Demon Core Exorcist

7. The Path of Endurance

The wall behind Jin sealed shut with a heavy clang.

He was alone now.

The hallway ahead was short, ending in an archway carved with the image of two armoured hands pressed together. Faint lines of orange light ran through the carvings like veins.

Just like Nathan, Jin also felt like he couldn't use energy, but just to confirm, he performed some hand seals, but nothing happened. 

Jin wasn't surprised. He quickly put the camera away. While this was peak entertainment, he didn't know if what would come next could destroy the camera, and other than that, he had a feeling that if he recorded this and it got out, it would be troublesome for both him and Nathan. 

And he didn't want that.

As Jin stepped through, the floor beneath him hummed.

The chamber he entered was huge, a wide, circular arena with high walls made of dark stone. The floor was divided into large, square tiles, each one glowing faintly. The ceiling was far above, lost in shadow, but Jin could hear faint metallic clicks coming from somewhere up there.

The voice spoke, deep and measured:

"The hands that hold must also endure. Show that you can stand, no matter what comes."

Jin scanned the area carefully. No weapons, no cover, nowhere to hide.

The first sound was a thwip.

A dart shot from a slit in the wall. Jin ducked instinctively, and it passed where his head had been. Another dart followed from a different direction, then another. Within seconds, the air was filled with them.

He dropped into a crouch and moved quickly, zig-zagging between the glowing tiles. The floor was smooth and offered no grip, but the rhythm of the darts became predictable. He stayed low, letting some whistle over him, twisting to let others pass close but harmless.

A sudden metallic grinding noise made him glance up.

Sections of the ceiling slid open, and mechanical hounds dropped into the arena. Their bodies were lean and angular, their jaws lined with sharp metal teeth. Their eyes glowed the same orange as the carvings on the archway.

Jin's heartbeat kicked up.

Things were getting serious, and he had nothing to help him, no weapons or energy, nothing. But that didn't mean he was going to back down. 

It was just for a split moment, but he suddenly remembered the disappointed face of his father when he was unable to awaken as quickly as his siblings.

His face hardened, and his gaze became determined as he took a fighting stance, staring at the hounds in front of him.

The first hound lunged. Jin sidestepped, letting it skid past him, then kicked it in the side. The blow barely dented its plating, but it knocked it into another incoming dart, which embedded deep into its neck joint. Sparks flew, and it collapsed.

The second hound came from behind. Jin spun, catching its jaw with both hands to stop it from biting. His arms burned as the metal teeth clamped harder. He twisted its head sharply to the side, forcing the jaw open just enough to shove it away.

Three more landed in quick succession.

Jin stayed on the move, never letting them surround him. He ducked under a leaping hound, rolled to his feet, and shoved another into the path of an incoming dart. One lunged low for his legs, he jumped, twisting mid-air to land on its back, then kicked off to avoid the jaws of another.

The darts weren't stopping, either.

For a split second, Jin saw something strange, a faint orange outline forming around his forearms. The shape was bulky and segmented, like the gauntlets on the pedestal he'd seen in the graveyard.

They flickered away after only a moment.

So that's what this was: the trial was teasing him with what he could have, but not letting him use it yet.

The floor suddenly shifted. Tiles dropped away into darkness, leaving only a narrow cross-shaped walkway. The rest of the space became bottomless pits. The hounds didn't hesitate; they leapt easily between the gaps.

Jin was surprised now. The trial wasn't only testing his arm strength, but the quickness of his full-body reaction. In the gaps, all he could see was a dark abyss, and he didn't want to know what was on the other side, so he became precise.

Jin had to be precise now. He sidestepped onto a single tile, waited for a hound to land in front of him, then shoved it sideways into the pit. Another tried to land behind him, but he crouched low and used its own leap to push it past him and over the edge.

The darts kept coming. One clipped his shoulder, sending a sharp sting through his arm. Another grazed his leg. He grit his teeth and kept moving, stopping meant getting hit, and getting hit too much meant failing.

Then the voice returned:

"Last until the light fades."

The orange lines on the floor began to dim slowly. That was his timer. He didn't know how long it would take, but he guessed it wasn't going to be short.

The hounds came faster now. They didn't attack one at a time anymore; they came in pairs, sometimes trios, forcing Jin to think three moves ahead.

One leapt for his chest while another came low for his legs. He jumped to the side, letting the low one pass under him, then grabbed the higher one mid-leap and twisted it into the other. They collided and tumbled into the pit together.

He moved constantly, letting the hounds' momentum work against them. He ducked under their leaps, sidestepped their charges, and shoved them into each other or darted fire whenever he could.

The floor shifted again, forming a single ring around the edge of the arena. The centre dropped into darkness. Now Jin had to fight while moving in a circle, with no room for mistakes.

This was the most nerve-wracking experience he had ever had.

One misstep, and he'd fall to his death.

The hounds pressed harder. Jin caught one's jaw with both hands again, braced his feet against the floor, and let it push. Just before it could overpower him, he twisted and let go, sending it tumbling off the edge.

Another came from the opposite side. He ducked low, kicked upward into its chest, and sent it flying over him into the void.

His breathing was hard now, sweat stinging his eyes. His legs burned from constant movement, and his arms ached from catching and shoving enemies. But the light on the floor was nearly gone; just a faint glow remained.

Two hounds remained, circling him from opposite sides. They moved in sync, leaping at the same time.

Jin waited until the last possible second, then dropped flat against the floor. Both hounds sailed over him, one into the pit, the other into the path of an incoming dart.

The arena fell silent; only the sound of Jin's laboured breathing remained.

The floor's light went out completely.

The voice spoke again:

"You have endured the first trial. The hands that last may yet hold."

Jin couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. This was more than anything he had ever experienced. While it was dangerous, it was equally exciting.

Jin decided to wait, to catch his breath, and recover some energy for a few minutes before he was ready to go again.

Jin took one last deep breath, shaking out his sore arms before stepping forward. He knew this wasn't over.

If the first trial was about lasting, and was already this difficult, Jin couldn't begin to imagine how difficult the next trial would be.

But that didn't deter him; instead, he seemed to be excited, excited for the unknown.