Before she could even react, Amethyst felt something stabbing her in her lower back. Before the pain from this new wound could be felt, Amethyst felt something else stabbing her in her upper back. Then she felt another stab, then another, then another, then another. She felt six things stab her, and this confused Amethyst. Only seconds before, she would have sworn she would have come out the victor in this match. But now she had been stabbed unknowingly six times. Her grip on her rapier loosened, and it fell from her hands as she herself started to fall. At the same time, both Amethyst and her sword hit the ground. What had transpired shocked everyone that watched; it caught nearly everyone off guard, including Zack, who had combat experience. They all saw what Amethyst did not, but they didn't understand how it was possible, and that is what confused them. The only two that weren't confused and shocked were the large man from the land of Eden, Heracles, and the blonde-haired young man that fought Amethyst in the second phase. Out of these two, they were the only eagle-eyed viewers. They saw what was happening and how it was happening.
When the blonde-haired young man understood what Dot was doing, that's when he screamed at Amethyst, but it was too late. Everyone that watched saw what stabbed Amethyst – it was Dot's knives that had fallen to the ground. Many of those fell when Amethyst sliced Dot's wrist, and others were when she had been kicked in the stomach. These knives that one would have thought were no longer useful now six of them had stabbed the purple-haired girl in the back. The person that understood how the knives ended up in Amethyst's back was Dot, of course, but the very next person was the one that was nearest to the fight, that being the referee, "Wires" T.K. Thought. Applicant 9023 attached thin strings of wire to the ends of each and every knife. The wire is so thin that if one isn't paying close attention, they wouldn't even see it. And the bald assistant was correct; besides Heracles and the blonde boy, none watching could even see the wire.
"Wires" T.K's eyes narrowed as he continued thinking. "So, there is a wire attached to each and every knife the applicant had, and all those thin wires lead back to applicant 9023's hands, including the two knives that had stabbed the other applicant in her left shoulder when she thrusted her sword forward aiming to pierce the girl's neck. The knife thrower tugged on one of the strings tied around her fingers and unknowingly that held back the purple-haired applicant's attack. It's why her attack stopped just short." While watching as Amethyst was laying on the ground, the referee couldn't help but be impressed by the skill and ingenuity of Dot.
After Amethyst had been on the ground for a while and the moment of shock had finally worn off, Amethyst felt it. She felt the pain coming from all of the wounds in her back, and she couldn't help it. She screamed out in bloody murder, and that's all she could do – scream and squirm on the ground. Even though that's all this poor girl could do, it doesn't mean she didn't try to do more. There was a point between her screams that Amethyst gritted her teeth and tried to move past the pain. Then she used her arms to slowly push her body upward, but she wouldn't get far because trying to lift herself out of the state she was in only gifted Amethyst with a kick to the face.
As Amethyst was doing her best to get back to her feet, her opponent Dot took the opportunity to go for Amethyst's weakness and kicked her right in the face. The kick was swift and hurt. The moment Amethyst received it, her vision went blurry, then she saw stars. The attack knocked her onto her side, and then she screamed again. While her opponent was standing hunched over, gasping for air, eventually Dot's legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor. When she landed, she, like Amethyst, felt a twinge of pain but coming from her left shoulder – the shoulder that Amethyst had stabbed earlier. She clutched at her wound while still gasping for air, then she shot a look at Amethyst laying on her side and said, "That was for stabbing me in the shoulder, you bitch."
While Dot held onto her bleeding shoulder, Amethyst's vision was slowly coming back into focus. Her head was pounding a mile a minute, feeling as if it was about to explode. But because of how badly her head was hurting, it drowned out the stab wounds on her back. In a way, Amethyst could focus, if only just a little. "My sword," she thought. "Where the hell is my sword?" Amethyst's eyes darted around back and forth until "They landed on Dot. Well, more likely they landed on behind Dot because there was her sword behind her opponent. Seeing this frustrated Amethyst, but she still gritted her teeth. Once again, as she was fighting to get up, while she was doing this, Dot was still holding her shoulder. Blood was still gushing from the wound. Dot was holding her head down with her eyes closed, doing her best to deal with the pain. But she wasn't doing nearly as well as Amethyst. Even though the purple-haired girl wasn't the most experienced, she did have some, or rather all, of her skill came from that woman from her memory. That woman named Trina taught her how to at least deal with the pain that came from combat. But Dot didn't have such experience. The wound Amethyst dealt her was the worst pain Dot had ever felt. She couldn't take it, and because she couldn't, Dot was more focused on her wound than her opponent. She wasn't prepared to be kicked in the head herself, the moment she was attacked unexpectedly.
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Dot started to panic. Her eyes shot open as she was forced backward. Seeing the girl with knives in her back still having a strong will to fight captivated everyone watching. Damn, she's still going strong, thought Jake after kicking Dot. Once, Amethyst kicked her once more, Dot's head bounced a little on the ground. When it happened, her vision went blurry. Her ears were ringing. The moment Dot's head met the ground, her body felt as if it was going to fall to pieces. But even with that, Amethyst knew. She knew this wasn't enough. She knew that between the two of them, she was in worse shape than her opponent. This all-or-nothing attack was just to give her some time, no matter how brief. All Amethyst needed was the opportunity to reach her weapon.
With blood pouring from multiple parts of her back, Amethyst bent over and grabbed her rapier. As she did, the pain from her back almost made her keel over. With tears welling up in her eyes, she had to push through it. She grabbed onto her rental weapon tightly, then started to come back, turning her body as she did. Bending over was torturous, but standing back up while turning was pure agony. But within her own head, Amethyst kept telling herself to move forward, to keep going. If she did this, if she ended it now, then it would all be over. So, she refused. Amethyst refused to give in to the pain her body was feeling. She turned, ready to swing her blade. As she did, when she was fully turned around, Dot was pushing herself up from that last attack. As she did, her weary eyes landed on the pincushion girl swinging her sword at her.
Dot nearly froze out of shock, but she brought her hands up to defend herself. Only a moment later, the rapier slashed Dot's left arm. A scream escaped her lips. After the first slash was finished, Amethyst brought her arm back up to attack once more. But this one, Dot barely managed to dodge. This attack was aimed at her head, but she evaded it before it could kill her. But she couldn't dodge without a gash on her cheek. That snake-like speed that Dot possessed seemed to be gone after she had just barely managed to dodge that cheek-slashing attack.
Dot's eyes caught a view of Amethyst's sword coming straight at her. It seemed that while Dot was getting slower, her opponent was only getting faster. After the second attack, Amethyst was already swinging her third and what would seem to be her final attack. It only took Dot a fraction of a second to realize that she would die. This next attack would kill her. She couldn't dodge the first attack and could barely evade the second. She had no time to dodge this next one. But if she did nothing, she would die. Amethyst was swinging her sword with every last ounce of her strength.
'I'm ending this now,' she thought. Her determination was a sight to behold. It captivated everyone watching, so much that they didn't notice. They didn't see what Dot was doing. That included Amethyst herself. Before the purple-haired girl's final attack could land, Dot closed her right hand. When she performed that action, the six knives in Amethyst's back were quickly and violently pulled out. The sensation when the knives left her back sent tremors all throughout Amethyst's body. Painful tremors without her even realizing.
Once more, Amethyst's rapier escaped her hands. Her legs felt like pudding as she lost her balance and crashed to the ground. Everyone was stunned. From those watching in the auditorium to T.K, who was watching closely in the ring, to everyone watching in the viewing room. They were shocked beyond belief, but not a word was said. A brief silence hit the auditorium until Dot struggled to get to her feet. When she was standing, she huffed and puffed over and over as she looked down at Amethyst. Her back full of crimson blood.
Dot looked at her downed opponent for a while. So long, in fact, that if T.K wasn't so stunned, he could have finished giving Amethyst a ten count. This match could already be over. But he was pulled into their match, just like everyone else. So much so that he forgot his role in this phase of the exam. After staring at her downed opponent for what seemed like ages, Amethyst opened her mouth and spoke.
'That's… two.. times… Two times I've come close to death today…. And they will be the last,' Dot then lifted her right hand upwards. When she did, the string attached to the six bloody knives that stabbed Amethyst were pulled upwards until they were all angled over the downed girl. With her right arm still up, Dot continued to look at her opponent. Then she spoke once more.
'It's been fun, but now it's time to end this silly game… It's time for you to die.'"