Sirius Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Battle Royale

Read chapter 27 of Sirius by Dealer on NovelPedia.

Darkness ruled the room. Silence froze every sound that might have come from outside. On the bed, a woman thrashed, visibly in agony. Sweat ran down her forehead and she pressed her eyes shut, grinding her teeth. A single tear slipped silently down her cheek. Flashes repeated in her head and she shook it from side to side, as if trying to escape whatever she was seeing. Arf Suddenly, she shot up in bed and pressed a hand to her forehead. Her breathing was ragged; shefought to pull air into her lungs. "A nightmare..." The girl looked at the nightstand, picked up a small notebook and the pen resting on top of it, and began to write. When she finished, she closed the notes and put them in a drawer. Then she stood up to start the day. "Today's the day!" Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she steadied herself. Turning on the light, she went to shower. When she reached the mirror, she stared into her own reflection. "You can do this, Akemi. You know you can." The half-elf looked deep into her own eyes and held herself there. A month had passed since the unlocking. The trio had met up multiple times to take on different missions. There had been complications at first, but with time everyone had gained considerable experience, growing their skills and instincts in a remarkably short span. After getting ready, Akemi headed out toward the main hall. Arriving at the Plaza, she spotted both her teammates. "You're late." Wang said. "My apologies; I overslept..." "Well, either way, the selection and briefing for the final phase are starting now." Jihan commented. As he spoke, a man stepped forward from the crowd; a face everyone knew well from the last presentation. "Good morning to all present participants." Ya Shen said. "As you can see, we have fewer people than last time. Well, don't be alarmed; it's only natural that the garbage has disappeared." The man turned to the small crowd. "Unfortunately, not all of it..." Some participants lowered their heads, but none dared answer the remark; what had happened to the last person who raised a voice against this man was still fresh in everyone's mind. "Which brings me to why I'm here today." A large projection appeared behind the man. Dozens of names, accompanied by data and photos, were displayed on the image. "Over the past months, our team observed and analyzed practically every move made by the participants." Shen swept his hand across the projection. "And by ranking you, we arrived at this result!" The image changed to a large list with 60 numbered participants. The trio's names were on it, alongside dozens of familiar ones and others that had never been mentioned. "21st?" Akemi thought. "Doesn't mean much if this list ranks participants by what they've already done... there must be others who also held back during the second phase." "As you can see, there are more people here than names on the list..." Shen smiled. "Well, for those who haven't caught on, it gives me great pleasure to be the first to tell you: starting this year, we will be limiting the number of those who pass even further, eliminating all those who did nothing but sleep these past months!" Tsk "This is completely unfair! It's manipulation!" one of the men in the audience shouted. "That guy?" Jihan and especially Akemi remembered him well. On the day Li woke up after the second phase, he was the one tormenting the half-elf in the food court. "There is no error, Mr. Jummu." Ya Shen held up a device. "Hm... you apparently did practically nothing remarkable over the past months; truly a waste of our resources." "What?! How dare you!" "I strongly advise that you don't try anything foolish, Mr. Jummu; I'm genuinely out of patience today." Shen warned. His cutting gaze was enough to make the man step back. "Continuing. For the remaining 60, I'll explain how we'll proceed." The projection behind Ya Shen changed to a large map. "With pride, I present to you... the Battle Royale!" Clap Clap Clap Both the presenter and the team ap