This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange-Chapter 629: Barrier to Entry

Bai Lian bit her lip, then let out a sigh that sounded too old for her young face.

"After that trial ended... everyone reappeared here...in this waiting room."

Kain crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall next to her, listening.

"Serena was holding me up—I was barely conscious, and she was carrying the artifact we retrieved. But the second she looked around and realized you weren't there…"

She hesitated. "I've never seen someone so composed… unravel like that. Not loudly crying or anything. But you could feel it. Like the temperature dropped. Since she was holding me, I could feel that her entire body went stiff before shaking slightly. freewebnoveℓ.com

Kain's heart gave out a painful pang upon realizing what the news of his death had likely been like for her to hear. If it had been him who returned only to receive the news of her death…

Bai Lian continued, quieter now. "Soreia told her you'd slipped into acid. That she tried to save you, but the platform was crumbling and she couldn't reach in time." She clenched her fists. "But Serena didn't buy it for a second."

She paused, searching for the right words. "She looked at Soreia like she was dead and she'd already buried her."

Bai Lian's voice took on a flat, almost clinical tone, like she was reciting facts to avoid feeling them.

"…Then the Holy Son said that only four of us could leave. That it had been foreseen in some prophecy by the Pope. It just happened to be you in the last one...and it would probably be me in the next one."

"I didn't know any of that before. But the Holy Son and Soreia seemed to know before entering. And Cassian… I think he knew, too. Or figured it out along the way."

"So only four get to leave. That was always the rule?" Kain asked in surprise at the knowledge that the relic was willing to kill off four talented individuals who could contribute to the fight against the Abyss, but instead would rather they just die.

"Ahhh…speaking of! If you are alive, does that mean two more people still need to be eliminated? Everyone will hate that. But I'm sure Serena would still be thrilled to reunite with you!"

Kain didn't smile, but something in his posture eased ever so slightly.

"She's not the only one," he muttered.

Bai Lian gave a small huff of laughter, even though it was barely a breath. "Anyway… after that, the final trial began. Four archways opened—each one tied to a world that had supposedly fought and lost against the Abyss. Four legacies. Four inheritances. Four people who could leave."

Kain narrowed his eyes. "And you…?"

"I can't fight anymore," she said simply. "Serena offered me the trial related to the one we'd just been through, but I knew I wouldn't last. Why die painfully when I could just meet my end here"

Kain glanced at her bruised arms and the way she leaned against the wall. He nodded.

"So you've given up."

She flinched at his statement, feeling as though he were calling her a coward, but didn't refute.

He looked at the four still open archways in each cardinal direction. None of the others had sealed behind their challengers, indicating that no inheritance had been obtained yet.

Kain turned back to Bai Lian.

"You said Serena left that one to you?" Kain said while pointing to the one with the vines. "I'm guessing she went after Soreia?"

Bai Lian's smile returned, small but wicked. "She did. Said something about not letting that girl walk away with anything."

Kain's gold-ringed eyes seemed to gleam with amusement. He was touched that she was so hellbent on getting revenge for his 'death.'

"Good. I suppose I should go and help her…" Kain muttered while heading in the direction of the archway secreting acid.

Smack

It was almost like a re-enactment of Bai Lian's earlier embarrassing moment, only now the victim was Kain.

"Pfft-" Even the originally sombre Bai Lian, who had reconciled with herself dying, couldn't resist laughing at the bright red mark on Kain's face where he was smacked away by an invisible force.

"What?"

Head pounding from where it had knocked against the barrier, Kain reached forward hesitantly, only to be stopped again.

Frowning, he went to the next entrance, the one that exuded a warm light and was once again stopped from entering.

Then he tried the third and fourth doorways. He got as close to them as possible before he felt as though he was in danger of being sucked in, before he withdrew.

'I can only enter the third and fourth entrances…is it just me or…' Kain looked at Bai Lian, who was still letting out chuckles whenever she got a glimpse of the red bump on his forehead.

But the second she made eye contact, the smirk at the corner of her lips immediately went away.

"You should give it a try…" Before Kain even finished talking she was already shaking her head frantically.

'Sigh…I hate to do this…' Kain walked over to stand over the heavily injured girl, and slammed his hand against the wall next to her head. "I wasn't asking."

Bai Lian's eyes widened in fear as his hand indented the sturdy wall slightly.

'Well that's new…' Even Kain was surprised by his body which seemed to have been completely rebuilt stronger since he was 'resurrected.'

But although unintentional, the intimidation tactic worked. Teary-eyed, she shuffled over to each entrance while grumbling about 'what could Serena ever possibly have seen in him…'

But her results were the exact same as Kain's. She was unable to enter the first and second entryways, but was able to enter the third and fourth ones.

Relieved that he wasn't forcing her to enter any of them, Bai Lian returned next to him a lot more calm.

"So each trial only allows two entrants at a time…why?" Kain murmured.

Bai Lian hearing him, answered without a thought, "Isn't it to prevent people like you from ruining the purpose of the trial…"

Kain's head snapped in her direction and she immediately flinched away. "Nevermind! Nevermind…"

"What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing! Nothing! Don't be mad!"

"I'm not mad, so just clarify what you meant."

"Nothing! I'm sorry! Don't be mad!"

"I'm not mad…but if you don't answer immediately, I will be."

Bai Lian's mouth immediately snapped shut, and then, after hesitantly examining his expression to see if he meant what he said, she elaborated:

"Well, you wanted to enter that one to help Serena defeat Soreia…but if I were the relic, I wouldn't want that. The purpose of these trials is to find the most suitable person for an inheritance…but what if the most suitable person is eliminated because they were ganged up on by people like…you. So it makes sense… to only allow 2 people… in at a time…" Her voice got progressively quieter as she spoke, until it was no higher than the buzz of a bee's wings—thankfully, Kain was able to hear her fully.

"Dammit…" Kain hated to admit it, but her reasoning made sense, there was no way for Kain to help Serena…