While the students began their challenge, at the entrance of the forest Son stood with his two daughters, staring into the woods.
"Daddy… w-will they be okay? Termi and the others?" Roberta asked innocently, holding Son's hand tightly.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. They'll be fine. I know they're strong enough to come out of this alive," Son said with a confident smile.
Back inside the forest, Terrmomix and Cesar were at the top of a tree, looking for a place to spend the night.
"Terrmomix, that cave looks perfect to protect us tonight," Cesar said, pointing at a dark cave.
Terrmomix agreed and they ran toward it to check. When they arrived, the cave was pitch black. Cesar started walking inside until Terrmomix said:
"Wait, Cesar… I heard something."
Cesar froze, trying to listen too. After a few seconds, he finally heard it—many presences moving inside. From the darkness, a pack of two-meter-tall bears emerged.
Terrmomix and Cesar unsheathed their weapons immediately. The bears attacked with ferocious bites. The two managed to dodge their attacks; Terrmomix, with precise slashes, cut off the heads of two bears. On the other side, Marco fought three bears at once, slicing their bodies and making them bleed out. After a few minutes, the cave was flooded with bear blood and their bodies lay everywhere.
"With this we'll stay warm tonight," Terrmomix said as he touched the bears' fur, examining it.
Cesar smiled and took out a knife to start cutting the skin.
In another part of the forest, Brandon and Jhonatan ran through the woods, killing animals big and small without stopping.
"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?!" Brandon yelled in frustration as he jumped between branches, killing giant snakes and wolves.
"I think it's normal in a forest this huge. But that doesn't matter—we need to find a place to spend the night," Jhonatan said, running on the ground and killing wild animals too.
"Alright, THEN LET'S NOT WASTE ANY TIME!" Brandon shouted with excitement.
Marco and Ben had reached a river. They kneeled by the edge to clean the blood from their clothes and katanas.
"This river is way too calm, don't you think?" Ben said while wiping blood off his arm.
"Yeah… it's even suspicious," Marco said as he cleaned the blade of his katana.
Ben leaned closer to see his reflection in the water, but suddenly bubbles started rising. Ben immediately realized what it was.
"MARCO, MOVE!!" Ben shouted.
Marco, who had his back turned, barely managed to turn around before a massive anaconda burst out of the river, opening its huge mouth to attack them.
The only thing that crossed Marco's mind was: "What? What is an anaconda doing here? How?!"
It turned out the anaconda had dug a deep hole at the bottom of the river where it hid.
Ben threw himself at Marco, pulling him away just seconds before the anaconda slammed its jaws into the ground where Marco had been.
The ground shook slightly from the impact. Marco snapped back to reality, staring at the giant creature.
"Marco, get ready to fight," Ben said, unsheathing his katana quickly.
"Y-Yes, okay!" Marco said as he stood up and gripped his katana tightly.
The anaconda stared at them with crimson eyes. It must have been at least fifteen meters tall. Its fangs were razor sharp, dripping venom. Marco trembled for a moment, but then calmed himself and prepared to attack.
The anaconda launched itself toward them. Marco stepped in front of Ben.
"FLAME TECHNIQUE: BURNING SHIELD!" Marco shouted. His katana was engulfed in flames as he drew a circle in front of him, creating a shield of fire.
The anaconda hit the wall of flames and screamed in pain, writhing violently.
"NOW, BEN!!" Marco yelled.
Ben ran, placed his foot on a tree trunk, and launched himself toward the creature's neck. He jumped incredibly high and managed to reach it, but the anaconda recovered quickly, opened its mouth, and lunged at Ben.
Marco managed to slice part of its tail before it could strike, making the anaconda scream again. Ben used that moment to dodge its attack and land safely on the ground.
"Ben, let's try again," Marco said, staring at the creature.
Ben looked at him and grinned.
"Alright. Let's do it again and again until it's dead."
The anaconda recovered once more. Without hesitation, Marco and Ben charged again.
Ben sprinted toward another trunk to gain momentum and reach its neck while Marco distracted the anaconda, dodging its ferocious strikes. One of the attacks finally connected, sending Marco crashing into a tree and breaking the trunk.
"MARCO!!" Ben shouted as he was already mid-air.
The anaconda turned to attack Ben, but at that moment Marco stood up, blood running down his face.
Marco threw his katana with all his strength, piercing the anaconda's eye and making it scream yet again. Ben took advantage of this, shifted his posture, reached the neck, and delivered multiple slashes from different angles. Ben landed gently on the ground—and behind him, the anaconda's head fell too.
"HAHAHA W-We… we did it, Marco," Ben said with a tired but joyful smile.
"Yeah… we did it. Let's rest for a bit," Marco said, blood on his face and almost fainting.
Ben helped Marco sit down and tended to his wounds while Marco rested from the brutal hit he took against the tree.
The anaconda's head was dragged away by the river, but neither of them paid attention to it.