CHAPTER 32: CH 32: A STRANGE ENCOUNTER

’Hmm..it seems like the body has healed completely. You shall be gaining control over your body again, Karl. But let this be a reminder that this body still belongs to me...And I shall have it again.’

Even as Henry spoke, the surrounding darkness started to shrink back into my own shadow. After they had withdrawn from the islands, the land looked the same as it was before being consumed under the shadows.

The only change was an injured human who was groveling on the ground, his body curled up and trembling uncontrollably.

Gradually, I felt my control come back as Henry retreated back to my mind.

But I didn’t move at all. Just stood still and blinked blankly.

The shock had been a bit too much for me.

For now, I know that Henry can only come out when I have suffered grave injuries.

But who is to guarantee he wouldn’t do something crazy in the near future...?

I looked down at the the mixture of mud and blood,some of which was my own. And among them Reinhard groaned for help.

[Status has returned to normal.]

It was at that moment that I thought internally, ’Henry is quite overpowered.’

Just half an hour back, I had been complaining to myself about how unfair it was for a First Order and Third Order to fight against each other?

But now...

I knew how wrong I was.

This utter humiliation of both me and Reinhard was deserved in a way. Gives me more room to grow.

As long as you have seen the peak of something, you always have a target to trek forward to.

A small breeze whistled past me, carrying fallen leaves and brushing against the bushes.

"I guess it’s time to end this exam for real." I said to the wind but looked at the unresponsive Reinhard.

I knew I wasn’t supposed to win. Some might even say that this was an extreme case of cheating.

But, in the first case I wasn’t even supposed to die. I was unceremoniously killed and brought to this strange world against my non-existing wishes.

My point here is --

Was the world fair? No, it wasn’t.

Thus, should I really care if I won something I didn’t even deserve? No, I wasn’t supposed to care about such menial morals when they wouldn’t save my life or keep me alive to see the next day.

Picking up a bromze spear, I approached the fallen black haired.

Around me, the wind had strangely picked up in speed as trees shed their leaves in short bursts and pollens contaminated the air.

Or maybe this was just a routine stuff on the Tempest Island. Lives up to its name, I must say.

Undettered, I dragged the spear which made a scraping noise against the ground.

All of a sudden, howling winds swept through the entire area. Trees bent under the face of this sudden onslaught.

And I snapped out of killing stupor as I released the breath I hadn’t known I had been holding for so long.

’It seems I still cannot kill a human...’ My mask of courage cracked open into a huge disappointment.

It wasn’t that I wanted to be a killer ...I just wanted enough mental strength so that when I needed to really defend myself, I would be able to do so.

And what better opportunity than here to test that out? I would have killed him which even fell witukk the frame of the rules and the principal would have revived him back.

I felt my knees bend slightly and I was forced to take notice of the storm around me. It was too strong by now.

The wind pressure was so concentrated that it started getting hard to breathe in air.

Kneeling down on the ground, I placed the spear beside me on the ground. Then I closed my eyes, mainly to block out the incessant dirt particles irritating the eyes.

’Let’s wait for this to lessen a bit in intensity and only then shall I run away to a safe place in the forest.’ I thought as I sat there, taking the load of the wind against my back.

Then as I waited in the internal silence but external violence, the roaring of the wind suddenly vanished from my ears.

’That fast? Damn, what type of hurricane was that.’ I thought as I opened my eyes.

A big mistake.

Then I looked around me.

Another mistake. One that almost led to a premature heart attack for me.

Because I was literally NOT standing where I was moments ago. On my right and my left, several palm trees were in sight.

And the vegetation was scarred with rough patches of tussock and shortgrasses.

As for the fauna, well...I think I can see what the fauna of this part of wherever I was in looked like.

A bunch of strange creatures stood before me.

Their asphalt coloured skin were cracked as red, stripped muscles showed between their surfaces. Their legs started from what should have been the abdomen of a normal human and their hands ended in long, crooked claws.

The most disgusting thing about them was their faces. Heck, calling it a face was a huge exaggeration in itself. Coming out of their throats were several root like tentacles that swarmed around them and looked highly sensitige to the surroundings.

And where their should have been a face, the skin was carved inside the chest.

It was practically a sight to vomit at.

And there wasn’t a single one of them in front today me. Rather an entire horde of them were present in my like of sight.

Their bodies were sagged towards the ground as their tentacles flickered in random motions.

’Thank god, they don’t have eyes.’ I thought as I remembered the titanic giant back in my test in Mr. Arlott’s dimension.

And no longer had I thought of that, all the tentacles suddenly stopped mid-air.

Then in a synchronised movement, all of them stood straight and pointed towards a thick tree.

Or maybe I say...

Towards the tree behind which I was hiding till then.