Crack~!
Knuckle wasn't able to react to the sudden acceleration of the two humanoids. That was because they accelerated at inhuman speeds and it shocked Knuckle, making him freeze out of fright. Fortunately, Red was able to notice Knuckle's reaction and he went out of his way to dodge a humanoid and simultaneously push Knuckle out of the way.
A piece of white tile shattered from where Knuckle was standing a second ago. The humanoid barely missed Knuckle, which greatly reassured Red.
"Thanks," Knuckle muttered as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Evidently, he was getting rather nervous. He didn't know what he just got himself into and he was beginning to be a burden even though he never wanted to be one. Knuckle felt very conflicted but he didn't speak a thing about it. He knew that admitting defeat would only aggravate the situation.
"Don't go getting cold feet on me now, Knuckle," Red said with a serious look on his face. He could see that Knuckl was barely holding up.
Come on Knuckle! If you don't help yourself then no one will! Red wanted to tell him but he couldn't cause him to unnecessarily panic even more.
"Sorry,"
Red didn't have the luxury of protecting Knuckle all the way even though he wanted to. Once again, one of the humanoids crouched low with its four appendages touching the floor as it began moving in a creepy way that resembled a water strider. It had the mobility, and it was so low that Red couldn't confidently attack it. As Red helplessly dodged the array of the humanoid's attacks, he heard the voice once again.
Technique: Spider Crouch... analyzing... analysis completed.
... ...
Red almost let out a surprised shout when his body began moving on its own. This time, he moved with a combination of an ax-swing and a hook punch. Every time the humanoid moved closer and pounced on him, he would deliver a precise hook to its face or stomach. His hooks were like an ax being swung to cut a tree and it packs a serious punch. Even Knuckle, who's a confident boxer, was surprised by his attacks.
Meanwhile, Knuckle was having a hard time dealing with the other humanoid. Just like the one attacking Red, it also crouched low enough that Knuckle couldn't reach him. Unlike Red who wasn't that muscular, Knuckle had a lot of body mass getting in the way of his attacks. Furthermore, he was way slower than anyone else in the room, making him very vulnerable.
Knuckle didn't have a choice but to raise his arms and defend at the constant blows that the humanoid dealt. If Red seemed like he was having a hard time, then Knuckle would probably be in tribulation.
That's it! Three minutes! So that's what it meant!
The duration of the fight!
That's probably what Blond meant about three minutes! Red arrived at the conclusion as he flashed a smile to Blond.
Blond let out a sigh of relief in response. It seems like Red finally got it! He thought to himself.
Let's see...two minutes. One more minute to go. Red said to himself, smiling. They only need to survive one more minute after all.
The moment you let down your guard, that's when the enemy would almost always come at you with full force. For Red and Knuckle, that was totally the case.
As Red was about to enter his celebratory state, the humanoid that was harassing him suddenly stopped moving and stood still. Red didn't hesitate to give it a killing blow but before he did so...
It charged towards Knuckle and stabbed him through the heart.
... ...
Before Knuckle realized what happened, a steady spurt of blood sprayed out of the gaping hole where his heart once was.
"Urghrrhg~! " He let out a deathly moan as blood flowed from his lips.
"KNUUUUCKLEE!!!" Red screamed.
Knuckle didn't have the strength to keep standing up. Just like a broken mannequin, he plopped to the ground as blood and foam soaked his mouth. His heart, which was severely impaled and removed by the humanoid, softly gravitated to the ground with a squish as it pumped a few more times before setting still.
Red ran straight up to Knuckle but he was stopped short by the two humanoids. The two humanoids were now beginning to look like killing machines due to their arms that transformed into long blades.
Without a shred of hesitation, Red charged forward and grabbed one of the arms of the humanoid. The humanoid furiously slashed at him while the other tried to stab him from the back. He violently kicked the humanoid behind him as he held on to the arm of the one in front of him. He tried to break the arm of the humanoid but it was no use. Instead, he braced his thigh and tried snapping the humanoid's arm through its elbow joint.
Crrrrkkkr~
"Aargh!" Red exclaimed as he felt the contact of the metal almost break his bone. But it was not for naught since he was able to sever the hand of the humanoid. Gritting his teeth, he proceeded to use the humanoid's arm as his sword and lunged it through its neck.
Five seconds. Red thought. He didn't even take a glance at the humanoid behind him, he just stabbed backward.
Everyone gasped at the sight of the humanoid, dangling lifelessly as the blade stuck itself on its neck.
Beeeep!!!
As the beep resounded all over Block-16, the onlookers became speechless. Meanwhile, Red rushed to Knuckle's aid. "Knuckle! Knuckle!" He kept on repeating but he was answered by deathly silence.
When the doors to the Testing room opened, the Assembly block recruits surrounded Red and Knuckle as they mourned his death. The group didn't utter a single word, they just sat there as tears streamed down their cheeks.
I guess Knuckle was close to everyone in the group. Red thought.
"YOU!" A recruit with a buzzcut suddenly screamed as he grabbed Red by the collar. "YOU SAID THE TWO OF YOU WILL GET OUT OF THERE ALIVE!"He screamed.
"I'm sorry..." Red trailed off. He was still holding Knuckle's lifeless body in his arms. "I'm sorry...." He repeated.
"... I'm sorry."
... ...
"... I'm sorry."