’The suspects from the first kill were humans... Could this one be involved?’

It looked at Moon for several more moments before shaking its head. The human didn’t seem strong, he was barely keeping up with the beast in-front of him.

The spirit was about to kill the human himself when he remembered that it was better to take precaution and call for the others.

The spirit didn’t engage. Instead, it turned toward the nearest tree, a massive trunk that had stood for decades, and struck it at the base with a single blow.

~CRACK~

The tree groaned under the attack before slowly tilting and crashing against the forest floor with an impact that shook the ground for a hundred meters in every direction.

The sound spread instantly. Every spirit within earshot heard it. Their ears perked up, their heads snapping the direction which the sound came from.

Immediately Three pale figures changed direction and began converging on the signal. The spirit holding the body heard it too. It looked down at its fallen friend one last time before gently lowering the body to the earth.

"Sorry, friend. I will have to set you down for a moment. Our friends may be in danger. I promise to take revenge for you." The spirit rose up, before taking off towards the area.

The four spirits arrived within moments. They gathered at the edge of the clearing, their weapons drawn, their pale eyes fixed on the spirit that called for them.

"Where are they?!"

The spirit that had called them pointed toward the clearing. "It’s just one human. I could have dealt with him, but I called you in order to determine our next step."

The five of them watched the human fight. He was engaged in combat with a beast that was giving him trouble. The moment he noticed the spirits watching from the tree-line, his movements changed. His attacks became frantic, desperate, swinging harder, pushing faster, trying to end the fight before they intervened.

He was clearly afraid of them.

"This one is too weak. It can’t be the one that killed our kin." One of the elders observed, studying the human’s fight with a dismissive glance. "But precaution is always wise."

"So? Who wants to kill this one?" Another asked. "Or perhaps we could take it as a hostage. Torture it for information. There are many paths to take here."

"I don’t think killing it outright would be wise." A third spoke, "Let’s use it to determine whether it knows anything about what has been happening."

The others nodded in agreement.

One of the elders stepped forward and walked into the clearing casually.

When it was within arm’s length, its hand moved in a single, lazy gesture.

A blade of air crossed the clearing and struck the beast the human was fighting. The creature collapsed to the ground instantly, dead before it registered the attack.

The human stopped. He stared at the spirit that had just killed his opponent without effort, his weapon trembling in his grip.

"Follow us quietly. We have questions for you." The elder spoke, its pale eyes boring into the young man’s.

The young man nodded slowly.

The elder turned his back leading the young man back to their pavilion. At that exact moment, an imperceptible grin spread across the young man’s face.

Purple lightning erupted along his blade. Moon closed the gap in a single step and his sword flashed three times. Three purple streaks carved through the air so fast they appeared simultaneous.

The elder’s back split open from shoulder to hip. Three deep gashes tore through his body, purple lightning flooding every wound, scorching flesh and searing soul in the same instant.

The spirit didn’t even have time to turn around. His legs gave out and he collapsed face-first into the dirt, the diamond on his forehead flickering once before going dark.

[You have gained...]

’Come.’ Moon thought internally.

The forest erupted with movement. From fifty meters away, from behind trees, from between boulders, from every direction at once, beasts came charging into the clearing. Ten of them, pouring in from all sides, forming a wide circle around the spirits.

The Four-Headed Hydra emerged from the the north, its massive body shaking the ground with every step. The Fire Hound stalked in from the east, its dark fur smoldering, flames licking along its claws.

Two Second Star auras and eight peak First Star auras filled the clearing simultaneously.

The four remaining spirits that were about to attack Moon took a defensive stance, standing back to back, their weapons raised, their pale eyes darting between the beasts surrounding them and Moon.

Standing over the body of their fallen elder, sword dripping with blood, purple lightning still crackling along the blade. The weak, frightened human who had been scared moments ago was gone. What stood in his place was someone cunning.

"It’s you." One of the spirits spoke. Its voice was quiet, but the hatred behind it could have set the air on fire. "You are the one behind the attacks."

"I’m that famous?" Moon tilted his head, the grin still carved into his face. "Well, it is for a good reason."

The four spirits glared at him, "Why are you attacking us?" One of them demanded. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Moon looked at the spirit that spoke. Then at the others. Then at the body of the elder near his feet.

"Because I’m a spirit hunter. Now, I think that’s enough of an introduction." Then, Moon raised his sword and pointed it at the four of them.

"Let our blades speak on our behalf."

Moon clicked his fingers. The Fire and Nature spirit materialized at his right. Mirage appeared at his left, his eye already flaring purple. The doppelganger split from his body and both horses pawed the ground, ready.

Three Second Star entities. The hydra, the Fire Hound, and the spirit. Ten peak First Star beasts forming a ring around the clearing. Mirage and his clone flanking Moon on both sides.

The spirits assessed the situation in an instant. Their expressions hardened, but none of them stepped back.

"You outnumber us with mindless beasts." One of them said, its voice dripping with contempt. "Mindless creatures on a leash."

"Complain in hell." Moon shrugged.

He stepped forward. The purple lightning coating his sword intensified until the blade disappeared entirely beneath the violet sheath. lighting crackled across the ground at his feet, spreading outward in thin arcs that made the dirt hiss.

The lead spirit’s face twisted with rage. "Human. I will skin you alive."

Moon’s grin widened.

"Many have tried. They’re all dead now. And I’m still here, looking for the next one."

He took another step forward.

"So come. Show me what spirits are made of."

Moon and his beasts walked through the four spirits in under ten minutes.

The First Star beasts swarmed them in rotating waves, occupying their attention, forcing them to split their focus. Five of the ten fell during the onslaught, cut down by the attacks of the spirits.

But every second the spirits spent killing beasts was a second Moon exploited. He struck from blind spots, cast purple lightning through gaps in their defenses, and let the hydra and Fire Hound absorb the hits that would have injured him.

The first spirit died to a Raiju through the spine. The second to a magma spike through the chest. The third fell after a quick duel that ended with Moon’s sword buried in its throat.

The fourth died trying to protect the third one.

Four elder spirits lay dead across the scorched clearing. Moon collected each spiritual core and stored them in his ring. The hydra and the Fire Hound carried minor injuries that Minor Mend dealt with.

"Time to go."

Moon left the area, the spirits laying down on the floor. He arrived back at the mistwell lake, sat down in a cave he had found previously, and cultivated the spiritual energy of the spirit cores he had gathered.

Within just a mere hour, he had absorbed everything within. His speed of progression had increased sharply in comparison to before.

"Four acupoint...completed." Moon closed his fist, feeling his strength rise considerable once more. Once again, this acupoint had provided him with just a little under four acupoints, it was indeed decreasing.

Moon rose up, and rode on Mirage till they were outside mistwell. Recruiting other peak first star beasts to take the place of those that died during the previous attack.

Staring at the distant peak, Moon smiled. "The tournament should have started testing participants. Yet, at the same time, I’m taking down a C-Rank shelter..."

Mirage galloped towards the peak.

One of Moon’s greatest battles was about to unfold. His planning, and preparations finally being put into effect.

Whether his preparations were enough to deal with a spirit sanctuary that had survived countless years, or not...was still uncertain. But one thing was clear, Moon was determined to conquer the castle that rose into the clouds.