Nikolai and his team move the pews in square form as a barricade and kept themselves in tight formation. The first direwolf pounced towards them, the direwolf crashed miserably at pew, get killed through coordinated attacks by stabbing the critical parts like the neck and severing the legs. Nikolai delivers the finishing blow by beheading it, to ensure the monster can't take advantage anymore in a chaotic situation.

  Matriarch Despair reaches the conclusion of the performance, Allegro assai the final movement. Arpeggio and trills shrilling with inhuman virtuosity. Fiery sound of cadenza exhorting the very deepest evil of Hell intensifying the bloodlust of direwolves and rumblings of the damned. The remaining four direwolves surrounded the group.

  Nikolai urgently decides to adapt in asymmetric formation and let himself deal with two direwolves. Maibelle acts as bait and charges recklessly met by a second dire wolf's paw swipe causing her neck to be grazed gruesomely.

  As direwolf about to eat her, Maibelle's fatal injury regenerated rapidly. Mei's surprise attack as a dire wolf caught off guard by bait and crippling the direwolf through cutting one of its legs. Maibelle repeatedly thrusting its neck followed by Mei's sneak attack, she lunged at the forehead of the beast effectively slaying the direwolf.

  Feng taunts one of the third dire wolves to isolate the numerical advantage against Nikolai. Direwolf chases Feng and runs toward the marble column where Takeshi is hiding. He postures in a middle guard stance, tightens the grip, and prepares for a surprise attack.

  As Feng successfully lured the direwolf in designated death trap, Takeshi ambushed the direwolf and thrust its neck. Feng feints on the left side to evade the paw swipe and postures in a high guard stance to deliver a vertical slash severing the carotid artery, and blood sprays the floor. Direwolf whimpers and convulses until it dies.

  Fourth direwolf pounce to Nikolai, he posture in a low guard stance then he move the whole body and right foot to feint in right angle to evade the paw swipe. Direwolf caught off guard, the blade severed one of the forelegs. Nikolai chopped off its head without hesitation just like a clinically detached surgeon.

  The fifth direwolf is the pack leader which is larger than the previous four. The agility is a bit slower but the physical strength is quite strong as an adult Siberian tiger. Nikolai and his team is finally reach the conclusion of the trial. Takeshi and Feng position themselves in a marble column, hiding nearby Nikolai to assist him.

  Nikolai did not hesitate to throw the sword away like a javelin and struck direwolf's forehead within 1 meter cover. The giant direwolf convulses and howling in pain.

  Takeshi and Feng deliver the final blow, cutting off the legs then thrusting its neck followed by a vertical slash to sever the carotid artery. It sprays plentiful blood like a fountain, which was visually more pleasing than the previous one.

  Matriarch Despair applauds to their performance with a little boredom in her expression maybe not out of impression but research subjects are bearing fruit. They quickly form in line and kneel in front of her as a rite of reverence and she is about to deliver her announcement.

  “Congratulations, my children. All of you survived the second trial and we are very satisfied with your service. Voila! Your fantasy adventure starts sooner in another world and taste the eternal and bottomless despair. Hahaha!”

  Nikolai and others cried out in horror. They convulse in sheer terror. The unfathomable being such as Patriarch Futility and Matriarch Despair is far greater and boundlessly grand than the cosmos itself. Mei and Maibelle hugging each other highlights both physical and emotional vulnerability, crying not for hope of salvation.

  Realizing the reality is no longer theirs, probability dies down in oblivion of void. Noise swinging around in endless unpredictability and watching reality collapse at the moment when a new reality emerges that exceed callousness of the devil than the Hell of a man.?

  Patriarch Futility standing at the window of the church office gazing on the crimson sky. Matriarch Despair playing lute while singing a madrigal in a gentle and haunting voice.

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  A thousand times a day I die.

  And you, wicked sighs,

  do you not, alas, allow me to die from sighing?

  And you, cruel soul, if my sorrow

  afflicts you so, why do you not fly from it?

  Ah, death alone shows pity on

  my pain, bitter and cruel, and kills my life.

  So, therefore, my sighs and soul

  are pitiless toward me, but death is merciful.

  (Reference Note: From Carlo Gesualdo's Madrigali libro quinto e sesto, 1611)

  Suddenly, he interrupts Matriarch Despair and asks what her evaluation of Nikolai is. “What do you think about his potential?” and she answered the question indifferently.

  “Resilient, callous, stubborn, cunning, pragmatic, efficient, indifferent, adaptive yet daring. A perfect subject for another apotheosis.”

  Patriarch Futility nodded and informed Matriarch Despair regarding the decision about Nikolai's internalization progress. “My lady, you must obliterate his individuality for its own convenience and conform to us.

  Also regarding his companions, they are already internalizing in this moment, and then sooner fanaticism will replace their very own constitution of rationality. Starts acting like a beast needed to be guided or a leader to cling to. I'm very sure Nikolai is very glad to be a pack leader to take care of those poor pups.”

  Matriarch Despair chuckles on humorous assessment with clinical trivialism of Patriarch Futility.

  “Don't worry about that, your reverend. I'll make sure that Nikolai will bend his knee to us.”

  In the cathedral hall, Nikolai and his group were sitting in a pew. Maibelle is sleeping in Mei's lap and caressing her while Takeshi and Feng are doing the same habit, prostrating again in mosaic icon of Haemanthus at stained glass behind the altar were crimson light was brightly emanated the church hall, loudly chants something incomprehensible.

  Patriarch Futility appeared beside them, smiling with boundless serenity. Nikolai's mind spiral to the zenith of madness, he completely lost control over rational thinking, screaming loudly like a madman.

  Mei shuddered in sheer terror, when Nikolai grab her neck and bashes her head repeatedly in the marble column. Painted the cold palisade with warm blood and sickening crunch resonate the hall until her skull cracks under violent pressure, bloodied brain matter sticks to the marble column and remains spills over the floor.

  Maibelle was sleeping soundly and doesn't bothered by the commotion until Nikolai approach next and grasp her face tightly by his palm, then Nikolai place his thumb to gouge her eye. Maibelle screaming in agony, struggling violently, and she clawing his hand was hoping to escape the madman's grasp but her vision obscures nothing but crimson and darkness.

  Matriarch Despair approaches him and sneers with boredom, looking at him with disinterest. She grabs him and evoke primordial terror that make Nikolai forced to comply.

  “A total disappointment isn't? You're nothing but befitting of a high-quality fertilizer for my garden. Does your mommy not teach good manners that curiosity kills cat? If not, you need better parental care, hush my child”

  Matriarch Despair took out the stiletto and beheaded Nikolai. Matriarch Despair adjust regeneration rate and meticulously rewires the neurological mapping to select relevant memories related only to military skills and rest of personal memories was erased completely. Patriarch Futility claps and compliments Matriarch Despair's surgical performance and she retorts in satisfaction.

  “This is great, I'm very glad this defective product will not bite back with great annoyance. I don't say rebellion is not permissible but this is a matter of eloquence that should be tolerated not like still being a dog from the past of the ghosts. Start the last trial as soon as possible, we can't afford frivolous nagging from the Overseers.”

  Matriach Despair redirects her attention to Nikolai still standing, looking around.

  “You maggot, now move and don't waste time around. All of you, follow him or you're might would end like him. Understand? Now, sleep in the quarters except for this man, he will sleep in the pew.

  Nikolai lay down as ordered and sleep soundly in the pew and while his remaining group was in the church's quarter. In few several hours, he felt something weird and very cold touch on his face but no courage to open his eyes to look directly on intruder.

  Matriarch Despair intimately caresses and embraces him like an infant, yearning for the child's warmth while Patriarch Futility finds it amusing and miserably laughable. Nikolai felt the coldness of infinite horror and then Matriarch Despair whispers something in his ear.

  “My little and adorable poor pup. Don't worry my dear, your misery will end here but not today even in eternity. Hehe!”

  Matriarch Despair sings a lullaby for him not to comfort but to break him further.

  “Oh, that not the final hour of my life would strike today!

  From the depths of my heart,

  I long for them to carry me to my grave;

  For I must not fear death,

  I have long been acquainted with it,

  For it leads me from desert wastes into the promised land.”

  (Reference Note: From J.S. Bach's Ach, dass nicht die letzte Stunde, BWV 439)

  Nikolai sobs weakly and convulsing in fear while his eyes shut even though he is only a husk. His cry, as the last shed of humanity and obliteration of the self is completely internalized, he's no longer the man of past but a ghost wandering in someone's illusion.