Yuurei had gotten the information they needed; still, there was something with the guy who had given him the answer. He didn’t feel any kind of monster within him, but there wasn’t something adding up. He hoped that it wasn’t a trap and that the information was true. He would make his move though as he would go in the direction that was given to them.

Renji would follow Yuurei as well as he stood in human form the entire time. He was better used in this form anyways, so he figured why not. He looked at everybody around him and he was glad that these guys were here with him. He felt like he could definitely do anything with them around. When he got to where the man had told them to head, Yuurei would search for these trees. There were a lot of trees in front of them, but there were two trees that they were looking for.

“Alright, this is where he said we can find the trees, but where are the markings?” He asked out loud.

It was then he figured that he would start searching for it. The sooner they found it the better and they would be able to move forward from here. Yuurei understood why people didn’t know about this place, but how did that man know? He figured it wasn’t best to think too hard about that if he got the answer he was seeking.

Renji would look around as well as he was making sure that he was helping out. His eyes looked around the place of the trees, but the ones he was searching for didn’t bear a marking of a star on them. He would scratch the side of his head when he was doing this as he would look to Yuurei and everybody else.

“Is this something only you can find Yuurei?” He asked him.

He would stop searching for it and he would look over to Renji.

“If that is the case, then the man who spoke to us is a Starlight as well.” He said to Renji.

If that were true, then wouldn’t he want him not to find this place or enter it? This would also mean that the Starlight clan was not just him and his father alone. He would shake that wild idea out of his thoughts for now. He had to find the star on the tree. The Seraphim was focused as he moved around the area. It had to be around here and that was for sure.

While he kept looking something would happen. He felt a glow from his forehead appear for a second, and soon enough a star would appear on the tree in front of him. His eyes blinked a few times because he had found the first one.

“I think I found one tree, what about the other tree?” He asked wondering if they had found it.

If he had to find it, then his theory about that man was correct and he was a Starlight like him.

511

Kaito kept his hands to himself as there was a lot going on here as well as the sketchy way they were told which way to go as well as being told that they needed to look for symbols that they were unsure looked like and he tapped the side of his temple and he looked around with his mana vision and he saw Yuurei went one way and Kaito went the other way following mana he gave Revy a hand signal telling her to stay and looking at the trees they seem to be marked with mana probably to stop someone from doing what he is doing right now and fool those that don't understand tracking but it wasn't just that something else in him self was pulling him in a way that seemed to go off the mana trail he was following and he sees trees with different kind of mana. Revy stayed back with Brone just in case as there might be some kind of trick to this all.

Revy looked at the spooky Companion and she wondered what Kaito had seen in it that gave him the answer he was looking for back in town and she looks around as she thought she could hear whispers which was weird and she wanted to think more about this but there was nothing that she could see and she wonders what was really going on around here as this seemed far to convenient for it to have just been a chance meeting with the guy that told Yuurei where to go and she wonders if Kaito is going to be fine going off alone like he had done or if this was a sent up all along to get them all to be apart from the others while they searched for a strange symbol on a tree and if that was the thing where is there attack on them or the monster in the forest that starts hunting them down to kill them all and she started to move like she was about to go run off into the forest and then she stopped as she had been pretty much told to stay here with the hand signal from Kaito but he could be in danger.

Kaito kept following the strange feeling and he wonders what it is and then he sees the tree with the star on it but something seemed wrong about it. "Found it!" Kaito puts his hand on the symbol and he feels a strange feeling that wasn't good nor bad but didn't feel quite right if he had to be honest he didn't even know if he had to be the one to touch the symbol or not or if he at all should have touched it but it was already to late to pull back now so what ever happened from here was going to be the adventure that they had signed up for, for better or worse they were going to have to do this now and find out what lies ahead of them if they really wanted to do this that is.
(524)

The group had traversed the path that was pointed out by the generous man with the top hat. They all looked about for any trees that would stand out as well as any indication of stars that might be etched into any of the trees. But as Gnicholas the gnome had pointed out, it was indeed more difficult than Brone Heavyaxe had initially figured.

Huginn and Muninn, the ravens, had flew off ahead in order to scout out the area, hoping to find the trees marked by stars, but even the magical birds with their amazing scouting ability weren't able to spot such characteristics, so they would fly about above the tree line, in hopes of spotting something out of the ordinary.

They would eventually reached the area where the man in the top hat had indicated the marked trees were. Everyone began to look about, but for Brone, he was too occupied by the man with long hair baring his naked chest. "Who's that?" Brone whispered to the gnome.

"That's Renji, he's able to magically transform into a human" Gnicholas answered back while slapping the back of the dwarf's neck, surprised that he was this oblivious. Brone's neck was so thick, he didn't notice the gnome slapping it, but the realization of Renji's new form was surprise enough for him, but he tried to play it off by smiling at him sheepishly whenever the human-feline looked his way.

Yuurei had then found the first marked tree; Brone became excited and wanted to go off and look for the other, but Gnicholas stopped him, "Best for you to stay put instead of risking you getting lost" the gnome wasn't known for joking. Brone wanted to argue against it, wanting to mention that his ravens would help him find his way, but he knew too well that saying something so little would cause his pact with them to be broken, and he would lose them forever, so he bit his tongue and stood still, allowing the others to continue the search for the other marked tree.

In silence, Brone looked about, making small noises like heavy sighs and shuffling his feet out of boredom. He then noticed Revy the other exceed was staring at Benimaru's shield. This was the second time this day someone decided to give such attention to the equipment. The dwarf began to wonder if there was something odd happening with the entrapped oni spirit. He tried to ignore the feline, but with his advance instincts, he could feel the stare focusing on the shield. So he pretended to yawn and shift his position so that Benimaru, who was hanging on Brone's back, to shift out of sight from Revy. He hoped Benimaru wasn't feeling uncomfortable. Just when he was about to ask the silent oni, Kaito had called out that he had found the second marked tree.

Excitement got Brone to speed his way over to Kaito.

493

Renji would look back to see Brone smiling at him. The smile was a creepy one, and it was one that he couldn’t stop looking at. It would take him a while, but he would turn his head back to the tree. He rubbed the back of his head as he wondered what was wrong with Brone right now.

Yuurei would look around to see if he could find the second star. If his theory was right then, something wasn’t right. He wondered if the man didn’t tell him he was a Starlight for a reason. He was pretty sure he knew that Yuurei was one right? He was searching, but Kaito would debunk his suspicion of the man when he found the other star.

It would glow when Kaito had found it, and the trail in front of them would appear. Renji would pat him on his shoulder when they had their answer.

“Who knows, maybe you’re right and the only reason Kaito found the second one is because you found the first one?” He said to Yuurei.

He would look at Renji and he would shrug his shoulder.

“Whether or not I’m right doesn’t matter, the man didn’t introduce himself, so I’m not going to bother. Alright, guys let’s be on our way, the adventure starts now, so be careful.” He said to the group behind him.

Yuurei would start moving forward and he could see that nobody has maintained this trail for decades. He was careful with his movements, but Renji wasn’t. The Exceed would move up the steps, and he found it a bit slippery. It was wet for some reason, but he wasn’t sure why. It was then the Exceed would slip, and he was about to fall back, but Yuurei would catch him. He would hold onto his arm and he would pull Renji towards him.

The Exceed would sigh with relief as they continued their walk. When they got to the end of the steps though, there would be nowhere else to go. Well, there was one spot, and it was a ledge going off to the right. Under the ledge was nothing, but the ground below; Renji wondered how long were they walking to be able to get so high up.

“You sure you want to walk that ledge Yuu? I don’t think it’s the safest thing to do.” He mentioned to his friend.

Yuurei would look at him with a smile on his face and then chuckle a bit.

“We’ve been through more dangerous things than this. Toughen up, everything will be alright.” He said to Renji.

He would look at the guys to make sure that they were ready, and when he felt they were, he would be the first to walk it. He moved slowly and against the mountain that they were next to. Renji would sigh and shake his head as he would follow behind Yuurei.

While they were walking, Yuurei’s foot would break a piece of the ledge off. It would make him slip, but he would catch himself before anything bad happened. He would sigh with relief and Renji’s heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw that. He was glad nothing bad happened to Yuurei.

542|1053

Kaito's right hand that had touched the star felt like it was burning but when he removed his glove he saw the yang mark on his palm had lit up and he wondered why that was. The light faded from the mark and now Kaito put the glove back on his hand and wonders if he had put his left with the yin marking on it would the tree have not reacted to it. He wondered if the yang a symbol of heaven, heat, and light had allowed him to cheat the system of protection that the tree had. He stops day dreaming about it as he knows he wasn't going to get an answer for the answer as the task was done but he might have to ask Yuurei if this was a task that Yuurei was to be handling alone, Kaito hoped he had not stepped on Yuurei's toes here and he followed the others onto the path taking his time with it as to not slip and he sees the full hearty idiot Renji almost fall.

Revy is now pissed off as now Renji was being a show boating idiot and she transforms to her human form as well.  "Stop being an Idiot and stop show boating be careful you moron." She looked very pissed off and she got in front of Kaito so she could go toward him and give him a good knock on the head for being so careless. She was not going to be stopped but Kaito grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Leave him be he already learned his lesson and going after him here will only risk your life as well."

Revy's look:

Revy puffs her cheeks and sighs nodding that she agreed that she shouldn't go after him at the moment but she was going to do it later when he has his guard down for being an idiot. Kaito was glad that he had stopped her as she probably didn't think about how she would look if she was to knock the other transformed exceed off of the cliff like an idiot He didn't need that to happen at least not at this moment. His palm still hurt a little from touching the tree with the star on it and he wondered still if he had accidently brute forced the thing to come loose for him with out actually trying or if it was the mark on his hand that did it as he knows it has a meaning in sin but he has no idea if it would be able to do that kind of thing. He was not going to back down and he was going to keep himself facing forward as there was still much for him to do as he didn't want to fall and then find up that his wings won't appear.

As he gets closer to catching up to Yuurei and Renji he looked back to see how Brone was doing and if Brone was in shock that Revy turned into a woman like that or not but he wasn't going to judge or ask questions.
(526)
(1,050)

Nothing happened.

Brone had assumed that once both stars were found that maybe a magical portal would open up to take them to their next destination. He sighed, but shrugged off the lack of magic. Though there was no magical portal, the positioning of the stars pointed them to a path that was barely visible, so Yuurei led the way. Brone had sighed again and Gnicholas noticed, "Were you expecting something grand and amazing?" the gnome sarcastically asked.

"Well yeah, what's wrong with that?" Brone replied with a bit of annoyance in his voice. He crossed his main arms as they all traversed the path and starting moving up at an incline. The ravens had noticed the direction they were all going so they chose to fly ahead to scope out the area, every so often they would perch on a high tree branch, but after some distance, there were less and less trees, being replaced with more rocky terrain.

There was a moment Renji had slipped and nearly topple, but Yuurei was quick to catch him. Brone's instincts had kicked in as his knees were already bent and his secondary arms were pulled out of the waist sash that kept them hidden. To lessen the tension, the dwarf wanted to say a joke, but seeing Revy transform into a human female threw him off, "What!? You can change too!?" he blurted out. He then looked at the gnome who sat on his shoulder.

Gnicholas rolled his eyes, "I have no reason to obtain such a spell" he then pulled out his small notebook and began to review some of his notes, intending to show everyone, especially Brone, that he wasn't in the mood to entertain such an idea.

Brone sucked his teeth in annoyance, thinking it would have been an interesting idea to have one of his companions obtain such a cool transformation, "Hey, Beni, what about you? You think it would be grand to be able to transform into a human?" as he asked this, Gnicholas quickly slapped the notepad against the dwarf's face. Though it didn't hurt, it did catch his attention as the gnome gestured to him to keep quiet. The dwarf wasn't sure why the gnome was so upset until Muninn, who had listened in, had flew down and perched onto Brone's other shoulder. He whispered into the dwarf's ear, explaining to him how such a statement may have insulted the spirit since he had lost his original body and is now trapped within the equipment. Brone, feeling sheepish nodded.

After a moment of silence, Brone quietly whispered, "Sorry, Beni" but the spirit didn't reply. Benimaru hadn't spoken since they had began the trip, he even chose not to float, but to remain strapped to Brone's back. Gnicholas, nor Brone knew if the spirit was asleep or deep in thought, but the dwarf knew his spirit was still there, he felt the energy connected to him, the same connection that fed on the warrior's life force.

507 | 1,000

Yuurei and Renji would look behind them when he heard Revy yell at Renji. When they saw her in her human form, Renji smiled because she was just as beautiful in this form as her regular form. The Exceed was happy to see that she was using this form as it was more convenient for them here. The Exceed would rub the back of his head as he would sigh.

“I’m sorry I didn’t think that would happen. I will be careful from here on out.” He said to Revy.

They would move through the ledge and Yuurei would see the end of it. He would hop off the ledge and onto a small path with an upward slope. It was like they were hiking at this point, and he was wondering where this entrance would be located. He would start walking as he figured if there was a trap here, then he would be the one to go bump into it first.

Renji would get off the ledge after as he was being cautious so Revy wouldn’t have to worry about him. Once he had made it, he would do his best to catch up to Yuurei. He wasn’t going to fall again and make a full of himself. He would get behind Yuurei as the path was not big enough for them to walk side by side.

”So, what kind of power do you think you’ll find up there? Maybe a ring that allows you to have the power of the world in your hand? Or maybe some power that lets you use all weapons you've ever seen without owning it?” He asked Yuurei wondering what his thoughts were.

Yuurei would hear this and he would think about it because he didn’t know what to truly say about that.

“To be honest, I don’t know, but I hope whatever is waiting for us up there is something that could help me fight against the Seraphim. They were strong enough that even when we cut them, they couldn’t be killed. It was frustrating.” He said to Renji.

Renji would hear this and he would nod understanding where Yuurei was coming from.

“I see, but maybe, just maybe they can’t be cut or killed in this world.” He said to Yuurei.

He would hear this and he wouldn’t think that what Renji said was outrageous. It was an idea and it would linger in the back of his head for now.

“How’s everyone doing back there?” He asked concerned for Revy, but generalized everyone, so he didn’t look like an ass.

Yuurei would hear this and he figured that he didn’t have to say anything now and kept pushing forward. He wasn’t sure what lay ahead, but he did know that the people he was here with could handle it. The path wasn’t bad and there was nothing wrong with it. That was a good thing because it meant that it would be an easy path from here on out right?

501|1554

Revy hearing Brone looked back at him and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah of course I can. Did you think Renji was the only one that trained hard and found a path forward?" Revy seriously had to wonder as the dwarf seemed to have asked it so bluntly and without a second thought and she was confused if the dwarf now thought of her as some kind of freak cause she was able to do this and she turned around and followed as Kaito got onto the next part of this and she wondered if they were in the wrong here and Kaito reached back and patted the exceed woman's head even in this form Kaito was taller than her but she felt better now that he had done that to calm her down. Revy watches Kaito's back knowing that as long as she is following him she is safe as can be.

Kaito hears the exceed male speak and he smirks as he guessed the exceed got worried about Revy as she would be out of the others sight and still be in human form. "Me and Revy are fine just don't walk into a trap and get the rest of us killed off." He was teasing the man but Kaito also knows that Renji is a bit more prideful than that and might give him a witty snap back and Kaito guessed that this all was a bit much but he knows that there is something as they climbed he was not sure how he was feeling but it didn't feel right but it was far too late to pull back or to give up as there was more that needed to be done here but does that mean that they have to die here or was there truly a hidden secret here that would help them to become more powerful? There was only so much that they could do, so Kaito was going to do his best and if that isn't enough he gets his friends out and dies alone.

Revy elbows Kaito in the back as she knows that he is fully lost in thought. "Better pay attention or else we will be in even bigger trouble than Renji's goofing off." She giggled as she knows that she was right as this team is only as strong as it's weakest member and she knows that Kaito sees himself as the weakest member of the team here and that means there is still room to grow but could he really grow still or was he at his peak at the highest he can push himself too. Was as ahead of them? Kaito had to wonder if this trip was going to come back and bite them or heavily reward them. Kaito knows that he shouldn't get his hopes up but he wants to finally get something from one of these trips that is useful to himself but he feels that there is so many issues that might pop out and heavily derail them but the biggest was were their still living Oni in this place or not.
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Brone scratched his beard, very confused by how Revy replied as if it was common knowledge that felines are able to become humanoid, "Are cats able to turn human if they're strong enough?" he asked the gnome. Gnicholas shrugged his shoulders, unsure. Though Brone thought they were actual cats, Gnicholas knew they are exceeds, not true cats, but that is as far as he knew, for this was news to him that the species were able to become human as part of their natural biology.

Brone had no issue stepping onto the ledge that hugged the mountainside. He was use to such dangers; his uncle would have him traverse above ground, all throughout the mountain range. So long as his feet remain on solid ground, he felt safe. "Ye'll be alright, just don't look down" he mentioned and Gnicholas couldn't help but look down. He noticed the descent wasn't an immediate drop, but the slope was steep, if someone would fall, they would continue to tumble and hit many of the rocks on the way down, not unless they had some form of magic to help them. To the gnome's worry, he was probably one of the very few people present that couldn't fly, so he would shift to Brone's other shoulder where it was closest to the mountainside.

Renji and Yuurei discussed the possibility of what the power would be. Though Renji speculated, Yuurei cared not about what form it may take, just hoped that it would be enough to help him face off against the order of the Seraphim, "Whatever it may be, I'm sure Yuurei and I would forge it into something grand!" the dwarf bellowed confidently.

"We're fine, don't worry about us" Gnicholas called back. The group were traversing pretty well, save for that one situation at the beginning of their trek on the ledge. Benimaru suddenly floated off Brone's back and levitated alongside the group. Brone was excited to see him animated.

"Oy, Beni! You finally want to join in on the excitement!?" the happy dwarf asked.

"No, I just don't want to fall to my death if you happen to slip from the ledge" Benimaru replied. Brone chuckled, slightly embarrassed but knew that the spirit meant well even though he would speak in such a way. As for Gnicholas, he can confirm that Beni does indeed talk in that manner, but he had a feeling that something was off about the spirit. He would then look to Kaito, wondering about what was it that the dragon slayer saw when looking at the shield. When it came to Benimaru, Gnicholas didn't see him as a threat since his true power was sealed away, but there was one thing he was able to do and that's eat at the wielder's life force, but Brone gave no indication of being fatigue or harmed in any way.

At one point, the shield would turn slightly towards Yuurei's direction, though the dwarf was oblivious to this, Gnicholas caught on. Now wondering who Benimaru was.

511 | 1,511

Yuurei would chuckle nervously when he heard Kaito’s words. That was the last thing he wanted to do and it made him even more cautious than he already was. He would look down with every step he took as he didn’t want any of them to die.

Renji would shake his head when he heard Kaito’s words and he would look back at him.

“Why would you go and jinx us? You should be careful, always lost in your thoughts.” He asked Kaito as he looked over to Yuurei.

“Everything will be just fine. Keep leading.” He told Yuurei.

Yuurei heard Brone and Gnicholas and he would nod as if he would do just that. He wouldn’t worry about them because he trusted them enough to know they would be just fine.

Yuurei would make it to the edge of the ledge, and he would see that there was nothing for them to move to. They had to move forward, but where exactly. He didn’t want to say anything as he was looking to find a way forward. Renji would see Yuurei come to a stop and he would do the same thing. He was wondering what was going on with him, and he couldn’t check ahead unless he wanted to accidentally slip and fall to his death.

The Seraphim would look up and he would shake his head as he figured that would be the only way up.

“Well, guys; I hate to say this, but we’re going to have to climb up from here.” He said this to the group as he would be the first to start.

He would find what he could grab with his hands, and then he would use his feet to keep himself from using too much force. Yuurei would start to climb upward as he did see what looked like a cliff above them. Renji would see this and he kind of wanted to turn back to normal, so he could have been on Yuurei’s shoulder, but it was too late. He would figure it out as he was following whatever Yuurei did.

He took it slow because he knew that there might be someone beneath him and he didn’t want a piece of rock to hit them. The two of them would continue their ascend as they were doing their best to guide the group. It would make things easier if they knew where the foot holding and places to grip with their hands were located.

Soon enough Yuurei and Renji would make it to the cliff. When they got there, they would sigh and stretch their arms into the air as they moved forward. They would see that there was only one thing in front of them and it was the entrance to a cave. The aura that came from the cave was thick and writing was embedded on top of the cave. Beware of the Oni Starlight. It seemed like this is where it started, but what were they going to find here?

“Well, that makes sense. Put the entrance in a place not a lot of people could climb to. Well, let’s do this we don’t get all day.” He said to Renji as he would walk forward making sure that his friends would be touching him when they entered the cave.

554|2108

[exit]

Kaito heard the exceed yell back that he was jinxing them and he laughed as jinxes are more things you read in story books now curses are real. Kaito knows how to deal with traps if he were to stumble into one so he was not worried about it as he was able to handle it. Kaito got to where he had seen Yuurei stop and they look up and Kaito knew that they were about to do some climbing. He wonders if Brone is going to be able to climb up this as it was quite the climb but he figures even if it was going to be hard Brone was not going to ask him for help to spare his pride Kaito did not ask Brone if he wanted help to get up to the top.

Kaito simply just started climbing like he was not scared to fall or any thing just swiftly climbing as he had done a lot of this kind of stuff in the training his grandmother had put him through when she was trying to make him quit and just be a crafts men and not a mage of some fancy guild. Kaito was like a fish to water with the climbing and he got up right after Yuurei and Renji. Revy was climbing slowly but surely as she went and she was glad that she wears shorts under her skirt/dress as it made it less likely that she was going to be showing off more than she should be showing as she went and she was unsure. She wondered was it smart to come here as something had been seeming off with this little quest for awhile now but She couldn't put her finger on it as she was just trying to make it up and stay with the group instead of losing herself in her thoughts. She felt herself slip a little as she was reaching the top but a hand grabbed her hand and pulled her up it was Kaito and then they looked at the door and the warnings.

"I wonder what that means?" That sign made him wonder if it was not a warning that maybe the starlight's can be corrupted here or not but he looked back to see if Brone was having any problems getting up and if so if maybe he can help the dwarf to get up without the dwarf knowing that he was helped and Kaito can make sure that Brone doesn't loose his grip and end up as a splat mark at the bottom of the area, even if Kaito and Yuurei would have sped to save him from that death.
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The group continued forward on the trek alongside the mountain wall. The dwarf would mention how beautiful the scenery was, but Gnicholas refused to look outward and kept his eyesight forward towards the others. Every so often, Benimaru would whisper to the gnome, trying to catch his attention, but Gnicholas was aware that he oni spirit only wanted to draw his sight so that he could see how Beni was floating right above the drop. Such a sight would make anyone nervous.

They all came to a stop and the dwarf questioned what the hold up was. It wasn't until Yuurei mentioned they would have to climb that Gnicholas became frantic, "What!?" he wasn't ready fort his, no one had told him that they would have to do rock climbing. Brone patted the gnome's head, assuring him that all would be alright. But as a response to the dwarf, Gnicholas had slipped into the cloak Brone had worn, hiding from the world and making sure he was secured.

Brone shrugged and waited eagerly for his turn as the others before him climb, "You seem excited; aren't you afraid of heights?" Benimaru asked.

"Heights? No, I don't like being without the the ground" Brone laughed as he grabbed onto the jutted rocks from the mountainside. He then kicked his feet into the side of the earth, then began to climb. The ravens flew up and reached a boulder that sat at the top of the cliff, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Can't all of you just... you know... fly?" Benimaru followed Brone by floated alongside him as the dwarf climbed up after Kaito and Revy. Brone then hushed him; he too wondered why the others didn't fly or use teleportation magic to skipped this obstacle, but he didn't bother to ask. Living most of his life in the mountains, both on the surface and deep within the caverns, he had gotten use to rock climbing and actually preferred this instead of the flying. The moment the cloak would lift him off the ground, he would begin to be unsettled. Feeling the ground beneath his feet is what calms him, keeping him grounded, physically and figuratively.

Benimaru sighed, finding the rock climbing task pointless, so he floated up ahead and reached the cliff top. When Yuurei had reached the top and mentioned the sign above the cave entrance, Benimaru looked to it and fell silent.

Brone would soon reach the top after Kaito and Revy. He patted himself and laughed joyfully, but fell silent too as he looked to the entrance of the cave. The sign also made him question what it was warning; he then turned to Benimaru, wondering what his thoughts were, but seeing as he too was silent and just staring at the sign and into the cave entrance, he decided against bothering the oni spirit. Gnicholas, sensing the constant movement had stopped, popped out from the cowl and he too inspected the entrance.

500 | 2,011

[Exit]