unwaver [illumi zoldyck]

Chapter 7 - Deepest Fear x and x Deepest Desire

"Well done," Illumi praised when Emiko returned.

He volunteered to go next, and Emiko could feel an almost imperceptible blood lust oozing out from his aura.

"I'll go next," announced one of the prisoners.

Upon sweeping off his cloak, the man's eyes immediately begin to fill with tears as he attempted to use some sort of spell. He then burst out crying and hysterically sobbed out, "Y-You can only become stronger through crying! The perfect method! Crying is how I understand my- myself best. W-When I cry ... I- I kn- know who I rea-lly am. I cry when others hurt as... as well as myself. Buying t- time at the same time as- "

Having had enough of his theatrics, Illumi swiftly pulled out a needle from his clothing, releasing them at the speed of sound and sending them flying into the prisoner's throat, defeating him in one strike much to everyone's surprise.

"Well, that's two down. We just need another win," Ponzu cheered.

"Oh, you can count on me for that," Hisoka grinned from ear to ear, exuding unbelievable masses of blood lust. After 10 minutes of Hisoka's charitable attempts at giving his opponent the upper hand, boredom soon soaked his face completely and he shook his head in disappointment before landing a final blow.

Bloody red crossed cards resembling the motion of stitches climbed up his opponent's crooked neck, under his now corruptive and perpetual grin. His face was frozen in a scream of hysteria and disbelief, bordering on terror. Scarlet liquid drenched the ground at an alarming rate.

"You may now move on to the next stage," boomed the loudspeaker.

The next stages seemed fairly simple - ranging from diving 50 meters down from a springboard to a pool down below, much to everyone's surprise that there was a pool in a prison, an obstacle course, another fight with a few prisoners as well as solving some riddles.

The five of them entered the next room, still drenched from the dive. Emiko began to read, "On this table lay two bottles. Press 'O' for the colourless liquid, Press 'X' for the inky liquid. You may not smell or touch the bottle until you make a decision."

"One of them could be poison," Ponzu immediately spoke up, "It's also possible they used food colouring to change the colour of each bottle... Might as well pick at random."

The majority was 'O'. A hole in the wall opened itself up, and a metal claw poked itself out, grasped the inky bottle and then retreated back into its cell.

The scoreboard blinked, "You must now make another decision. Press 'O' for everyone to drink, or Press 'X' for only one person to drink. The bottle must be empty or you may not proceed to the next task."

"So who would like to drink that mysterious liquid?" Hisoka challenged, plucking the bottle from the table, his eyes glazing with glee as he eyed its contents.

"Maybe I can determine what it is," Ponzu peeped. She let out some contents in her backpack, using various measuring tools to search for an answer. When she was done, she looked distraught, "As I thought. Poison. A deadly one in fact. More than one gulp would kill you. Maybe less."

"What?" Pokkle sputtered.

"Oh? A test of endurance of who could withstand a dose of poison..." Hisoka mused.

"Or if we're willing to work together to distribute it equally," Pokkle concluded.

"Correct," Ponzu gulped, shuddering at the thought.

"I can do it," Emiko and Illumi said in harmony. Her head snapped towards him and her eyebrows crinkled as she stubbornly said, "I'll do it. I was always the last to pass out anyways."