Oliver stared outside the small hut he was in. His tiny hut was close to the East of the forest and had been completely surrounded.
Oliver quickly placed his hands on a few bottles of black liquid. He had already tied them onto multiple arrows, and he closed his eyes, focusing completely on his ears. He listened for every sound in the forest. He heard the small winds crashing against the trees, the rustling of leaves, and the small whispers of the Jinki. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and shot out an arrow. The arrow wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, yet it landed in a large cluster of them. The black liquid in the bottles attached to it splashed everywhere, and more arrows continued to fly. After a total of 18 arrows with bottles of oil attached to them had flown, a connected stream of oil tainted the forest. Oliver took his last arrow and dipped it into his last bottle. After it was coated, he took out a lighter and lit the arrow.
Oliver didn't waste any time and shot the arrow at one of them near a large amount of oil. The arrow flew through the air, illuminating the forest like a proud sun. In less than a second, it connected and pierced through someone, while the flaming tip touched the oil on one of the tree branches. Like the wrath of the gods, the forest suddenly burst into flames. The flames of retribution started their journey in the East of the forest, illuminating the dark forest. The Jinki stared at the large flame in the East and the flames slowly spreading towards the village of buildings and huts. Oliver knew the flames were slowly coming toward him, yet, his face showed no signs of worry. He simply smiled at the screeches and screams of the Jinki. He closed his eyes as he listened, and a number appeared in his mind: 28.
As the flames quickly approached Oliver, he could feel the rising heat in the hut, and he waited. He waited for a few more seconds before he raised his foot and drove his heel into the hut's base, creating a large enough hole for him to fall through. Oliver fell from the hut, weaved among the trees, and slowly looked around at the destruction his action had caused. He noticed multiple Jinki running away from the village and the massive wave of fire that was being pushed towards them. Of course, even with their agile bodies and maneuverability, they simply couldn't move fast enough to free themselves from the fire. Its wrath swallowed anything and everything in its path, uncaring about what it was.
Oliver stood among the village and even grabbed the bow and quiver of one of them he had killed. As he waited for the sun to come up, he took shots at the running Jinki while staying out of the fire's way. Finally, as the sun came up, the fire had slowly burned out. Ash and charcoal were littered around the massive amounts of burned debris. Trees were scorched, the ground was burned, structures were destroyed, and the entire area became unsuitable to live in.
Even so, Oliver closed his eyes and finally noticed the number had reached its target, a target of a hundred. As a barrage of information assaulted him again, the surrounding burned and destroyed forest slowly started to flicker and crack. The space surrounding Oliver slowly crumbled and was replaced by a familiar street. His entire existence seemed to simply appear in the middle of the sidewalk, yet the civilians near him ignored such a strange sight. Well, everyone except a few men in black suits who swiftly stood in front of him.
"Oliver, please come with us."
"Huh? I don't really want to, though," Oliver responded halfheartedly. One of the men suddenly let out an exhausted sigh. The next moment, Oliver noticed that the man's hand was on his shoulder and he had a cold look in his eyes. As the civilians on the street were starting to stare, the man softly spoke in Oliver's ear.
"Come with us while we're asking nicely."
Oliver tried to shake off the man's hand; however, his body wouldn't budge. Although still unwilling, Oliver knew he was outclassed, and he could tell. The man's eyes were those of a killer, a cold-hearted human, and Oliver hadn't reached the point where he could kill on command. Hell, the thought that he had just burned down a forest and massacred 100 human-looking parasites simply hadn't sunk in yet.
Oliver followed them to a familiar location, a large training center. It was here he duly understood that his body had been honed and strengthened to abnormal levels. He was quickly brought to the elevator. While he watched with interest, the men in black suits pressed a few buttons, and the elevator started to go downward.
Oliver had thought the training center only went up and had no floors below the first. In a few minutes, Oliver watched as the doors opened and showed a massive underground city! The city easily surpassed the training center and even seemed to extend into the forest behind. The city was illuminated by multiple lights and neon signs. It had massive structures that seemed to resemble skyscrapers, yet went downward. The men in black beside him smiled proudly at his shocked expression and proudly announced,
"Welcome to the Underground City, Amano! It was founded and run by the Amano family."
"Amano, huh. The Underground City under Lowlin, Amano."
"Mhm! Of course, you'll learn more later. However, we have to take you to the Mystic Association."
"The Mystic Association?"
"The force behind the lack of information on the supernatural to the mortal world. They are the law enforcement of the supernatural world and they also manage the Fissures. First, though, you need to report what happened inside the Fissure and we'll go from there."
Oliver left the elevator, sandwiched between the men in black suits. He was still amazed by the beautiful sight of the city. However, his daze was broken by a woman's voice.
"It's you!"
VII