A few more days had come and gone as the trial was now winding down to a close. There was still two months remaining, however, those months were nearly negligible.

Now within Taf's possession were all cores of the beasts under the 9th demon beast stage. On this day he was expecting a special guest.

Both Taf and May sat under one of the many trees within the forest as they awaited their visitor. Soon they saw some figures in the distance.

" Sir Mouse as we previously agreed, i have brought the cores"

Tensho the lion spoke as to his side were the Tigress Fena, the Jackal Zanche, a black panther and lastly a black and white panda.

In the skies hovering above the group was the yellow feathered eagle Herfen. For some, it was the first time seeing the human child so they were a bit curious while they observed him.

After the lion's words, seven cores were seen its massive paws. He then places them before Taf who showed a slight smile.

" You have all made the right choice. After all, coming to a resolution that befits both parties is quite beneficial. I will help all of you to traverse that hurdle when the time arrives."

Hearing Taf's words the gathered beast had a sigh of relieve. At the moment they were at their weakest after discarding of their cores.

If the human was to renege on his promise, they would be powerless to try and hold him accountable for his words.

" For this, we thank Sir Mouse and Miss May for their generosity"

Fena the tigress took the lead to thank the two. Taf sat nonchalantly with May who had a slight smile on her face as they both received the beast's message.

" You are indeed welcome, hopefully even before and after our agreement is fulfilled, we might have some interaction. That is if fate may allow it of course."

May stated as she smiled while addressing all the beast who noticeable were startled by her words.

" Why allow fate to determine such things? If there is anything that we can provide help with, please don't be hesitant to ask"

How could Tensho not see the small incline within May's words? It seems the couple wanted to further the relationship between the two groups.

An outsider might query his unbridled joy at such an outcome as the two were only at the 7th stage at present, but what excited him was their potential.

At the moment his potential was possibly limited to arriving at the lord realm and even achieving that would be a feat. Following these two and especially Sir Mouse, his fate might be changed forever.

Hearing his reply The Mouse inwardly approved. In his mind, he thought.

" This Tensho will be quite handy in the future"

He then nodded his head in approval which was to the delight of Tensho the lion.

" What about Marceline the spider? Have you spoken to her as i requested?"

Taf then final enquired about the last remain core. After his words were uttered he noticed a change within Tensho and the other demon beasts expression.

" She has refused to hand over the core as i suggested would be the outcome previously. "

There was no change of expression by The Mouse as he heard the words of the lion. It was to be expected and he had a bit of curiosity when he thought about this spider.

" Since the first option was refused, where did she agree to have our battle?"

He then asked as he looked forward to his last fight of the trial.

" She stated it can be any area of your choosing as the outcome has already been predetermined."

Tensho spoke the words of the spider making sure not leave any information out.

" Hehe is this so? Since this is the case, let the final battle of this trial take place where you stand tomorrow at noon"

After thinking it through a bit The Mouse decided there would be no place more befitting to end this trial than this area he felt the most familiar with.

He looked at May who also nodded in agreement with his decision on the location of the final battle.

" I will convey Sir Mouse's message to Marceline. Tomorrow we will all convene to bear witness to the battle."

Tensho spoke before leading the demon beasts away that all had looks of anticipation on their faces. They knew that though Tensho was powerful when he was previously at the 9th stage, in comparison to Marceline he was a bit lacking.

They had bore witness to many fights between the two before being confined in this area. In all the previous battles, the instigator has always been Tensho and in all fights, he lost miserably.

As the demon beasts departed both May and Taf sat while watching them head off into the distance.

" Taf by the level of respect these beasts have for that spider they call Marceline, she is not one to be taken lightly. Are you sure you don't want us to fight as a team?"

May asked as for some unknown reason she became a bit anxious about this fight that would take place between the two.

" Apart from the fight previously with Zanche and that metallic gorrilla, i have not yet been fully tested in this trial. I want to see where my limits lie. What is a better challenge than a beast at the pinnacle of the qi demon beast stage?"

Taf responded as he smiled with the teen girl to his side.

" Besides don't you want to see how awesome this Mouse can be huh?"

He joked as May could only roll her eyes at his response.

" I'll never let you hear the end of it if you were to lose you brute. Don't worry, however, if that spider dares to cross the line this lady will intervene. I'll be your ace"

May had a smirk plastered on her face as she spoke which only cause Taf to chuckle.

" The best Ace there ever was.."

He then responded while putting his arm around her.

" You know it...."

A warm body then snuggled into Taf's embrace as they both sat with their backs against the trees. There they were basking in the day they knew was to be the penultimate day of the trial.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

There was something that filled the air as the sun stood high within the sky surrounded by a plethora of red crowds. What was it that brought forth this said anticipation we wonder?

Below a youth stood nonchalantly as he yawned a bit while staring into the distance.

" This spider really knows how to keep the suspense going huh?"

He spoke out loud with a bit of annoyance as he eyed the seven beasts that were in the distance spectating..

As Taf spoke he felt a presence above him which caused him to dodge to his right, to his left the hard ground was smashed into dust.

When Taf looked at his attacker he saw a massive black spider filled with red dots surrounding its body. It had multiple eyes as Taf image reflected in its dark eyes.

It slowly lowered itself from a web that gave the illusion it was hovering in the air.

" So you are the cub that made Tensho becomes so mild? "

It spoke with a bit of derision in its voice as it circled around Taf who summoned a hammer within his hand. His face became void of any expression after seeing how he narrowly dodged the sneak attack.

May who was on Hammerhead's back for the first time felt abit of bloodlust as she saw what had occurred. She summoned her bow and arrow as she readied Hammerhead for an onslaught. However, Taf managed to calm her down with a few words.

" Don't worry I'll ensure it pays for that. I've already marked it for death."

He stated to May through the voice transmission.

" Yes, and you will be a squashed spider under my hammers after what you just did. Congratulations you have made it possible that i now have no qualms in killing you."

Ice chilling words were then utter by Taf as he fumed inside. Before he was intending to battle this spider until it summited and handed over its core.

After all, they had not had any previous hatred of any kind and though he was no saint he knew where to draw the line. Now, however, in his mind, he had sentenced this spider to death.