Angel With Broken Wings

75 - Mash Burnedead, Kat Ride and the Brawny Balloon (2)

[THIRD PERSON POV]

The fourteen examinees quickly disappear from the arena, the green flames flickering and soon dispersing, the mirrors soon revealing the different teens standing in the forest. Finn was still a sobbing mess on the floor, the boy crying harder upon realizing his separation from his friends while the other contestants stand quietly in their own prospective areas.

It wasn't long before one of those Deadervants appeared, the large bull-like creature raising his axe and preparing to slam it down on Leblanc Russell, the boy panicking as he shouts out a spell, "Especial!" The magic did nothing to the creature, the boy watching in shock and horror as the axe comes down, just as the announcer explains his current predicament,

"I should mention the Deadervants are completely immune to magic, so watch out! The moment they hit you, it's game over. You're sent back to the arena along with some soul splitting pain, that is!" Her words make Finn cry harder, his body shaking as several other contestants mutter out their own understandings of the words.

"All we can do is run from them while we hunt for the key." Dot mutters absentmindedly as he watches his surroundings carefully, Lance speaking to himself as well as he calmly walks forward, "There's no hint to its location either. Making us scramble blindly for a key is a pretty poor test, unless there's some unrevealed strategy going on here."

Kat shifts in her spot quietly before she steps forward, her hearing sharp as she crouches low to the ground and presses a hand into the dirt, her eyes closing as she does so. Max Land speaks up next, his observation clear as he looks around his surroundings, "It is a test...are they trying to see how we use our magic to escape?"

His words prompt the announcer to confirm, her voice loud through the microphone as she speaks, "That's exactly right! The Deadervants are merely stand-ins! Limited to this stage, they're created via powerful magic for just such a purpose. What do you do when faced with an unbeatable opponent?! Against such odds, retreat is always a valid tactic! And in this first stage of this test, you'll have to run! It's the "how" and "how well" that's being tested!"

"That's sick...I knew this school was messed up..." Dot mutters harshly at the explanation, the crowd of onlookers commenting in disdain at the sight of someone being eliminated so swiftly within this first test, "One guy out in the first minute? This year's candidates are pretty weak." Another comments at those words, his tone scoffing as his voice comes out, "Well, last year they had Rayne. There's no comparing these guys."

"It's time to run like your life depends on it!" The announcer shouts loudly one more time, Kat shooting her eyes open as a smirk falls across her lips, the words, "Found you," getting muttered out softly before she stands and swiftly moves to disappear into the trees, the action receiving mutters of confusion before their attention gets grabbed by Mash slamming a hard punch right into the stomach of one of the Deadervants.

They couldn't hold back their noises of surprise as the announcer goes quiet, Mash standing over the beast calmly as it wheezes from the wind being knocked from it's body. "N-No way! In one hit?!" The crowd erupts into a commotion at the sight, their voices loud as it rings around the arena,

"It's wheezing and hunched over in pain."
"Wait! Isn't the test about how you succeed while you have to run?!"
"Even I couldn't score a hit on them!"
"That's just nuts!"

Mash slowly lowers his hand without a care to the commotion going on, his voice calm as he prepares to move, "Now...to find the key." He stands still for a moment before the announcer speaks up once more, the Deadervant beginning to stand up slowly with an angry huff as her voice echoes across the arena, "Deadervants aren't called that for nothing! As undead creatures any damage they take heals instantly! Watch out!"