CHAPTER 60: DEATH: COMING

While carnage threatened to ensue in the outside, Sean walked calmly to what could have very well been his death.

He knew very well that he was mostly out of his depth here, but he still came either way. He had reviewed his decision countless times after he made his first deduction, joining two unrelated events together, to create a full picture.

Well, the events were not entirely unrelated, because there was a focal point between the two... An anchor of some sort, which was the young man before him.

Victor Likhoy... Or rather, a person he believed, was impersonating him.

According to the book plot, Victor never survived the exam, his body was found dead, after the exam was abruptly cut short. But the mystery was that, nobody knew how he died.

More than that, none of the motion detectors seemed to have been able to detect him. This was only known because after tests were carried out, they found out the body was not natural... A homunculus.

From the very moment Victor stepped into the Gate, none of the detectors they had put in place, seemed to have been able to detect him... Right till he died.

Also, the place his body had been found... Here where they stood staring off into each others soul, was also the focal point for a lot of mess that caused the exam to be terminated before hand, and would still be the focal point again.

"How did you find me?" Victor asked.

His voice revealed curiosity and surprise, but aside that, there was no other emotion to it.

Cold and collected. Without the slightest hint of wariness that the person he killed with his own hands was somehow alive, at the same time, not the slightest trace of arrogance that he had killed his person before.

Maybe he was feeling otherwise inside, but it didn’t show, and that alone, was enough to make Sean’s guard raise a considerable notch... If that was even possible, considering his guard was already as high as it could possibly be.

Sean however, did not respond, as unlike Victor who was somehow able to remain undetected, the same wasn’t applicable for him. If anything, he was sure that almost all eyes was on him.

’How much longer?’ He complained internally.

He had spent a considerable amount of time waiting before he came here, just so he could be as precise as possible.

’Richelle must probably be fuming,’ he mused.

For someone whose life was potentially in danger, he didn’t seem to care... No, he did, but his priorities were quite misplaced.

A faint tremor ran through the ground.

’Finally!’ he exhaled, as he took a step forward.

To those watching from the outside, it was as though he had finished sizing up the Stage-3 out-worlder, and still decided to fight.

Media forums created solely for the exams, were flooded with different questioning his intelligence.

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[Dom267: What is he doing?]

[Apex: I thought he was cool, but now he’s just brain dead]

[Happy: He is still cool though.]

[Slime_bot: (To @Happy) Exactly! How many people can boast to have squared up against a Stage-3, while being a mere Stage-1 themselves?]

[Nicholas: (to @Slime_bot) Except that he won’t be alive to boast you pig brain!]

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"I asked you a question." Victor frowned.

Sean again ignored him.

"Fine, you’ll die just the same!"

He accelerated with explosive speed, so much so that in one second he was just a few feet away from the out-worlder, and the next, he was before Sean, fists blazing.

Sean’s pupils constricted into pinpricks.

*BOOOM!!!!!*

The ground shook, cracks running along its surfaces. Up ahead, the sky shattered like glass, and terrifying winds picked up, plucking both man and out-worlders alike from the ground, some outright killing them even.

*ROARR!!!*

The Stage-3 out-worlder which was previously restrained to an extent... so much that students could fight it with minimal casualties, but still free enough, that it was a calamity nonetheless... Finally broke free.

Its roar could be heard from almost every where in the Gate, causing hearts to leap off their chests to their throats.

The detectors that were providing a live feed of the examination to onlookers, were destroyed together with the artificial sky... and the world of the Gate, was cut off from the outside world.

Panic ensued amongst the lucky students.

It was as if the apocalypse had descended, turning their reality upside down, inside a Gate!

The area swampy area where Sean, Victor and the Stage-3 were, saw it worse.

The ground split into two wide chasms, revealing a deep endless abyss below.

*Cough! Cough!*

The sound of vigorous coughing could be faintly heard in the chaos of rumbles, roars and shouts.

Sean slowly pushed himself up from the ground, blood pooling off from the side of his lips. His eyes were cold and frigid, as he took in the wrecked surrounding, his clothing stained from mud.

With clenched teeth, he pulled his left arm forcefully, snapping the dislocated joint... A result of tanking Victor’s punch, back into place.

Victor likewise pushed himself up too, his body twitching from the constant spasms of lightning coursing through his body.

The dampness of the surroundings, only made it worse. His evaluation of Sean immediately saw new heights.

Though he had not underestimated Sean at all from the beginning... It seemed he had still had a wrong evaluation of how strong he was.

His spat blood to the side, his chest aching from the blow he had received from Sean.

’Whitlocks aren’t to be underestimated after all.’ He thought.

He wasn’t worried though. No matter how strong Sean must have gotten, he still believed he was capable of defeating the boy.

There was only so much improvement one could make in the span of two weeks. Two weeks ago, Sean had been helpless before him, and while he had gotten stronger now, the end result would still be all the same.

After all, he wasn’t banking entirely on his strength alone. Even if he could beat the Whitlock, killing him or stopping him from escaping was another thing what or rather who, he was banking on was someone beyond what this world has seen.

Of course, the devastation that rocked the Gate wasn’t as a result of his clash with Sean.

Sean’s head snapped to a certain direction, the rings of ruby irises in his eyes, shining with a dark light.

There he could feel it...

The scent of death!

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[A/N: The next two Chapters are mistakes that WN refused to allow me correct. Do well to skip the next two Chapters. Thank you]