Page 155 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

Squirming, I continued writhing on all fours, desperate to ease the discomfort.

Wrenched my neck back to look forward. Three minutes, thirty seconds.

I pressed my finger into my ear, and the pain went from a one thousand out of ten to 999.

Sound.

It’s sound.

My thoughts were like sludge, like I was squeezing them through a tiny straw, but some subconscious part of my brain put the pieces together.

There were dark enchantments that violated the Angel War Crime Convention. Enchantments that broke the sound barrier and incapacitated entire cities during war. Broke eardrums and ruptured arteries in brains.

A painful way to die.

The enchantments were activated in a closed environment, then air particles were accelerated until they reached the speed of sound.

The effects were horrific.

And I was experiencing the trauma firsthand.

Liquid streamed down my face as I looked up to see Cobra hauling Ascher forward across the lawn in front of everyone.

The jewels embedded in Cobra’s skin had transformed into hundreds of shadow snakes. He glanced back at me, snake eyes flickering.

He mouthed, “Get up and move.”

Snakes didn’t have ears. Was that helping him? He seemed unaffected.

Meanwhile it felt like I was dying as I tried to move forward.

Cobra’s ascent proved it was possible.

I clapped my hands over my ears and staggered to my feet, moaning at the agony of moving. The ultrahigh sound pounding against me was so horrendous that it felt like wind was pushing me back.

My skull vibrated, and everything trembled.

The decibel level was so extreme that it had physical properties.

I whimpered. Knowledge of what was going on didn’t change the reality that I was vibrating in the middle of a field with blood gushing from my burning ears. It didn’t lessen the agony.

John was writhing on the ground next to me.

Slapping at his hands to get his attention, I showed him my covered ears, and he mimicked me. Nodding in understanding, he dragged himself up.

The timer counted down mercilessly. Three minutes.

All around us, competitors were hobbling to their feet and trying to pull up their teammates.

Cobra and Ascher were the only ones who had made any progress. They were already halfway across the lawn.

Two minutes, fifty seconds.

How was time going by so fast when every second felt like hell?

I swallowed down my panic and shuffled forward. The finish line was about a hundred yards away, and we would have to walk fast if we were going to make it.

I took three jagged steps forward, then glanced back.

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