Witch Watch (ウィッチウォッチ)

Where am I?

Hey, wake up.

I can't eat anymore.

Quit that cliché sleepy talk!

Huh? Where are we?

I think we were brought here while we were sleeping.

I don't even remember falling asleep.

And what the hell are these masks? Gross!

We all have them on.

Careful with those.

If you forcefully take them off, they'll explode.

- What the hell? - Who're you?

My name is Jig-Jag. Play a game with me.

Hey, this is...

Yeah.

A strange mask, a modulated deep voice, and orders from a monitor...

We're trapped in a death game!

You gotta be kidding me!

Why the hell do we have to do this?

I just want to play a game. But with serious risks!

And that's why I chose the four of you.

Especially since I have her as a hostage.

Nico!

I'm sorry everyone. I got caught.

We're in a different room.

If you disobey my orders or attempt to destroy the building,

your masks will explode.

Of course, her life will become forfeit as well.

All right.

If you promise to release Nico, we'll play along with whatever you want.

I'm glad you understand.

The game that I have created for you to play is called...

Ouroboros.

Ouroboros?

It's the symbol that shows a snake eating its own tail.

Whispering or casual talk is not allowed.

I will be giving all the orders.

You will all be snakes, so I shall grant you the names of snake gods.

Morihito Otogi shall be Apophis.

Kanshi Kazamatsuri shall be Illuyanka.

Keigo Magami shall be Naga.

Miharu Kiryu shall be Python.

There are squares drawn on the floor.

Each of you will stand in a corner and we'll begin.

I've installed an original dice app into your phones.

I can see your dice rolls as well.

Within the game, we will refer to the dice as "vice," which represents evil.

There are nine types of vice, so pick one before you roll.

The normal vice.

The even vice with only even numbers.

The odd vice with only odd numbers.

The ace vice has ones on three sides, which increases the odds of rolling a one.

In the same fashion, the deuce vice increases the odds of rolling a two.

The trey vice increases the odds of rolling a three.

The cater vice increases the odds of rolling a four.

The cinque vice increases the odds of rolling a five.

And the sice vice increases the odds of rolling a six.

When I say, "Roll the vice," everyone will roll the vice they picked

and move forward that many squares.

There are nine squares on each side, and you'll move counterclockwise.

Once a player lands on another player's square,

it means that a snake has eaten another snake, and the eaten snake is removed.

It's snakes chasing and being chased, and you fight to nom or get nommed.

I wanted to play this game with the four of you, who share a deep bond.

Let me explain the symbols on the squares.

If you land on the square with the plus sign, you coil up and skip a turn.

If you land on a triangle, then you become a reverse snake,

and move the opposite way.

The fifth square on each side has a cross bridge, which lets you cross sides.

You can choose to take that path or not.

The cross bridge utilizes

the middle of the board as one square, and so with two...

This is taking forever.

Okay, let's start!

I feel like there's still some gaps in the rules.

No talking! Now, roll the vice!

APOPHIS

ILLUYANKA

NAGA

PYTHON

Dang, I have to skip my next turn.

So Kanshi has to skip his next turn, huh?

Ugh, you don't even need a strategy for this game.

You can just pick the vice with the sixes.

Turn two! Roll the vice!

There's my six.

APOPHIS

One, two, three, four, five...

Wait, what? Did I just... get... eaten?

What the hell, this game ain't fun at all!

It's over in just two turns!

WE GOT TRAPPED IN A DEATH GAME, BUT IT SUCKED

No, that was just... You guys got really lucky.

No it's not, it happened naturally! These rules are bonkers!

What a dumb game.

What do you mean Ouroboros? More like Ouro-boring!

The explanation is too long, there are too many rules,

and once we started playing, I got eaten?

Or should I say I got nommed?

Everything was serious, so I couldn't say anything, but now I don't care!

If you're gonna trap us in a death game, make sure it's fun!

What're you gonna do now? You kidnapped five of us!

You say, "Let's play a game," in a deep voice, but I can't take you seriously anymore!

Um, Mr. Zigzag?

It's Jig-Jag.

Do you mind if we streamline the rules so they're understandable?

Aww, but...

Even if you don't want to, this game is stupidly boring and isn't even a real game yet.

You shouldn't be proud of that.

Maybe you should go easy on him.

I'm just saying we should all take this chance to make it more fun.

All right, go ahead.

How's it gotta feel to say that?

And so, the meeting to improve Ouroboros has begun.

OUROBOROS REVISION MEETING

First, let's get rid of the things that aren't necessary.

I agree. We don't need snake god names, and one dice is enough!

Wait, really?

I want to get rid of the reverse snake.

That, too?

In a "nom or get nommed" game, if you're moving forward and backward,

then two heads would eventually clash, and I felt uneasy about that.

In a game of Ouroboros, the head should nom on the tail.

It's funny how the term "nom" stuck with us.

If we all just moved in one direction, the flow would become easier,

and the concept of Ouroboros chasing its tail can be preserved.

Amazing!

You're the only one wanting to preserve the concept of the game.

I think I'm gonna cry.

Furthermore, I'd like to change this game's greatest weakness.

It's when a player reaches another player's square, and must nom them.

Earlier, I rolled a six.

On the fifth square, I had to nom Kanshi.

We should change the rules so that I can only nom him if I roll an exact five!

I like it!

Whatever movements are left, the player should pass the other player.

Then, the chaser becomes the one being chased!

And so...

Okay, I'd like to announce the new rules for Ouroboros.

My plan has already...

First, each player will use coins to represent themselves.

It became a board game!

There's one type of dice and we take turns.

A warp has been added in.

If you stop at a corner, you can choose to teleport yourself across the board.

It's anything goes now, isn't it?

And then, if a snake noms on another snake, you can stack the coins like so...

and become a twin-headed snake!

What's that awesome-looking thing?

The twin-headed snake's movement speed is double the number on the dice.

- Three heads means three times the speed. - Wait, a power up?

With these rules, even though the number of players decrease,

the game can still be speedy and thrilling without reaching a stalemate.

I believed in you guys!

Let's try playing it!

Yeah, let's play! Roll the vice!

We don't need that dumb callout anymore.

What? Dumb?

Wait, why were we doing this in the first place?

Oh, that's right. Nico got caught, and... Huh?

Wait, Nico?

I wanna play with you guys, too.

Huh? What's going on?

Nico was an accomplice, too.

You're a magic user, yet you were only restrained with a single rope.

And who else could have put the four of us to sleep and moved us

all at once by themselves?

You noticed all that?

I'm sorry I tricked you, but I was asked for help, so...

Asked for help? By who?

There's one among us who hasn't spoken a single word yet.

Whoa, what the...

I used the Doppelganger spell to create another Keigo.

Another one? Then the real one is...

It's you!

Sorry I tricked you.

I wanted to go viral, so I was trying to record an "I tried a death game" video.

Now that I look, there are hidden cameras everywhere.

The idea seems fun,

but the game itself is craptastically boring, so there's no way it'll go viral.

Please go easy on him.

I wonder if I'm not good at this stuff.

You should've realized that when you made grasshoppers sumo wrestle on a slippery surface.

I TRAPPED THEM IN A DEATH GAME, BUT THEY TOTALLY FIXED IT

But it went viral after all!

Kazamatsuri is the descendant of a tengu.

Magami is a werewolf.

And there's also a vampire at your house.

It's like a haunted house.

We get that a lot.

It seems like a portion of the students know your true identity,

but how's your school life been?

I've opened up to friends I trust, and they're all cool with it.

Nico's status as a witch is too powerful, so we aren't that exciting by comparison.

Yeah, everyone thinks that having a tengu around isn't that strange.

I see.

If something happens, please come talk to me. That's all for today.

Oh, that was the whole meeting?

Yes. Can you sign here, acknowledging that we finished?

Oh, the pencil's kinda short.