"What quest will you take?"

Rentaro watched quietly as the members of the Fourteenth Soul-Squad rushed toward the request board, each one eager to secure the best quest before the others.

Then he turned his gaze to Lucy. With a straight face, he said. "I’m going to take the fifth trial of the sanctuary."

The entire Fourteenth Soul-Squad froze where they stood.

The members who had already opened the doors to leave stopped in their tracks, their shocked gazes snapping toward Rentaro. Those who had been fighting over quests instantly fell silent, their eyes widening as they turned to him as well.

Even Eliza stood stunned, while Lucy, a woman who rarely seemed surprised by anything, remained speechless for a moment.

As she stared at Rentaro’s empty eyes and blank expression, a realization slowly settled over her.

He wasn’t joking, not in the slightest. He was completely serious.

"The fifth trial?" Eliza asked with a shaky voice, his talk about taking the fifth trial brought back the painful memories of the Supreme General back in the second trial, and the realization of how powerless they were against him.

In all honesty, she had no idea how they survived, even though she knew Rentaro was the last man standing.

"Your bravery is flattering Rentaro, but please I urge you to reconsider." Lucy begged.

The last person to attempt the fifth trial of the sanctuary had done so five years ago.

No one ever saw him again.

Since that day, not a single word, message, or trace of his existence had returned from beyond the fourth trial.

It was common knowledge among humanity that once a person passed the fourth trial, their chances of surviving the remaining trials plummeted to a terrifying two percent.

In other words, beyond that point, death was almost certain.

"I understand your concerns, but I won’t change my mind, I am taking the fifth trial."

Rentaro wasn’t just acting brave.

During his battle with Hypnos, he understood.

There were forces lurking beyond humanity’s understanding, beings so powerful that ordinary people couldn’t even begin to comprehend them. And now, those forces wanted him dead.

Regular missions and even A-Rank quests were no longer enough. Not with the abilities he possessed and the enemies that awaited him.

If he wanted to grow stronger, he needed challenges worthy of that strength.

And what challenge could be greater than the very trials that had been created to break humanity itself?

The captain of the fourteenth suddenly burst into a loud laughter.

His voice echoed throughout the room as he threw his head back, clutching his stomach.

The others stared at him while he continued laughing, unable to believe what he had just heard.

To him, Rentaro’s words sounded less like a plan and more like pure madness.

"You are as crazy as the rumors say, crazy enough that I like it! In that case, I say we will take the fifth trial of the sanctuary."

"What!? Captain, you can’t seriously consider us taking the fifth trial, that’s suicide!"

"Huh?" The Captain’s laughter died instantly.

His mouth slowly fell open as he glanced over his shoulder and looked down at Aiden.

"What? You don’t think my squad can handle the fifth trial?" His gaze grew colder, and he looked like he was about to flatten Aiden the very next second.

"N—No, not at all, captain." He responded quickly.

"I thought so." The Fourteenth captain said, returning his gaze back at the rest of his squad members.

"Alright, Here are the people I’ll personally hand select to raid the fifth trial! Support Soul-Hunter — Lisa!"

"Yes." She responded in a calm manner.

"Combat Soul-Hunters, Jackson!"

"Active Captain!" Jackson exclaimed.

"Aiden!"

"I really don’t want to, but if you insist, captain." He sighed.

"Eliza!"

"Um... Okay." She was hesitant at first, but she refused to let Rentaro get ahead of her anymore. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"And finally, our Hybrid Soul-Hunter, Lucy!" He exclaimed, turning to face her.

"As you wish, captain." She replied with a bow.

"The rest of you make yourself useful!" He ordered with a forceful shout.

"Yes sir!" All the squad members responded immediately, rushing toward the request board. Each grabbed a bid for a lower-ranked quest and swiftly ran out of the squad hall.

Now that they were all prepared, the seven Soul-Hunters — Jackson, Lisa, Eliza, Rentaro, Aiden, Lucy and the captain himself left the squad hall after equipping their necessary equipment and traveled straight towards the Soul-Hunters association.

..

The seven Soul-Hunters arrived at the Soul-Hunter Association and followed their captain into the base.

The group moved through the entrance casually, drawing a few glances as they passed.

At the front desk, their captain stopped and leaned against the secretary’s counter, a cigarette hanging loosely from the corner of his mouth.

"The 14th Soul-Squad is here, ready to obtain permission to take the trial of the fifth sanctua-"

"What? The 14th Soul-Squad ready? When has the 14th Soul-Squad ever been ready to take on anything?" A bold voice cut the captain off from behind, and everyone turned to see who it was.

Then, the captain of the fourteenth Soul-Squad intimidating look quickly faded, replaced by a stunned expression of disbelief.

"W—W—what!?" He exclaimed, his voice echoing through the room as his eyes locked with the captain of the seventh Soul-Squad, along with five of her members. The air around them grew tense, and even the breeze seemed to pause for a moment.

"Long time no see huh, Kazuki Matasuragi!" A loud feminine voice exclaimed, followed by laughter filled with mockery that echoed through the air.

"Misa!? What the hell are you doing here!?" He exclaimed.

Misa Veylir, also known as the captain of the seventh Soul-Squad.

Born of royalty, she left the Suzana empire after ascending to the fifth trial to hone her Soul-Core even further, and is currently one of the strongest Soul-Hunters in the kingdom just after a year of joining the association.

Taking her Soul-Squad to the top, they became the second best in the whole kingdom, at least according to last year’s ranking.

"Has living in poverty in that village of yours depreciate your reasoning? We are here to take the fifth trial of the sanctuary of course!" She chuckled as she spoke, her voice choke full of confidence and amusement, leaving everyone from both Soul-Squads standing in stunned silence.