Chapter 48 Field Test: XI’s Grasp

Lee Seng's eyes fluttered open. He found himself in the familiar white soul world space. Strands of gray and black moved around the white atmosphere. He pulled his body upwards and sat up. He looked around and noticed that he wasn't in any space he recognized.

"Why am I here?" Lee Seng whispered. A huge white gate stood in front of him. They resembled the city gates that kept traffic in and out. The gate was wide open and Lee Seng could hear the faint pitter patter coming towards him.

"Lee!" Keng's distant voice shouted. Lee Seng's vision shook and he felt pain everywhere. It quickly vanished. He looked down at his white shirt and sighed in relief. His vision shook again and he saw his shirt was covered in blood. He pulled his shirt up and saw nothing. His body was perfectly fine.

"What's going on?" Lee Seng stood up. He turned to check for injuries and saw everything was fine.

He heard the pitter patter of Keng coming closer. He raised his head up towards the sound and watched as a large white fox was running at him. The red and blue eyes told Lee Seng this was Keng but he couldn't believe it. Was it possible for Keng to grow to be THAT big?

Keng was about three feet tall. His tail seemed to be a couple feet long as well. It was bushy like always yet mimicked Lee Seng's tail.

"Keng, is that you?" Lee Seng asked. Keng happily trotted over and nuzzled it's head into Lee Seng's leg.

"Ah, it's been awhile since you've seen me, huh?"

"When did you get so big?" Lee Seng asked. He squatted down and pet Keng who happily received it.

"This happened a little bit after the oath was finished." Keng answered. He pulled away and sat, looking up at Lee Seng. "Why are you here, though? Weren't you fighting that monster?"

Lee Seng became confused. He didn't really remember why or how he got here.

"Good." A low voice spoke. Lee Seng's vision flashed and he dropped onto the floor in pain. Blood gushed out of him as his vision began to blur. "You've weakened yourself to let me in." The low voice chuckled.

The white soul world began to shake. The ground beneath Lee Seng began to crack. Keng yelped and backed up.

"Lee! What's happening?" Keng asked.

"What's happening?" The low voice spoke. "You will be eradicated." The ground beneath Lee Seng shattered into pieces. Black tendrils rose as Lee Seng sunk into the murky waters below.

"LEE!" Keng shouted. He began to shimmer when a tendril slammed into him and threw him back past the gate. The tendrils shot at the gate and pulled downwards.

"XI will complete its cycle." A woman's voice spoke.

----

Large trees stacked high with tree trunks protruding at abnormal cuts. The sun stood at its highest as Lee Seng's unmoving body laid in its own pool of blood. Lee Seng's body twitched. His fingers slowly moved. His body thrashed and flipped. His body writhed in pain as his face stayed emotionless. His chest lifted into the air as tendrils shot out of his body and wrapped around him. The tendrils raised him upwards. His veins began to glow. The puncture holes all across his body began to heal. Black smoke rose from the wounds, hissing.

"What the hell happened here?" A examinee asked. The examinee sighed as he looked behind him. He had somehow managed to get into the large cut part of the forest, but wondered who or what could've done something like this. The examinee glanced around and noticed something was floating in the air. He carefully made his way closer.

Blood dripped off the black tendrils. Black smoke rose from whatever was inside the tendrils. He could see something was being held with the tendrils. The examinee leaned in closer to see what the tendrils held. The tendrils stopped and relaxed instantly. It pulled away, revealing Lee Seng's body.

"What the--"

In a flash, Lee Seng was in front of the examinee. The examinee stared into the dark eyes.

'Is this guy... not awake?'

Lee Seng grabbed at the young man's neck, lifting him up. He tightened his grip as the man began to panic. He flailed and tried to rip Lee Seng's hand off. Lee Seng squeezed harder as a black tendril mask covered his face.

"Let... me... go." The examinee spoke. Lee Seng watched as the light in the young man's light began to go out. He tossed the body.

"Hands up!" A man commanded. Lee Seng stared at the young man's body as ten men surrounded him with guns pointed at him. "Hands up!" Lee Seng began to move when one of the men shot. The bullet made contact with Lee Seng's calf and Lee Seng stopped. The bullet was spit out and the wound healed.

"I thought he was critically injured." A healer spoke. Lee Seng turned to the person who shot him and ran at him. The man began to shoot as Lee Seng raised black tendrils to block. He swung as the tendrils moved and landed a punch to the man's chest. He whipped the tendril to grab the man and slammed him into three men.

The rest of the men began to shoot at Lee Seng. Bullets sunk into the black tendrils and were spat back out.

"HQ, Chang has--" Screams were heard as tendrils ripped at the men and tossed them. The body of soldiers laid around Lee Seng as he turned to look at the remaining two soldiers and healers.

"C-chang, w-we're only here to help." The healer spoke. He raised his hands up, shaking. He could feel a sinister energy oozing off Lee Seng. Lee Seng's white tail infused itself with a layer of tendrils. The dark gray tendrils wrapped around it and curled outwards like a flower. The white tail acted like the flower bulb. "We're only here to help. Let us help you." The four remaining raised their hands. Lee Seng stared at them, unmoving.

One of the soldiers quickly shot out a lightning strike at Lee Seng. The lightning connected and Lee Seng's body began to jerk uncontrollably. The other soldier quickly ran at Lee Seng and tackled him onto the ground. His body hardened and held the paralyzed examinee.

"Call for backup now!" The hardened soldier commanded. The male healer scrambled and tapped his watch.

"Squad 4 to HQ! Squad 4 to HQ!" The healer shouted. "Backup is needed! Backup is--"

"Argh!" The hardened soldier screamed. A black tendril shot into the man's stomach and out his back, writhing with blood and black liquid. The tendrils lift the man up, blood spilling onto Lee Seng as he tosses the man into the group.

"Protocol XI begins." A woman and low voice speak at the same time. Lee Seng pushes himself up with the tendrils and stands. He looks past the scared group.

"Protocol XI... begins..." Lee Seng says. "Eradicate... All... Defects..." Black tendrils shoot out and pierce the three remaining survivors. The bodies hit the forest floor and Lee Seng begins to walk past.

----

"Squad 4 to HQ! Squad 4 to HQ!" The healer shouted. "Backup is needed! Back up is--" The sounds echoed across the room. Nicole and Alex hover behind a group of people monitoring the forest.

"What's the situation? Bring up the camera footage now!" Nicole barked.

"Yes, ma'am." The operator answered. The operator grabbed Lee Seng's cameras and pulled them all up. The three watched in horror as a soldier was pierced by the black tendrils and tossed at the remaining survivors.

"What the hell is happening?" Nicole asked. Alex tightened his fists as black tendrils plunged into the remaining survivors of squad 4. Lee Seng began to walk off. Nicole groaned in frustration and turned to look at Alex who was staring at the footage. "What the hell is up with him? He was in critical condition and we rushed the team out as fast as possible. How did he instantly regenerate all of those injuries to nothing?"

Alex kept his mouth shut. He had more questions than answers. Something bothered him about this.

"What did he say?" The operator whispered. She rolled the footage back and enhanced it. "Number 1 and 3, listen to this. Chang says something." The two Numbers turn their attention back onto the screen. The operator plays and the three listen closely.

"Protocol... begins..."

"Did he just say Protocol?" Alex looked at Nicole for confirmation.

"Play it back again." Nicole pointed.

"Yes, ma'am." The operator rewinded the clip again and the three listened.

"Protocol... XI... begins..."

The two Numbers froze. They watched as Lee Seng started walking again. The dead squadron laid lifeless. Alex turned and shook his head.

"Protocol XI begins...?" Alex whispered. "Does that mean..."

"XI has activated. That means--"

"This is a Number matter now, 1." Alex turned to look at Nicole. She nodded and looked at Alex.

"Who else is at the Academy today?" Nicole asked.