Examination End [II]

Samael drew in a shuddering breath, the scalding air nearly burning his lungs as he forced himself to stand.

His left arm dangled uselessly to his side and his chest was throbbing as if he'd been trampled by a stampede.

He was still reeling from the bone-rattling uppercut Alexia had landed on his chin, but he managed to shake off the worst of the dizziness.

Before him stretched a vast pit of bubbling lava he'd created to eliminate Alexia.

And across that fiery pool stood the protagonist himself.

Michael's face was a picture of reluctant shock and violent aggression, his dark eyes fixed on Samael with a simmering hostility.

"Alright, one down... time to put the other in his place," Samael muttered, wincing as he clutched his bruised chest.

Alexia's hits had left him worse off than he cared to admit, especially that last blow. His chest ached so painfully that it was hard to stand straight.

If he hadn't closed in at the last moment to soften the impact and minimize the damage she dealt to him, he was certain her punch could've cracked his orb — and maybe a rib or two.

So, yeah. It was painful. But he had no time to dwell on it.

Deep fissures spread across the shrinking island of solid ground beneath them.

Moments later, both Michael and Samael were forced to leap back onto separate patches of land as the rising lava swallowed the ground they'd just been standing on.

Samael glanced at the video boards around the coliseum. Six minutes remained until the exam was over.

Alexia had done her job well. One of Michael's two orbs was badly damaged. Just a few good hits would shatter it completely.

But the problem was that she had done her job on Samael, too.

One of his own three orbs was in an even worse condition than Michael's — so delicate that a stiff breeze might destroy it.

Once again, Samael was now faced with two choices.

He could try to run, hoping to stay clear of the protagonist for the remaining six minutes… or he could stand his ground and fight.

But running meant giving up any chance of securing first place since he doubted he had more points than Michael.

Samael knew as long as the protagonist was in the exam, no one else could win it.

So the only way for him to start the term as the Ace of the first-years was to eliminate Michael and claim that title for himself.

"So be it," Samael declared, launching himself onto a floating patch of solid ground amid the roiling sea of lava.

Across from him, Michael did the same, leaping onto the nearest island. Both of them were racing toward a central platform, determined to end this once and for all.

Neither was in any shape to prolong this fight.

Michael's right arm wasn't working, much like Samael's left one – all courtesy of Alexia.

And, for the first time since this morning, Michael was finally showing signs of real exhaustion.

His condition wasn't nearly as bad as the others, but still, his movements had sort of slowed down.

Samael, on the other hand, was nearly out of Essence. He could manage only two, maybe three, more transmutations before he'd be running on empty.

After that, he was most probably going to faint from crippling fatigue and Essence depletion.

"Heh." A smirk pulled at his lips. "The odds are against me."

The odds were indeed against him. But Samael had always felt more alive while fighting a losing battle… and winning it.

He reached the center platform first, with Michael landing opposite him a second later.

They stared each other down in taut silence.

Then, without a word, they both lunged forward.

Thwaaam—!

The patch of ground they were on trembled under the impact of their clash, the force of which sent Samael staggering back.

Predictably, the protagonist's strength pushed him off balance.

Michael didn't waste the advantage. He pounced forward and grabbed Samael's shoulder, seizing his jacket in a tight grip.

Knowing he couldn't match Michael's strength, Samael wriggled free, slipping out of the jacket and leaping back.

Michael tossed aside the tattered cloth that was left in his grasp and charged after him again, this time aiming to grab Samael by the shirt.

Samael tried to dodge, but he wasn't nearly fast enough this time. Michael caught up, slamming his palm into Samael's gut and grabbing hold of his shirt.

Samael gasped, the breath knocked out of him by the blow. Before he could even collect himself to push Michael away, he felt a sudden, sharp pain.

The fabric in Michael's grip convulsed, hardening into a needle that stabbed inward at Samael's stomach.

Only the protective barrier from his orbs saved him from being skewered.

But that protection came at a steep price.

One of Samael's three orbs shattered.

But Michael still wasn't ready to let go. He kept trying to push the hardened fabric spike deeper, as if determined to break another orb.

With no other choice, Samael activated his ability, ripping his own shirt to tiny shreds and escaping Michael's relentless hold.

With his upper body now bare, Samael tottered back, but Michael lunged at him again, landing a brutal kick to his chest.

Samael stumbled as the air escaped his lungs in a single, ragged gasp. His vision blurred, the pain in his ribs throbbing in time with his heartbeat.

Michael dropped to one knee, pressing his palm to the ground, and summoned a jagged stone dagger from the rocky floor.

Before Samael could even regain his balance, Michael was already before him, dagger in hand, slashing forward with blinding speed.

The blade sliced through the air, closing in on Samael's chest with a swiftness that seemed almost impossible to evade.

He barely had any time to process the attack, let alone try to dodge it. The stone blade was moving too fast… too inescapable.

It was over for him.

With this next move, Michael would shatter Samael's second orb. And before giving him a chance to retaliate, he would crush the third as well.

Two moves — that was all it would take to end Samael.

It was unavoidable. Michael was faster than him, and his condition was also better by far. 

On the other hand, Samael was barely moving.

Honestly, a broken scarecrow with no legs had better chances of dodging Michael's attack than him.

This was checkmate.

Time seemed to slow as Michael's dagger neared Samael's chest, the sharp tip mere inches away from piercing flesh.

Michael could already taste his victory — taste his revenge!

Oh, how sweet it all was!

He was going to win! He was going to humble this arrogant bastard and finally put him in his place. He was going to show— wait…

Something was wrong.

Time was… literally slowing down.

The speed of his dagger through the air began to lag, like it was moving through some sort of thick, resistant liquid.

Michael's eyes widened as he realized something — it wasn't him! It was the dagger!

Somehow, the jagged stone blade wasn't following through with the same speed he was thrusting it!

But why? Its weight was the same! Its mass was also the same! Nothing had changed! So what was the problem?! What was happening?!

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Michael saw her.

On a patch of ground across the fiery river of molten lava stood a girl.

Hair as white as freshly fallen snow, eyes blue like the endless expanse of a frozen ocean, and skin so flawlessly pale that she looked like a porcelain doll brought to life, untouched by the warmth of the sun.

Michael's eyes snapped down to the Origin Card floating around her waist, its surface pure white with a radiant green sigil glowing at its center.

Juliana had finally decided to use her innate power.

He didn't know what her ability was exactly, but somehow, she was slowing down the speed of his dagger.

Unbeknownst to him, his assumption was only half right. Juliana was indeed slowing the dagger down — but not its speed.

She was slowing the time around it.

And because Michael was holding the dagger, he was being slowed down as well.

Juliana's innate power allowed her to warp time around small objects — making them move faster or slower.

All this happened in the span of mere seconds.

Realizing the threat, Michael let go of the dagger, watching it fall to the ground in slow motion.

But by then, Samael had already seized his outstretched hand.

Before Michael could react, Samael yanked him in, spun around, and released his grip, sending him stumbling forward.

That's when Michael saw the edge of the floating platform drawing near.

He stopped himself just in time to avoid falling over into the lava and turned to face Samael, who was already crouched low, hand on the ground.

Michael knew what was coming. Samael was going to split open the ground and make him fall into the lava, just like he had done against Alexia.

But unlike Alexia, Michael wouldn't give him enough time to pull that off.

He lunged at Samael, determined to end this before the golden-haired boy could use his ability.

…But maybe because of his tunnel vision, he failed to notice that Juliana had crossed over to them. 

And she was now charging toward him herself.

By the time he did notice, her shoulder had already slammed into his ribs, tackling him with such force that both of them toppled over the edge, plummeting toward the lava below.

"Haaah!" In that final moment, Michael understood the insidious cunning of Samael's plan.

That bastard had kept his focus locked solely on himself, baiting Michael with a false sense of danger to give Juliana enough time to close in.

By then, no matter what Michael might have done, he was already lost.

Why? Because if he hadn't noticed Juliana rushing him — like he didn't — she would've tackled him over the edge — just as she did — and he would've lost — as he was about to.

But even if he had spotted her in time and tried to fight her off, Samael would have seized that momentary distraction to rupture the ground beneath them, sending both of them plunging into the lava.

In truth, that vile scoundrel had planned to sacrifice his Shadow from the start.

Michael's gaze dropped to the white-haired girl, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as they fell toward the molten lava together.

He felt a twinge of pity for her.

This truly was checkmate.

For him.

•••

I kept kneeling there on the ground, watching them both topple over the edge.

A split second before the scalding lava could touch them, a pair of shadows fell from above, blurring past me.

They grabbed Juliana and Michael, whisking them out of harm's way in the blink of an eye before vanishing from the grounds.

It was… over.

I looked down at my score and grinned weakly.

[236pts].

Originally, I'd had [312pts]. After earning three more by eliminating Alexia, I'd lost an orb to Michael, causing a 25% reduction to my total score.

But now, with Michael out of the game and his score cut down by 25% three times, my points should be enough to secure first place.

I hadn't gotten those two last points from him because Juliana was the one who eliminated Michael… and herself in the process.

I agree, it was a reckless strategy.

But it was the only way I could've won against Michael.

I won because of three things.

First, unlike him, I wasn't fighting alone. I still had a pawn to sacrifice right until the very end of the game.

Second, once the terrain shifted to a sea of lava, I no longer had any real reason to challenge Michael with brute strength.

I knew I couldn't defeat him in a contest of raw power. Not yet.

But I didn't need to. All I had to do was knock him into the lava — just as I had done with Alexia.

And lastly, third, I had the knowledge of what was going to happen.

The game had been very vague about the details of the evaluation exam arc. I didn't know all the terrain shifts… but I knew the last one.

I knew the final terrain would be a fiery sea of lava, and I'd planned everything around it.

All I needed to do was survive until then.

That's why I had been trying to save my energy as much as possible until the final thirty minutes.

And in the end… I did it.

I won…

"H—Ha… Haha! Ahahaha!"

A raspy, almost grating sound of laughter filled my ears.

Only twenty seconds were left for the exam to end.

"Aaahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"

I winced. Who was laughing like a madman right now?

Then it struck me. That voice—it was my very own.

I was the one laughing.

"I won! Ahahahaha! Suck on that, fuckers! Worship me like the god I am! Worship me as your lord! Now!"

Okay, I may or may not have lost my mind.

The countdown clock hit zero, and the sea of lava hardened into glossy obsidian.

The video boards above us sparked to life, and Vereshia's face appeared on them, announcing the end of the exam and telling us to halt all combat.

But by then, I had already fallen face-first onto the ground.

My vision turned dark, and my heart pounded so hard in my chest that it was painful to breathe.

Every inch of my body ached, bones groaned and muscles burned as if I'd been crushed under a boulder.

And soon, I lost consciousness.

•••

[Evaluation Exam Rankings:

1. Samael Kaizer Theosbane: 236 points (Ace)

2. Ray Warner: 189 points (Survived)

3. Vince Cleverly: 177 points (Survived)

4. Michael Godswill: 177 points (Eliminated at 11:59:35)

5. Katlyn Throne: 99 points (Survived)

6. Lily Elderwing: 97 points (Survived)

7. Alexia Von Zynx: 96 points (Eliminated at 11:53:09)

…]