For half an hour, Russell's scanner showed nothing but the baseline, ambient energy of Titan. The forest was eerily quiet. Even the wind seemed muted beneath the dense Blackwood canopy, and the twisted trees loomed over him like silent sentinels. Frustration began to nibble at the edges of his focus, and his jaw tightened with each passing minute of empty readings. He found a relatively clear spot beneath a large, gnarled tree and sank down with a sigh, the frozen soil pressing into his palms.
He pulled out his communicator. "Gareth, did you find anything? My side's clear." His voice was low, cautious, not wanting to break the fragile calm of the forest more than necessary.
The reply crackled back. "No, nothing. Just a bunch of creepy trees. I think this place is neutral. Sensors must have glitched." Gareth's tone, usually bright and teasing, sounded tense. Russell could hear the underlying anxiety in the words, a mirror of his own unease.
"Some little bit of area is still left, probably another hundred to two hundred yards," Russell said, getting to his feet. His legs protested with dull aches from the previous days' relentless training, but the adrenaline overrode it. "I'll finish this sweep, then we meet back at the rally point."
As he stood, a rustle that wasn't the wind came from above. Russell froze, every muscle tensing. His instincts screamed danger, honed by relentless drills, Zanshin, and Maai principles. Before he could react further, thick, rope-like vines shot down from the tree he'd just been leaning against. They wrapped around his ankle with crushing force, yanking him off his feet. Russell's arms flailed for a moment before he realized the advantage lay in controlled movement.
Dangling upside down, his vision inverted, he looked up and saw the tree itself beginning to move. Bark split open, revealing a gaping maw lined with jagged splintered wood like teeth. Branches contorted into clawed limbs. It wasn't a tree; it was a Hollow, master of camouflage, waiting for prey.
"Maximum, Crawler-class," Russell grunted, testing the name silently. His mind raced, cataloging what he knew of this type of Hollow. "Let's see your power."
Training instincts took over. In one fluid motion, he drew Emma, his katana feeling like an extension of his arm. Instead of struggling against the vine, he used the momentum of being swung upside down to swing his body upwards, bringing the katana down in a precise Kesa Giri that severed the thick vine holding him. The release of pressure sent him spinning, but he landed in a crouch, knees bent, ready to spring.
The Hollow roared, a deep, resonating sound that vibrated through the frozen soil. Its clawed branches swiped at him with terrifying speed. Russell didn't flinch. He ducked, rolling under one swing, using the momentum to drive into another, slicing off a splintered limb mid-roll.
Zanshin. He remained aware. Every claw, every swing, every shift of the Hollow's body was monitored and accounted for. He deflected a sweeping claw with a sharp Do Giri, spinning on his heels to reposition.
Maai. He controlled the distance, stepping back just enough to evade a swipe before darting in to strike another exposed limb. The katana's edge bit deep into the Hollow's wooden armor. Splinters flew in arcs around him, some embedding into the frozen soil, others harmlessly ricocheting off his reinforced training gear.
Precision. His strikes were deliberate, targeting weak points with controlled cuts. Overhead Men Giri to sever thicker branches, diagonal Kesa Giri to slice through the midsections of the Hollow's limb, and quick, snapping Sokumen Giri aimed at joints and gaps to cripple movement.
The battle became a dance of motion and counter-motion. Russell ducked under a sweeping claw and rolled to his side, swinging Emma in a continuous arc that severed a branch lashing toward his head. He jumped back, landing on a root that threatened to break under his weight, spinning mid-air and striking again. Each movement was deliberate, fluid, a rhythm formed by months of drills.
The Hollow attempted to grab him again with multiple vines simultaneously. Russell pivoted, jumping off a broken stump, slicing through the first vine with a sharp horizontal cut, then twisting mid-air to sever a second with a snapping Kesa Giri aimed from above. The creature roared, staggering, but it was resilient, the thick bark absorbing much of his attacks.
He could feel sweat dripping into his eyes, stinging, but he wiped it away without breaking focus. Every strike, every dodge, every roll was feeding into one ultimate goal: hitting the creature's core. He dodged a clawed swipe and countered with a precise thrust, driving Emma into the Hollow's trunk. It barely left a scratch. Russell gritted his teeth.
Think, Russell. Timing. Distance. Heart of the Hollow.
He ducked as a branch shot for his neck, pivoted on his toes, and came up with a spinning Kesa Giri, cutting through multiple smaller limbs. He landed in a crouch, scanning for the core. A faint pulse of dark energy appeared through the hollowed trunk—a knot of life within the mass of bark and vines.
His muscles ached, burning from exertion, yet the focus was absolute. He moved in, each step measured, anticipating the Hollow's swings, weaving between massive claws with rolls, jumps, and slides.
Seeing an opening, he whispered under his breath: "Now."
He channeled everything into a single, final thrust—Tsuki. He dropped into a low lunge, his arms coiling like springs. Emma's tip drove deep into the knot of pulsating dark energy. The Hollow tried to pull back, but the precision of his strike held true.
There was a sound like shattering stone as the dark core cracked. Splinters erupted outward, a web of cracks spreading from the impact before the entire Hollow exploded in a shower of wooden shards and dissipating black mist. The forest seemed to exhale, the oppressive atmosphere lifting slightly as if the Blackwood itself acknowledged the victory.
Russell stumbled back, chest heaving, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. His lungs burned with exertion, but a grin slowly spread across his face. A blue holographic screen materialized before his eyes. But the text was different this time.
JUGGERNAUT-CLASS HOLLOW ELIMINATED
DEVIL SOUL ACQUIRED
HUNTER EXPERIENCE POINTS: +10Cs
SOUL'S ELEMENTAL AFFINITY PROPERTY: [FLAME]
Russell blinked, utterly shocked. Juggernaut-class. The same type of massive beast that had nearly killed him on his first day. And he had just defeated it—alone. The screen confirmed it. And the soul it granted had a Flame property.
A laugh of disbelief bubbled from his chest, unrestrained. He took a deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs. "I… I did it." The words barely formed, choked with exhaustion and awe.
Just then, Gareth came crashing through the undergrowth, bow drawn, eyes wide with panic. "Russ! What happened? I heard growling and then your comm cut—" He stopped dead, taking in the black mist lingering over the forest floor, the scorch marks of energy dancing on the frozen soil, and Russell standing triumphant, katana gleaming with frost-streaked sweat. "Whoa… what did you do?"
Russell turned, sweat dripping from his brow, and a slow grin spread across his face. "I think… I just passed the test."
Gareth's mouth hung open, his usual joking expression replaced with awe. "Passed the… test? That was a Juggernaut-class Hollow! The same type we were told not to engage alone! And you—" His hands trembled slightly, not with fear, but the magnitude of what he had just witnessed.
Russell laughed, the sound ragged but genuine. "Yeah. Alone. And… we got something too. A Flame Soul. Can you believe it? I can feel it already… like it's part of me."
Gareth lowered his bow, slowly, still staring at the dissipating black mist. "You… you're insane. Absolutely insane. I knew you were improving, but… that was a whole other level." He shook his head in disbelief, finally letting a grin break across his face. "I don't know whether to be impressed or terrified."
Russell sheathed Emma with deliberate care, feeling the weight of her in his hands, the connection he had forged through training and combat. He nodded toward Gareth. "We need to record this. Mission logs. Soul acquisition, Hollow details, all of it. It might be the first of many, but it's still the start. And it's real."
Gareth chuckled shakily, finally letting himself relax slightly. "Yeah… real, alright. And dangerous."
Russell looked back toward the Blackwood, its twisted trees silent once more, but every shadow seemed to shift slightly as if the forest itself was alive, watching. He felt a surge of adrenaline and pride, tempered with the knowledge that the Blackwood still had many secrets, many more tests waiting.
And yet, for the first time, Russell Zodiac felt the taste of triumph—and the fire of a new journey igniting inside him.