He gripped his collar tightly. "There's no trace of him staying at your house! Tell me what you're up to, or who you are won't matter to me anymore. I lost everyone I loved because of you, and I won't let you take my son from me too!" he shouted in his face. Endo maintained his composure but knew things would get worse unless he told the truth.
"Keep this between us, I formed a team for a covert operation. Soma joined it," he said hesitantly.
Kamiya released his collar. "I knew you were up to something. Where is he?"
"He left for a mission, but don't worry, Dokuro is with him," said Endo, putting his hand on his shoulder to reassure him.
He knocked his hand away from his shoulder. "So you sent a child on a mission without training! Are you insane? He's just a kid!" he yelled in his face.
"Where did you send him?" He asked quietly but was still angry.
"To observe the Xen tribe," said Endo. As soon as he finished speaking, he took a punch to the stomach. He had opened his seimei-sen eyes to make sure he wouldn't block the punch; he was looking on with quite an angry expression.
"I knew they were up to something," Hirabayashi whispered.
Kamiya headed for the exit. Meanwhile, Rikimaru and Hirabayashi moved away from the door.
"Riki, follow him but don't get involved if a fight breaks out. Take care of yourself," Hirabayashi commanded.
"Alright grandfather, I'll handle it," said Rikimaru. He began secretly tailing Kamiya.
It was getting dark. After running around for several hours, Soma was finally able to catch his breath and suppress his fear. That bloodthirsty feeling wouldn't leave his mind. He had the least real combat experience of everyone. Though he thought he wasn't strong enough, his real shortcomings were his lack of battle experience and inability to overcome his fear of death. While catching his breath, he heard a loud "boom" sound; it was as if someone was approaching with giant monster stomping on the ground. He peered toward the sound from beside a tree.
It was an energy bear, different from a normal bear in that it could develop by manipulating both natural and internal energy. When it stood up it was two meters tall, roaring as it knocked down trees.
Soma, having barely recovered from his fears, was gripped by a new terror. He couldn't maintain his composure. With each swipe of its claws, the bear scattered lightning bolts, splitting trees in half.
While trying to sneak away quietly, Soma stepped on a branch. When he turned around, he saw the bear charging at him with a roar.
He started running in panic, but the bear was rapidly pursuing him, destroying everything in its path.
While thinking about what he could do in his fear, he realized he had unwittingly backed himself into a corner. At that moment, he remembered his uncle Yasue's words: "Listen carefully Soma, while any human can do this, it's a power that could cost you your life. Due to the risk of death, nobody chooses to use it. But if necessary, if you find yourself in such a situation, I'll show you so you can use it."
"What kind of power, uncle?" Soma asked.
"It's a technique where you release all your power at once. Remember, only use this in a life-or-death situation. Don't forget that it can kill you or render you unconscious - even if you survive, you might remain conscious but paralyzed for a while," said Yasue as he brought his hands together. "Imagine gathering all your energy in one place, and when you're ready to release it, expel everything outward along with all your accumulated energy. This will save you from the situation and likely destroy your opponent or make them flee. Remember, this is the kind of power that could kill you."
When Soma recalled these words, he had already started gathering his energy in his palm. As he turned around, he dodged the bear's claw and lay on the ground, aiming his hand at the bear's head. "Element... Air: MASSIVE PRESSURE!" Time seemed to slow down. A sphere formed in Soma's hand, spinning at high speed and drawing in all the surrounding air. It was like a black hole, consuming everything. He felt all his energy draining away and thought he was dying. The sphere in his hand grew larger and finally released. What happened in seconds felt like an eternity to him. The sphere that shot from his hand tore through the bear's head and most of its body. The pressure knocked down numerous trees, and the sphere exploded in the sky, dispersing into the air.
The bear's body had fallen on top of Soma. He was breathing heavily but couldn't move. Exhaustion hit him suddenly; he started sweating profusely and struggling to breathe. He realized he was trapped under the weight and soon lost consciousness from lack of air.
When he opened his eyes, someone was pulling him out from under the bear, but he blacked out again. The next time he woke up, he could see a bit more clearly; he was sitting by a tree, and in front of him were two massive warriors. They wore intricate armor and carried swords as tall as themselves. They were fighting two or three more bears. He lost consciousness again, and when he next opened his eyes, he found himself leaning against a tree, warming up by a campfire.
"Where... am I?" The words barely left his mouth.
"Hey, friend, you're back with us." It was a voice he didn't recognize.
"Who are you?" His eyes were unfocused, and as he struggled to lift his head, he saw two men with messy hair and beards.
"I'm Klenn, and this is my friend Obi. We're monster hunters," said Klenn.
"Don't you have a clan?" Soma asked.
"A clan? Ah, most monster hunters are orphans. It's very rare for us to have noble family names," said Klenn.
Obi put his hand on Klenn's shoulder. "Friend, he's a sorcerer. Should we really trust him this much?" he warned.
"What's your name, wizard?" asked Klenn.
"Soma... Naizen..." said Soma. He was trying to move but had no strength at all. "I think I'm going to die," he thought.
"Soma Naizen, so you have a family name. Must be nice being nobility!" While chuckling, Klenn reached into his bag and pulled out a large dagger.
"Please don't hurt me," Soma reacted.
Klenn laughed at the dagger. "No, no, we have no intention of hurting you. The dagger is for cutting meat. We're cooking stew. Lightning bear meat is delicious and gives you energy."
Soma relaxed. "I guess they're friendly, at least they're not going to eat me," he thought.
"You should eat some too, Soma," said Obi. Klenn glared at Obi. "How do you expect him to eat? The man has no energy, let's help him." Klenn filled a wooden bowl with stew, came to Soma's side, and began feeding him.
Though he could barely swallow, he managed to eat the stew somehow. As his perception cleared a bit, he noticed he was wrapped in a blanket. "Thank you for saving me."
"Don't mention it, you're lucky we were passing by. If we hadn't been nearby, you probably would have died," said Klenn.
"Why did you come from so far away, what brings you here? After all, leaving your homeland must be difficult," asked Soma.
"Ah, about that—" Klenn's words were cut short.
"I'll tell this story," said Obi.
"Ha, I knew you loved storytelling! You never wanted to admit it," said Klenn with a laugh.
"Shut up Klenn, it's not like that!" Obi snapped angrily. "Anyway, we're looking for a monster egg. A sorcerer stole it and brought it here."
"A monster egg?" said Soma.
"Yes, a monster egg. We made a promise to an ancient monster. It's complicated, but when we were about to die at its hands, we managed to make a deal. We're going to find and kill the sorcerer who stole its egg and return it," said Obi.
His face was quite serious. "Perhaps you know something about this matter, Soma?" he said.
The food had given Soma a bit of strength, but it wasn't enough for him to move. He hadn't heard much about monster eggs, but after thinking for a moment, he realized it could be a pure energy egg. He knew that legendary monsters possessed such eggs.
"Could you be talking about a pure energy egg?" Soma asked.
"I suppose you could call it that. Do you know anything about it?" Obi stood up and looked toward the sword.
Soma glanced at the sword from the corner of his eye. The massive sword had interesting patterns and shapes on its ridged surface. "That sword... looks quite different," said Soma.
Obi lifted the sword and thrust it into the ground in front of Soma. "Hey, Obi, clearly he doesn't know anything about this. There's no need to get aggressive," Klenn tried to calm Obi down.
"This sword was made from monster armor, teeth, and claws, along with precious metals of course," said Obi. "Our armor too. These grant us some of the monsters' power." He gripped the sword's hilt tightly. When he channeled energy into it, the sword reacted as if alive, releasing small electrical currents around it. The electricity disappeared as it met the ground. It was like a magical sword.
The food had given Soma a bit of strength, but it wasn't enough for him to move. He hadn't heard much about monster eggs, but after thinking for a moment, he realized it could be a pure energy egg. He knew that legendary monsters possessed such eggs.
"Could you be talking about a pure energy egg?" asked Soma.
"I suppose you could call it that. Do you know anything about it?" Obi stood up and looked toward the sword.
Soma glanced at the sword from the corner of his eye. The massive sword had interesting patterns and shapes on its ridged surface. "That sword... looks quite different," said Soma.
Obi lifted the sword and thrust it into the ground in front of Soma. "Hey, Obi, it's clear he doesn't know anything about this. No need to get aggressive," Klenn tried to calm Obi down.
"This sword was made from monster armor, teeth, and claws, along with precious metals of course," said Obi. "Our armor too. These grant us some of the monsters' power." He gripped the sword's hilt tightly. When he channeled energy into it, the sword responded as if alive, releasing small electrical currents around it. The electricity disappeared as it met the ground. It was like a magical sword.
"I understand, as Klenn said, I don't know about this egg, but I know some people who might have information about it," said Soma.
"Hmm, if you tell us where they're staying, we can visit them later. Of course, we'll drop you off there too," said Klenn.
Soma instinctively felt uneasy. They both looked extremely powerful and threatening. "If I tell them, they might hurt the people in my village," he thought.
"We have more work to do, Klenn, we need to go to the large country in the north. What was it, the empire? That wizard said he lived there." Obi pulled his sword and leaned it against a distant tree.
Obi turned and said "Look, we'll help you, but if you don't share what you know—" suddenly rushing to Soma's side and getting close to his face. "I can't promise I won't hurt you," he said.
Klenn calmly pushed Obi away with his hand. "Calm down Obi, you're getting unnecessarily angry again. He's going to help us anyway. Let's rest for now, we'll talk again in the morning. You take the first watch, I'll take the next."
Obi went to the tree where his sword was leaning and rested his eyes. As morning approached, massive roaring sounds were rising from the depths of the forest.