Solaris felt the world around him shift, turn, and blend as Jon Smit spoke those words.
His body was overwhelmed with a sense of pure dread. As his mouth dried out and his heart pounded harder and harder, the room began to get a bit hotter.
"Oh my, I'm sorry, Solaris. That was probably a bit too forward. You can, of course, refuse."
Steeling his soul and mind, Solaris barely squeaked out a response.
"I refuse."
"I also refuse."
The shock hit everyone in the room like a truck.
"I'm sorry? You also refuse, Ember?"
Ember looked at Jon Smit, then at Solaris, before sighing and responding.
"Yes, I will never go back to that location. As for what we were previously discussing, I still agree to that, yet I will not go back to that layer of hell. I can speak for us both when I say that hell is not for the weak. I assume you have a full plan enacted had we refused? If so, I will participate in the training of the explorers, but I myself shall not venture into the depths of hell again."
Jon Smit sat silently for a moment, clearly digesting the news Ember had just delivered.
After some deliberation, he looked over to the girl and spoke softly.
"Arias, pull up Plan B, and add them both to it."
Arias smiled softly, then typed on her Tablet for a moment before setting it on the table. She placed her hand over it, and a strange prism made of mirror-like glass appeared above it.
Moments later, three Matching tablets split off from the prism and floated in front of the three men.
With a bit of hesitation, Solaris grabbed the tablet.
"Now originally I'd hoped you two would lead a group of strong Extramicy users and some Stronger Micy users, but... Clearly that was a mistake on my part."
Jon Smit took a pause, scratching his nose from under the fake glasses. He looked clearly embarrassed, with a look written all over his face.
"So instead I've devised an alternative solution: I will be enacting a tournament of sorts, with two teams being decided by the winners."
With a puzzled look on both Embers and Solaris face they looked down at the Tablets; on each was a large bracket filled with names and two sections on the side of the bracket marked with 'Explorers' and 'Scouts'.
Reading the screen, Solaris couldn't help but mutter.
"Aren't scouts and explorers the exact same thing?"
Jon Smit had a faint smile; it faded as he heard these words.
After a moment, the screen refreshed, and a new name replaced the explorers.
"Hellbound?"
A slight smirk lit up the side of Jon Smit's face.
"Yes, I find it much more fitting. Now then, back to the tournament. On the screens before you, there is a bracket laying out almost every one of the hunters who have killed at least ten demons without any serious injuries. I have decided to pit them against each other to find the strongest without being biased. The total ten winners of the tournament will then be split up into a seven-three split, the former going to hell and the latter staying on Earth to both defend and search."
Interrupting Jon Smit was a dumb idea, but Solaris did so anyway.
"Search for what?"
Jon Smit looked at Solaris with a confused gaze before it dawned on him, and he responded.
"Ah yes, you were not present for the previous conversation. Allow me to catch you up. After you left HQ the other day, our best scientist, Celer, devised a grand hypothesis. Based on the known knowledge and the new information gathered by you two, he has theorized that hell is split into at the very least six layers. One to embody each sin; the one we currently know of is Sloth. This is the very same one you two delved into. So, to confirm this theory, we have decided to search the globe for more of the marks. In hopes of ending the vile demons once and for all."
Jon Smit placed his hand across his chest, an L shape being made from his middle and index fingers. Arias and Ember did the same.
"I see, so there is more to hell than just that place. Does this have any impact on the strength of the demons?"
Jon Smit thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"We have no idea. Although we have thoughts of at least two more tiers being added to the former tiers, yet thats still a work in progress."
Jon Smit smiled and then, as if a bolt of lightning hit him, his eyes lit up, and he asked Solaris a question.
"Mm, I had forgotten. What is a Sacrifice?"
The three people in the room all turned to look at the proprietor of the answer, while Solaris closed his left eye.
Well, it was bound to happen eventually, ill describe their... Hmm
Solaris opened his left eye and opened his mouth instead.
"A sacrifice, as the name implies, involves a portion of a human's soul being taken. This portion can be a myriad of things, from a physical attribute being lost to emotions to even something beyond the natural nature of this world. This is the price paid for great power."
These things were not clear to Solaris if they were the real truth of the matter, but he had a feeling that they were at least very close to the truth.
I hate twisting the truth, but I'm not sure yet if trusting in the crimson cross is such a good idea.