Leo slept for an hour straight, with Maya guarding him. When he awoke, Maya looked into his eyes and noticed he was different; his eyes lacked luster, and his presence had changed. If she closed her eyes, she was sure she wouldn't be able to detect him.
Gazing into his eyes, she finally questioned, "What was this all about?"
Leo looked back at her in silence. In truth, Leo's state of mind was fragile and in disarray. The years he spent witnessing people's lives and the damage caused by the abyss weighed heavily on him, and the fact that a piece of his soul, Lin, lay dormant didn't help either.
Right now, Leo was going through a personality crisis. He had lived thousands of lives, in which he was a different man in each. His soul was in a confused state, but he could feel the sword communicating with him, telling him that he needed to get to the trial ground.
What the trial ground was, Leo couldn't say, but he could feel the direction he should follow. He gazed at Maya as he said, "I can't really explain right now. I appreciate that you looked after me while I slept." Then he paused before continuing, "Follow me. I want to go for an opportunity. Are you in?"
On hearing his request, Maya was conflicted. Normally, both Leo and Maya were supposed to be enemies based on their opposing families. They weren't supposed to trust each other. But the bond they had forged in the past was undeniable. Even if it didn't quite end well, they still had this innate trust for each other. Looking at Leo's lifeless eyes, she replied, "Lead the way."
Finally, a trickle of a smile found its way onto Leo's face as he told her, "Give me a few minutes." Leo had to adjust his mental state before moving, or he might just forget himself along the way, allowing another personality to take over his soul.
After suppressing the turmoil in his mind, Leo stood up, nodding to Maya, and dashed into the vast expanse of the crimson forest, navigating his way to the core as Maya followed suit.
As they moved through the forest, they came across various beasts of different ranks. To Maya's utter shock, they were all vanquished by Leo easily.
Even Leo himself was shocked by his efficiency in eliminating these beasts. It was as though he knew where to strike to quickly end the monsters. It seemed that witnessing the lives of thousands of assassins had its benefits as well.
The thing about getting stronger is that you also have to know how to use your abilities to their fullest potential. You have to know which skills are perfect for each situation, and the current Leo was doing just that. The monsters didn't even see it coming till their deaths.
Their journey through the forest was smooth until they came across something. It couldn't be called a beast as it looked too human-like, neither could it be called a human as it looked too beast-like.
Standing before the duo was a six-foot-tall werewolf, an imposing figure cloaked in a dense layer of black fur that shimmered under the moonlight. Its intelligent eyes, the color of molten ruby, scanned its surroundings with a keen awareness, betraying a sharp mind within the beastly exterior. Menacing claws, honed to razor-like precision, extended from its powerful hands, ready to strike with deadly accuracy. The werewolf stood on its hind legs, a testament to its dominance and strength, as both sides observed each other in tense silence, the air thick with anticipation and an unspoken understanding of the primal forces at play.
Suddenly, the wolf gradually began to shrink as an obscure mist of unknown origin seemed to cloak it. As the mist cleared, a human came into sight.
It was a young man with short black hair and ruby red eyes that stared straight at Leo. He was clothed in a fur cloak and looked to be within the age range of 18-19. He rapidly moved towards Leo, and upon getting close enough, he stopped and took a sniff. "You, I know you," he said, pointing at Leo. Funny thing was that Leo was just about to say the same.
Leo could tell that he knew this young man, but he couldn't recall where they had met. Meanwhile, Maya was shocked as she stood beside Leo. This was the first time she was seeing a beast-man.
There were rumors that some humans refused to accept augmentations and instead advanced by assimilating beast cores, turning themselves into beast-men. She never once believed those stories, as even the made gods didn't dare assimilate gene cores. They instead used them as catalysts to tread into other dimensions. The mere fact that there were humans who could pull off such feats seemed impossible.
And right before her stood a rumored beast-man. Her eyes gazed at the man, revealing her surprise. Meanwhile, the man in question just smiled as he got closer to Leo, who was on guard. His face revealed a smile as he spoke to Leo, "You are the one my people told me about. I can smell my mark on your soul." Not giving Leo any time to respond, he continued, "You must be headed to the trial ground. I will follow you."
Leo glanced at the man, still silent. In truth, he really couldn't waste any more time as he was already feeling his mind eroding. He could feel the urgent urging of the odachi. Seeing that the man didn't mean any harm, he directly ignored him and continued his journey, with Maya quickly following behind.
"I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Jeremiah Bane," the man said as he quickly caught up to the duo. Seeing no one answering him, he read the mood and decided to keep silent for the rest of the journey.
As they progressed, their journey became smoother. Before, there was a need for Leo to act, but now, the beast-man would act first. It was even better if it was a canine beast; just a growl from the young man was enough to send the beasts running in fear.
They journeyed smoothly until they reached the crimson bamboo forest. The young beast-man wrinkled his nose as he said, "There is blood ahead," making them more alert as they progressed deeper into the bamboo plantation.
A few minutes later, they came to a halt before a blood pond and an old wooden bridge. Leo's eyes were clearly unfocused as he was already reaching his limit. He quickly said, "The bridge is too weak. We have to go one at a time." Not waiting for an opinion from the others, he directly stepped on the bridge and started crossing the pool. As Leo's figure quickly vanished through the bloody mist, both Maya and the beast-man were left behind. Jeremiah quickly said, "Ladies first." Maya nodded and followed suit.
The beast-man waited and then proceeded to cross. As Leo reached the small patch of land at the center of the blood pool, he wasted no time and directly moved into the old wooden hut. Upon entering, all he saw was a crimson flash as a robotic voice rang in his mind.
INITIALIZING...
ACTIVATING TRIAL GROUND 009.......
PARTICIPANT: HASSAN-I-SABBAH...…..
ACTIVATING THE BLOOD TRIAL......