The clock reappeared above her, and the second hand began its orbit again. Hori took a step back, steadying her breathing.
"Okay, double. Let's do this!"
The second hand made a full loop.
At the chime of a kitchen bell, Two new figures manifested, emerging from white mist like ninjas revealing their position. Both were identical — faceless, featureless, and utterly human in build. Their movements were sluggish at first, constantly twitching as if fighting for control.
But then their hands fidgeted once more and they charged without warning. Hori clenched both fists in anticipation.
The first swung a left hook; she parried it by twisting her arm under its wrist and pivoting, sending it crashing into the second. The two collided, their ash skin scraping and leaving streaks of gray.
"Too predictable!" she said, as if lecturing the fake men.
With a forward dash, she stomped the fallen one's chest — crack! — and thrust a palm into the other's torso, a shockwave of force disrupting its balance.
As it stumbled, Hori passed her knife hand through it's skull, removing surprisingly human brain matter.
"Ewwww~~~!" Her face scrunched in disgust, the details, from feeling, to look was all too vivid. She frantically rubbed her hands on it's dead body, trying to get rid of the pink mushy mess covering her hand.
Hori breathed in then out. Her smart watch now read "185" an increase of 2 points now. She smiled and clapped, demanding the next wave.
The blue clock shimmered above once again. The second hand ticked. Hori straightened her posture, flexing her fingers.
Her reflection flickered faintly on the ground of white snow as she inhaled deeply. Every breath here felt heavier than usual, as if the air resisted her lungs.
Ting~!
They appeared.
Four ash men surrounded her in a semi-circle, each standing at equal distance. Their bodies this time weren't perfectly identical; one had broader shoulders, another a slightly smaller frame.
Hori crouched slightly, scanning them. She as well noticed their now individual builds.
They charged in perfect sync — no hesitation, no breath between steps.
She leapt backward, letting the first's strike slice through the air. Its arm grazed her jacket, leaving a streak of ash. The second lunged in — she sidestepped, grabbed its head, and slammed it into the snow! The impact sending a puff of white dust upward.
But there was no time to breathe; a third one's foot swung for her ribs. She blocked with her elbow, the hit vibrating through her bones. The fourth came from behind.
"Ahh—!"
She twisted, ducked low, and performed a sweeping kick. The two nearest fell. Before they could rise, she clenched her fist, and delivered devastating blows to their throats. Ripping their lungs out with her bare hands.
When the chaos settled, all four were dead, now making 7 corpses submitting to Hori's strength. The smell of blood filled her nostrils and the warm sensation of innards eased the cold.
Hori stood, panting slightly. "That's....four done." she now had 189 points.
The clock appeared again and began another 1 minute countdown, Hori used this time to rest. She sat on the smooth snow and stared at her kills.
A faint detail seemed to stand out. That was the warmth of the humanoid's blood.
'It feels so fresh....' she thought to herself, later deciding to blow on it to observe if it coagulated. It did.
This was all too suspicious for fighting dummies.
Hori stared at a specific corpse before doing the unthinkable. Either out of boredom or curiosity, she crouched in front and looked closer, she shaped her right hand mimicking a knife and struck with lethal speed.
The announcer's voice boomed, but Hori just gave a casual wave and carried on with what she was doing.
Her precise strike broke its breast bone and ordered a gush of warm blood. She then slowly passed her left hand through the gap she made. Cringing from the uncomfortable feeling.
Hori held her breath and closed her eyes as she tore the humanoids chest wide open, revealing a disgustingly detailed internal structure.
".....oh my God." Her eyes widened in surprise, trying her best not to vomit.
"Creepy…" she spoke out loud, impressed at SHOs level of detail, almost amazed even.
Hori asked herself, 'These are fake....right?' a question left unanswered as she backed away from the examined corpse.
Ting~!
Hori rose her head as the faint blue glow from the holographic clock above drenched her in cold light.
The passing snow around her seemed to increase and shapes began to move inside it. The first few silhouettes were clear, but more followed, overlapping one another — eight in total. They stepped forward in sync, leaving footsteps in the snow with every motion.
Hori cracked her knuckles.
The first lunged. She parried — the second came right after. The third swept low.
The moment she jumped to dodge, the fourth and fifth struck midair. A blur of two gray fists charging towards her.
Hori spun in the air, kicking off one enemy's chest with a roundhouse. The impact damaged the figure's neck, pushing it meters away.
Before landing, a surprise attack connected, which was a rush from behind. One managed to grab Hori and pin her down.
"Ghhk!" She barely dodged a powerful punch aimed at where her head had been a moment ago. Slightly shaking the snow covered field.
"They're faster?!" Hori gasped, forcing herself free from the enemies hold.
She fidgeted, shocked to see the humanoid's shattered fingers dangling as it stepped closer, the impact from its punch was deadly even to them. Bouncing while ignoring the pain as if not even feeling any.
Hori dashed forward — a little slower than before, most likely getting tired. The ash men turned instantly, but she was already moving, her hands, weaving a rhythm. One step. Spin. Palm thrust. Backhand.
Each strike landing with immense force.
She crushed the sixth's skull with a sharp kick and rammed her elbow into the seventh, putting it to rest.
Hori glanced at the eight, which to no ones surprise was still adamant at killing her. It ran towards her with long strides, attempting to imitate Hori's round house kick since it rotated in a similar manner.
Hori was faster, with a single vertical kick she uprooted its head.
A rain of blood baptizing her as its neck sprayed like a fountain.
Since they were all dead, the clock appeared again.
Hori looked up. "Aww man!." she hissed, the clock seemed to count faster.
She crouched to catch her breath.
The moment she inhaled, her vision blurred slightly. A small tremor in her fingers displayed her exhaustion.
Ting~!
Sixteen silhouettes emerged this time.
The mist rippled as they formed a circle around her.
A strange static filled the air — the sound of dozens of steps crunching in unison intimidated our protagonist.
"Sixteen…" she muttered, half laughing. "I'm tired."
The first one lunged — then the second, third, fourth — she blocked, dodged, countered, but a hit grazed her cheek, and another slammed into her ribs.
"Ugh—!" She staggered.
Her boots slid against the ground as she regained balance, but she couldn't stop moving. One paused attack meant instant death.
So she increased her speed.
Every block was a strike. Every dodge became a counter.
Her mind screamed at her body to keep pace.
When she finally stopped, her sleeve was torn, her breathing rough. Sixteen corpses of ash lay scattered like fallen soldiers.
For a moment, there was no sound.
Only her heartbeat — pounding like war drums inside her skull. The cycle continued, then came the next Ting~!
"...Thirty-two." The words tasted bitter on her tongue.
The ash storm gathered faster this time, almost eagerly. The figures appeared one after another, ranks upon ranks, like soldiers called to war.
Hori's eyes narrowed. She wasn't smiling anymore.
Thirty-two opponents.
All the strength and speed of average men.
But together, they were anything but average.
Hori instinctively shifted back, clearly overwhelmed by their numbers.
"Alright," she said quietly, pressing a palm to her chest.
She took a single step forward — then blurred.
The first ash man never saw her coming. Its head exploded from a single strike. The next two were cut down before they turned.
Hori danced between them like lightning in human form. A strike from behind. Another from the left. A kick to her shoulder sent her stumbling.
She caught herself. Barely—then flipped backward to regain distance.
Her face was pale with her pulse screaming through her veins.
"That hurt...!" she said. Then leapt, spun, struck down the next wave — but they didn't end. Every time one fell, another rushed to take its place.
She kept fighting, her motions more erratic than before and her breathing ragged.
And finally — silence.
The last ash man fell with exposed intestines, leaving her standing alone again.
She fell to one knee, gasping for air while holding her chest. "My lungs!" Hori screamed as her hand gripped the snow for support.
'It must be the cold, the air here is so dry it hurts!' Hori cursed while reducing her breathing.
She checked her smart watch, now 220 points.
'I have to keep going, this is trial 4, meaning if I want a perfect score I must get exactly 400 points..... so I have to kill....180 more!' her lips curled into a tired smile.
Hori saw her knuckles covered in dry blood and shuddered.
The second hand was almost done with its cycle. Hori asked tiredly, "Could I rest a bit longer?"
The answer came instantly:
Ting~!
And from the mist — sixty-four shadows stepped forward.
---------------------------------
The blue clock above her wasn't glowing faintly anymore — it was blazing, its light tearing through the fog like divine fire. Each tick echoed like thunder across the empty white plain.
TICK.
TICK.
TICK.
Every beat of the clock felt heavier than the last.
Hori's breathing was uneven as her hands trembled.
But she didn't move — she only watched as the fog began to boil.
Then, they came.
Sixty-four.
Their footsteps thundered like a relentless tidal wave, the faceless horde's sheer force shaking the ground as they advanced, their collective movement resembled an unstoppable seismic event.
Hori gulped, thinking of forfeiting. 'Can... I kill 64 men?' she honestly wasn't sure herself.
The first one moved, then another. Then all of them. It wasn't a charge anymore, but a stampede!
The ground shook under their synchronized footsteps.
Hori staggered back, "Ahh, this is scary!" She was getting overwhelmed.
She crouched low, blood surging through her limbs. Quickly inhaling with burning lungs, then exhaled through gritted teeth. "Lets do this!"
She leapt.
The first wave reached her — she landed in the middle of them like a meteor, her fist erupting with a slight shockwave that affected the closest six.
But she didn't stop.
A fist connected with her ribs — she grunted, countered, shattered its jaw with a backfist. Another grabbed her from behind — she twisted, headbutted, crushed its throat.
Blood everywhere.
Gray snow swirling in the plain light.
And at the center of this war, Hori, her dark blue hair moving alongside her body. Her plus size uniform now shredded and stained.
For every enemy she destroyed, three more replaced it. Their numbers never seemed to shrink.
"Too many…!" she gasped, sliding across the ground after taking a hit to the stomach.
Hori spat blood after regaining her balance — crimson painting the snow an uneven red. She wiped her mouth, smiling faintly through the pain. "Should I quit?"
She answered the question by checking her watch.
"Total points: 250"
"That's not bad but I need 400."
Hori scratched her head in annoyance, her opponents were becoming a pain.