NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 14 – You Failed!
I fell down on my back.
But I quickly got back up, and continued sprinting.
The monster must’ve felt that… I landed the shot directly on his chest.
But…
I looked at the engraved symbol on the revolver’s handle.
2 bullets left.
Fuck!
What the hell can I do with 2 bullets?!
If I’m gonna kill it…
I need one opportunity for one decisive shot to the head!
Right now, the monster must be recovering from its wounds in the darkness.
I have some free-time to plan for my next attack.
Wait…
I stopped next to a rack filled with boxes of convenience supplies.
Could I..?
Well…
Assuming my bullets have the properties of light.
That means I could do that.
I scavenged through the boxes on the shelving rack.
Found it.
I picked up an item that would give me a good opportunity to land one good shot on its body.
Then I could use the remaining bullet to shoot it in the head, before it retreats into the darkness.
Yes…
This could work.
Okay…
Along with some tape from the box, I strapped and slid the item into my right sleeve.
Right now my right arm is numb.
But I could still feel some control over my elbow.
Bend… Crack-
Ouch-, fuck!
That was definitely not a noise a hand should make!
… Well, it’s okay. I won’t be using this method a second time anyway.
Now I just have to wait for the monster to come after me again.
Okay… I’m ready for you.
Come at me!
…
…
…
[Monster’s POV]:
M-My chest…
Purple blood was oozing from the gunshot wound.
He’s got good reflexes… I should’ve leapt myself at him before he saw me.
I put pressure onto my wound with three of my hands.
Hehehehehe, that persistent little bug.
Good, good, good… If I had to rate his performance so far…
I’d argue it’s a semi-passing grade.
He’s doing well so far, despite running while on the brink of death.
But… It seems like he'll never leave this room.
You have the answer right in your hands, so why can’t you see it..?
Giving you a chance is a mercy I rarely give to my victims.
It's a pity… You were the first person to get this far.
Well, not that it matters to me anyway…
When you run out of bullets I’ll finish you off.
Clot.
The bleeding stopped, and I pulled myself up with my arms.
I reached to the ceiling with 2 of my arms, and stuck onto it with my other arms and my legs.
I looked around.
And saw a bright light in the distance,
“There you are…”
I smacked my lips.
Ahhhh~
I wonder what you’ll show me next.
First, it was that face of fear.
Then, it turned into desperation.
And now, it’s full of unusual confidence.
I’ve never seen such changes happen to my victims before.
Usually they die before obtaining the resolve to face me…
But you… Yohlan… You are different.
From the start…
The moment I locked eyes with you at the store’s entrance, the store called out to me,
‘Candidate identified... Yohlan Dainen… Proceed to testing.’
Everytime I was notified, that meant in some way... A specific person would somehow discover my true nature...
The voice from the store had future sight... In some way I guess.
I never fully understood the store's intentions.
But to me, it just meant it was lunch time.
I wonder... Who will grant me the salvation I desire..?
…
Death.
That was what I wished for.
However, my existence is bound to the store…
I couldn’t kill myself… Not until she could find a worthy candidate that completed her trial.
When she created this room, I used to be a human.
But she transfigured me into a monster that couldn’t control its own bloodlust.
I couldn't remember who I was before.
All I knew was that I was left inside this place as an Evaluator.
But…
I’d always end up killing my victims in the heat of the moment.
I always regretted it afterwards.
These ambiguous sides of me conflict with each other every time.
But I always lose to the side that craves for violence and murder.
Well…
Doesn’t matter.
As usual, I’ll give into my impulses.
Hehehehe…
Yoooohlaaaan~!
You’re showing me sides I’ve never seen before…
I can’t wait…
To see the moment… That your hope immediately turns into despair.
How exciting!
Still on the ceiling, I crawled towards the bright light.
Eventually his body came into view.
…
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
… Why is he walking so casually?
He had his gun pointed downwards…
Right now, he looks so vulnerable.
… Suspicious.
So… What do you have up your sleeves?
Is it another trick?
But there’s nothing he can do right now…
With his back turned towards me… He just looks so…
So…
Tempting!
Uuughhhh~…
I can’t hold it anymore.
I’m gonna attack him!
I stealthily climbed onto a rack that was ahead from his walking path.
And hid my body in the boxes.
I won’t mess up this time…
As soon as your back is turned towards me.
I’ll capture you… And…
I’m gonna enjoy torturing your body like there’s no tomorrow!
Yohlan stopped walking and looked around.
Then he continued walking forward…
Until he passed me.
NOW!
I pounced at him from the shelving rack behind him.
8 meters.
Swoo-
3 meters.
oosh-
2 meters.
“GOTCHA-“
BANG!
…
For a second, I was blinded by a flash of light.
W-What?
My head flung backwards.
A light went straight through my head.
…
I must be seeing this wrong somehow…
How did he shoot me..?
I used my remaining strength to look towards Yohlan.
…
Are those fucking reflective sunglasses?!
Don’t tell me…
He was waiting until I was within the sunglasses's reflection and redirected the bullet towards me by shooting at the lenses?!
…
My…
Consciousness…
…
Fading…
I’m…
…
Dead.
…
…
…
[Yohlan’s POV]
I-I did it…
Holy shit… I got lucky.
There was no telling where that bullet could’ve gone.
I was just hoping that it’d be enough to render the monster immobile for a few seconds, so I could shoot it with the last bullet.
Yes…
YES!!!
I did it!
Take that you eight-legged arachnid-bitch!
Haha!
…
Wait.
Why is..?
…
The monster’s body kept squirming.
…
What?
The monster’s body, twitching on the ground, widely opened out its jaw,
“D̷̡̯̮͉͙̼̺̬̥͉̖̝͖̅̎͌̉́̆̋̈̀͜͝P̵̡̨̛̦̞̞͉̯͓̞̹̹͔̼̓̏̅̈̅̏̄̕͘͜ͅA̵͓͛̀̅̚O̵͉̭̼͘ ̴̜̫͕̩͌́̈́͗̋͐͐̒͝Ȧ̴̬̬̪͈̠̪̣͉̼͍̗͖̬͑͐̃̀̂Ò̵͕̳L̵̛͓̗̖͊̍̊̽̾͛͠͝ ̶̢̨̡̘̲͚̥͇̮͖̯̦͔̭̻̊̄̍͛͌͐D̸̞̯͈̣̭̭̩̮͉̜̆̀͌̀̈́̍͒͆̋̚͜P̸̛̫̞̠͗Ş̵̢̺͙̼̮̣̲͙͇̱̠̱͉̾̑̾̌ͅS̴͉̼̃̿̀͜ ̵̰͙͕̺̭͎̳̤̜̻̅̄̓̿̌̃͒̓͑̍̇̏͝ͅV̶̢̨̢̙̪̦̦̖̥̮͖͉̀̈̎̓̌̃̓͒̅͑̎̕͝ͅM̸̩̦͎͋̀̀͋̋̀͒́̓̊͆̇ ̷̢̬̖̰͔͖͓͈͚̦͔̈́̍͝A̶̢̫̣̠͇̖̝͖̦̻͚̲͈̗̔͛̓͑͂̆͐̚O̸͖̗̎̈́͑̈͛͐̃̍̈L̷͍̞̤͑̓͒̀̿̌̓͛̆̓͠ ̵̼͎̌̄̈̅͑̋̿̏̓̎͝͝͝Į̷̺͚̟̼͓̀̎̿̎̂̈́͂͝F̸̢̈́̈́̐̅̎̽̑Ẕ̷̺̖̒̀̈̌̚͘̕Ą̷̖̥͖̣̱̠̩̙̯͔̲̉̇͆̾̃̏́͆́͌͌͗̏̉͠H̵̙̖͚̊̏́̕͘Û̶̢̧̫͙̺͍͕̫̰̘͔͓̱̗̲̉̊̓͗͊Ķ̸̛̠͎̝̻̗̰̰̈́̌̍̃̆͑̔̅̉́͘L̶̢͙̱̣͍͎̼̲͊͊̓̽̂́Y̴̢̛̰͖̝͂̑̋̈̈́͌͗̉̎̚͠,̶̢̡̢̖͉͉̤͈͚͓̰͓̝̰̝̑̀̄́̈́̂́̚͝ ̷̡̨̠̞͍̼̼̼̟̬̾ͅB̸̡̭̞̹̖̲̜̘͓͑͂U̸͚͋̀̀̓̾͗͠A̸̺̦̮͔͑̑̍̾͛̆̓̈́́͘͠͝P̷͚̯͍̉̈́͌̓͋̐̆͆͐̚͘͝S̸̗͔̻̯̦̫̮̘̝̿͋̊̐́͌̿͌̃̄̇͘ ̷̤̪̄̽͗̈́͘T̵̙̟̤́F̶̡̧̧̖͉̟͙̲̳̗͇̱͍̥̎͌̍̀̋̐̓̂͋̅̚̕ ̶̟̅̔͆́̄̐̎̀̈́̄̈́̚̚Š̴̝͎̝͙͖H̶̛̗̱̉́̾̂̊̃͋̾͘Z̶̨̛̘̱̄͑͂̆̿̚͝Ä̵͎̼͈͇̙̩̙̯̲͍͈̜͉́̊̀͆̆̋̔̒͒͆̈̿̓͝ ̴̩͚͎̥̥̮͍͒̆I̷̡̠͕̪̝̫̭̪̯̦̹̠̬͝͠ͅͅY̷̤͎̝̎̽̾͆̆̍L̵̢̨̢̡͔̠̞̣̼̯͉͎̻̺͆͆͊̿̓́͋̀̑̄͘Ḫ̴̞̠̯͖̼͔̜̠͇̲̜̄͂́̃̿͘͜Ǎ̸͙̰̠̞̮̮̀̒̅͒͐͑̂̈́͂̋͘͝Ǫ̴̺̘̖͔̲̪̖̼̺͊́̈́̂̉́̐̒L̸̻̤̠͖̀̓̈́̀,̷̫̫̀̀͗͆̌̽̎ ̷͙̳͚̖̅̄̌͑̈́͛̚̕͝͝P̴̧̜̲͈̑͒̌͂̎̏͐̒̑̔͝͠ ̸̧̧͎̗̫̹̞̭̩̥͍̻̲̄Z̶̢̭̯̳̮͈̲͔̫͊̅̉̊̓́̒͘ͅƠ̷̧̱̣̭̬̠̺͑̀̉͌̉̐H̷̨̟̬̼́̉S̸̡̲̜̄̆̎̂̃̓̂̅͠S̵̡̢̛͔̩̝̳͎͚̮͍̲̹̜̥͇̔̑͋̽̊́͐̓̓̋͗̈̚͝ ̴̬͛̈́̽̐̃̊̂̌͝Ḿ̷̧̛̻͕͕͔̖̝̠͇̰̗̈́̈̊̄V̵̧̛̂̀͆̔̍S̸̺͉͇͂̋S̶̡̡̰͓̲̬̰͙͈̻̖̻͋́̈̐̀̓̋̿̚̚͝V̵̪̤̻̘͎̬̙̠̹̱̙͙̪͗̽̃͆́̄̎̀͠D̷̢̜̰̖̭͖̭̞̓͂̾̐̍̔̾͗͘͝͝ ̷̛͖̗̝̩͉͖̤͓͕̬͔͓̘̈́́̃̀̌͑͆̿̕͘À̴̡̼̼̭̈́̀̍̐͝Õ̴̧̬̫̮̪͎̙̘͉͋̊͊͂͆̂̚͝L̵̢̛͔̱̱͇̻͓̔̉͛ ̴̧̖̺̯̤͂̀M̷̢̛͔͚̙̣͕̜̥̺͈͖̀̅̀̇͜H̷̛̛͕̫͚̮̜̤̻̗̥̗̞̬͓́̔̔̋̾͊͒̏̔͝͠Á̴̡̛͕̤͓͋̏̍̔̉̄͋̒̾Ļ̴̨͉̼̭̖̣̠̦̳̐̽͂̋̔͑͗͒͜͜͝͝͠ ̶̧̛̗͓̥̺̥̼͉̤̜͙̮̠̟̺̋̍̑́̐̇̓͗͗̆̏̒Ì̷̡̧̛̤̩̝̞̗̖̞̱̻͖͊̆̓̋̔̍̿̇͘͜͝ͅͅḶ̶̪̝̰̪̯̘̗͓̰͖͛͑́͘͘͝Ź̸͙̙̼̝̟̙͓̠̱̎̿A̶̧̮̜͚͛͂͐͆́͝Ṽ̷̡̬D̸͔̝̉̉͑͂̎͌͊̍͗͆̈͝Ļ̷̡̲̱̣̠͉͗̇̔̌̆͋̿̕͝͝ͅK̸̛̙͎̯͚̉͒̍̈͗̉̂̈́̉͐̿̍̕͝ ̷̧̭͉̺̰̭̙̯͔͇̀͘ͅB̷̡̧̛̠̗̠̭̹͓̲̬̭̘͍̽͗͒́͌̂̉͘͝W̵̧̩̠̫̩̖̣͉̝̟̗̬̫͋̉̐̇̿́͘͘̕͜V̶̢̢̨̻̥̗͙͍͎͙̮̠̤̺̬̐̍̿͂͌̅Ú̴̲͉̈́ ̸̢̳͔̘̩̹͍̣̫̲̙͓̳͙̀̎͋͆̏͐͌͘T̶̨̝̱̈́̅͘Ļ̵̢̳͙͈̲̞͖̼̣̫͓͇̌̈́̏́̅͋̿̿͊̀͠ ̶̟̺̲̩̳̭͎͖̱̪͔̥͇̬̑̄̂̔̐̀̏̒̎̈́͝͠H̵̢͈̭̭̳͇͕̯̹̜̮̰̦͗̔̐̑̒͜͠Z̶̝̟̊̌͑̈̓̕͠ ̵͍̠̮̩̝̒̈́̊̔Y̷̨͍̰̮͇͉̯̫̯̻̤͚̟͐̑̽͜ͅL̷̖͓̞̟̩͑X̷̧̪͍̐͂̏͊͛͝B̷̼̜̮̯̤̱̱͍͓͇͉͗̉͋́̓͊͂̑̿̇̅̇͘͜ͅL̶͔̗͍̫̱̳̱̣͓̖͆͜Z̷̧̧̨̢̨͕̜͔̹̭̘͙͎̟̃̓̂́̈́̿̆͒̏̅̚̚͝͝A̶̟̬̦̳͇͖̜̼̋͑̈L̷͈̊̃͆́̌́̎̌͊̀͂̚͠͝͝K̸̢̳͙̪̞̙̦̄̓̅̅.̸͇̩̳͕̲̯͎̘̖̬̅̌̏͊̀͗̎̌̔̓̈͗̓͝ ̵̧̖̭̰̠͖̙̬̟̯̜͍̖́̚Ǻ̵̦͙̻̲̙̙͔̿̈́̓̔̌͆͛͒̚ͅͅƠ̸̢̲̘̖̹̮̠̮͐͛̄͋̿̈̂̑͜͝͠͝L̶͓̠̞̟̪̻͓͔̰̪͚̣̳̖̝̎̊̇͊͐̈̎̏̆̌͗̚͠͝ ̶̡̢̘͎̟́̒Z̵̟̰̬͕̪̓̈́̀̌̊̍̔̅̌͘̚̚̚̚͝ͅÄ̵̧̧̘̜̫̲̲́͗͑̆̄̀̋͛̚̚V̶̻͎̄͗͐̊̓̇̈́͂̇̕Y̶̱̼̖̽̋̔͗̿̕͠Ĺ̸̖͚̯̦̂͌̕ͅ ̵̨̳͗̉̓͋̂͜K̸̢̗͙̫̜̇̿͋́̄̆͒͐͝L̷̹̥͓̖̮̠̲͇̮̈́̓̏̎̊̃̌̈́̽̇̄͠M̵̢̛̳͈̤̠̜̞̠̠̩̅͑͌͆̂̐̀̏̊͋̚̚͝ͅP̶͕͆͌̽̆̌̔̿͂̋͂̆̈́̚͝Ư̵̢͓̳̯͖͇̗̲̫͐͌̇́̂̽͊̚ͅĻ̴̘̯̜̯̿̒̐̏̽̐̄̍̉͘͘͜͝ͅZ̷̢̨̛̳̥̙͉̯̬̩̰͎̣̼͎̥̑̑̾͊̅̏̏̆͘ ̴͔͗H̵̨̨̨͚͉̖̜̳̗̲͎̾͌̀͆̇͝Ư̵̢͍̩̙̯̯͚͎̳̺͈̺̈́͌̅̈́̽̚ͅK̸̝̎͒͑͐̅̐̒̎̍̍̍̅̊̌ͅ ̸̡̫̟̓͋̍̈́̏̌͑͌̀̌͌̇͘̚͝Ā̵̢̪̜͕̭̯̮͍͈͔͚̦͕͊̋͆͒̆̓̈̀̈́̐̀̚͜͜͝P̸̟̩͍̬̰͇̀̐͗̅̑̈́͜Ļ̸̧̟͉̞̥̃͆̂͑̀̂̒̐̈́͘͜͝Ẑ̸̡͈̞̳̠̞̈̀̓̉͝ ̷̡̛͔̠̞̹͚͕̹̻͍͇̭̠͂̏̈́̈́̾̆͐̈́͒̓̎̀̕͜Ţ̴̗͕̥̩̲̳̈͒͒͠F̴̤̲͖̰̈́̈͐̍ ̶̨̡͓̳͇͚̃̍͛ͅḺ̶̯͐̈Ȇ̷̠͎̼̤̙̆̈́͘P̸̩̤̂͗̏͂͂̂̇̿Z̸͚̲̘̘̃̐̆̈́̂͘͝Ą̵̤̥͓̙̩̋͗̅͘L̵̛̦̓͊̓̀͐̐̓͌͋̈͗̋͂U̶̡̦̖͖̥͙̤̝̖̩̍̍̽́͋͑̑͗̈́̚̚̚̚J̴̨̫͚̪̜͎̭̞̐L̸̢̡̬̙̜͔̰͍̀̌͒̎̅̍͑̿̄̌͐̽͐͛̔ ̶̢͉̙̠̲̳̺̰̞͎͖͈̞̣͛̌͜A̸̡̨̟͖̼͓̓͋̎̽͐̃͒͑̾͗͛͐̕͝V̴̨͇̮̟͍̓̑͊̉̋̎̽̚͠ ̶̩̩̔̂̉̓̆Ă̶̛̹̄̐͂͒̂͌͊͐̕̕͠Ơ̴̡̢̨͇̻͙͚͎̩͖̻̣̓̎́͑͗͋͂͗̈́̐̈P̶̧̨̡̰̥̞̲̘̖͙̖͜͜͝͝ͅŽ̶̨̢̺̮̘̻͙͉̣̣̭͖̰̓͝ ̶̧̡̬̣͚̬̣̐͆T̶͇̣͖͊̄̏̾͒͑̀͘V̷̗̣͔͍̖͆̓̾́̆̎̏͆̈́̾̕͝Ỹ̶̧̡̲̱̝̜̀̌̎̊̽͗̅̆́͂̌A̴̼̥̜̣̰͚͊̉̍̔̀̈Ḩ̵̺͓̲̖͇̾̅S̷͓̪͎͙͕͐̒̇̉́͛͝ ̶̨̧͕͓̘̙̭͉̯̉͑͊̓̉̇̂̚Ý̸̨̥͎̩̼̭̀͗͐̏͗̾́̔L̵̪̯̙͇͕͕͓̦̖͗͆͆̅̍͒̅̆͗́́͋͝H̷̛̥̯͉̮̟̜̦̮̠͚̘̆̔̈́̏S̷̡̛̩̰͔̟͔̳̞̣̒̄͗͋̽̈͘T̸̛͎̘͉̅̃̾̊͌̽͝͝ ̷̩̳̱͍̗̩̤̩̭͙͗͊͋͑́̔̓̅̓͋̂̓̕̕ͅB̴̦̂̔̏̄̈́̀͋͊̿̍̄̒͊͝U̶͍͇̱͈̝͌͐́͝Ą̸̤͇̫̣͕̘̗̟̞̺̹̥͔̌̾̅̍̐Ṗ̴̡̧͓̲̬̗̹̜̥̰̬͍̠͕̺̔́͌͋̇͆͐̇͠Ş̵͙̹͉̩̜͕̱̩̤͇̣̭̦̈́ͅ ̵̨̢̢̛̛̛͇̜̳͎̘̼͍̳̥̳͍̯͐͌̔͋̃̏͐͐̃̉A̷̧͉̼̞̰͓̜̳̦̖̥͒̿͐̐͋̓̄̈́̓̓͜͠Ȯ̷̘̼͙̰̣̤̟̻̥̗̭̣̑́͋̋̎̃̌̃̏͛̽̈́̓͜͜͝Ḽ̸͚͇̪̜̥̌̐̊̔̓̊́̕͠ ̶̛̛̳̻̼̖͚̬̘̻̠̻̦̹̈́̔̏́̽̓͐̍͂͋͘̚ͅZ̸̢̞̝̼̥̲͎̼͔̟̖͗͝P̵̧̥͍̝̠͈̟͇̯̫͙̺̺̦̒̆̓̀̏͂̈́͗̂͗̑̒̒͝Ń̵̲̽̈̅́̄̉͆͘͝O̷̹̽̊̽A̴̱͇͖͑̀͜͝Z̸̧̞̼̾͆L̵̲̈͝Ļ̴̮͉̣͔̣̭̳̽̉Ý̵̨̨̨̟̜̯̪̻͍͔̫̘͍͈̲̎̃͆̈́̈́̑́͒ ̶̧͇̪̥͉̟̳͇̬̻̮͓̼͉̫̂͝Ŏ̸̜͛̄̉̓̎̾̓͂H̴̭̗̦͋̏̌̿̎͌͘Z̷͚͂͊̊͆̎̔̅̉̆̌̌̃͘ ̵͉͓̰̗̖͚̮̲͔̼͗̏̊I̸̢̡͇̮̙͔̓̉L̸̡̫͚̜͉̄̀L̷̢̩̹̯̱͍̥͈̄͊͐͊Ǔ̸̢̗ ̵̧̟̑̊̒̎̊̔̈́͝J̴̢̨̢̬̲̬̞̼͕͈͚͔̩͚͖̉̆̋͘͘͠O̷̞̥̤͔̼̫̜̖̝̜̹̦̟̰̪͂́̾͊̅̽̀̾̌͑͠͝V̷̺̺̙͓̦̘̙̀̈́̐̓̈́͐͛̓̏Z̵̛͉̾́L̶͉͚̼͔̮̞̲̲̫̪̻̊̾̀͊͋͝Ư̶̡͚̬̟̳̙̥̈́̀̾͋̒.̷̨̲͓̹̖͉͕̺̤͖̥͇̗̀̓͊̎̏̍͝ ̴̢̢̖̤̩̺̠͓͚͕͙̐͋͋̎̽̽͒̚͝P̵̬̪̦̎͂̊̅͘͝ ̷̛͍̩̣͎̖̩͓͛͊̏J̵̡͔͖̩̭̼͉̺̙͇̍̑̆͆͗͠H̸̦̘̭̙̒̊̆̈́͊̆͘̚͘͝U̶͎͉̲̗̱̬̔̏̅͒̂̒̎̅̈́̓̀͆͗̚͜͠Ų̴͓̬̯̟̝̥̰͛̓V̴͙͉̼̲̺̼͈͖͎̰͓͕̺̋̄̈́̏̆̎A̵̙̬͕͈͓͎̋͗͜ͅ ̵̝̙̞͇̘̼̣̗̣̞̳͙̲̞́͆̂͌ͅU̵̢̧͓͔̞͖̯̥̫͖̺̰̜͔͗͜V̵̧̅͛̓̓͋̀́̐͠A̸̢̞͔̦͒̂ ̸̧̥̳̮̥͙́͂̍̀͗͘͝K̶̢̦̱̲̦͓̺̏̔͆̌̿̕̚͘P̶̢̣̞̣̣̳̒̐́͛̎́L̵̢̧̟̗͚̝̗͕̟͎͎̫͇̂̽̌ ̴̡̢͓̯̮͛͌͌͠ͅB̸͔̼̥̭̖̬͉̟̲͑̾̒̊ͅU̷̮̦͚͙̯̥̺͎̹̜̾̓̒̐̀̈́̐̆͆̕Ȧ̴̪̥̮̣̪̥͓̝̦̬̒͑ͅͅP̷̧͙̫̺̟͕͆͒͂̉̑͋̋̎̃͝S̸̭͕̳̄͠ ̵̛̛̘̤̗̥̦̗̦͔͍̮̱̣̰͖̈̀̐̿̚Ť̷̠̱̣͋̚͠F̵̢͍̟̟͆̎̉̑̈́̒͆͘͝͝ ̴̟͙̝̤̖̄̄͋̍̏̾̆̍̕Ă̴̪̪̲̬̘̦̰̤̐͘H̴͉̙̞͔̣̤̬̥͈͇̀̋́̂̌̾͗̃̀̽̒̽͐̑͝Z̴̙̼̳̪̮̪̟̼̈͗͛̈́͜͝ͅR̶̠̊͛̀̓̂̏̕ ̷̢̫͓̻̞̔̇̈́͑̔̏̚P̴̨̳̲̻͔̪͖̰̭̺͙̣̳̱̾́̈́͐̄̊͂̀̎̽͝͝Z̸̛̖̞̄̏̒̋̄̿̋̊̚̚͠ ̵̛̫̙͙̰̞̪̟̗͖̀͆̀͋̉̌̑͆̀̈͌͆͘͝J̴̡̮̤͚̲̈͌͛͒̽̆͆͝Ṿ̴̢̰́̈́̍̀̓̑̉͘͠T̵̗̠̰͌̅͊͝͠W̵͇̊̾͜S̴̛͖͍͋̏̓̋͆̑͒͠L̸̡̛̦͉̼͓͉͙̜̰̫̠͖̲̫̳͛̔͂̓͝A̷̢̡̢̛̙̳̲͚̳̪͔̹̫͎̐̃̇̈́̊̾̆̈́̄͌͆̚͜ͅL̴̙͉͓͗̔̍̒̃K̶̜͚̳̻͂̒̊̀͠.̴͕̮̟̦̮͉̮̮̰͐
”
… What the fuck is happening..?
Then-
Just like a puppet, the monster stood up and floated up into the air.
With its head still hanging down low.
The lifeless eyes that were on its face slowly gained vigor…
And…
As if time was rewinding…
The wounds on its body disappeared!
No…
Nonononono…
What exactly… Is happening…?
Fuck…
Fuck!!!
Then, just like a toy, it dropped back down onto the floor.
Flop.
His body reanimated… He brought his head up…
And looked at me once more.
Stare.
More aggravated than usual,
“Ah… Death…
I’ve died many times you know…
Someone once toppled shelving racks over me, and smashed my body flat onto the floor like paint to a canvas.”
What’s happening?!
“Compared to that… This is nothing…”
Why the hell did it come back to life?!
Once more, I aimed my gun towards the monster.
But this time, my left hand was shaking from fear.
I shouted, “H-How the fuck did you do that?!”
…
The monster smiled, “Isn’t it obvious?
You failed the trial!”