Alisa shuddered with fear, though Ethan's words were directed not at her but at Zariel. Even from a few meters away, she could sense how intimidating and terrifying Ethan's threat was.
"What...? Points...? Wait! Just finish it!" Zariel exclaimed with pity and a face as pale as a sheet of paper.
Ethan sighed, and lifted his head up, staring at the current points.
[440 - 2070]
Ethan had inflicted on Zariel wounds far more serious than his own, so it was no surprise that he had more points. However, it wasn't the maximum.
After all, the main goal of the Fourth Trial was to make the participants experience as much pain as possible.
[Time remaining - 2:30]
"Less than three minutes... That's enough." Ethan muttered in a calm voice, "Zariel, tell me, do you know the fastest way to kill a human?"
Then, Ethan's eyes traveled to Zariel's wings, "Well... In your case, I'm asking about humanoids."
Zariel quietly gulped.
"Silent? Fine, I'll tell you." Ethan's hand reached up to Zariel's head as his finger touched his forehead, "You need to aim for organs, especially the brain or heart. These two are crucial. In that case, it becomes very obvious what to do to avoid the enemy's quick death."
A chill ran down Zariel's back as Ethan towered over him, casting a shadow.
Ethan slowly walked around Zariel, stopping behind him, and kicked Zariel to the ground, forcing him to lie on his stomach.
"Considering you're still alive after everything that's happened to you, your body is pretty damn strong. So, you're going to die a long and painful way." Ethan uttered like a death ghost and brought his axe down on Zariel.
Crackle.
The blade of the axe sank into the base of the right-wing, cutting it in half.
"AAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!" Zariel roared in pain, it seemed his vocal cords couldn't convey that frightening sound exactly.
Ethan didn't know it, but he had chosen the best place to score as many points as possible.
For Angels, wings were the most important part of the body, on every level. With their wings, Angels could fly, defend themselves, fight, and even use them.
But, their wings also contained the most nerves as well as pain points. They were protected by feathers, but when their wings were wounded directly, the Angels felt an insane amount of pain.
So, considering that just in one swing, Ethan had cut half the nerves in Zariel's right-wing... well, the pain he was experiencing was too much for even the worst torture in hell.
Zariel's roar in agony caught everyone's attention, as everyone stopped fighting and turned around, looking at Ethan.
"Holy shit..." Magnus muttered as his jaw opened wide.
Everyone was in a daze, first from the fact that Ethan was missing his right eye, then from what he was doing to Zariel.
Nitra turned pale since she imagined that Angel could have been her. Ethan's desire for revenge might have saved her life today.
It was unclear whether Ethan was still enjoying it or not, but one thing was certain - he wasn't going to stop.
Another swing of the axe completely severed Zariel's right-wing, releasing a stream of scarlet blood covering part of Ethan's face.
"Wait... Stop..." Zariel muttered out of the last of his strength while everything in front of his eyes blurred, "I'm begging you..."
"Sorry, I don't accept pleas from insects." Ethan quickly replied, swinging the axe again and again and again.
The second wing flew off to the side, pushing Zariel to the limit. Thanks to his strong body he was still alive, but in less than a minute he would die from bleeding.
[The remaining time is 00:31!]
"Agh... That was hard..." Ethan muttered, placing his palm over his face and covering most of it, leaving only his one eye open.
The sun had almost set over the horizon, and because of the high peaks of the academy, there was little light coming into the main square. Eventually, the sun would soon be replaced by the moon, cold and lonely, being the harbinger of night.
'I survived today, but realizing everything that happened is not easy at all... My head is getting heavier with every passing second.' Ethan pondered.
[The remaining time is 00:10!]
"Fine. I have to finish my work first." Ethan nodded, gripped the axe tightly, and brought it down on Zariel's neck.
Angel's head, with a splash of blood, flew off to the side, spinning in the air as well as Zariel's long black hair. However, his empty eyes would remain like that forever. The fire of life would never burn in them again.
[Time remaining is 00:00!]
[Fourth Trial - Triumph of Pain, complete!]
[Scoring is in progress!]
[The table is being set up!]
At the same moment, all the barriers disappeared, and the participants could breathe a sigh of relief. Before Ethan's eyes, the white pillars went into the ground, fading away without a trace.
"That's it. At least for now..." Ethan muttered while the axe slipped from his hand.
He wasn't the only one who had been through a hard fight.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Magnus was breathing heavily, being covered in blood, but he had a satisfied smile on his face, however, so did Alf.
"Damn... That was intense. You have simply inhuman strength..." Alf muttered, trying to regain his senses, "You only got out of my grasp with brute force. Hah, that's not fair."
"Well, we should be used to injustice by now for this day, shouldn't we?" Magnus smirked.
Step. Step. Step.
Alisa with a worried expression ran to Ethan, whose gaze was both blank and deep.
"Ethan!" Alisa shouted out, waving her hand.
"Hey..." Ethan nodded slightly.
"How are you feeling? Are you alright? Oh my god, you're so seriously hurt!" Alisa gasped, covering her mouth with her hand when she saw Ethan's battered body.
Ethan shrugged, "None of that matters."
"Hmm?"
"Look." Ethan pointed to the top.
The table was already up, but before it revealed how many points each contestant had scored, it shone brightly. Then, golden particles began to fall onto the square like snowflakes.
One of them fell on Magnus's shoulder, and in a moment, all of his wounds disappeared. It happened to every participant without exception.
Ethan silently reached out for one particle that fell directly onto his palm.
All of his wounds flashed with golden light, healing quickly, all but his eye.