The vassals start to package everything on the carriage. It is a beautiful day outside; the sky is a rich shade of blue, and the grass grows tall. Before they leave, Truth brings Aric to the back for some privacy.

  [Truth: You guys should stay for another day.] Truth says this in an empathetic tone, making Aric just stare.

  [Aric: What do you mean?] Aric questions.

  [Truth: It means just that. If you leave now, you will face an unwinnable battle. You know I can be trusted.]

  [Aric: Truth, You know I can’t delay my return any longer. The summit is going to happen right as I return home.]

  Truth just sighs, waves to the vassals, and walks back into the Colosseum. By this time, the vassals are done storing all of their belongings.

  [Aric: How was the tournament?] Aric asks the vassals as they look at him.

  [Harpstein: Everyone performed magnificently.]

  [Azarath: It was only natural that I won!]

  [Selene: They were strong…] Peak jumps next to her. Making Selene yelp.

  [Peak: Definitely very strong!] Blake sighs.

  [Blake: I'm just glad this is over.] Pax adds on.

  [Pax: Yeah, the infirmary treated me like an ass.]

  Peak looks at Aric.

  [Peak: I need you to teach me more about Netsu!]

  [Pax: Yeah. I learned about that from Truth, what's up with not teaching us?]

  Aric ponders for a second before responding.

  [Aric: I thought none of you guys would be able to see or use it. So it would be worthless to you. I guess the information would have been useful, though.]

  [Selene: You don’t think?]

  After everyone expresses their opinion, Aric seems happy. Victor greets them as they all start to board the carriage.

  [Victor: Hello. It is nice to see you all in good health. I will be driving you back to the kingdom.]

  They are ready for the week-long journey home. With that, the carriage leaves.

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  Selene is glued to the window as beautiful scenery plays out and the landscape shifts. Azarath and Pax have been bickering the whole trip, which annoys Blake. Blake looks around to see if anything catches his eye.

  *Blake: Harpstein is sitting upright with his eyes closed? He is perfectly still, like a doll. Is he sleeping? Peak went on the roof of the carriage to “Feel the wind.” What can I do to entertain myself?*

  The carriage abruptly halts, jolting Harpstein awake and causing everyone else inside to be thrown about. Aric lands beside Victor.

  [Aric: Is something the problem?]

  Victor is sweating.

  [Victor: The original plan was to restock at this village… We need to find another one; we will go around this village. Nothing good will come from us continuing.]

  [Aric: What is the danger level?]

  [Victor: 10.]

  Aric gives a nod and they turn the carriage around. The village that could be seen in the distance slowly fades away as they continue in another direction. Until…

  [Victor: Huh?]

  A village comes into view, and Victor stops the carriage again.

  [Aric: What’s wrong?]

  [Victor W-we are in the same village…]

  Aric is confused. They just left the dangerous village, did they somehow make their way back?

  [Aric: Expand your range and find a path that leads us out of here. I don’t like the feeling I'm getting.]

  [Victor: Yes, sir!]

  Victor closes his eyes and concentrates. Sweat starts to appear on his head as he mumbles [Impossible!]

  Victor opens his eyes and looks at Aric.

  [Victor: No matter what direction we take. We will always end up at this village…]

  Aric is surprised, and thoughts flood his head. He clears his mind before informing the vassals about the situation.

  [Aric: We are going to head into the village.]

  Upon arriving in the village, they find it oddly desolate. Though there are occasional blood stains, the town appears completely deserted. The horses hesitate to enter, leaving everyone with no choice but to dismount. As they continue to look through the village, they can hear an eerie whistling coming from the center.

  [Victor: That is where my danger reading is coming from.]

  They all make their way to the village center. Upon arrival, they spot a man seated at the village fountain's edge, sporting spiky purple hair and rainbow-colored eyes. The man remains unaware of their presence. Aric instructs the vassals to take cover in a nearby building and to stay inside no matter what. The six of them dash to the building and cautiously look out the window.

  [Aric: Hello! We come in peace!]

  The man looks over at Victor and Aric for a second. A large, creepy smile slowly grows on his face before he hides it.

  [Zane: Hello~! My name is Zane! It is so nice that you guys would come to visit me! I was so lonely!]

  A sweat drop falls down Aric's face.

  [Aric: We did not come here to see you. Do you know what happened to the villagers?]

  Zane's face darkens.

  [Zane: They were used for my entertainment! I had no more use for them, so I'm planning on getting rid of them!]

  Aric looks surprised.

  [Aric: Entertainment?]

  Zane starts to laugh maniacally.

  [Zane: Ah yes! Everything in this world is made for my entertainment! Including you two! That is why I invited you here! To entertain me more!]

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  The look in Zane's eyes screams of insanity. Aric summons his staff.

  [Aric: If that is how you think, then our conversation is over. I will kill you.]

  The smile fades away from Zane's face.

  [Zane: Nonononononononono! Not youuuuuu~! You are too strong! It would take too long to kill you. Of course, I would normally be down, but I'm not in the best mood today! So you are going to have to leave!]

  Zane waves his hand, and the unthinkable happens. Aric is gone. Disappeared. No trace of him is left where he once stood. Victor looks at Zane in disbelief. The vassals are just as shocked as they watch from their window.

  [Victor: What did you do to him?]

  Victor asks with an angry tone. Zane stares at him.

  [Zane: I didn’t kill him. He is much too strong for me to just up and murder him! I don’t need to fight him right now though, so I sent him away.]

  [Victor: “Sent him away.”?]

  [Zane: Yes! I sent him to the demon continent! It’s a bit far, but I don’t want to take any chances!]

  Zane starts walking up to Victor.

  [Pax: Fuck this.]

  Pax starts to get up and walk to the window.

  [Blake: What are you doing?]

  Blake questions Pax.

  [Pax: I'm going to help Victor. You know he is a non-combatant. If we don’t do anything, he is going to die.]

  [Harpstein: Stand down, Pax!]

  Harpstein raises his voice, which surprises everyone.

  [Harpstein: Despite what Aric said before, remember that everyone who serves under the king is at least a Grade 1. What we need to do now is observe.]

  [Victor: The demon continent? Nevermind. What's your goal now?]

  Zane looks a little sad. Tears well up in his eyes.

  [Zane: I don’t know! I thought I sensed the Netsu of at least eight people, so why are there only two? You can’t entertain me!]

  Victor's poker face is unshakable as he replies.

  [Victor: No wonder you got confused. That old man is considered the strongest man in the world. Of course, his netsu reserves would be enough to match at least seven other people.]

  Zane's eyes light up.

  [Zane: No way. You mean that old man was Aric Solis?!?]

  Zane’s eyes almost pop out of his head as Victor nods.

  [Zane: That is so…]

  [Disappointing.]

  A large slash appears on Victor's chest, and he falls to the ground. Blood stains the floor below him as Victor cries out in pain.

  Pax starts to move to the window, but shadows and vines bind him back. Pax starts to break through them as he gets webbed to the floor.

  [Pax: Why the hell are you guys stopping me?!? I need to save him!]

  [Harpstein: Calm down! Aric ordered us not to move.]

  Selen speaks up.

  [Selene: That thing… It is not human… I have never felt anything like this before. We are going to die if we leave this place.]

  Pax looks over at Peak.

  [Pax: Come on Peak! You want to save him to, right?]

  Peak looks down.

  [Peak: I do, I really do, but… I can see his netsu. It’s huge. Almost as big as Arics. We don’t stand a chance.]

  Azarath is just staring, frozen in fear.

  [Pax: Really, fuck this!]

  Pax slowly stands up while covered in webs, shadows, and vines. His eyes start to glow.

  [Harpstein: Pax, knock it off!]

  Zane walks up to Victor.

  [Zane: If that's true, Aric is washed up. If I fought him there, I would have beaten him around 70% of the time. That really shouldn’t be the case for anyone who is considered “The Strongest.” That must mean the demon lord was a fraud as well! I wish I could have fought Aric in his prime! I heard that is when he earned the title!]

  Zane starts stomping on Victor, and tears run down Zane’s face. He is so sad that old man Aric is not stronger than him. He is about to stomp on Victor's head again when the space around Zane's face starts to fold in on itself.

  『The Unstoppable Thin Ice Breaker』

  Pax’s fist breaks through the air as it launches Zane all the way across the village. Pax quickly goes to help Victor up.

  [Wow! That punch was really powerful~!]

  Zane's voice is right behind Pax. Pax throws his fist back, and Zane dodges it. Pax lunges at Zane and throws a barrage of punches, which Zane dodges with a smile.

  [Harpstein: Shit! Pax forced our hand! Blake, give us a plan!]

  Blake thinks for a second.

  *Blake: Ok, this scenario is bad. We should have Selene, Haprstein, and Peak on support. I will grab Victor. Azarath and Pax can distract him. What is Zane’s ability? Spatial manipulation? Fuck!*

  Blake goes to say his plan when Harpstein bursts into sweat.

  [Harpstein: IT WON’T WORK!]

  [Blake: Huh? Did you use Prime Time?]

  Harpstein just points up. The vassals look at the sky. Their faces contort in horror as they see around one hundred deformed villagers floating in the sky. They don’t leave a shadow for some reason.

  [Harpstein: The moment we all engage him, he will drop them to their death. Blake, come up with another plan.]

  Blake thinks for a second.

  [Blake: Peak, Selene, and myself will work on getting the people down. Harpstein and Azarath, you guys will engage Zane and stop him from dropping them until we get the people down.]

  Harpstein nods his head, and they get to work.

  Blake summons Bracken, split 50/50, and sends him to Zane. Blake also summons Divine Dog: Totality. Zane is still dodging Pax's attacks before a laser comes in and slices Zane's hand off. It regenerates as Totality grabs Zane's face and starts to take him somewhere else. Zane points a finger gun at Totality's head and shoots it clean off. The dog falls down, dead. Pax rushes him with an Unstoppable. A barrier appears in front of Zane.

  [Zane: I will just make an unbreakable barrier and-]

  The barrier shatters the moment Pax's fist interacts with it.

  [Pax: Shut up.]

  A vein is visible on Pax’s forehead; he is pissed. The punch caves in Zane’s Face and sends him hurling to the side. Zane's face heals as he looks at Pax with light in his eyes.

  *Zane: He broke it? Something created by my ability? He has a chance! He might be the one!*

  Zane's smile keeps getting bigger, but Azarath flies next to him. Zane looks over with murderous intent.

  [Zane: I don’t care about you.]

  Zane is about to wave at Azarat,h but his hand gets cut off. Harpstein seemingly teleports next to him. Azarath quickly takes the opportunity and shoots another laser blast at Zane. Blake summons six frogs and starts to pull people down with the frogs' tongues. Selene is using her vines to get people down. Same with Peaks Webs. They are making good time and will soon have every one of the villagers down.

  Zane flips himself to get on his feet and starts to regenerate. Bracken grabs Victor, who whispers something in his ear that makes Bracken smile deviously. Harpstein throws his spear, and it pierces Zane’s chest. Azarath appears on top of Zane.

  『Starlight Smash』

  He smashes Zane down with everything he has. Zane grabbed his fist and smiled at him.

  [Zane: Is that all you have?]

  Azarath is suddenly slammed into the ground. He tries to get up, but his leg is blown off. He falls, and Zane knocks him out with a kick. Harpstein goes to reverse time, but Zane knees him in the chest. This knocks Harpstein out.

  [Pax: Bastard! On the name of Pax Stone! I’ll kill you!]

  Zane looks at him for a second.

  [Zane: That’s you? Unfortunate…]

  Dents appear all over Pax’s body. He starts getting slammed into the ground and it seems like he is getting attacked all over. At this time, Selene, Peak, and Blake are done getting the people down. They go to join the fight. Blake looks down at Pax. His body is damaged to the point that it is almost unrecognizable. It’s not over, Pax’s body is still getting even more damaged.

  [Peak: What the hell did you do to my friend!]

  Zane looks at Peak.

  [Zane: It’s simple. I made the air aggressive for him.]

  [Selene: Huh?]

  Zane starts to laugh intensely.

  [Zane: The air, all around him, is attacking him both inside and out. Every single second.]

  Blake screams.

  [Blake: Stop! He is going to die!]

  *Zane: The mission was capture. I can’t kill him. Plus, I'm interested in this kid anyway.*

  Zane waves his hand, and the air stops attacking Pax. He is in critical condition and near death.

  [Bracken: We need to leave now. This guy is bad news.]

  [Blake: I have a plan. It has a chance to work. Especially if what Victor told you is true.]

  Selene rushes over, but cuts appear on her entire body, and she falls. Selene is on the verge of unconsciousness. She grabs the button in her pocket. However, she remembers Truth's advice and doesn’t press it. She falls unconscious.

  『Gold Style: Sword God Speed』

  A large slice appears on Zane's chest. Zane waves his hand, and Peaks' legs and arms suddenly twist and contort. The pain is too much, and Peak faints. Bracken goes behind Zane at breakneck speeds and injects him with a syringe given to him by Victor. Bracken goes to slash Zane’s face. Zane quickly ducks the slash and kicks Bracken away.

  [Zane: You nullified my ability?]

  Bracken smiles.

  [Bracken: Yep! Glasses was right about this! Luckily, he had a vial of this netsu-suppressing stuff! Can’t use yer ability now bitch!]

  [Blake: I will give you 95%. I leave the rest to you.]

  Blake leans on the building. When the amount is over 90%, Blake is unable to move.

  Spikes and armor plates grow on Bracken. Bracken sends slices at Zane and goes in for close combat. Zane matches Bracken's speed effortlessly and blocks. Zane counters his slash with a palm to the chest. Sending Bracken back a bit.

  [Bracken: You seem pretty powerful for a little bitch boy that lost his ability.]

  Zane laughs.

  [Zane: Well, of course. After all, I am the strongest Aspect. The most skilled at martial arts as well. Come on now, don’t be shy.]

  [Bracken: Aspect? We’ve done caught a big fish!]

  Bracken flies back at Zane, and they start trading blows.

  *Bracken: To be able to keep up with a 95% me with no netsu or ability. Just straight skill. What a monster.*

  Zane kicks Bracken in the head and follows up with some jabs to the chest. Zane sweeps Bracken's legs and sends him flying with a punch to the head.

  [I…won’t..let..you… GET AWAY WITH THIS!]

  Zane looks at where the noise is coming from. He looks a little scared. He can’t help the smile forming on his face.

  [Zane: No way. All of your bones should be broken. This is actually not possible.]

  Pax is rising in his battered and beaten state. Pain comes from every cell in his body. He runs at Zane. Zane quickly dodges a punch before sending a punch at Pax’s chest, making him spit up blood. Zane grabs Pax’s leg and slams him so hard on the ground he actually bounces. Pax lies still on the ground next to Zane.

  Suddenly, a hurricane of over one hundred thousand bunnies appears around Zane and Bracken.

  『Rabbit Escape』

  Zane looks at the smiling Bracken.

  [Bracken: What's wrong, bastard! You scared of a real G like me!]

  *Bracken: Blake! Are you ready yet?!?!*

  Blake stands at his feet. The contract goes to 50/50.

  *Blake: Thank you, Bracken, for buying time, my bunnies were able to move the villagers to a safe place. Now it’s time for us to make an escape!*

  『Piercing Ox』

  An Ox comes running through the village faster than the speed of sound. Blake jumps on the speeding Ox’s back as it zooms through the village. Zane can’t see anything through the influx of rabbits around him, and if he tries to attack, Bracken stops him.

  *Blake: Before the fight started, I summoned the Ox and had him do circles around the village. Building up his speed until the perfect moment!*

  『Toad』

  Seven frogs appear on the Ox and shoot their tongues at the vassals. They are able to snag every vassal and victor. The tongues retract, and everyone except Pax is now on the ox. The tongue shot through the rabbits and went to grab Pax. Zane quickly grabs the tongue, intending for it to take him on the ox. Seeing this, Bracken slices the tongue. Blake wants to send another frog after Pax, but they are already out of range. The Ox can’t turn around. Blake is forced to take this loss.

  Bracken laughs at Zane before disappearing. Zane’s power comes back as he weaves his hands, and the rabbits all explode. As everything clears, Zane looks around. The vassals and Victor are completely gone. Zane can’t even see them in the distance. The Ox gained so much speed that they couldn’t even be sensed by Zane anymore. Zane sits down next to the heavily damaged and unconscious Pax.

  [Zane: I can’t believe it! Your friends are so entertaining! At least I got my objective, though! Pax~! I have such high hopes for you! Over the next few weeks, let’s get to know each other a little better and have some fun!]

  To be continued…

  Arc 1- Ascended Crucible- End