601
'Did it just laugh?'
Jin definitely saw it. Despite having a face completely different from a human, the expression distinctly gave off a sinister vibe.
However, there was no time to think about such things. Because in an instant, all the strength he had trained all his life disappeared.
Jin couldn't even feel a trace of the aura and mana that were close to 10-star. It was as if it had never existed in the first place.
"You must be feeling a sense of loss, brother Jin. But you just have to reclaim it from chaos."
Naturally, it was not as easy as it sounded.
But instead of despairing, Jin raised his head and glared at Chaos.
'There is no choice anyway.'
Come to think of it, it wasn't such a bad situation. If Jin had arrived at Laprarosa a little late, he would have been attacked by that chaos monster without knowing why.
Although he lost his aura and mana, most of the many formidable enemies that Jin had fought so far had much stronger power than him.
Fighting against stronger opponents and winning somehow was one of the things Jin did best.
The entity of chaos was looking at Vahn with a smiling face.
'It is very afraid of sister battle god. It is revealing it all by rolling eyes without thinking about it.'
Fear is a weakness. In that sense, Chaos looked very immature in Jin's eyes. Chaos isn't the only one who recognizes Jin as Vahn's weakness.
"Sister battle god. This situation is definitely purification, not training, right?"
"Yes. I'm not lying to train my brother. Indeed, that's something neither I nor the other brethren can do for you."
"Yes, I didn't ask because I thought sister battle god might have deceived me for training."
"Then?"
"Since it wasn't training, I was wondering if I could get help from my brethren in case of an emergency."
Vahn nodded.
"Of course it is possible."
Sss...
The straps of the extraction aid device tied to Jin's head were released. Jin, who slowly got up, picked up Sigmund.
Habits are scary.
He naturally tried to imbue the sword with lightning energy, but there was no response at all. Even Sigmund felt heavy without the power of the aura that always supported the body.
Chaos once again laughed at that part.
"That means I will never die fighting it."
The Plutonians could not directly hit Chaos, and if Jin was in danger, they could always save him.
"Of course you will not be crippled."
"Also, if it harms me beyond recovery. The brethren will definitely take revenge."
"I will always personally witness the fight between Brother Jin and chaos, so there will be no such incidents. However, if that thing kills you through a method we can't get involved with. At that time, I will definitely take revenge."
The corners of Chaos's mouth, which had been subtly sneering, stiffened.
'It has the intelligence to understand words, but does it have the ability to think only one step ahead? It keeps revealing superficial intentions.'
Jin doesn't know exactly how much power chaos possessed, but even the energy it took away from him was at a level close to 10-star. Besides, it has chaos energy, so it is highly likely that it was a formidable opponent even before Jin lost his strength.
It was fortunate for Jin that its intelligence was low.
"Are you going to fight right now?"
"Yes, sister battle god."
As Jin slowly began to approach, Chaos also spread its wings and got up. Its shadow covered Jin and Vahn.
'The feeling of intimidation... is no joke.'
Jin felt even more so because he had lost his strength. Jin was even convinced that he would die if chaos just lifted its front paw and pressed down as if it was killing a bug.
A nervous laughter escaped Jin due to the trembling helplessness. Jin's battle prowess, who had been engaged in sleepless sparring with the battle kings of the Plutonian tribe until just 30 minutes ago, had truly disappeared.
However, the confrontation between Jin and the chaos was progressing somewhat strangely.
The closer Jin got, the more it stepped back. Of course, it's not because Chaos is afraid to fight Jin.
It was because Vahn is about five steps behind Jin, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.
'Is this what it felt like to fight with someone behind you?'
The two eyes of the Vahn were emitting blazing bloodlust towards the chaos. It was a look that quietly said, "Sit still and let brother Jin take his strength, then die quietly."
Jin was frustrated by the chaos that only widened the distance, and it's a worthy death for chaos.
"Hmm."
In the end, Jin started charging first. Chaos also tried to increase the distance faster, but when it met the blazing eyes of Vahn, chaos was unable to move as it wished.
And Jin was shocked by the fact that he was so 'slow'. A body that is not assisted by an aura is almost nothing more than a low-level martial artist.
Anyway, Jin vigorously thrust out his sword.
He couldn't leap all the way to Chaos's head, so his striking point was chaos's front feet. With full force in his abdomen and a powerful swing, the downward slash produced a quaint little impact sound— not a slash, not a clang, not a thud, but a cute little 'pong'! It once again shattered Jin's posture.
Even that wasn't the end.
Even though Jin himself attacked, he even bounced back because of the repulsive force of the protective shield that chaos reflexively deployed.
"Cough!"
* * *
Surprisingly or unfortunately.
It was only a full day later that Jin opened his eyes. To him, it felt like he had merely blinked once.
"Ha...."
As soon as Jin woke up, he sighed involuntarily.
Jin could quickly grasp the situation from the worried faces of his brethren looking down at him.
"Brother Jin! You woke up. Are you okay?"
"Hey, don't try to get up right away. Your bones are not fully healed yet."
"Bones? Did my bones break?"
"About seventeen... Normally, if it were your sturdy body, they would heal quickly, but it'll take some time now."
Only bones and organs were damaged thanks to training his blessed muscles to the limit. If he had been another low-level martial artist, he would have died instantly from the recoil of chaos.
For Jin, it was a series of shocks.
'Even so... I couldn't even perceive the moment I lost consciousness? Me?'
It was frustrating, but the memories of countless battles he had endured to the end passed through Jin's mind.
Jin has memories of enduring with will strength in any situation, but such an unsightly defeat!
"What happened to that guy?"
"Well...."
"No, it's fine. I asked the obvious."
Chaos was sleeping in the middle of the training ground. If compared to a person, it seemed to have received a shock equivalent to not losing a single hair.
'It's not a situation where mental strength or willpower can make a difference.'
Even if an ant exerted its utmost effort, it couldn't defeat a tiger. The gap between Jin and Chaos was almost of that magnitude.
While lying down, Jin opened and closed his fists, checking his body condition once again.
It seemed that he could feel an extremely weak aura and mana. The control that allowed even a single piece of cotton to move as he pleased was gone. It took a considerable amount of time just to become aware of this.
'Should I build up my strength from the beginning and deal with it? No, that would be hopeless within three years.'
Once he walks that path, he can reach the destination faster than before. However, three years would still be far from enough.
As Jin pondered, the door opened, and Vahn entered.
"Sister battle god."
Unlike the gloomy and serious Jin, she had a faint smile on her face.
"I didn't know that brother Jin would have such a foolish look."
"I did make a fool of myself. It's embarrassing."
"That's not what I meant."
As if she couldn't hold it, Vahn burst into laughter.
Jin didn't hate it even if she made fun of him. Instead, he felt relieved to see a humble side that was rarely seen among the absolute beings.
'Well, sister Vahn is immune to demonicization, so even when she reaches extremes, doesn't she become desolate on the inside like my father or Sir Ron?'
Vahn looked at Bradamante, which was lying next to Jin.
"It was a little odd since brother Jin naturally chose Sigmund over Bradamante before you ran into chaos. It seemed like the clever Brother Jin was missing something so simple."
"What do you mean... Oh, don't tell me?"
"Yes, brother Jin, you only lost your aura and mana. It means that your shadow force still remains."
In an instant, Jin's face reddened. The other Plutonians couldn't hold back their laughter, making Jin even more embarrassed.
Jin didn't think about shadow force because he felt a sense of loss of having lost all of his aura and mana.
"How stupid I was to forget this!?"
"I thought you were pretending to lose your shadow force just to catch the chaos off guard, like always."
A lump of shadow force formed in Jin's grip as he lay down. Jin let out a disheartened laugh as he saw it.
"If I dealt with it with the shadow sword...."
"The result would have been the same, but the process would have been different."
"I will face the chaos as soon as I feel better. In this fight, I couldn't even figure out its approximate power at all."
"Right. And even though it's invisible to my eyes and the eyes of other brethren, you should be able to feel the power it took from you, brother Jin."
The key was to fight and recover the strength. The more Jin regains his original strength, the naturally weaker chaos will become.
The recovery was over after five days. Jin, along with his brethren, once again found Chaos lying on the training ground and raised his sword.
Chaos reluctantly lifted its head, as if expressing exhaustion.
There were two reasons why chaos was so relaxed.
First, because Jin was unbelievably weak, and second, because even after unintentionally harming Jin, the Plutonians did not retaliate.
Therefore, Chaos planned to continue postponing its death by making Jin faint every time he attacked.
[Haaaaam.]
After yawning profusely, Chaos took a nap again with the protective shield on.
'Does it not know that I have shadow force, or does shadow force not pose a threat even if it knows?'
Either way Jin should check it out.
Jin approached Chaos confidently, and with Bradamante enveloped in shadow force, he struck the protective shield with all his might.
[Kyaaak!]
As soon as the shadow force touched the protective shield, chaos jumped up and blinked its eyes.
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602
It looked like a startled cat springing up like a bowstring. Although its body was too massive to be compared to a cat.
Kwoong-!
As chaos fell on its back, an earthquake shook the entire training ground. Jin took a backward step with just the slight shock that occurred.
'Certainly, it reacts sensitively to shadow force.'
Yona, Amela, Glyek, etc. Almost every chaos Jin experienced greatly feared or harbored deep resentment towards Solderet's power.
The first chaos derived from Helluram was no different. The creature had widened its eyes as if they would pop out at any moment, breathing steadily.
It couldn't be seen, but it felt like chaos was even breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Oh, this time, it seems like brother Jin is making a move right from the start?"
"Brother! Well done, keep it up, give it a real beating!"
The Plutonians who came to watch the match (with refreshments and alcohol prepared in the audience) clenched their fists and shouted. This time too, Vahn was keeping a distance of five steps.
"Kuh...."
However, it was not easy for Jin to close the distance with chaos again.
Contrary to how chaos had been distracted or looked at Vahn so far, the chaos chaos now exuded clear hostility towards Jin.
Jin's legs did not move, as if he had been facing Tess' heavy pressure.
Either he was terrified, or he lost his will to fight. It wasn't a mental problem.
The reason why Jin's legs stiffened was purely because of the real pressure created by chaos fighting spirit.
"How dare you."
Chaos immediately reaped the fighting spirit as Vahn spoke quietly.
Instead, it complained about unfairness with a tremendously gloomy voice unique to 'chaos of different ranks'.
[Squirm... Nng.]
The voice of chaos, which is different in class, has a certain penetrating power that penetrates the inner side of human beings.
It wasn't just because they were strong beings like Demon God's orb and Glyek that broke the human will to fight with only screams.
The same was true of the first chaos that escaped Jin. Even Jin feels sorry for the whining sound of the guy in the middle of the day.
'Crazy, do I feel sorry for it? What am I thinking?'
Especially, Jin couldn't help but react more sensitively to the creature's voice.
What constituted the creature wasn't just chaos; it had become naturally intertwined with Jin's inner self as it acquired his energy. In other words, there was a kind of inner connection between Jin and the creature, making them feel each other's emotions more vividly.
Therefore, as Jin approached the creature to strike again, he had to constantly steady his emotions. The creature was never to be pitied; it was just a menacing existence that needed to be eradicated.
[Kiiing, Kiiing!]
"What do you mean?"
[Kiii!]
"Noisy. Shut your mouth and receive brother Jin's blade."
On the other hand, the chaos considered this situation absurd. The human was trying to eliminate it, but with Vahn confidently watching its back, the situation felt upside down.
It was all the more so because even if chaos appealed to Vahn, all it got back was a cold and overbearing treatment.
In fact, Chaos had the intention of letting go of Jin as long as he didn't try to harm it.
Originally, it should have become 'one' by devouring Jin, but now that they were divided, it thought they could each lead their own lives.
Chaos didn't even perceive that it had taken Jin's power. It felt it was originally its possession.
The chaos began to distance itself from Jin, and Jin found himself in the position of chasing after the fleeing creature.
And the chaos that ran away was agonizing over why Jin had 'shadow force'.
Jin was thinking about how to get rid of that shallow and nasty guy.
'I'm sure the shadow sword is a threat to it, but my body doesn't respond well enough to open the shadow sword.'
Whoosh!
Jin bites his teeth. He couldn't properly strengthen his body with only shadow force. He released the shadow force armor (Multa's rune could not be used due to lack of mana), but it was impossible to open Bradamante.
'Should I learn to strengthen my body with shadow force? I don't know how long that might take either. If I'm not careful, my aura release might go wrong when I get my aura back after using shadow force mostly.'
Jin never thought the moment would come when he missed the aura that filled every vein so much. It was strange just to imagine filling the empty dantian and aura operating organs with shadow force instead.
"Mmm."
"At first, it looked like Brother Jin had just hit it, but there is no difference. Can this be called a fight?"
"I feel so sorry for Brother Jin. Our powerful brother has become so weak..."
"Hey, don't say such negative things. If you keep saying that, brother Jin might never become strong again."
However, as time passed, Jin and Vahn began to understand this battle on a completely different level than the others at the training ground.
'It is as the sister battle god said. I'm still a long way from closing the distance with it, but I'm starting to feel the strength that sister Vahn said about me little by little.'
Like a light hidden in thick fog, the energy of Jin, which Chaos had taken away, glowed softly all over chaos's body.
It was only visible in Jin's eyes, and it seemed that if he held on to it, it would come crashing into him like a wave.
'Darn it, it's risky to let the sister battle god break that cursed shield for me. Just hitting the shield could cause problems with my strength it has. Sister Vahn must be silent because she's worried about that.'
It was as Jin thought.
However, it's not only that, Vahn also felt a strange sensation while maintaining a five steps distance with Jin.
'Is there some kind of resonance happening between brother Jin and me...?'
The Plutonian's illuminating heart and the power contained within it can be amplified in response to Vahn's power.
That was the reason why the illuminating hearts of the battle kings were particularly bright when Jin first visited the hall of battle gods in Laprarosa. The Plutonian called the phenomenon "battle god resonance."
Jin also has an illuminating heart, so he can resonate in the same way, but not now.
'Right now, Brother Jin's illuminating heart won't even have the least energy left for resonance...… why?'
Suddenly, as if something occurred to her, Vahn grabbed Jin's shoulders.
"Sister battle god?"
"Brother Jin, don't you feel it?"
"What... huh?"
Jin stopped walking. Thanks to Vahn's strengthening him with Battle God Resonance, Jin could now feel the same sensation as her.
'It seems that the power of the sister battle god is somehow connected to me...!'
It was an unfamiliar feeling to Jin as well. However, it wasn't the first time.
32nd island of the Blue Bird Archipelago.
- (My brother, Peitel, whom I want to kill.)
-(Did you dare to think you could descend to my grave...?)
Something similar happened in the Archipelago, where Joshua's clone was first killed.
On that day, the memory of the thunder god 'Gram' remaining in Sigmund resonated with the sword and strengthened his lightning energy.
A feeling similar to that time wrapped around Jin.
"It seems like I can help you after all, brother Jin."
Goooo...!
As if the sky spread out of nowhere, as if it were submerged in a tidal wave.
The entire training ground was filled with blue lightning energy. It was a phenomenon that occurred when Vahn spread her energy.
[Kek, kek!?]
Chaos misunderstood that Vahn changed her mind and thought she was trying to harm itself, whether or not Jin was harmed, but it wasn't. If that were the case, Chaos would have been torn to pieces with just Vahn's energy.
The reason Vahn released her energy was to send it to Jin.
Just like God grants divine power to humans.
She had never lent her energy to others in this way, but she was confident that Jin would be able to accept that energy.
Chaos crouched down in fear, still not grasping the situation.
Jin shuddered at the sensation of being "reborn."
Puzzzz-!
As if sparks were spreading, the light was rising from Jin's chest. The illuminating heart began to flash with blue lighting energy again.
Even on Bradamante's black blade, which was soaked in shadow force, there was a blue energy.
Jin's body, which had been as heavy as a stone, became much lighter, and it seemed that he could cut off the shield of chaos.
'Now, I guess I can fight properly.'
How the hell the two came to resonate, how they will cultivate this new way of 'transmission' in the future, and what problems are there with resonance? It's not too late to think about these questions after this fight is over. After all, there is no way Jin will die or become crippled while fighting chaos.
"I found out recently that I'm on borrowed time. It was quite surprising. Feel that, Chaos. Now, you're on borrowed time."
Shaak-!
Even the seemingly endless protective shield felt much closer, as Jin closed the distance with just two leaps.
Jin swung his sword with eyes almost full of joy, but Vahn kept 5 steps with Jin again.
As for chaos, it was going crazy and jumping.
[Kyaaaaaagh!]
Jin was knocked back once by the roar of chaos, but he didn't faint like before.
'It's pretty bearable. It's not like the last time I'm going to get beaten up like that.'
Of course, the power displayed by the chaos was only a small fraction. However, now the chaos had become a target that Jin could break through, not an impenetrable wall.
Bradamante managed to pierce through a part of the chaos's protective shield. Startled by Jin's sudden increase in strength, the chaos couldn't immediately restore the shield, and Jin, seizing the opportunity, attacked.
Stepping into the protective shield, Jin avoided the reflexively swinging forepaw and aimed for its instep. On the top of its foot, there was a lump of energy that originally belonged to Jin.
Jin quickly jumped onto its instep before he started to struggle in earnest.
Like grabbing a fallen object, Jin extended his hand towards the energy. It felt like savoring the sweetness of a delicious fruit after days of hunger, waking up his entire bloodstream in an instant.
He could feel his lost strength entering the danteon. The power regained from the chaos was about 10% of the aura.
The moment of joy was short-lived. As the energy returned to his body, consciousness was abruptly cut off again, like a thread snapping.
However, the unconscious Jin wore a blissful smile, much like those who recover something precious.
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***
More than 15 days have passed since Jin entered Laprarosa. Jin, who opened his eyes, stopped counting how many times he had woken up from fainting.
'Well, at least this time I woke up with a refreshing feeling.'
This is thanks to the fact that he regained 10% of his strength right before he fainted.
In fact, Jin not only felt good but also sensed that his entire body was light. The regained aura was naturally infusing strength throughout his body.
"Brother Jin has awakened again."
"Looks like you've regained some of your strength at the last moment, and the recovery is indeed fast!"
The brethren approached and handed over water and 'Cakto', a traditional snack of the Plutonian.
"How long has it been since this time?"
"Five hours?"
"Five. It's been a while since I've regained some of my strength. But I don't really remember how he knocked me out...…."
"You didn't collapse due to the attacks of Chaos, Brother Jin."
As Vahn entered, the Plutonian stood up and politely bowed.
Originally, they had always been polite to Vahn, but after being scolded the other day, they were showing true military discipline.
"The reason Brother Jin lost consciousness was not because of his attack, but because of the battle god resonance."
According to Vahn's explanation, the reason why Jin fainted was a kind of 'overload' phenomenon. Jin couldn't handle her power.
"Just before you collapsed, my energy suddenly resonated with you at an extremely fast speed."
The fact that the battle god resonance started, and the fact that the resonance quickly amplified so quickly that even half of it was out of control.
It all happened regardless of her intentions.
"Has this never happened before?"
"No. In the first place, the battle god resonance was not fully achieved even though you had an optical heart."
"Yeah, I remember that too."
Jin's illuminating heart was formed when he was transfused with Vahn's blood during his first Laprarosa training.
Afterwards, he spontaneously tried a few times to battle god resonance, but unlike other Plutonian, Jin's illuminating heart didn't respond very much to Vahn's power.
"I've been thinking about what could be the reason."
"Even if I have an illuminating heart, wouldn't it be because my body is fundamentally different from that of my other brethren?"
"I thought so too. Boras also inferred that. But today, seeing the unexpected rise of the Battle god Resonance, I'm convinced there must be another reason."
"What kind of...?"
"In terms of a bowl, you were always full. That's why there was no room for my strength to be added."
"It could be."
"Besides, since our bodies are fundamentally different, you couldn't resonate with the power of the Sister Battle God!"
Boras said, stepping between them.
He had a look of excitement with twinkling eyes, as is often the case with researchers who make new discoveries.
"But this time Brother Jin lost all his strength, so there is room for it. Haha!"
"Brother Boras, what about the body?"
"That part is particularly interesting, Brother Jin."
Tup, snooze!
Boras quickly pressed his fingers all over Jin's body.
"Didn't you say that when you were engulfed in chaos in Glyek's subspace and battle god's blood, resist it? At that time, it is clear that the blood of the Sister Battle God changed the body of the brother Jin in order to survive."
"Hmm."
"Evolution, so to speak! And your resonance is completely different from the way that is unique to our species. It should be seen as the resonance of the Plutonian's Battle God and Jin Runcandel, not the resonance of the Plutonian's Battle God and the Plutonian's warriors."
"What difference does it make?"
"It means that it's a clue to complete the legendary martial art...."
"Legendary martial arts?"
Somehow Boras's words sounded a little swindlery, but he couldn't help but feel intense curiosity.
"Cheer, have you heard of synchronizing with battle god?"
"I am hearing this for the first time."
"Another battle god that existed before the present sister battle god. Brother Nana, the great warrior of the Plutonian...… It is said that he was able to give all his strength to his son, Kaka. Through Battle God Fusion."
At that point, 9th battle King 'Baba' nodded his head proudly. Baba was a descendant of Nana, a great warrior of the Plutonian.
"Brother Nana wasn't able to give that power to the other brethren either. It was only possible to have a normal resonance. Anyway, Brother Kaka, the son of Brother Nana, received all of Brother Nana's strength and became the next battle god."
If the transmission of power could continue in that way, the current battle god would be Baba, not Vahn.
Nana and Kaka were very special cases in the history of the Plutonian.
And their story belonged to the 'ancient legend' from the perspective of the Plutonian. It was no different from founding myths or epic hero tales found in any culture.
"Thus, I think, sister battle god and brother Jin are also able to use the same martial arts as our great ancestors."
It might have sounded a bit speculative, but it had only been five hours since Jinn experienced fusion with battle god.
Besides, Vahn didn't add anything else as if she agreed with Boras' opinion.
'If I could use sister Vahn's power....'
Chaos, who is still sleeping on the training ground, is not a problem.
In addition, it will be difficult to find Jin's opponent in the human world.
But things aren't going to be that simple.
"Even if it's a truly feasible martial art, it seems like there will definitely be a price to pay. You haven't told me anything about it, right?"
"Definitely? The side effects are that the sister battle god couldn't control the resonance and brother Jin fainted."
"I see."
"Get ready, brother Jin. Let's go straight to the training ground."
Vahn met Jin's eyes and said.
It was not to have a direct rematch with Chaos, but to go to the training ground in order to make several attempts at fusion with battle god.
"Okay, sister battle god."
Chaos, who was sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, jumped up and showed a wary look when Jin, who had collapsed, rushed to the training ground with the Plutonian in just five hours.
[Kaaak!]
Although he had won the previous fight, from the point of view of chaos, he was showing a more hostile look towards Jin since he had 10 percent of his aura stolen.
As always, Vahn killed the spirit of chaos with a glance.
"Either go to the corner to sleep or play alone. Spend the rest of your time on your own."
[Roar….!]
Jin thought that chaos was pitiful once again looking at his back going to the corner.
'I don't think he's that bad...… No, he was formed from Helluram and Glyek in the first place and took away all my strength. Damn it, I keep feeling strongly sympathized with his psychology.'
He is pretending to be pitiful...….
Even if Jin tried to think so, it wasn't easy. In fact, Chaos was crouching in the corner, looking at Jin and the Plutonian with very pitiful eyes.
He wonders what they are doing. In particular, earlier Jin suddenly became stronger with the power of battle god and threatened himself, so he couldn't help but be more concerned.
Anyway, Jin managed to turn away from the gaze of chaos and began to focus on Vahn.
Ugh...…!
After a while, a radiance shone in Jin's illuminating heart. However, the other Plutonian' illuminating hearts remained the same.
"As expected by Brother Boras. Certainly, this is a resonance unique to Brother Jin and me. I haven't raised the Battle God resonance now."
"That's true! Our hearts don't shine, right? Only the hearts of sister battle god and brother Jin are shining."
The Plutonian looked at the two in turn as if they were curious. Jin also smiled as he felt the energy of Vahn filling up his whole body once again.
'It is an energy that seems to be several times greater than the recovered 10% power. If Chaos doesn't have a trump card, I think I can put an end to it right away.'
At the same time, Jin was also anxious. It was because, regardless of the attack of chaos like before, it was possible that he would faint suddenly as a side effect of Battle God Fusion.
And Vahn tilted her head, as if wondering something.
"But it is strange. Why does this only happen at the training ground? There was no response in the hospital bed."
"Didn't the Sister Battle God trigger something when you came to the training ground?"
"No, I didn't do anything. Resonance began as soon as I was trying to look back on the feeling of the fight between brother and that guy."
[Krrrr, Kiiiiii. Kiii, kiii.]
At that moment, Chaos let out a mournful cry as if appealing to Vahn for something.
And Jin intuitively thought that there might be some kind of relationship between the guy and the Battle God Fusion.
'No way.'
Vahn didn't feel the same way as Jin, but the cries of Chaos were annoying.
"Brother 1st battle king and 2nd battle king. It is causing more of a hindrance to training than I thought."
"We will immediately move it to the second training ground."
Baltirok and Lumora immediately approached Chaos with grim faces.
"You dare interfere with sister battle god's training?"
"Even if you didn't have Brother Jin's power, it feels like an immediate judgement! Follow me."
Chaos was terrified and had no choice but to follow their lead. And Jin quietly watched the chaos as he walked out of the training ground.
Jin hoped that his intuition was wrong.
'Ha, damn it.'
But unfortunately, Jin felt that resonance between himself and Vahn was loosening as soon as Chaos left the training ground. It was the same with Vahn.
"Sister battle god, I guess."
"... I felt it too, brother Jin. Brother 1st battle king and 2nd battle king, bring him back."
Soon after, the two battle kings brought Chaos back to the training ground, and Jin's illuminating heart was again illuminated with intense light.
"Huh."
"What happened? Is the resonance between the sister battle god and brother Jin related to the chaos!?"
The Plutonian, who were watching, were scratching their heads as if confused, and Boras said.
"Was the Battle God Fusion accomplished through chaos...!"
And chaos, like the first time, is very shrewd. He smiled unconsciously when he realized that he had become valuable to them again.
"You punk."
He turned his eyes away with a whimper at the following words of the Vahn.
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Boras was burning with enthusiasm for his continued new discoveries.
"If the Battle God Fusion is accomplished through the medium of chaos, then the ancestor brethren Nana and Kaka could also have something to do with the first chaos. This is a very historic discovery!"
As soon as Vahn turned her gaze to Boras, Chaos looked at Jin and burst into laughter.
Jin's anger soared up.
'Wow... I'm pissed off.'
A feeling of bloating in the stomach. As Jin strode forward, Chaos showed his fangs and took a backward step.
"Hey, do you know how to speak?"
[Kiii, kiiii?]
"You know what I'm saying, and you're shrewd. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like you won't be able to use the language. Explain right away, why are you influencing the Battle God Fusion?"
Chaos just shook his head as if he didn't know what it meant.
"That must also be because of the Battle God's blood, brother Jin."
"Brother Boras."
"As I said before, the sister battle God's blood resisted the chaos during the battle with Glyek and achieved a kind of change or evolution. And at that time, it was not only the blood that had changed...… that chaos. That, too, must have been affected by the battle god's blood."
Battle God's blood and chaos.
Boras determined that the two had changed each other's natures while being woven within Jin's body.
Just as battle god's blood resisted Chaos, chaos collided with Battle God's blood, and a kind of connection was created between the two.
"Originally, the two forces tried to mix within you, but failed. It ended without one side completely encroaching on the other."
However, the fight had returned to a decisive victory of chaos. If Jin hadn't come to Laprarosa, Jin would have been destroyed within a month by the hidden chaos.
"In other words, both battle god's blood and Chaos accepted some of each other's nature and were in a transformed state. But now, there is naturally Battle God Fusion as there is a presence nearby where two energies can react at the same time!"
Boras was saying that Battle god Vahn's aura has attributes that are compatible with both damaged chaos and blood of battle god....
"Yes, I am a genius. To come up with these thoughts in an instant."
"Brother 5th battle king is smart."
"... According to the brother 5th battle king, it seems to explain it to some extent. The reason why is that the Battle God Fusion is only used when the bastard and sister battle god are close."
Nana and Kaka are the only related cases, but there is no detailed record, and that is why the Battle God Fusion is a legendary martial art with no theory left.
So they had no choice but to infer and experiment.
"Brethren. Take the chaos away again."
At Boras' words, Baltirok and Lumora pulled Chaos out of the training ground again.
Sure enough, as soon as the chaos moved away, Jin and Vahn felt the resonance ended again. When he brought him back to the training ground, the resonance started.
The same phenomenon did not happen only at the central training ground. They went around all parts of Laprarosa and repeated the same experiment, but the results were always the same.
"This proves it...."
Boras opened a notebook in which he briefly wrote down the experiment process and results.
"About 500m. Regardless of the place, if the distance between the brothers and Chaos increased beyond that, the fusion will not happen. In order for the Battle God Fusion, the three must be together within 500m."
During the experiment, Vahn raised a question. It was a question about 'distance doesn't matter, and if chaos can manipulate the Battle God Fusion at will?'.
The experiment on him was resolved by covering the eyes of chaos, blocking the rest of the senses as much as possible, and adjusting the distance together for a long time with Jin and Vahn.
The conclusion was that Chaos did not have the ability to control the Battle God Fusion. The only thing that matters is the distance.
Regarding the fact that in the first battle with chaos, the Battle God Fusion did not occur, Boras concluded that it was because 'it took time for the energy of chaos, blood of battle god, and Vahn to cause fusion'.
As the experiment progressed, Chaos became more and more triumphant. Without me, you wouldn't be able to Battle God Fusion...… that kind of attitude.
"Brother Jin."
"Yes, sister battle god."
"Come to think of it, our goal is to purify your chaos and regain your strength, not to acquire unexpected legendary martial arts."
"That's right."
"So, let's end the experiment on the Battle God Fusion here. You'd better get your strands on the way to finish him off."
"I think the same, sister battle god."
Boras was saddened that the legendary discovery had ended this way, but he did not object to Vahn and Jin's decision.
"It's a pity as a blacksmith and researcher, but it can't be helped. Still, just in case even after dealing with the chaos, it is an established fact that the blood of the Jin brother has changed anyway, so maybe we can still find a way to Battle God Fusion."
"It was a mysterious affair in its own way, so fortunately it was not a waste of time. What are you going to do, Brother Jin? Are you going to fight him again from today? Or do you need a break?"
At that point, Chaos had no choice but to turn white. Things are going completely differently than Chaos expected.
"I will start right away."
Anyway, Jin could continue to use the Battle God Fusion until he put an end to the chaos. In the first place, when the three of them are within 500m, the Battle God Fusion is automatically manifested.
Puzzzz!
Vahn's energy began to flow into Jin's illuminating heart. Since he had already regained 10% of his strength, Jin was incomparably stronger than in the previous battle.
As the fight was about to begin, Chaos turned his head around in embarrassment.
But there is no one to stop the fight, and there is nowhere to run. All Chaos could choose was to fight back.
Vahn kept her five steps this time as well, preparing to protect Jin, so even if Jin passed out due to the overload of Battle God Fusion like before, there was no problem at all.
Chaos could never be able to win this battle.
Fzzzzt-!
Of course, it was Jin who rushed first.
Bradamante, imbued with thunderbolt and shadow force energy, now had quite the same power as before. It was thanks to Vahn's energy added to the recovered 10% aura.
Chaos was oppressed by Vahn's bloodlust, so he couldn't even recklessly counterattack. It continued to form a protective shield and retreated.
'Somehow, I feel like a villain.'
Fortunately, Jin was able to shake off that unpleasant feeling before long.
There is a link between Jin and Chaos that connects each other's inner world. Through that, Jin was able to be sure that Chaos was really 'pretending to be pitiful'.
The Chaos was irritated when plans went awry.
'Damn human, you're nothing by yourself, but you mess around like this with monsters on your back?'
The moment Jin heard the sound of chaos in his mind, Jin opened his eyes wide and made eye contact with chaos.
The Plutonians can't hear that sound.
'You are nothing by yourself? Is the guy who took all my power thinking like that?'
It was a series of absurdity for Jin and irritation for Chaos.
'Hey, it would have been nice if we could each live our own lives together! When it comes to this, I also have an idea. No more mercy. Still, it's a pity to just end it, so get hit first! with swinging powerful paws of this body.'
If only the thoughts of chaos hadn't been conveyed. Jin would not have been able to avoid the chaos paws attack that followed in the next moment. It was a speed that the current Jin could not react to even if there was a 10% Aura and battle god synchronization.
'Eh, how did you avoid it!?'
'You're attacking exactly as you thought...….'
'Is it luck? No, you avoid it again!?'
Jin succeeded in going beyond evasion and digging into his side. Before the panicked chaos reflexively pulled his body out, Jin also acquired 10% of the mana that was tied to his side.
'Damn it! You took my strength again...… Ugh!'
Bradamante struck him on the forehead. Jin couldn't cut due to lack of strength, but there was a dull sound of hitting.
"How is that your strength, huh!?"
At the stomach of Chaos, whose posture collapsed as he wrapped his head in pain, Jin threw his sword with all his might once more.
[Kyaaah!]
In the meantime, Jin regained 10% of the aura that was stuck in his abdomen.
"Oh, Brother Jin's energy is getting bigger and bigger!"
"By the way, didn't Brother Jin just say something to him as if he was answering something?"
"Is it? Anyway, if it's like this, he will get it all back soon, right?"
It was according to the words of the watching Plutonian. The strength Jin had already get during the day was 20% of his aura and 10% of his mana.
'I understand how Murakan feels. When I lost my power, it felt like the whole world had disappeared, but when I started to regain it, it was so refreshing. And apparently, unlike me, he can't read my thoughts.'
Jin doesn't know why there was such a difference, and it didn't matter too much.
'The important thing is what move is left for him.'
It was only a few minutes ago that Chaos thought he had a trump card.
Chaos was going to use that method while taking out his anger on Jin for as long as possible, but the situation was not going well, so he had to take it out right away.
'Hmph, now you won't be able to get help from those monsters.'
Chaos spread its wings.
Jin leaped and tried to attack, but suddenly stopped moving as he saw chaos's body disintegrate into particles.
Chaos shape is changing.
'Transformation?'
Vahn showed her anger at chaos's sudden action, but even she herself had no way to stop it. Vahn cannot deal a direct blow to Chaos.
Instead, as soon as the form of chaos dissipated, Jin was able to instantly acquire more of his strength left in the air.
Chaos seemed to have endured that much damage, but it did not reveal his thoughts.
To be precise, the inner side of chaos was no longer transmitted to Jin. As soon as chaos changed its form, the natural sound of the mind was completely cut off.
It didn't take long for the transformation of chaos to be completed. About 10 seconds later, Jin and the Plutonian tribe could only tilt their heads as they confirmed the transformation of chaos.
"That...."
"Door? Is it a door?"
Door.
The form that Chaos transformed into was a door similar to the one that Dante saw in the past when he was trapped in a white stone.
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605
Jin and Plutonians gathered in front of the chaos that turned into a door. Vahn showed her anger, but Chaos showed no reaction as if it had really become an inanimate object.
"It looked like brother Jin seemed to win... Did he run away?"
"To call it an escape feels wrong; it's more like chaos itself has become the door. Quite a peculiar fellow. It might be the first chaos for all we know."
This time, even Jin hesitated to enter.
'His thoughts are blocked. It's not that he's not talking, it is completely cut off as soon as he turns into a door.'
The last thing he felt inside the chaos was the fact that this door was his trump card.
"Brethren, I have just been able to read the thoughts of chaos. That's why I was able to deal with his attacks with ease."
When Jin explained the situation, a sigh flowed from the Plutonians.
"I thought it would be easily solved thanks to the Battle God Fusion, but it seems we've encountered another challenge."
"Still, since Brother Jin regained his strength much faster than I thought, there must be a way. The battle god fusion has not yet been lifted."
The battle god fusion didn't end even after chaos turned into a door.
Unlike the other brethren, however, Jin and Vahn rather thought it was a problem. It was because Jin did not know when he would lose consciousness, and Vahn continued to forcefully transfer her energy to Jin.
"Brethren, it seems like it's time to think about it, so let's go to another place first and talk about it."
Jin and the Plutonians left two ordinary warriors as guards and left the training ground.
'She is not showing it, but sister Vahn seems a little tired....'
Battle God Vahn, originally her energy was practically infinite.
However, as she expressed herself, she is long past her prime. She lost some of her strength even at the moment when the Plutonians were on the verge of extinction 5000 years ago, and she weakened even after passing her true energy to Jin several times.
Therefore, for current Vahn, the battle god fusion was a kind of forced amplification, and it was a somewhat tiring act.
She could not control the energy as desired, and the efficiency of Jin's acceptance of the power was not good.
Other Plutonians couldn't even imagine that Vahn could get tired just from 'transferring' her power.
Naturally, the eyes of all the Plutonians focused on Boras.
"Brother 5th battle king, can you guess anything this time?"
"Yes, brother 5th battle king is genius. You must have thought of something, right?"
Boras laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I don't have a clear idea either. The Battle God Fusion, brother Jin reading Chaos's thoughts, Chaos turning into that door... It's all unprecedented. Let's observe for a few days and collectively think about what to do."
* * *
It's been a week since chaos transformed into a door.
Meanwhile, Jin spent his days training or participating in various experiments with his brethren to understand how the door worked. However, he only discovered two definite things.
Firstly, only Jin could enter the door of Chaos. Any attempt by someone else was met with strong resistance.
Secondly, even through the Shadow Sword, he couldn't force the door open. Any attempt to attack caused the door to briefly blur like water before quickly regaining its original form.
Most of the power Jin had lost was still bound to Chaos. It wasn't visible to Jin's eyes, unlike when Chaos took the form of a dragon, but he could sense it.
He refrained from attempting to attack Chaos with the combined lightning energy of the Plutonians, fearing it might harm his strength attached to Chaos.
The phoenix Tess, which had always been a solution in such moments, couldn't be summoned. After all, Laprarosa was a dead world.
"In the end, Brother Jin has no choice but to go through the door."
"It seems so, sister battle god. After all, the last thought conveyed to me by him was that I could no longer receive help from my brethren."
Stepping into the unknown trap is not difficult if you strengthen your resolve.
The problem was that after entering the door, if an unbearable event occurred for Jin, there was a high likelihood that his brethren wouldn't be able to help him.
In any case, the Plutonians decided to gather in front of the door and wait. Jin, much like when embarking on a journey, had a backpack filled with provisions.
"Ah, is it really okay to send Brother Jin like this?"
"Brother Jin, it might be hard to accept... but even if you lose some strength, how about traveling with the other brethren?"
"I cannot do that, brethren."
"Ah, I said something stupid. I didn't mean to blurt out something without considering your feelings."
"Why explain all that? I understand. Don't worry too much; maybe things will work out better inside the door than expected. I'll be back."
"Good luck, brother."
"Even when you step inside, I hope that sister battle god's power continues to be with you...…."
The Plutonians felt like sending a child into the sea alone. Jin waved to them as if to reassure them, but he, too, felt uneasy.
Whoosh-!
As soon as he took a step beyond the door, the scenery suddenly changed.
'I expected it to some extent, but it's similar to when I entered Glyek's subspace.'
The surroundings were filled with grotesque darkness, and only Jin's outline was distinct. Now, such subspaces were not particularly new to Jin.
Do I just move forward blindly…
The moment Jin thought that far, he heard a low, gloomy breathing sound from somewhere.
[You come....]
It was within the first ten seconds of Jin entering the subspace.
Jin, who was trying to find the direction of the voice, instinctively looked up and was immediately stunned.
'Crazy!'
It was because he met eyes with Chaos.
Even when Chaos was in the training ground, it was already huge, but now it was different. One eye alone was large enough to overwhelm Jin.
For an instant, every fiber of Jin's being tensed up, but he quickly swung the Bradamante, slashing the enormous eye of Chaos that seemed about to engulf him.
Crack-!
It felt like being struck by an ancient everlasting steel, but the one who received the impact was Jin himself.
With just that one blow, he could clearly discern one fact: at this moment, he had no chance of defeating Chaos.
'Even the battle god fusion has not been cut off, but there are not even scars left...…!?'
Jin can't be sure even before he loses his power. The best course of action was to retreat. Far from things working out better than expected, the situation was even more dire than when Jin first extracted Chaos.
[Battle god fusion, that's what you call it, right? That monster's power resonates with the remnants of me left in you, so I had quite a hard time.]
It was an even more despair-inducing turn of events. In the training ground, Jin unilaterally read Chaos's thoughts, but here, it was the opposite. Chaos was peering deeply into Jin's innermost thoughts.
He turned around hastily, but there was no sign of the door. It was absurd to think he hadn't even taken five steps beyond the door.
'This is the worst. Even after considering all the scenarios with my brethren, there's nothing worse than this.'
Bang-!
Jin felt dizzy at the blow that seemed to make his body disappear. It was the result of the enormous foreleg of Chaos sweeping him aside.
[Last time, you didn't get to taste my powerful foreleg swing! Bang, bam.]
The bones and organs of his whole body were shaken with that one blow, and blood burst from every hole in his face. If Jin hadn't been protected by his shadow force armor, he would have died instantly.
There was no surge of anger, no pain.
It was simply bewildering.
'This kind of deception doesn't even exist in scams.'
[Exactly! I felt the same way. It was great when I was the one getting beaten up by that monster, right? How does it feel when it happens to you?]
"I don't think I want to hear that from someone who stole all my strength."
Jin said calmly, but inwardly, he rolled his head as if going insane.
[Are you thinking about why the door disappeared and how to get out?]
Once again, a powerful swing of the foreleg, the area was too vast to avoid. Even if it were smaller, the speed was not one that could be avoided.
The bounced Jin barely held his consciousness.
Jin never thought he would feel this sense of helplessness as he regained nearly 30% of his strength and even Battle God Fusion!
There was no door. If so, he should make it. Fortunately, Jin had experienced something similar in the past a few times.
Whoa-!
Shadow force wrapped around Bradamante.
[Here, that power doesn't pose much of a threat to me either.]
"Is that so?"
Jin swung Bradamante not at Chaos, but into the empty space ahead by a step.
Like a lie, the space was torn apart and a way out was formed. Through the gap, he could see Laprarosa's training ground and even his brethren waiting.
'Didn't you read that I used the shadow sword to escape from a subspace like this?'
Did he not read it, or did he intentionally leave an opening even though he knew it? It wasn't something to worry about right now. After escaping, he could think about the aftermath.
Jin, who suddenly threw himself into the crack made by the shadow sword, was burning with more intense fighting spirit than ever, apart from his urgency.
'I'll become stronger and put an end to you, for sure.'
Swoosh-!
Right before Jin could escape the crack, hundreds of black awls suddenly formed in the air and pierced him like arrows. Chaos had created these awls in the brief opening, wildly attacking Jin, but they couldn't penetrate the shadow force armor.
"Ugh, ah!"
"B-Brother Jin!?"
"You are back already, no! Brother Jin, you are bleeding!"
"Brother Boras! Hurry up and treat brother Jin...…!"
Thud!
As Jin collapsed to the floor of the training ground, the Plutonians rushed over, shouting.
Jin could barely hear their voices.
Instead, Jin stared at the opening where he escaped as he lay face down until he was about to lose consciousness.
With a fanatical gaze promising retaliation, no matter what.
'I will kill you... no matter what it takes.'
And Chaos, unlike its previous demeanor, stared at Jin beyond the crack with a stern expression. As the crack closed rapidly when Jin escaped, it gazed into the now empty space and Chaos muttered to itself.
[Heh, come again. You stupid bastard!]
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