Chapter 112: The Crimson Demon. 1615 CE

[A lake, somewhere in modern day Canada]

A Japanese man was standing in front of a cliff. He was wearing his usual traditional clothing and wooden sandals, at his waist is his new nodachi, the scabbard was red and black, with an eastern dragon carved as decoration. This was of course Sasaki Kojirou.

Behind the man were two people, a blonde woman and a man with violet eyes, it was Pluto and Thena. They were wearing rather thick clothing, as it was snowing around them.

"Pluto-sama, you want me to jump to the lake?" questioned Kojirou.

"Don't call me that," said Pluto calmly. He walked towards the edge of the cliff, and hummed. "I want you to find the creature underneath the lake, as a final test for you."

"What kind of creature do you want me to fight?" questioned Kojirou, also walking towards Pluto, checking the frozen lake below.

"A deviant." said Thena. "An apex predator at their time. Now? Only memory remains… well, at least it's about to be that."

"You want me to annihilate an entire species?" Kojirou was surprised at the revelation, narrowing his eyes.

"That species you're talking about almost halted the development of humans." explained Thena. "If we weren't here, you wouldn't exist."

Kojirou hummed, his face turned cold again. "Where is it then?"

"Beneath the lake."

"I have to dig the ice?"

Pluto shook his head. He summoned his bident. The tip of the spear was glowing hot, melting the ice around him. Pluto then threw the bident towards the frozen lake, piercing the layer of ice on top, towards the bed of the lake.

Not a second later, steam started coming out of the thin ice, melting it slowly but surely. The lake rises as the ice melts, submerging some of the lakeside and trees around it.

Pluto then made a grabbing gesture, which results in the bident returning to his hand.

"There we go." Pluto stated. "Dive in then."

"Very well Pluto-sama." nodded Kojirou solemnly.

Pluto sighed. "Bloody hell, don't call me that."

Kojirou then slowly took off his robe, only using his trousers as coverage, revealing his toned down body that had been trained by Thena and Pluto.

He took off his sandals, and grabbed his sword. He took a deep breath, the cold wind was not bothering him, and then, he ran towards the edge of the cliff, diving to the now warm lake below.

His body slammed to the water below, the sounds around him had been dampened by the lake, and he could only hear the small waves that the water made, and his own breathing and movement.

He looked around, while the water was a bit murky, he could still see some things. He continued to dive towards the lake bed, where his target was supposed to be. He used his legs strongly, generating strong force that pushed him below. All the fish ran away from him.

As he saw the sand of the lakebed, he unsheathed his nodachi, hunting for his target. The bottom of the lake was quiet, too quiet for his taste. Fish was nowhere to be seen, but he supposed that it was his own fault.

He touched the ground with his legs, stabilising his movement as he tried to see in the dark waters.

Then, he heard a sound from behind him. It was the sound of moving water, as if someone was swimming alongside him. Kojirou turned sharply, his sword raised underwater.

He could barely see it, but he can tell an outline of a creature, swimming around him. Its body was blue and green, and once the creature turned to Kojirou, he saw its eyes. It was yellow, its light penetrated the murky water.

Kojirou frowned. He felt something's wrong. Then, he sensed it, something pounced on him from the back, but he avoided it, just barely.

It was the stinger of a creature. The beast quickly turned again, and used its claws to strike Kojirou.

Kojirou pushed his body away from the trajectory of the claws, and he swung his sword, cutting the water quickly, and chopped off the beast's leg.

The monster's screech of pain was dampened by the water, but Kojirou could still hear it. He could sense another deviant, and he quickly avoided its attack. Kojirou grabbed the deviant, and threw it to the largest deviant that was watching the whole time.

As the deviant hit each other, Kojirou also grabbed the other deviant that was missing a leg. He pushed him away towards the two other deviants, and he raised his sword.

His sword glowed red, as well as his eyes, he took a stance on the floor of the lake, and he slammed the sword towards the direction of the three deviants, making a vertical slash.

The slash generated an abundance of crimson energy. It went through the water easily, like a hot knife and butter. The slash energy quickly travelled through the water, and sliced the three deviants in half. But, as the deviants were torn apart, the energy slash continued through the lake, splitting the body of water in half.

It was a quick second, but the lake was literally cut in half, making Kojirou able to stand on the ground without water bothering him. His body was wet, his grey hair was dripping with cold water, and his sword was still in the position of slashing.

Kojirou fixed his hair, pulling it to the back, and he sheathed his sword to the scabbard.

He looked towards the cliff, where he saw Pluto and Thena, clapping slowly, amazed by his skills.

He nodded towards them, before the water that was sliced around him flooded to him, submerging him again.

—

Kojirou, Pluto, and Thena were now sitting in front of a fire, Kojirou was warming himself up, drinking tea that they had brought.

"What will you do now?" questioned Kojirou. "You have trained me, and I am thankful for the chance you have given me, but… is this it?"

Pluto chuckled at Kojirou's words. "It is just the beginning Kojirou. We are nearing the age of heroes once again, and you will be a part of it. That is your true purpose, the reason why I gave you a second chance."

Kojirou looked at the crackling fire. "I still do not know if I will be the man you expect me to be. Do not get me wrong Pluto-sama, Thena-sama, you have trained me well, too well in fact… I have never trained this hard before." he chuckled nervously. "But… I feel like it is not enough."

"It isn't." Pluto smiled. "In the future, you will face enemies that you can't even think of today. Continue to train, gather experience, make bonds, consume knowledge. But do not ever… and I mean ever… be corrupted by power."

Pluto breathed in the cold air around him, enjoying the sensation of the air.

"Your ring is powerful." continued Pluto. "And you are susceptible to corruption, not because some being wills it, but because of yourself. Be careful with it."

"I will take your advice by heart, Pluto-sama." Kojirou nodded solemnly. "So right now, I need to wait?"

"Not wait, prepare," said Pluto. "You are not alone Kojirou, you have brothers and sisters around the world, seek them, or rather, maybe they will seek you. Befriend them, learn what you can from them, and maybe, explore the world, not just your home island."

"And what will you do?" Kojirou asked.

"Us?" Pluto chuckled. He looked at Thena, who was also smiling in amusement at the question. "We'll be retiring for a bit, we'll be enjoying life as it is…"

Kojirou smiled. "Then good luck, Pluto-sama, Thena-sama."