The die stopped rolling.
5.
Reiji looked down at it.
A faint smile appeared.
"Critical Chance."
Hero didn't give him time to enjoy the result.
His arm swept across the corridor.
"Then try surviving this."
With a single throw of his hand—
FWOOSH!
Dozens of cards erupted from his fingers.
They weren't flying randomly.
They moved like a swarm.
Spades shot forward first, slicing through the air from multiple directions.
Reiji's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
He jumped.
The first Spade passed beneath his feet.
Then another came from the left.
He twisted his body in midair.
Another.
He kicked off the stone wall.
Another Spade passed within inches of his shoulder.
"You're throwing all of them at once?!"
Hero smirked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
The cards suddenly changed formation.
Three Spades followed Reiji upward.
Reiji looked behind himself.
"Tch."
He reached into his coat.
Two dice appeared between his fingers.
He threw them.
CLACK!
The dice collided with the incoming cards.
The Spades shattered into glowing fragments.
Hero's eyes widened.
"My cards!"
The two dice immediately curved through the air and returned to Reiji's hand.
He caught them without looking.
"Your cards aren't indestructible."
Hero grinned.
"Neither are you."
A Diamond appeared between Hero's fingers.
He threw it directly at Reiji.
Reiji raised his arm.
The Diamond passed him—
Then vanished.
His eyes widened.
"...What?"
Hero disappeared.
FLASH!
He teleported directly beside Reiji.
"Got you."
A Spade appeared between Hero's fingers.
He slammed it toward Reiji.
Reiji barely twisted his body.
The Spade cut across his coat instead of his body.
He immediately kicked Hero away.
Hero flew backward but threw three cards while falling.
"Too slow!"
The cards shot toward Reiji.
Reiji jumped over one.
Blocked another with his forearm.
The third—
SLASH!
Cut across his sleeve.
Reiji landed.
Hero landed at almost the same time.
Neither waited.
They rushed forward.
Hero threw five cards.
Reiji threw one die.
The die struck a Spade.
CRACK!
The card broke.
Hero immediately sent another.
Reiji caught the die returning to his hand and threw it again.
CRACK!
Another card shattered.
Hero laughed.
"You're destroying my cards one by one?"
Reiji smiled.
"You're giving me targets."
Hero's eyes narrowed.
"Then I'll give you more."
He opened both hands.
Cards exploded outward.
FWOOSH!
Spades.
Diamonds.
Clubs.
Hearts.
The corridor filled with them.
Reiji looked around.
"...That's excessive."
Hero grinned.
"Exactly."
The cards attacked simultaneously.
Reiji jumped onto one of the stone walls.
A Spade flew past.
He pushed off.
A Diamond followed.
He ducked.
Two Clubs crossed over his head.
He spun.
A Heart nearly struck his shoulder.
Reiji landed and immediately threw both dice.
One struck a Club.
The other struck a Spade.
Both cards shattered.
The dice bounced off the stone floor and returned to him.
Reiji caught them.
"Still not enough."
Hero suddenly appeared behind him.
"Who said that was everything?"
Reiji's eyes widened.
Hero had teleported using another Diamond.
Three Spades were already floating around Hero's hand.
He threw them at point-blank range.
Reiji jumped backward.
The Spades chased him.
"Persistent!"
He threw one die.
CLACK!
One Spade shattered.
The second die flew toward the other two.
Hero snapped his fingers.
The cards split apart.
The die missed.
Reiji's eyes sharpened.
"Smart."
Hero smiled.
"You're not the only one who can play games."
Reiji suddenly threw both dice at Hero.
Hero raised a Club.
The first die struck it.
CRACK!
The Club shattered.
The second die struck Hero's shoulder.
He stumbled.
Reiji rushed forward.
Hero immediately summoned a Heart.
The card flashed.
Reiji's fist stopped just before Hero's face.
A temporary condition had activated.
Reiji clicked his tongue.
"A contract?"
Hero smiled.
"Just enough to stop that punch."
Reiji stepped backward.
"Annoying."
Hero threw another Spade.
Reiji dodged.
Then another.
Then another.
The cards kept coming.
Reiji moved through the corridor like a gambler trying to avoid every bad bet.
Left.
Right.
Down.
Jump.
Spin.
A Spade cut past his cheek.
A Diamond struck the wall.
A Club curved toward him.
He ducked.
Hero teleported.
Reiji turned.
Hero threw another Spade.
Reiji blocked it with a die.
CRACK!
The card shattered.
Hero immediately teleported again.
Reiji's eyes followed him.
"Stop moving!"
Hero appeared above him.
"Make me!"
Hero released a cluster of Spades.
Reiji jumped higher.
The cards followed.
He threw both dice downward.
The dice collided with two cards.
CRACK!
The remaining Spades continued upward.
Reiji twisted between them.
One grazed his coat.
Another cut a strand of hair.
He landed on a stone ledge.
Hero was already waiting there.
"Found you."
Reiji looked up.
Hero's hand was covered in cards.
"You really like throwing those things."
Hero grinned.
"That's because I have a lot."
He threw everything.
FWOOSH!
The corridor became a storm of cards.
Reiji's expression finally became serious.
"Then I'll break them all."
He threw both dice.
The first die shattered a Spade.
The second destroyed a Diamond.
They returned.
He threw them again.
Another two cards broke.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Hero kept producing more.
Reiji kept destroying them.
Neither gave the other a second to breathe.
The ancient pyramid shook from the constant impacts.
Stone fragments fell from the ceiling.
Hero suddenly disappeared.
Reiji looked around.
"Where did—"
A Diamond flashed behind him.
Hero appeared.
"Here."
Reiji turned.
Hero threw a Spade directly at his chest.
Reiji barely moved aside.
The card tore through his coat.
But before he could counter—
Hero teleported again.
Another Spade.
Reiji ducked.
Another.
He jumped.
Another.
He twisted.
"You're getting predictable!"
Reiji threw a die.
Hero teleported.
The die missed.
Hero appeared behind him.
"Am I?"
He threw another card.
Reiji turned just in time.
CLANG!
The card struck his die.
The die flew from his hand.
Both fighters froze for half a second.
The die bounced across the stone floor.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Reiji looked at it.
Hero smiled.
"Now you're in trouble."
Reiji's expression remained calm.
"No."
He slowly reached toward the die.
"I'm just gambling."
His fingers closed around it.
And the battle continued.