1.5: The Elites Emerge!

All the ronin looked among themselves. Some were ready to riot, but the presence of Gaiyato left the order at its best. They all knew what he was capable of.

The quarts were all set around the diffraction of a desert—a total of 10 different quarts where all goes. You could either leave with a team, leave alone, or accept fate in the quarts. Those who succeeded got the privilege to go and save Legon City and retain it for society, for this was the only way that ronins were allowed to live among humans. But they have failed countless times, yet kept their hopes up.

"WHY START THE PARTY WITHOUT ME~!"

The ronin who befriended Tedashii in the meeting area. Franco Cassoule, known by his stance, 'The Panther.' Seventeen years old and known as the strongest of the Cassoules. He walked past all the stunned ronins and then towards Tedashii. "Hope you're watching closely, Spike. I will show you why you won't make it to Legon!"

He pushed Tedashii out of his way and made a dive for it. They all scram in his place as he gets more eager to reach the bottom. The demoniacs surrounded his landing spot despite him being one step ahead.

~Zone Prowess: Maintained Control!

A red barrier began to surround him, bursting with spirits and expanded the closer he got to the ground.

BOOM!!!

The explosion was heard as he landed. Everyone sheltered their vision except for Gaiyato and Martin. After all the current stopped lifting dust in the air, they looked down to witness half of the Demoniacs eradicated. Franco was surrounded by a red sphere, which seemed to disintegrate anything that was on its outside.

"WOHOO~!! ALL I HAVE TO DO IS KILL THEM?! EASY!!!" He shouted as he stood up on his feet and looked back up. "Hey, Interpreter, how many points is that?"

Everyone was confused.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention the point system. It goes like this: Survive, and that's 50 points. Kill demoniacs; that's 20 points added to your count. If you don't do either and don't get a single point, we liquidate you."

All the ronins stopped daydreaming and scrambled and ran towards the cliff. As they wanted to jump, another person got killed by a flunked rock, and their confidence vanished. They all panicked, guessing how to get down there or over the cliff. Franco was the only one who seemed to have made it down safely, so he began walking to the other end. He looked at the top, stretched his legs, then ran up the straight cliff. Everyone watched as he showed that he was not all talk. He lost momentum at the last steps, grabbed the top, and made it over.

"Hope you got inspiration, 'cause I'm surviving SOLO~!"

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?!?"

"THERE IS NO WAY WE'LL MAKE IT DOWN THERE!!"

Franco leaped to the top of the other end. As he looked forward, he saw a forest coated with trees. He turned around and smiled at everyone. "I'll see you guys after three days. That is, if the lizard men don't finish you off the first~♡."

*Winks

And he ran off into the forest. All the other ronins looked back at Martin. He took a chair from inside and sat down, then pulled out a watch already ticking from 08:46. "Time flies, boys and girls. Use it wisely."

They all froze in place without even a glimpse of hope on their faces.

"ONE, TWO, THREE, GO!!!"

A ronin was making his way past everyone at full speed. He ran as fast as he could right before he reached the edge. He suddenly caught fire as he jumped, then leaped downwards. The Demoniacs were throwing rocks in his direction, but they all went through his body. He spread his arms wide and glided safely to the other side. "YEAH!! I MADE IT BABY!!"

Another ronin ran towards the edge, but instead of jumping, he shot a rope with a hook on its end towards the fire ronin. The clip went right through him and grappled onto a tree. He then slid down using his gun as a grip and reached the other side.

"OI MAX!! THE HELL YOU SHOOT THIS CRAP THROUGH ME?!"

"It went through, and you're not dead. Quit complaining!"

They kept fighting on the other side of the cliff. Then the rope caught lightning as it prevailed towards the fire ronin.

"wait, wait wait WAIT!"

BZZZZTTT!!!

He got electrocuted as the shock left his body and took the form of another ronin.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't see the wire was through you, Yuro."

"DON'T PLAY DUMB HERE! YOU CAN SEE, CAN'T YOU?!"

The lighting ronin joined the dispute but was on Max's side. Then, two rays of light, one green and one yellow, flew past the other ronins. Two more ronins appeared; One had grey hair while the other wore green clothes like an elf. And finally, a girl jumped up in the air and began swinging herself to the other side. The other ronins couldn't imagine what was going on as she gripped onto thin air. As she landed, the dispute stopped, and Max made his way in front of them.

"Sorry to be so forward with the rest of you guys. My name is Makoto Blake, and we are The Elite Force. We don't care what will happen to the rest of you all,  but we will survive as a team!"

That was one guild, and a rogue Ronin confirmed to have entered the forest. Five minutes remained as the other ronins tried to make it through but either died by a flung rock or fell to the bottom…then died.

Tedashii was stressed, thinking of what he could do. He had two options in mind, but both had the same consequence of being killed by those fast rocks. While he was thinking to himself, a little boy held onto his shirt. Tedashii looked and noticed this short ronin staring at him.

"Oh, hey there, little guy. Is everything alright?"

He began to hum what he wanted to say. All the other ronins around them laughed, knowing that he wasn't being helpful, but somehow Tedashii managed to hear him.

"…HOW THE HELL DID I UNDERSTAND WHAT HE SAID??!!"

He went on Tedashii's back and hummed again. "Huh? You sure about that?"

He nodded his head. And so Tedashii took a deep breath and did what he suggested.

"HAKURAA!!!"

He used Surge and began running towards the rope.

"LOOK, EVERYONE. THE CALAMITY IS FINALLY GOING TO DIE FOR US!!"

The other ronins began to chuckle as Tedashii ran onto the rope, hoping to keep his balance with the kid on his back. The Demoniacs noticed what he was doing and began their home-run swings at him. He screams inside, thinking he will die, but then the rocks rebounded right before his eyes.

"WHOA! YEAH!!!" When they reached the other end, Tedashii gasped with relief, glad they were both alive. The little boy raises his hands in the air in astonishment. "Whew! That was a close one…"

The boy took off his mask and began talking to him.

*Marco

"Huh? Your name is Suzuki?"

*Marco

"You're a ronin?"

*Marco

"We are the same? Oh…okay. Well, my name is Tedashii Katsuno. Please to meet you, Su. Let's survive the two days as a duo."

Tedashii took Suzuki on his back and sprinted into the jungle. All the other ronins, in despair and anger, accepted their fate and ran to the rope. Some reached the end and paired up with anyone who seemed helpful. Others tried to make it to the other side, but the tree fell due to the inconvenient weight. And all those who were still on the rope fell with it.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" CRASH!!

The Demoniacs enjoyed a feast of vulnerable ronins, and the first phase was done. With a total of 64 ronins, only 24 remained in each quart. With Franco, the rogue, The Elite Force as a guild, Tedashii and Suzuki as a duo, and 15 other ronins entered the forest that would test their survival skills to their fullest.