2 The Summon

After a tiring delivery job, Rhys went home. 

"Once drones could carry heavier objects, then we delivery truck drivers might no longer be needed," thought Rhys with a sigh. 

A middle-aged woman named Ayla came out of a room while holding the hand of an eight-year-old girl.

"Aunt Ayla, where are you going?" asked Rhys. Ayla helped babysit Lola a few times. When they were younger, she helped them a lot when they were struggling, although they were just neighbors and not even relatives.

Ayla smiled. "The kid wants something in the convenience store."

"Brother Rhys, say hello to Lola for me. Grandma, hurry, or else it will be gone," said the kid named Ella as she pulled Ayla's hand.

Ayla helplessly smiled at Rhys. "See you later."

Rhys nodded his head. "Be careful, Aunt."

He entered their room and saw his sister and niece watching TV, then breaking news suddenly appeared. He gripped his fists as he watched. There was a fight between an exonn and a demon in a nearby city. 

There were lightning and fireballs in the air.

"Hahahaha, exonn boy, nice meeting you, but I still have an appointment!"

Kai gritted his teeth as he held the sword in his hands. Lightning crackled on his sword and body. "Running away after causing a disaster?! Demon! If I can't cut your head, I won't be able to sleep!"

He quickly chased the laughing demon.

The playful face of the demon disappeared when he saw a woman with ponytailed pink hair flying toward him.

The woman named Isla was wearing a sweatshirt, and there were six faint golden wings on her back.

"Shit! Why is that woman here?!" shouted the demon named Molo, then he quickly flew in a different direction.

There was a smile on Isla's face as she looked at the demon.

SUMMON

A transparent magic beast with six wings appeared behind her back. The magic beast was as tall as ten meters and had the resemblance of a rabbit.

SYNC

The projection turned into golden lights and combined with Isla's body. The lights turned into armor. The armor on the forearms and legs was bigger.

Ripple appeared on Isla's feet.

SHOCK STEP

Boom! There was a sonic boom in the air. Isla appeared on Molo's back.

The demon looked with fear at the finger moving to his head. "NOOOO!!!"

Isla's finger touched the demon. There was a ripple, then the demon exploded into bits and pieces. 

The body parts burned and turned into ash.

Isla looked at the helicopter recording the scene and waved her hand, causing the people watching the TV to cheer, but Rhys gripped his fists harder. It was a short glimpse, but he saw the damage—burning cars, injured people, and crying children—on the street. They had the same experience when they were young and lost their parents in that incident.

Rhys looked at Ana, who was consoling Lola. The kid was hugging her mother.

Ana smiled at Rhys. She understood what he was thinking. "I quit my job and have an online job because I know the danger outside. Hansel is a Tier 2 exonn, and his shop is near here."

She rubbed Lola's hair. "Although it is not completely safe here, it is still better than the other places. If something happens, at least I will be here on Lola's side and won't leave her alone."

Rhys sighed. There were places in cities guarded by exonns 24/7. Those were the places where the families of exonns and privileged people lived. 

"Will I remain an ordinary human being until I die?" thought Rhys, then he looked at his sister and niece. "Heaven's Gate, even if I become cannon fodder, I will be satisfied as long as I can send them to a safe place." 

"Hmm?" Ana turned around her head, and she felt shocked. "B-Brother."

Rhys looked down, where Ana was pointing her finger. His feet were scattering into golden lights. He smiled and looked at his shocked sister and niece. "I will be back."

He completely scattered into lights and disappeared from the room.

Rhys opened his eyes and looked around him. His bed looked big. There was sunlight entering through the glass window. He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. His face was young but looked different. He was a different person. Then he moved to the window and looked outside. His room was on the second floor. The yard of the house looked big. He stared outside and thought,"Philipp said that the trial will test seven deadly sins. Each trial of sin will give a different character as a son of a noble, as a king, or even a slave.

The longer a challenger stays in each sin, the more it will become unbearable. When he was in the trial of gluttony, he could not stop the feeling of hunger. The hunger will become worse as the challenger stays longer. The longer a challenger stays, the better the result. Each trial is just an illusion, and it can be broken by will. The longer the trial, the higher the risk because a challenger could become completely absorbed in the illusion and then fail. The seven trials had to be passed to receive the power of an exonn."

Rhys moved out of his room. There were sculptures of knights in the hallway. He took a spear, then went back inside.

He thrust the spear and thought,"Philipp, you told me that you spend most of your time meditating in the illusion and trying to break it. I feel like I could now break it, but..."

He made rapid stabs.

"I thrust my spear when I felt angry. I held it when I felt anxious. Holding it or practicing with it helped me clear my head many times. If I stay for many years in each trial as I practice my spear and study several things, how strong will I be?"