Chapter 57: Eliminations (1)
[Elders’ Council eting]
"It’s finally the last day, and all of them are still there. This batch is top-notch, wouldn’t you say so?" Elder Caron said with a sly smile, looking at the other elders with a mysterious glint in his eyes.
"They are, but it’s still not over... yet." Elder Silvia said with a cold expression.
"What more do you want to see? All eleven participants are worthy enough to be our direct disciples!" Elder Derek said with a loud tone. "Especially Bahamut and Sel."
"I just don’t want you to favor them too much..." Elder Silvia stated in a casual tone.
"That’s enough, you three. No one is favoring anyone here. Silvia, you will take Bahamut and Sel under you. The rest of you can choose anyone you so desire as your direct disciples. As for those who lost on the first trial, those who stayed behind will be tested again.
This is from the Pharaoh himself," Chief Elder Sekhem said in a deep and commanding tone.
"But... Bahamut was..." Elder Derek started, only to be cut short.
"I saw what went on in Henut’s place. He clearly doesn’t want you as a master. I’m not saying you are a bad person, but people like that boy have more than just senses. They are perceptive of their surroundings, even if they are wrong. And I know the bet you made with him. The results are obvious... he’s the winner. Even if he gets eliminated, which I doubt, he will still be the winner."
"I... I understand."
"If there’s nothing else, then Iset, do your job. Rember, none of them must die, but the blows should be enough to activate the teleportation circles," Chief Elder Sekhem said to the beastkin elder.
"I understand, Chief Elder," Elder Iset bowed, as his eyes glowed with a faint silver light.
The rest of the elders just bowed to Chief Elder, as a beautiful hieroglyph appeared on Iset’s forehead.
It was ti for the Eliminations.
...
Aria had managed to survive for so long by mostly running. Not by fighting well... just running, screaming, cursing the world, and blaming everyone but herself. Whenever sothing growled, she fled. Whenever sothing moved, she practically disappeared.
It had worked to keep her safe, sohow. Luck and cowardice were her essence, her power that had carried her far longer than she deserved. To say she was the most hated participant won’t be far from the truth. She was despised!
Her clothes hung off her body in shredded strips, the expensive fabric she was so proud of, reduced to rags. Her boots were split, the soles flapping with every step. Her makeup had long since been sared into sothing grotesque, streaked with sweat and dirt, to the extent that she resembled a monster from the abyss. Maybe it was even because of this that she’d survived for so long. She looked scary. Her hair clung to her face in greasy strands, no longer styled.
She stumbled through a narrow stretch of rocky ground, her lungs burning from fatigue and exhaustion, while her legs trembled.
"I’m still here," she muttered breathlessly. "See? I told them... I told them I could survive."
Her foot splashed into a shallow patch of sand. It felt warm, causing her to frown. She slowed down just a little, irritation flaring across her face.
"Great! Just great. Even the ground is annoying now..."
Then the sand shifted in a wrong way.
Aria opened her mouth to complain or curse as usual, only for sothing to punch her from below. There was no roar or sound.
A dark segnted shape burst up beneath her torso, piercing straight through her abdon and chest in one smooth motion. Her body was lifted off the ground, suspended for a single heartbeat.
Her eyes widened in shock and fear. She looked down, her mouth opened. But no scream ca out.
Her body slid apart as she was torn in two, blood spraying outward in a brief, ssy arc. Her upper half hit the ground first, rolling once before stopping. Her lower half followed a mont later, collapsing uselessly into the gathered sand that ford there.
Her expression was frozen in confusion, but the thing that killed her didn’t linger. It was moving to its next prey.
The sand swallowed it again, closing over the hole as if it had never existed. Blood soaked downward, disappearing into the earth far too quickly.
Silence returned as quickly as it had been broken earlier by Aria’s rantings.
Aria had been eliminated.
...
In a large hall, a green and silver teleportation circle materialized for a second and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
In its place lay a girl with a disheveled appearance, her face sared with makeup. Her expression was one of confusion and shock, but she was unconscious and still breathing, unlike how it was portrayed in the trial.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. Light stread into her eyes, forcing her to close them again. When she finally adjusted to it, she found a beautiful woman with long black hair and beautiful erald eyes staring at her with a calm gaze.
"Welco back," Henut said with a smile, helping her to sit up.
"I-I died..." Aria muttered with listless eyes, her body shaking as tears stread down her face. "I died..."
"You didn’t... It was just an illusion," Henut said soothingly while patting her back gently.
"It looked so real..."
’Sigh! Iset is still as brutal as always. I will have to speak to her afterwards.’
"That’s what the trial is about. You did well to survive this long..."
"But..."
"Don’t worry. Others would join you soon... What you experienced was an illusion, to show just how swift death could be."
"I can still..." Aria had completely broken down now. She could barely speak audibly as she sobbed loudly. Henut just sat with her, offering her comfort as was the job of the Head Healer and Priestess of Isis.
That was all she could do now for the poor girl. Though it was a harsh experience, it was good for Aria, who appeared to be lazy and cowardly, only caring about material things. Her appearance mattered more to her than even her life.
But just a single illusion got her broken this badly.
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