The above mentioned slouched as he strolled amidst the trial grounds. Walking aimlessly with a normal pace.
His gaze searching for a land mark of any sorts that seemed to stand out in the near endless white.
"I wonder if Hori is awake by now.... it's been so boring without her." he thought out loud.
Haruki let out a long sigh then continued his complaints.
'Everybody slept like fuckin corpses the past 3 days, I had to pretend to be malnourished not to raise suspicion.'
Participants were given 3 days to recover from the strain of starvation. Haruki who had quite literally never experienced hunger felt extremely idle laying still for days.
'Man....I think I miss Hori....' his gaze fell as he squatted. Loneliness. This feeling was still new to him, only discovered after realizing he truly missed his mother. Now being experienced because of only 3 days of separation from his BFF.
The announcer eventually spoke, snapping Haruki back from his depression.
He explained the rules for trial 4, the goal and so on. But something seemed to stand out.
As soon as Mr Shiba mentioned "Killing" of the ash humanoids, a foreign glow was invited to Haruki's crimson eyes. A cursed smile presented itself as he rose his right hand as if questioning.
"Ehmm...does this mean we have to...KILL these opponents?" Haruki asked while fidgetting. A similar question proposed by contestant Inori.
Haruki squealed immediately. "OMG!!!" He clenched both hands like the girl he resembled.
Mr Shiba was confused by his excitement. 'Holy cow, it's been so long since I've killed something!' Haruki almost panicked. Pacing about to prepare.
The holographic clock manifested and the 1 minute count down began.
'Okay, just breathe... let's see what they look like exactly. The more human the better honestly.' Haruki removed his plus sized upper track and tied it along his waist.
Ting~!
The countdown expired and was met with the kitchen bell.
Haruki squinted, his long lashes nearly obstructing his vision.
"Oh....it looks kinda human I guess?" He acknowledged their physique. The ash humanoids simply resembled naked men without privates but with a monochrome color and artificial beady eyes.
It sprinted forward with average speed, slightly disappointing Haruki. He sighed then slowly strengthened his fingers, almost looking as if his nails extended.
"Hyup!" Faking a forward jab, Haruki pierced its forehead. His hand passing till blood stained his elbow.
"Jesus."
Mr Shiba almost shuddered from such strength and precision.
Wuwei spoke as well.
"Didn't another just decapitate one as if cutting butter?" The Chinese woman asked worriedly. Such strength could be explained if they were at least muscular adults.
"And from the looks of their calm composures, they don't seem to be under influence of our drugs." Wuwei told the Bishop who nodded in response.
"Could contestant Maru....be a 'Good man'?" That name presented itself again.
"Well, Sir Scott has interrogated contestant Inori if she possessed the mark to which she denied. As for contestant Maru...I don't know,I just have a feeling he isn't a 'Good man.'"
"But let's not be too surprised, strength like this was displayed by Scott years ago. And shockingly enough he was a normal person."
Mr Shiba decided to observe them longer.
Paying closer attention to Hori and Haruki, just what were these..."Humans"?
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Haruki forced his arm away from the 4th set of opponents. Not even paying attention to the increase in his points, understandable since he's had perfects up till now.
After batch 4 which consisted of 16 enemies, Haruki saw the holographic clock begining it's usual countdown. He sighed, surprised by how fast he got bored of this.
The uncomfortable feeling of dried blood disturbed his arm, prompting him to take a look. Examining the warm vivid texture with a confused expression.
Mr Shiba looked closer at the screen, tapping his long fingers as if watching a show.
Haruki squatted in front of a corpse and did exactly what Hori did but this time aimed at its stomach. He forced his knife shaped hand into it's abdomen, not showing any discomfort whatsoever.
Wuwei gasped through her lips, and the Bishop smiled. "These two must be related or something." He chuckled at the two top participants similarities. Why were they so curious with their opponents anatomy?
Mr Shiba decided to keep quiet and just watch.
Haruki casually spread it's innards open, rolling it's intestines and laying them aside. He pressed the large one and noticed feces exited through the hole at the end.
Throwing his face away at the smell, he forced out more and more until the large intestine was empty.
He stared at its excrement, 'If SHO wanted to make realistic opponents, did they have to fill them with actual poop?'
"Ahem!" Haruki cleared his throat, wiped both arms on a clean corpse and finally stood up.
Waving to the sky to ask a question.
"Mr announcer~~~" he called out almost lovingly.
Mr Shiba paused before answering.
Haruki cut to the chase, boldly saying, "These aren't fake... are they?"
Tilting his head to the side, as if feeling insulted for being lied to.
Mr Shiba didn't reply, letting his silence speak volumes.
He continued. "I mean, I don't mind if they're actual people... but doesn't doing this make other participants murderers?" In all honesty, Haruki was worried about Hori's involvement in such an act. He continuously tapped his foot on the snow, still awaiting a reply.
Ting~!
The bell rang, signalling more opponents. 32 enemies to save the Bishop from answering the question.
Haruki slowly returned his attention to the trial, as if showing he wasn't done with Mr Shiba.
They were 32, now resembling a mob with now slightly different builds. One taller than Haruki and another fatter.
As they ran towards him, Haruki's mind wondered elsewhere.
'Or maybe they aren't actual people?' he took a fighting stance.
'Mom sometimes told me how the curse for Sinners work....I think she said it depends on how bad a sin was?' he slapped the first, completely uprooting it's head.
'For example, lying once won't trigger the curse, but a single kill would.'
- To explain Haruki's observations. He reasoned that if these were truly people, any opponent ending their life should immediately turn into a Sinner of Murder. So this is of two questions.
- Either these opponents were nothing more than cattle with no immorality behind their deaths. OR the trial grounds was a holy sanctum of some sorts, negating the curse and allowing Sin of any kind.
'I could test it in trial 5, but I'm a Sin so the curse doesn't affect me.' Haruki admitted, almost deciding to kill a participant in the next trial to prove his theory.
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