"Huh?"
Don looks over at Ryan, confused. "Who's Loid?"
Ryan, still stunned, just looks down and kicks a rock, ignoring Don. "I mean makes sense just cause their brothers doesn't mean they are both strong."
John softly laughs. "I'm not as strong as Loid, but I'm still really strong."
Don, getting annoyed that he was being ignored, speaks up. "Hey, you as...."
Before Don could finish his sentence, he passes out. Duke runs over to Don, only to see a small puddle of blood beneath him. "Crap John, Don's hurt bad."
John, surprised, jumps down and inspects Don. John flips Don over on his back to see a deep stab wound as he thinks. 'This must have happened when that daemon shot spikes at him. I thought he dodged them, but that explains why it suddenly aimed at Ryan. It knew that with Don wounded, if it could've killed Ryan, Don would be an easy target and the group would fall apart.'
Mai speaks up to John and Duke. "Umm... His life force is fading."
John panics as he screams. "Crap, pick him up, Duke. We have to get him to the clinic!"
Don can barely make out the voices of the group as he falls into a deep sleep.
Don's vision comes back as the familiar smell of iron suffocates his nose. He leans up to see the sea of blood that he's seen often of late. "I'm back here, so that man should appear soon."
As if in response to Don's comment, the mountain of bodies and the man who stood on top of them appeared. The man turned toward Don and spoke. "Don, this is how we kill."
It surprised Don that he could hear him this time. "What do you mean, and why do I keep seeing you?
The man turns around and, to Don's surprise, answers him. "Because, kid, I said that I'd watch over you from now on, didn't I?"
Don struggles to understand the man. "Watch over me?"
The man sighs in disappointment. "Never mind."
Don grabs his stomach as intense pain shoots from his lower torso. "What the hell?"
The man points his blade at Don. "That wouldn't have suffered a blow like that if you used your miracle properly."
Don was shocked by what he just heard. "What do you mean?"
The man shifts his aim toward Don's black blade that sat in the blood next to him. "Pick that up."
Don hesitates but follows the order of the mysterious man. "Now what?"
The man readies his blade. "Now, we force you to understand."
He takes off at lightning speed toward Don. Don was surprised and barely blocks the man's attack. "What the hell, man? Why are you attacking me?"
The man continues to swing at Don, ignoring him. "It isn't a coincidence that you gravitated toward a blade in your time of need."
Don, angry now from being attacked swings his blade back at the man. "Are you dumb? It was a hundred percent a coincidence I didn't even know the sword was there."
The man with one swing sends Don's blade flying. "Was it there when you reached for it, or did it appear to you because you called for it?"
Don swings his fist at the man's face. "Make some sense, you bastard!"
The man dodges the punch, and trips Don, causing him to fall. Sword raised above his head, ready to kill Don, the man yells. "Use your head rat or die!"
The man's blade came down on toward Don's head. Don closed his eyes and raised his hand to instinctually block his attack. The sound of metal clashing forces Don to open his eyes, to see that the black blade he had appeared back in his hand. "The sword, but how?"
The man lowers his weapon to his side. "It was never some contestant's sword you picked up. Before that spider hit you, your body instinctually called the blade to your side. However, it was too late and after it hit you, the blade was also sent flying."
Don looks down in realization. "This blade is also my miracle?"
The man points at Don. "What is its name?"
Don's eyes glow bright blue and without a second thought, whispers. "Rat Fang."
Don's blade glows bright blue as it changes shape. A bright blue line of energy runs through the middle of the blade as the chipped edges transform into jagged spikes. The man laughs. "There you go, rat. Now, you are one step closer to reaching the pinnacle."
Don tries to speak up, but words failed to leave his mouth. He heard a familiar voice and a strange sensation on his face. The sea of blood and the man who stood in it faded to black.
Don opens his eyes to see a ceiling fan spinning slowly above him. "where am I?"
The strange sensation returned to his face. Don turned to see Ryan poking him with a stick. Ryan looks at Don with boredom. "Hey loser, I thought you where stronger than that."
Don sits up surprised. "Ryan, where the hell..."
Ryan angrily smacks the top of Don's head with the stick breaking it. "Don't yell at me loser!" Ryan sighs, calming down. "We are in the infirmary."
Don looks around, confused. "What about the exam?"
Ryan sits up from the chair he was sitting in. "We passed the first day. Because of the circumstances, the exam will resume tomorrow."
Don gets out of the bed. "Circumstances?"
Ryan scoffs. "You are an idiot. The daemon we fought the other day. It wasn't some attack from a rando, it was a calculated attack on the Inquisitor Order."
Don looks at his torso where his wound was. It was completely healed. "So someone is picking a fight with the order? Who would be dumb enough to do that?"
Ryan sighs. "The Union."
Don looks at Ryan, confused. "The Union, who are they?"
Ryan looks at the wall angrily. "They are the worst of the worst. A gang of miracle users who don't care about fighting daemons. All they care about is money and power."
Don stares at Ryan, sensing that he is angry and upset. "You sound like you have some history with them."
Ryan flinches before walking off to the door. "History? I guess you could say that. Doesn't matter, anyway. Get some rest, loser. The second day of the exam starts tomorrow."
Don looks out the window, contemplating all that has happened. The attack, the Union, and the mystery man who appears in his dreams.
Don sighs as he thinks. 'All that's going on is to much to think about. I'll focus on tomorrow...'
"The second day of the exam."