Entrance Exam: Dolls Hunt [6]

"How many are still left?" Arthur asked, his voice tinged with fatigue.

Resting my hands on my waist, trying to catch my breath, I glanced at the dolls hanging from my belt. Seven of mine were black, while six of Arthur's had turned as well.

"We've got seven left between us," I replied, noting the tally in my mind.

We had been alternating in subjugating the Artificial Yureis. When it was my turn, Arthur would trap the Entities in his circle of flames, allowing me to deliver a perfect finishing blow with a wind spell. Conversely, when it was Arthur's turn, things became significantly more difficult due to the constant attacks aimed at him by other candidates.

To subjugate an Entity, Arthur had to release his circle momentarily, and it was precisely at those moments that we were bombarded by attacks from all directions. The intensity of the opposition was more severe than I had anticipated.

I couldn't understand why the hell they were so intent on making Arthur fail. Maybe they simply wanted to eliminate the competition; Arthur was undeniably strong. Whatever their motives, it fell on me to protect him during those vulnerable moments. Creating walls of wind to deflect attacks took a tremendous amount of effort, and I was reaching my limit.

Ideally, Arthur could have maintained his protective circle while I subjugated all twenty Entities for both of us, but this was an Entrance Exam. The Academy's overseers were watching, assessing our every move. We needed to demonstrate our individual capabilities, which meant sharing the workload evenly.

"Ha..." I exhaled deeply, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle in.

"Are you okay? Do you need some rest?" Arthur asked, his circle of flames flickering but holding steady.

Honestly, I was on the brink of collapse. I wouldn't be able to protect him from any more attacks unless I got some rest. But looking at Arthur, who was drenched in sweat and visibly straining to maintain his circle, I knew he was struggling just as much, if not more.

"It should be you asking for rest," I said, giving him a wry smile. He had been holding his flaming circle for nearly an hour now, a feat that was truly remarkable. Despite his exhaustion, he was pushing through with sheer determination.

Arthur chuckled weakly, wiping the sweat from his brow. "We're both in this together. Just a little more to go."

"Yeah, but you should release your circle already, otherwise you'll pass out from exhaustion," I said, wiping my sweaty forehead with my sleeve.

"If I cancel it, we're both dead. Well, more me than you," Arthur replied with an exhausted smile.

"I don't think so... I think your enemies are pretty pissed off at me as well now," I said bitterly, glancing toward Ethan Borg and his gang.

The glares that had been solely directed at Arthur were now also focused on me.

"This is bad..." Arthur muttered suddenly.

"What's bad?" I asked.

"Ethan and his guys seem to have obtained all the dolls they needed," Arthur said seriously. "Which means..."

"Which means what?"

"Which means they're going to go all out against us," Arthur said grimly.

"Are you kidding me? Weren't they going all out already?"

"Let's run," Arthur said, looking at me intently.

I understood immediately. Staying in our current spot would only lead to disaster. If they surrounded us, it would be over. Our best option was to run and buy some time until we could figure out a solution to our predicament.

I nodded at him, and Arthur released his circle. At that moment, we both bolted into a fierce run.

An hour had passed, and the area had begun to empty. Some candidates had already qualified, having collected the ten dolls and left the area. Others were passed out on the ground, while those with injuries were being taken away by spell.

"Hey, maybe we should check if some of the unconscious candidates have any black dolls?" I suggested as we ran.

There were definitely some candidates who had been defeated halfway through despite subjugating a few Entities. The dolls would still be hanging on their belts. However, many other candidates were also on the lookout for such opportunities to grab others' dolls.

Most of the dolls I found on the ground, as expected, were empty white ones. But we couldn't afford to waste time. The more we lingered, the more dangerous our situation became.

"Hey Arthur! Do you hear me—huh?" I turned around to see Arthur had stopped running.

What is he doing?!

I followed his gaze and saw a pair of candidates—a boy with spiky hair and a pretty black-haired girl—fighting against what seemed to be Ethan's goons. Both of them had nine black dolls each and were almost done, but they were surrounded by other candidates on Ethan's orders.

Doesn't he have anything better to do?!

I mean, he already has all the dolls necessary to leave this place, yet he's focusing on taking all of us out!

"Fray," Arthur called out.

"Y–Yeah?"

"Let's help them out."

My eyes widened. "Are you serious? At least if those guys had dolls, I'd say yes, but..."

Ethan was smart enough not to send candidates with dolls to attack us so they wouldn't get robbed. He sent ones without any dolls instead. I noticed that most of the candidates under his orders were the ones pillaging dolls from unconscious candidates. One of them stood behind a pile of dark dolls—an impressive, almost shocking number. It looked like they could account for at least fifty or so candidates.

"Follow me!" Arthur went ahead.

"W–Wait! I didn't even agree yet!" I complained but followed him reluctantly.

Shouldn't we use them as a distraction to escape?

But then again, there were still guys after us in the end.

"Need help?!" Arthur shouted with a grin, swinging his sword.

"Ughh!"

"Haa!"

"Gah!"

Fire erupted in a flaming wave, striking several candidates away. The boy with spiky hair turned around, frowning and readying his sword to hit us.

"Wait! We aren't enemies! We are also targeted by Ethan Borg," I quickly raised my hands in surrender.

The boy hesitated for a moment, glancing at Arthur and me with a mixture of suspicion and relief. "Alright, but keep your distance," he said, lowering his sword slightly.

"Let's help each other," Arthur smiled.

But suddenly the dark-haired girl swung her sword at me or so I thought but her sword swung down on one of the candidates who was about to attack me. 

"I don't think you can help us." She said focusing back on fighting the others.

I clenched my fists ignoring her remark.

Arthur and I positioned ourselves beside the pair, ready to face the oncoming candidates. The battle was fierce, with fire, wind, and steel clashing against Ethan's goons. The air crackled with energy as Arthur's flames combined with my wind spells, creating a deadly storm that pushed our enemies back.

"This guy…"

In the midst of the chaos, I noticed Ethan himself standing at the edge of the battlefield, directing his forces with precision. His eyes met mine, and a smirk spread across his face. He was enjoying this wasn't he?

"We need to break through their line and get those last dolls," Arthur shouted over the din of battle.

"Agree, let's steal his Dolls," I replied with a smile, summoning a powerful gust of wind that scattered several opponents.

"Something wrong with your head? Look at all the people in front of him," the boy frowned, shaking his head.

"Well, if you're scared, we won't force you!" Arthur grinned, rushing ahead without wasting any time.

I smiled to myself, feeling a bit inspired by him. Clenching my sword, I decided to use all my essence for this final offensive. Normally, I would never take such a risk, but Arthur's influence was pushing me to some new limits I guess.

Arthur and I pressed forward, cutting through the ranks of Ethan's minions. Arthur was the most dangerous, his flames blazing a path ahead with ease. I focused on repelling the attacks aimed at Arthur and covering our blind spots with gusts of wind. However, the attacks intensified, and more enemies targeted us.

Suddenly, a powerful shockwave of sword swings rippled in front of us, striking down more than two candidates. There was no need to turn around to see who it was. The boy and girl had flanked our sides, understanding our fatigue and stepping in to support us. Now, Arthur could focus on the front, and I could secure our rear. It was perfect teamwork for people who barely knew each other.

"Almost there!" Arthur called out as we neared the pile of black dolls.

Ethan's smirk faded, replaced by a scowl. "What are you doing?!" He yelled at his men.

I couldn't help but enjoy his reaction. He barked orders to his remaining forces, but it was too late. We had the momentum, and nothing could stop us now. Some of his men even started running away, scared by the combined attacks of Arthur, the girl, and the boy. It was indeed a terrifying sight—three formidable fighters working together seamlessly.

"D–Damn it!" Ethan, with his belt already full of black dolls, stepped back with a few candidates.

"There!" Arthur shouted.

Finally, we reached the pile of dolls. Arthur and I quickly grabbed the ones we needed, securing our victory. The boy and girl followed suit, taking their share.

"Shoot all your attacks at them!!" Ethan's shout suddenly rang from behind.

I didn't need to turn around to know that a barrage of attacks was ready to onslaught us like a tsunami.

"We have to get away now!" Arthur shouted.

"I have a way!" I stepped out, with a solution.

"A way to what?" The girl asked impatiently.

"It might hurt a little and it's the first time I'm doing it, but it will get us out of this mess, I can control it," I said.

"And you want us to trust you?" The boy was dumbfounded.

"I believe in Fray. Do it," Arthur said confidently.

I smiled as I raised my sword, imitating Arthur's movement when he cast his flaming circle. Arthur, noticing it, widened his eyes in surprise before grinning.

It was actually a spell I had trained with but could never fully complete. However, Arthur's movements helped me visualize what I wanted. While the boy and girl kept the others at bay, I summoned a breeze around us, which soon turned into a small gust of wind.

"Third Rank Wind Spell! Bring us—harggghh!!!!"

Before I could finish, we were all propelled into the air like leaves caught in a strong wind.

"FRAAYYYY!!!"

"W–What the hell?!"

"Ugh!"

Arthur, the boy, and the girl each let out a unique reaction as we flew out of the zone at an unusual speed, qualifying in the process.