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Flame’s hair trigger instincts almost caused him to take the boy's head off. The sudden squeeze of arms around his waist caused him to immediately pivot to a new threat. His hands were only an inch from his assailants head before he heard them snap in a sort of whisper yell, “Stop you idiot!” Flame saw Rumble, holding him while sweating wildly. Half from the sporadic wounds that STILL weren’t healed, half from the fear of getting his head blown off by a wild fireball. Flame didn’t say a word as he brought his palm back down and continued to charge despite his companion.

His eyes flicked into thin slits as he looked back at the monster who had made him look small. His yellow balls of flame’s that fueled in his hands lit up the space around his arms with a transparent ball of energy right on the outside. The spirits in the shadows began to hiss as Flame moved his head left and right, on a tilt. Openings. Openings. Openings.

The boy growled silently to himself as his mind moved thirty miles a second. Where could he throw it? What would be the right space to light this oni up like a christmas tree? Soooo many choices.

“Flame…” Rumble silently begged, but Flame had his horse blinders too tight on his head.

The leg? Imagining the proctor hobbling was an amazing thought. Making the fool hardy monster have to crawl on his belly. Or what about the arm? Specifically the sword one.

It would be inspired. The SOUNDS that would tear their way out of the monster's throat! Having it lose it’s most developed feature in an instant, by someone he looked down upon. Rendered entirely useless! Too many choices.

But none that would leave you satisfied.

His heart wouldn’t stop beating. He wanted nothing more to destroy the man who had assumed he had control over him and the cradle. To crush the will of the man who had taken that very thing from the people around him. To…

To…

He breathed.

Flame breathed.

HIs ears were probably burning and the fire in his hand looked almost liquid in their viscosity and flecked off the pink embers of his patron.

Flame looked up at the oni and saw that the man had stopped addressing the rest of the group. The monster stood up as straight as a bow string with his hand resting on his sword. And while the others, probably as a default state, Flame noticed that the muscles in his hand were pulsing, and his knuckles were white around the hilt.

He’s–waiting for me to attack him. Or he’s goading me, and trying to get me to attack him in a blind rage.

The last time he jumped into a fight, Warrior died. He–didn’t know the oni. Knowing himself, he knew how far some people would go at the hint of disrespect. If he were him and some upstart believed he could just march in and beat him despite being so young…

He grinded his teeth and got angrier when he saw the look on the oni’s face. “D-Damnit.” He said in response, but had to immediately trust his better judgment.

He’d have to express his discontent in some other way. Flame couldn’t just overpower this. He had to do anything else, or else, his team might gp down to three members.

The Flame in his hand dispersed in a design of thorny roses, and despite how cool this new design choice looked, he was in no mood to properly appreciate it. The shadow’s slowly died down and the earth around the two of them slowly changed back to normal. Flame tried to get his breath back in order, and looked to see if there was even a chance the oni was doing the same. He watched the monsters back and watched his torso expand and shrink like nothing had even happened back here. Step. Step. Step. Each step was so smooth. Too smooth. And as the man turned around, Flame saw it.

A bead of sweat.

Something.

At least something.

Shoji started like nothing had even happened, speaking matter of factualy and gesticulating with one straight hand. “The final test will be a hunt.” He looked at Flame for a second seeing if the boy would voice any more complaints. He didn’t. He looked around to the rest of the cradle. They didn’t.

He crouched the ground and placed an open palm onto the ground. Quickly, his shadow began birthing others, shooting them out like wet ink across the floor. Flat circles that expanded and jellatnously morphed as they moved farther away from their creator.

They popped and made disgusting cracking noises, then slowly rose as an amorphous 3D shape that was shifting in front of their eyes. “We have drawn a white line around this area of the forest. So long as no one leaves the white line, you will have adults monitoring you and will be “Relatively” safe.”

No one believed that. “You will be hunting anything that you believe you can reasonably kill, if you die this time that’s on you.”

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The man yawned and everyone jumped as the shadows suddenly jostled. “Horned rabbits, Green pigs, Flame hawks, Slimes, Talluses…” as he listed monsters the shadows quickly changed shape to meet his will. It shifted from one to another in quick fashions that Flame, begrudgingly, found impressive. “...And if you’re feeling bold you can also do some of the higher class monsters. Any evolutions of the monsters I previously mentioned or Great sloths, BABY shadow sharks, or any aquatic monster.”

Misty raised her hand.

“...What is it lesser.”

“Um,” like Rhodney she watched as she was very careful with her words, thinking before she spoke now, “Why, are “Any aquatic monsters,” listed as strong?”

It was a good question, but Shoji sighed like she’d just asked something really stupid. Thankfully, everybody was puzzled. The man had no excuse to make anyone else feel small to boost his own superiority. The shadows shifted into large aquatic looking lizards and fish that began swimming around them.

“Aquatic monsters are special. They’re adapted to an environment that the demon class isn't very good at dealing with. A majority of you have fire magic, and it isn’t very good at dealing with underwater enemies.” The shadows shifted to a creature that looked like them, but a lot taller, and lacking the horns and tails. It had this large plating around its body and armor that was bulky.

“The only thing worse than that for us is holy magic, which I encourage you to stay away from. For any inexperienced opponent it is a nightmare, and most of the time instant death. It is frequently wielded by… humans…”

He trailed off in thought and–gulped? How powerful would a “Human?” need to be for it to invoke that reaction.

“On that, we will talk about what you should avoid when down there.”

Besides the human shadow, the rest began to grow and expand into terrifying beasts that Flame immediately knew were bad news. Large teeth and maws that looked like they could consume the sun. Beasts so tall and large that they made Nike look like nothing.And along with them, he saw a bunch of creatures that looked misshapen and broken.

The shadow of this oblong mammal with a long nose and claws that had bird wings haphazardly tossed onto it. This gigantic cylindrical insect with two wolfs heads attached to it, and a creature that looked like the “human” but with a large bulging arm that hung lopsided on it. The silhouette had no mouth, but Shoji’s one gave the illusion of pain and seizure.

“Chimera’s and Alphas.”

The shadow dropped with a weight that made him sick to his stomach.He watched the spider's leg lock and bounce as it landed with a surprisingly real thud. The only thing that told him that it wasn’t real was the surprising amount of echo and reverb that seemed to thum thum thum past his flesh, past his skeleton, into his soul.

The very real fear made Flame start to question who really got the better end of this whole magic thing. Unmade yet made. Whole yet very empty. The creature moved too uniquely to be a figment of the oni’s imagination. The way it moved its head. The way its long scorpion tail stitched onto its unwilling host tinged with pain with every step. This wasn’t something he was showing to scare us.

It was something that scared him.

“Chimera’s are creatures from the deep that we know very little about. As the name implies, they’re disgusting creatures that have been smashed together by something monstrous.” The spider manticore creature started to vibrate, screeching into the sky. The pain it felt was apparent, and the result was even worse. Terrible silhouette wings sprouted from a sprinkle of black ichor that sprayed and hit the children. Chunks of artificial flesh landed on Flame and Rumble.

It cried as its legs hung awkwardly. Pulled down as it’s body flapped in the air. “They’re not dangerous because of the fact that they’re a bunch of creatures smashed together, They’re dangerous because of their unpredictability.” It attacked with various methods in the air, swinging its talons with weight that kept knocking it off course from its steady flight. Bit, spewed black liquid that Flame had to assume was some kind of poison. It looked… wrong.

“You will not fight them if you see them. As you can see from our Flame right here, the battles are not favorable,” Flame sneered, “If you choose to throw your life away for some honor, at least return to this place to find one of us to watch over your fight. I will warn you though, if you waste our time and don’t win, or run away after bringing attention from your siblings you will be immediately disqualified.”

In other words, don’t ask for their help. Another lesser raised their hand, and Flame heard Shoji audibly suck his teeth. Huh? He watched a vain appear in the adults head as one of the children was actually asking for information? Flame didn't know why he was so pressed. “Yes, lesser.”

“Would bringing back a chimera or an alpha be more favorable for our spot in the colony?” Navy asked. Shoji did a mix of a snicker and a scoff. “I doubt you have the mana or the strength to do either child.” Condescending tone aside, he waved his hand and they watched as the creature exploded into a rain of black.

Whenever any black rain got too far outside the radius, they hit a wall like they were inside a funnel. Whatever didn’t hit the wall slid down the side of the air like it was trapped into glass. As it slid down and met the rest of it, it started to grow and grow.

Any chimera made for the other examples clambered toward the mass that was quickly growing pass the size of anything that Shoji had made thus far. They felt their bodies begin to vibrate, and the voices began to slowly start coming back. Shoji kept his palm on the ground, but quickly, Flame noticed his breaths getting a little more labored. His shoulders a little less sharp, his eyes a little more drowsy.

Flame watched as the mammal that towered above them, who’s knees were already as tall as three of him. It’s long snout that hung oddly and with a long tongue that was big enough to be a monster in its own right. The fluffy birdlike tail on the creature’s behind. And it’s claw’s that shone even in its shadow. He didn’t feel fear, more intrigue. Shoji let the creature sit for a second, letting it sniff around. He let it move around with it’s heavy steps to scare those with a lesser will. Before saying,

“When it comes to Alpha’s, they are beings beyond common sense. Creatures who either were born far, FAR above their peers, or have grown to be that way. Your tier threes and fours, Your megafauna that took years before emerging. Your creatures who’ve lived in hardship and come to the surface to feast.” He looked to Navy.

“You may think that you’re something special, you may think that you’re someone who can deny your place at birth and climb up to wear the colors like I do. But there’s something you don’t realize. Infrount of monsters who were just born strong, born better, you are nothing. You are but an ant to them. A speck on the cosmic scale. If someone like you, not only a babe imp, but a lesser,” This time the venom was a little too thick. His face contorted into a look of disgust as he looked at Flame’s peer. The memory of a that long tongue that could’ve eaten them all whipped into the air and snapped back with a speed that made it almost appear like there were twenty of them, Blurring and weaving.

“You’d lose.”