The gates opened. A chorus of war cries, excited yells, and confident declarations echoed through the forest as the Misfit Class scattered like sparks in a storm.
Above, floating on a tree branch, Professor Balam adjusted his glasses.
"Remember, no counterfeits…" he murmured with a toothy grin. "I will know."
His eyes gleamed as he watched students dive into the jungle, blades drawn and baskets in hand.
--
[Asmodeus' Path of Solitude]
Deep in the dense forest, a deafening roar split the trees as a Sweet-Berian Tiger, its fur striped in candy pinks and whites, lunged toward a trio of students. The monster snapped its jaws, inches away from its prey—
Only to freeze mid-leap as a crimson boot slammed into its face.
Asmodeus Alice landed gracefully, his foot smoking with impact. The beast toppled in a daze before crumpling, unconscious. The three students stared in disbelief.
"H-He took it out in one kick…"
Asmodeus didn't answer. His elegant fingers brushed the hem of his sleeve as he walked past the defeated beast. His other hand trembled.
A tear traced down his cheek.
"Iruma-sama…" he whispered softly. "Why are we apart again?"
The sadness etched in his usually perfect features didn't stop his movements. He flowed from tree to tree, gathering herbs, catching rare birds mid-flight, and even milking a Sky Goat while balancing upside-down.
The students he saved could only watch in stunned silence.
--
[A Fiery Returns]
Nearby, Sabnock Sabro roared with joy as he tackled a Dire Fruit Ox into submission. He lifted the enormous creature overhead and slammed it to the ground.
"YES! You will serve as tribute to my conquest!!"
The beast groaned in defeat as Sabro tied it with a massive vine and threw it over his shoulder like a backpack.
Soon after, the two rivals—Asmodeus and Sabro—crossed paths again, each carrying more ingredients than most students could dream of.
"You're gathering Boss Class ingredients too, huh?" Sabro grinned.
"Of course," Asmodeus replied coldly. "The lower tiers are too mundane."
"Then we're in agreement," Sabro said. "We seek the highest: the Legend Leaf."
"No one has ever seen it," Asmodeus noted. "But that does not mean it does not exist."
"And if it doesn't?" Sabro asked.
"Then we simply become legends ourselves," Asmodeus said with a smirk.
--
[The Dorodoro Brothers' Challenge]
Before they could continue, a gust of wind swept through the trees—and two blurs dropped down in front of them.
Dorodoro and Androalphus, bare-chested, wild-eyed, and grinning from ear to ear.
"Yo, fancy boys," Androalphus drawled, cracking his neck. "Heard you're top dogs in the Misfit pack."
"We wanna test that," Dorodoro said, bouncing on his heels. "Right here, right now. No powers. No magic. Just fist and fang."
"Tch," Sabro scoffed. "You're not worth of Our sword and Flame."
"Agreed," Asmodeus said coldly. "It would be over too quickly if we used our abilities."
The Dorodoro brothers lunged.
--
Hand-to-Hand Perfection
What followed lasted only seconds.
Androalphus swung a punch at Sabro—only to find his arm caught. In a single spinning motion, Sabro hip-tossed him over his shoulder and into a tree trunk with a thunderous crack.
Dorodoro ducked low toward Asmodeus, aiming for a leg sweep—only to realize Asmodeus wasn't there anymore.
A strike hit him in the chest.
Not a punch.
Not a kick.
But the edge of Asmodeus' hand—precise, like a knife.
Dorodoro collapsed, winded, unable to rise.
Asmodeus dusted his gloves.
"And that's restraint."
Sabro rolled his shoulders.
"Come back when you're ready to really fight."
--
[The Hunt Resumes]
The two walked away, their opponents groaning in the dirt behind them.
"Boss Class next?" Sabro asked.
"Of course," Asmodeus replied. "And if fate allows… perhaps Iruma-sama will be there."
Their eyes burned with purpose.
--
The Dorodoro brothers dusted themselves off, each bearing new bruises but wide grins—unshaken by their brief defeat.
"Still full of fire, huh?" Niro—older of the two—laughed, wiping blood from his lip. "But we're not here to trade punches for fun."
Sabro raised a brow.
"Then why approach us with a fight in the first place?"
Niro crossed his arms, cocky grin unchanged.
"Because we overheard your plan. You're aiming for Boss Class ingredients and maybe even the Legend Leaf, right?"
Asmodeus's eyes narrowed.
"That information was not for your ears."
"Don't worry," Doro interrupted. "We're not here to steal it. We're here to raise the stakes."
The brothers stood tall now, a rare seriousness creeping into their usually playful tone.
"We propose a race," Niro said. "Our duo versus yours. First team to take down and collect a Boss Class beast wins."
Sabro smirked, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Winner takes all the loser's ingredients, I presume?"
"No," Niro said, his voice suddenly heavy.
"Then what?"
Doro's tone turned nostalgic, his gaze distant.
"We're looking for someone… Our old tutor. The one who raised us, trained us. We heard he's back... and now he's your instructor."
There was a beat of silence.
"Opera?" Asmodeus said slowly, eyes wide.
The brothers nodded.
"He left us years ago without a word," Niro muttered. "We don't want revenge. We just want to know why."
[Overseer's Booth – Watching the Wild]
High above, in a magically protected dome, Professor Dali and Professor Suzy lounged on conjured cushions, sipping hot tea as screens floated around them, each one showing different parts of the Harvest Arena.
Suzy cheerfully stirred her tea with a mushroom stalk.
"They're growing up fast, huh? So passionate, so dramatic—just like proper demons."
Dali chuckled, one eye tracking the heated exchange between the Dorodoro brothers and the Misfit elites.
"Youth is deliciously unpredictable. And those boys—Asmodeus and Sabnock—they're forming quite the name for themselves."
Suddenly, Suzy's ears perked. A different screen shimmered, showing Block 2, and her cup froze mid-air.
"Wait… do you feel that?" she whispered, her smile fading.
Dali leaned in. His ever-calm demeanor sharpened as he reached out and tapped the air, enhancing the scrying spell. The trees in Block 2 had begun to shift unnaturally. Roots tore through the earth. Fungal spores glowed in the air. Birds flew away in flocks, panicked.
"That's not normal forest movement," Dali said, voice low.
Suzy stood, her hand resting near the seal on her bracelet.
"No. That's someone—or something—awakening."
[Back to the Forest – The Challenge is Set]
The silence broke as Niro stepped forward and raised his hand toward Sabro and Asmodeus.
"So what do you say? Not for prizes. Not for rank. Just... a chance to be faster, stronger—and maybe get some answers."
Sabro stepped forward and gripped Niro's hand.
"A race it is. Hope you're not slow."
Asmodeus, arms crossed, gave a soft smile.
"Prepare yourselves. I will not allow second place—not even once."
The moment their hands released, the four demons vanished in different directions, leaping through trees, aura flaring, the race officially begun.
-
[Elsewhere – Iruma, Unseen]
In the quieter zones of the forest, Iruma knelt beside a strange plant glowing with red markings, unaware that the disturbance in Block 2 was slowly creeping in his direction…
His ring pulsed faintly.
His eyes glimmered—one crimson, one purple.
The forest was watching. And something… was calling.