The battlefield had not yet cooled.
After the last Abyss creature fell, Jin did not relax. He stood amid fractured stone and scorched earth, crimson eyes steady, the white six-pointed star in his pupils unmoving as it reflected the writhing silhouettes ahead.
He had encountered some of these creatures before—though he did not know their names. He did not need to.
What mattered was the Mizma
Polluted. Corrupted. Dense.
Perfect fuel.
The Abyss monsters snarled and shifted, their forms unstable—half-wolf aberrations hovering inches above the ground, void sigils rotating around their bodies, purple-black energy leaking like smoke from cracked armor and malformed limbs. Their claws scraped stone without sound, mouths opening too wide, masks splitting with distorted howls.
Behind Jin, most of the Natlan warriors had turned west, catching their breath, checking wounds.
All except one.
"Jin!"
Kachina's voice cut through the noise.
She had recognized him instantly.
She ran toward him, small frame darting across broken ground, spear clutched tightly.
"Jin—you're here!"
Mualani blinked, then followed, sliding over the terrain with practiced ease. Kinich moved last, silent but alert, sword still drawn as his eyes never left Jin.
The three gathered around him.
Jin did not turn.
His attention remained fixed on the Abyss ahead.
"Twelve," he noted calmly.
The creatures shifted, sensing hostility.
Jin finally spoke, voice level, almost polite.
"Take a few steps back. I understand your desire to fight—but I'll handle the rest."
He glanced back briefly.
"You did well. No—more than well. Don't exhaust yourselves."
Then he walked forward alone.
The Abyss beasts reacted immediately, spreading into a circular formation around him—twelve shapes closing in, energy pulsing like infected hearts.
Jin considered calling his spiritual blade—Nihil.
Then dismissed the thought.
Too costly.
This body was different. His divine core was unstable. Uranus' blessings were sealed. He could not afford indulgence.
So he shaped darkness instead.
Shadow condensed in his hand, elongating, hardening—forming a long black sword with no reflection, its edge swallowing light rather than reflecting it.
The beasts lunged.
All at once.
Jin reinforced his boots with darkness and leapt straight upward.
Midair, he twisted, drawing power into the blade, then swung.
A crescent arc of luminous shadow erupted outward—leaving behind a trail of glowing black-violet residue.
The wave screamed through the air.
One wolf-like Abyss creature was cleaved in half, its core imploding as it dissolved into ash.
Another pounced immediately.
Jin landed, stepped inside its reach, and drove his blade upward—straight beneath its jaw.
The sword pierced its skull.
The creature collapsed without a sound.
Before Jin could reset his stance, a larger Abyss brute charged, raising an enormous axe of condensed violet energy.
The strike came down like judgment.
Jin raised his sword and blocked.
The impact sent a violent shock through his arms, rattling bone and muscle alike. He clenched his teeth as pain shot through him.
Darkness surged from the ground.
Jagged shadow-spikes erupted upward, impaling the brute from below, tearing it apart in a burst of corrupted energy.
But the Abyss did not relent.
Two beasts slipped through his guard.
One slashed across his back.
The other sank its fangs into his shoulder.
A sharp crack echoed.
Kachina screamed.
"JIN!"
She ran toward him—
Too close.
From Jin's coat, darkness reacted instinctively.
Black spikes burst outward, skewering both Abyss beasts mid-lunge, tearing through their bodies and pinning them to the ground.
Jin staggered once.
His shoulder was broken.
He knew it immediately.
Pain flared—but he did not slow.
He turned back to the remaining enemies.
Eight left.
He smiled.
A crooked, mocking smile—despite the blood, despite the pain.
He glanced sideways at Kachina.
"Didn't I tell you to stay back?" he said calmly. "I'm fine."
Kachina's eyes trembled.
"Jin—your shoulder—it's broken! Please, don't hurt yourself!"
Jin looked at her.
"I'm not hurting myself," he replied. "I'm fighting."
He extended one hand.
Darkness gathered rapidly, compressing into a dense, glowing sphere. Energy spiraled around it, sparks flickering. The mass ignited—not with heat, but with cold, becoming black-violet flame that distorted the air.
"Step back," Jin said quietly. "You can feel it, right? This energy is polluted."
He looked at her fully now.
"I understand your concern. But their power doesn't affect me."
He vanished.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he accelerated, darkness propelling him forward like a launched projectile.
His blade ignited—black fire crawling along its edge.
An Abyss beast swiped at him.
Jin parried instantly, steel-less blade colliding with corrupted claws. He spun, kicked the creature's head like a ball—
Its skull shattered.
Before the body hit the ground, Jin landed, twisted, and swung again.
The flaming black sword severed another beast's head cleanly.
He didn't stop.
Jin sprinted forward, releasing multiple crescent arcs—darkness fused with cold violet flame.
The arcs tore through the remaining Abyss creatures in rapid succession.
One by one, they fell.
Silence followed.
Jin exhaled.
The sword dissolved. The flames vanished.
He walked calmly toward the corpses.
Darkness spread beneath his feet, forming a vast black pool—thick, liquid-like. From it bloomed crimson spider lilies, their petals sharp and elegant, glowing faintly as they rose.
The pool consumed the bodies slowly.
They sank, dissolving as if melting into ink.
Dark tendrils emerged, collecting each remaining corpse and dragging it into the black surface.
The lilies swayed gently.
Then—one by one—they evaporated.
Nothing remained.
Jin stood alone on solid ground once more.
The Abyss was gone.
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Heat: Thank you very much for reading.