“Amaryllis!” Gisella glowed. Happy and snappy, her voice echoed.
Amaryllis stopped dead in her tracks. She had known something was wrong, but she had not thought what kind of.
Gisella still lived if this was even the real one, her eyes dulled and glazed. Her left hand twisted like a wet cloth, blood wrenched out of it, slid down, and dropped on the floor.
Amaryllis’s heart grew heavier as she watched Gisella. “Gisella…” Amaryllis uttered, panicked. Her voice was shrill, whistly, and grating to the ears.
How much time do I have left?
“You’ve one minute left,” Fia’s voice echoed in her mind.
A wave of panic washed over her, but she kept it at bay. Right now, there was no time left to worry.
Amaryllis searched for the ventriloquist but failed to see or sense him anywhere. Gisella stood under some sort of magic. Her mana no longer felt like that of a living human, but…
“Amaryllis!” Gisella chirped, cutting off her contemplation, sounding anything but like herself, and pointed a blood-drenched finger behind her. “Look behind you.”
Even if Gisella had not said it, Amaryllis was going to. She swiveled in a panic, and a bunny doll came hurling at her and punched her in the gut. “Aah!” she groaned, pressed her foot into the ice, somehow not drifting on it, clenched down the pain, and stabbed it with her two remaining claws.
The doll crumbled, turning into white frost. Amaryllis didn’t have the luxury to figure out what this demon could do. She had to kill it and fast.
She felt the mana again, but it didn’t help. There were too many of these doll-like creatures all around her, but invisible, creating a buzzing swarm to distort the ventriloquist’s presence, and she didn’t know what they could do to rush in madly.
She had no idea what a ventriloquist’s ability would be. It should relate to sound, maybe controlling dolls since they participated in their performance. Gisella was already under his control. Was she part of the act? But. She could feel it, something shifting in Gisella’s mana.
Amaryllis sighed. She had an idea, a risk, but she had no choice. She channeled mana beneath her foot. It was all she could do, which was frustrating, for how much power she truly held, but useless. At least she had figured out something. The ice sucked the mana from her heart in a blink, and her heart refilled just as quickly.
“Gisella…” Amaryllis called again, turning to Gisella.
“I am fine…” Gisella replied, but it came not from the front. Amaryllis looked back. A deformed and unevenly sewn doll stood, smiling at her creepily.
“Gisella?” She uttered again in horror.
“No idiot, that’s a doll,” The real Gisella chirped.
Of course, that’s his ability. Where is the real Gisella? I just need to know her location.
She tried using her mana sense. Everything around her remained a chaose. But she found a link rope, a strand of mana, which trounced over everything else. She followed it in the webs of all the others. It glowed brighter than every other link. She broke one more nail and flung it at the source, hoping, it would cut off the mana rope. It should. That’s what made blackfrost so dangerous.
“Hah!” Gisella breathed sharply, as the nail crashed into the phantom line. “You broke it,” She said, looking at Amaryllis. “Tha….” She stopped dead in her words as she looked at Amaryllis and hundreds of tiny dolls behind her, opening their mouth to scream.
Amaryllis tried to smile as she took off the shawl; it wouldn’t survive after she lost control and threw it at Gisella. She couldn’t let Mire’s last remaining thing crumble. “It’s a farewell. If you make it out, please look after my sister…”
Her vision blurred. Like an elastic pulled to the breaking point, the ice beneath her snapped out like a rain of arrows, piercing through the ground and destroying everything in the radius, except for where Gisella, Huan, and the children’s cage stood.
Amaryllis dropped to the ground, limp. The overwhelming pain made her blank out instantly.
_____________________________
Gisella watched everything unfold with unhidden horror. The blackfrost slowly crumbled, and the ruined earth. No longer blood covered it. The creature was dead. She didn’t even need the mana sense to know it. There was no way anything could have survived. She looked around, and everything, as far as her eyes could see, had been demolished and ruptured by the avalanche.
The sight brought terror to her heart. She couldn’t have imagined this assessment to turn out this way. She would have refused the invitation had she known their intention or if she had the choice. She shook her head.
All the serans were dead, but there was no notification of assessment completion.
The objective still remained unfulfilled. They were supposed to escape this place. If possible, kill the creature. Yet, it was a secondary objective for rewards. Survival and escape were the only objectives they had to fulfill.
Slowly, her mind caught up to her body and savored in delight the pain of all the wounds she had incurred. She clenched her jaws. Teeth creaked from the pressure. The urge to scream in pain almost overtook her mind, but she couldn’t. Everyone was watching, especially the Clownman. She couldn’t just break down here. He’d win if she did, however small that victory that was.
She looked at the shawl on the ground. Mire was gone. Just like that, someone died because of her. She had been ignored the whole time by serans, fortunately. She couldn’t have taken one-fourth of the beating of what Huan stood. She was weak, even if, for some reason, people never realized it.
Perhaps serans thought she was not as entertaining. Or, perhaps, because they knew she hated neglection the most. Whatever the case, she was the only one standing on her feet and must fulfill the final task — open the gates and escape.
Clownman did this because she was here.
Mire is dead, and it’s my fault. Those words echoed in her mind. The fact that someone who owed her nothing died. I shouldn’t have accepted the invitation. Her fist clenched.
It shouldn’t bother her this much. Mire knew what she agreed to, but it did. She could have taken the final stand, too. Used her soul as the catalyst for mana and saved everyone if she had not so foolishly decided to attempt for the top spot — the unwarranted pride she had — and entered this snake's pit without a weapon to kill them.
It’s not my fault. We were not supposed to kill them. Gisella rationaled.
Amaryllis. She looked at the white, frosted sculpture and turned away her gaze. Cracks appeared in the crystal white skin of the frost statue. Amaryllis didn’t deserve it. I can save her still — It’s still in inversion form — If I take her to Light quickly.
“Gisella…” Huan whispered, breaking her out of her inner turmoil.
She looked at him, and his condition wasn’t any better. Looking at him was hard.
“How are you doing?” Gisella asked, masking her voice in disinterest.
“Clinging to life. What the fuck happened?”
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“Blackfrost…” she whispered. Elaboration was unnecessary. He understood. His face grimaced. She heard his teeth grinding as he pushed himself up.
“I should’ve—!” he slammed his fist. “I am a coward…”
People could sacrifice their souls for an equal amount of mana to use their ability. But upon exhaustion of said mana, the person would die. Mire did something like that. Why? She knew it had something to do with Amaryllis’s Inversion of Frost. But how Mire did that or even knew about it was a mystery. I can only ask Light.
“No point in regretting,” Gisella intoned monotonously. Those words were for herself more than for Huan.
“But it’s so fucking frustrating!” He slammed his fist hard enough to break it. “What did we ever do to get into this situation? If this is how they take assessments, then what’s even the point?”
“I understand your frustration—”
Huan looked at her sharply. Glared with his red, swollen eyes filled with tears. “You do? They left you… Ah!” He found a way to let out his frustration, guilt, and regret.
Make someone else a villain; blame it all on someone. The one who didn’t have to face the worst of it or even any of it. He didn’t understand her. Neither did he need to. The only blood on her body was inflicted upon by her spells. The creatures had not yet hurt her.
“You’re the reason this has happened, isn’t it? You! You’re working with that Clownman bastard to make us more miserable. First of all, you didn’t even show us your soul weapon. You are not even taking this situation seriously,” He pointed his finger at us. “You did this!” As tears filled his eyes, filled with hatred, “WHY?!” He would’ve lunged at her had he not lost his ability to even stand properly.
The stab wound from the clown still spreading, turning his chest black. Some sort of poison it had. The light had saved him from having heart failure if Gisella had to guess.
Gisella agreed with him that this was all her fault, alone to be blamed. But only that. She didn’t work with Clownman, and she tried her hardest; it just fell far too short of what was demanded of her — much like every time.
If he had any rationality left, he would understand how absurd his words were, compared to the much sensible conclusion he should’ve made. But alas, driven to the brink, he was but a broken spirit, desperately trying to make sense of this nightmare.
If Gisella was like Light, she would’ve hugged him and assumed everything was fine, that this nightmare was over. But she was not her.
Gisella felt a bubbling rage, knowing she was to blame and accepting it was all too different from being accused of complicity by someone. She had this urge to squish his head, make him regret what he said. She let out a hot breath, trying to calm her burning skin.
“Let’s leave,” she said with the weight of her soul. He should understand what would happen if he continued. “What’s done cannot be undone. But Mire’s death would be meaningless if you died. Let’s not quarrel among ourselves.” She continued toward the shawl and picked it up. This was her last remain of the battle field, and as was the tradition in the Soul hunt, she must make sure it survived at all costs.
It’s… Gisella sensed it. Saw something she had been blind to. The mana. The way it swayed and pulsed in the air, the ground, and the interstices. She could feel everything once she held it. Was this how Mire sensed mana? Gisella wondered. Or is this her parting gift for Amaryllis? A payment for whatever request she wishes Amaryllis to fulfill?
She felt revolting, but she needed it — it would make her life easier — much more than Amaryllis needed it. I can ask her if she survives. And if Amaryllis didn’t, the shawl would belong to Gisella.
Gisella kept those thoughts at bay. She would hand it over to Amaryllis. For now, she decided to use it.
Closing her eyes, she sensed mana in every place around her. All four key buttons’ location. If the Carnival had been fair, they would have won. Used the Map and solved it without any death. Everything could’ve been perfect… She clenched her jaws. It didn’t matter anymore. The worst had come to pass. There were no more monsters here.
“We need to leave.”
“How…” Huan asked. “Where’s the exit?” Blood squeezed out of the red grass he had clenched in his fist.
Gisella let out another breath. “Amaryllis predicted there should be another door in this situation. We don’t have much time, and I doubt anything lives in this place. We should search for the secondary exit.” Gisella looked at the Circus tent and felt it inside. “And I know where it is. We go inside the tent. The only place where we wouldn’t dare to look for it. Where it is most unfair. But the only place where even if one of us survived, we’d have a chance to escape.”
We were never meant to survive. Clownman wanted me dead, heir of Yriel. They were all collateral. Her temple throbbed as she tried to rein in the anger.
She turned to Amaryllis. Passed out. Turned crystal. How do I take you out of this place? She didn’t trust the Soul Hunt. They’d never save Amaryllis, and that question arose if they had a way to take Amaryllis out in the first place. But Light had not yet appeared here, so assuming there was no way to interfere was the safe option. She shook her head. ‘No point in dwelling on things that are unanswerable.’
She channeled mana into her hand. She knew she could lose them if she touched Amaryllis. But… She couldn’t leave Amaryllis here. Not in a thousand years. Mire’s death already weighed on her soul. She wasn’t a cold-hearted noble as much as that would make her life easier to bear.
“What are you doing?” Huan asked in horror.
“You have a better way to take her?” Gisella looked at him, her eyes narrowing. If he dared to suggest they leave her here. Gisella didn’t believe she had it in her to control herself. As hypocritical as it may sound, after watching Mire sacrifice her soul.
“N-no…” He gulped, “Let me do it…” He whispered in a small voice, which Gisella decided to ignore. He had to say it, even if he was sure he should do something foolish.
“Unlike you, I have a better chance to survive,” But she had to lie about something for the sake of it. An arm for saving my life is not a bad exchange, not that I need more than one to perform my spells.
“Why can’t Soul Hunt get her out of here, after we escape… Isn’t the test over?” Huan asked again.
“Escaping is the goal. You may have forgotten about it.” Gisella used her spell to light Amaryllis. Now, she was just a statue made of cotton but lighter.
Gisella lost feeling in nerves as she picked up Amaryllis like a balloon and held her arm over her head. Her hand turned white to the shoulder before stopping, fortunately. Can Light heal this? The only thing Gisella knew was that blackfrost couldn’t be undone, but inversion had many questions.
“But, this is still enough! Why can’t they save us now?”
Gisella understood his frustration. But she was not his mother. She didn’t deserve to be the punching bag of his frustration.
“Once we get out of here, ask them,” her tone hardened.
“Rig—ack.” He clenched his side where the Clown had stabbed him. Now that she could feel the mana in all its intricacies, she saw how bad his situation was. He’d pass out any moment. “Can you pull that cage? I will make it lighter.”
“They are real…” He asked.
“As real as you and me.” Gisella didn’t clarify further. She made the cage lighter, one-twentieth of its original weight.
Huan trudged his way to the cage and picked it up. He opened his mouth again to complain about something but clamped it shut as soon as she glared at him.
She didn’t want to be the rude one, but thinking that was much easier than practical in her situation. She felt swirls of emotion. Rage. Loathing. Fear. She didn’t deserve this. And she wouldn’t let this go. Not this easily. Even if today’s performance had taken her status of heir — no way her father would let her be heir after this shameful display, she would be a joke among the houses after this — and an arm, this was not over.
There was a trap door in the center of the tent. As soon they stepped inside, they were greeted with a sight.
Her head snapped at Huan, “Keep your head down,” She said, and he, for once, didn’t test her control. Not that he had the strength to argue.
They walked in the ankle-deep human blood pool instead of the floor. The children's cage was awfully quiet, but she didn’t dare check them. Taking them out of there was the only thing she could do. If they survived or not was not her responsibility.
The sound of their step in the puddle of blood echoed in the massive tent. The trapdoor was big enough to house four humans. Or the cage.
She knew this place was empty with Mire’s shawl, yet her heart skipped with each step. This was the final step, where everything could end in a sadder tragedy.
She hurried and walked a bit faster. Her breathing came out in shudder due to tension. It was shameful, the thought that she was this afraid. She shouldn’t be. Nothing about this felt showed her noble birth. Huan matching her panicked steps, made her feel relieved.
They reached the door. Gisella clenched her broken fist. And the trapdoor lip twisted and crumbled, and her eyes moved to the side, and the folded iron lid floated away.
Shirl…
Her heart almost burst out of her chest. A new creature’s presence echoed in the tent. “FAST!”
Huan dropped the cage inside and then jumped himself. Gisella didn’t lag either, but she felt death beating on her heart. Why was there another entity in this place? She dropped Amaryllis into the hole.
The blood pool rose behind her. Gisella pushed herself into the darkness, too. Her hand smashed against the edge, shattering like a brittle glass. She felt no pain. She had already lost it.
She turned as she dropped into the darkness to look at the ceiling — a beating heart filled with human bodies. Then, a grotesque face filled with a dozen pairs of eyes looked over the trap door. It attempted to push into it but failed.
Gisella felt a relief blossom in her heart as the darkness swallowed her.