Chapter 42
The entire keep remained silent as the Adept Sorcerer made his speech. He congratulated the children on making it to the dawn of their path as exorcists while saying a few other things that gumi didn’t care to pay heed to. His attention remained intently on what was about to co next after the sorcerer’s grand speech.
Today was supposed to be their first demon hunt after all, and while he did know how the hunt was supposed to play out, he couldn’t help but be eager to hear the rules once again.
After a short pause, the man’s voice echoed once more.
"For your inaugural demon hunt, you will all be assigned to teams of four, with team compositions determined by your respective abilities. Your primary objective is straightforward: you are to locate and exorcize the demon that is concealed within your designated sectors."
gumi lowered his gaze and looked around the room; he had repeated the sa action so many tis that he had lost count. There were so many faces; children all the sa age as he was gathered in the castle keep, waiting patiently for their nas to be called.
Each of them possessed a unique ability of their own, one that set them apart from every other person in the room. What difference would he actually make in a group with three others? What was he supposed to do after he got assigned to a team? Pick up the leader’s mantle as he should—or rather—step to the side and let soone else do the honors?
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
... He wanted neither.
But he was going to have to choose soon, and he knew better than anyone else what his decision was going to be and would continue to be even at the end of all this. Leadership was sothing that would constantly be expected of him, a destiny he couldn’t run from.
He trusted his capabilities as a sorcerer better than anyone else’s, but then... why the hell was he suddenly shaking in his boots at the thought of doing what duty demanded of him? All he had to do was lead a bunch of kids; what was the worst that could happen?
As if he weren’t a kid himself.
He watched and listened, standing still as Hakuro Hiraboma’s voice resounded once again.
"I shall now begin assigning each of you to your respective teams."
It was as if the room, already silent, grew even quieter still. He could hear the heartbeats of so surrounding children, so with visible hints of nervousness.
The Adept Sorcerer began calling out a list of nas, most of which were from so lower branch families he knew of, and others whose last nas he had already long forgotten since they didn’t bear any significance to him.
The first team was called forward, lined up in front of the stairs leading up to the raised platform, their heads raised high as Adept Hakuro quickly said a few words of encouragent to them. He watched as a circle of runes glowed under their feet, and then they vanished a mont later.
Subsequently, many more nas were called, and each ti, a group of four children stepped out and lined up before the stairs. The sa pattern repeated itself for as long as he could count.
It was supposed to be the fifth team called out, the first and second nas having already been called, but the third instantly drew his attention.
He even noticed a slight change in the deanor of the other children as soon as the na was called.
"Kuran Kitsuboma!"
Yeah, it certainly sounded very familiar.
His eyes darted around the room until they landed on a small-bodied boy with white hair staring at him, the boy’s gently raised hand gesturing a slight wave. A slight smile went across the boy’s face, and then he turned around and made his way to the stairs.
gumi smiled back, but the boy had long left before that; he never really intended the smile for the boy alone. Seeing soone sharing the sa burden he shared be happy and cheerful, even if they were only pretending, did really well to lighten his mood.
Right then, he was more than ready to take on the challenge of his dawn of exorcism.
And soon ca the call of another very familiar na.
"Yukine Fujiboma!"
A friend he had co to cherish very much.
For a brief mont, he turned to the side as they both exchanged glances, gleaming smiles plastered on their faces. Then, she nodded curtly and left, heading for the stairs just like every other child who had been called.
And as she walked forward, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere of the room, and gumi could even hear a few whispers coming from the children.
"Isn’t that Tsukina Fujiboma’s sister?"
"She is?"
"I heard that she didn’t use any abilities during her demon hunt."
"No one knows what her abilities are."
"I think she’ll be as much of a genius as her older sister."
He tried to ignore the chatter as he watched his friend walk forward, his hand slightly raised below his chest, and in his mind, a single thought.
’May the best exorcist win...’
And then ca the mont of truth as another familiar na resounded throughout the castle keep. It didn’t simply sound familiar...
"gumi Fujiboma!"
... It was his own.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked forward, heading straight for the stairs that lay ahead. His feet smoothly dragged across the ivory floor, his head held high and his shoulders back, his eyes intently fixed on the stairs.
He tried to appear as confident as he could.
The whispers ensued once more as he continued forward, but the muffled voices were soon drowned out by Hakuro’s voice, three more nas echoing throughout the room.
"Rei Hiraboma!"
"i Kurosaki."
"Hi Ryu!"
As the four of them lined up before the stairs, their eyes were intently glued to the middle-aged man standing at the top of the platform.
The man looked at them, a solemn expression on his face. He held his hand forward, and the runes under their feet quickly began to light up.
"May our god’s will guide you and ensure your success."
And then, they vanished.
*********
gumi swiftly covered his eyes, shielding himself from the blinding light, his feet moving slightly as he instinctively stepped back.
He felt soone bump into him, and then ca the moan of a timid female voice, prompting him to quickly turn around. His gaze fell on a small-bodied girl with sun-kissed skin, and behind her were two other children.
gumi heaved a sigh, folding his lips as he looked at the three children who had their attention focused on him, their eyes locked and their brows slightly raised. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that they were expecting him to say sothing.
’So they unceremoniously picked as their leader. Well, it was just as I expected.’
He looked at the children so more and then glanced around the area where they had just been sent. A peaceful cluster of trees surrounded them, their leaves fluttering in tandem.
He peered further into the distance, his heart quickly sinking at the sight of dead trees, their bark scarred and their branches desperately reaching to the sky, like skeletal fingers clinging to life.
He then turned back to the other three, who eagerly awaited his words.
"Lady Kurosaki, could you be so kind as to ascertain the demon’s presence in our current vicinity? Rei, you’re with ; we’ll be the front line against our foe. And Lady Ryu... please see to it that you support us from the rear to the best of your abilities."
He paused and turned around.
"We cannot prepare a proper strategy until we acquire knowledge of our adversary, and it is imperative that we do so before we are discovered."
His words were simple and clear, and he was hoping that it was all he would need to say.
After a while, i spoke; her voice was a bit tense.
"I can’t sense the demon anywhere."
’Dammit.’
He heaved a sigh and folded his lips.
"We should proceed further into the grove. We have to find the demon before it..."
Suddenly, the trees around them began to tremble, shaking violently while the ground remained still. The four of them looked around, trying to ascertain what could be causing the sudden tremors.
The rumble continued, and then the ground began to quake as well, the tremors getting worse with each passing mont. It wasn’t going to be long before they would be swayed, swept off their feet by the quake.
They held out for as long as they could manage, and then gumi staggered forward, his feet dragging across the carpet of grass. He gasped, desperately trying to regain his balance.
And then his eyes widened.
’Crap!’
The Earth suddenly opened up, and deadly roots, harrowing and lifeless, shot up from the trees, longing to embrace him in a death tangle.
Their enemy was never what they had expected it to be...
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