Okay, time for Hide-and-God-Seek! Let the games begin!
Now, hang on a second!
Asta!
Right! Konoha, Kyrgis! Hurry!
Y-Yes, ma'am!
Activating now!
You're not going to use your Arise, Fay?
It just prevents me from dying.
Ah...
Get out of here, Leshea!
It's dangerous he—
What?
I guess you really are a former god.
This isn't even 100% of my strength.
I can't use all of my god powers.
I guess you can be kinda cute sometimes.
Did you really just get worried for me just now?
Gods' Games We Play
10 minutes earlier
Hide-and-God-Seek
Wait, I didn't even agree to pairing up with you.
Huh?
Wait, this is Elements, isn't it?
It looks just like our city...
It probably holds some meaning for the god here.
There are plenty of gods I don't know about.
Hey, over there.
We don't know what's going to happen...
Fay?!
What happened? I heard that you were on a leave of absence.
Oh, hey, Asta.
It's been a while. Actually, I just came back and got dragged here.
Pleasure to work with all of you.
Th-The dragon god?!
L-Lady Leoleshea?! Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?!
I'm participating, too.
Don't worry. I'm on the human side.
Well, hewwo there!
Welcome to my god's Elements!
I am the meep that lives within my master Titan's territory.
The time has come so no more participants will be allowed in this game.
Broadcast.
Right.
Humanity's mission is to win ten gods' games...
We're counting on you, Fay.
Let's see... It looks like there's a total of eighteen of you here.
Then allow me to introduce this game!
The Giant God Titan is a battle game, isn't it?
The number of total encounters with the Giant God Titan
around the world in the last thirty years is 23.
This says the probability of us winning with these numbers is 14%.
Perfect. If this is a battle game,
we have Lady Leoleshea, the dragon god, on our side!
My lord Titan says he has grown tired of battle games.
The game you'll be playing is...
Hide-and-God-Seek!
I've never heard of that game...
Is that basically like hide-and-go-seek or tag?
We run away from Titan in the area of these buildings.
That's why it's Hide-and-God-Seek instead of hide-and-go-seek.
Right?
You are precisely right!
You cannot go past the light.
You will need to run away from Lord Titan within the square.
If this is going to work like hide-and-go-seek,
does that mean we lose once everyone's caught?
That's one of the conditions to lose, yes.
Hm, I see. So there are more ways to lose than all of us getting caught.
Which means that our conditions to win probably won't be that simple either.
Running away so we can win... That's probably not enough, right?
Correct. Running away in Hide-and-God-Seek can lead you to victory,
but it is possible to lose even if you manage to run away.
That's all for the explanation of the rules!
By the way, you get a 300-second head-start to run!
Victory Condition
Loss Condition 1 Everyone is caught by Titan
Loss Condition 2 ????? (Losing is still possible even if everyone gets away)
Wh-What the?
Whoopsie. Looks like Lord Titan can't wait any longer.
I guess you don't get a head-start after all!
What?!
Now, hang on a second!
The present
I-It's so fast!
Captain, this isn't gonna work!
Even superhuman powers won't help us win in a game of tag like this!
Maybe flight magic...
N-No, even that wouldn't work!
Scatter! Split up and hide in the shadows of the buildings!
Yes, sir!
At this rate, I won't be able to do anything.
On the surface, this is a game of tag,
but should we be playing hide-and-seek instead?
Why don't we just hide in one of the buildings?
Th-That's it, Vice-Captain! That way, we can hide without being found.
That's a bad play. Don't do it, Asta.
Huh?
But why?
That thing's got a pretty good idea of where we are.
Look out, Asta!
Asta! Run towards us!
Wait... didn't I get a game over...?
N-No! What is this?!
H-Huh? A spell's activating on its own?
Have you lost your mind, Asta?!
N-No! The spells are just activating on their own!
So I guess this is Hide-and-God-Seek.
Hidden Rule 1 Those incapacitated by the god's attack will become the god's subordinate
Of course there'd be hidden rules. This is a battle of wits against a god after all!
Vice-Captain, please run!
Are you really saying that as you rapid fire wind magic at us?!
C-Crap!
N-No way!
We weren't even touched!
It's not just based on touch?
We might be in trouble, too.
Yeah, let's get away from here!
Now, there are four on the god's side.
It's five if you include Titan.
Humans
God
He's not coming after us?
Is he saving that for later?
If he eliminates everyone other than us,
it'll make two on the human side and seventeen on his.
He's going to use all that strength to attack us.
And until then, he's going to have all of his subordinates attack us.
You know, their bottom halves are still their usual color.
It's so unbalanced.
Shut up! My body just keeps chasing you!
I guess Asta hasn't exactly game-overed.
Yeah. If she was out, she'd be back in the human world, unharmed.
There are still hidden rules in this game.
I get that they end up the same color as Titan,
but why is it just their upper bodies?
Huh?!
Hey! What are you doing?!
Leshea!
Tag!
Tag complete.
Now, she's back on the human side.
Huh?
Huh? Wha? I'm back to normal?
You didn't actually game over.
Your lower half didn't change color after all.
Hidden Rule 1 Those incapacitated by the god's attack will become the god's subordinate
Hidden Rule 2 It is possible to return any of god's subordinates back to the human side by tagging them
Which means there's a hidden rule to turn people back to the human side.
I-I see!
Crap. Guess he's after us again.
I guess he can't really leave us alone
now that we figured out how to turn people back.
Asta, go hide!
Got it!
I think he's happy that you actually understood his game.
We just keep running, but what do we need to do to win?
Come to think of it, Meep did mention
that we could still lose even if we keep running.
I guess it's part of the game to figure out the condition to win.
Victory Condition
Loss Condition 1 Everyone is caught by Titan
Loss Condition 2 ????? (Losing is still possible even if everyone gets away)
Defeating Titan would just make this a battle game, so that's probably not it.
Maybe if we can run away for a certain amount of time, we win?
That's possible, but we've got nothing to prove that.
They never said how long we need to keep running either.
In that case...
It's just as I thought.
What is?
We totally get each other.
You know exactly what I want to say, but more importantly,
you're playing this game for real.
Huh? Of course, I am. This game is as thrilling as it gets.
Well, that's what makes us gods happy.
I am a former god myself, after all.
When there's a human who plays the gods' games seriously...
It makes the game that much fun!
Games are meant to be fun
Though it really sucks when you lose, so I definitely want to win.
But of course.
What is our victory condition?
There must've been a hint somewhere.
I'm sorry... He got all of us.
Yeah, we can see that...
But you mustn't give up!
Even if it's just the two of you, you need to keep running!
Then please let us go!
My legs have a mind of their own!
This way!
Humans
God
Hiyah!
This is only going to buy us a few dozen seconds.
Probably. Let's hurry!
I guess this is why the hidden rule about
getting tagged by him exists:
humans would be able to pursue us.
On top of that...
Titan's here, too.
At this rate, we're trapped like rats.
It's already enough of a hassle to keep running,
but we still have to figure out our victory condition.
It'd be nice to have more people on our side.
That Asta girl is hiding, too.
Everyone other than us is pretty much out.
They all flipped over to Titan's side.
I see.
What is it?
That's it, Leshea! They flipped!
Flipped?
I figured it all out.
There's actually a third game in Hide-and-God-Seek.
Gods' Games We Play
This Hide-and-God-Seek is a combination of tag,
hide-and-go-seek, and one other game.
Flipped... Third... I get it.
That explains why there are two lose conditions, as well.
Okay, let's split up.
I'll take eight.
No. We can split them in half. Seven per.
You're right. I'll lead them outside.
And I'll go up.
Damn that Titan...
He's destroying all the other buildings, one after another,
and then he's going to destroy this department store and it'll be checkmate.
Please let us make it in time... Both Leshea and I!
He used the apostles that are now his subordinates to lead me up to the roof...
Then he was planning to finish me off himself.
He's doomed...
Humans
God
Now that all the buildings have been destroyed, the game's over, right?
According to the Hide-and-God-Seek rules, I'm not incapacitated,
so I won't become your subordinate.
The ultimate self-regeneration that nullifies any kind of meddling
and restores me to how I was.
My Arise is called...
"May Your God."
I'm sure you think you've won even if I'm back since it's now
Humans
God
humans 3 versus 16 on your side, don't you?
But it's the opposite.
We're the ones who're going to meet the victory conditions, Titan.
Now, it's time to check our answers.
The game that was hidden in this game of Hide-and-God-seek until the end was...
Reversi!
Though we thought we were playing tag, this whole city is actually the game board.
The god chases after the humans who run away.
Subordinates of the god are created and the remaining humans save them.
This clearly means that the god got to go first and the humans play second.
And once the humans touch the affected humans,
their upper halves flip back to their original color.
This was the ultimate hint.
Each side was taking a turn. Touching someone would "flip" them.
The game that matches these rules is Reversi!
Your meep is quite efficient.
To think that the explanation of the rules would be a hint...
The fact that this game is played within a square field.
Reversi is over once the whole board is one color.
In the case of Hide-and-God-Seek,
it's when all the buildings have been destroyed and we can't play anymore.
All that's left is to see who has more in the end to win. The god or human side?
We had a single ray of hope to win this match...
and that's a chain!
When Asta and the vice-captain were touched by the Titan,
the two next to them also changed color.
The reason Asta slammed them against the wall
was to get them all lined up in a row between her and the god.
That's why the two in between were also flipped over to the god side.
And my goal was to distract you!
We're going to be using that exact same method.
Asta!
Dang it, Fay! You need to treat those older than you with respect!
Leshea!
And now we flip... everything over!
Hidden Rule 1 Those incapacitated by the god's attack will become the god's subordinate
Hidden Rule 2 It is possible to return any of the god's subordinates back to the human side by tagging them
Hidden Rule 3 When rules 1 and 2 have been fulfilled, a chain will occur if the enemy's pawns are sandwiched
The seven in between Leshea and Asta
formed a chain and flipped back to the human side.
Humans
God
All the buildings have been destroyed so the game is over.
With 10 on the human side and 9 on the god side, we win.
Any objections?
No.
VS "The Sage of the Earth" Titan
Hide-and-God-Seek
After playing for 3 hours and 31 minutes
Victory
Victory Condition Once the game is over, there are more white (human) pieces than black (god) pieces
Loss Condition 1 Everyone is caught by Titan
Loss Condition 2 Once the game is over, there are more black (god) pieces than white (human) pieces
Hidden Rule 1 Those incapacitated by the god's attack will become the god's subordinate
Hidden Rule 2 It is possible to return any of the god's subordinates back to the human side by tagging them
Hidden Rule 3 When rules 1 and 2 have been fulfilled, a chain will occur if the enemy's pawns are sandwiched
It's been 35 days since humanity has had a victory.
Yesterday's match had incredible ratings all around the world.
It was over 70% in this city alone.
That much?
This will help us out a lot.
We need to have the apostles we nurture with these earnings
to do their best and win the gods' games.
So...
How was it teaming up with Lady Leoleshea?
How was it?
You were totally in sync.
It's hard to think you two were a last-minute pair.
What are your thoughts?
Honestly, it's pretty amazing.
All I need to do is glance at her and she totally gets me.
I guess that's what you get with a former god.
Probably, yes.
But it's not because she's a former god.
We believe you were able to pull it off because you and Lady Leoleshea
worked together.
You see, Lady Leoleshea...
was playing all by herself while you were gone.
By herself?
She's so powerful, no one stood a chance against her.
Even with cards, Go, and roulette...
By herself, huh...
I think you two will be a great team.
Now you're one step closer to completely clearing the gods' games,
just like you want.
I'll do my very best.
That's why I came back after all.
Leshea, can I come in?
Sure.
This part here... We ran into the department store,
but I think we should've turned left and ran into the arcade's alley here.
Are you reflecting on your actions?
Well, I guess that's enough for now. I've already watched this four times.
That's a bit much!
Hey, what's your wish anyway, Fay?
You know. The reward you get after winning ten times against the gods.
My wish is to go back to being a god.
I do have a wish.
Ooh, tell me!
There's someone I'm looking for.
Who is it?
The person I played games with all the time as a child.
I never found out her name, so I always just called her "Sis."
She taught me everything about games.
I was young, so I never won no matter how many times we played.
I'd challenge her day and night... and she always greeted me with a smile.
But one day, she suddenly disappeared...
Just leaving behind the promise of us meeting again.
Sis!
How strange.
I guess you can call her my mentor.
I want to see her again so I can tell her thanks.
The reason I'm here right now is undoubtedly because of her.
Huh...
I only have one wish.
"Please find this person I used to play with."
That's an interesting wish.
But, Fay... You have no clues about her?
All I know is she loves games.
I don't know her name, and I only vaguely remember her voice and face.
The one thing I remember for sure...
is the fact that she had vermillion-colored hair, just like you.
I was wondering if you and Sis were somehow connected...
I was stuck inside a glacier for 3,000 years.
Right.
But I hope your wish comes true.
I guess we've got ourselves a team.
It might be fate that I met Leshea, who looks so much like Sis.
Yeah, let's do this.
I promise that I'm going to give this my all.
Let's Clear the gods' game!