"Look at the chains!"
One of the people from the crowd shouted out loud.
The chain was reconnecting with its two separated parts, shaking uncontrollably in Araegon's grip.
Just like noodles shaking violently when someone slurps them up, the main segment was consuming the scattered pieces as if it were eating.
What kind of weird examples do I give sometimes? Can't I ever be more graceful with my analogies?
The chains finally fused back together, but Araegon had to let go because the violent thrashing was too much even for him to bear.
"Why are the chains shaking so much? Is his Zenkaichi ability going out of control?"
"Are we even safe down here?!"
The crowd started to panic as they watched the savage, erratic movement of the metal.
I didn't care about that, though. I'm safe, and the chain would just pass right through me anyway.
"Look, it's starting to change shape!"
I glanced back at the chain. It was winding around itself tighter and tighter, layering into a dense ball.
I was far more interested in seeing the lords faces at this sight. I couldn't hear them properly from where I was, but they were intensely intrigued to see what would happen next!
Meanwhile, the common folk were having the time of their lives—dead nobles and shape-shifting chain balls made for quite the afternoon entertainment.
The mass began to shift again. Two stick-like figures sprouted from the cylindrical body, followed by two more similar limbs on the other side.
The front end molded itself into a head—not a human head, but a creature's head—complete with a wagging tail and four legs.
No one could believe their eyes. The chain had somehow transformed into a fully functioning hound made entirely of rusted metal.
This was a whole new level of Zenkaichi ability: the consciousness stage.
Araegon's ability had finally broken through to the consciousness stage, or he already had broken through the stage long before, god knows.
The chain-dog wagged its metallic tail and leaped straight toward Araegon.
Seeing this spectacle, the messenger stood up and made his announcement:
"The third and final trial for the purification of the slave Araegon will now begin."