"..... -y!
"….-ey…..HEY!!!"
Sigurd jolted his body awake feeling a sudden painful impact on his body. His eyes fluttered open, terrorized in an incorrigible fear.
At the very same moment, he had to squint his eyes altogether, to not be blinded by the amount of light entering his eyes all at once suddenly.
Shaking his head in exasperation, Sig looked forward in reflex.
The delirium and the blurred sight started to clear slowly as the jarring sensation took hold of his body. He slowly moved, trying to grab and feel the environment around him.
"....W-Where!?"
As soon as he shouted his thoughts out he again felt a sudden impact on his stomach. Sending him flying into something solid this time.
"Chief! He is awake now."
COUGH COUGH
Sig groaned, coughing blood violently from the impact. Gritting his teeth from the pain he tried to take a better look around, as his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the light around him.
The first thing that came into view was several long rods in the front and the hard concrete ground on which he was currently lying. The bulging smell of something vile around him, as well as the two human shadows standing right above him.
It was a small empty boxy compartment with little to no place for air ventilation. The only distinctive thing in sight was the chains hanging down two of the three walls, with the small gate in between the long iron bars along with the long flashlight focused at his face.
"....A prison cell?"
"Oh? Do you like it?"
Sigurd rolled his eyes and turned around, following the trace of the unknown voice. A sudden deep scowl appeared on his face.
"I swear, every time I close my eyes I get transported to an even shittier place than the last."
Sig replied with etched annoyance in his voice. His eyes focused on the figure standing outside of the cell.
In the front of the prison cell, there stood a tanned man with a charming face and brimming vitality. His features were sharp and his clothes were doing very little to hide his body, which was mostly chiseled and muscular.
He smiled suddenly, before slowly dragging a chair in front of the cell.
Sigurd, who was silently observing him for a few moments, stood from the concrete ground. He shook his head again, adding in a deflated tone.
"So? Who are you now and why am I here?"
The man suddenly smirked dangerously at his remark, sending a shiver down Sig's spine. His eyes focused on Sig staring down at him from up to down, before letting out a roar of laughter.
"You can stop pretending now…. I already know what you really are."
Sig stood there with his mouth hung open from the absurd declaration. He had seen many raving lunatics in his short life, but he never saw someone as convinced as the man in front of him. For instance, he absolutely had no idea what the man was talking about at all.
"Oh! Then Please enlighten me about my own identity!"
The young man's smile vanished suddenly, hearing the angered tone, as he spelled out in a somber voice.
"The Invigilator."
All of a sudden, Sig found himself at his wit's end and went silent. The quick reply he heard was just that baffling to him.
After that his life just turned on its head, it just felt like a mushy dream. He did in fact try pinching himself awake from this, but ultimately it didn't work. Confirming he was very well alive and well and that this all was really happening.
'....What the heck is he even talking about?'
In the first place, it was already going weird enough. He had failed his first steal in his life, resulting in him being beaten to death… or at least to death's door.
Though the series of events which followed was just…. Incomprehensible. Seeing a mysterious human in a place that can't be Earth, who also just happened to disappear into thin air. However, it only continues with getting imprisoned for god knows how many days, before a charming man accuses him of being a school employee.
'.....'
Sig took a deep breath and just looked at them for a few good seconds, before asking in a agitated and confused tone.
"...Who? And why the hell do you think am I an invigilator?"
The man suddenly smiled again with bright eyes, as though he found something in this short conversation. He went on to nod a few times before replying in a nonchalant tone.
"Well because an invigilator is the only one capable of stopping an exam in the middle. At least, that's what the other ascenders told me.
"I don't understand the reason as to why you did that, I don't really care about that either. All that matters to me is you can end this trial without any problem, and let us proceed forward.
"After all, you already stopped our trial for one hour after our three days of unending suffering. So, we are asking you to just do it again."
The man suddenly stood up from his chair and unsheathed his longsword of pure robust iron. It was muddled with a thick scent of blood, along with the various stains left by fighting.
Following what looked like a signal, two grinning men stepped out of the side of the cells with guards' attire, one of them having an even greater physique than that of the charming man. While the other one dragged a heavy table with his single arm.
The charming man looked at both of them in indifference, before turning to Sig. However, there was now one significant difference from before. It was his demeanor.
Gone were the laid-back expressions he had in the past, replaced with a grim expression filled up to the neck with uncontained bloodlust.
".... I am telling you nicely right now, so just do as I say. End this trial right this instant and pass us on to the next stair…. Otherwise, I have many ways to make that work and I assure you, you wouldn't like even one of them. "
Sig recoiled back as soon as the man pointed his sword at his neck. Sweating profusely, he gulped a mouthful of saliva before shouting in a terrified manner.
"I-I swear, I don't know what you guys are talking about. The Ascenders or whatnot, this is my first time hearing about them and all of the invigilator bullshit. I accidentally ended up on the stairs before I had any chance to refuse."
The charming man shook his head slowly before turning to the guards in Sig's prison cell. He nodded at them before giving him a disgusted glance.
"So you are prepared to act till the end? Well, no matter really..." He sighed slowly before continuing.
"They just have to make sure you won't die."
The man at Sig's side suddenly moved, grabbing him by his hair the guard threw him at the side of wall with the the hanging shackles. He went on to lock both of Sig's hands before turning to the other guard.
The other guard smirked and moved the table he brought closer to Sig. Only then he was able to see what truly was lying on the top of the table-
A chainsaw along with knives of many sizes, a long chain wip, two long metal rods, and many different kinds of shapes which he did not recognize. But from the kind of sharpness they all had and the structure in which all of the tools were molted.
They could only be used for one single harrowing purpose.
Brutality.
Blood drained from Sig's face as he looked in between his tears and screams of pleading. He looked at the leaving man from behind, shouting with all of his capacity.
"I AM TELLING THE TRUTH. PLEASE! PLEASE LET ME GO. PLEASE!!!"
The charming man suddenly stopped and turned to look at both of the prison guards with an indifferent expression, adding in a solemn yet emotionless voice.
"Make sure he talks at all costs..."