Chapter 3 - Progression.

One's fists ignite with a brilliant light, his power surging visibly. His foot presses firmly into the ground as he adopts a stance, both fists held defensively before his face, ready to strike.

The smoke from the fire's explosion slowly dissipates, revealing the monster beginning to regenerate its entire right side torso. A primal anger emanates from the creature as it starts to growl, the intensity of the sound painfully assaulting my ears. Hunter, observing intently from the edge of the clearing, makes a subtle adjustment to something on his cylindrical device.

One turns his head towards me, a very slight smile gracing his lips. "Take notice," he says, his voice calm yet carrying an underlying weight, "because this will be important for your future training!" In a blink, One vanishes and reappears directly in front of the monster, his fist already impaled through its chest. His gauntlets glowed intensely, mirroring the light in his eyes, and a massive wave of displaced shards, mixed with the force of the impact creating a powerful gust of wind, slams into me.

My hands dig into the earth, gripping tightly to prevent being blown away. Looking up, I see One holding the monster aloft by its neck. "Zero," One says, his tone carrying a strange lightness I've never heard before, "have you ever heard the saying, 'as easy as molding dough'?" My jaw hangs open, speech completely eluding me. I try to voice a yes, but only a faint murmur escapes my lips.

One's grip on the monster's neck tightens, the pressure leaving visible marks on its grotesque flesh. The monster thrashes, desperately trying to break free from One's lethal hold, but its struggles are futile. One is simply too powerful, too strong. "Second technique:" A visible buildup of shards begins to coalesce into pure light around One; another wave of immense power washes over me, even from this distance. One's slight smile morphs into something almost devilish, a clear intent to kill radiating from him.

"Executioner's Light!" One shouts, and three crystalline lights materialize and glow intensely behind him, drawing in all the concentrated shards.

Each of the crystals explodes outwards in a blinding flash, the scene momentarily obscured by pure energy. When my vision clears, the monster is nothing but scattered pieces of flesh, raining down around us. His hand, which had gripped the monster's neck, now opens, and above his palm, the gruesome remains swirl and compress into a single, contained ball. It feels as if the monster's malevolent presence still lingers within it, yet visually, it is just a sphere.

"Sealing a monster is easy, once you've learned how to mold dough," One explains calmly, as if he were discussing the weather. "You can imagine the monster's dispersed shards as pliable pieces that you pull in and mold into a cohesive ball, which you then seal." A clear, glass-like seal forms around the ball, with the number two etched onto its surface. "And the finishing touch," One says, looking at the orb, a hint of accomplishment on his face. "Monsters broadcast which True Technique caused their demise when sealed; it's the only way they can truly die."

I finally notice Hunter, who has been observing the entire display from the edge of the clearing, walking towards One. He holds the cylinder-like object from earlier. A smile spreads across his face as he presents the device to One, placing it on the ground. "Place it in here, boss." Hunter presses a button on top, and the contraption hisses open, revealing a recessed spot perfectly sized for the orb.

One chuckles, a rare sound, and claps Hunter on the shoulder. "Who knew you possessed such intellect? You've never even seen a sealed orb before, yet you already intuit how to contain one."

"Based on my extensive research into monster energy signatures and shard containment principles," Hunter says with a cocky grin as he carefully picks up the orb and places it into the open cylinder, "this seemed like the logical methodology. I merely require an orb from every True Technique in order to complete 'the Absolute Orb'." Hunter walks off a few paces, trying to appear nonchalant despite the obvious pride in One's praise.

One turns to me, a wide smirk revealing his teeth. "From this moment onwards, your true training begins. You will become strong enough to destroy mountains by next week, but you are going to have to trust me implicitly." He extends a hand to help me up. I dust myself off, and he claps me on the back as we begin to walk away from the decimated clearing, heading back towards the mission center.