The proctor's voice cut through the courtyard like steel on stone.
"Listen well. Out of the one hundred squads here, history tells us only eight will leave the Black Forest alive. Those eight will earn the title of Stray—the lowest rank, but Seeker all the same."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some rookies whispered, others went pale.
The proctor's eyes swept the crowd. His following words dropped like stones.
"But only one squad will go further. Only one will claim the hidden scroll inside. That squad will rise above Stray and be remembered as Iron Seekers."
The courtyard erupted. Some rookies cursed, others clenched weapons, and a few cheered with manic confidence.
Lila's hand shot up nervously. "S-so... eight teams pass, but only one actually wins?"
A guard barked, "Exactly. Surviving isn't the same as standing tall."
The proctor ignored the murmurs. His tone sharpened.
"And when this trial ends, the real test begins. The Trial by Mercy won't happen here, but across the sea in Janoah. There, the eight surviving squads will face each other before the world. One on one. Champion against champion. Your rank—and your legacy—will be carved there."
The courtyard buzzed like a storm. Some rookies grinned, hungry. Others looked sick.
Kai's chest pounded—eight squads out of a hundred. One to be Iron. He gripped Sun tight and whispered, "So it's not just about survival... It's about being the best."
Aria's lightning flickered faintly across her knuckles. She smirked sideways at him. "Then don't fall behind."
Rin said nothing. His scarf tugged higher, eyes fixed on the forest. His aura burned once, sharp as a blade. He knew what fighting on a world stage meant. He also knew how merciless Chun—and Janoah—would be.
Lila clutched her bag to her chest, eyes wide. "Eight out of a hundred? And only one makes Iron? That's... insane!"
Kai exhaled, fire sparking in his eyes. "Good. That's exactly the insane I came here for."
The gates of the Black Forest creaked, spilling mist like smoke across the stones. The air chilled, metallic, almost like blood.
The proctor raised his hand.
"Step inside. Survive, and you can call yourself Stray. Claim the scroll, and you will be Iron."
The rookies shuffled forward, nerves rattling their steps. Kai adjusted his gi, Sun resting against his shoulder, pulse matching the earth's thrum.
For the first time since leaving Rajistan, he didn't feel like the mountain boy chasing behind. He felt like a Seeker.
And the forest was waiting to test him.
The proctor's voice cut like steel on stone.
"Listen well. Out of the one hundred squads here, only eight will leave the Black Forest alive. They will earn the title of Stray—the lowest rank, but Seeker all the same."
Gasps rippled. Some rookies whispered; others went pale.
The proctor's eyes swept the crowd. His following words dropped like stones.
"But only one squad will go further. Only one will find the hidden scroll inside. That squad alone will rise above Stray and be remembered as Iron Seekers."
The courtyard erupted. Some rookies cursed; others clenched weapons; a few cheered with manic confidence.
Lila's hand shot up nervously. "S-so... eight teams pass, but only one actually wins?"
A guard barked, "Exactly. Surviving isn't the same as standing tall."
The proctor ignored the murmurs. His tone sharpened.
"And when this trial ends, the true test begins. The Trial by Mercy will not happen here, but across the sea in Janoah. There, the eight surviving squads will face each other before the world. One on one. Champion against champion. Your rank—and your legacy—will be made there."
The courtyard buzzed like a storm. Some rookies grinned, hungry. Others looked sick.
Kai's chest pounded—eight squads out of a hundred. One to be Iron. He gripped Sun tight and whispered, "So it's not just about survival... It's about being the best."
Aria's lightning flickered faintly across her knuckles. She smirked sideways at him. "Then don't fall behind."
Rin said nothing. His scarf tugged higher, eyes locked on the forest. His aura flared once, sharp as a blade. He knew what it meant to fight on a world stage. He also knew how merciless Chun—and Janoah—would be.
Lila clutched her bag to her chest, eyes wide. "Eight out of a hundred? And only one makes Iron? That's... insane!"
Kai exhaled, fire sparking in his eyes. "Good. That's exactly the insane I came here for."
The gates of the Black Forest creaked open, spilling mist like smoke across the stones. The air grew cold, metallic, almost blood-red.
The proctor raised his hand.
"Step inside. Survive, and you may call yourself Stray. Claim the scroll, and you will be Iron."
The rookies shuffled forward, nerves rattling their steps. Kai adjusted his gi, Sun resting against his shoulder, his pulse matching the earth's rhythm.
For the first time since leaving Rajistan, he didn't feel like the mountain boy chasing behind. He felt like a Seeker.
And the forest was waiting to test him.
The clearing roared as if the forest itself had been torn awake.
Minerva struck first. She spun, arms carving wide arcs, and the air obeyed. A tornado ripped upward, swallowing branches, stones, and even chunks of earth.
"Death Cyclone!"
The spiral tilted, lashing sideways like a whip. Trees toppled in a clean line, severed at the trunk.
Aria shot forward, sparks crackling across her skin, eyes blazing gold. Lightning wrapped her legs as she slid low through the gale.
"Flashpoint Strike!"
Her fist punched a hole through the cyclone's wall, detonating in thunder and light. The storm shrieked in pain.
Minerva clicked her tongue, raised a finger. The air condensed into blades, invisible and lethal.
"Wind Slicer!"
Dozens of slashes filled the clearing. Bark shredded, stone split, dirt carved open in streaks racing for Aria.
She gritted her teeth, hair sparking brighter, streaks of blonde glowing. She launched forward, weaving between the unseen blades with impossible speed.
"Thunder Fang Dance!"
Her body blurred. Every strike cracked with lightning, scattering the wind slashes in bursts of scorched ozone.
The ground shuddered as lightning and wind collided. Sparks blinded the onlookers. Pressure pushed the air from their lungs.
Kai's grip on his staff tightened until his knuckles turned white. They're ripping the forest apart...
Beside him, Lila raised her staff, water aura swelling into a shield. "Aria's just... walking through it. That cyclone should've locked her down."
Rin's voice cut clean through the chaos, his eyes faintly glowing. "She's forcing her aura into raw lightning. It burns, bends, shields. That's why she can meet Minerva's wind head-on."
The clearing boomed again. Minerva thrust her palm outward, condensing the cyclone into a crushing sphere.
"Gravity Orb!"
The ball slammed down, pinning Aria inside. Dirt craters formed. Air drained away.
Her body buckled, sparks flickering across her skin. Veins lit faintly yellow as pressure crushed her chest. She gasped—no air left.
Kai lurched forward, panic sharp in his voice. "She can't breathe!"
Rin stopped him with one hand, calm but firm. "Wait. Watch."
Inside the orb, Aria clenched her jaw. Aura surged, lightning pouring into her hair until it blazed gold, spikes flying upward. Sparks scorched the ground. Cracks split the soil beneath her.
Her voice tore through the roaring silence.
"Tempest Veil Form!"
The orb shattered. A storm exploded outward. Aria stood at its core, eyes glowing white, electricity pouring from her arms in rivers of gold fire. Aura pressure cracked the ground.
Minerva faltered. For the first time, her smirk broke.
Aria blurred forward in a golden flash. Stone cracked under each step. Her fist slammed into Minerva's ribs, thunder erupting through her.
Blood sprayed from Minerva's lips. Snarling, she threw both hands skyward.
The winds screamed, collapsing into a single towering blade.
"Wind Goddess Imperious Aphrodite!"
A half-mile of forest bent to her will. Trees toppled, trenches ripped through the earth. The air itself screamed as the strike fell.
Kai's stomach dropped. That move could kill us all...
Aria braced, sparks exploding into arcs that wrapped her in yellow fire. Aura pressure shook the clearing.
The two attacks clashed.
Wind and lightning collided, exploding into a storm so fierce the forest for miles seemed to scream.
Both teams staggered back under the shockwave.
At the center, storm against storm, two figures clashed like gods in mortal flesh.
The altar's glow flickered out. Minerva slumped against it, drained, barely upright. For a heartbeat, silence.
Then Bonnie moved. A psychic pulse snapped the wards open. The scroll dropped into her hand, glowing with faint ancient sigils.
Reggie's grin widened, sparks of fire dancing across his knuckles. "That's it. We're gone."
Neither spared Minerva a glance. They vanished into the trees, boots swallowed by the forest floor.
Kai's chest tightened. "They're running with it!"
Rin's gaze narrowed. His body flickered into motion. "Then we chase."
Kai hefted Sun and bolted after him. The Black Forest closed like jaws around them.
Behind, Lila knelt beside Aria, weaving water into glowing threads over her burns. She glanced at Minerva—abandoned, barely conscious—and cursed under her breath. "Heartless... we can't leave her." With a sweep of will, she pulled both women beneath a twisted tree's roots, shaping a shelter from water and dirt.
The forest leaned in, silent witness to betrayal. No eyes saw. No radios carried the word. Chun's officials and sponsors would only learn the outcome when survivors staggered out.
That was the Black Forest's law.
Inside, everything was cut off.
And Kai and Rin chased shadows into the dark.
The chase tore through the undergrowth. Reggie clutched the scroll tight, flames licking his arms to keep shadows at bay. Beside him, Bonnie's violet aura carved a path, psychic pressure splintering branches.
Behind them, Kai tore through the brush, Sun cracking obstacles. Rin glided like a phantom, each step precise, relentless.
Then the forest fought back.
A shriek pierced the night as a spider the size of a man dropped between the fleeing Janoans, legs stabbing into the soil. Reggie snarled, blasting fire at point-blank range. The beast reeled, burning but not dead.
"Keep moving!" Bonnie snapped, shoving psychic force outward. The spider staggered just enough for them to slip past.
But the noise woke more.
Spiders poured from the canopy on silk lines, mandibles clicking. The ground erupted as giant roaches — the size of hounds — swarmed forward, antennae lashing.
Kai met one mid-leap, Sun rising in a brutal arc that snapped its legs in two. He spun, smashing it back into the swarm.
Another lunged from above. Rin's heel shattered its body in one strike. He landed lightly, eyes flickering. "Stay sharp. They'll keep coming."
Ahead, Reggie scorched a wall of fire across their path, the heat burning Kai's face as he burst through.
"Damn, they're good," Kai muttered through the ash.
"They're desperate," Rin corrected, his gaze on the glowing scroll.
Bonnie cast a glance back, breath ragged. "They're still on us! Reggie, push harder!"
Reggie blasted a spider mid-leap, causing its body to detonate in flames. "Let them try. This scroll's ours."
The forest ignored them.
A new swarm emerged, forcing both squads into the same kill zone. Roaches scuttled, spiders dropped, the ground alive with claws and mandibles.
Reggie cursed, unleashing fire wide. Kai vaulted a root, Sun cracking three beasts in one swing. Rin slipped past a lunging spider, his heel smashing its jaw before vanishing into smoke—then reappearing in Reggie's path.
For a moment, firelight lit Rin's eyes red.
Kai realized that this wasn't just about the scroll anymore. The Black Forest is choosing who deserves to walk out alive.
The swarm thickened. Reggie's flames roared, wide enough to melt bark, but Rin's kick lanced through the fire, colliding with his guard in a shower of sparks.
Kai's staff clashed against Bonnie's barrier, her violet field pulsing with psychic strain. She shoved him back into a spider's legs. The beast shrieked, pinning him until he rammed Sun upward, cracking its skull.
"Persistent little monk," Bonnie spat, sweat streaking her face.
Kai grinned through the dirt. "You don't know the half of it."
He lunged again.
Rin and Reggie clashed head-on—fire and phantom speed echoing like cannon fire. Spiders dove into the fray, forcing Reggie to burn wide while Rin slipped through gaps, strikes surgical.
Bonnie unleashed a psychic burst that toppled a cluster of roaches, but left her staggering. Kai pressed in, Sun striking her barrier, each clash bursting with yellow lightning against violet force.
All around them, the forest screamed—creatures shrieking, trees cracking, ground alive with wings and legs.
Two battles at once.
One for survival.
One for the scroll.
And through the chaos, the Black Forest whispered the same truth:
Only the strongest walk out alive.