**[End of Fifth Trial]**
The message hovered above Gyrs, now lying on the dusty ground, all his strength spent.
His was shield disoriented, and his armor shattered. He couldn't feel his bones, he wondered by what miracle he survived, sparing him the kindness of easy death. If he didn't receive help, He wasn't going to make it, He was sure.
Right now, he was covered in debris from the building he had crashed onto, after taking that blow from the Monster King, he was surprised his limbs were still intact.
Left in dust and slipping life, he heard a sound.
The sound of cracking.
Someone was removing the debris over him, from above.
It was dark, so all he could see was a hand, battered and covered in bandage, trying to help him.
Gyrs took that hand and climbed up, Lieutenant Sands waiting for him on the other side, as Miralda, the healer of their team, pulled him up.
"How many of us survived?" was Gyrs's first question. And based on the expressions they had, he didn't need to know the answer.
'Not many.' Miralda's face said while she started to heal him. And Gyrs couldn't think of what to say next.
Sands saw the half-dead soldiers on the ground, treated by the remaining heroes. Those with healer class among the awakened stayed in the back, surviving at the cost of their comrades. It can't be helped. There were five of them, even losing one would be a severe blow against that swarm of hounds.
Immediate medical attention is impossible for the soldiers and the first aid kits can only help them so much. Now, These healers are a godsend.
Sands learned his lesson, 'They are fighting for humanity. ' He thought. They were on his side, some even died, but it was too late.
Sands collapsed on his knees; the guilt of those lives lost, pressing on his mind. His head hurt.
There were many times he was given a choice to create a better outcome, but his ego clouded his judgment, he thought it was too easy for them when the night hounds were easily killed. Ignoring Jake's warning, he was partially responsible for the consequences.
Then a voice came behind him, "Where is Jake?" Gyrs asked.
The trial was over, and Sands needed to report back to the commander, that they succeeded? No. By all means, this mission should've failed. He was confused as to why the King-type monster stopped attacking.
Even more so when it took Jake somewhere. But the facts are clear.
"The monster took Jake. We don't know if he's alive or not." Sands said to Gyrs. "I'll go back and report this, when you get back on your feet, I ask you to regroup with others."
His attitude towards Gyrs was a lot more composed than usual. His view about them has changed. He needs to report to the commander everything that transpired.
"Don't worry," Sands said looking back, "I request a rescue mission from the Commander, for Jake."
They might've had their disagreements in the past, but after this, Jake has now become a comrade.
And soldiers don't leave their comrades behind during the war.
***
When Kai feels stressed, enough to take a toll on his mind, he snaps. Everyone does. but this is a different kind of 'snap'. Some kind of switch inside him gets flipped. And Zeff takes over the seat.
Kai knew that, and to avoid it, he forced himself to stop just before he got over the edge. He needs a clear mind to navigate through a crisis, and he can't let frustration guide his judgment.
'Okay, let's think this over calmly,' but his thought got interrupted when someone grabbed his left hand.
It was the referee guy, "Now place your hands together."
Like taking a handshake, Michel and Kai locked hands.
'This can't be good.' The referee tied his hand with a sharp metallic thread, woven together like a rope. It was impossible to remove by one hand. It was a strong wire. Can't burn it either, one can say looking at it.
Kai knows trouble when sees one. Hell, he sees it every day in the mirror.
"Start!"
Just as that signal to start reached his ears, Michael pulled his opponent, using his left hand, toward him. punching him using his free hand on the right.
Whack!
After that, it became a one-sided fight. Michael used all his trained might on Kai, dislocating a jaw and a tooth as a result.
Kai can't defeat him with just one hand. And with his hands tied, he can't escape either.
The barrage of assaults isn't going to end anytime soon either, he lost his chance to tap out and submit before he opened his mouth.
Small cuts appeared on Chris's face as Kai tried to resist.
But, like he had a score to settle, Michael grabbed Kai's free hand and gave him a headbutt.
"...!"
But just before he fell…
["Done with your charade yet?"] a voice echoed in Kai's mind, and he returned the favor using his head.
"!"
Kai smiled, "Nah, I just figured it out."
As much as Zeff hated to admit it, through their shared memory, he knew Kai was up to something here. Otherwise, he would never put up with pointless fights, no matter the situation. Kai was hardheaded, sure. But he is also smart enough to know what's better for him.
The reason he went along with this 'Tethered fight' was so he would gain information. On where he would go.
Kai made a backflip and twisted the left arm, locking Michael in his place.
He could've finished this with an uppercut to the jaw, but that was not what Kai was after. Instead, he said, "I surrender."
The crowd was just as surprised as his opponent when the fight concluded.
Kai made a point in his life to never get himself involved in pointless violence. It was his principle to never hurt others unless he/she is a real piece of sh*t and needed their lesson.
When Kai entered the Arena, reluctant as he was, he gave attention to everyone around him. Then he saw it.
A guy wearing a different set of clothes than the rest. Not a black T-shirt, so not a trainee. No lab coat either, so they were not part of the research team, Kai noted.
When the fight started he noticed several other people just like that. Guys with blue uniforms. There was a label on their chest.
Kai pieced together all the information in his mind and concluded. If there is weaponry in Area 6, who would look after it?
The researchers are too busy, they see activities requiring manual labor as nothing more than a waste of time, meaning there should be people under them. Then the trainees provided the ultimate defense for this place, so there were no guards placed at the entrance. The information about this facility was restricted.
So it only made sense that the henchmen of researchers would wear different clothes.
'If I can get one of them to talk then I can bid this place a farewell. ' Kai thought, as boos and slang came at him from the audience.
The fight was just getting good too, so the disappointment was visible when Kai threw the towel on their expectations.
His hand untied, Kai glanced sideways at his next target, just before leaving the arena.
["I suggest you hurry it up. The SPADES aren't gonna wait for you."] Zeff reminded, ["No one cares if you came here first, You have to steal that thing before they come."]
"I know," Kai replied, "And you know what it means to me."
***
Back at the entrance of Area 6, the vault of the door was open.
One man was lying on the floor, unconscious. He was covered in clothes stained with blood and burns, it had a nametag on it that said, 'Matthew'.
When Kai knocked out the first guy he found inside, Chris, he felt guilty leaving him half naked. So Kai gave him the clothes he stole. Which, he did the same for Matthew when he stole his identity.
"..." Though, There was one other man at the entrance right now.
He was trying to wake Chris up, trying to slap him in the face, despite his futile attempts to do so.
With his dream at its end, Chris saw, with his blurred vision, his savior.
"...Robert?" Chris said it with a tired tone and parched throat.
Robert's eyes widened in surprise as he realized who this man really was.
It all made sense just then. Chris acts strange around Hilda's lab, looking for something. Always trailing off somewhere, his thoughts unreadable. That was not the real Chris.
Robert was a cautious man, he had a knife in his left hand, hiding behind him. Just in case the man he was trying to wake up turned out to be an enemy.
But now…
Looking at the state of his close friend, he almost believed he was dead, it stung a pain in his heart. he couldn't explain it, but his emotions were speaking for him.
"Who did this to you?" Robert said, his hands trembling, blood vessels graying his eyes crimson.
Chris could understand Robert was angry for his sake, and it made him feel safer.
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*If you find any mistakes in the chapter, please comment them below so I can fix them as soon as possible.