unwaver [illumi zoldyck]

Chapter 6 - X and O x Majority Rules

"Everyone, the exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower," Bean announced, gesturing towards the ground, "To pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive."

Emiko peered down from the giant cylinder-shaped tower, a moment of dizzying confusion as the wind hit her in the face.

"The time limit is 72 hours. With that, we will now begin the Third Phase. I will pray for your success," he concluded, before plodding away back into the aircraft. He wished them one more stroke of good luck through a loudspeaker before disappearing from view.

"No way," Killua clicked his tongue, looking around for any signs of ropes or ladders, "Emi - nee-san, do you think we should jump down?"

"I doubt we'll make it in one piece," she shook her head.

"That would be suicide..." Kurapika added, crossing his arms contemplatively.

"Maybe for a normal person," a voice declared confidently. Participant number 86 began his descent down the tower optimistically, "But a top class rock climber can handle this, no problem. Looks like I'll be the first to pass the Third Phase."

"Wow..." Killua stared open mouthed.

"He's going down pretty fast," Gon observed.

"He's pretty good ... Wait, do you hear that?" Emiko's ears perked up at a distant noise. It almost sounded like -

The rock climber screeched in panic as three gigantic beasts swooped down from the sky, their sharp teeth bared as their four limbs reached for him. His face contorted in horror as he screamed, "Stop! Stay away!"

"Climb back up," Emiko urged, a little too late. Lips ajar, she could only watch as a fellow participant was carried away by the creatures. She turned to face Killua, "Let's not climb down the sides..." He nodded frantically in agreement.

Locking eyes with Illumi, she made her way back to his side. He pointed at the ground, his foot tapping gently against the tiles, flipping one of the stones over. In a blink of an eye, he had descended.

"That makes sense." As she was about to call over Killua, she spotted him with Gon, hopping around and knocking on various stones. She smiled at the sight of that, he didn't need her help.

Drumming on a few nearby stones, Emiko found herself falling into darkness for a fleeting second before landing gracefully onto the ground below.

"Ah," she gasped. Confined in a small rectangular room, four other participants had assembled before her. She clenched her fists as the sight of a certain magician, his arms crossed and his smile as devious as ever. Then, there was Illumi and herself. Two participants stood a cautious distance from the other three, a vigilant scowl on their faces. Applicants 246 and 53, which, if Emiko recalled correctly, were Ponzu, an experienced chemical weaponeer and Pokkle, a wary archer.

"Hi, I'm Emiko," she introduced.

"Pokkle," he said, heedful of his words, "This is Ponzu."

The turquoise haired girl nodded and managed a small smile, "Finally. Our fifth member."

"So what do we do now?" Emiko asked.

"The five of you must follow the will of the majority to reach the goal," Hisoka said, reading off the framed print and grabbing one of the five watches presented to them on a stone pillar. Emiko clasped one around her wrist and eyed it, thinking it looked like a ticking time bomb with a countdown starting at 71:46. There were two buttons on said watch - 'X' and 'O'.

Emiko ambled over to the sign resembling a scoreboard, of the far left side of the room, "At this door, select 'O' to open, 'X' not to open. Well, that's easy..." She instantly poked the 'O' button.