last ordeal!

After twenty minutes, Mystic arrived at the destination.

Unsurprisingly, she was greeted by the two examiners and three other candidates who had arrived before her.

After counting the number of participants, she released a small puff of warm air; somewhat relieved to be in time.

The two guys had similar features to the girl who had been killed by the first examiner.

They had a red horn on their foreheads and two upper fangs that replaced their canines.

As for the last girl, she was no more or less than a human being with refined features.

In addition to them, Mystic also noticed a humanoid puppet that only had a head without a face or ears.

After three minutes, two more candidates joined them, another blonde girl with a short ponytail and ears similar to those of a fox, in fact, a beastkin.

And the last one was the man who was following Mystic closely.

"Good!" The examiner spoke out loud.

Although there were still three candidates behind, he didn't wait any longer.

As he had announced at the beginning, the last three would be disqualified.

Everyone knew what that meant, so no one was surprised to see him act like that.

As for those who had taken the road earlier, they didn't reappear.

"Now, the third and final test will begin."

After saying these words, the examiner made the wooden puppet in front of him move forward with his powers.

"There are many puppets similar to this one scattered throughout the labyrinth. Think of them as citizens to protect.

-Each of you will be teleported to a random spot within the labyrinth. Your task is to gather as many of the puppets as possible.

-All you have to do is touch their faceless head and inject your spiritual energy so that they follow you and obey your most basic orders.

-Each puppet will grant one point to the participant, two points less if it is destroyed.

-You can kill a competitor or steal their points to have one in two chances of surviving." 

He paused and contemplated the expression of each participant with coldness.

No one seemed relaxed by such explanations.

One in two chances would mean only two participants would qualify for this final test.

'That's insane, they want to get rid of everyone or what? Was it their goal from the start?'

For her part, Mystic was glancing at the two examiners to learn more.

'This last test stinks like shit.' She frowned and mumbled when she noticed the current gaze of the first examiner. 

The glint she was seeing in the latter's eyes still seemed mostly indiscernible to her, however, Mystic could tell that he was up to no good. 

It was a guess based on her intuition. 

After that moment of silence, the examiner continued. 

"Only two candidates with the highest points will qualify, the rest will be trash to be exterminated. As for the reward, the two chosen will receive what you all came for." 

'A reward...?' 

Between her curiosity and frustration at her ignorance, Mystic's mood grew more grumpy.

Without knowing where they were going, Monica dragged her to this place. 

And for the first time, she saw a gate that she had only read about in the clan's archives. 

However, remembering the disappointment Monica had shown before due to her non-participation, her curiosity grew greater than her frustration. 

'For the instructor to want it, that reward must be something priceless.' 

For the first time, a small, eager smile appeared on her face as she thought about this possibility. 

As always, after the first examiner's introduction, the second took over. 

Mystic and the others got used to their way of working. 

However, something unexpected happened. 

Before giving further explanations on how the third and final test would take place, the second examiner took out five grimoires, including Mystic's.

'There's one missing.'

Almost everyone noticed this detail. However, the examiner didn't keep this mystery going for too long.

He floated the five grimoires to their respective owners.

The only one who didn't receive a grimoire was of course the mysterious man.

'Is he really my guardian beast?' This thought only crossed Mystic's mind for a short moment before she realized otherwise.

The moment she got back her grimoire, she could sense Devon's presence.

This answer of course raised other questions.

'How did he use a skill exclusive to his guardian beast?

Aren't unique skills supposed to be, as their names suggest,... unique?

Why does he have the same energy as that guy?

Why did I feel familiar and safe with him?'

Regardless, she never took any more interest in this man.

Although questions remained unanswered, she didn't dig any further.

As for the second examiner, he cleared his throat and spoke in a tone that was still similar to that of the first examiner.

"This time, you will have twenty-four hours in front of you. After this time, two of you will be instantly summoned by us." 

He finished as quickly as he had started his explanation.

'These two will probably be the ones who qualify. The others will simply be erased by them.' She deduced.

With those words the examiner snapped his fingers, teleporting the six to different locations.

For the others and Mystic, it only lasted a short delay similar to the flapping of a butterfly's wings.

Opening her eyes that she had instinctively closed due to the flashing light, Mystic found herself surrounded on two sides by damp, black marbled walls.

She frowns at the striking resemblance of this place and the maze she had overcome before.

'There's no way they're sending us back to a maze we already know.'

She shakes her head, ridding herself of that thought.

At the same time, a black portal manifested in front of her, almost making her starlet in surprise.

However, she smiled wryly when she realized that it was none other than Devon who could now freely enter and exit her grimoire after evolving.

'When I said he could do that one day, I was just joking.' 

She waited for Devon to come out of the portal to start a conversation.

"You, why didn't you join me sooner? I thought you hated being locked up in that place?"

Still dressed in his weird black dress and mask, Devon looked around with eyes that seemed to be searching for someone or something.

'Was it an illusion?' 

Seeing that the target of his interests was missing, he focused on Mystic.

"[I couldn't.]"

"...I see. Regardless, we're currently in what seems to be...

He cut Mystic off before she could finish.

"[I know, I could see right through you.]" 

At that, Mystic smiled.

A feeling of worry mixed with security washed over her.

'Sometimes, I wonder...which both of us is the master.'

"[Don't ask yourself stupid questions. I'm still bound to you, your end means mine too; so it's in our best interests to cooperate.]"

Mystic's blood froze in her veins when she heard Devon answer the question she just asked herself.

'...What was that!?'

Her forehead immediately oozed beads of sweat as she understood what Devon had just done by instinct.

While she was frozen in thought and stared at Devon with agitated eyes, the latter did muscle stretches while inspecting the place.

'Goodness, it feels good to go out, although I can't breathe, I feel refreshed.

Regardless, one thing worries me more than this ordeal. The man from earlier looked exactly like me when I was still on Earth.

Furthermore, that bastard didn't just steal my appearance, even my skill. Who was he?' He began to think about the things that worried him the most.

'Gonna have to clear things up with that fake when our paths cross.'

With that goal in mind, he finally focused on Mystic who was still staring at him.

Her mind seemed to have blacked out in Devon's eyes.

'Although clever, it happens to him to do this kind of mental shock, huh? Interesting, but maybe I should think about paying attention to her before she...

Regarding Mystic, after a long moment of silence, she looks at Devon with eyes overwhelmed by doubt.

"You're not a beast, am I wrong?"

Her voice was shaking slightly, but it was more due to all the questions she was asking herself rather than fear.

"[Devon.]"

"...Sorry?"

"[That's my name.]"

Her eyes light up strangely as if it wasn't her who asked.

"You...you...

"[Anyway, the place is not suitable for that; I'll give you the explanations you want later.]"

Her eyes tremble slightly with doubt after hearing these words.

'He can now speak like a human.'

Although she had always known that Devon was endowed with intelligence superior to that of beasts, seeing him prove it to her each time was something she struggled to get used to.

However, she sighs slightly followed by a shrug.

"Since you already know what there is to know, why don't we get going?"

Like Devon, she prioritized the quest.

Devon also nods in agreement with her proposal.

He then channels some of his energy into a long sword.

However, just before both started moving, they saw one of the participants appear behind them.

This participant was one of the two red-skinned kind.

The latter, despite being alone, had already managed to gather three puppets who were following closely behind her.

A vicious smile emerged on Mystic's lips when she met the girl's eyes.