The Rejected Family

Chapter 11

Reject death

The beginning.

Facing the mysterious waterfalls, as if every drop of water could be minutely counted, time seemed not to move forward.

The details stood out so much that many considered the possibility that the waterfall's flow had been modeled by hand. The sound of the waterfall was no longer heard, drowned out by the explosive tension of the great event.

At that moment, all that sensation that Muro had felt less than five seconds ago seemed to have occurred more than an hour ago.

His ears started working again, with the developer's unmistakable shouts, "Let the trial begin!"

An unbridled crowd. Countless participants start running wildly towards the waterfall. 

Taking the lead, Xilo and his team set off into the unknown, being the first to cross the mysterious waters.

"Huh? Are we supposed to jump?" Muro doesn't know what to do; his family is the only remaining team.

Without thinking twice, Saul gets up and takes Muro in his arms, "Now that things have heated up, we have to go all the way!"

"Have you gone mad? Let go of me; I can walk! That's my way in!"

The uncle ignores any noise from his nephew and jumps into the waterfall.

"Don't be so cocky, Saul. You'll end up killing my boy!" Calos refuses to stay behind, following the two rash men.

Kikyo orders a reorganization, "Everyone, together!"

Those left behind heed her call, "Right!" 

Everyone from the Mamoru family stands up quickly, following Calos' hurried steps. 

One leap together, leaving behind their familiar daily lives and entering the most unpredictable path ever trodden, Muro's team goes through the water curtains of the Trial.

Yuki, the challenged developer, watches the show begin, intrigued. 

"After everything that's happened, the number of competitors today is quite surprising," the Trials organizer comments.

"None of these faces matter. Only one team will deserve to be remembered," Yuki dismisses petty concerns.

Kikyo and the others arrive in a cave on the other side of the waterfall. Even in a new setting, their attention is drawn entirely by an overwhelming image. 

All the bodies of those in front of them are lying on the ground, unconscious. Desperately searching for their acquaintances, Muro, Saul, and Calos are spotted on the ground in the same state as the other competitors.

Alongside Kikyo, his companions are slowly falling one by one. One, Toki, Kelly, Lua, Honda, and Lev collapse onto the cave floor, unconscious. The woman's knees also begin to weaken, exhaustion knocking her down. 

Soon afterward, Seiji enters the place, looking for answers: "What happened here?"

Seeing the entire Mamoru family blacked out, he, too, falls asleep.

"Little man...?"

Seiji's companion, Dinda, is the only person left standing. The woman shows no weakness and is completely awake.

"Seiji?"

The silence of this dreadful situation extends over the immensity of the cave, which, after an unknown amount of time, seems curiously empty.

No longer in the middle of a crowd, Muro wakes up, unaware of the events that followed his sleep. The boy is alone in a vast, cavernous landscape.

Opening his eyes slowly, he sees the place clearly with the help of luminous stones on the floor and walls.

"Mother? Father?" Muro searches for his relatives, to no avail.

Still hopeful, he calls out to his family, "Guys? Where are you?"

No answer.

Ah, that's right. We were in the Trial. Could this place be part of it? He theorizes.

Getting up from the rocky ground, Muro walks through the cold cave, looking for information.

One suddenly appears next to his brother without a trace of the previous movement.

"Oops. Is everything all right?" The boy approaches.

"One?"

"Looks like I ended up alone. Good thing the first person I thought of when I woke up was an ally."

"You could have gotten in trouble."

One takes a while to understand the situation as he still wakes up from sleep.

"Hey, Muro. Where are we?"

"We must be inside the mountain."

"But where are the others?"

"Since we are alone, they've probably all been separated."

"So, you mean they're somewhere in this cave?"

"That goes for the other teams, too."

Muro advances through the mysterious corridors of the cave with no idea of what lies ahead. One follows behind his brother.

"In that case, I'm lucky to be with you. My rejection is useless for combat."

"Don't worry. We'll have the upper hand as long as we're together."

The pair hear the sound of something moving. As they get closer, the expectation that it's just the footsteps of a human being makes no sense. The noise is beyond common sense.

A distant voice celebrates, "Finally, people!"

A physique that disregards any logic thought up by humankind, followed by a movement that not even the most extraordinary computer database could explain.

The woman who steps into the brothers' line of sight distorts the typical body structure of a person. Her arms and legs stretch too much; her actions have no constancy. Her limbs have a soft texture, like a huge gooey mass.

Without any rigidity in her bones, Kuna crawls towards the boys.

"That's even better than I expected, two brats at once," the woman threatens her new opponents.

One sneers at his opponent, "Damn, that's awful. But I think you can handle her easily, Muro."

Quietly, the boy finds himself lost in his emotions, analyzing his new challenge.

"Muro?"

"Hey, One. I just remembered something. My rejection, it's pretty good, you know? Even so, if there aren't any other cool rejections around... it's also kind of useless for combat."

With her atypical mobility, the challenger finds getting close to the boys difficult, "Just make it easier for me and come to me. This cave is unnecessarily long."

One begins to lose faith in his savior as Kuna advances.

"What? You're kidding, right? Are you going to chicken out?"

"She doesn't look like the kind of enemy I'd beat by punching."

"What does that mean!"

"Hey, hurry up!"

In the blink of an eye, Kuna stretches out one of her arms and strikes Muro and One like a whip, going from one side of the cave to the other.

The boys duck and dodge the attack.

A silence accompanies the duo's state of shock. However, their thoughts don't seem to be on the same page.

Muro remembers Saul's words on his way home.

"There will be plenty of opportunities for you and everyone else to improve there. I'll hold the line until you're ready," the uncle had placed his trust in his nephew.

In the present, the boy reflects, she looks strong; this could be my chance! I won't let any of these opportunities go to waste!

One runs in the opposite direction from his brother, leaving everyone behind.

"Muro, I've got an idea! I'll run in that direction, and you stand here! If I stay alone and think of someone useful, I can teleport myself to a better pair-"

An unthinkable reaction. The boy's eyes can only follow the silhouette of his brother charging at the grotesque enemy.

"Is this serious...?" One can't believe his eyes.

Accepting the challenge, the woman stretches wildly, sticking to the cave walls like an octopus using its tentacles.

She calls for combat at high speed through a purely chaotic chase, "That's it, that's how it's done!"

A few minutes into the Trial, Muro begins his first confrontation. The boy starts his battle against Kuna.

Away from any confusion, Seiji walks calmly into another cave area. With no one around, he hears distant shouts echoing around the place.

Things seem to be starting. If I don't find anyone from my team, I'll soon be eliminated, he thinks to himself.

Using his simple powers, Seiji materializes a loaf of bread.

Well, what else did I expect? It's the natural cycle of things, after all.

The subject's memories are filled with Muro's excited words.

"When I'm at the Summit, I'll end this game and wait for you!" He said.

Remembering the moment, Seiji smiles slightly.

I wonder how he is now. His family must be strong, but—

"Old man?" A girl's voice catches the man's attention.

Lua — who was walking alone — greets Seiji, approaching him.

"You're that old man who gave us food, aren't you?"

Turning to look at the young woman, the guy recognizes her appearance, "Are you from that little guy's family?"

"I'm that noisy idiot's sister."

Surrendering without any resistance, Seiji opens his arms, prepared for defeat.

"If that's the case, you can finish me off and move on. It'll save time and effort for the stronger ones."

Surprised by the unwanted attitude, Lua rolls her eyes.

"Have you gone mad? I'm obviously not going to touch you."

The man looks down at his clothes, smelling his dirty clothes. 

"Oh, you're right. It has been a while since we last showered. In that case, throw a stone at me. That way, the spectators will understand your victory."

"It's not that, silly. Honestly, why does he only hang out with weird people?"

The young woman smiles as she approaches the man. Her relaxed shoulders and slouched posture mean that any possibility of hostility is disregarded.

"You're a Muro's ally, right? That's enough for us not to lay a finger on your team."

Stretching out her arm towards Seiji, the girl moves her arm to touch the man's body, but they cannot touch, even though their positions overlap.

She concludes the argument, "See? My body already rejects you."

Feeling genuine comfort, Seiji smiles. Confidence allows him to look at his companion's calm expression. 

A quick observation draws his attention to the harmless physique of the young woman, who doesn't look ready to fight.

"Hey, little guy's friend. Is your team really strong?"

"Hmm... There are many of us, and we have a goal that doesn't allow us to weaken. I don't think we've ever been in such a situation before. So, I'm not sure, but—"

Face to face with her new ally, a gaze that penetrates her most profound intentions, Lua removes any trace of doubt that might exist about the imminent statement.

"We're going to reach the Summit. Take that as you will."

After hearing words of unquestionable honesty, Seiji warns, "You know, I've been taking part in the trials for over forty years. Even though the rules are always very open and the developers only care about the spectacle..."

The joy the guy was emanating disappears; his face is full of seriousness.

"The participants don't usually cross the line with their opponents."

"Are you talking about hurting their enemies?"

The man's fingers run along a scar on his leg.

"This spring has brought some pretty scary teams; you'd better watch out," he warns.

Walking alone through the tunnels of the immense cave, Honda witnesses the terror of the Trial. The few luminous stones around her are not enough to pull her out of the void of darkness. With shaky legs, she searches for her family, panting.

"P-people? Where are you guys? Why isn't anyone coming to get me?"

Unable to see where she's going, she constantly stumbles. Her willpower keeps her going, even if she doesn't want to continue.

"Hey, this is serious..."

Another stumble. When she finally plucks up the courage to analyze what's on the ground, Honda comes across something that makes her pale.

Her feet have stepped on a corpse.

"AHHHHH! Guys!!!"

Desperate, she runs through countless tunnels. More and more corpses fill the cavernous ground.

"What is this? Is this real? Somebody get me out of here!"

Honda finds herself in front of an ample space in the cave. Two separate tunnels — leading in opposite directions — make up an extensive area.

The terrified woman's attention is slowly drawn to a pile of bodies lying at the feet of a human being.

After looking away several times, Honda sees the bloodied hands of a man standing over his victims.

"That's... impossible... someone... please..."

Also, moving along a corridor full of corpses, Saul goes past places other competitors have already been to.

"Damn it, show up quickly! What a ridiculous place! I thought I heard a voice in this direction," he frets.

The trail of blood is becoming more and more intense as the number of dead bodies increases along the way.

After looking at his surroundings, Saul rethinks his opinion of the place: it's much better than I imagined! Finally! Hahaha, the boredom is over!

Filled with excitement, he laughs openly as he walks along the dangerous path.

A piercing sound is heard: the tearing of human skin. A brutal blow has been struck on the route in front of him.

"Whoever you are, come out! I promise to take it easy!" Saul calls for a fight.

Arriving at a bifurcation, the man is confronted with a scene already seen by a relative — a pile of bodies with someone on top, this time with a significant difference.

A man's hand pierced Honda's chest. Hanging from one of her attacker's arms, she can't move while gallons of blood drip toward the cavernous ground. Pac breaks his victim's bones.

"Honey..."

Saul's muscles grow disproportionately, his physique not matching his height. Facing the one who tortured his wife, the man goes beyond the limits of humankind.

Lua and Seiji continue their conversation, far from the action scene, "I understand your concern, old man. But I don't think we'll have any problems. We are very lucky."

As the calm conversation takes place, Honda's colorless tears mix with the red of her blood.

"This is a trial where the last team with a standing member wins. It just so happens that Aunt Honda..." Lua continues.

In the room filled with terrifying corpses, the woman mentioned by her niece does justice to those words of confidence.

Honda spits blood in Pac's face, obstructing her opponent's vision. A scream comes out of her mouth.

"Buaaaaah!!! That hurts too much!" With lethal wounds, Honda's voice startles Pac.

In another part of the cave, Lua concludes, "She rejects death."

Amidst the chaos, Honda's torso begins to regenerate. The hole in her chest is closed, leaving her attacker's arm trapped inside the wound he made himself.

The expression on Saul's face exudes deep excitement, "hahaha! You have found a pretty cool guy, huh?"