Early the next morning, before the sun even rose into the sky, four figures were sitting by a big rock, preparing for the task ahead. No one made a sound as Yuki nodded to the other three before stepping on air and setting off towards the cave entrance not too far away. In her hand were a few rocks that she planned to use to pull one of the snakes to her. 

She stood over the cave where three snakes still stood guard over the entrance. One was curled up on the ground while the other two were on alert. Yuki tapped her chin, lost in thought, before coming up with a plan. She took one rock and chucked it into the forest not too far away. To make sure it would make a loud sound, she used quite a bit of force. One of the snakes on guard duty quickly moved toward the sound. 

Yuki made sure it was far enough away to make it so she would have time to pull the other one. She swiftly made her way to the ground before throwing another rock at the other snake that was on guard. The sneak hissed and shot toward her at an incredible speed. 

Yuki did not hesitate to quickly take off. She noticed one of the snakes still stayed curled up in front of the cave. Only the snake she hit with a rock was currently chasing after her.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Fatty running off in the opposite direction. She smiled slightly, knowing that he was going to go face off with the other snake. She hoped he would come back safe and sound. 

Although she was slightly worried, she still had a task at hand. She continued forward until she reached the designated meeting point that they had cleared out earlier to face off with the snake. She came to a sliding stop and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, waiting for the rank three horned snake to break through the tree line. 

She did not have to wait long. Its large head pushed past the darkness of the trees and appeared in the clearing. Yuki did not move. It was not that she was scared but because she was not supposed to move unless attacked. She was keeping the snake’s attention while Nana jumped down from above with her large sword in hand, slamming it down onto the snake’s neck area.

A loud cracking sound was heard as Nana pressed hard on her sword. It looked like she might not be able to break through. Yuki bit her lip and readied to attack in case the snake finally reacted. But before she or the snake could do anything, Nana yelled out: “Heavly suppression!”

*Boom!*

The ground shook and collapsed under the snake as the large head of the snake was slammed down to the ground along with Nana, whose sword was now stuck deep into the ground. Nana’s chest heaved up and down as she saw the snake’s head now detached from its body. She knew if she had not taken this sword technique, she would not have been able to cut through the tough scales of the rank three horned snake. 

“It looked like it worked.” Yuki smiled as she walked over to Nana and hugged her from behind, and whispered: “That technique suits you very well.”

Nana blushed and leaned into Yuki, her lips curling up into a smile. She knew what Yuki meant. She was saying this in a roundabout way, but it was because she was a dragonkin. Having a technique that alters the gravity of the objects you touch is perfect with her natural brute strength.

“Now then…” Yuki let Nana go and looked at the snake’s head and then at its body. She stabbed her sword in and began digging through the body until she found the demonic beast stone within. She stuck it in her sleeve and turned around before letting it zap into her mind space. “Let’s go deal with the other one.” 

Nana nodded and followed after Yuki. Maiko, who had gotten to do nothing, quickly chased after them. She was really starting to feel useless. She was not as fast as Yuki nor as strong as Nana. She could barely fight, but she still did not want to be seen as dead weight. So she would only keep an eye on the surroundings and defend them when things looked bad.

“Maiko, when we get to the cave entrance, I want you to stay in the tree line for the time being. If this thing spits any acid at us, we will need someone to pull out anyone who has been hit.” Yuki was glad Maiko was here because she could help save anyone who might get injured. In a way, she had the most important job here.

“Got it!” Maiko was happy she could do something. She also knew Yuki was not just sending her away but really wanted her to keep an eye on things just in case. 

Maiko stayed in the tree line as she watched Yuki and Nana walk towards the horned snake that was still curled up on the ground. Everything was going just fine until the horned snake lifted its head, revealing two horns instead of one. Yuki and Nana both came to a stop. Maiko’s eyes widened when she saw the two horns. “A rank five demonic beast!? Why is it here and no in the inner ring!?”