The Cardinal
Jason managed to return back to where Maki and Dante were waiting, all while carrying the unconscious figure on his back.
The striking difference though was that most of Jason's injuries had miraculously healed and he showed no signs of difficulty walking.
"Well, now I'm impressed!! You did not only beat him but you even neutralized his Curse Armor!!," Maki spoke as Jason placed the figure on the ground.
"It was nothing!! All I did was prove to you that I'm strong enough to be an Imperial Knight!," Jason replied while beating his chest.
"Unfortunately you didn't really complete the most important mission: you were supposed to kill him!!," Dante said in a serious tone and withdrew his sword.
"Sensei, what do you mean 'kill'?," Jason asked confused, oblivious to the figure getting up and lunging towards Jason from behind.
"Get down!!," Jason continued as he pushed Jason aside and countered the figure's attack.
This time, the figure's cloak was not on him, revealing a humanoid being with a dark body and a bird skull for a face.
"Your student is strong, but he failed the test. For that, I'll kill all of you!!," the figure spoke which irked Dante.
"No one is dying here, except you, Cardinal!!," Dante said furiously and pushed the figure away from the group.
...…••••••••••••••••••••••....
The figure is a member of a criminal organization called the Milthril Invaders, which deal in horrible experiments and rituals based on Mana manipulation and feasting on human flesh to achieve Mana Evolution, which usually 1 in 20 people achieve.
There are five high ranks in the organization and each have different roles and abilities:
Cardinal, Falcon, Owl, Hawk and Vulture.
The Owl is the leader of the organization and oversees all operations they deal in.
The Vulture is the Owl's right hand and is in charge of the funding of the organization, which usually involves bounty hunting.
The Hawk is in charge of disposing the bodies of their victims and any member the organization eliminated in order to ensure confidentiality.
The Falcon is in charge of recruiting more members and is in charge of the rituals and experiments the organization takes park in.
The Cardinal is under direct control of the Vulture and is responsible for bounty hunting, collection of Cursed Spells and undertaking assassinations; in this case, targeting Dante and Jason.
They usually call their assassinations 'tests' which they identify how strong their targets are. They still kill them regardless, but the stronger the opponent, the more valuable they are.
...…••••••••••••••••••••••....
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The figure then murmured something in a different dialect, but Dante realized and warned his students, saying, "Whatever happens, do not let him touch you!! It's a Curse Spell which will kill you instantly!!"
But it was too late, because the figure rushed towards Maki who was defenseless and Dante was not quick enough to defend.
"You bastard!!!," was all he could say as he tried to reach Maki to block the Cardinal's attack.
But Dante didn't notice the layer of quicksand that was hidden from him and he and Maki got caught inside of it.
He was able to keep Maki from drowning inside the quicksand, but he then realized what the Cardinal's plan was.
It wasn't Maki the Cardinal wanted; it was Jason and he got him!!
"Got you!!!," the Cardinal said in delight as he was able to get a touch on his target: his chest.
"I shall enjoy consuming your heart!!," the Cardinal uttered in delight, expecting an easy feast.
But this time, he was completely shocked as it seemed Jason did not die from the Curse.
"No!!! How can this be!! You're supposed to be dead by now!!," the Cardinal exclaimed in shock by Jason not showing any severe damage from his Curse.
Then he got even more frightened when he observed Jason's Mana more closely and exclaimed, "No way!! You're Trihexa!! How is that possible!!??"
The name alone seemed to have a frightening effect, because Dante himself froze as he heard that name again; reminiscing of his previous battle against the powerful entity.
But the surprising part is that Jason's appearance was still his normal self, with the exception of blood-red eyes and black markings from his right eye all the way down to his right leg.
"No one is going to be killed by you here!! I won't allow it!!", Trihexa said to the Cardinal, pointing his finger at him.
"I don't care if you're a god or a demon, your heart is mine, Human!!", the Cardinal shouted as he made up his mind and rushed towards Jason.
But Trihexa dodged like it was nothing and started landing a series of blows and kicks at high speed such that even Dante could not keep up.
The Cardinal tried to activated another Curse Spell but Trihexa appeared immediately in front of him and kicked the Cardinal into a boulder nearby.
The Cardinal was lying in pain and saw 'Jason' walking slowly towards him.
Trihexa then said with a vicious grin and in a sarcastic tone, "Are you scared, little birdy?," making reference to his face which irked the Cardinal.
To which he replied, "You'll regret this you little brat!!", and threw a black-and-white orb onto the ground.
As it hit the ground, it emitted a lot of smoke, surrounding Dante and his students.
"You may have survived today, but you'll not be so lucky next time!!," the Cardinal said to Dante and disappeared.
After the smoke subsided, Trihexa grunted as he realized his control limit was up.
"This brat is something else!! It'll take a lot for me to control him. But I'll bid my time," he said to himself before Jason fully controlled himself back.
His mysterious aura vanished as quick as it appeared and he asked, "What was that all about?"
Dante then replied, "I don't know, but I have a feeling that this is not the last time we're seeing the likes of him!!"
Then he looked at Jason and said, "Whatever just happened, no one needs to know! Understand?," which confused Jason but he nodded in agreement.
After a few minutes, they left the scene and went on to train at the Gilgal Forest.