Mika continued his training for another year, doing little to change his routine. Years had passed since trying to gain more mana and ki, and whereas he could have cultivated for a week normally to gain more, he continued his routine of refining only the purest mana and ki.

“Miki!” Ami lifted him up after breakfast, kissing his face all over, before rubbing her cheek against his.

‘There is a special place in the underworld for you, sister.’

Ami continued to embrace her brother tight, before letting him go. “Let’s go play.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him away, taking him outside. Mika had spent some time outside of the estate, his mother having decided he had gained enough stamina to do so.

A guard followed the young miss and her brother, where they headed towards the other noble estates nearby, finding the Storm Fist first.

“Good morning, young miss Black Hand,” the guard at the estate greeted.

“Good morning. Is the fifth young master inside?”

“He is. Shall I ask if he is free?”

“Yes, please.”

The guard invited the children inside to the visitor pavilion, before going to ask for the fifth young master. The fifth young master was a chubby, or well built as his mother would say, boy. He wore the dark blues of the Storm Fist family, with a silver sash around his waist.

“Good morning, sister,” the boy said, bowing his head stiffly.

“Good morning, Damien,” Ami replied, greeting him back with her palm over her fist, prompting both the boys to do so too, Damien having forgotten. “We’re going to play in the nearby forest today, will you come along?”

“Yes,” the boy replied, nodding his head emphatically.

They made their way to the Moon Moth estate, with another guard in tow, where they also procured the young Vasher Moon Moth, who joined the trio of children with his own guard as well.

The guards nodded to one another, following their young miss and young masters out. As children of the Patriarch, both Vasher and Gaiden were given the title of young master, Damien being the fifth son of the Patriarch, and Vasher being the third. As the son of the right hand and not the head, Mika was the young sir, though it was often easier for outsiders to ignore such etiquette, for the difference to them was negligible.

“Your young miss is always a delight to see,” the Storm Fist guard said.

“She is a breath of fresh air,” the Moon Moth guard confirmed.

“It is always a pleasure to see the young masters, who are always so respectable and polite,” Jak, the Black Hand guard, replied.

The guards remained on guard as they escorted the children around the town, their attires revealing their affiliation to the smaller noble families and commoners, who did their best to stay out of the way.

“Let’s go to the forest!” Ami finally declared to her guard.

“It’s dangerous in the forest, young miss,” Jak said, trying to stop her from getting too wild.

“You are Established Copper Nine,” the girl replied, her hands at her sides. “You are strong.”

“Young miss, please show mercy,” the Storm Fist guard said. “I am only Established Copper Eight.”

Ami looked to the Moth Moon guard, her small, innocent eyes expectant. The guard tried to resist her gaze, but he found himself too weak to deal with the hopeful eyes of a child.

“I am Established Copper Ten,” he eventually admitted.

‘How could you show me up in front of my own young miss?’ Jak thought, sending the words with his eyes.

Ami smiled. “Do you see? It is good fortune to go to the forest today.”

“How is it good fortune?” Jak asked.

Ami’s lips turned into a sly, cunning smile, the girl looking more like a fox than a girl. “Ten is more than nine.”

Jak could not fault the logic behind her statement, but he had no idea what that had to do with going into the nearby forest.

“Do not worry, because I am strong too,” Ami said. “Nothing will happen, assuredly!”

‘Young miss, how cute can you be to use such great words,’ Jak thought, before sighing. “As you say, young miss.”

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Mika narrowed his eyes. He could feel it. The chill within the air. The tingling sensation at the back of his neck. The warmth in his heart.

“It is not as though the hording will occur,” the guards whispered between one another.

‘Why did you have to raise all these death flags?’

The group made their way out towards the forest, and within moments, they could hear the soft growling of the white wolves, which surrounded them. Their mighty jaws shook as they growled at the seven humans which had entered their forest, and they cautiously approached.

“Young miss, it seems we are unfortunate,” Jak said, clenching his fists as they darkened.

Ami thought hard to a rebuttal. “We will eat white wolves today!”

By the time she had thought of her rebuttal, Jak had already slipped his fingers into the wolves’ skulls, killing them in a near instant, while the other guards had also dispatched the wolves on their side, before immediately withdrawing to the children.

Ami clapped her hands, and so did the other children, at how quickly the wolves had been dispatched. If these were guards from smaller noble houses, or perhaps an escort agency, they would have no doubt struggled, but these guards were the guards of the major houses within the town.

“Young miss, are you sure it is a lucky day today?” Jak asked.

“It is very lucky,” Ami said, nodding her head, and with that, she led them further into the forest.

The children tried to find some berries to eat and bring home for their families, scanning across the bushes. The guards kept an ear and eye out around the surroundings, as though the forest wasn’t dangerous for them, they couldn’t allow even a single hair on their charges to be touched by any beasts or villains.

“Miki, look,” Ami called, revealing some wild berries she found.

Mika bit into the wild berry she offered. It was a dull red, and tasted slightly sour, with a hint of sweetness. His ears twitched and he glanced to the side. A twig snapped and the guards tensed up, the Black Hand and Storm Fist guard stepping between the children and the noise, while the Moon Moth guard remained behind, his eyes darting around the place.

Emerging from the bushes, the wolf stepped forward. It was not a simple wolf, for though it appeared to look the same as the previous wolves which had appeared, there was a tiny, white gem within its forehead. Mika could see the ki which pulsed from it.

Ami, Damien, and Vasher each quickly stepped towards one another, while Ami pulled Mika beside her.

The guards could feel something in the air, something which tickled the back of their necks. Wordless, the guards understood they were outmatched. The wolf growled, and the Black Hand and Storm Fist guards leapt forward to fight the wolf, while the Moon Moth guard ushered the children away.

“Quickly! We must leave now, young masters!” the guard exclaimed, urging them forward.

‘Oh. So it’s come a year early?’ Mika blinked, feeling the great power from the creature, which surpassed any of the guards by quite some ways. He followed the children and the Moon Moth guard out, all the while they could hear the sounds of combat behind them. They leapt through the forest, the sounds of the branches shifting as they fled keeping them company.

The wolf howled from far too close, and the Moon Moth turned on his heel, meeting the wolf in combat. They clashed for a moment, the wolf’s bloody maw covered in the guts of the loyal and brave.

“Continue fleeing, young master,” the Moon Moth guard grunted, slashing at the wolf with one of his blades which seemingly appeared from nowhere. He raised a hand to his face, and small balls of light floated out, striking the wolf, which shook its head, taking a blow to its side from the guard, but its vicious maw tore the guard’s arm out.

“We have to go!” Ami grabbed Mika’s arm and pulled him along as the other two darted beside her. Ami was the fastest, but was slowed down by Mika. The boys had darted ahead, but they slowed slightly to not leave the brother and sister behind.

The guard had no chance to quip with the wolf, doing his best to defend himself rather than kill the wolf. He dashed from side to side, deflecting as many claws swipes and bites as he could, though the wolf continued to kill him with a thousand tiny cuts. As his blood trickled across the floor, the Moon Moth guard slowed, finding his neck within the maw of the beast, slumping dead.

“Don’t stop running!” Ami shouted, still rushing through the forest, towards the nearby town, though they still couldn’t see anything through the trees yet.

The wolf leapt in front of the children, sniffing the air, trying to find the source of the delicious smell. It was so sweet and so pure. It sniffed towards Mika, causing Ami to step ahead of him. It growled, blood and spittle flying out from its maw, the shadow of a smirk appearing on its face.

“Keep running!” Ami said, taking the first stance of the Black Hand technique, her hands extended out, ready to fight.

‘Why are you even trying to fight?’ Mika raised his brow towards his sister. ‘It’ll kill you all, mother and father will try to save me, die to another group of wolves, and then I’ll get revenge…’ Mika remained completely relaxed, waiting for everything to die around him.

“I am Ami Black Hand!” Ami roared, dashing towards the wolf.

“I am Damien Storm Fist!” Damien roared, charging forward after Ami.

‘I’m surrounded by fools,’ Vasher thought, but he also darted forward, understanding that it would be best for them to fight together rather than for him to die alone after being chased down.

The wolf danced between the three children, slashing at them, easily punting the three children aside with ease, knocking them out with a single blow. Mika yawned, waiting for his parents to arrive, all the while the wolf pawed closer to the young boy, whose heart was calm as the ocean at noon.

“Stop it!” Ami shouted, taking her stance again, before she shot forward. The wolf turned to meet her, and swatted her away, striking her side with its claws, cutting into her skin.

Mika made a small, involuntary noise, as Ami stood up once again and tried to punch the wolf, only for it to bite into her hand, flinging her aside as she slammed into a tree. Once more, Mika made another involuntary noise, his body filling with heat.

‘Ah, right,’ Mika thought. ‘I still owe her for letting me read in peace during the afternoons.’

The wolf turned, lickings its mouth, tasting the blood of the three guards it had recently slaughtered, before pawing towards Mika. Mika could still sense the breathing of the three. ‘So you were just playing around with them?’

“Why are you giving me such an arrogant look, mutt bastard?” Mika asked, his eyes flashing darker.

The sweet, pure scent filled the air, and the wolf began to salivate, still approaching the young boy. It leapt up into the air as the entire area filled with the sweet scent, and the wolf could no longer help itself, ready to consume the little boy..

“Heavenly Demon’s First Form, Unrelenting Force.”