The Third Terrace

"Dispatch seven more Angels. We need to test how many it'll take before he breaks."

The man speaking wore a long white lab coat. His brown hair, slicked back. His sleek glasses shimmered in the light. He turned to a man sitting on a chair next to him.

"You'd better be keeping record of this. It's been 93 Angels and he's still standing. The serum seems to be working well."

The seated man nodded, and wrote on a paper attached to his clipboard.

The two observed from a small room. They looked through a wide window, the window being a one-sided mirror.

In another room nearby, a group of seven people entered. All wore white hazardous suits that covered them from head to toe. The suits were fit for combat, and were equipped with mechanisms that helped its user physically.

The room activated once all individuals stepped in, engaging locks on both its doors. They were then engulfed in a spray of gas plasma. Hydrogen peroxide cleaned them thoroughly before entering the designated room.

Once the spray finished, the opposite set of doors disengaged its locks. A voice then spoke through an intercom in the room.

"Angels, you may enter."

The doors opened, revealing a large blinding white room. Across the walls and floors, a contrasting red splattered about.

Blood was both old and fresh.

Barely standing among the piles of similarly white-suited bodies, was a boy lathered in blood. He breathed heavily, as his body coursed with rage and pain.

"One hour, seven minutes, and twenty-four seconds remaining. Mark it," glasses said.

The seated man once again nodded, and continued to write down.

"That's the time remaining for sending in this last batch of Angels," glasses sighed. "100 Angels in nearly 10 hours, this ought to finish him."

The seven white-suited individuals spread throughout the room, surrounding the boy in a formation. They all readied in timid fashion. Glasses spoke through the intercom.

"Angels, initiate your strength enhancers. End his rampage here."

Each Angel pressed a pad on their arms, followed by grunts of pain. Inside the suits, tiny needles injected into vascular areas. Their arteries pumped with heat-induced liquid. They were ready to strike.

"Break him."

The seven pounced forward, all from different angles. Each one struck in different manners. One landing a blow to the boy's chest. One right across his face. Another, right into his stomach. His guts swished around as he was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall.

Severely struggling, the boy still managed to pull himself back up. He stood bloody, bruised, and broken.

Glasses watched in awe from the observatory room. His patience had been simmering up until now. He couldn't hold himself back anymore. His blood rose, and anger ensued.

He picked up the mic and screamed into it.

"KILL HIM!!!"

Sort of surprised, the Angels stood stunned. They looked towards the window.

Distracted, one was suddenly pummeled into the ground. Blood splattered against his mask from the inside. The others looked in his direction. There, a red-stained boy stood over the fallen angel.

Glasses' eyes widened.

"What are you Angels doing? I said KILL HIM!!!"

The other six leaped forth, soaring in his direction. The boy though, stood still.

One by one, the boy slammed each Angel aside with swings sending them across the room. Except for the last, who unexpectedly landed a kick right in the boy's face. His head cocked back, followed by a knee to the forehead after being pulled back towards the Angel. His skull cracked, and his eyes whited out for a moment.

The boy then quickly resurfaced his consciousness to respond with an attack of his own, sending the Angel flying backwards with a gut-wrenching kick to his stomach.

Pain suddenly overtook the boy's head. He felt himself sway back, falling onto his back.

The loud thud brought pleasure to glasses' ears. He wanted to ensure even more pain.

"Yes… YES! KILL HIM! ANGELS GO AND KILL HIM!!!"

Glasses' screaming awoke the injured Angels. They got back up and began sprinting towards the limp boy, ready to terminate him.

"GO!!! GO-!"

"HEY!" A female suddenly barged into the observatory room.

"Seraphim, restrict Raphael NOW!"

Two white suits rushed over to the heated man with glasses. They threw him onto the ground, pinning his arms to his back. They had suits similar to the Angels inside the chamber being observed, but were seemingly more armored. Flexible plates shifted around their bodies, supporting their enlarged muscles. They were noticeably much larger in size compared to the normal Angels.

The female rushed over to the control panel, enabling the microphone.

"ANGELS, STOP!"

The Angels froze up on the unexpected higher tone.

"Ariel?" One of them said.

"Back off from the subject this instant. Leave through the chamber's exit."

The Angels turned and began walking towards the exit.

"Angel Unit 7849, check the subject's pulse before leaving," Ariel said.

An Angel turned back, and walked over to the boy on the ground. He placed his finger along his neck.

"Pulse?"

The Angel nodded no.

Ariel sighed. "You may exit."

The Angel joined the others and left the chamber.

Ariel turned back around towards the scene in the observatory room. Her figure was tall and skinny. Her long black hair, tied up in a ponytail. She wore sleek glasses similar to the one pinned against the ground. The large Angels still held him down.

Ariel looked in frustration. "You need to learn how to keep your composure, Raphael."

He didn't reply. His face was still pinned to the ground. He simply breathed heavily.

"Seraphim A and Z, take him to the pharmacy and give him his pills."

The two large Angels nodded, and pulled him up, bringing him out of the room.

"Seraphim Z," Ariel called out. He looked back.

"Get me a Trinity Gem from the Garden. Tell the Cherubim I sent you."

Seraphim Z nodded, and proceeded to carry Raphael out of the room.

Ariel sighed heavily. "Why didn't you prevent him from losing composure?" She turned towards the man seated on the chair. He still held his pen and clipboard.

"I'm here to do one job. I haven't been instructed to do otherwise."

The mundane words rolled Ariel's eyes.

"There's such thing as taking initiative you know? Look what happened, the subject is dead. Now we have to use a Trinity Gem to resurrect him. We're wasting resources Matthew. If you haven't been instructed, then I instruct you now to take initiative when the time is right."

Matthew kept his gaze forward. He didn't reply.

Ariel exhaled, then exited the room.

After pausing for a moment, Matthew continued to write on his paper. He was coming to the concluding statement for the report. He wrote:

{ A total of 100 Angel Units were required to bring down the subject in 8 hours, 41 minutes, and 11 seconds. 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 49 seconds remained before the end of the 10 hour time limit. Serum exhibit C deemed to be vastly improved from the previous two. Subject was able to use excessive amounts of physical strength, as well as hold significantly more durably against attacks from Angel Units. Experiment resulted in 93 Angel casualties, and death for the subject. One Trinity Gem will be used to resurrect the subject. Report by Matthew Hugh, for subject: Reed Regardius. }