Step. Step. Step.
A muscular young man in a white shirt covered in blood slowly paced amidst the empty corridor. His look was exhausted, but his face was serious, filled with determination to do whatever was necessary to survive.
In his hand was a metal bat, with crimson droplets dripping from the end of it.
"So today I officially became a murderer? Well... the old rules don't matter now, right? Moreover, villains are always stronger than heroes in the real world, aren't they?" The young man smirked, staring at the black egg in his palm. It was missing a tiny fragment.
In critical situations, people could change significantly or simply reveal their secret desires, however, it needed a powerful catalyst. The fact that the Angels had destroyed the Government Palace in an instant showed everyone that they had no choice but to follow the rules.
Some were trying to find a peaceful solution while others were stabbing them in the back.
"Agh... What happened here...?"
The young man walked past a ruined classroom, inside of which were two people who were already definitely dead. Against the wall was a girl without half of her body, and next to her lay a young man with gray hair, in a lake of his own blood.
"Lea... and that's Ethan, right?" The young man muttered in disbelief, his gaze darkening for a moment, "Hah, it's rather ironic that those two ended up together and died... The naive but kindest girl that secretly wanted to be his wife and..."
The young man fell silent, looking at Ethen, then continued, "And the cunning bastard who was born to be on top, not setting an example for the others, but acting as if he came from the most ruinous corners of the Dark Outskirts."
"It won't be as interesting without you, but I'm glad you're dead. I'm sure you were trying to save her and it ruined you." The young man smirked, then he looked at Angel and the black egg, "I wonder... Will I be able to handle this with you? Demons are natural enemies of Angels, aren't they?"
Throwing one last glance at Ethan, the young man turned around and walked off in an unknown direction. He was one of the first to pass the First Trial, his determination surpassing the others.
The minutes passed one after another, flowing in one direction like grains of sand in an hourglass, slowly approaching the start of the Second Trial.
[Time remaining - 3:24!]
"Agh!!!"
Suddenly Ethan took a deep breath, greedily gasping for air. A minute was enough time for him to come to his senses, and once he did he anxiously unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his chest.
Ethan expected to see a horrible scene, but instead he saw nothing. His chest was fine, with no wounds, scratches, or even blood, everything was clean.
"Was it just me...?" Ethan muttered in mistrust, "No, it definitely happened. Shit, that egg is inside me now. What the hell is going on here!"
He wasn't the only one who had gotten the egg, everyone who had managed to survive up to the current moment had gone through it since it was impossible to pass the First Trial without it.
The eggs were the definition of their path, the beginning, and their future power.
Ethan glanced at Lea, then with a dark face approached her. He closed her eyes and threw his jacket over her. It was the best he could offer.
"ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!"
A furious roar as a scream in agony spread around, causing shudders shaking the buildings.
Centipede once again caught Ethan's gaze, however, this time the monster didn't act as majestic and intimidating as before.
"What the fuck..." Ethan muttered looking at the Centipede's twisting body, which was trying to dodge the glowing projectiles coming at it from below.
The place where it was happening was not far from the Academy, just in front of the bank that had been robbed today. Ethan knew it better than anyone, every building, every alleyway he'd passed by every day for years.
"ROOOAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!"
Centipede roared again, abruptly changing its direction, collapsing into the street, and devouring everything in its path with its jaw filled by hundreds of teeth. Then, Centipede rose upwards, but something had changed.
"Agh...? Is that really...?" Ethan's eyes went wide at the sight of the dark silhouette that was on Centipede, gripping tightly to its outgrowths.
The silhouette was small, literally tiny, however, its cold eyes never lost the confidence they radiated.
Centipede began to rotate her body parts in different directions, trying to throw the silhouette off of her, and the monster succeeded. The silhouette fell onto the ruined roof of the bank, but deftly, doing a somersault to lessen the damage from the fall.
"Trsk! Trsk! Trsk!"
An eerie gnashing sound spread from Centipede's scales as the monster's scarlet eyes poured with blood and boundless anger.
Anyone who saw it could only feel fear mixed with the realization that whoever the silhouette was, its life was over. There was no escape in this chaos, they were all but insignificant cogs turning only to die in one of the Trials.
Then, the Centipede lunged forward, swift and deadly....
Click.
A bright explosion blew the monster's head to pieces, shaking the air with massive shockwaves, and causing everything around it to freeze for a moment.
Flesh and blood scattered around, some pieces falling right next to the silhouette as well as half of the Centipede's head.
The silhouette sat down on the head of the monster he had killed with a calm look and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. A few exhales of smoke were his reward as much as a way to relax, exhaustion quickly filled his eyes.
Perhaps it was a miracle or a one-off, unlikely to happen again, but it was enough.
This fight, the explosion, and the smoke from the cigarette were important proof that fighting was possible.
Unconsciously a sly grin appeared on Ethan's face with a dangerous gleam among his eyes.
The angel who hadn't moved slightly turned his head, but his eyes were still closed. He stared in the direction of the silhouette for a while, then everything returned to normal.
At that moment, a lightning flash went off in Ethan's head as he couldn't contain his emotions that surged through his body.
"I see... We all play the same game by the same rules, literally everyone... Hehehe, that explosion was impressive, but the information is also a powerful weapon, isn't it?"
Centipede, Bank, and Silhouette were outside the academy, so they were not under the dome Ethan was in. They were in a separate area with another Angel who was watching it.
Despite what the silhouette did, the Angel of the bank area didn't take any action, he was doing his part, waiting for the end of the first Trial.
[Time remaining: 0:00!]
[Time has expired!]
[The First Trial has come to an end!]
The room Ethan was in was half destroyed, so he could see other parts of the academy and some people in the distance. Some breathed a sigh of relief, and some....
A man's head exploded, covering the window with blood trickling down.
At the same moment, screams of horror echoed through different parts of the academy. The Trials could not be ignored, and the rules were inviolable for everyone.
Ethan gulped.
Death was more than real, as was fear.
"Fine, all I have to do is act by the rules and use them to accomplish my goals. Well, that sounds like the right job for me." Ethan smirked, then he became wary as Angel first came into motion.
Angel lowered his arms with open palms and spread his snow-white wings wide, shining in the sunlight.
Hundreds of feathers flew out of Angel's wings, leaving a golden plume behind them. Each feather headed in a different direction, toward a particular target, one of which was Ethan.
The feather moved swiftly like a deadly blade.
Ethan's eyes went wide, he didn't have time to dodge, but as soon as he thought about it the feather stopped right in front of him, hovering in the air.
[Beginning of the Second Trial - Treasure Hunt.]
[Follow the feather to find your treasure!]