"I… c… can't move." Dread pounded in his chest. The undead hand's cold grip tightened as he tried to yank his feet away.
"What was that man thinking?!"
As he tried to look down at his feet, Asahi realized it wasn't just a hand gripping him—it was an entire arm reaching up from beneath him, tightening its hold as he struggled.
A horrified scream burst out as he slammed the door with his weak fist, desperate for someone inside to open up.
(KNOCK)
(KNOCK)
(KNOCK)
"HELP!"
Silence answered him. Disbelief filled the boy as he saw all the windows shut. Asahi mumbled, his face pale.
"Why is no one answering?!"
Crickets chirped amid the cold night as disbelief churned in him.
"Rawr!"
"What… d-do I do? Surely, there must be one person out there to save me, right?!"
A light bulb went on in his mind.
The first person he could think of that had a chance at saving him was Chloe. Unlike everyone else he encountered, he shared a special bond with her. During their brief encounter, Chloe had shown courage and kindness, making her the only one Asahi felt he could truly rely on in a moment of crisis. Her unwavering spirit had left a lasting impression on him, giving him the strength to break free from the grasp and flee.
The adrenaline that pumped inside his body burned so many calories that all that was left of his stomach was empty.
"Is this part of the test?!"
He dodged the rising arms, caught his breath, and sprinted to the mansion's third window on the right.
His trembling gray eyes caught sight of a silhouette of a red-haired girl standing in front of him. With no options left, Asahi waved his arm repeatedly and screamed at the window.
"Hey! Can you open the door?!" He pulled the golden knob, found it sealed, and screamed.
"Open up! Please!"
"Rooar…"
He heard loud groans behind.
Despair and hopelessness washed over him.
Was this really how it would end for Asahi?
"No… I have to…"
Sure no one would help, he dragged his feet across the stone pavement and felt slender hands wrap around his leg.
As he struggled against the relentless hands, a question burned in the back of his mind. Why are there zombies here? He had heard whispers of an ancient curse and a vengeful spirit buried beneath the mansion back at the hospital—was this a trap, an ancient grudge resurfacing? The thought added a chilling layer to his already desperate situation.
He gritted his teeth, looked up at the stars, and mumbled as he staggered from the chasing zombies.
"W… What is going on? Why is the man doing nothing?!"
Circling the mansion and bridges, more zombies emerged from the ground.
(CRUMBLE)
(ROAR)
A horde of green undead figures closed in around him.
Fifty swarmed and grabbed Asahi's body.
His eyelids drooped. He tripped over a branch and collapsed, crying and screaming.
"HELP!"
No matter how much Asahi screamed, no one answered.
When he looked at his arms, he saw goosebumps rising. His trembling, fear-filled eyes watched as each individual limb of his body relentlessly torn.
(SHUNG)
Two hours passed; white dust spewed from his wounds as he desperately crawled and kicked zombies away. He screamed as glowing eyes shone on his dead skin.
"G… Get away! P… Please…" It was hopeless for Asahi to ask these alien, undead creatures to move away. He tried everything in his power to defend himself, and although he had lost a few parts of his body, the teeming determination surging inside his mind urged him to continue.
Meanwhile, a man who stood behind a window watched as the white-haired figure punched, kicked, and crawled desperately away from the grizzly zombies. The man waited intentionally, his eyes calculating and patient, understanding the importance of observing Asahi's struggle. This was not merely a fight for survival; it was a test of character and resolve. He knew stepping in too soon would rob Asahi of the opportunity to discover his own strength. Besides, the rules of the challenge required him to wait until the right moment, ensuring the lesson was learned through experience, not interference.
He forced his eyes shut and turned his head down, praying as he saw the moonlight stream over the dark hallways.
"Don't give up. Just use your heart, not your fists."
A worried grin emerged from his face as he recollected the memories of his past students who had endured this exact challenge.
"The first one is always the hardest challenge. But once you finally realize…" The man grabbed a sleek, shining iron sword from the wall of weaponry in his room and dragged it slowly down the stairs.
As he grabbed the keys and shoved them through the hole of the doorknob, the blue-haired man whispered. "That if your mind is willing, the flesh could go on without anything."
What he had said matched directly with what Asahi currently endured.
"H…Help…"
Although his dust spilled and he had felt almost every limb in his body get gnawed, damaged, and injured, Asahi clenched his jaw and forced himself to stay upright when he saw the front doors finally open, even as a burning pulse of pain filled his mind.
"I… I have to… do it."
The man smiled proudly as he saw the boy crawl toward the stairs.
A patience worthy of admiration beamed on the man's face as he tossed the iron sword and kicked it to Asahi's only hand. The man commended him.
"Impressive, I have never seen any of my past students so determined before."
Tears of relief flooded Asahi's dust-covered face as the man heard zombies growl at him. Acting quickly, the man pulled the bruised, tattered boy up and forced the silver sword into his hand.
"However, this lesson isn't over."
A look of wrath, disdain, and anguish lingered in Asahi's face.
"W… What?! N-No… just let…"
Toivo shook his head in denial, pushed Asahi back into the crowd of zombies, and answered, his arms remaining at his sides.
"You have two choices. Either you cease yourself and flee to the mansion like a coward, or you trust your mind and finish this challenge like a bold man."
"W…What?"
Asahi rocked his stinging body back and forth and tilted his head to the invading ghouls behind. Then, his view adjusted to the golden, hopeful yet false light that leaked through the two open doors.
It was a sign of hope and faith for Asahi, but it was recognized as cowardice to Toivo. Asahi mumbled as he stared at that light.
"I… can't… do it."
"Sigh…" The man's sharp eyes lashed at Asahi.
That sight beguiled the weary soul in Asahi as he felt an unimaginable amount of temptation fluctuate in him.
"I understand."
A hopeful look brightened Asahi's face as he adjusted his gaze to the open doors and dragged his battered body toward the mansion.
But as he caught glimpse of that disappointed look overshadow Toivo's face, a fortuitous series of happy memories suddenly emerged in Asahi.
The first smile he made, the silly acts of everyone in Linuxinia, and the friends he made along his journey. Those memories were enough to eclipse his infectious cowardice, and pulsate so much adrenaline, that it was enough to warm the chilling feeling he felt from the zombies that devoured-half of him.
The determined, handicapped boy picked up the blade and looked over to the reflection of it.
The steel surface of the sword was so polished and shiny that he could see his bruised and tattered face reflected on it like a mirror. It displayed the pain he went through.
"That's… me…."
He mumbled as his eyes leaned over to it.
"No. I… have to do this."
Asahi did the impossible. He went against his every doubt and chose to gamble his life to defeat this challenge.
At a glance, he tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade, slowly turned his body over to the monsters, and stepped forward with the last hints of hope.
A bitterness crept into his emerging, brave grin as Toivo's face beamed with pleasurable anticipation.
"Yes. Like that." He said as he made a glance of extraordinary meaning to the boy. "Feel the flow of the soil resonate within you. Let the body… let the flesh… persist. Only then will the magic of Linuxinia take you."
A surge of energy overwhelmed Asahi, feeling a furtive breeze of triumph circulate around his presence. Asahi slowly assailed toward the sprinting monsters with a smile.
"You're right."
He felt as if everything in the area was with him, and with his trembling mouth, he mumbled.
"Yes. Let… i… it…"
The shining sword gleamed with aspiration.
Birds were fluting in the trees as the cold, black inky night gently faded into a sky borne with hope.
A bright orange glowed on his white hair, and his cheeks furrowed by strong purpose and feeling. With a manner so full of hope, Asahi hurriedly sprinted with his one-armed blade, kicked his dusty feet off the ground, and impaled one of the zombies with the sharp blade. Goo scattered out and stung the floor.
"ROAR!" The zombies growled as they scrambled angrily to Asahi, jotting their arms and spitting. Quickly, the hopeful, handicapped boy with one arm averted and dodged their strikes, then gashed up at the throats of the zombies. Adrenaline surged within his strikes as he sprinted and catapulted himself toward the monsters.
A smile dawned up Toivo's proud face.
"He did it. I knew he would."
Before the sun had risen, Asahi clashed and punctured his sharp blade deeply through all of the monsters, detaching their arms, and spreading its blood into the air. A cry of joy came out from Asahi's determined attacks.
"YEAH! I FEEL IT!" He quickly skidded on the grassy ground and charged at the line of slow green figures in front of him.
(SHING)
All their torsos were immediately cut and shriveled, torn, and impaled from his attacks. "Yes!"
But then, something even greater happened.
As Asahi immersed himself in the absolute onslaught and massacre of the zombies, a brilliant green line of luminance entangled over his body. As it coursed through him, he felt a warm electric pulse igniting from within, infusing his limbs with renewed vigor and clarity. This ethereal energy heightened his senses and amplified his movements, allowing him to anticipate the zombies' actions with supernatural precision. It didn't affect him or anything physically, but it signaled to Toivo that what Asahi was doing triggered the magic of The Sealed Beatific to activate.
His eyes widened in surprise as he saw several of those magical lines encircle Asahi's hand.
"The joy in him is even greater than I expected. He…"
Suddenly, as Toivo came to his senses, the color in Asahi's eyes glowed from a dark gray to a bright green. He quickly backflipped, created a green magical circle consciously, then unleashed a potent green explosion which obliterated each and every zombie among the hill.
As the dust settled, Asahi cheered and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
"YEAH! THAT FELT AMAZING!"
A patience worthy of admiration shone on Toivo's face as he approached Asahi with the other maids. His glimpse shifted over to Kendra, whose eyelids were still half-shut and then ordered her. "Kendra, are you willing to escort this young man and grab Opui to heal him?"
Her bright glacial blue eyes broadened in shock. "Did he pass?"
A genuinely shocked look came from Toivo's eye as he replied.
His eyes leaned over to Asahi's tattered face. "There's something different about how he used The Sealed Beatific compared to the others. I… I can't believe he survived the entire night. He's… already growing." Unlike the previous students, Asahi possesses an unyielding determination and an innate ability to adapt swiftly to his surroundings. His quick thinking and unique bond with the magic set him apart, allowing him to use The Sealed Beatific with finesse and intuition that surpassed all of Toivo's expectations.
Toivo shook his head, pushed Kendra toward the doors, and raised his gruff voice.
"Just get him healed, now! I don't want that boy to die. He doesn't deserve it. Matter in fact, this will be the first time in a while to give a reward for what he did."
Kendra nodded her head, entered the door with Asahi's body, and replied with an interested giggle to the boy.
"Wow… if he keeps it up, maybe he'll be…"
"What did I say?! Escort that boy now, and grab the nurse! Stop day-dreaming and listen to my commands, please."
Kendra gulped, sprang up in shock, and replied.
"Yes, sir!"