what happens."
I didn't answer. I just looked at her and squeezed her hand. I didn't need words. But it was because of her that I was going to see this plan through to the end.
The next morning, everything began. Ay activated the trap: a message from Takumi's name was sent through the system—a false order to attack the neutral sector. Violation of the trial's conditions. Disqualification.
But I already knew.
When the judging panel arrived at the sector to announce 2-D's disqualification, they didn't find us—instead, they found a recording with a fake biometric signature, a hacked channel, and… Ay's signature.
I had sent a counter-message to the judging council an hour before. Everything—proof, coordinates, access data—all from the "shadow curator."
Ay Sanado was summoned for an urgent inquiry.
And while all of this was happening, I stood on the upper level of Sector E-3. Mina was next to me. The wind ruffled her hair. She was silent, but I could feel it—she knew that everything had already been decided.
"You planned all of this," she said. "To the very end."
"No," I smirked. "I just knew where her last move would be. After that—she lost to herself."
"Why are you always so lonely in this?"
I turned to her. For the first time, I didn't want to dodge the answer. But this time—I couldn't.
"I... don't want to be alone anymore."
She froze.
"I don't know when it happened. Maybe back in the Labyrinth of Trust. Maybe that night when you said you wouldn't leave. But... I love you, Mina."
She didn't answer. She just took a step closer and hugged me.
And in that moment, I realized—I hadn't just won this trial.
I wasn't playing alone anymore.