Reaching the End

          The sky darkens with Alia's large orb of light fading away. Adrion and Dark Splatter stare at the witch, waiting for her to make a move. She extends her right arm out in front of her, and the golden spider legs fly forwards. Dark Splatter unleashes a large amount of black fluid out in front and forms it into a wall. Adrion splashes the wall with the right amount of hydrogen peroxide and makes the non-Newtonian fluid.

          "THUD! THUD! THUD!" the shield blocks the hits.

          Adrion and Dark Splatter run forward together, both on guard to defend at any given moment. The witch creates the eight golden spider legs sprouting from her back and then creates two smaller ones in the ground in front of her. Dark Splatter creates two makeshift swords, and Adrion mixes water into them. The eight rods attack continuously while Adrion and Dark Splatter use their weapons to fend them off. When they reach the two smaller golden legs in front of the witch, Dark Splatter becomes oozy and wraps himself on all ten rods. Adrion splashes water on Dark Splatter to harden him and hold the rods still. Adrion surrounds his fists in black fluid and hardens them with water. He boosts his punch using some of the pent-up energy from creating water. He gets four punches in on her, and the witch flings back. The hardened black mass around his fist break and shards fall.

          With all ten golden spider legs broken, Dark Splatter squeezes all the water out of him and regains his normal consistency.

          "It pains me when you hit me like this. After all the great plans I've made for you? One day you'll understand the greatness you're destined for. For now, I can't have you interfering. Otherwise, it'll mess with my plans for you," says the witch.

          Adrion replies to her, "I don't care. I don't intend for your plans to come to fruition. I'll make sure of it, witch."

          "I'd prefer if you referred to me using my name," she demands.

          "I will not."

          Adrion extends his right hand out to his side. Dark Splatter does the same but with his left hand. Their hands are equal in height off the ground. They infuse their abilities to mix them. They both launch their hands forward, and multiple rows of dark spikes launch forward, creating a mountain range of hardened spikes. The witch creates a ridiculous amount of golden spider legs and commands them to collide with the combo move.

          Adrion controls some of the black fluid and shapes it into a staff. He mixes water into it and also creates a massive wave of hydrogen peroxide below him. Dark Splatter mixes into the wave. Adrion creates a small platform to act as a surfboard, and he rides the wave forward. Whenever an attack gets too close, Dark Splatter raises himself around Adrion and protects him.

          Using the long staff, Adrion smacks down at the witch. She protects herself from the attack and assaults them again with the golden rods. Dark Splatter instantly protects Adrion and secretly extends a part of his body near the witch to expel the force of her attacks back to her.

          "You've grown so much together. Your teamwork is phenomenal. Here I thought that fiend only attached himself to you to protect himself. You've domesticated him well," The witch grins.

          "Don't you dare insult one of my friends!" Adrion yells and creates enough water to fill a large pool. He uses all of the excess energy from making that water to add a powerful current to make a water spout. Dark Splatter separates himself from the hydrogen peroxide and uses some of the water to create large sharp needles. He launches them to impale the witch, but she wraps herself in the golden legs. The needles ricochet off it, and Dark Splatter maneuvers them away to attack again. Adrion makes the top of the water spout go into itself and slams it down onto the witch. The weight and force of the water put a lot of compression stress on the golden spider legs. With fissures appearing on the legs, Dark Splatter's needles drive deeper into her golden material.

          "I really don't want to hurt you. Why don't we just go our separate ways," says the witch.

          "As if I'd believe that. I won't let you have Alia, regardless of your intentions," Adrion replies.

          "Hahahaha. Look at you acting so heroic. Where was that heroism seven years ago?" she asks. Using her raw power, she creates a massive outburst to eliminate all the black mass and water. She swiftly wraps her golden spider legs around Dark Splatter, sealing any openings to prevent escape. "You haven't reached your full potential yet. You're no match for me right now. I was only here to see that girl's potential. I'm no longer interested in taking her. I'll be on my way now," she informs Adrion and walks away.

          Adrion controls some of the black fluid, shapes them into a curved blade, and then mixes water into them. He adds spin and launches them at the witch. She turns around and covers her left hand in her golden material to hit away the attacks. "You've even gained that fiend's ability? Hahahaha. This is why you've piqued my interest so much. Oh, you're going to be so perfect," she continues walking away.

          Adrion sees a bright orange light fly past him. The fireball continues flying and crashes into the witch, setting all the surrounding foliage on fire.

          "There was a clear message sent that students we're not allowed to confront anyone," Yaketsuku says as he walks and stops next to Adrion.

          "Sorry. There was another student in danger. I had to hold her back while my friends took her to safety," Adrion tells him.

          "I see. Now, why don't you go on and get out of here? I'll take it from here," Yaketsuku tells him.

          "No can do. If I leave, you have to leave as well. Magic doesn't work on her, but my black fluid does since it isn't magic," Adrion responds.

          Yaketsuku looks at him, "I've got more ways to fight than relying on my magic. If you continue to disobey me, I will have you expelled."

          "Expulsion doesn't matter to me. As long as she's out of the picture, that's all that matters to me."

          "Is that so," Yaketsuku says, unleashing his powerful magic. In a flash, he leaps over to the witch and launches a frightening punch surrounded by flames. The witch blocks his fist with a golden rod, but Yaketsuku's fist goes right through. The flames in his hand and the magic Yaketsuku was using vanishes, and his fist collides with another golden rod.

          "When he said magic doesn't work on me, it also meant that I can completely negate it. It is completely useless on me. I allowed the students to use their magic because they were too weak to hurt me. You on the other hand. I have to be a little careful. Hahahaha," she laughs and attacks Yaketsuku. Adrion protects him by surrounding him in the non-Newtonian fluid and absorbing the hits.

          "I'm disappointed in you. You used to be an immoral person. I'd hope to turn you into a powerful puppet. That wish was trashed ever since you turned. You're better off dead." she says as she creates more golden spider legs. She glances at Adrion for a second and attacks with a wider range. Adrion tries to expand the shield but can't use magic to move more hydrogen peroxide to mix with the black fluid. He focuses on moving the flexible shield that is already there to protect Yaketsuku. With all the attacks blocked, Yakestuku gets close and fights her using only his fists.

          Yaketsuku swings his fists, but the witch blocks most of the hits with her abilities. Anytime the witch attacks, Adrion moves the shield and takes the hits. Adrion didn't expect the witch's attack to come from below the ground. The golden material encloses Adrion just as it did with Dark Splatter. Yaketsuku leaps back from hearing the noise. He notices Adrion is enclosed in the material and can no longer see and defend him.

          "What are you going to do without a shield?" she asks him.

          "I have no intention of throwing in the towel," Yaketsuku responds. Without a shield protecting him, he splits up his attention to dodge the attacks. Even with all the odds against him, Yaketsuku proves his strength is immense. He still holds his own in battle without the ability to cast magic to attack or defend himself. With the pure strength of his muscles, he breaks away the golden material and lands powerful blows on the witch. He keeps track of all the rods that she controls and perfectly avoids them. He socks her a couple more times and avoids the incoming attacks.

          The fight continues for another half hour until the witch is sick of it. She creates hundreds of golden spider legs and swarms Yaketsuku completely. However, his fighting spirit hasn't wavered. With a yell, he continues punching away at the rods attacking him, breaking them. He destroys the last one and stares at the witch. He notices a golden rod behind her, impaled into the ground.

          "Crap," he yells as a rod from the ground stabs into his gut. Another one sprouts from the ground, but Yaketsuku destroys it. The witch creates her usual array of eight spider legs and uses them to attack simultaneously. Yakestuku destroys five of them, but the other three impale him. One in his left shoulder, another in his right shin, and the third into his right arm. Yaketsuku spits up blood and falls to the ground. The witch creates one more and aims for his head for the finishing blow.

          Adrion, who managed to make a crack in his trap, sees Yaketsuku being impaled, "Dark Splatter!"

          At that moment, Dark Splatter erupts from his cage. He had been expanding the whole time, putting pressure and tension on the enclosure. It finally gives in and shatters. With all the excess black fluid, he grabs Yaketsuku on Adrion's command and shatters Adrion's enclosure. After picking Adrion up, Dark Splatter makes a run for it with extreme speed.

          The witch was honest about no longer being interested. With the thought that Yaketsuku isn't going to last long, she creates a void below her and returns to her home, wherever that may be.

          Once they get some distance away, Dark Splatter comes to a stop. He turns to Adrion and mutters something that resembles "She's left."

          Adrion exhales loudly in relief, "good. Okay, Dark Splatter, please return." Dark Splatter oozes down into a sludge and crawls up his sleeve. Adrion creates an enclosure around Yakestuku and runs down the mountain with him. Adrion speeds up by surfing down on a wave he made. He reaches the starting point and notices the sign of a battle that occurred here. He spots a lot of the proctors patrolling the area. Adrion runs over to Abelone since she is the closes.

          "Where have you been? Did you not get the alert?" She yells at him for being concerned. "We were about to send a search party-" she is cut off.

          "I can explain later. Is there a healer? Yaketsuku needs help now," Adrion says while moving the platform in front of him and opening it up.

          "Oh my God! Here I'll take him. Get back with the other students so you can be marked present," she says. Abelone grapes the entire platform and carries it off to see Vanera.

          Adrion heads for the crowd of students. Zoltan stops him with a clipboard in hand. "Name?" he asks.

          “Adrion Engel,” he replies.

          "Okay, you're the last one. Go over there and await further instructions," Zoltan tells him while pointing at the crowd of students.

          Adrion continues walking. Ringo comes out from the crowd of students and hugs Adrion. "Thank god you're okay."

          "Is Kazuo and his team here?" Adrion asks him.

          "Yes. Vanera has treated Kazuo, Hideo, and Alia. They're going to be fine. They're currently resting," Ringo tells him.

          Adrion's friends from the dormitory also come out. "What happened to her?" Harper asks.

          "She left. I was barely able to get Yaketsuku out of there. I don't know if he'll make it with his injuries," Adrion replies.

          "He's a tough guy. I'm sure the country's strongest man will live through it," Ringo tries to laugh it off.

          "What happened here?" Adrion asks.

          "A bunch of attackers got through. They were responsible for the explosion and pulled a fast one on the proctors. While they were off fighting an army of disguised golems, the real attackers came after the students. Luckily Abelone, her assistants, and some of the purple coats here fought them off until the other proctors returned. The attackers have been apprehended. None of the students have been hurt, but some of the proctor's assistants lost their lives defending us."

          "I see," Adrion replies.

          "Adrion. Please come with me for a moment," Abelone returns.

          All the other students are told to set up tents and camp out for the night. The proctors and their assistants also pitched tents to stay in the area. Adrion follows Abelone into the cabin, where Vanera is healing Yaketsuku. As he walks in, he spots Kazuo, Hideo, and Alia resting on floor mattresses.

          "Over here," Abelone tells him and goes down a hall. She opens a door and spots Yaketsuku's team inside as Vanera heals him.

          Dragana approaches Adrion, "you're the one who brought Yaketsuku back? What happened, and why were you with Yaketsuku when he was fighting?"

          "An enemy was targeting Alia. My friends got to her before me and tried to rescue her. As you probably know, some of them were injured and are resting along with Alia. When I got there, I decided to fend off the enemy while my friends escaped," Adrion explains.

          "What happened to this enemy?" Remi butts in.

          "Before Yaketsuku joined the fight, she claimed she was no longer interested and was leaving. Yaketsuku joined and ordered me to leave. I warned him that he would have to leave too, because magic doesn't work on the enemy. She can nullify it completely. If he wanted to stay, I had to stay as well. My black fluid is effective against the enemy. He chose to fight. Without being able to use magic, he put up one hell of a fight. I focused on defending him with my non-Newtonian shield. The enemy trapped me, and Yaketsuku continued fighting for a while. It took half an hour for me to fissure on the enclosure only to spot Yaketsuku stabbed through the gut. With more incoming attacks, he destroyed all the ones heading for his vitals but couldn't block all of them."

          "If you were trapped, how did you get Yaketsuku?" Dragana asks.

          "I broke out of the trap and grabbed Yaketsuku to make a run for it. The enemy wasn't interested in a chase and vanished. That's when I made my way down the mountain and found Abelone," Adrion finishes.

          "I see. Do you have any idea why Alia was being targeted? I can come up with a few theories regarding her status, but I want to confirm," Dragana continues questioning.

          "I think she said something about being interested in her and seeing her potential," Adrion tells her.

          "Hmm, I see. Investigators will be here soon. We'll explain what you told us, but they may need to speak with you. If you can just show us where the battle took place, that'll be great. After that, you'll be free to rest. Let's go." Dragana tells him.

          "Okay," Adrion responds.

          Dragana walks out the door, and Adrion follows her.

          "I'll set up a tent for you," Abelone tells him and walks away.

          The next morning, Zoltan stands in front of the crowd of students and swings his arm down. The race has resumed, and all the students make a run for it. There are no head starts for anyone. Every student starts at the same time. Adrion and his friends attempt to get ahead of everyone. With a larger group consisting of Kazuo and his team, they cannot pull off the same stunt as before. Alia quickly takes the lead with no effort. Proctors are scattered throughout the mountain for added security while investigators and other authorities remain at the base.

          While the race is in progress, Yaketsuku wakes up. Vanera, who is sitting near him, notices and approaches him.

          "Is everyone okay?" he asks.

          "Somewhat," Vanera responds. "All the students are fine. A few were injured, but they're fine now. They're participating in the race as we speak. A few of Abelone's assistants lost their lives defending the students. Olev is still resting, and you were healed just in time." A tear drips down her cheek. "It was way too close. If it were another few minutes… I don't think we'd be having this conversation."

          "I'm sorry. It was reckless of me to do that. I was lucky there was someone with me to get me out of there. Remind me to thank him properly," Yaketsuku responds. Vanera nods her head in agreement.

          "Once you're rested, investigators want to hear a statement from you," Vanera tells him.

          Yaketsuku sighs, "Alright. What do they already know about the enemy I was fighting?"

          "They questioned Adrion about her. So whatever he knows, I'm sure they found out," Vanera says.

          Yakestuku sits up in bed. "What are you doing? You should be resting," Vanera scolds him.

          "Sorry, but there's something I must confirm before I give my statement to the authorities," Yaketsuku tells her and gets up.

          Just after midnight, the race concludes. To no one's surprise, Alia came in 1st place. Roland made it to the gates in 2nd place, with Honoka right behind in 3rd. Adrion makes it through the gates in 9th place with his friends behind him. He decided to stay with them on the race instead of leaving them behind. They all helped each other out and passed through the gates in a good position compared to if they hadn't helped each other. After the race, all the students are glad that the training camp is over.

          In front of the Silver Gates, there is a raised platform. Yaketsuku stands at the center with his team and all the proctors who helped at his side. Behind them is a small but tall wooden wall with the names and pictures of those who lost their lives in the battle.

          Yaketsuku clears his throat before announcing, "Congratulations, everyone. You have passed the training camp. We had some unfortunate events happened the other day. Luckily we had heroes who gave their lives to protect you guys. They will forever be remembered in our hearts. Let us take a moment of silence for them."

          Everyone closes their eyes and remains silent for a minute.

          Yaketsuku continues, "you all did remarkably. There are 743 of you remaining. This camp is meant to test your current limits. Remember what they are and surpass them with everything you have. Remember your peers that did better than you and strive to overcome them. You will return to this training camp next year as 2nd-years. We'll be able to see how much you've improved. The trials past the Silver Gates are much more hellish and challenging. Even the current top students will have immense difficulties if they stay as they are. Become the most powerful so that I may see you pass the next two Gates that await you!"

          All the proctors clap for the students after Yaketsuku's speech. All the proctors and their assistants guide the students down to the base of the mountain. The buses are parked with their doors open. The students exhaustedly board the busses, and the busses fire up to head back.