The enemy team finally retreated after we managed to take down two of its members, but we were a bit banged up. We all had a few light injuries, though Pendo had taken the worst of it—a wound in her abdomen.
But what was strange was that no blood was flowing. The wound was simply open, and I could see Pendo suffering, but I didn't think she was going to die from hemorrhage.
"...It's not normal that the blood isn't flowing,"
Lesky pointed out as she crouched beside Pendo to examine the wound. Pendo eventually just sat on the ground, shook her head, and said:
"I'll be fine… I can still walk and fight. We missed one seed—we're not going to miss a second."
She said this with determination as she got up quickly, though not without a small groan of pain. I was worried for her, and I think the rest of the group was too, but she seemed so motivated—so much so that none of us felt like stopping her.
"But we've got a problem…"
Aristeus spoke up, looking at us.
"Yes… The seed completely disappeared when Deodat took it,"
I said, recalling the scene. Aristeus bit at his left thumb, as if trying to remember something.
Suddenly Relatio turned toward us and pointed to the left.
"I can still hear that same chanting."
I listened closely and nodded. It did sound like the same chanting we had heard earlier that had led us here.
"I think I understand… The chanting we hear—it's the seeds, isn't it?"
Lesky said as she started moving toward the music. Thinking about it now, it made sense: when we entered that big chamber and saw the seed, the chanting had stopped completely. That couldn't be a coincidence—I was 100% sure of it.
Pendo bit her lip from the pain and began walking, following Lesky.
"Let's hurry before—"
Suddenly, the sound of a cannon blast rang out, followed by the same voice we had heard earlier during the teleportation:
"Team #3 has finished… Only 9 seeds left to find."
Pendo clenched her fists and kept walking with determination.
"We're not losing this trial!"
I found Pendo's behavior a little strange, and I wondered what made her so driven. Was she just the kind of girl who liked to win, or was there another motive behind wanting to succeed in this trial? Maybe a matter of honor tied to her Deadhorse.
In any case, Aristeus, Relatio, and I kept walking, following behind Pendo and Lesky in the lead. The walls still looked the same, and I had the feeling we were looping through the same paths over and over. It made me sigh. I glanced at Relatio as we walked.
"You still have Daïs's power?"
She shook her head.
"No, it faded a few minutes ago… And I can't use my own power for at least another 7 minutes. So, I'm back to plain old normal."
She wore a big, radiant smile—one that, despite the surrounding darkness, gave me hope again.
"...Pendo really isn't in good shape…"
She nodded.
"That's true. But she's motivated—and in a competition, motivation is everything."
Relatio was right. Motivation is the key to success. As we kept walking, following the trail of chanting, we arrived once again at a large chamber—bigger than the previous one—with a tree at its center. The tree was completely black and surrounded by barbed-wire-like strands. But even though we had managed to reach the seed, we weren't alone. Another group was already near the tree, preparing to take the seed. Suddenly, it vanished the moment one of them laid eyes on it.
At that moment, Lesky seemed to realize something. She looked at us and spoke quickly:
"I get it… This whole thing with the chanting… the seeds… this labyrinthine place with these structures… We're inside one of those Greek fairy tales."
Pendo raised an eyebrow.
"Greek tales?"
She nodded and began to explain what she meant.
"I know all about them because… I've read a few stories. They're ancient tales from Halkyone… and one of them speaks about… Uhhh… Orpheus! He had to save his beloved from the underworld, but he couldn't look at her while leading her out… otherwise, she would vanish back into the underworld…"
"And overcome by temptation… he turned and looked at her."
I finished for her. I had already come across those tales in books from the library of Saint Bathory's institute. They all came from Halkyone, a continent to the southwest—a forsaken land where hybrids are mixed with strange creatures from those stories. It was humanity's cradle before the era of the Deadhorses, during the ancient age.
"So… we shouldn't look at the seed when we pick it up?"
Lesky nodded, giving Aristeus, who had asked the question with a small smile, a knowing grin of her own. Then we heard another cannon blast.
"Team #1 has finished… Only 8 seeds left to find."
I clenched my fists, just like the rest of the team.
"Let's hurry,"
I said as I took the lead. I didn't know exactly where, but my strategy was to keep moving until we heard Orpheus's "song" again. Meanwhile, more announcements echoed. Team #6 and Team #2 had lost all their members, while Teams #11, #13, and #19 had finished. That left only 5 seeds for the 12 teams still in play.
Suddenly, we heard a chant. We all looked at each other and decided to run. But Pendo was slower because of her wound, which still hadn't bled—as if the game itself prevented her from dying of hemorrhage, either to prolong her suffering or because Daïs didn't want participants to die foolishly. It was as if death had to be dealt directly.
We continued until we reached what looked like a dead end. But the music grew louder the closer we got. So we took the risk and followed it—and bingo. There was a seed, right at the dead end. Relatio volunteered to pick it up, careful not to look at it.
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind us—a voice I recognized immediately. It was the guy who had harassed me earlier, the one who wanted me dead because of my race. I turned to see, and sure enough, it was him—along with four others.
Through the interface, I learned his name was Curro, from the 79th Deadhorse. But of course, he wasn't alone. Two boys and two girls stood with him.
The two boys were named Rabi and Xurshid. The first was a tall, elegant man in a shirt with pineapple-like patterns. He clearly didn't take things seriously. He carried a sword in his right hand and bore the number 98. The other, with number 26, held a spear. I noticed his sly smile, his fine red-and-black uniform, and black hair with light green highlights—similar to mine, though I knew I was much more beautiful. He had that seductive air that unsettled me.
The two girls were different. They looked more reserved. The first, Alice, wore a gray school uniform with a blue ribbon and black skirt. She had blue eyes, long black hair with streaks of light blue, and sai daggers in both hands. The second, Avonlea, gave off a much more relaxed vibe, a stark contrast to Alice. She had short dark-blue hair, orange eyes, a cropped hoodie that showed part of her midriff, and black shorts. In her hand, she held a short sword like Aristeus. They wore the numbers 66 and 78 respectively.
"Perfect, we've finally found you…"
Curro said with a wide smile. Avonlea raised her sword into guard position and shot us a disdainful look—especially at Relatio.
"So she's the one who beat you… A pathetic blonde."
Relatio kept her sword in hand, tightening her grip on the hilt. But she stayed calm—or at least that's what it looked like to me.
"Alright. We'll give you a choice: hand over the seed, and we'll let you live."
Lesky seemed to step back a little in fear. I imagined she was considering the idea of accepting, but looking at the rest of the group, I had the feeling they thought the complete opposite.
"We're not cowards, you know."
Curro stepped forward with his sword, and I noticed its bloodied tip.
"We've already eliminated Team 6, and now it's Team 7's turn… Isn't that a wonderful coincidence?"
His group kept moving closer to us, and at the same time, another cannon blast rang out: Team 17 had just been eliminated from the game.
"You'll be the next cannon shot,"
Xurshid sneered, clearly trying to taunt us.
"Shut the hell up and fight already,"
I snapped with a smirk.
"Seems like words are your only weapon… That's why Team 6 died—died of boredom while attacking you."
Curro's rage flared, and he nearly spat in my face, missing me by an inch.
"Leave the redhead to me!"
We prepared to defend ourselves as Curro's group lunged at us.
The fight began quickly: Alice caught Pendo off guard with her sai, driving one deep into her wound and pushing her to the ground. Things escalated fast. Rabi, who was close to Alice, struck Pendo as well. She tried to defend herself, but her injury made it almost impossible.
I was distracted, and when I turned back, I saw Curro charging at me with his sword. I wasn't ready—but just as I tried to lift my blade to parry, Lesky suddenly shoved me aside, taking the blow herself and collapsing. She wasn't finished, though. She got back up, but now Curro's fury was focused on her.
"I'll deal with this one first!"
Lesky retreated. I doubted she could defend herself well, but at least she knew how to run.
"Don't worry, boss, I'll take care of her."
Xurshid stepped toward me, spear in hand, pointing it at me with a noble air.
"I don't strike by surprise like my boss. I've got honor, you know…"
He flicked a gold coin into the air, tossing it toward me to distract me for a few seconds. It worked, letting him close the distance. But I was blinded by rage—Lesky had just protected me because I was foolishly distracted. That wasn't how I should be fighting. And that damned noble was really getting on my nerves. That arrogant look of his reminded me too much of Romuald, looking down on me.
Fueled by anger, I managed to block his spear and used my momentum to leap into the air, sword in hand. I struck him, wounding him slightly. The blow landed, and he seemed rattled by the first hit. It gave me time to slash at his leg—not deep enough to cripple him, but still a strike. He quickly regained his composure, though.
"Damn Felkaï!"
He roared. His spear cut into my left shoulder. I hadn't realized I'd left that opening. Pain flared, but it only fueled my rage further. I ignored the wound for a few seconds, and with all my fury, I swung my sword straight at his head—decapitating him. His body fell to the ground. That made him the second person I had eliminated. I still wasn't used to the feeling of killing someone, even if they didn't truly die.
I turned to check on my teammates. To my left, I saw Lesky in dire straits—both of her arms had just been severed by Curro. Then I saw her name turn gray with the word "eliminated." A fresh wave of rage filled me.
Aristeus was still holding his ground against Avonlea, fighting evenly for now. But then, suddenly, Pendo's name grayed out too. Did we really just lose her? Our most valuable member in this trial?! I looked back and saw Relatio retreating, her arm bleeding. Pendo lay on the ground, a sai buried in her heart by Alice. Rabi stood nearby.
Relatio ran toward me, fleeing Rabi and Alice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Curro approaching the seed to claim it.
"Do what you did with Deodat! I'll try to help Aristeus—I don't want us finishing this trial as just two!"
"Yes,"
I answered quickly. With Pendo and Lesky gone, only three of us remained. I fixed my eyes on Curro and charged him, sword in hand. He turned and blocked, having likely heard me coming. But he wasn't alone. I spotted Alice near the seed as well.
"Alice! Take the seed!"
The girl nodded and moved toward it, while Curro focused entirely on me. We exchanged blow after blow. I managed to defend myself, but his strikes were heavy, forcing me to nearly drop my sword several times. I couldn't focus on anything except the fight with Curro—so I didn't realize that, at the same time, Relatio had managed to kill Avonlea while defending Aristeus, and Alice had already picked up the seed.
For a brief moment, Curro was distracted, probably by Avonlea's death. I could see the hatred burning in his piercing blue eyes. His attacks grew faster, but less precise. After blocking one swing, I kicked him in the stomach, sending him staggering back with a grunt. Alice called out to him.
"I've got the seed! Forget the girl—you'll get her later!"
He snarled, got back up, and ran to Alice. Together, they fled with the seed. I didn't understand why they were running, but I didn't chase them. The fight had drained me, and I needed to catch my breath.
Looking around, I understood why Alice and Curro had retreated. Rabi—the guy in the pineapple-patterned shirt—lay dead on the ground.
Three more cannon blasts echoed. Teams 18 and 14 had finished the trial, while Team 17 had been eliminated.
That left only 8 teams and 3 seeds remaining—one of which Curro's team had just taken.
Now it was just the three of us: Aristeus, Relatio, and me. We had lost Lesky and Pendo, yes, but we hadn't lost this challenge yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lore informations
Greek Fairytale : Ancient fairytail coming from Halkyone, they tell about stories of heroes and "olympians gods", those stories are not known by many peoples
Halkyon : A continent in the south east, it is said that the populations from the "ancient era" were living there, now these are only ruins and the home of different monsters as well as hybrids of those monsters.
Ancient Era : It was known to be an era of science, where technology was at it's highest. Not a lot remains from it beside Halkyone who still have legacy of that era
Deadhorse Era : An era that follows the ancient era, a time where for 1 millenial, the deadhorses ruled on the world. Few things are known about this era beside that the deadhorses got defeated by a bunch of hybrid heroes.
Rabi : He is a 19 year old human who lives in the caliphate of Afnan. He comes from a family who sells pineapple as their main products. He is addicted to smoking. He is a heir of the 98th Deadhorse : Curse
Xurshid : is a 16 year old human noble living in Verumore, an ancient colony of the empire. Centuries ago, Xurshid's family moved out with colons, his family was the governor of the islands. Even if they aren't anymore, Xurshid's family is still quiet involved. His family are renown in jewelry. He is a heir of the 26th Deadhorse : Wealth
Alice : a human student in the 15th council, she has a heavy crush on Curro. She uses Sai as her main weapon. She is a heir of the 78th Deadhorse : Sleep
Avonlea : a 23 year old girl who come from the empire. After school ended for her, she directly tried to find a job to become independant from her parents. She found a job as an employee in a famous book shop brand. She is a heir of the 66th Deadhorse : Music