CHAPTER 29-ROSE'S,THORN'S,DARKNESS

The scene shifts back to the Trials Masters' Booth, where Gavon and Tega approach Master Rouke:

Gavon began, "We searched the entire village. There was one little girl passed out in an alley. She said she saw a very scary man, and when she was about to scream, she was put to sleep. She still doesn't know how."

Tega added, "The Slayerz 4 are all in bad positions, but they're still alive. I cooked them up one of my healing shrimp stews. A lot of broken bones, but no deaths."There now in the infirmary recovering.

Tega asks, "What's the update on the Anointed? He glances over.Wait, is one of them dead? No, the Zesh kid... what happened?"

Adon stepped forward, filling them in. "As of now, this Cyro kid has given them an ultimatum. He wants them to make two teams and split up to fight one in the upper arena and one in the lower arena. Cyro already jumped down; he's waiting for their decision."

Genjo sneered, "Look at you two, the boys with skill and no Anointing. If only you guys could help them in there, haha. They're all gonna die, so maybe you two can gain one of the..."

Rouke's expression turned stern, his voice low and menacing. "Shut your mouth, Genjo. You talk too much. Once this is all over, I'll find your location and seal you for good."

Genjo laughed, unfazed. "Ooooo, stop, Roukey boy! We've been fighting for years now. There's no way for you to kill me, even Ezon couldn't kill me. I'm invincible, there's no way for me to die, hahaha."

Genjo's grin grew wider. "Ooo, by the way, I noticed Disciple Kion and Disciple Rin have been gone for a while. I'm guessing you sent them off to go talk sense to the traitor disciple, haheeeeee."

Rouke's eyes narrowed, his mind racing. How did Genjo know that?

Genjo's laughter continued, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Look at you, sweating and wondering how I know. It all shows in your expressions, your face. You don't have the stone-cold look like Ezon did. You're weak, and it shows every time, HAHAHA!"

Hela's voice interrupted the tension. "Wait, they're making a move in the arena..."

Rouke's thoughts turned inward, his mind focused on the unfolding events. Come on, Kion and Rin, this could all be in your hands.

Scene switches to outside a large forest:

Kion says, "We've reached the Eclipsed Forest. Intel suggests Niosh is located somewhere in the middle. The only problem is that this forest is rigged with deadly traps."

Rin stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with determination. "Stand back, Discipleship Awaken, Peter!"

He clasped his hands together, summoning a demon he had previously cast out.

"Listen, little imp," Rin commanded. "You're going to go ahead of us and find a safe path through these woods."

The demon whined, "Why would I help you? You'll just seal me away again."

Rin drew a gleaming white katana. "Because if you don't, I'll split you into four. Now, let's move."

Just then, a voice spoke from behind them. "What are you gentlemen looking for?"

Kion and Rin turned to see Niosh standing behind them, twin blades at the ready.

Kion smiled. "Just the man we needed to see."

Kion's eyes flashed with intensity. "Discipleship, Mark!" (WABOOOOM)

He struck Niosh in the chest, freezing him in place. Then, Rin placed a hand on Niosh's shoulder, causing him to fall flat to the ground. Niosh's body sank three feet into the earth.

"Let's proceed."

Rin raised his hand, displaying five fingers, before folding his thumb down. "Chained Spirit Seal!"

Golden chains erupted from the earth, wrapping around Niosh's submerged form. Rin lifted his hand, and the chains pulled Niosh up, depositing him directly in front of them.

Niosh hung his head, struggling to lift his neck against the chains' restraint. Kion approached him, his eyes narrowed.

Kion said, "I'm sure you know why we're here."

Niosh's voice was barely above a whisper. "I actually don't... but I can only think Master Rouke must have sent you all."

Rin's gaze turned cold. "So, teaching Genjo forbidden moves is not wrong in your eyes?"

Niosh strained against the chains, his neck muscles trembling. "I only taught him how to counter a sealing... that's all. It creates imbalance if one side has all the power. I don't agree with Rouke or Genjo on things... I choose freedom. Let me out of these chains."

Kion's expression remained stern. "Teaching Genjo to defeat us is picking a side. He appeared at the Spirit Trials, invading New Babylon, and he put up a barrier so nobody could enter or get out of the arena. We know it's your doing."The annoited kids are now fighting two cursed who are extremely powerful.There fighting to the death in the arena.

Hmmm"I've never known Genjo to really lie to me. Sneaky as he may be, he told me that he only needed to learn the technique to deal with one of his Cursed who's been out of line. He said that this Cursed, Kyche, has a remote island with an unbreakable barrier. I helped him, and in return, he keeps his demons away from my village."

"However, if you're here to try to make me take down the barrier or reveal a way out of it, I won't. It creates a balance of fairness. As the man I am, I believe things should be played out fairly. Let those Anointed of yours figure things out, just like we had to during the Seven Deadly Sins War. We lost nine brothers in that war. If one must die for others to live, so be it. Am I supposed to have sympathy? I won't be showing you guys anything or availing you of anything, so leave before the other side of me wakes up."

Kion replied, "You don't understand; this is not order, this is chaos."

Niosh sneered, "Neither was Rouke kicking me out of the village, but here I stand."

Suddenly, a dark, purple aura surrounded Niosh, signaling an ominous transformation.

Disciple Rin declared, "All right, here comes the Cursed side of him. I'll definitely ask the Lord one day why he gave you both Saul's and Paul's Anointing and Cursed you. You're the only person in this land who dwells in both, but as I remove these restraints from my arms and ears, just know I won't go easy on you. You're a brother of ours, but you work with the enemy, so today I'll lay you to rest, if so be it."

Niosh's transformation became more pronounced, his hair growing longer, his eyes turning red and green. A dark, purple aura surrounded him as he lifted his head, breaking free from the chains.

A voice laced with malice spoke, "Now, let's see who is truly the strongest Disciple out of us three."

Scene switches back to the trials:

Sol said, "I had to calculate what would make perfect sense for us in this fight. I feel that the only way is to honor the rules. Unfortunately, we don't know if this Cyro character is bluffing. I'm sure I'm not the only one who cannot sense his power. So, because of that, I feel the best thing to do is send the ones on this team that don't seem to use their brain a lot together to fight him."

Khayjin looked at Zeyta, "Is he talking about me?"

Zeyta shrugged, "I don't know, most likely, I guess."

Sol continued, "I think that Khayjin, Nobu, and Zane should fight Cyro."

The three looked shocked.

Zane protested, "Sol, you know I'm quite intelligent. I actually came up with the plan for the Gakon."

Khayjin chimed in, "I mean, all we have to do is punch him in the face, right?"

Nobu asked, "So, if I'm not mistaken, I'm the smartest here?"

Sol clarified, "My plan is not about whether you're smart or dumb. My plan is about a mind that is unorthodox. You three think outside the box, you're young-minded, strong-willed, and hard to read. That would be a good matchup for him. Then me, Zeyta, Aza, and Kayge will face Kyll. Now, I don't know how powerful Cyro is, but we all know how powerful Kyll is. Not only is he good at close-range combat, but he's also good with his blades, and he also has a Cursed form. Those arms that we've seen come out of Cyro's back are most likely borrowed energy from his curse abilities. But I believe you guys will figure it out."

Kayge nodded, "So, it is agreed upon that we should separate ourselves by team names. It will help for the history books."

Nobu suggested, "I think the name should be the NKZ Team."

Khayjin slapped him away, "Nahhhhhhh, that name's terrible! I say we name ourselves the Shadowlandz, Guardians of the Shadowz."

Zane jumped up, "Nah, it's gotta be the Roninzzzzz!"

Kayge chuckled, "I'm thinking you guys will be called Squad Reckless, and ours will be Squad Intelligence."

Khayjin booed, "Booooooooooooo!"

Aza intervened, "Okay, I got it. They're Team Thorn, we're Team Rose. That's enough, let's go fight Kyll."

Sol reminded them, "Now, remember, think of every technique you've ever learned in training – every SM, every TM, whatever you've done before – bring it to this fight. Also, don't forget the different ways to use your discernment, especially mind capping."

Nobu asked, "What's that?"

Cyro yelled, "Thirty seconds!"

Sol said, "Gotta go. See you all soon, Team Thorn. You got this..."

Kayge encouraged, "Be reckless and have fun being reckless, go all out, fellas!"

Zeyta said, "Well, Khayjin, we split again. This time, I feel good."

Khayjin replied, "Sure hope we can beat him."

Aza added, "After whoever dies out of these two, we'll link up and help out."

Team Thorn jumped down the hole into the lower arena.They land on the ground.

Cyro cackled, "Ahhhh, so you three will be my fighters? This is gonna be fun."

Scene switches:

In the upper arena, Kyll sneered, "Ahhhh, gave me the sword fighters? No more holding back then."

Chapter ends

NEXT THURSDAY

CHAPTER 30-TEAM THORN VS CYRO