Four days of letters were cover: Halkenburg and five guards draw guns and he walks to his father demanding the contest end. His bullet freezes before Nasubi's face — the king is 'part of the ritual, unable to die until it ends' — and when Halkenburg turns the gun on himself his beast catches that round too. He leaves awakened, resolved to win the throne to destroy the system; his arrow pierces Shikaku's defenses and steals his will at the cost of one follower's body. At 8 p.m., Yushohi radios Benjamin: Salé-salé is dead.
- Assassination attemptDay 8CanonicalHalkenburg puts a gun to the king
Four days of letters lowered the guards' vigilance; Halkenburg and five guards draw on them and he walks to his father demanding the contest's suspension. His bullet freezes mid-air before Nasubi's face — the king cannot die until the ritual ends. Turning the gun on himself, Halkenburg's own beast catches the round.
InvolvedHalkenburg Hui Guo Rou · Nasubi Hui Guo Rou · NuguiLocationTier 1 — Royal Deck▸Consequences (2)
- Nasubi poses the trolley problem: change the country by becoming king, or watch
- Halkenburg 'awakens' — he will win the contest to end the system
- Nen revealDay 8CanonicalThe arrow takes Shikaku
Ordered by Benjamin to kill the returning Halkenburg, Shikaku's conjured Culdcept card is pierced by an aura arrow from the prince's bow. One of Halkenburg's guards drops; Shikaku rises asking for the Prince's orders — the ability robs the target's will at the cost of one follower's body.
InvolvedHalkenburg Hui Guo Rou · Shikaku · Benjamin Hui Guo RouLocationRoom 1009 (Halkenburg) - DeathDay 8 · eveningCanonicalSalé-salé is assassinated
With the Eighth Prince's beast already devoured, Yushohi completes the kill: Salé-salé stops breathing in his bed as attendants scream for help, and Yushohi radios Benjamin that the mission succeeded. Officially, illness.
InvolvedYushohi · Sale-Sale Hui Guo Rou · Benjamin Hui Guo RouLocationRoyal Quarters BlockCasualtiesSale-Sale Hui Guo Rou▸Consequences (1)
- The contest's second prince dies; the cover story holds
- Nasubi cannot be killed while the ritual runs
- Halkenburg's withdrawal era is over — he now plays to win
- Grimmel the Dissonance: an unblockable arrow that trades a follower's body for the target's will
- Benjamin's assassination program has claimed a prince
