Demon Core Exorcist

9. The Path of Control

The corridor after Jin's first trial was short and quiet.

He stepped through into a new chamber, smaller than the endurance arena, but far more dangerous.

The floor was narrow and uneven, made of shifting stone plates that rose and sank without warning. Some sections had jagged spikes jutting from the walls, others had thick columns that dropped from above like hammers.

And there was barely any open space.

This wasn't going to be about lasting. This was going to be about precision.

The voice spoke, calm but firm:

"Strength without control shatters itself. Control without strength fades. Show me balance in both."

A deep rumble rolled through the room.

From the far side, a heavy gate rose, and two massive figures stepped out.

They were humanoid, but unlike the smooth metallic hounds from the last trial, these were Sentinels, towering, broad-shouldered constructs with armour-like plating. Their arms were thick, ending in blunt, heavy fists that could crush stone. Their heads were shaped like helms, each with a single burning orange eye in the centre.

The first one moved faster than its size suggested, stomping forward as the floor shifted under its weight. The second followed close behind, stepping over gaps and swinging a fist the size of a boulder toward Jin.

He rolled to the side, feeling the wind of the blow as it slammed into the stone where he'd been.

The floor beneath him trembled, and a section dropped suddenly, forcing him to leap to another tile.

The first Sentinel was already there, raising both fists to smash him. Jin ducked under its arms, but the second Sentinel stepped in from the other side, trapping him between them.

'No way I can trade hits. '

He darted sideways, using the narrow space between two falling columns as cover. The Sentinels tried to follow, but their size made them clumsy in the tight terrain. Jin stayed low, moving quickly between the shifting tiles, using the environment to keep distance.

Then the voice echoed again:

"Hold, and strike when the moment calls."

Jin's forearms flickered with light; the faint, ghostly outline of the gauntlets appeared once more. This time, the light didn't vanish.

Segmented plates of dark metal slid into place over his skin, each piece locking with the next until his forearms were encased from wrist to elbow. Faint orange lines pulsed along them, the same glow as the trial's walls.

The weight was solid but not heavy. He could feel the strength in them instantly.

It was like he was wearing a mountain on both hands, but their weights adjusted to the weight of his body.

Then the concept of Control entered his mind.

'If I can control them well, the possibilities will be endless' Jin smiled

The first Sentinel charged. Jin stepped in rather than away, meeting the blow with his forearms. The impact shuddered through him, but the gauntlets absorbed most of the force, dispersing it in a faint flash of light.

So they can block.

He could feel that if his control of the gauntlets was lacking, his hands would have been blasted open. He could now see what the trials were trying to teach him.

The Sentinel swung again. This time, Jin caught the strike and twisted, using its momentum to pull the massive construct forward. He drove his other fist into its chest, and the impact sent out a small shockwave, staggering the giant.

The second Sentinel came in, swinging both arms. Jin ducked under the first swing, planted his feet, and slammed his palm into the ground. The gauntlets flared, releasing a burst of kinetic energy that cracked the tiles and knocked the Sentinel's legs out from under it.

This was all about control of strength and all forms that came with it. Many possibilities entered Jin's mind, but he needed to overcome this challenge first.

It hit the ground hard, the sound echoing through the chamber.

But the trial wasn't done.

The far wall opened again, and four more Sentinels stepped out. Two carried massive hammers, while the others had heavy, cleaver-like blades.

Jin's heart pounded. The room wasn't big enough for this many opponents, and the floor kept shifting, forcing him to keep moving or risk being crushed by a falling pillar or pushed into a spiked wall.

He moved constantly, blocking when he had to, countering when an enemy overextended. The gauntlets let him parry blows that would have shattered bone before, and each counterstrike carried enough force to stagger even the largest construct.

One hammer Sentinel swung too wide. Jin stepped inside the arc, planted a gauntleted fist into its knee joint, and followed with an upward strike to its head. The headplate cracked, and the construct staggered back into a collapsing section of floor, dropping into the darkness.

Another charged across three tiles. Jin waited until the last second, then slammed both fists into the ground. The shockwave burst upward, flipping the incoming Sentinel off its feet and into a falling column.

But the others pressed in.

A blade Sentinel swung for his neck. Jin blocked high, the force rattling through his arms, then drove his knee into its torso and shoved it back with both palms, sending it over the edge.

The last two tried to corner him against a wall. The floor beneath him began to sink, and the wall ahead bristled with spikes.

Jin exhaled once, then charged.

He blocked the first blow, twisted around the second, and slammed his left gauntlet into the chest of the closer Sentinel. The impact knocked it into the other, and Jin followed with a leaping punch that hit both at once. The shockwave from the strike was so strong that the tiles beneath them cracked and gave way, dropping them into the void.

Silence fell for a moment.

Jin now knew the main abilities of the gauntlet. They could absorb and release Kinetic Energy.

Then the far gate opened again.

This time, only one figure emerged, a colossal Sentinel, twice the size of the others, its armour thicker and its single eye burning brighter. Both of its arms ended in massive crushing fists, each larger than Jin's torso.

It stepped onto the shifting floor, and every tile it touched sank slightly under its weight.

The voice spoke again:

"Now, you must command your strength."

This time, Jin wasn't anxious; instead, with his understanding of the guauntlets, Jin felt that defeating it would be very difficult.

The giant Sentinel swung one enormous fist down. Jin braced both gauntlets above his head and caught the blow. The impact drove him to one knee, the floor beneath him cracking.

He pushed back, teeth gritted, and the gauntlets flared brighter. The Sentinel's arm lifted, and Jin slammed an uppercut into its jaw, making the giant stumble.

It retaliated with a sweeping blow. Jin jumped onto a nearby rising tile, avoiding the strike, then leapt from the tile's peak onto the Sentinel's arm. He ran along the length of it, dodging as the other fist swung to swat him away.

Reaching its shoulder, he drove both fists down into the joint. The armour cracked, and the massive arm sagged.

The Sentinel roared in a grinding, metallic sound and tried to shake him off. Jin leapt clear, landing on a shifting tile just as a falling column slammed into the space he'd been.

He waited for the next charge. When it came, he didn't dodge.

Instead, he met it head-on. Both fists forward, gauntlets glowing at full brightness, he struck the Sentinel square in the chest.

The impact released a shockwave that shattered the floor around them and sent the giant reeling backwards. It teetered at the edge for a moment, then toppled into the void.

The room went still.

The shifting tiles locked into place. The falling columns halted mid-drop.

The voice returned, warm and final:

"You have mastered the path of control. The hands that hold are now yours."

The gauntlets pulsed with light, then settled into a steady glow. They disappeared, turning into tattoos of gauntlets on the back of Jin's palms. Jin could feel their weight, their strength, and the connection like they had always been his.

The far wall opened, revealing a corridor leading out of the trial.

Jin flexed his fingers once, feeling the gauntlets appear, and with an exertion of his will, they disappeared.

With faith in his strength and the strength of his new weapon, Jin walked into the corridor.