The fire of her spirit flared. She looked directly at Kanjuro. "How do you want to bet?"
Kanjuro's smile became increasingly gentle, yet even more chilling. "It's simple. We'll find five children, ages five to ten, and lock them in a small, dark, and absolutely silent enclosed space." He paused, as if describing an interesting game rule. "We don't need to inflict any extra violence on them, no intimidation, we don't even need to appear before them."
Jeanne d'Arc's brow furrowed with confusion and caution: "You'll do nothing?" This was completely different from the cruel test she had envisioned.
"Of course," Kanjuro nodded, his tone nonchalant. "We only need to do two things: starve them, and like observing trapped beasts in a cage, quietly watch their every move without missing a single detail, listen to their every conversation, and record their every look."
He looked at Jeanne d'Arc, his gaze deep as if trying to see through her:
"Hunger will strip away the veneer of civilization, darkness will amplify inner fear, and absolute silence and loneliness will force them to face their truest selves. We will just watch quietly to see what kind of 'humanity' this 'purest' species you speak of will show under the erosion of survival instincts and despair. Will they support each other and share a faint hope? Or will they expose selfishness, deception, and even... an uglier side for the sake of the remaining food or space?"
He smiled, throwing out the core of the bet:
"At that time, we will naturally be able to verify if children are truly the incarnation of 'pure goodness' in this world as you believe. Let their actions themselves tell us the answer."
Jeanne d'Arc fell silent. She had grown up in the countryside and seen the most simple folk customs; in her memory, children always had innocent smiles and shared meager joys. She firmly believed that even in harsh environments, children's nature was inclined toward goodness, and that kind of evil was an infinitesimal probability. This wager of Kanjuro's, though cruel, seemed to... provide a 'fair' opportunity to verify her belief? At least he promised not to actively inflict harm.
"Fine!" Jeanne d'Arc took a deep breath and nodded heavily. She chose to believe in the faint but resilient light within human nature. "I'll bet with you!"
Kanjuro smiled with satisfaction and turned his gaze to Uryu Ryunosuke, who was rubbing his hands in excitement.
"Now, go and catch five children for me. Remember, only five! Ages five to ten, in increasing order." His command was clear and cold.
"Alright!" Ryunosuke was so excited he almost jumped, his face flushed with a sickly red glow. "I've killed so many kids and seen all kinds of ways they die, but I've never tried such an 'interesting' way to play! Big Bro, this bet of yours... hehe, I don't think it'll be easy for you to win! When those little things are about to die, the look in their eyes is so 'pure'—it's nothing but fear and despair. Where's the goodness in that?"
Kanjuro smiled noncommittally, his gaze drifting over the feverish-eyed Caster. In a seemingly casual tone, he said, "It's fine, just go and try it. If I lose, it proves Jeanne's conviction was right... Perhaps I might even consider setting Jeanne free?"
"Really?!" Caster snapped his head up, his eyes exploding with unbelievable ecstasy, as if he had seen the only path to salvation. If Jeanne gained her freedom, would he have a chance...?
Kanjuro didn't answer Caster directly. Instead, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked Caster in an academic tone tinged with curiosity, "Speaking of which, you've killed so many children and eaten so many... in that process, didn't you discover anything? Regarding these 'pure' species, in an extreme state... some kind of 'commonality' or 'change'?"
Caster froze for a moment, then tried hard to recall. He shook his head blankly, a trace of shame appearing on his face, fearing that his "realization" wasn't deep enough and would disappoint Jeanne.
"I... I was just intoxicated by their expressions of pain and their wails, enjoying the pleasure of life slipping away through my hands... regardless of gender, even some particularly tender ones, in my hands..."
He gave a couple of dry, awkward laughs and stole a glance at Jeanne. He didn't dare continue, fearing that those overly sacrilegious details would defile the ears of the Saint in his heart.
Kanjuro gave Caster a meaningful look but said nothing more. He simply waved his hand, signaling Ryunosuke to set off.
Like a hound receiving an order, Ryunosuke excitedly dashed out of the sewer and disappeared into the darkness to collect the five unfortunate "samples" for this twisted "human nature observation experiment."
Inside the underground lair, a suffocating silence returned. Jeanne clenched her fists, staring firmly toward the entrance, silently praying in her heart that her conviction could withstand this cruel ordeal.
Meanwhile, Kanjuro held the unconscious Rin, a smile that no one could understand playing on his lips, as if he had already seen the "satisfactory" conclusion of this gamble.
Caster knelt to the side, his eyes fanatically scanning back and forth between Jeanne and Kanjuro, anticipating the moment Jeanne would win her freedom while fearing anything that might destroy that hope.
A silent and cruel drama, with children's fear, hunger, and humanity as the stakes, was about to begin.
Uryu Ryunosuke's efficiency was horrifyingly high.
Before long, he returned with five terrified, tearful children—a five-year-old boy dressed exquisitely but with arrogant eyes; a six-year-old girl in slightly worn clothes but with quick, clever eyes; a thin, timid seven-year-old boy; an eight-year-old girl trying to stay calm with alert eyes; and a ten-year-old boy who looked the most mature and seemed to want to take on the role of protector.
They were roughly thrown into a cramped space made from a discarded sewer pipe, which was almost completely dark. The iron door shut with a "clang," completely cutting off outside light and sound, leaving only suffocating silence and bone-deep fear.
Phase One: The Alliance of Fear and Fragility (The first few hours)
At first, there was a deathly silence, broken only by suppressed sobbing and heavy breathing.
The ten-year-old boy spoke first, his voice trembling yet striving to remain steady: "Everyone... don't be afraid. We... we'll find a way out. My name is Kenta. We... we have to help each other."
He tried to gather the children together, sharing the last small piece of flattened chocolate from his pocket. At this moment, a faint glimmer of kindness flickered in the darkness. Through the "observation window" Kanjuro had manifested by some unknown means, Jeanne's clenched fists loosened slightly, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes.
Phase Two: The Erosion of Hunger and Exposure of Instinct (One day later)
Hunger, like a maggot in the bone, began to gnaw at their reason. That tiny piece of chocolate had long been consumed, with even the crumbs licked clean. The silence began to be broken by the growling of stomachs and the sounds of restless shifting.
The five-year-old rich boy (let's call him Shota) was the first to lose patience. He began to wail, kicking the iron door and cursing everyone: "Let me out! My daddy has money! He'll give you lots of money! Give me all your food!" His arrogance was magnified in despair, believing the whole world should revolve around him.
The timid seven-year-old boy (Makoto) curled up in a corner, hiding himself deeper as if that could avoid the danger. The eight-year-old girl (Riko) began to secretly size up the others, her eyes filled with calculation.
Phase Three: The Illusion of Resources and the Collapse of Morality (The second day)
Kanjuro maliciously dropped a bottle of turbid water and a small piece of moldy bread through a small hole. This insignificant "resource" instantly ignited latent conflict.
"Give it to me! I'm the smallest!" Shota screamed, lunging for the bread.
"Why should I give it to you! I'm hungry too!" The six-year-old girl (Ami) shoved him hard, her eyes fierce, all previous cleverness gone. She guarded the bread fiercely, like a young beast protecting its food.
"Everyone, don't fight! We'll share it!" Kenta tried to maintain order, but his voice sounded so pale in the face of hunger and selfishness.
Ami, the six-year-old girl, showed a ruthlessness beyond her years during the struggle. She picked up a sharp stone from the ground and glared menacingly at Shota as he tried to approach: "If you come any closer, I'll bash your head in!" For that tiny bit of life-sustaining food, she showed her aggression without hesitation. Jeanne's heart sank.
Phase Four: Differentiation and Betrayal in Despair (The third day)
Hunger and despair had completely twisted their souls.
Shota stopped crying. He had somehow produced a small knife—perhaps a "prop" Ryunosuke had "accidentally" left behind. He brandished the knife, threatening the others: "The food and water are all mine! I'll kill anyone who tries to take them!" The advantages of age and physique vanished before the weapon. He first targeted Kenta, who was trying to maintain order and had consumed the most energy.
"Kenta-niichan... we..." Makoto looked at the knife in Shota's hand in terror.
Kenta wanted to say something more, but Shota was already blinded by fear and a sense of power. He screamed and rushed forward, wildly swinging the small knife. A muffled groan from Kenta came from the darkness, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.
The oldest child, the one who had tried to protect everyone, became the first victim, dying at the hands of the younger child he had wanted to protect.
Riko (the eight-year-old girl) watched all this coldly, even quietly moving away from the corpse. Ami stared fixedly at the knife in Shota's hand and the remaining food, her eyes flickering.
Phase Five: Survival at Any Cost and the Final Madness (The fourth day)
Kenta's death was like the last veil of decency being torn away. Only Shota, Ami, Riko, and Makoto remained in the space.
Riko tried to use her slightly older age and gender to curry favor with Shota, who held the food and weapon. She even hinted she could "play with him" in exchange for a chance at survival. But Shota didn't understand at all, or rather, hunger had stripped him of any desire other than food. He roughly pushed Riko away.
In extreme fear and hunger, Makoto's mind seemed to break. He began to mutter to himself and eventually curled up in a corner without a sound, never moving again.
Now, only Shota and Ami were left.
Ami, the six-year-old girl, made an even more shocking move.
She proactively approached Shota and said in a youthful yet icy voice, "Let's kill that big sister (Riko), okay? She doesn't look tasty, but if we kill her, no one will fight us for the food. Then... I'll play with you, and you give me a little bit of food, okay?" For survival, she had not only thought of murder but even of utilizing the only "capital" she might possess.
Shota seemed moved, or rather, once the seed of slaughter is planted, it sprouts easily. The two youngest children formed an evil alliance in the darkness. Together, they used that small knife to attack Riko as she tried to resist... The End: The Breakdown of the Alliance and Mutual Destruction (The fifth day)
Finally, in the cramped space, only Shota and Ami remained, along with the tiniest remnants of food. The brief alliance shattered instantly once resources were exhausted.
"Give me the last of the food!" Shota held up the knife.
"I'm the one who helped you kill them! It should be mine!" Ami's eyes were venomous, refusing to back down.
The two were like two red-eyed young beasts, fighting each other for the last hope of survival. The knife swung through the air, piercing the darkness and tearing through the final boundaries of humanity.
Eventually, everything fell into silence.
When the iron door was opened again, what met Jeanne's eyes was a scene like hell: five small corpses lay in various contorted positions in pools of blood and filth.
They didn't die from external violence, but from the suspicion, selfishness, greed, betrayal, and madness of mutual slaughter spawned by hunger. The five-year-old boy and the six-year-old girl had even fought each other for a sliver of empty hope until the very end, both dying in the process.
Jeanne froze in place, her face as pale as paper, her body trembling uncontrollably. In her ice-blue eyes, all light had been extinguished, leaving only boundless darkness and a shattered faith.
The "pure goodness" she so firmly believed in had been torn to shreds by these children she wanted to protect during these cruel five days.
Kanjuro watched it all silently, his face expressionless. He simply said to Ryunosuke, who was almost dancing with excitement, and Caster, whose eyes were full of complex emotions:
"See, this is what you... no, this is what 'humans' are."
His gaze finally fell on the nearly broken Jeanne, his voice calm yet sounding like a final judgment:
"You lost, Jeanne. So-called 'purity' is nothing more than an illusion... before one has been pushed to the limit."
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