Chapter 55: Tarot

As Jim pressed on the Launch button on the holographic panel, the three’s surroundings instantly went black as a countdown began.

“For fairness, I set it to a random map,” Jim said with a chuckle. “Don’t blame me if it ends up bein’ in my advantage.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t complain,” Iris replied. “We’ll just beat you on your home field, that’s all.”

“Heh! Bloody confident, aren’t ya? We’ll see how far that goes.”

[The match will start in 3… 2… 1…]

BEEP.

A loud buzzer signaled the beginning of the fight. Jim was teleported away while Finn and Iris found themselves within a graveyard, staring down below at what used to be a church. It has since then broken down, but the building remained intact — mostly. Connecting them and the church was an inclined slope leading down, providing them with an advantage.

“This is a pretty big map, and we have the high ground, as far as I can tell,” Iris noted. “I’ll find a good vantage point to set up my sniper-“

“Wait,” Finn interrupted. “I have a plan.”

“…?” Iris tilted her head in confusion, but since it had always worked in the past when Finn used his plans, she decided to just listen to him obediently.

*****

– Meanwhile, Within the Church –

“Hm… bloody Terron’s Court, is it?” Jim sighed deeply. “Aye, that ain’t a great map for me.”

This map, named Terron’s Court, was shaped after a real location in District T. Because the area was quite rural with not too many facilities, everyone who lived there saw the weekly mass as an opportunity to gather together and interact with other people. The Church there had been in the middle of hosting such a mass when an Outbreak occurred right next to them.

The Wraiths and Revenants that had spawned tore the Church apart, killing everyone inside instantly before the Ghost Hunters could get there. Since then, the Church has been rebuilt, and a Squadron was stationed right beside them to prevent such a disaster from happening again. As a memorial to the catastrophe that happened there, however, the broken church was made into a map in Project: Simulacrum as an especially effective way for Hunters with snipers to train their aim.

“Well-“

Jim stood up and stretched his body before activating his Cardmaster Angelica, letting the bright, pure white glow surround his body and top hat.

“-It’s time fer some crushin’.”

*****

“U-Um… why are we doing this…?” Iris whimpered quietly as she lay uncomfortably on top of Finn. Yes, on top of Finn.

“Calm down. If my guess is correct, Jim’s Angelica commands the power of Tarot cards. It’s in his alias.”

“… Right. I don’t know much about Tarot cards, but how does that relate to us having to… y’know, be in this position?”

“Of the 22 Major Arcana Tarot cards, the 21st is called The World,” Finn explained. “I used to have a… friend who knew a lot about such things. He said The World represented omnipotence and knowledge. If that’s the case, then… it’s almost certain Jim — or rather, Tarot — would use this card to track our location like a radar of sorts.

“I never believed him in the past,” Finn continued. “Back then, I thought science was the only answer to everything, and anything that could not be proved by science was merely fiction. Now, however, I know just how arrogant I was in assuming that.”

Iris fell into thought as she adjusted the sniper rifle on Finn’s body. “I see… so by stacking on top of one another like this, we can confuse the ‘radar’ and make him think there’s only one person here. My presence will mask yours.”

Finn nodded to the best of his ability. “Indeed. He’ll think I am far away from you, leaving you vulnerable to a sneak attack from behind. When he tries this, however, we will both attack him together by surprise. That’s the gameplan. Of course, if you can snipe him before this even happens, go ahead.”

Iris tightened her grip around the sniper rifle, looking into the scope and searching for any sign of Tarot. After wandering her vision around for a bit, she spotted a very faint shadow coming from behind the walls of the church.

Tarot was right around the corner.

Narrowing her eyes, Iris adjusted the zoom level to its maximum for highest possible accuracy, and was able to locate just the tip of her target’s shoes.

This may not deal a killing blow, but it’ll still be an useful injury. Licking her lips, Iris prepared to pull the trigger.

3… 2… 1…

PEW!

Suddenly, however, Tarot retrieved his foot right before the bullet was about to hit.

“Wha…” Iris gasped in shock.

The speed at which he had dodged it was inhuman. He didn’t just get lucky — no, it was as if he predicted the bullet to come.

“No way…” Iris shook her head in disbelief.

“Did you miss?” Finn asked, though it was obvious.

“I-I did… I did, but it shouldn’t have missed… there’s no way he could’ve dodged that with human reactions.”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “In that case… it must be the card that symbolizes divination — the Hermit.”

*****

“Whew…” Jim whistled in relief, then glanced down at his suit, where two sets of identical designs were glowing up: one, tiny Earths that symbolized The World; and two, small and short figures featuring an old man holding a scroll that symbolized The Hermit.

Originally, he had been planning on using only 2 to beat Finn and Iris, but they were more unpredictable and stronger than he thought. Other D-Class Hunters would definitely not be able to notice his shadow here or hide from The World’s tracking abilities. He had already used 2 of his 22 possible cards, meaning the challenge he set himself was already failed, but this battle would go to him nonetheless.

“To think she would be able to hit the tippity-top of my bloody toe from up there,” Jim chuckled. “I underestimated ya. I still dunno where that bloody kid is or how The World isn’t detectin’ him, but alas…”

He glanced through the walls directly towards the top of a building up top in the high grounds, where Iris currently lay.

“… It’s already bloody over anyway.”