Chapter 141: Black and Gold – 12
The two people who were leading the way were Ella and Reyna.
When other people arrived at the first obstacle, they were already passing through the second one.
Ella felt like she had gone back in time.
The hills and valleys near the village were their playground.
On days off from practice, they played and trained using the terrain features as tools.
They held onto vines, dug tunnels, climbed trees, and scaled cliffs.
Charlies graduation project was a reflection of their childhood.
Every time they passed an obstacle, it felt like Charlie was sitting next to them, saying, Remember this?
While reminiscing, her movements were swift and agile.
No one in the stands noticed that she was lost in thought.
Only Reyna, running alongside her, could sense her relaxation.
She thought Ella was teasing her.
She hummed a tune, looking around as if inviting her to listen.
As if saying, Ill play along since Im going to win anyway.
Her father never took his eyes off the girl throughout the entire test.
A joyful smile, which he had never directed at her, adorned his face as he watched her.
Shock and frustration overwhelmed her.
She kept comforting herself, thinking that if she tried harder, did better, maybe he would finally acknowledge her.
But her father remained consistently indifferent and sarcastic towards her.
Even when she broke the record she had set twelve times, her father only maintained a stoic expression.
Reyna glanced at the adjacent track, silently sharpening her resolve.
Yeah. Father wouldnt approve of a tie.
Only winning matters.
Winning in the end.
That fox who stole my place.
Surprisingly, when Reyna muttered those words silently, someone else was murmuring the same phrase towards her.
Clara was tidying up equipment and tallying scores with her friends.
Students from Lekachep took breaks to watch the final race.
They all seemed relieved, perhaps because their duties as supervisors were over.
Except Clara.
She responded casually to her friends while observing Reynas actions with a stern face.
She no longer cared about thwarting Reynas solo performance.
Ella was the reason for that.
24 loss and 1 win would be shameful, but 12 wins and 13 losses was not. The audience would praise her defeats as much as they praised the victor.
Now, simply handing her a defeat was not enough.
She wanted to see her suffer greatly.
But how could she trap the acrobat with such absolute sense of balance?
Clara got a hint from the three years spent in Lekachep.
The more skilled tightrope walkers were, the more dangerous the practice was.
Practices that made their agility and balance a disadvantage.
She decided to utilize that.
She had sent her trained tinkering fairy to the control room.
She arranged for the mechanism to be activated when Reyna reached the obstacle.
Finally, Clara smiled as she watched them leap into her trap.
Having climbed the cliff by rock climbing, Ella and Reyna paused for a moment.
They looked at the final obstacle ahead of them.
It was ropes stretched between the cliffs.
Hundreds of small ropes were intricately tangled, resembling spider webs.
Tightrope walking.
Reyna was excited at the thought of winning.
So far, she had always had the upper hand over Ella in tightrope walking.
Confident in her absolute sense of balance, she leaped onto the ropes.
But as soon as she put weight on one of the ropes, it snapped with a ping, and the latch came loose, cutting the rope.
She didnt step right into the trap.
She picked her way across the cliff, avoiding the fake ropes.
Ella followed her at a similar pace on the adjacent track.
It was when the two of them were halfway across the cliff.
When the condition set by the owner was met, the tinkering fairy pulled the lever in the engine room down.
With a clanking sound, hundreds of hooks supporting the ropes from both cliffs were released simultaneously.
From weak hooks that automatically released when a certain weight was detected to sturdy hooks that could easily bear several people, all of them were released.
Except for the twenty ropes caught on the fixed hooks, all were released.
What?
Whats this?
Hundreds of ropes fell simultaneously.
Dozens of ropes wrapped around the bodies of the two as they plummeted.
And something pressed against her neck.
Thud.
The sound of bones breaking was heard.
Reynas body, hanging on the rope, shook from side to side.
Aaaah!
Someones dead!
The audience screamed.
Students also looked on in contemplation.
But the top acrobats, including Lord Fantastic and Wonderstein, and the professors, let out a complicated sigh.
Ugh, gasp, gasp.
Tears rolled down the cheeks.
I almost died.
Her body shook uncontrollably.
Her neck felt stiff and burning.
She thought her neck was broken.
It almost happened for real.
But right before that, the rope stopped.
Ha, ha.
Thanks to someone holding onto the rope.
Reyna looked up.
Ella was holding the rope wrapped around her neck.
The sound of joints breaking came from Ellas arm.
Haha Whew, thankfully. Ella laughed.
But her condition was far from normal.
The hand gripping Reynas rope had its skin completely stripped off due to friction, and the elbow and shoulder joints were dislocated, swaying loosely.
Moreover, in her haste to throw off the rope binding her body, she hadnt managed to loosen it properly. The rope on her opposite wrist was pulled tight by the one descending from above, exposing raw flesh where the skin had been stripped off. Additionally, that arm seemed dislocated as well, with bones protruding through the joints.
What do? Untie the one around the neck.
Uh okay.
Reyna, unaware she was stuttering, hastily untied the rope.
The rope entwined around her left arm came loose, and she grabbed it with her right hand, hanging onto it.
Confirming that Reyna was completely freed, Ella let go.
The freed rope swayed from side to side.
Reyna was free now.
Though her left arm was broken and her neck still tingled, she could use her right arm to climb up the rope.
But Ella still couldnt move from her spot, her arms outstretched.
How did you?
Whats the matter? Its impossible with this arm.
She said with a bitter smile.
Quickly, go You have to get first place so I can at least hold on to second.
Trying to hold back tears at Ellas pitiful state, Reyna crawled up for comfort.
On the opposite cliff, other challengers were arriving.
They looked dismayed at the dwindling ropes.
Meanwhile, Reyna climbed up the rope and crossed the finish line.
Professor Legault, who had been absentminded, shouted her name.
First place! Reyna Maguire!
There was no cheer.
Only sporadic applause.
Reyna looked down at the cliff.
Supervising students were untying the rope from Ellas hand and pulling her down.
Dr. Nahimov from the school infirmary rushed over.
She glanced around the stands.
Her father was looking at her.
But his expression was odd.
It was a mix of smiling and crying, angry and happy, emotions that couldnt possibly coexist.
The expressions on others faces were similar.
She confirmed faces admiring, pitying, mocking her.
Did they think she stole first place?
Then, in that whispering, she caught a single word.
Oh.
She closed her eyes tightly and then opened them slowly.
She lowered her trembling head and looked down slowly.
Her pants were soaked.
A sour smell wafted up.
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