Elias slowly approached the shadow, but he didn't attack right away. It didn't matter if it was Dreke or his servant; all of them were stronger than him.
Even when he was perfectly fine, he couldn't defeat them, let alone now when he could barely raise his hand. He was on his last breath and didn't have the opportunity to gamble.
This was his last opportunity. Everything he had suffered here was for this moment.
He reached out his hand and picked up the syringe-like object that was lying on the ground.
Dreke sensed some movement on the table. He frowned and looked in the direction of the syringe, only to notice that it was no longer there.
Confused, he turned around, only to see a bloody figure that looked like a humanoid monster that had come straight out of a horror movie.
He was taken aback and didn't react in time. By the time he could react, it was already too late as Elias stabbed the syringe straight through his chest, pumping the entire virus into his heart.
Dreke stumbled back, his eyes widening in disbelief. He pushed Elias back, and quickly pulled out the syringe, but it was too late. The virus had already entered his bloodstream.
"You! What did you do?!!" he stammered, his voice trembling in disbelief. He, the creator of death, was now staring it in the face. The virus that he had perfected to defy all protection, had entered his body.
He had barely finished creating the virus and hadn't even started working on an antivirus. Even if he started now, it felt like it was going to be too late.
Elias opened his lips, as if trying to say something. Unfortunately, even as his lips moved, no words came out.
If he could speak, Dreke would have heard his own words being fired back at him. "Make it more enjoyable for me, my precious test sample."
Even if it was not reality, but he had finally succeeded! He had taken down Elias. As long as the virus was as dangerous as Dreke said, then there was no escape for him. Both of them were going to die here.
Elias felt his strength finally failing him, and collapsed to the floor. Still, he had no regrets anymore. Even if it was not reality, but hearing that bastard's painful cries was a sight to behold.
For Elias, this was not the end. Instead, this was just the beginning. It was fine with false Dreke, but he wasn't going to give such an easy death to the real one. Instead, he was going to make him regret being born in this world, and targeting his family.
Just like the fake Dreke was suffering, he was going to make the real one suffer even more. Not just him, but everyone related to him.
Elias had completed the trial, but he didn't want to leave this place yet. He wanted to listen more. He wanted to listen to Dreke roar like a beast as his body melted with all his organs.
Dreke, meanwhile, felt a burning sensation spreading through his veins. The virus was now consuming him from the inside. He stumbled, his hand reaching out to steady himself on the table, knocking over vials and instruments in his panic.
He looked down at his hand, watching in horror as black veins started spreading across his skin like webs of a spider.
"No... this can't be happening," he gasped, his panicked voice growing weaker.
He crashed to the floor, landing with a thud beside Elias. Dreke was gasping for breath, his body wrecked with spasms. He tried to speak, to curse Elias, or even call his guard, but the words were caught in his throat.
Just like Elias, he had also lost his vocal chords. He couldn't say a single syllable.
Elias, despite his own agonizing pain, felt a flicker of satisfaction. As his consciousness faded, he saw Dreke's body twitch and melt, mirroring his own suffering. The virus didn't discriminate, as it was devouring its creator.
After five minutes of pure nightmarish torture, Dreke finally took his last breath. He had died, and Elias' trial was over. He could finally leave this cruel imitation of earth and his torment.
As Elias couldn't see anything until the last moment, he didn't notice the screen that appeared to congratulate him on his success.
It also graded his performance, but he couldn't even see the grades.
....
After what felt like an eternity, Elias slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't in the lab anymore. Instead, he was lying on a table, his hand still on the crystal in the center.
The crystal wasn't shining anymore, as if it had already served its purpose. The Awakening Ceremony was complete, and Elias had passed.
He was the last person to pass the Awakening Ceremony, and it had taken much longer than for the other youngsters. However, he couldn't care less.
He was only curious about the class he had received, as it was going to decide how he could destroy everything he aimed to destroy.
He wanted a Destroyer Class, something that could bring this world to its knees. However, he didn't know how to even check his class.
"Status Screen?" he called out, trying whatever came to mind. Albeit, nothing appeared in front of him.
"Class?" He tried something else, but the outcome was the same. Elias tried again and again, but he just couldn't find the trigger word.
At this point, he even started wondering if there was a trigger word in the first place. He had to ask someone else, but he was all alone here.
He walked over to the edge of the pillar's surface and looked down, seeing only clouds.
"Can I even get down from here?" he scratched the back of his head. He had somehow reached the top, but getting down was just as hard.
"Hmm? What's this?" While he was looking at the clouds, he saw some strange information appearing in the corner of his vision.