Exactly! [He agrees with that sentiment; it's a horrible DM who goes around killing the characters.

Speaking of...]

...I actually knew a guy who was like that. He was a nasty DM who kept going out of his way to torment his players during games. [By 'a guy', he of course means the Ring Spirit, and by 'tormenting his players', he means 'trapping the souls of Ryou's friends in their character pieces'. Very roundabout way of saying it, but he's not quite sure how to feel about being open about it on the ICP system.]