The attack came three nights later.
The forest was completely silent.
The wind had stopped, and even the bugs were quiet.
Elias sat on the roof of the shrine, holding his wooden Naginata.
His sharp eyes watched the dark trees.
Inside the shrine, Shuri and Akeno were fast asleep. Dee was sitting next to their beds.
She had used a tiny, tiny drop of her magic to make sure they stayed asleep.
She didn't want them to wake up and be scared.
This was Elias's fight.
Suddenly, the shadows in the forest moved.
Six figures stepped out of the trees.
They wore dark clothes and masks that covered their faces.
They carried sharp swords and hands full of magic paper talismans.
They were the assassins from the Himejima clan.
Elias didn't wait for them to get close.
He jumped down from the roof and landed silently on the grass, right between the assassins and the front gate.
"You should turn around and go home,"
Elias said quietly. His voice carried through the cool night air.
"You are not taking them."
The assassins didn't say a word.
They spread out in a circle, trying to trap him. Then, they attacked all at once.
The assassins were incredibly fast and highly trained.
They were tough fighters who had killed many people before.
One of them rushed forward and swung a sharp, glowing sword right at Elias's shoulder.
Slash!
The blade cut deep into Elias's arm. It hurt, but Elias didn't fall. He didn't have to die for his Adaptivity to work.
His body was already awake and ready.
Before the assassin could even pull the sword back, a warm light flashed over Elias's arm.
The deep cut instantly closed up and disappeared.
The assassin's eyes widened behind his mask.
He swung his sword again, aiming for the exact same spot.
Clang!
This time, the sword bounced off. Elias's skin didn't look different, but it had adapted to the blade. It was now as hard as steel.
"My turn,"
Elias whispered.
He spun his wooden Naginata with perfect control, just like Shuri taught him.
He slammed the heavy wood into the assassin's chest, knocking him flying backward into a tree.
The other five assassins panicked.
They threw their paper talismans into the air.
"Fire! Lightning! Wind!"
They chanted.
Massive waves of hot fire and sharp wind rushed at Elias. But Elias just walked right through it.
His body had already adapted to this kind of magic when he fought the Western magicians.
The fire felt like a warm breeze, and the lightning didn't even tickle him.
Elias was a force of nature. He used every single power he had learned.
He closed his eyes and found the magic energy inside his chest. He didn't even use paper talismans. He just pointed his fingers.
Boom!
A massive, bright blue fireball shot out of his hand, crashing into two of the assassins and knocking them out.
Another assassin tried to sneak up behind him. Elias used his sharp senses to hear his footsteps.
He turned around instantly, created an invisible magic shield to block the assassin's sword, and then kicked the man's legs out from under him.
The assassins were tough, but Elias was unbreakable. Every time they tried a new trick, his body learned it and countered it.
He was faster, stronger, and completely immune to their best attacks.
He remembered Shuri's words. Fight to live. He didn't want to become a monster.
So, he didn't use his magic to kill them. He just hit them hard enough to make sure they wouldn't get back up.
In less than five minutes, the fight was over.
All six assassins were lying on the grass, completely knocked out and groaning in pain.
Their swords were broken, and their magic paper was burned to ashes.
Elias stood in the middle of the yard.
He was breathing heavily, but he didn't have a single scratch on his body.
He looked at his hands, feeling the strong, steady beat of his heart. He had done it. He had protected his family.
But then, the air in the garden suddenly grew freezing cold.
Black feathers began to fall from the dark sky.
Elias looked up. Hovering above the trees were tall figures with massive, black-feathered wings.
They were Fallen Angels. They held glowing spears made of pure, deadly light.
Below them, stepping out from the shadows, were three old men. They wore grand, expensive traditional robes.
They carried wooden staffs and carried an aura of deep, terrifying power.
These were the Elders of the Himejima clan.
They had not just sent assassins.
They had come themselves, bringing monsters with them, to make sure the job was done.
"Useless fools,"
One of the old Elders spat, looking at the defeated assassins on the ground. Then, his cold eyes locked onto Elias.
"Kill the boy. Burn the shrine to the ground."
The Fallen Angels threw their light spears. They were too fast.
Pierce!
Three spears of light hit Elias in the chest at the same time. The pain was worse than anything he had ever felt.
It burned his very soul. Elias fell backward, his eyes going blank. He died instantly.
The Elders started to walk toward the shrine door.
But behind them, a warm light flashed.
Elias stood back up. The giant holes in his chest closed in a second. He gripped his Naginata.
"I told you,"
Elias growled, his eyes glowing with fierce determination.
"You are not taking them!"
The Elders turned around in shock.
The Fallen Angels frowned and threw more spears.
This time, Elias dodged two of them, but a third one caught his leg.
An Elder chanted a high-level spell, and a massive pillar of purple fire crashed down on Elias, turning him to ash.
He died a second time.
But two seconds later, the ashes swirled together.
Elias stepped out of the smoke, completely unharmed.
His body had adapted to the holy light. It had adapted to the purple fire.
The Fallen Angels flew down and attacked him with heavy swords. Elias fought back.
They cut his throat. He died a third time.
But when he stood up again, his skin was so tough that their swords shattered against his neck.
He was moving faster than the eye could see.
He punched a Fallen Angel so hard the creature flew straight up into the clouds.
He grabbed a light spear with his bare hand, perfectly immune to its burning magic, and crushed it into pieces.
The Elders stopped chanting. The remaining Fallen Angels backed away, floating higher into the sky.
Their faces were pale with absolute terror.
They realized what was happening.
"Stop attacking him!"
The oldest Elder yelled, his voice shaking with fear.
"Every time he falls, he comes back stronger! He is a monster! We are just feeding his power!"
The other Elders nodded nervously.
They realized that brute force would never work.
If they kept killing him, he would eventually become strong enough to destroy their entire clan with one punch.
"Do not kill him,"
The lead Elder commanded.
"Seal him away forever!"
The three Elders pulled out long, heavy chains covered in ancient, red writing.
They chanted a massive, complicated spell together.
The chains flew through the air like iron snakes and wrapped tightly around Elias's arms, legs, and chest.
A glowing golden box of magic formed around him, meant to freeze his body and trap his soul in total darkness for eternity.
The Elders let out a heavy breath of relief.
"It is done,"
One Elder wiped sweat from his forehead.
"The seal is absolute. He cannot move. He cannot break out."
Inside the glowing box, Elias just sighed.
He looked at the heavy chains. His Adaptivity wasn't just for physical pain.
His body understood magic better than anyone else in the world.
When the magic chains touched him, his body instantly read the spell, learned its rules, and found the weakness.
He had already adapted to containment magic when he fought the Western magicians.
"You guys really don't listen,"
Elias said. His voice echoed easily through the "unbreakable" seal.
Elias simply flexed his arms.
CRACK!
The ancient, unbreakable chains shattered into a million tiny pieces.
The golden box of magic popped like a cheap soap bubble.
Elias stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. He wasn't dead.
He wasn't sealed. And he was very, very angry.
"My turn,"
Elias said.