3:00 PM.
The plane lands in a plain not far from the Bakuro forest.
Zeff is the first to disembark, followed closely by the other three, after which the plane takes off again, returning to the association's base.
Zeff notices that Kon is lost in thought, watching the plane depart.
"What's on your mind, Kan? I'll call it back when we're done; you don't have to worry about being abandoned here."
Kon starts looking at him angrily and yells:"My name is Kon! My parents named me Kon, not Kan!"
Zeff looks at him worriedly and mutters, "Tsk... I'm not good at remembering names."
This angers Kon even more, and he explains: "You called me Kan twice... oh well, I don't want to think about it anymore, do whatever you want."
Zeff starts walking, with both Haro and June following, while Kon lags behind.
"For the money. I'll endure all of this for the money," Kon keeps repeating to himself.
Meanwhile, June, a bit anxious, asks Zeff: "Examiner... When you look at me, I feel a sense of familiarity. Do you know me?"
Zeff scratches his head, thoughtful, then explains: "No... It's just that about twenty years ago, I met a girl who looked a lot like you. You remind me of her."
His tone becomes melancholic.
"I understand."
....
3:45 PM
The group reaches the Bakuro forest.
The scene before them is catastrophic: all the trees are withered, there's no vegetation, and dying animals lie on the ground.
This sight extends for several kilometers.
Kon sits on a rock and stares at the panorama, while June stands, smiling at the view.
Haro shifts his gaze from what he thought were his companions and turns to Zeff: "Is this the forest?"
Without taking his eyes off the devastation, Zeff unsheathes his sword.
"It was..." He exclaims, puzzled, not expecting such a turn of events.
Seeing their examiner draw his sword, they follow suit.
"Examiner, what should we do?" Haro asks, concerned about the strange situation.
"The president told me the nest's location. It's inside a cave!" Says Zeff, determined to continue the mission.
He presses a button on his wristband, and binoculars appear before him.
Using them, he looks in a specific direction and tells his young heroes:"The cave... is still intact. The Spider demon probably is there; I'd say we can start moving."
Kon sees a deer in the distance writhing in pain and asks the others: "What's wrong with the animals here? It seems like they've been poisoned throughout the forest... Is it safe to move?"
Zeff looks at him with a mischievous smile and answers: "Of course not. From here on, it's going to be hell."
He points at the deer and continues: "Disregarding the poison hypothesis, what could have happened here? You should have studied this phenomenon at the academy..."
Haro looks astonished at what's happening and replies: "Could it be the demonization phenomenon?"
"Well done, Hiro. As you know, this phenomenon occurs when a demon intentionally or unintentionally releases its demonic energy into a specific environment. By doing so, all living beings in that environment will be affected by the malevolent energy and transform..."
"If that's the case, shouldn't we run away? We're here just to kill the Spider demon!" Says Haro, showing the most concern among them.
"Are you scared, Hiro? If you want to become a hero, you'll have to become like those two."
Haro turns to Kon and June, who are excitedly watching the deer's transformation. Then he looks back at Zeff and asks: "Examiner Zeff, are you mocking me?"
"Heh no, I wouldn't say that. If you want to survive in this world, you'll have to let go of some of that rationality you pride yourself on."
Meanwhile, the deer is growing in size, its color changing from brown to pitch black, its mouth enlarging, and its teeth replaced by fangs.
Kon, June, and Zeff watch in amazement as the deer transforms into a demonic beast, while Haro, currently considering himself the only sane one, plans: "Shouldn't we attack it before it completes the transformation?"
Zeff looks at him disappointedly and says: "Hiro, I understand you're scared, but it would be monstrous to kill it before seeing its final form. Plus, it's an instructive moment for you; at the academy, you've only seen images of fully transformed beasts."
Haro remains speechless; he realizes that arguing with Zeff is futile.
The deer, having reached ten meters, has completed its transformation.
Zeff looks in the direction of Kon's sword and says: "Kan, how about you? I want to see what you're capable of. But don't get yourself killed."
"Tsk... I'll make you say my name sooner or later!" Kon mutters quietly as he walks towards the demonic deer.
Once he's about fifty meters away from the beast, it notices him and growls, drooling on the dry ground.
Kon stops only after reaching twenty meters. At that point, he points his sword upward and waits for the beast, which doesn't keep him waiting long: it charges towards Kon with extreme speed. It's within five meters, just a few seconds away from attacking. But just before it can strike, Kon unleashes a swift sword blow, lowering it towards the beast. This motion generates a violent and lethal wave of fire, hitting the target directly.
Kon is ready to charge another blow, but the deer shows no signs of life. Seeing that the encounter is already over, he sheaths the sword, and the flames extinguish, revealing the deer's corpse returned to its original state.
"Mmmh... That was easy!" He says satisfied to himself before returning to the others.
A demonic wolf is approaching rapidly. Kon's flashy move has attracted several demonic beasts.
Zeff notices this, so after giving a last glance to his sword, he turns to Kon, "Good job, Kan."
Then he looks in Haro's direction: "Hiro, you're next."
Haro nods, despite finding the situation bizarre.
He takes several steps forward, distancing himself from the others. Then he waits for the demonic wolf to approach just under twenty meters.
He takes position.
The demonic wolf is very fast and within five seconds is already within his range. Once it enters his attack territory, Koto moves the sword from bottom to top towards the wolf, generating large sharp columns of ice that emerge from the ground and pierce the wolf's body, killing it instantly.
He also returns triumphantly to the others.
Kon approaches him, smiling, and says: "They're identical to the monsters I fought at the academy. But these died with just one attack. Apparently, we're too strong."
Haro looks at him perplexed.
Both he and Kon have only showcased the ability of the swords they obtained. Neither the deer nor the wolf could withstand even a single attack. He hadn't expected this absurd difference in strength.
Zeff looks satisfied at Haro, then turns to June.
"Princess, it's your turn now. After you're done, we can go to the spider. Let's try to finish quickly..."
Remaining indifferent, June takes her sword and throws it towards a demonic wolf over a hundred meters away.
Everyone, including Zeff, watches in astonishment and perplexity.
Surprisingly, the sword doesn't fall to the ground but continues flying towards the wolf until it completely pierces its head.
The wolf immediately falls to the ground, unable to understand what happened.
After about ten seconds, the sword returns to June's hands on its own.
The others are left open-mouthed. Kon approaches her and asks in amazement: "What happened? What did you do?"
June looks at him with her usual indifference, she puts the sword back in its sheath and states: "You all have an ability, this is mine."
"Well, well. Now let's go to the spider!" Zeff seems excited after seeing the their performances.
So, they head towards the spider's cavern. Along the way, they encounter other beasts, but they easily kill them all.
"Examiner... So, it was the Spider demon releasing this demonic energy?" Haro inquires.
"No, Hiro... The little spider is just a low intermediate. This must have been done by a high-ranking demon. Judging by the carcasses of animals not yet transformed, I'd say it happened a few days ago or even less."
Hearing those words, Haro becomes very upset.
Why are they facing this trial when there's a threat of being attacked by a high-ranking demon? It's too irresponsible. However, understanding that his examiner is a reckless madman, he gives up any form of argument. He doesn't even try to discuss it with Kon and June, as they seem completely indifferent.
After about fifteen minutes, they arrive at the cavern.
Zeff is the first to enter, then signals them to follow.
The cavern isn't very large; in fact, they almost immediately reach its bottom, but there's no demon to be found.
Zeff realizes that the Spider demon has either escaped or, more likely, has been killed by the high-ranking demon, causing the demonization.
He turns back to the three with a regretful look.
"Well, it looks like the trial ends here."
He looks into their eyes intensely, and one by one, they collapse to the ground, unable to resist.
"Tsk... I hate this part."
He approaches them, takes their weapons, internalizing them into his wristband. Then he starts dragging them away, holding them by the arms.
Once outside the cavern, he throws them about ten meters in front of him.
"Well, now the easier part begins."
He takes a weapon from his wristband, looks like a normal axe, and without hesitation, lying on the ground, he amputates his own thigh with a decisive blow. It takes just one firm stroke to sever it completely, without emitting a single complaint.
Ignoring the immense amount of blood pouring out, Zeff rises on the remaining leg and throws the amputated part where the three youngsters are.
"I don't think this will be enough... Mmmh..."
He brings his hand to his right eye and decisively removes it, splashing more blood.
"Oh yeah, now they'll believe me."
"WROOOOARWAAA"
The roar of several demonic wolves is heard, and indeed, two of them have already approached.
"Nothing personal, guys..." Saying this, Zeff moves away with big leaps.
Meanwhile, the wolves have started devouring Kon and Haro, seemingly ignoring June's body.
In just ten seconds, the corpses of the two guys have vanished, leaving only large bloodstains.
After a few minutes, June's body begins to gradually become more transparent until it disappears completely.
At that moment, in a distant and unidentified place, a red-haired boy, sleeping on a bed, wakes up covered in sweat.
"Heh... heh... hehhhh.... hehh.... Lord Dominion... was right."
...
6:00 PM.
Zeff returns to the point where the plane left them. He had already recalled it, so it's just a matter of time before it arrives.
While waiting, he sits on the ground and reflects on what happened.
"I didn't think I would have to kill them so soon... I guess this demonization phenomenon happened at the right time. It's better this way; so, I didn't get attached..."
He takes out his cellphone and makes a call.
After a few seconds, someone answers: "What's up, Zeff?"
"Rover, I'm done."
"You acted quickly... Did you do the job well?"
"Yeah... The opportunity was too good."
"Is your position at risk?"
"Don't worry; I made sure they don't suspect me."
"Good. As per your wish, this was your last task. I hope in the future, you'll offer your help again for the cause."
"It won't happen even in your dreams. Don't take me for a fool; I know what you're trying to do. Now, don't show up again, or I'll kill you."
With that, he hangs up the call.
The plane is landing at that moment, so Zeff rises on the only remaining leg, waiting to board.
...
On the opposite side of the continent, in a family resort, a blonde man in his thirties, with a thick beard and wearing glasses, has just ended a call.
"What kind of manners are these? I thought demons had more class..."
After saying this, he places the phone on a table and turns to his left.
"Kaiser, I have news."
Next to him is another younger man with long black hair, enjoying the sun.
"Speak, Roven, I'm listening." His tone is very calm, as if he doesn't care about the response.
"Zeff killed those heroes and stole the weapons, as agreed. Our connections are closed."
"Mmmh, is that so? Order to continue monitoring his daughter. Even though she's adopted, he loves her more than anything in the world... When the time comes, he'll be forced to help us."
"As you wish, Boss. Anyway, in the short term, we won't be able to ask him anything."
Kaiser stands up and sits by the pool, watching some children playing in the water.
"Demons have class, huh... Last month, a demon attacked an academy in Fort, causing the death of about ten cadets. Is that class for you? Killing kids?"
Roven signals a waiter to bring him something to drink.
Meanwhile, Kaiser continues talking, eyes fixed on the water: "Couldn't he have killed some high-ranking heroes? That would have given us a hand... These days, it wouldn't be bad..."
"Don't worry, once the preparations are ready, I don't think our plan can be stopped. Although... I keep wondering if this is the right thing to do."
A child throws the ball to Kaiser, signaling him to play. Unable to muster the courage to refuse, they start passing it, tracing strange trajectories in the air.
"Roven..." He speaks from behind, with a conflicted look.
"...This is the only possible solution; only then will we put a tombstone on the existence of demons."
Then he turns and looks him in the eyes, determined.
"Only after... We'll settle our sins-."
He can't finish the sentence before getting hit in the face by the ball.
....
Friday, December 2, 807
10:00 AM
Fort Hospital, Room 39B.
Zeff lies on the bed with a defeated look.
There's a knock on his door: Yu Yato, the president of the Heroes Association, has come to visit.
Along with the president, there are two other men in suits.
He stays silent for a few seconds, looking at his condition with surprise, then asks: "Zeff, what happened? I don't believe the Spider demon could have done this to you..."
Zeff wears a tired and bitter expression before replying: "Everything went wrong... The kids are dead."
Yu Yato grabs a chair and brings it closer to the bed, then sits.
"Tell me everything."
"After reaching the Bakuro Forest, we noticed a demonization phenomenon. A high-ranking demon had released its demonic energy, turning all the animals there into demon beasts. They weren't the problem; it was the demon itself. I don't know what it was exactly, small and very fast. I tried to kill it, but I failed... I also failed to protect the others, and I'm deeply ashamed."
Yato puts a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.
"If it reduced you to this state, it must be a true calamity. I'll ask someone else to go to the forest for inspections. Anyway..."
He signals one of his men, who immediately materializes something.
"...This is a special prosthetic for your leg. Stronger, more durable, and lighter than any other prosthetic in the world. You wouldn't want your daughter to see you in this state. As for the eye... I will give you an artificial eye. Both are crafted with Technology demon's flesh. It will be as if you never lost them!"
Zeff smiles as he remembers he'll see his daughter over the weekend.
"Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be back to work next week. You can tell Mei to stop celebrating."
Yu Yato stands up and approaches the door.
Before leaving, he says one last thing: "Don't blame yourself. The only true culprit is this damned world..."
Zeff nods, then puts a hand over his eyes.