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Byakuro.
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"This is really too much! How dare you throw this noble prince away!?"
From no one knows where, Kiba trudged with difficulty to the vicinity.
With astonishment in his eyes, he saw Rada standing as still as a statue. It was like a blade that had just finished cutting its target.
When he reached his goal, the cub looked at the snake's corpse, which was bleeding profusely while the boy's right hand was dripping blood. His breathing was irregular and there were still traces of intense killing intent in his eyes.
The cub struggled to comprehend what he was seeing, yet the truth was in front of him.
Rada had killed the royal python, and he had done it himself with his own hands.
"Hey... Is everything okay?" Kiba continued to call him back.
But when he saw Rada close his eyes, he fell silent. He seemed to be in some kind of trance, at that moment he felt nothing, saw nothing. He was completely immersed in his thoughts, isolated from the outside world.
It was his first real battle, a myriad of emotions and thoughts surfaced in his mind, along with the scene of his confrontation with the snake.
It was not the first time he had found himself in a dangerous situation. Who knows how many more times he would be caught between life and death, who knows if he would live to tell the tale next time.
The Wild Hunt trial had more than the simple purpose of selecting the best young men to send to the capital, its purpose was much more ancient and bloody.
The true purpose of the Wild Hunt was to forge inexperienced participants in real life encounters with nature itself, put them in extreme conditions and let their true talents come to the fore.
As time passed and generations went by, it tended to forget what its true purpose was, forgetting glory and honour.
The Wild Hunt test had become little more than an amusement for those from the capital.
Still, the Elder had been clear about the situations he might face. Unlike many of Bran's villagers, who now took the existence of the ordeal lightly.
It was also due to the capital's influence over them, which was seen as an impassable mountain in their eyes.
Rada had never hurt anyone for as long as she could remember. He had never fought hard for his life. Where he came from was generally a peaceful place, but as technologies and ways of thinking advanced, people became more and more removed from the wild life of earlier times.
However, his world was not exempt from wars and disasters of various kinds. Man would never abandon his nature, whatever world he inhabited.
In his heart, he began to understand the true meaning of life and death; they were no longer mere words tossed to the wind.
He had a kind of illumination.
Inside him he underwent an evolution, his very soul was changing. But not in any particular way, he was simply becoming aware of himself.
It is said that the true meaning of life can only be found when a person is close to death. Well, Rada did not yet find her purpose in life, but he clearly understood its value.
The forest, which at first seemed to be struck by an unnatural stillness, slowly awoke and resumed its natural course.
Having regained control of his senses, he began to breathe in and out slowly, the chaos clouding his mind giving way to a sudden sense of peace.
Slowly he opened his eyes again.
(Oh? Welcome back!) Kiba's voice came telepathically, he was right next to him.
(You seem to have had a sudden revelation, I guess because of the fight.)
He immediately noticed something different in the young man's eyes. It wasn't an outward change, not even his strength had increased in the slightest. It was an inner change, there was more confidence, more awareness.
"Mm, I think so," Rada nodded, smiling.
(Well, whether it was luck or not we managed to come out of it, just...)
Kiba paused.
"Only what?"
"How dare you throw me away like a used rag!?"
Despite his weakness, Kiba let out all his indignation.
"Huh? Ah, sorry sorry, eheh."
Rada put his palms together in apology, but it didn't have much effect.
"Eheh a bloody horn!" blurted Kiba.
"Listen, just because I ran away with you from the Forest of the Howling doesn't mean I'm afraid to die! What the hell do you take this prince for?" he continued sternly.
"You're right, but at that moment I couldn't think of anything else," said the other, smiling.
Kiba's outburst somehow warmed his heart.
"Don't ever do that again, it wouldn't make sense, we share a bond remember?"
Kiba sighed, after all Rada was sacrificing himself for him, how could he be angry with him?
His was a noble gesture, though Kiba would have done without it.
Why? Very simple, because of their bond Kiba and Rada shared the same life. Barring special conditions, if one of them died, the other would keep him company.
"Err... I didn't think of that, heheh."
Rada scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Sigh."
Kiba, now speechless, shook his head and sighed once more.
"Ohi ohi... I have pain all over!"
Sitting next to each other, the two comrades rested exhausted from the fights, especially Rada, besides being sore felt weak.
"Can you explain to me what happened?"
Kiba looked towards him asking for an explanation,
"I think I have this glove to thank."
Rada looked at his right hand again in wonder, the glove had returned to its usual transparency, no trace of its strange power remained.
"You mean Gwir's glove?" asked Kiba.
"Yes, when the python was chasing us..."
Rada explained everything that had happened in detail.
"Um, now I see, normally it would be impossible for you at your current level to defeat a creature at the final stage of Metamorphosis."
Kiba had a thoughtful expression.
After all, Rada was still at the Novice stage, although he was at his final rank there was a whole stage of difference between him and the snake. However, sometimes other factors, external and otherwise, would come into a clash that could heavily influence the course of a fight.
In the case of Rada and the royal python, Gwir's mysterious glove played a major role in the final outcome. Despite the deadly blow to the snake's sensitive areas, without the extra gear of the glove, the final outcome would most likely have been different.