Amaterasu was grinning from ear to ear. “Welcome to the library, gentlemen.”

  Oliver’s brother, Andrew, spoke up. “I almost expected Kate here, not that I’m compining. Thank you for the lovely greeting.”

  “Kate is here as part of the gauntlet, you will face her soon enough. We have many of our most skilled pyers here today and you will each face every single one of them. There are snacks and drinks in the staff cafeteria, which you may access today as you please. I will have to ask you not to eat or drink in the py areas or out in the library proper. You will face every opponent in their own rooms, we have pyed a little with the theming of the original gauntlet we were told about. As we have that many volunteers, you will only py a single game against everyone. Each win gets you one of these coins.” Ama held up a small golden coin. “You can wager these for a rematch to double the wagered coins. At the end you will receive prizes in accordance with your earned number of coins. Sadly, we can’t let you keep any as souvenirs. Unless you have questions, I will let you begin.”

  Andrew and his eight friends shook their heads. Oliver didn’t, he just grinned in excitement.

  Opponent number one for Oliver was Adelina, dressed in an intricate baroque dress and a very rge hat. She fshed a fanged smile as he entered her room.

  “Ah, my first course for this entertaining feast.”

  “I see what Kate meant when she said everyone was excited to py along.”

  “You have seen nothing. I am merely a taste of what’s to come, an entrée. And maybe you will be mine once I’m done with you.” She winked. “Shall we py?”

  Oliver blushed slightly. “Oh my! Sure, let’s py.”

  That game was a good start to the day. Oliver won. Barely. Adelina slid a coin across the wooden table.

  “How sad, I will have to snack on one of your brother’s friends.”

  “I do hope they taste better than I imagine.”

  Adelina couldn’t help but ugh. “I’m not allowed to actually bite anyone today. They wouldn’t be my type anyway, I’m more into the sweet women.”

  “Don’t let them know that.”

  “I won’t.” She gestured to the side door. “Your next opponent awaits.”

  “Good luck against the others.”

  “Thank you and good luck to you too. You’ll need it.”

  Nirrti put her novel down. “Ah, mister Turner. I see my assistant hasn’t entirely eaten you.”

  “It was close.”

  “She will have enough opportunities to get herself a proper victim.” A smirk crossed her face, Oliver wasn’t sure if she was just pying her part incredibly well or if it was genuine. “I intend to keep my coins. Shall we?”

  Oliver let his eyes wander up and down the disguised demon. Well, partially disguised demon. Nirrti had hidden her obvious demonic features, but she felt uncanny, inhuman. A hint of secrets buried within the library.

  “Alright, let’s begin.”

  With that, he earned his first loss.

  “I can’t ever win against you, can I?”

  “One day. You humans are still like open books. I don’t even have to read your thought to see right through you.”

  “You told me that the first time we pyed too. I didn’t improve, did I?”

  “You have improved. Just not enough to outpy a Nightmare.”

  “Fair enough. Enjoy the rest of the group.”

  “I hope they are as amusing to py against as you were.”

  “I don’t know, but I have my hopes.”

  “Good.”

  Andrew, meanwhile, had lost to Adelina and had now entered Evelyn’s room. The young human was looking a bit disheveled.

  “Oh finally, someone to prove my worth against!”

  “Oh, I’m not that easily beaten.”

  “I don’t have to beat you to finally fulfil my end of the bargain, I just have to find someone worthy to face mistress Apollyon. A new pything for her.”

  “So, you’re the one who lost her soul to the demon ruling this pce. Don’t you worry, we’ll free you.”

  “Free me? If you can’t even beat me, you might have troubling freeing yourself.”

  “Let’s see about that.”

  After a rather short game, Andrew packed up his deck again.

  “And I was told it gets more difficult the further we progress, wow.”

  “There’s a reason I still have to prove my worth. Venture forward and witness horrors you would have never deemed possible with mere cardboard.” Evelyn grinned. “I was told you were the best of your group. It will be fun to tear through the others. Here, take your coin.”

  “Enjoy the sughter. I will go prepare myself to lose my soul to a demon librarian.” He chuckled and opened the door to the next room.

  He found Rhea, showing her horns and tail, measuring her deck with some sort of demonic device.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Ah, the test subject. I was just putting making sure everything is in order for the first showing of this deck. A cardboard contraption of extraordinary precision. Fine-tuned to deliver the exact amount of damage needed to kill in the fastest way possible.”

  “A combo deck?”

  “Such a crude way to describe something so beautiful.”

  “You know, I actually agree. Watching a combo deck do its thing is quite beautiful.”

  “I will show you the beauty of my deck then.”

  A few minutes ter, Andrew stared at the table, cards id out neatly between the two pyers.

  “We do this gauntlet stuff every year to get better at pying. I think we need to talk ter, I have understood fuck all of what you just did. I feel like a kindergartener watching a particle accelerator do its thing.”

  Rhea giggled. “But you saw its beauty even if you didn’t understand it?”

  “I did. That was honestly incredibly.”

  “The others ck my eye for beauty, but there is a lot to be learned here. This is a library after all, built to hold all knowledge. You just have to reach out for it. Who knows, maybe if you prove yourself to mistress Apollyon, she might grant you what you need to improve. Your brother has already listened to her words.”

  “I pyed against him a few weeks back, he is really good now. I used to beat him every time. I’ll figure out what you taught him. I’ll find your secrets.”

  “Good luck.” Rhea just smiled and gestured to the door forward.

  A masked Yumi and Seshat proved to be equally capable opponents. Beyond the next door sat Eisheth, high-heeled boots resting on the table.

  “Oh… oh… wow. Sorry, I, uhm, was staring.”

  Eisheth fshed a quick smile across her lips. “Humans tend to do that.”

  “And, uh, you are used to that as a… succubus?”

  “Used to? Yes. Doesn't mean I'll let you do it for free though. Why don’t you come here and amuse me while you keep staring? The least you can do repay me.”

  “Right, yes.” Andrew cleared his throat. “You librarians are quite something.”

  “We are quite proud to be strange.”

  “I can tell. And I never meant to imply anything bad, this just has been an experience unlike any I had with this card game.”

  “This is new fun for us as well. We don’t often get people who just want to be toyed with. We usually have to make do with those we despise. A happy volunteer, a group of them even, is a rarity.”

  “That expins why so many of you volunteered. I get the feeling you aren’t from around here, right?”

  “We’re not. I can’t tell you where we came from but rest assured that we’ve been around for a long time.” Eisheth took her boots off the table and leaned forward. “That holds true even outside our little show today.”

  “Intriguing. Perhaps I could learn more eventually?”

  “Perhaps. For now, you need to entertain me. Let’s py.”

  Once again, Andrew lost.

  “I don’t know if that was you being incredibly distracting, sorry about gncing at… pces, or me just being an inferior pyer.”

  “You managed to make this amusing. Your friend Jeff didn’t manage that, he just bumbled around like a fool.”

  “Yea, I assumed he would have a hard time with someone so pretty as his opponent. How do you even do that? All the horns and tails and the sexy succubus aura?”

  “Special effects.”

  “Right…”

  Eisheth shrugged. “A trade secret, maybe we’ll show you one day.”

  “Fair enough. It’s this door to get back to the hallway, right? I just need a moment before I continue, grab a snack and stuff.”

  “It is. Once you are ready to continue, the door you are looking for next is belled with the name Sariel.”

  “Thank you, and good game. Enjoy beating the others.”

  “I might, if they put up a better fight than Jeff did.”

  “I am optimistic.” He pulled open the door and returned the hallways of the library.