Water falls from the tall rocks of the huge mountains. The base of the water is like a void, a gate leading to internal darkness. The light from above is insufficient to illuminate the bottom. It was quiet and empty; you can hear nothing but the sound of roaring water hitting the pool.
Suddenly, a splash occurred, followed shortly by another. The clown-masked man and Kenji have landed in the water. The clown man tries to swim away, but Kenji holds him underneath. They struggle to escape each other's grip when suddenly, something moves beneath them.
They feel a sudden change in the current, both glancing down simultaneously. Their eyes widen in shock. In the dark abyss, instead of rocks and moss, they see a huge scale extending deeper into the shadow. It's part of a massive snake.
They swim as fast as they can to the surface, giving everything to reach the side of the wide pool. They crawl to the muddy soil, panting and catching their breath. Kenji stands up and points his dagger at the clown-masked guy, who chuckles and stands up facing Kenji. His mask falls to the muddy ground.
In front of Kenji stands a young man with wide eyes, red lips, and a small nose. His bangs fall over his face. "I didn't know you were a girl?" Kenji asks, shocked.
"I'm a boy, you idiot," he shouts. "Tsk. This is why I cover my face."
He slowly takes out his katana from his back and points it at Kenji with one hand. "I don't recognize you," Kenji says, his dagger still raised.
"You're not a summon, are you?" Kenji interrogates. "You're right. I'm not," the man replies.
"Then why are you here? Who are you?" Kenji asks deeper.
"I am Quinn Ashfall of the Blackwoods. I am here to ensure Reilly is doing his job properly and to secure his success rate," he introduces.
Kenji sighs. "Even the name sounds girly. Quinn? Really?" he teases, pissing Quinn off.
"For your information, the name Quinn can be used for both male and female babies, just like Alex," he shouts in irritation.
Quinn sighs and brushes it off. "Anyway, I'm not here for you. I'm targeting Grey, Denber, and Bel. I just felt like testing you earlier, which is why I attacked you," Quinn changes the topic.
Kenji glares at him. "What do you want from Bel?" His face turns serious.
"Simple. They are not worthy," he answers.
"Worthy?" Kenji is confused.
"Yes, worthy. Including you and Reilly, there are only six summons left. Hender has leadership; he can easily assess situations and act accordingly. Fenny is agile, though reckless in fighting; his speed is exceptional. Reilly is a madman at fighting; he'll do everything to ensure his target is eliminated. You, on the other hand, are scary. You can eliminate anyone undetected. Our encounter in that cave made me view you in a different light. In the blink of an eye, you appeared in front of Reilly, nearly eliminating him. You are the true embodiment of a true assassin."
Kenji grinds his teeth. "Then why are you eliminating Grey, Denber, and Bel?" he asks angrily.
"Grey has nothing special. Denber has leadership like Hender, but his kindness can easily fool him. Bel is agile and surpasses most female summons, but she has too much emotion. That's why they need to be eliminated. They are trash that needs to be taken out."
This makes Kenji angrier. Quinn stares at him. In the blink of an eye, Kenji disappears. Quinn smirks and laughs. Kenji appears behind Quinn, stabbing him. But Quinn disorients before disappearing. Multiple Quinns appear, surrounding Kenji. "You are truly scary. I don't want to kill you. If we fight now, one of us might die."
Kenji looks around, trying to figure out the real Quinn. "It's either you or me. So instead of fighting, why don't you join us? You are a great asset; you just don't know it."
Kenji dashes and attacks one of the Quinns, but it disorients like smoke and disappears. This makes Kenji step back to the middle. "Why waste your time defending weaklings when you can use your talent to serve the king who brought you to this world?"
"King? What a joke," Kenji laughs. "That king only brought us suffering."
Bel's face flashes in his mind. "I want to become a counselor when I grow up. I want to put a smile on people's faces," young Bel smiled at Kenji. "Bel could have graduated college. She could have been helping people by now," Kenji glares at Quinn. "But you people ruined it."
Kenji throws his dagger, which Quinn catches. The other Quinns slowly fade away. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have much time left and have to prepare for the next phase of this forest. The next phase is The Plague—thousands of crows and rats moving around, devouring anything they find edible. You have to survive and come out of the forest. Maybe we could be friends," Quinn bids goodbye before disorienting and disappearing.
Kenji glances at the ground and drops his other dagger. He falls to his knees. Tears fall from his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Bel," he whispers. "If only I knew," he adds.
Quinn, watching behind a tree, smiles and walks away.
Grey and Denber reunite with Bel and Hender. They find Fenny stuck upside down in a tree, his feet tied to a branch. "What are you doing?" Denber asks.
"I'm stuck. Please help me," he pleads.
"You can just cut the rope with your dagger and free yourself," Bel replies, confused.
"Oh yeah." Fenny takes out his dagger and cuts the rope in one swing, landing on the floor. He grunts in pain and stands up.
"Where is Kenji?" Bel immediately asks Fenny. Hender clenches his fist upon hearing Kenji's name.
"He went after that clown-masked guy," Fenny says, brushing the dust off his suit. "Then we have to go after them before Kenji gets hurt," Bel demands.
"Don't worry. I'm fine," Kenji appears behind them, all wet.
"Where did you come from and why are you wet?" Bel presses, worried.
Kenji tries to explain, but Bel gets angrier. Denber notices a shadow moving on the floor. He looks up and sees thousands of crows flying around the sky. "That's a bad sign." Kenji and the others look up and see the same.
"We have to go back to the cave and seal every opening," he mumbles.
"What cave?" Fenny asks.
"The cave where we found those scribbles on the wall," Kenji replies. "Quinn informed me about this."
"Quinn? Is she a girl?" Bel asks, pouting.
"That's what I thought, but it turns out he is a boy," Kenji says, looking at his friends and seeing their confused faces. "That man who wears a clown mask."
Bel and Hender recognize him, but Grey and Denber are still confused. "Oh! You mean that man we are chasing?" Fenny asks.
"Yes. He told me that thousands of crows and rats will come out and devour everything they think is edible."
The others exchange glances, unsure of what to do. "What are you all confused about? We have to go back to the cave now," Kenji commands.
And so, they start climbing the huge mountain once again.