Priests gathered in the lavished lounge, Bishop Shiba now accompanied with Sir Scott were left speechless by the horror that unfolded before them.
2 sections of the screen, dyed mostly red, blazed with a cacophony of gore and death.
"My God...." Scott was in disbelief, contestant Inori was butchering 128 ash humanoids.
"What is wrong with her?" The Bishop was honestly worried. The way Hori moved resembled a sin.
"And the other one." His attention now moved to Haruki, eliminating his opponents faster than Hori, with an almost elegant manner.
365. Her smart watch read but Hori paid no mind to it. Too occupied with killing it seemed.
Her Sabbath Exams uniform was all red, with occasional chunks of flesh littered on its silk.
Recklessly tearing through the innards of her opponents. Hori was clearly no longer in her right state of mind.
Most, If not all other participants had forfeited. That being the main goal of this trial. This was typical of Hori, always over exerting herself.
"How does one fail at simply giving up?" Mr Shiba said leaning towards the screen. What the Priests observing waited for was to see the end of trial 4. How long could this participant last?
"Announcer~!" Haruki waved from his white field.
"I'm bored so I forfeit." He admitted still holding back about 6 ash humanoids.
The kitchen bell chimed and Haruki vanished from the trial grounds. Now. All eyes were on Hori. Unintentionally stealing the spotlight.
Eventually, the maximum points were attained and Hori's smart watch began beeping. It read with a light blue hue.
400 points acquired. A myriad of claps erupted from the room as priests congratulated Hori.
A perfect score of 400 had been rewarded to her.
- Given Hori began trial 4 with 182 points, given an increase in point per kill, Hori had killed 217 opponents....only God knows how this would affect her mental health.
The clapping died down as Priest noticed Hori standing still. With her breathing ragged and uneven, her hands still clenched as fists screamed violence.
The blood had dried, leaving a disgusting texture on her body.
Hori's eyes were still open so she was still conscious....probably.
Mr Shiba cleared his throat to break the silence.
Hori stood with no reply, her silence a testament to the overwhelming wave of nausea crashing over her. The thick stench of blood and half-digested food scattered around churned her stomach, and two agonizing minutes later, she bent forward, vomiting with a pained grimace.
"Crap," Sir Scott muttered, adjusting his shades with a flick of his wrist. "The smell and exhaustion must have gotten to her." Before Hori could register what was happening, she crumbled forward, her head landing with a wet thud in the mess of her own vomit.
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For some seconds, the entire lounge went quiet, as if they were a moment of silence for the deceased. Only the faint hum of the screens filled the space.
Sir Scott took a single step forward with a tight jaw.
"Mr Shiba?" he asked.
The Bishop stalled then pressed a big blue button. "Requesting linking of contestant Inori to the Medbay.... again."
As soon as his order was given, the kitchen bell chimed.
A soft light flared on the screen, swallowing Hori's limp body. And just like Haruki before her, she vanished from the trial grounds. Her destination was filled with a group of Hataki and nurses ready to tend to her.
A breath many priests didn't realize they were holding escaped at once.
But Shiba's stare didn't soften.
"She lasted far beyond human limits," he muttered with intrigue threading through his voice. Hori was obviously super human.
"Mr Allen, is she perhaps your daughter?" he asked sir Scott who chuckled awkwardly. Wuwei as well laughed out from the no nonsense look on the Bishops face when asking.
Mr Shiba continued with even more seriousness. "Her strength is a splitting image of what you displayed during your own exams.... what's stranger is at such a young age!"
"Mr Shiba, she isn't my daughter....mines.... basically the exact opposite of contestant Inori. Wait, have you seriously forgotten Tobi?!" Sir Scott asked shocked.
"Don't expect me to keep track of your family members." He sighed then continued. "We might need to perform a drastic interrogation on her past."
Wuwei interrupted. "S-shiba, is that necessary? Scott already said she didn't bare the mark."
"Yes, she was oddly honest about having only one birth mark below her lip." Sir Scott added, remembering the quick talk he had with Hori at the cafeteria.
Mr Shiba frowned. "Dumdums, I'm not just talking about a Good Man. We see one every thousand years but apparently the one we're currently expecting is some how 32 years late!"
The other Priests present were left speechless by the casual back and forth between Wuwei and two Bishops.
Mr. Shiba leaned forward, his gaze now intent on Sir Scott. "Consider this, Mr. Scott, you're no Good Man, yet your strength defies human limits. I'm suggesting there's a possibility she's connected to one of the exceptionally powerful Priests!"
"You mean like Father Jiro?"
A nameless priest in the corner, awkwardly interjected,
Mr. Shiba's eyes locked onto the young Priest, his icy gaze still felt behind the transparent circular glasses he wore as he raked him from head to toe.
"Know your place, boy. Never interrupt a Bishop's conversation ever again."
Scaring the man senseless.
Sir Scott spoke as well.
"Besides, Father Jiro has no relatives besides lady Inori...." The mood suddenly turned grim, remembering the unnatural passing of Father Jiro's only daughter.
"Now you made everyone sad!" Wuwei pouted which only irritated the scolded Priest more, she wasn't a Bishop either but the Chinese woman was allowed to converse with them so casually.
Wuwei raised an arm. "Perhaps I should talk to her? You two already have so maybe I'll be lucky." Mr Shiba hesitated before nodding, nothing could go wrong from a friendly womanly talk.
"But be sure not to alarm her, she has already been visited by two Bishops, it's best not to scare her."
"Mr Shiba is right, she's got great potential, it'll be bad if she forfeited and couldn't become a Priest this year." Sir Scott answered courting Wuwei to bow, finally showing respect to her superiors before leaving the lavished lounge.
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With a gentle shimmer of white light, Hori materialized on a pristine white cot.
Her uniform, stiff, stained, and clinging to her with a sticky sensation — was already being completely removed by medics who rushed to her side.
She offered no resistance, paralyzed by the aftermath of Trial 4. Her face was deathly pale, breaths shallow, eyelids fluttering like she was still trapped in the horrors, unable to wake up.
"Pressure dropping slightly," one medic reported, cleaning Hori with wipes. "She's completely spent."
Another adjusted an oxygen mask onto her face. "Get her a saline drip. Her hydration levels are terrible."
A soft groan escaped her. It was a small, fragile sound that felt impossibly out of place coming from the girl who, minutes ago, stood unbreakable in a sea of enemies.
Warm…
Then cold…
Then heavy.
Her mind drifted in and out as Hori received her treatment. She couldn't tell how much time had passed. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.
It was hours later before consciousness remembered our protagonist.
An impatient tone looped over and over as if waking her up.
"…ori." A familiar, calming voice.
"…Hori?"
Light sifted through her senses. She forced her eyelids to lift, just a little.
"Hey," Haruki murmured from beside her bed, leaning on the railing with a faint smile, worry and amusement flickering behind it.
Hori blinked once. Twice. Her throat burned as she tried to speak.
"…points…" she whispered weakly.
Haruki stared at her, a little disappointed at her weak reaction from seeing him in a while.
Then sighed.
"You almost died and you're worried about your points?" hw nagged with a gentle head chop, aware Hori was still recovering.
Hori didn't respond — because to her, that was a perfectly reasonable priority. She was too weak to check her score. But was sure she passed with flying colors.