The head monk continued walking through the monastery. His pacing would be slow to the group, but it was normal for him. He was taking them to three separate rooms as they couldn’t take their trials in the same place. It would effect things in a weird way if they did.

Yuurei would look at the monk and wonder what was going on. He felt like this man was going to take them around in circles and tire them out before they actually got to where they needed to go.

“This is going to be interesting. Still, we are one step closer to getting what we want.” He said to everyone.

“I don’t think it's going to be that easy Yuu. The way this guy made it seem, feels like it doesn’t matter how strong you are physically, but how strong you are mentally. We’ve all been through a lot, so be on your guard.” He said to Yuurei.

He would understand what he was saying, and it was then the monk would come to a stop. He would turn to look at the group.

“Okay we’re in the first room. Yuurei and your friend Renji can go inside here. Do your best, and I wish you the best of luck.” He said as he opened the door for them.

Yuurei and Renji would look at each other and then they would look at Brone, Kaito, Revy, and Gnicholas.

“We will see you guys later.” He said to them.

The two of them would walk into the room and once they had both entered the door would close right behind them. It wasn’t the monk’s doing, but the powers that were placed within this room. Those two were stuck there until they could over what it was they had to go through.

The monk would look at Kaito and Brone, and he would nod at them.

“Follow me, I will take you to the next room.” He said to the group that the next person he was going for was Kaito.

Yuurei and Renji were in the darkness, not able to see anything. They would look for each other, but they literally couldn’t see each other. Still, it wouldn’t take long for things to start changing. The darkness started to slowly fade away from the two of them, but when it was gone neither, Yuurei nor Renji were together.

“Renji where are you?!” He shouted hoping to have his friend call out to him.

“Are you kidding me? Yuu where did you go?” He asked as he was hoping his partner would answer him.

The two of them wouldn’t be able to hear each other calling out to them. They were together but separated for the time being. Yuurei was walking around wondering if this would lead them anywhere. That was when he saw someone in the distance; he wasn’t sure who it was, but there was something really familiar about them. Yuurei would make his way to the person and when he had eventually got to them, he would touch their shoulder and they would turn around.

His eyes widened when he saw who it was, and he started to shake a bit from the scene before him.

Renji was walking around and he would transform into his human form as he felt safer like this. He would move around the place as he would try to find Yuurei. It was then he would see someone. Renji knew exactly who it was from where he stood, and when he went to him, he saw someone strike Yuurei down. Renji felt like this had to be fake, but he couldn’t help but run to Yuurei now to see if he was okay.

622

Kaito looked at the monk that was leading them and Kaito was starting to feel more and more on edge and that was the worst part of it and he wondered if there was a reason that he was doing this as his bravery  had seemed to be draining away from them and that was something that Kaito couldn't deny but he knew that he had to quickly take care of as there was something wrong  here and it was probably more that just some small problem. Kaito watched as they finally  got to an area where he told Yuurei to branch off and this was a surprise as there had to be more to this then just  branching paths and as he saw the monk look at him and made sure that Kaito was staying following him as it seemed that Kaito was going to be the second person that was going to be tested and Kaito was not sure how he was feeling about this but he followed behind the monk.

When the monk stopped again he pointed firmly to the path that Kaito and Revy must take and that was something that was not going to change and Kaito following the monks firmly pointed finger went down into the path and as had happened to Yuurei and Renji a darkness like fog had caused Kaito and Revy to be split apart Kaito looked around as he couldn't smell or sense Revy and that was odd to him as he went to speak out Kaito felt strange and he wondered if the room was a dimensional form of room as he could feel a distortion here and he looked around the room and he could hear someone walking and he looked in that way and he saw a dark elf that was looking right at him and Kaito wondered why a dark elf would be his task. Then the dark elf spoke out toward Kaito.  "You who inherited my name are you worthy?"

Dark Elf:

Kaito wondered what that meant but Kaito didn't have time to think about it as the dark elf moved swiftly to attack Kaito with daggers. Revy on the other hand had turned to her human form and was looking around as she wondered where in the hell Kaito had wandered off to and how she didn't realize she was not still with him. She didn't see or hear anything that could tell her that Kaito might be in a battle. She stopped as she saw something images of Kaito talking horribly about  her and taking the hand of a different exceed to walk forward and she ran toward the Kaito and the other exceed and they turned toward her and Kaito spoke. "Rosie show this washed up exceed that she needs to stop bothering me and make sure you make short word of her." The exceed laughed and turned to her human form and was going to show Revy that she was no longer needed and that she was and has been replaced by a woman better than her that deserved to serve by Kaito's side as a companion.

Rosie:

(528)

The monk had led the group to a different part of the monastery, though going through several turns and moving through several hallways did get tedious and annoying. Brone Heavyaxe groaned with impatience, to which Gnicholas roughly patted the dwarf's cheek with his hand as the gnome continued to sit on his shoulder. "Don't be rude" Gnicholas whispered.

Brone shrugged, "This is taking too long, we have a quest to complete" he grumbled.

"This isn't even our mountain, we're visitors here, we should at least complete the quest, then we'll be free to continue without interruptions" Gnicholas understood the dwarf had lacked patience, but what was more troublesome to the dwarf was being restricted from doing his job. The fact that Brone didn't reply, though he still grumbled, shows that he understood the situation and chose not to argue.

Yuurei and Renji were escorted into a room. Brone tried to peek into the room before the door closed, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then they walked off and reached another room where Kaito and Revy were left. Then there was Brone and Gnicholas left; Benimaru continued to hide himself beneath the dwarf's white cloak, hoping the monk wasn't aware of his presence.

The monk then stopped before another room to which the dwarf walked inside without a second guess. The door had closed and the three of them were left in emptiness, "If there's nothing, then I passed the test" Brone joked.

"That's not how that works" Gnicholas patted the dwarf's face again.

"Give it a moment, the monks have access to great magic as far as I could remember" Benimaru finally spoke up, startling both the dwarf and the gnome. Gnicholas wanted to ask questions concerning how the oni was aware of the magic, but the lights were suddenly cut and they were all left in darkness. The gnome and the oni weren't too worried, but the dwarf was, because even this darkness was too thick for his own eyes to see.

There was no sound and right before Brone said a word, his feet gave way and he fell. Light finally came to him and he was able to see that he was falling through a large wide shaft of some kind. He looked down but couldn't see the bottom of the dark shaft, even though every now and then, as he fell, he would spot a light lacrima on the wall of the shaft. His heart was racing as his arms were flailing, trying to grasp anything, but he realized that he was too far away from either walls of the shaft. Brone called for his cloak to help him, but as he looked behind him, his cloak was gone, so was Gnicholas and Benimaru. His eyes darting all around him, but none of them were anywhere near him, he wasn't even sure if they were left in the room he had fallen from, now he was plummeting to demise without any way of stopping himself.

508

Yuurei was frozen in place; his mind couldn’t believe what his eyes had been showing him. This was someone he had missed dearly; he had pushed past it, but it would always hurt him. Kailani was in front of him, and he could recognize the look and the body from anywhere. He had been with her almost his whole life. She was right in front of him as if nothing had happened.

“I missed you, Kai. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t think of you and what I could have done if I had just put my jealousy aside. If I had stood in Blue Pegasus would you have perished?” He asked wondering as the regret of her death was coming back.

She would look at him and tilt her head at him.

“You left me Yuu. You left because my heart felt for Kaito? You left my side, and then Kaito ended by your side anyway. We could have all been happy together if you just stood with me.” She said to him as she would walk to him.

Yuurei would freeze up when he saw her walking toward him. He felt her words and she wasn’t wrong, but his heart and his feelings for her brought him to make a rash decision. He was thinking about it and maybe he shouldn’t have left Blue Pegasus.

“I’m sorry, I just loved you so much, that I felt like I would suffocate if I stood near you, knowing that you didn’t love me the way I loved you.” He said to her.

She would end up in front of him and she would look up to him and then she would rub the side of his face. He would press his face against her hand as he had missed her touch, her aroma, and everything about her.

“I wish there was something I could do to make this right. The vampire who killed you is dead, the vampire lord is no more, and Nimbus is alive, but it wasn’t enough to bring you back.” He said to her.

She would continue to rub his face.

“If you want to make it right, there are only two choices you have Yuu.” She said to him.

He would have his eyes closed and he would wait for her to say what it was. He had a feeling about what she wanted him to do, but couldn’t believe this was happening.

“You can stay with me here forever. I can change how things are in this room, or you could die and be with me on the other side.” She said to him.

Yuurei would hear that, and he figured the dying part would be a suggestion. He would keep her close, his eyes closed as he was taking this all in.

Renji would approach Yuurei on the ground and it would seem like the wound that he had suffered from was fatal. He would look around as if he was scared and he was looking for someone to help him. Yuurei would look at Renji and he would cough up blood as he was looking at him.

“Renji why couldn’t you help me stay alive? If you weren’t so weak, I wouldn’t be in this situation.” He said to him.

Renji would hear this and he would start crying. He didn’t want Yuurei to die, and he wished there was something he could do to help his friend.

“I’m sorry Yuu, I've been trying to get stronger. It is all I been trying to do. I want to fight by your side, and make it so that you don’t have to end like this.” He said to him.

“Please someone! Help him, Yuu can’t die! I want to get stronger, I want to be by his side forever!” Renji shouted as he couldn’t help but hope someone would answer.  

652|1274

Kaito kept repealing the attacks from the dark elf but he was still confused to what the elf had spoken of before him having taken his name. Is this the person he was named after by his grandmother, he thought it was just a name she thought up but now it would seem Kaito had been named after a dark elf. Why would he have been named after a disgraced elf of all things from the research he had done made him know that he shared the surname with his grandmother. Kaito clashed with the dark elf once again and the dark elf kept giving Kaito credit that he was trained well so it appeared that his grandmother must of taught him well. "I see that your grandmother didn't slack in your training but how advanced did she teach you is the real question here."

Kaito didn’t let himself be distracted by this talk as he needed to survive and pass this test if he let his guard down he would surely fail. Kaito is having a hard time keeping up with the dark elf and Kaito realizes that this elf is also fighting in the same style as him but is more refined in the fighting style like he was a master of it and that made Kaito’s wonders even deeper to who and why he was named after him and how this all comes back to him and this test. This voice the voice of this man sounds so familiar to him like he had heard it like it was that nagging voice in the back of his head. He wonders if this test is him fighting his inner demon or devil.

Kaito didn't even have time to finish his thought as the dark elf shifted in appearance marking the start of the real battle they were about to have and it seemed that the dark evil was oozing dark energy and the clashes with Kaito seemed to more be going his way than Kaito who had been able to keep deflecting the attacks and that was something that was not going to change it seemed unless Kaito started to take this fight more seriously.

Demon form:

Revy started to dodge and weave around this other transformed exceed's attacks but she knows that she is going to have to make this count and  not waste a second on the fear in her mind of this as she knew no matter what happened Kaito would come for her and he would not stand down till he did so this was all of her own making and she knows it but that doesn't make the attacks any less real and painful when they connect and she kicks the fake replacement her up under the chin but the woman didn't even seem phased by this attack and her appearance changed as well into a more demonic form as well and that was not what the exceed had expected but she was not bad at hand to hand combat though she preferred to use Kaito's shield or sword. She knows that she has neither of these things but from what she can tell she is faster than the exceed who seemed more tanky and strong.

Rosie demon form:

Kaito hoped that Revy was safe as he turned on his aura and his power growing and his size slightly increasing as Kaito called upon the power of light that he had eaten as a gift from Yuurei to himself and his eyes changed making them look far more dragon like and he was fully ready to take on what this dark elf might be plotting or trying to do as his light cuts through the darkness the elf was giving off with the dark elf simply saying. "Oh a dragon slayer and a demi-god I see why you were trained, she saw your future and knew to use the last bit of her life to train you, so you could be yet another sheep lead to the slaughter of your country and to die sad and alone here." Kaito looked at the dark elf feeling the words of this dark elf bouncing off of himself and he realized what those words meant. This man knew something that Kaito had feared that his grandmother had died and this man spoke of it as if it was a casual talking point, Kaito wished that it wasn't true but the facts stand she has not contacted him in years so her death might have happened and the others were told not to contact him so her death didn't burden him or his mind and stray him from the path he sought.
(780) (1,308)

Benimaru found himself mounted on a wall. He looked around the room and realized it wasn't the training room he entered with Brone, but a living room with Joyan style. He tried to levitate off the wall, but he couldn't move his shield, nor his sword; he was stuck. It was silent, for he was the only one there. Out the window, the night sky seemed completely void of sunlight; it was possibly some time around midnight, so whatever family was within this home, was probably fast asleep.

This was all too familiar. Centuries ago, he was placed upon the wall after the war was completed and he was no longer needed. With the lack of being held, he wasn't able to feed on lifeforce, so he became hungry, weak, and fell dormant. Every now and then, he would wake to see the family go about their life, while he would remain in a motionless statue. Now he was in the same situation; terror started to settle in.

* * *

For Gnicholas, the gnome would find himself in a library, a peaceful and joyful place for him. But upon looking at the shelves more closely, he couldn't make out what the titles read. He looked about, but they were all the same. He then pulled out a random book and dropped it on the floor. The front of the book showed letters in the common language, which he recognized and was fluent in, but for some odd reason, he couldn't make out what the letters said. He pried open the book, but it was all the same, his ability to read was gone. His heart started to race madly; all the books within this large library, and he wasn't able to read any of it. What of the world? The gnome began to wonder what would he do with his life if he wasn't able to read. One of his strongest assets was being able to research and understand the world, but the first step to doing so was the ability to read, and that was taken from him.

* * *

Brone continued to fall through this seemingly endless shaft, without any way to reach the walls. Lacrima lanterns passed by him as he plummeted, showing him how fast he was going which rocked his nerves. No matter what he did, waving his hands and legs, he wasn't able to move himself. The ground was his sanctuary, his peace, where he can stand, where he can move. No matter the trouble, or the storm that pressed against him, so long as his feet were against the ground, he can brace against any trouble, and move through it; but this was different. While he was in midair, he was vulnerable, he could be easily moved, easily attacked and he couldn't defend himself. He wanted to hit the ground already, knowing that if he survived, he would at least be able to escape this terror... if he survived. The idea being heavily injured worried him, but the fear of death was greater, but this, what he was currently dealing with, was torment, and he wanted it to end.

522 | 1,030

Yuurei was doing his best to take it all in. He had hated her for not loving him the way he loved her, but he hated that she was no longer in this world. It was annoying, to say the least, and it pissed him off. He should have stood by her side and maybe what transpired within Blue Pegasus wouldn’t have happened.

The young man took it all in and he let out a large amount of air as he would loosen his grip on Kailani. His eyes were red and watery from seeing her; he was glad to be given another chance to see her and even hold her. He figured this was all in his memory and this was how she always was within his memory.

“I wish I could do that, but I can’t. I know my Kai is no longer in this world, but she will always be with me. No matter how much I want to be here with you forever, I cannot.” He smiled at her as he cried a bit.

“You see, I became the leader you expected me to be, and I got a lot of people counting on me now. It wasn’t something I expected, I just wanted to be stronger to protect you and me, but now, if I disappear, then the power shifts dramatically and those who want to do Fiore wrong will start coming out. With me around, I know things are safer, at least within the North.” He said to her.

She would hear him and she would smile at him. She nodded as she heard his answer, and she would approach him. She would rub his cheek and it would seem like his mind was made up. She couldn’t convince this man and it would seem like he had come to terms with her death. He had already accepted that she had died, but saying this to her was everything that he needed and wanted.

“I see, and I’m okay with this Yuu. As long as you are fine, and you don’t need me anymore that is fine. I will always be in your heart, and we will see each other one day. I don’t know when, but hopefully not too soon.” She would say this as she would start to fade from where she was.

He would see this and soon enough, he would be within a candle-lit room. He would see that it was the darkened room he entered before, but it had lights around him. It was then he would see Renji standing there as if he were in a trance. This made him wonder if this was what had happened to him as well. He was about to wake Renji up but knew that would be the wrong move, so he just waited.

Renji was struggling to overcome the situation right now. Yuurei on the ground was something he never wanted to happen. He had thrown the fact that this might have been an illusion out the window as he was calling for help. This help would never come, but something else would show up. When he saw what it was in the distance, his eyes widened because he remembered Yuurei fighting it not too long ago.

“He has powers that don’t belong to him and now he is returning it back. You should be glad your life has been spared.” He said to Renji.

Renji would feel rage taking over him, and he would bring forth Yuurei’s Jeweled sword, his friend Berserker’s suit, and Drakkon’s helmet. He would gather his friend’s equipment as he was going to protect him.

“Me and you, right now. I will show you that I will not be a hindrance to Yuu ever again.” He said as he could feel the surge of energy pushing through him.

He had felt himself becoming stronger. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he would close the gap between the Watcher and he would launch a straight jab to the Angel. He would see that the creature would dodge the attack, but Renji would let out a blast around him with the Jeweled at hand.

697|1971

Kaito and this man kept matching blows but Kaito can seem to see and sense the mans movements as he was connected to them and this was something the felt completely natural to him and Kaito closed his eyes and he lets his body to move on instinct and what felt right and he blocked perfectly and he didn't even seem to back down only move forward at the other figure that was now moving faster that could be perceived by the naked eye and the demon was unsure how this guy was doing it then he saw it his mother's soul that seemed to be guiding his body. Kaito was never alone even though he felt like he was there was always some one right by his side in those moments of being alone and he couldn't deny that he could feel the spirit that was with him but Kaito with his closed eye couldn't look and see.

Kaito moved again as if he had been pushed as the ground behind him cracked from the strike of the demon that barely missed him. Kaito knows this is serious and he needed to handle this differently than violence as this demon seemed to feed off of him and the unease and anger that he had felt and that was why it had transformed and why it was so strong all of the sudden and Kaito drops his sword and his shield and he kept dodging as it seemed that he was going to have to do this far differently than what he had been doing Kaito knows now who this demon was and who that dark elf was and like how he was this creature was a memory that couldn't rest and it held to surviving like it was the only thing that mattered and would still matter even with it fighting as it was Kaito counted the steps and then he moved to attempt to get his arms around the demon and see what happens.

Revy could only do so much but she was starting to get use to the woman's tempo and that was making the dodging and getting in counter attacks easier as there was something that was going on here something that Revy couldn't put her finger on and it made her wonder if maybe she was blinding herself in these fears of being replaced and forgotten about and he knows that she could do what she wants even if Kaito was to leave her behind and take off which she knows he wouldn't do that this other exceed seemed overly real to her or maybe she was scared of something completely else that she wasn't accounting for as she needed to get to the bottom of this fight as there was only one fighter vs one fighter and she wonders if she will see Kaito again, will he be able to pass as Kaito is unstable sometimes and would something like this break him and leave him to fall apart Revy shook her head as she knew she needed to focus and take this exceed down now.
(522) (1,830)

It was all quiet, nobody was around to interact with or even witness. Benimaru simply hung on the wall as an ornament. The years being dormant were terrible, for he wasn't dormant mentally, he witnessed time passing, and now he was stuck in the same situation. He began to wonder if he'll ever see Brone or Lumikki again, to see Kaito pop into the guild hall in the blink of an area whenever he felt like visiting, or ever see Yuurei fly around with his angelic wings.

"Discarded again?" a voice came from across the room. Beni's eyes darted to where he could have sworn he heard the voice from, but didn't see anyone, "Once again, you find a group of people and mistaken them for family, only to be thrown away again" the voice came from a mirror that hung on the opposing wall. The reflection shown the room, but what stood out was the purplish flames that flickered in the eyes of Benimaru's reflection. It was the reflection that was speaking to him, using his voice.

"You know as much as I do... which is nothing" Benimaru replied in a low angered tone. He didn't want to entertain the subject, because he didn't know whether the reflection was right or not, he didn't want it to be, "Who are you, and how do I get out of here?"

"You're partially right, we both know as much as the other, but that's why I'm here, to remind you what we do know" The mirror Benimaru said, his eyes burning the purple flames. They stared at one another, though they shared the same voice, the tones were different, the reflection more confident and the true Beni more irritable.

"I wasn't discarded, this isn't real, it's some illusion the monks made" Benimaru had suddenly remembered where he was, recalling the recent memory of walking through the monastery. This brought him bit of relief, but he couldn't escape the conversation with the mirror.

"You're partially right, maybe you haven't been discarded yet, but what makes you think you'll remain with them?" with that, the real Beni remained silent, choosing not to answer because he didn't want to entertain the faux oni, but also because he didn't want to give into the doubt, "Why? Because you're family? A lot of bull; Brone has you around because you're a tool, a weapon and shield to be used in combat, nothing more"

"And what the hell are you? A reflection! An thought and nothing more!" Beni lost his patience and yelled out in anger, tired of the harassment.

"Once again, you're partially right, I am a thought, specifically your inner thoughts, the part of you that knows the truth, but was tucked away, remember, you're an item, because of what the Starlights made you" The reflection's voice echoed, the mirror began to ooze darkness that began to spread along the wall behind the mirror. Then a purple magic circle appeared in the middle of the room. Beni knew this, it was the seal placed upon him, locking him in the shield and sword.

* * *

Gnicholas sat there, looking at all the books he had opened and had scattered all along the room. None of the writing there was readable to him. It was a terrible thing; he had went through his life learning so much of the world and of life through reading, and now he won't be able to do so.

The gnome sat there in silence. Eventually he ran out of ideas of how he would be able to gain his ability back. He first thought he would relearn to read, but judging how difficult it was to him at this moment even with the most basic of letters, he figured he might have been cursed, making this permanent. He realized he was in the room still at the monastery, this all being an illusion, but the ability to read might have truly been taken from him. There was though a possibility that once the illusion stops and he leaves the room, then he'll get his ability back, but the thought of the possibility of him never learning to read again was truly scary. He wondered, what would he do?

Then it came to him: Brone doesn't spend his time reading, but he learned a lot in his time. His skills in crafting came from his father teaching him, his skills of survival came from his uncle, his cooking came from his mother, and even to this day, he's learning not only the gnome himself, but of his young niece, who began to teach him of the obscura world. Yuurei, Kaito, and the rest of the guild are there for him. And from his time with the dwarf, the gnome came to learn that Brone was there if he needed help.

So if it's true his lost his ability to read, he can still rely on Brone and the others to help him still learn about life. This realization brought him back. He blinked and the next thing Gnicholas knew was that he was in the room again, the library was gone, but Brone and Benimaru were there. The dwarf laid on the floor snoring loudly while the shield and sword were lifeless on the floor. Brone wasn't a concern, but the gnome was worried whether or not the magic that generated the tests will have some kind of negative effect on Benimaru, given that the monks weren't aware of the oni, and if they did, it probably wouldn't be promising, for they've had their bad blood with them.

* * *

Brone's panicking slowed due to thinking back to when his mother had told him something important... as well as the fact he ended up becoming bored of falling in this endless pit. When he was a child, he was nervous go to the forge and craft his first item. The intense heat, the hot melted iron, and the possibility of disappointing his father, but his father wanted him to take his first step as an adult. When he rushed to his mother, she sat him down and explained to him that everyone's fearful of something, when that happens, you can just let it stay, but if that happens, then nothing gets done.

"do ye want to do it ye yerself, or do you want ye want yer cousins to help? There's no shame in asking for help every now in then" her stern but warm voice came him comfort as she smiled brightly.

"I don't want te upset da" A young Brone said through teary eyes.

"Don't worry about him, I'll handle him" She pulled him into a rough hug and pressed her lips against his forehead.

"Ma! I'm too old for that!" He pulled away from her, embarrassed. He wiped his head before rubbing his chin that had nothing more than a little peachfuzz, pretending to stroke a beard he had yet to have. She smiled at him and he softened and smile back, "If my cousins are ok to help me, then It doesn't too scary, especially knowing help is there for me, besides I don't want my cousins to get the credit" .

"So do ye want to do this yeself? Or do ye want Yuurei to help?" His mother asked before the dream faded.

Brone was back to the present day, still falling in the neverending pit, "I don't want Yuurei to get the credit" His grown voice was but a rough whisper as he pulled an arm across his chest before roughly swinging his arm as if he was striking with a weapon with all his strength, causing him to propel him to the side. Within a few seconds, he reached one of the walls. He slammed his four fists into the wall, slowing his descent, he gripped onto it, causing it to tear away for a few meters before he fully came to a stop.

The heart in his chest was pounding less now. Brone chuckled with laughter in between deep breaths. Then in the next moment, he was sitting up in the middle of the floor of the testing room.

"Wonderful, now we're just waiting for Benimaru" Gnicholas was awake and seem to have been waiting for some time by how he was sitting. Brone looked over to the shield and sword on the ground and noticed a floating magic circle elevated above him. "Not sure what the spell is exactly, but it's runes seem to indicate a limiter, like a jinx or a curse".

Brone raised an eyebrow at the gnome, who had returned the expression. He then looked over to the magic circle and walked over to it. Then he pulled out his Spellcleaver, both him and Gnicholas understood what this may be.

1,484 | 2,514

Yuurei was waiting for Renji and it would seem like his Exceed was going through a rough time. He would just stare at his companion as he was hoping things would turn out for the better. One thing he did notice was that he had a ribbon on his arm. He wasn’t sure when that appeared, but he could only assume the room had given it to him. What it did was another question, something he would find out later on like the other stuff he had with him.

Renji would look at the monster he was fighting. The Seraphim would be hit by the attack and pushed back. The Exceed would look at him and he would keep a serious face. He wasn’t going to allow things to go wrong anymore.

The Watcher would disappear, appear, and repeat the process a few times. Renji would see this, and he wasn’t sure what was happening, but he would activate a spell of his. It would allow him access to being able to see everything around him. It was then he would see where the Seraphim was going before, he would reappear to Renji.

He waited though, acting like a fool, pretending not to know what the Seraphim was up to. It was then the Seraphim would appear in front of Renji and it would thrust its hand into the Exceed’s chest. He had seen him coming, it wasn’t a surprise or anything, so being able to mitigate the damage wasn’t a problem. He would step to the side as he would feel pain on his side. He would be scratched by the Seraphim and now his arm was in between Renji.

The Exceed would headbutt the Seraphim and when the Watcher stumbled back, Renji would launch a fist straight into the Seraphim’s face. The young cat wasn’t done there as he would launch of wave of pure mana straight at the creature. It would be pushed back, and it would fall to the ground.

Renji would see this, and he would get ready just in case it would try to do anything. When he saw it getting up, the Exceed would pounce on the Seraphim, making sure that it couldn’t do anything. After the continuous beating, things would change, and Renji would stumble forward. He would look around to see Yuurei in front of him, and he was fine. He would rub the back of his head as he really did let his feelings get the better of him.

Yuurei would see Renji was fine and conscious now, and he would smile at his friend.

“I knew you could do it, now let’s see where we have to go.” He said as he opened the door and the two of them exited.

There they would be with a monk, and they would be told to follow him. Yuurei would do that as he wondered how strong Akari was and if the other two would be able to join him in the fight ahead. He was excited, but anxious at the same time. Still, things were coming to an end soon.

[brown]“Now I can fight with you guys without holding you guys back.”[/color] He said to Yuurei that it was one of his accomplishments.

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[exit]

Revy had gotten through her test and the room seemed to clear and she saw a monk that signaled he to the door where she walked out to see Yuurei and Renji waiting for the others to come out and move onto the next part. Revy didn't see Kaito out here yet so now she was sure that he had failed his task and that was sad but she guessed that she would have to do what she can do to help the ones that did pass. She then had a strange sensation that told her that Kaito hadn't failed his task just yet and there was something else going on that was holding him up from making it through the test but she was unsure what it was as there was probably a lot of things that it could have been as there were a lot of things that made Kaito tick and knowing what his test would be is something that is completely unknown to her.

Kaito kept fighting with the demon of the dark elf and he was not holding back as this thing was not holding back either and Kaito has to make an opening and do what he had planned but this demon wasn't a push over and he knows that he is not going to make this easy as there was a lot at work here and Kaito can't even tell if this is even real or if this all was just an illusion to him and someone else was just playing with him like a puppet tied tightly with strings to be jerked around like an idiot but he was going to do what he did and he was going to make sure that it was how he planned and when he made the opening Kaito tightly hugged the demon transformed dark elf and spoke loudly. "I forgive you for cursing me!" The demon stopped moving and the demon seemed to lose all of it's power and the transformation ended the dark elf standing in front of him once more and looking like he was going to cry before he faded away along with the test revealing a monk that signaled him to the door to make his way out of the place and Kaito walked out and he looked around and he saw Yuurei, Renji and Revy all waiting for the next part to be started and them be allowed to keep going.
(413) (2,243/1,250) 50% word cut from. (20%ring,10%guild,20%companion.) (Exit)

Benimaru remained silent as he watched the pool of darkness extend more and more about the wall, then dripped onto the floor and reached the other walls. Eventually it'll all reach him. What scared him more was what the reflection reminded him off, the seal that hovered in the middle of the room, keeping him locked away, never being able to retrieve his true body. The weight of it all was intense, as it always was, but what kept him from falling silent again was finding the guild. It was Lumikki who had promised him that one day they will find a way to break his seal. Even though there was a possibility that may never come, he would be fine so long as he could still talk to her.

The seal suddenly split in two before fading away. The room about him began to disintegrate as the pool of darkness was receding back into the mirror. The reflection wasn't saying anything, leaving Benimaru in total confusion. What did feel different was something within him felt... lighter.

* * *

"Yer awake?" Brone's voice came to him before Benimaru's vision focused enough, allowing him to see the dwarf standing over him.

"Welcome back, and good to see your true self" Gnicholas walked up to them. Beni wasn't sure what the gnome meant until he realized he subconsciously sat up and brought his hand to his face, dealing with a slight headache. He pulled his hand away and stared at it, speechless. He then looked around to find the shield and sword that was his body for centuries was laying on the floor, no life left in it.

"Best ye do something about yer look, I don't think the monks will enjoy that an oni is traveling with us" Brone chuckled as he pulled off his cloak to hand to Benimaru.

"No need" he said, enjoying the sound of his voice as he stood up, and in the next moment, his appearance changed to look human. Brone and Gnicholas nodded in approval before they left the room to join the others who had already finished their tests.

[Exit]

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