He raised a fist in front of me and I had to fight every instinct I've ever been trained to do when a shot was thrown at me. He punched me in the face with his large fist and I stumbled back as blood sprayed from my cheek. "AH!" I barely caught my footing before he punched me again just as hard on the other side of my face.
I fell to the ground but he pulled me back to my feet by my arm and punched me in the stomach. I coughed up blood and I was forcing every muscle in my body to not fight back. All I wanted to do was hit that smug look off Galund's face, or at least get out of the way so he couldn't hit me again. As he continued to beat the pulp out of me, my mind could only think about how all of this could be over right now if I gave in and dodged.
May couldn't watch anymore and turned away as she hugged Raimu's arm. Raimu cringed as he saw me get beaten over and over and Grimwore watched as if he was studying me. I couldn't catch my breath before I was hit again, and more pain shot down every nerve of my body. I became angrier as time went on, and by the time the hourglass was halfway spent I was at my breaking point.
I was filled with so much rage I genuinely thought I was going to scream and hit Galund as hard as I could. By now I was covered in bruises and cuts, and my face took the brunt of it. My lips were split and I had two black eyes. I could hardly breathe through my broken nose and some of my teeth were cracked.
I was in so much pain I couldn't believe I allowed someone to do this to me for so long. I was about to go over the edge when the voice of reason in my head stopped me. 'I can't quit! I've come too far to quit now!! I need to find a way to release this anger without failing the trial!!' Galund then punched me again and I fell to the ground.
He laughed as I managed to stand up shakily. "What's the matter? Having trouble holding back? Haha." I spit out a piece of my tooth and wiped the river of blood that was falling down my cheek with the back of my hand. "Shut up and hit me harder!!" Galund's smirk became confusion. "Wait, what?" I yelled louder from how angry I was. "Your hits are pathetic!!! My grandmother could do better!!! Now hit me again and this time, do it right!!!"
Galund was stunned as well as the rest of the crowd. Even Grimwore looked as if he'd never heard someone say that before. Galund became angry and clenched his fists. "Are you insane?! You know I'm allowed to kill you, right?!" I yelled back as I tried to remain conscious. "Not with those hands made of feathers!! I've bled more from a paper cut!!"
Galund's glare intensified. "Oh yeah?! I was just going easy on you! Let's see you take this!" He then roundhouse kicked me in the neck and I coughed out another mouthful of blood as I fell to the ground. I could barely breathe from feeling him hit me twice as hard as he was before. "T-That was... So weak!" Galund was pissed now and pulled me back up by my hair. "Ah!"
He hit me again in the stomach even harder and my vision became blurry. "I-I've been, hit harder by a stuffed animal!" Galund groaned and threw me to the ground. He kicked me again and I couldn't move anymore but continued to yell at him. For some reason, my plan was working. Now I was more focused on pissing Galund off than I was on quitting. By yelling I was releasing all the anger I had built up inside me and now it was easier to take the beating.
Seeing him get so angry at my words made it worth being hit twice as hard. After a while, Galund got tired of hearing me mock him and grabbed me by the neck. He pulled me to my feet and held a tight enough grip so that I would lose the little air I had. "You think this is funny?! It's about long overdue that the pathetic human didn't make it out of Raknorah alive!"
He squeezed my neck tighter and I felt my consciousness start to slip from my mind. "I-I know y-you won't kill me, Galund..." Galund's anger faltered for a second before it returned again just as severe. "What makes you say that?" I tried to catch my breath. "B-Because... I... Trust you..." His expression became surprised and his grip loosened.
I gasped as I was able to breathe again and he dropped me a second later. I fell to my knees and suddenly, one of the orcs by the hourglass shouted, "Time's up!" I turned my head to see that all the sand had fallen from the hourglass through my foggy vision, and everyone around us started cheering. I looked back up at Galund as he shook his head. "You really are something else."
He handed his hand out to me and I took it a moment after. He lifted me back up and helped me keep my balance as we turned to Grimwore. Grimwore stood up from his seat and laughed. "It looks like you've won yet again. You've shown me that you are capable of control and hereby pass the trial of endurance." I tried to focus as my surroundings were spinning in front of me. "What? It's hard to hear from all the ringing!"
Grimwore then turned to Theodius. "The-" Theodius raised his hand and interrupted Grimwore as he sent magic to heal me. "Yeah yeah, I got it." I felt amazing in the next moment as my body repaired itself and I could see and hear again. I straightened my posture so I wasn't supported by Galund any longer and May flew up to hug me. "Dedrin!" She released me after a few seconds and I could tell that she was very worried. "I'm fine now," I said to calm her nerves and I heard Theodius mumble under his breath. "Yeah, because of me."
May turned to thank Theodius and Grimwore approached me. "Now, for the symbol of your victory." I shrugged one shoulder as I crossed my arms. "Right. Is it a bracelet or something?" Grimwore smirked as he held up a small gold ring. "No, it's a piercing." My eyes widened. "Wait, what?!" Another orc then came to hand a needle with a noticeably sharp end to Grimwore. He continued to look at me as he took it from them. "Where do you want it?"
I felt a sudden panic and May was interested in the idea. "Oo, you'd look so cool if you got it done on your ear!" I somehow found my voice through my speechlessness. "W-Why a piercing? Can't I just get another necklace?" Grimwore shook his head. "Each token we give you symbolizes your accomplishments in our culture. You can't move on without getting it." Theodius nodded while laughing a little. "Now, I don't mind healing you after this one, as long as I get to watch! Haha!"