Hearing Masaki's words, Akari asks, "But how? What are you going to do?"
Masaki replies, "Just watch."
Saying this, Masaki suddenly appears in front of Ryuji. Shocked to see Masaki materialize before him, Ryuji says, "Hey, don't just appear out of nowhere like that."
Ignoring Ryuji's comment, Masaki says, "Come on, we need to go somewhere."
Ryuji asks, "Where?"
But Masaki simply grabs his hand, and they disappear.
Seeing this, Akari thinks to herself, "Masaki, what are you planning to do?"
She too vanishes from her spot. Masaki was speeding away with Ryuji to an unknown location.
Ryuji kept asking him repeatedly, "At least tell me where we are going!"
But Masaki gives no answer, and Akari is following closely behind them. As she runs, she wonders what is going on in Masaki's mind.
Suddenly, Akari feels a powerful negative aura, making her instantly realize that this aura belongs to a level 1 Sleek.
After this realization, Akari notices that Masaki is leading Ryuji toward the same Sleek.
Understanding this, Akari exclaims, "Masaki, what exactly are you planning to do?"
Masaki then takes Ryuji a short distance away and throws him down in a clearing. When Ryuji regains his bearings, he realizes he is in a desolate area and that no one else is around.
Seeing this, Ryuji shouts, "Masaki! Where are you? Why did you bring me here and then disappear?"
At that moment, Ryuji also senses a dangerous aura. When he turns around, he finds an 8-foot tall Sleek standing before him. This Sleek looks like a humanoid beast, with a lizard-like tail and a human-like head. Its skin is entirely black, emitting dark vapors from its body. The Sleek roars at Ryuji.
Meanwhile, Masaki is watching Ryuji from a distance with Akari.
Akari then says to Masaki, "Wait a minute, you can't be serious! You didn't just leave Ryuji to face that Sleek alone, did you?"
Masaki replies, "I am completely serious."
Ryuji, seeing the Sleek, is completely stunned. The Sleek lowers itself to all fours and rushes at Ryuji like a wild animal.
Akari, in a panic, says, "Are you out of your mind? You know he's not even a trainee yet!"
Masaki replies, "Yes, I know very well."
As the Sleek approaches him, Ryuji tries to move out of the way to evade its attack, but the Sleek swings its tail at him. Ryuji barely avoids the attack and falls to the ground.
Akari then asks Masaki, "Then why are you doing this? Do you want to bring out the power hidden within him?"
Masaki replies, "No, this has nothing to do with the power hidden inside him."
Ryuji lies on the ground, trying to gather himself, thinking, "Where did Masaki go, leaving me here?"
Before he can think further, the Sleek charges at him again, gathering dark energy in its claws to attack. Ryuji manages to dodge just in time, and the Sleek's claw strikes the ground, creating a large crater.
Ryuji is relieved to have escaped but then the Sleek attacks again, hitting him hard with its claw, sending him flying a long distance.
Akari speaks to Masaki in a worried tone, "Masaki, if we don't help him, he won't survive."
Masaki calmly responds, "No, he has to save himself."
Ryuji has been injured by the Sleek's attack. After the Sleek's dark energy strikes the ground, it weakens significantly, but Ryuji is still hurt by the remaining energy.
He struggles to get back on his feet and thinks, "It seems Masaki isn't coming to help me. I have to find a way out of here myself."
As Ryuji manages to stand, he notices the Sleek is gathering dark energy in its mouth, and before he can react, the Sleek attacks him with black flames.
Seeing this, Akari panics and rushes forward to help Ryuji, but Masaki stops her.
Akari angrily says, "Stop it, Masaki! Can't you see he's in trouble? If we don't do something, he will die!"
Masaki remains calm, saying, "No, can't you see? Look closely and tell me whose aura is more powerful—Ryuji's or the Sleek's?"
Akari observes both of them and realizes that Ryuji's aura is far stronger than that of the Sleek.
This makes Akari calm down a bit and she says, "But he doesn't know how to use his power."
Masaki replies, "Yes, I know that too. And I also know that his inability to control his own spiritual energy is not because of the power hidden within him, but because of himself."
Confused, Akari asks, "What do you mean?"
Masaki explains, "He is holding himself back. Somewhere in his mind, there is something that prevents him from using his strength. Ryuji needs to find and eliminate that reason."
Akari asks, "And what will happen if he fails?"
Masaki responds, "Then he will never become an Sleeks hunter, and even if he does, he will be killed by a Sleek someday."
Hearing this, Akari becomes disheartened.
Masaki places a hand on her shoulder and says, "This is his battle, and he has to fight it. His fate is now in his own hands."
At this moment, Ryuji is trying to defend himself from the Sleek's black flames, but the burning sensation prevents him from doing so.
After a while, the Sleek extinguishes its black flames. Even then, Ryuji feels an intense burning sensation as if the fire is still on his body. However, he notices that neither his clothes nor his skin are burnt. Yet, he still feels like he is on fire.
So what was burning him? Ryuji soon realizes the answer.
He thinks, "That black fire from the Sleek is burning my spiritual energy."
Even as Ryuji lies on the ground, writhing in pain, the Sleek approaches him, gathering dark energy in its hand and strikes directly at his chest.
Akari is horrified, but Masaki stands calmly.
Ryuji is thrown far by the Sleek's attack, leaving a mark on his chest. The burning from the flames makes it hard for him to think clearly.
The Sleek comes at him again, pinning Ryuji down and begins to gather dark energy in its mouth, forming a black energy sphere.
Seeing this, Akari begins to panic and says to Masaki, "Masaki, if we don't do anything now, Ryuji will die!"
In response, Masaki pulls out a rod, which transforms into a bow as he grips it, preparing to shoot an arrow.
Ryuji's ability to think is fading fast. He starts losing consciousness, and memories flood his mind.
In one memory, he finds himself in a school, standing next to a man. Upon seeing this man, Ryuji recognizes him as one of his old teachers.
The teacher says to him, "Ryuji, you know you have a lot of potential. More than any child I've seen, but for some reason, you hold yourself back."
In another memory, he is in a field, watching someone walk on a tightrope. Ryuji approaches the person and asks how they do it.
In another memory, he is sitting in a house talking to Aunt Haruko, asking her how she manages to do so much alone after losing both her son and daughter-in-law.
In another memory, he is with his aunt, who tells him, "You know Ryuji, when your mom and dad had their accident, you were with them. After that tragedy, you were the only one who survived. What do you think was the reason behind that?"
And in another memory, he is asking his uncle how he can make risky decisions, wondering how he knows they will turn out right.
Seeing all this, Ryuji thinks, "What is all this? Am I about to die, which is why I am remembering all this?"
Suddenly, he hears the teacher's voice again saying, "If you keep holding yourself back like this, you will never achieve your goals."
The tightrope walker says, "It's not that difficult. People complicate it for no reason. They hold themselves back and fill their minds with fear, losing focus on their work. They forget that balance is created in the mind before it is achieved in the body."
Aunt Haruko says, "Looking at both of them, they are my reason to live. Whenever I think of them, I forget everything, and that's why I can manage so much every day. Remember, Ryuji, you can achieve any goal only when you have a solid reason to pursue it."
His aunt says, "There is a purpose behind your existence in this world, and God saved you for that purpose."
And finally, his uncle says, "It's not that I know how my decisions will turn out; I just have faith that no matter the outcome, I will handle it."
Hearing all this, Ryuji gets lost in thought until Masaki suddenly appears in front of him and asks, "Ryuji, why do you want to become sleek hunter."
Ryuji responds, "Because... becoming a Sleek hunters is my purpose."
At that moment, the Sleek gathers a ball of black energy in its mouth to attack Ryuji, but he slams his hand forcefully on its foot, pushing it away from him.
This disrupts the balance of the Sleek, and seizing the opportunity, Ryuji quickly gets up, gathers a large amount of spiritual energy in his hand, and delivers a powerful punch.
The Sleek is sent flying far away. The ball of black energy in its mouth also flies off and crashes down, creating a massive explosion.
Seeing this from a distance, Masaki and Akari also look slightly astonished. The Sleek charges toward Ryuji again, but he stands his ground, feeling as though everything around him and the Sleek is slowing down. He recalls Akari's words that with Golden Eyes, you can perceive the speed of time at a slower pace.
He can still hear their voices in his mind: "Stop holding yourself back; eliminate every thought that hinders you. Remember the reason you're doing this, move forward, and fight for your purpose, and most importantly, trust yourself."
Ryuji pulls out his rod, and as soon as he touches it, it transforms into a glowing blue sword. He remembers the words of Ray: increase your spiritual energy, (Ryuji does just that, causing a faint light to emanate from his body.) Spread it throughout your body (Ryuji spreads his spiritual energy through every part of his body.) and say it.
Ryuji shouts, "Sohengai!"
Suddenly, Ryuji disappears from his spot and accelerates toward the Sleek at one-and-a-half times the speed of sound. Upon reaching it, he gathers his spiritual energy into his sword and destroys the Sleek in a single strike.
Masaki and Megha, watching from a distance, are left wide-eyed. Ryuji had eliminated the Sleek with just one blow, even though he had yet to become a Sleek hunter.