The Price of Power

At the entrance of a beautifully lit park, three people sat with worried expressions. One of them couldn't help but speak; the anxiety had become too much to bear.

"It's been a long time since the CREDHOS arrived. Why aren't Jaden and Kenzo back yet?" Rose's voice was filled with concern.

"They are probably taking care of some minor issues. Both of them are strong; nothing will happen to them." Sai said to reassure Rose, but also to reassure himself.

They had called the CREDHOS as soon as they arrived at the park, and the CREDHOS had arrived shortly after. It seemed like they had already noticed the HOUM, but it had been a while since these two CREDHOS had returned.

To make matters worse, the HOUM's roar was very frightening, and they couldn't help but fear the worst.

Richy wasn't speaking either; he was thinking about his big brother who had stayed behind to fight a HOUM. His expression was slightly less somber than the others because his big brother had already defeated HOUMs before and was with a hero.

Everyone was praying for the best for the two new CREDHOS. They all stared in their direction, hoping to see the two return in good health.

However, the wait continued, and there was still no sign of them on that road, only security personnel preventing entry.

Meanwhile, in a less illuminated part of the park, two people lay side by side, both in equally bad shape.

The voice that had just spoken when Jaden and Kenzo thought it was their last hour continued.

"I must admit, you've surprised me. You held on much longer than I imagined." it was Diane's voice, as imperious as ever.

Anna stood behind her, looking relaxed. You wouldn't have thought she was an apprentice CREDHOS facing a mid-level B-class threat. There was no pressure on her, as if it were routine.

This nonchalant attitude from Anna surprised both Jaden and Kenzo.

'Is she already this strong?' Jaden thought to himself.

She had been a CREDHOS for a year, which was not a short period, but to face such a formidable opponent without feeling any pressure?

'Perhaps it's because of Sera.' Jaden speculated.

This reaction could be possible if Anna had absolute confidence in her trainer's abilities.

Trust is a context that can vary greatly. Why trust someone? Some people respond to this question with another question: Who trusts?

Some might be confused, but this question in response to another question indeed makes sense.

The weak are the ones who trust, for trust means relying on someone, and relying on someone means being unable to do something, and being unable to do something is nothing but weakness.

Why would the strong trust if they can solve everything on their own? Trust is a double-edged sword, and broken trust often has drastic consequences because the one who trust give their all, they leave everything in the hands of the person we trust because we find reassurance in them.

As Sera and Anna made their entrance, the HOUM had finished regenerating. It disappeared immediately, using its stealth ability. With newly restored limbs and without the aging effects from Jaden, it had completely vanished.

However, all that appeared on Sera's face was a big smile. She was probably in a very good mood at that moment.

The two CREDHOS on the ground wondered why. Maybe if they knew, they could do something to please her and get her to stop "tormenting" them.

"You'll have to hide more than just your body if you want to surprise me, my dear HOUM." Sera said as she drew her katana from its sheath.

The blade was entirely black, the handle a blood-red, and there was a design of a white rose on either side of the katana.

On one side, the stem of the rose pointed towards the blade, and on the other side, it pointed towards the sky.

After drawing her blade, a single word escaped Sera's lips: "Death."

The air turned foul, and Jaden felt as if he were in hell. His heightened senses intensified the sensation, and his blood ran cold. However, this feeling lasted only a moment, as Sera had vanished from her current position.

By the time Jaden could lay eyes on her again, all he saw was a kind of black liquid on the black blade with the red handle, along with the HOUM's head turning to ashes.

The HOUM was dead, decapitated, defenseless, and without resistance, despite their – Jaden and Kenzo – best efforts not being enough to kill it.

Kenzo clenched his fists, feeling immense pressure. He realized that he was still far from his path to heroism, if not just at the beginning.

His goal was to become the strongest, the best reinforcement humanity could have. To achieve that, he had to surpass Sera or anyone who came before him on the path to power.

Jaden was less shocked, having witnessed a similar scene with Rei and Rush. He concluded that Sera must be just as strong as Rei and Rush were when they were at the academy because not everyone knew about the deal concerning him.

This meant that those present in the Conclave Chamber that day were either the strongest or the most influential. Given Sera's personality, she must belong to the first category.

Anna provided first aid to her teammates, giving them tonics filled with nutrients specially designed for CREDHOS. These tonics accelerated their recovery abilities beyond those of normal humans.

The healing of wounds involves a complex process where cells, blood vessels, and tissues interact. Initially, blood vessels contract to minimize bleeding, and platelets form clots to seal the wound.

"Why are you bleeding so much? Contract your blood vessels; we learn that at the academy." Anna said with astonishment at the sight of so much blood loss.

How could there be so much blood around CREDHOS, not aspirants, but full-fledged CREDHOS!?

"This blood is mine, but I lost it while fighting. However, I'm not bleeding anymore. The new blood must be from the other idiot over there." Kenzo replied, pointing at Jaden, who was bleeding profusely.

Jaden was at a loss for words. 'Me, the idiot?' If he could, he would have pointed at himself for confirmation, but unfortunately, he couldn't.

Kenzo bragged about stopping his bleeding, but he had done it so late that if you compared the two, it was better to go with the person who hadn't learned.

'I never went to the academy; it's normal that I don't know how to 'contract my blood vessels'.' Jaden thought, and his expression reflected someone who was complaining a bit.

However, Rose added salt to the wound, saying. "I don't think anyone can lack intelligence to this extent. Don't you know that a loss of blood can kill you?"

She then shook her head very seriously to emphasize how foolish it was, metaphorically stabbing a dagger into Jaden's heart.

"Me neither." Kenzo added, with such a cutting tone that Jaden died on the spot.

The nutrients had allowed Jaden's cells to act more quickly than normal, but bleeding wasn't his only problem.

He had obviously overused the energy within him, the energy that allowed him to age the HOUM.

His left foot had aged, his body wasn't responding to him, and he felt like only his thoughts were his own at the moment.

'I believe that my body acted on its own to defend itself. Upon realizing that I had used up all that anti-HOUM energy and that I had to pay the price for it, it decided to restrain me.' concluded Jaden afterwards. assessing his condition.

The price to pay after depleting the anti-HOUM energy was the aging of his body, and it remained to be seen if it would recover, as his foot showed no signs of improvement. However, he could sense that his energy was slowly reforming.

'Fortunately, there was a safeguard against this thing. I wonder what would happen if I aged all at once.' Jaden continued to ponder. The more he knew about himself, the less he would suffer.

Jaden wanted to understand everything he needed to know out of fear of ending up in a state that would be fatal someday. Especially because he didn't know if dying by a HOUM was limited to the HOUM delivering the killing blow, or if it included dying while fighting a HOUM

There were many things to consider after this battle, his limitations, his abilities, and many others. But most importantly...

'I must not abuse the anti-HOUM energy. Who knows if I still have this self-defense mechanism.' contemplated Jaden.