Chapter 135: Trials from Hades (Part 3)
Time had lost all meaning here.
In the oppressive room, the only sounds were quiet breathing and the occasional drip of water.
Antaeus leaned against the wall, feeling his life force slowly slipping away.
No one knew how much time had passed. But with no way to track it, everyone was trying to eat as little as possible.
The children lay weakly around the room, lifeless and exhausted.
More time passed—who knew how long—until Antaeus realized that the food in his hands was dwindling.
Then, suddenly, a boy sprang to his feet and sprinted toward the knives.
?!
Antaeus tried to stand and stop him, but someone was faster.
Bast, who had been resting near the knives on purpose, immediately stood up and shoved the boy to the ground.
"What—what are you trying to do?!"
The boy cried out in panic, still scrambling toward the weapons.
But Bast quickly crouched down, pinning him firmly.
He seemed to want to meet the boy's gaze, but he looked away first.
"You're out of food, aren't you?"
Bast pointed at the boy's empty hands.
The boy stared at him, wide-eyed and terrified.
"What do you want?"
Bast shook his head, then nodded slightly.
Then, without hesitation, he broke his own food in half.
"Here."
Before the boy could react, Bast shoved the food into his hands.
"If it's not enough… come find me again."
Bast shot him a quick glance, then stood up and walked away.
But this time, he crouched directly next to the pile of knives.
The boy was stunned.
Gripping the food tightly, he cast one last glance at Bast before quickly retreating, almost as if he were fleeing.
The rest of the room was equally shaken.
Everyone had witnessed Bast's actions, and now all eyes were on him.
Feeling their gazes, Bast awkwardly scratched his head and looked toward the door.
"I think we can just forfeit, right? Worst case, we give up."
"Stop staring at me."
The room fell silent.
But this time, the weight of everyone's breathing became heavier.
And once again, silence consumed the space.
Antaeus wobbled as he got to his feet.
He still had a small handful of food left, already softened by water.
Most of the others probably didn't even have the strength to stand anymore.
Compared to them, Antaeus could endure much more.
After Bast's display, no further conflicts broke out.
Antaeus suspected that after one failed attempt, a second was unlikely.
After all, in a room full of silent onlookers, stepping forward required a certain kind of courage.
And more importantly—
Antaeus didn't know how many people could be swayed by Bast's actions, but one thing was certain: Bast had made it clear that no one could overpower him.
In other words, even if someone tried to take food by force, both Bast and Antaeus would stop them.
And if someone did manage to defeat Bast and Antaeus, they'd only make themselves a bigger target.
So, the room remained quiet.
A few eventually reached their limits and attempted to forfeit, hoping to leave through the doorway—
But Io stopped them.
"I don't know if the number of people in this room is part of the trial's criteria."
Saying this, Io handed over some of his and Lerner's food to the struggling participant.
Antaeus scanned the entire room, clearly seeing that—aside from himself—everyone else had run out of food.
This is it.
He thought to himself. If their theory was correct, then the selection process should be ending soon.
His gaze shifted to the indicator light on the wall. It remained dim and lifeless. Would it really turn on?
If their judgment was wrong, then there was nothing more they could do.
Antaeus turned toward Bast. He was either asleep or unconscious.
Even though Bast had been the first to suggest forfeiting, he had still held on, refusing to leave.
Antaeus walked over and carefully patted Bast.
No response.
Bast was clearly at his limit.
So Antaeus prepared to feed him directly.
He stared at the last bit of food in his hands and swallowed hard.
No, Antaeus. No.
You can still give up. You don't have to die. But if you don't do this, you might fail.
He knelt down, ready to—
The indicator light turned on.
Antaeus nearly burst into tears.
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