606
* * *
'How many days have passed since I fainted?'
As soon as Jin opened his eyes, he could see his brethren looking down at him with worried faces as always.
"You're awake, Brother Jin."
"I've lost count of how many times I've heard that. I'm tired of losing consciousness now. How much time has passed this time?"
"Two days."
"Ha."
A sense of defeat, or anger. Those emotions were burning hot within Jin's chest.
Splash, splash! No matter how many times he drank the cold water that Nata offered him, there was no sign of the heat going away. The more Jin thought about it, the more he felt like he was going crazy because he hated the chaos.
"What the hell happened inside? I didn't expect you to come back after a minute or two after you went in. Not anyone else, Brother Jin...…."
"Tell us what happened for now."
"I went in and it was his subspace. He was even bigger, right in front of me, and he just knocked me out with one strike. He even read my thoughts, just like I did when he was outside."
There wasn't much to explain. The outcome was decided in a single blow.
"He even said in there that my shadow force wasn't threatening at all. That damn bastard could talk. He even mocked me, asking how it felt to be on the receiving end of a powerful front paw swing... I've never been so helpless before."
"Is this really your first time?"
Vahn spoke as she sat down next to the bed where Jin was lying.
While Jin and the other brethren took the situation seriously, unlike them, Vahn seemed to find it amusing, wearing a subtle smile.
"When you first came here, most of us thought of you as a naive genius. Probably because you hadn't faced many defeats outside, and we assumed your mental strength would be weak."
"Sister battle god."
"But the truth was, brother Jin, you were someone familiar with defeat. When you first came to Laprarosa, you couldn't help but get beaten by the other brethren until you left."
"That's true."
"So, don't attach any special meaning to this defeat."
Jin felt like he was waking up.
As Vahn mentioned, he had already experienced numerous defeats. He had faced greater despair and absurdity than being drained of his strength by chaos countless times.
In particular, compared to the time before his regression, when he fell into the curse, the current situation was somewhat 'manageable.'
"Brother Jin."
"Yes, sister battle god."
"Let me ask you one thing. Do you still want to deal with him on your own, without the help of me and others?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then, you will train from now on."
Vahn decisively reached a conclusion.
"The time given to you is three years, and within that time, I and the other brethren will personally train you to be able to defeat him. And you will have a rematch with him whenever you reach a certain level."
Unlike Jin, the Plutonians did not experience chaos in subspace. They had no choice but to infer his martial arts based on Jin's explanation, and the gap in progress was so great that they couldn't know exactly.
One thing was certain; at the moment, Jin was considered to be at a level where he could be defeated with ease.
It wasn't a matter of training for a day or two; it meant that Jin had to be prepared for death every time he entered the subspace.
"I don't know if it was luck or if there were other reasons. You came back alive today, brother Jin. Even if you lose in the next fight, you just need to survive and escape."
Of course it was dangerous, but the Plutonians remembered what Vahn had said.
"Um, I'm worried about Brother Jin. As sister battle god said, training is originally something that can lead to death..."
"If Brother Jin wants to fight alone, there really is no other solution."
Jin and the Plutonians seemed to agree with Vahn's opinion in an instant.
"In addition, other brethren also undergo training with Brother Jin."
"So sister Vahn, when do you think my next rematch will be?"
"A month later."
It was an insufficient amount of time to narrow the gap. Even the Plutonians seemed to question whether it was okay to be that fast, but Vahn was firm.
"You will fight again in a month to gather more information about him. Reconnaissance, assessment, combat, escape. Since only brother Jin can do all of these, it will be a long and dangerous battle. Everyone, move to the second training ground."
* * *
That one month became the most hellish time in Jin's life, and it was truly just the 'beginning.'
'I never thought there would come a day when I wish the next day wouldn't come because training is so painful...'
Ugh, as he vomited up his gastric juices, Jin got goosebumps all over his body.
The Plutonian tribe's training was incomparably rough compared to that of humans. However, the standard of 'battle god' was higher than that.
The other members of the Plutonian tribe were also staring at each other in a state of near death. However, they quickly regained their energy after just a few hours of rest, and Jin continued to train with a taste of death lingering.
Vahn relentlessly informed Jin that the scheduled rematch date was imminent.
"Brother Jin, you take a day off and enter the door tomorrow. So, today's training is over."
Jin misinterpreted her words as an instruction to "rest by entering the door."
So Jin left the second training grounds and went to the central training ground (of course, Vahn thought Jin was going to the room to rest) and tried to enter the door, but was stopped by Tantel and Shaku who were standing guard. If those two weren't there, he would have faced Chaos again.
"Brother Jin, are you entering the door to rest? Sister battle god couldn't have said that!"
"It's... part of the training...…."
"We'll check, so wait a moment. Hmm, he fainted."
"Oh, well. Let's move him to his room."
When Jin opened his eyes again, it was a familiar ceiling.
'Sister battle god told me to enter the door and rest...! No, something is strange. Did I hear it wrong?'
As soon as Jin regained his consciousness, Vahn laughed at his flustered appearance as if it were funny. Then, as soon as Vahn's eyes met Jin's, she erased her expression and said this.
"Let's go, it's time for the second battle."
As always, all the brethren were waiting at the door. Since they had just gone through hellish training, the Plutonians were as sharp as honed swords.
Jin had only slept for a day. Naturally, the fatigue hadn't dissipated, and his body felt heavy, as if submerged in water.
Jin had to fight the 2nd battle in that state.
'At this point, it seems that the sister battle god is determined to kill me.'
The blind faith in the brethren, especially in Battle God Vahn. Without that, Jin would have shouted that this was madness.
"I'll be back."
"Good luck."
"Come back alive, brother Jin!"
When Jin entered the door, it was the same as last time. Darkness spread out of nowhere, and Jin heard his voice.
[Oh, are you here?]
Swoosh!
As soon as Jin faced the chaos, it felt like all the accumulated fatigue was replaced with anger. It was time to confirm the results of the hellish training...
Jin came out of the door exactly 3 minutes later.
[Anyway, you bastard. So when are we going to have a proper fight? Yawn! I'm getting bored. Yawn!]
Once again, Chaos mocked Jin to his heart's content before the crack from the shadow sword closed.
"Brother Jin is back alive!"
"Brother 5th battle king, give him treatment!"
The Plutonians made a fuss, but Vahn only spoke in a calm voice.
"Three minutes, it's much better than last time."
"Sister battle god, but Brother Jin's injuries are more serious than last time. I think he got out of there by luck this time too, but it's better to postpone the 3rd battle...…!"
"No, we will proceed with the third battle as scheduled in a month. Brother 5th battle king, use any means necessary to ensure that brother Jin can train from tonight onwards."
For Jin, it felt like there were two devils. Chaos beyond the door, and Vahn on this side of the door.
Instead, Jin felt a strange feeling along with anger.
'Somehow sister Vahn... is pretty sure that I'll never die. Am I mistaken?'
There was no time to think seriously. Indeed, Boras healed Jin 'to be able to move' from the night, and the hellish training resumed for a month right away.
"I will be back...."
[The idiot came again. Last time, you were lucky to escape, right? Today, you'll die]
Jin came back without dying.
"2 minutes and 34 seconds. It's actually shorter than last time!"
"But the injuries have decreased. Looks like sister battle god's escape training from the past two months is starting to show its effect. Brother Jin, the battle time was shortened because you escaped at the right time, right?"
A similar pattern continued in the 4th battle, which took place after another month.
Each time, Jin was easily defeated, and Chaos seemed to miss Jin by a narrow margin.
"3 minutes and 57 seconds!"
[Hehe, come at me a hundred times!]
"4 minutes and 12 seconds!"
[No, no. That's why you can't even cut one of my scales.]
"12 minutes and 36 seconds! Besides, this time Brother Jin came back with only one broken arm!"
"Just one? You call that just one? Would you like to have a broken arm?"
[You've become quite good at avoiding powerful front paw swings now, haven't you? But what to do, I haven't shown you my ultra-powerful tail swipe yet.]
"18 minutes and 27 seconds...!"
[Tch, you're running away again...…! Next time, I'll make sure to send you to the afterlife!]
The day that recorded 18 minutes and 27 seconds marked the passage of one year.
From that point on, Jin was dealing with chaos with a certain amount of mental composure. It was still very small, but hope had begun to appear.
"You miss me every time. I've been watching you quietly for the past year, and you've only been talking about it. See you in a month, wait with your neck out. Keep my strength well."
[I hate it, I hate it! Ebebebeb!]
Jin burst out laughing for the first time without even realizing it. It was the first time in the past year.
"Oh, Brother Jin has finally returned without major injuries! Any effective hits?"
"Not yet. I managed to dodge a few fatal blows, but haven't delivered significant damage."
"Where is that, Brother Jin? Great job!"
On that day, the Plutonians were in a festive mood as they saw Jin returning unscathed.
Some brethren couldn't help but shed tears, recalling the horrendous training Jin had endured during that time.
Vahn also tousled Jin's hair and praised him for the first time.
"Good job, brother Jin. In your next fight, you will be able to really intimidate him."
"I think so too, sister battle god. I've regained more strength from him, and I believe I'll reach the pinnacle of the shadow sword ultimate technique I'm mastering...."
After answering that, Jin looked at the empty space beyond the door.
Suddenly, Jin wondered what Chaos would be doing there when he wasn't around.
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* * *
[You took a long time this time, right?]
Chaos raised its head and said.
Today, on the first day of October 1801, Jin had entered the door of chaos three months after the last confrontation. It was the first time after he had fought a battle every month.
"I've been choosing a gift for you."
Jin answered in a low voice.
That calm answer was imbued with a deep hostility toward Chaos. If those who had eyes to discern such profound enmity were to see him now, Jin would almost appear like a demon.
[A gift?]
In the past year and three months, Jin had undergone significant changes. Through the challenging battles of the past, he had regained about half of his strength and accumulated new power through training.
Nevertheless, until now, he had not become a match for chaos.
Even the record he achieved in the last fight, a battle that lasted for 18 minutes and 27 seconds, could hardly be considered a proper fight. Most of the time, he focused on evading and eventually retreated.
However, Jin believed that today would be different.
[Well, did you bring a toy for me?]
Chaos snorted.
'Ultimate technique of the shadow Sword... Did he come after perfecting the technique that he used to think about whenever he fought?'
In this space, Chaos can read Jin's thoughts.
That's why, in each battle, Chaos obtained information about all the martial arts that Jin was learning, including the ultimate technique of the shadow sword, and easily destroyed it.
'I didn't even need to do anything to be exact. Even the techniques that seemed somewhat decent were never fully executed because he lacks the power he possesses.'
So far, what had irritated Chaos was solely Jin's pure enmity. Just reading the enmity made Chaos feel uneasy.
Chaos stood up and looked down at Jin. As always, in its eyes, Jin looked weak enough to kill by simply squeezing him with its front paws.
However, after a while, Chaos felt the enmity that Jin harbored suddenly subside.
[Oh, what's this? Have you realized it's no longer effective against me... Huh?]
And that wasn't all.
Not only that, along with the diminishing enmity, Chaos realized that Jin's inner thoughts were no longer readable.
This was also a first.
This was also a first .
[What did you do?]
Jin didn't answer.
Suddenly, in his right hand was Bradamante, stained black with shadow force, and Chaos could not help but be shocked by the sight.
It was because Chaos completely failed to perceive the moment Jin drew the sword. A ominous premonition sent a chilling shiver down his spine, and his scales stood on end.
[What's this!]
Shaak-!
Chaos quickly swung its forepaw, but he didn't feel the impact of a solid hit. Even swinging the front paw again or hastily striking the surroundings with his tail yielded the same result.
'Where did he go!?'
No matter how he turned his head, Jin's figure was nowhere to be seen. It was as if Jin had never entered this space at all.
'There is no trace of opening the door and running away.'
So, if Chaos released his energy throughout the entire space, Jin would inevitably be caught. However, Chaos was worried about one problem that could arise if he did so, but now was not the time to be so relaxed.
Chaos' vision was suddenly blocked.
'My eyes...!'
For a moment, Chaos had no choice but to mistakenly believe that he had gone blind.
This sub-space was originally composed of chaos, but the color and outline of chaos and Jin's body are not covered by the empty darkness.
But not now. Even if chaos put his front paws and tail in front of his face, or turning his head to look at his wings, all he saw was pitch darkness.
Invisible.
Only then did Chaos realize what had happened. The fact that Jin's hostility did not disappear, it was just blocked as if his vision had suddenly disappeared.
Chaos didn't even have to think about what was blocking them.
Shadow force.
In an instant, the energy of chaos that made up the entire subspace was covered with shadow force.
"It seems this time it even affects you..."
When Jin's low voice was heard again, Chaos reflexively twisted his body.
Chaos couldn't tell from which direction it started. At that time, Chaos was exploding energy in all directions with no worries, but even it did not feel the sense of hitting Jin.
Since the dawn of life, darkness had never shed the symbol of 'terror' even once. Therefore, Chaos, for the first time, found himself enveloped in fear.
The opponent who had seemed so pitiful just a few seconds ago was now becoming an unknown terror, pressing Chaos.
[Hey, wait, wait. How is this possible? This is my territory...…!]
"Finally, you're showing your true shallow self in panic, huh?"
[This bastard!]
"Oh, and I guess you can't read my thoughts in this state? If you had just kept your mouth shut, I wouldn't have known that."
It was a 'sign' that the vision of chaos was blocked when the ultimate technique of shadow sword was unleashed.
The sign naturally colored the subspace from the moment Jin decided to use the ultimate technique of the Shadow sword, and from then on, all of its senses became dull without chaos's knowledge, and it was at the point when Jin pulled out his sword.
Chaos hadn't noticed Jin's sword because he had let his guard down.
"Thanks to that, I've gained more confidence."
Over the past year and three months, the shadow sword's ultimate technique, which had plunged Jin into despair countless times, was beginning.
Shadow Sword Ultimate technique - 1st maneuver
First Night
The darkness that engulfed the chaos deepened. Even if chaos opened or closed its eyes, only endless darkness disturbed the mind of chaos.
His mind felt distorted. It just wasn't a feeling. Chaos was aware that his known senses were going out one by one like flickering candles.
After a sense of sight. The sensation of moving his body, the feeling of air touching his skin, the sense of sound reaching his ears—all these senses were fading away.
It was as if he had become an inanimate object.
Despite the overwhelming fear, he couldn't even express his frustration. No sound came out as if his throat were suddenly sealed shut.
Chaos couldn't see, move his body, or make a sound.
He couldn't even feel the struggle of flailing about. Chaos could do nothing but die, like a puppet with cut strings.
'Thoughts... even thoughts!?'
The last thing to be blocked was consciousness.
The darkness that covered all sides was eroding the mind of chaos like water. He desperately tried to hold on to his fading consciousness, but it was futile.
'No...!'
With that thought as the last, all of Chaos's senses and consciousness were extinguished.
However, he couldn't be in a more vulnerable state. Chaos had been in a state where no matter how much he was attacked, he couldn't wake up, and he couldn't even feel the pain of the impact.
Swoosh...….
Eventually, the figure of Jin, gradually taking steps towards Chaos in the darkness, emerged.
Unlike Chaos, Jin was able to recognize exactly what he was doing. Chaos remained motionless, clinging to the curtains of shadow force.
'It's different from when I used it on the sister Battle god. I am able to succeed like this only because he was just a strong demonic creature.'
Jin observed Chaos for a moment.
Jin wasn't relaxing. It was because he was so exhausted that he couldn't do anything else for a moment while unleashing his ultimate technique of the Shadow Sword.
'Certainly, as the siblings said, the shadow sword feels more like an ability than a technique.'
Shadow Sword Ultimate technique - 1st maneuver, the first night is based on Shadow Sword 1st technique 'Soul Slash'.
-By the way, didn't you say that soul slash is the beginning and end of a shadow sword?
-Yes.
-So, even if you master soul slash, does this mean that leaving a sword mark of only 100 steps in this training ground is the limit?
-If you only master the soul slash, that's the limit. However, when you reach the peak of the martial art called the shadow sword, the soul slash is not a technique, but becomes an ability.
The conversation Jin had with Garmund when he first started to receive training for shadow sword in Laprarosa.
At the time, Garmund had said that if he reaches the peak of the shadow sword and executes a soul slash, he can take the life of anyone weaker in will than himself at any time.
The first night could be considered an intermediate stage leading to the ability to wield "Soul Slash" at that level.
If Chaos had a stronger will than Jin's, the result would have been completely different from now.
"Whoa...."
Jin took a deep breath, adjusting his posture. It was time to cut down Chaos and bring an end to this long nightmare.
Swoosh, slash!
Jin leaped through the darkness of the shadow force enveloping the surroundings, wielding the Bradamante. Each time, flashes of sharp black energy cut through Chaos.
Like shattering glass. Chaos's body was breaking apart.
Jin had never landed a single blow on Chaos until now, but as soon as he mastered the Shadow Sword Ultimate Technique, he was effortlessly cutting through Chaos. The realization of easily defeating Chaos filled Jin with a sense of helplessness and thrill at the same time.
It was also the pleasure of finally regaining strength. Each time Chaos' body was cut into pieces, a chunk that glowed like ore was revealed one by one, all of which were Jin's strength that chaos had stolen.
Jin snatched them and replenished his energy, increasing the speed of his sword swings.
Before long, Jin was able to get all his strength back from chaos. Jin's eyes widened at the power that filled his whole body, and what he saw right after was that the body of chaos disintegrated beyond recognition of its original form.
When the first night technique was over, a feeling of exhaustion came over that was so intense that it overshadowed the sense of recovering all the strength.
'No, if I get tired like this now.'
Jin was not yet convinced that he had put an end to the chaos. It almost seemed like that, but there was still plenty of room for Chaos to recover.
And within seconds, the fear became a reality.
[You, damn...!]
The chaos, which had re-formed before anyone knew it, now hovered in the air, glaring down at Jin.
Fortunately, it was incomparably weaker and smaller than before.
On the other hand, Jin was only temporarily exhausted, so if he could overcome this crisis, he would undoubtedly secure a complete victory in the next battle.
[Bastard!]
Chaos descended and spewed an awl into Jin's chest. Jin managed to block the first three, but the fourth awl was unavoidable.
The fourth awl was aiming for the face, and if hit, the head would disappear. Jin gritted his teeth and raised his sword, but it was a little late.
'Did it stop?'
For some reason, the awl stopped moving in front of Jin's eyes. If it hadn't stopped, at least half of Jin's face would have been torn away.
Seizing the opportunity, Jin could have opened the crack with the Shadow Sword and escaped, securing victory in the next battle.
However, Jin suppressed the urge to do so and made eye contact with Chaos.
"You can't kill me, can you?"
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[Get lost!]
Chaos shouted.
There was no pressure like before. Chaos now had a body roughly the size of a wolf, and even that seemed difficult to maintain as it continued to shrink with each passing moment.
While Jin carefully chose his words, more awls flew towards him. Although he could fend them off again due to a brief opening, continuing to confront in his exhausted state was unreasonable.
'Come to think of it, in the last fight, there were always moments when Chaos could have killed me.'
Attributing it solely to luck seemed odd.
However, Jin could not be sure that chaos would not "kill" him.
Only now, the fact was clearly revealed as it stopped the awl at the crucial moment, but there were more than once or twice when Jin was driven to the brink of death.
'I'd better go out first.'
Jin never knows when chaos will change its mind.
Jin used the last remaining shadow force to open a crack towards Laprarosa. Before stepping out, he looked back at Chaos, who was roaring in an unstable state.
"Oh, you came out so fast this time?"
"Brother Jin, did you finally beat that guy!?"
"It's too early to say I won. I used the ultimate technique of the Shadow Sword to weaken him and regain my strength."
"Come to think of it, I can feel a powerful aura again from you... congratulations, brother Jin!"
"Moreover, since he's weakened now, it's over in the next battle! We should prepare for a celebration soon."
While the brethren were excitedly shouting, Jin felt uncomfortable for some reason.
'The long-awaited victory is right in front of me, but why do I feel so bad?'
As Vahn approached, Jin explained the situation he had been through inside.
"... Seeing the awl stop at the end made me think he couldn't kill me. I thought it might be possible before, but... sister battle god, did you know something?"
"Rather than saying it can't kill you, it's more accurate to say it won't kill you."
At Vahn's words, the Plutonians tilted their heads.
"It won't kill me?"
"Yes."
"Please elaborate."
"When you first visited his subspace, chaos's inner thoughts were also conveyed to me."
Vahn's gaze reached Jin's illuminating heart. Until now, they can use the battle god fusion if the two were together within 500m of the chaos door.
Battle god fusion was a kind of resonance, and the catalyst that triggered it was Chaos.
Jin's battle god blood mixed with Chaos and caused changes, and as a result, Jin and Chaos were able to read each other's thoughts in a certain area.
And resonance was not limited to Jin and Chaos. Like Jin, Vahn also had formed a connection with chaos, thanks to its inherent characteristics.
"The resonance between me and chaos only occurs when you created a crack and escaped the subspace of chaos. Just like you could only read the thoughts of chaos there."
Therefore, Vahn has read the feelings of Jin and Chaos after each fight. In the process, the information Vahn discovered was as follows:
First, chaos cannot escape the subspace on its own once it has been in the form of a 'door'.
Second, chaos waited for Jin to come.
After Vahn explained these things, Jin seemed to understand why Vahn had so vehemently urged a duel.
She was sure that chaos would not kill Jin. The reason was no different.
"Because he is lonely. Chaos has been forced into its territory, but it feels extremely alone there. Besides, only you can go to that place, so if he kills you, he will be alone forever, brother Jin."
-[Tch, you run away well...…! Next time, I'll definitely send him to the afterlife!]
-[You took a long time this time, didn't you?]
-[What, did you bring a toy for me?]
Suddenly, Jin recalled some of the things Chaos had said.
Most of them were jeers and taunts, but sometimes Chaos subtly revealed expressions of loneliness.
'Did he mean that?'
He had developed sympathy for Chaos.
Of course, it was a strange emotion. Just a little while ago, Jin's feelings towards Chaos were closer to hatred for a mortal enemy.
But even after the chaos took such a huge blow, even though chaos knew he couldn't win next time, he stopped the awl at the end...… Actually, he had been waiting for someone to come and kill him in that dark space.
Jin couldn't help but feel pity.
"And I think you must have known at some point that it wasn't killing you. You just couldn't think more about it because of your anger towards chaos."
It was as Vahn said.
"... It wasn't just anger. It's chaos. It also stole all my strength. So, to me, it was a target that had to be punished, regardless of its state of mind."
It was not a good opponent to fight with even a little shaken by compassion and other emotions. It was so strong that even if Jin fought in a well-prepared state, he couldn't win.
Vahn nodded slowly.
"Yeah, that's right. That's why I didn't stop you from fighting it until you could win. It seemed like it would be of great help to your training, and it actually turned out that way."
One of the best driving forces for human growth is hatred.
For the past year and three months, Jin has devoted himself to training and fighting with a deeper anger than ever before. The result was the 1st maneuvre ultimate technique of shadow sword, first night.
In addition, today, he had regained all his former strength, and the accumulated aura and mana were still intact.
Purely in terms of the magnitude of power, Jin had already reached 10-star in both Aura and mana. Jin completed his ultimate technique and reached the latter part of the 9-star in shadow force.
Swoosh...…!
Suddenly, Jin and Vahn's illuminating hearts radiated an even more intense brilliance. As always, it wasn't a phenomenon that both Jin and Vahn wanted.
"Kuh...!"
An unexpectedly massive force was surging into Jin's illuminating heart. Jin would have passed out after a few seconds if he hadn't regained his original strength just a moment ago.
Now he could endure it. Although fatigued, the energies flooding back into his body absorbed Vahn's power like trees welcoming rain after a drought.
The problem was with Vahn. Vahn momentarily stumbled because the released strength was so huge that it was incomparable to the previous one.
"Sister battle god!"
"Sister battle god...!"
The Plutonians panicked and approached Vahn. She raised her hand as if to reassure them, but her face showed signs of exhaustion.
"No need to fuss, brethren. Let's move out of the training ground."
As soon as they moved 500m away from the training ground, the battle god fusion was canceled.
"Come to think of it, now that Brother Jin has regained all his strength, can't we break down the door?"
"If you do that, the phenomenon of battle god fusion will disappear, but... Since that was not the purpose of the brother Jin in the first place, there is no need for the brother Jin to step in to defeat chaos."
Boras replied to Nata's words.
"Brother Jin."
"Yes, sister battle god."
"What are you going to do?"
"Are you asking if I want to kill chaos?"
"Yes."
The eyes of the Plutonians were focused on Jin.
Vahn remained expressionless, while the other members of the Plutonian Tribe seemed divided in their opinions.
Some wanted to eliminate the first Chaos immediately, while others suggested observing for a while, considering its pitiful state.
"Hmmmm. Brother Jin. This is a matter for you to decide, but I think sparing him might be a good idea."
"Brother Boras! What are you talking about? That thing is the first chaos. Now that Brother Jin has regained his strength, we must get rid of him quickly. We don't know if he has any hidden power, and leaving it alone might cause problems later."
"Yeah, he may seem pitiful, but we know best how dangerous the first Chaos is, right?"
"I can't even admit to being pitiful. If sister battle god hadn't taken it out of Brother Jin in the first place, it would have killed Brother Jin!"
"I know, I know. But, chaos is valuable as a research subject. The enemies that brother Jin dealt with outside also use the power of chaos, and we can study the battle god fusion only with that chaos."
"Everyone."
When Jin spoke, the Plutonians stopped talking.
"First of all, my issue has not been fully resolved yet. I regained my strength, but..."
Jin rolls up his sleeves.
"Here, there are still black spots. It seems that its strength has weakened, so they are milder."
"Then, if you kill him, they will disappear completely. Just to tell you, we can't directly enter the subspace of Chaos, but getting rid of the door is a piece of cake."
"He gave me many chances, for whatever reason."
The eyes of the Plutonians widened.
"Whether it was because chaos was lonely or because his only pleasure was to play with me like a toy. He can kill me anyway, but he has spared me many times. So I'd like to give him a chance."
"No, Brother Jin! Since when did you become so merciful?"
"It's not just for that reason. As Brother Boras said, it's worth studying. Aside from the battle god fusion, we might be able to discover something from it that could be helpful when facing Chaos in the future."
The brethren, who had been fiercely opposed until just now, nodded helplessly when Jin made his decision.
"Of course, if he shows any signs of resistance, I will eliminate him immediately."
"If that's Brother Jin's choice, then we have no choice but to follow."
"Well, it's not something that doesn't make sense."
"I'll focus on recovery for the next two days and re-enter the door in the best possible condition. Whatever form it takes, the final decision will be made then, so please be patient."
For the next two days, Jin was able to take a proper rest after a long time.
And it gave the others a chance to rest, who had been working hard, but during that time, Vahn often went to empty training ground alone.
Vahn was seen sitting quietly in front of the door leading to subspace, as if to listen to the chaos.
"Can you hear the inner self of chaos? Sister battle god."
Vahn shook her head and replied:
"No, I can't hear it because there is no crack created by you, brother Jin."
She wore an incredibly bitter expression. She, too, seemed to expect that Jin would kill Chaos.
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* * *
"Thanks to Miss Valeria and the felinoids tribe, it seems that the world of small beastmen is being cleaned up smoothly."
Kashmir said, putting down the teacup.
"The Felinoids Tribe's barrier ability is amazing. They're successfully achieving the 'complete purification' that even Runcandels and Zipfels are struggling with," Cuicantelle nodded.
On the table, where they were sitting, was a letter from Jin to Valeria. The content was to help the felinoids tribesmen to find the 'forgotten temple' of the ancient cat gods.
As it says, Valeria was currently looking for a forgotten temple with the Felinoids, and she was quickly making progress.
"Last time, Valeria said that she might be able to further increase the efficiency of purification by combining the divine power of time with the barrier ability of the Felinoids tribe. Do you know, Kashmir?"
"Yes, I heard that too. As time passes, Miss Valeria is opening up to us more and more, sharing quite a bit of information. She even plays with the kids. Still, it feels somewhat challenging to interact with her comfortably."
"She is like a knife. Should I say it's like watching a cold-hearted Jin? Anyway, the key to adding the divine power of time to the barrier abilities of the Felinoids tribe is Enya. This will only be possible if Enya can better handle the divine power of time."
"Miss Enya is training with fiery dedication every day, so it should happen soon. Dr. Qwaul's development is progressing smoothly...… By the time Lord Jin returns, many things will likely change. However..."
Kashmir's eyes narrowed.
"I am worried that everything will continue to go smoothly. I'm especially concerned about the entanglement between the imperial family and Zipfel. At the moment, we can't delve any deeper into it."
Temar's left arm.
Currently, even Valeria's record magic cannot find the location of his body part held by the imperial family.
It is unknown whether it is still owned only by the imperial family, or whether it is being shared with Zipfel and a new Majin technology is being researched.
However, based on the situation, it was possible to guess. Kashmir determined that it had already been shared with Zipfel.
"Despite Zipfel being so occupied recently, pouring efforts not only into the purification of the Lutero Magic Federation but also into cleansing the lands of the Empire, it's not merely to atone for sins," Kashmir remarked.
The purification of the empire that was carried out by Zipfel was progressing mainly in the eastern region close to the Lutero Magical Federation.
"After the purification of the eastern part of the Empire is completed, and Zipfel regains strength, the Imperial Family will likely choose to join the Lutero Magic Federation along with the eastern regions. Expanding the territory of the Lutero Magic Federation may not hold significant meaning, but what's crucial is the technological expertise in majinification."
"If we can't find and kill the heads of the imperial family, that's bound to happen. What we need to focus on is strengthening the barriers of the felinoids tribe before Jin returns, and applying their barriers to the human world once the world of the small beastmen is purified."
"Yes, I am well aware of it. Anyway, we can only hope that Sir Dante will provide information about the Majins, let's wait and see."
* * *
The Garden of Swords, the Tona brothers were sitting in the central courtyard and smoking.
"Ah, this mission was a bit difficult. 8-star martial artist level contagion...… The people of Ken clan must be devastated. Losing someone groomed as the next best swordsman of their clan."
"We had no choice but to get rid of contagion, but let's visit the Ken clan soon and express our condolences."
They had just returned from a mission to clean up a contaminated area.
Over the past year and three months, Runcandels had cleared more than 70% of the contaminated areas that first occurred after the Sword emperor Castle war.
At this rate, the suppression of the chaos that had invaded Runcandel's territory was only a matter of time. However, for some reason, reports of "chaos-infected individuals" being discovered increased as the purification zones expanded.
In particular, high-ranking martial artists or mage-infected people continued to be found.
So far, Runcandels had swiftly subdued them before they could cause significant harm.
However, the members of the Huphester alliance always felt like they were carrying a bomb that could go off at any moment.
This time, Ken clan's next best sword, and the other time, an elder of the Tuko clan was infected and subdued.
Even the Guardian Knights of Runcandel had been infected several times, so even if they had made a ceasefire agreement with Zipfel, the atmosphere in the Huphester alliance was rather worse than before.
The only consolation was that the Lutero Magic Federation was facing a similar situation.
"Ugh, I am tired. Do we have to rest for just an hour and then move on to the next mission?"
"This time it's Delki Kingdom, right? At least the infected area is away from residential areas, so we might see less human blood."
"Anyway, it's good that we can take a break here for now."
Originally, they mainly used the courtyard of the Guardian Knight's residence. This was especially true when Myu and Anne were waiting in the chambers, but lately they weren't bullying Tona brothers.
Not only that, but as flagbearers, they were making outstanding contributions to the purification mission every time, and naturally, their position in the clan was also rising.
Most members of the clan understood that they were trying to avoid being purged by Jin, who will return later.
Not many people guessed that Myu and Anne had become messengers of the Prophet.
"It has already been more than a year since the youngest left the closed-door training...…."
"I wonder if he's doing well?"
"He probably is. We don't know how much stronger he'll come back."
"Didn't our mother say she would make him patriarch when he returns?"
"She didn't exactly say that, but it felt almost like that."
Closed-door training.
Even though it was a ceasefire, Jin left for training alone when the Huphester alliance was more dizzy than ever.
However, no one in the clan criticized or despised Jin. Rather, they considered it to be the final test of his qualifications before ascending to the throne.
It was because of the achievements made by Jin. In the first place, without him not only the Huphester alliance, but the entire world would have been in a more terrible situation than now.
Besides, since Rosa even sent him herself, most of the members of Runcandel clan had similar thoughts to the Tona brothers. When Jin returns, he will become the patriarch.
"I vividly remember the time when we used to torment the youngest for choosing Barisada in the selection ceremony."
"It's a relief that we didn't die back then."
"It's because it was the storm castle. But we would have been doomed if it was another time."
"But still, both of us gradually became closer to the youngest since then. Myu and Anne, those crazy...… (At this point, Daytona looked around just in case) things might not have tormented us because they were conscious of the youngest."
"If the youngest purges those crazy bitches (Heytona was also looking around), let's be the first to finish them off! Kihikihi, they are finished. Seriously."
Phew, boom-!
At that moment, an explosion was suddenly heard from the main house inside the central courtyard.
As for the Tona brothers, their hearts sank. They thought Myu and Anne had heard their gossip and exploded in anger.
"Ugh, uhhh. Sorry, elder sisters!"
However, the subject of the explosion was not Myu and Anne.
"Wait, this isn't those crazy bitches. It's from the main house! Myu and Anne are not that strong...…!"
Kurur…!
As if an earthquake had occurred, the entire Garden of Swords was vibrating.
Like prey facing a beast, the Tona brothers froze even after they knew it wasn't Myu and Anne.
Currently, as far as they know, there are only two people in the clan who can spread such aura.
Leader of Black Knights, Stam.
And their mother, Rosa Runcandel.
Thud!
"What the hell. Wha, head!?"
In front of the Tona brothers, the head of someone and debris from a shattered building fell.
It was the head of the elder. As soon as the Tona brothers saw it, they ran frantically toward the main house, and along the way, they could see flagbearers and knights running towards the same direction.
"E-Elder sister Mary! What happened!?"
"Daytona, Haytona! You two, don't go to the main house and control the media!"
"Elder Brother Diphus?"
"10th flagbearer, 11th flagbearer, get hold of yourself! It's an emergency! Under no circumstances should this be known outside. Got it! Take all the lower-ranking Guardian Knights, and prepare to control the press! As of now, this is our top priority until the situation is sorted out."
"Ah, understood!"
The Tona brothers disappeared to lead the Guardian Knights, and Myu and Anne continued to run towards the main house.
The main house was already in shambles, with nearby scenes filled with the corpses of those who had been in the house and scattered wounded.
"... Personnel below Black knight-level and top flagbearers are prohibited from entering. Everyone wait outside!"
Stam, who had arrived first and was guarding the entrance, shouted.
Stam, the Black Knights, and the top flagbearers calmed down their bewildered hearts and entered the broken main house.
In the middle of the house, a woman engulfed in chaos was roaring with a sword in hand.
Rosa Runcandel, she was rampaging.
Diphus and Mary couldn't help but grit their teeth at the sight of her.
'Why did Mother go berserk at this time...!'
There was no time to ponder why Rosa had gone berserk. Her rampage was truly an unexpected accident.
Moreover, just 30 minutes ago, Diphus and Mary had a normal meeting with her.
If Rosa didn't stop running rampant, Runcandel would fall into the abyss from today. It was possible to subdue her with flagbearers and black knights waiting inside, but it was impossible to deal with the situation afterwards.
Rosa is the most important force in Runcandel and the acting matriarch at the moment when Chiron is absent.
As soon as the news of her being in trouble broke out, Zipfel would undoubtedly come running with a vengeance.
The ceasefire agreement could be maintained only as long as Runcandel and Zipfel refrained from taking each other down.
Fortunately.
Rosa stopped her roar when she saw the flagbearers and the black knights.
"Acting matriarch, are you conscious?"
"Sir Stam...."
"Fortunately. If you are in a situation where you can use your rational judgment, give the order."
Pluck!
At those words, Rosa stabbed herself in the chest with frenzy. She could control her sanity, but her body wouldn't move as she intended.
[T/L:- Frenzy is the name of Rosa's sword.]
A high-speed regeneration phenomenon occurred when the chest pierced by the sword.
Rosa fiercely resisted the body trying to draw the sword against her will. Until all the energy of the body was drained due to excessive high-speed regeneration.
And just before losing consciousness and collapsing, she gave an order to Stam.
"Be sure to….keep quiet about today's incident, everyone.…."
Stam silently nodded his head.
"I will."
Then, when Rosa collapsed, Stam pulled the frenzy out of her chest. He could see the chaos that spread around Rosa seeping into the affected area and regenerating it.
At that time, Myu and Anne, who were outside, said this in calm voices.
"Now our mother will know. If she continues to go against 'their' will, she has no choice but to face a catastrophe."
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* * *
Once again, Jin stood in front of the Door of Chaos.
As usual, all the Plutonians alternately gazed at Jin and the Door of Chaos.
"Today, that guy's fate will be decided."
"Whatever choice Brother Jin makes, we will follow it sincerely."
Jin looked at Vahn, who was standing with an expressionless face. In her calm eyes, a lonely feeling that she had harbored while staring at the Door of Chaos for the past two days lingered.
"I'll be back."
As Jin entered the door, the empty darkness and chaos greeted Jin.
Originally, whenever Jin came in, he immediately saw the huge body of Chaos. Chaos started the fight each time with a powerful front paw swing or a super powerful tail slap.
Now, whether it was due to losing strength or for some other reason, chaos was not visible.
Because of this, Jin moved forward aimlessly.
He walked slowly for about an hour. And for the first time since he entered the territory of chaos, he was able to realize that there was an 'end' in this dark space.
Jin began to see an unusually dark curtain. Initially, he thought it was a point connected to the unconsciousness of chaos, as it was in the abyss of Glyek. However, it was simply the end.
It seemed to be blocked by a wall, and Jin couldn't move forward. Even if it was cut with the shadow sword, the crack did not open and it was not destroyed.
As Jin walked along the wall, a figure of chaos crouching in the distance became visible.
Chaos raised its body as Jin came into view, and it looked even smaller than last time.
Although it maintains the shape of a dragon, it is generally round and almost looks like a baby rabbit. It seemed like it wouldn't even fill Jin's palm if placed on it.
Moreover, there was no longer the destructive force that used to emanate from chaos. At the moment when chaos was hit by Jin's ultimate sword technique, it lost almost all its power.
[Hey, you bastard. It's disgusting to see your arrogant face that is already drunk with a sense of victory.]
Jin had an expressionless face.
"Sister battle god said this outside. It's not that you couldn't kill me, it's that you didn't kill me for fear of being more lonely. Is that true?"
[What do you know, you said you were going to kill me now.]
Jin unsheathed his sword and placed it beside him. Then, after raising his hand as if he had no intention of harming it, he sat down ten steps away from the chaos.
"You never know, your answer may change my mind."
[Huh! Are you taking it easy because you think you can handle me even without a weapon?]
"You are quite twisting the meaning."
[Doesn't it look like that? My life is ruined because of you. Originally, I was supposed to hatch perfectly by merging with you, but thanks to your sister, that plan went awry. Then we should be able to live our own lives, but you rushed to kill me.]
"Isn't that natural since you took away my strength?"
[Your monstrous brethren only took your side. Ignoring all my appeals.]
"If you had returned my strength, the problem would have been solved."
[If I returned that, I would be of no use, and I would have died at the hands of you and those monsters! Did you ever think of talking like you do now? Besides, you keep saying I stole it, but that's my strength.]
A moment of silence passed.
"You just said that your life was ruined. Is that because you lost all your strength? Or is it because once you enter this place, you cannot go out on your own?"
[... Wait, how do you know that I can't go out on my own?]
"Sister battle god told me. Every time I opened a crack, your inner thoughts were conveyed."
The eyes of chaos widened. Chaos was completely unaware of that fact.
[Ha! Really? You mean, she knew everything. And yet she kept sitting on the sidelines as you threatened to kill me? That's great.]
As if unfair, chaos gnashed its teeth.
"She is my sister. It is natural to classify you as an enemy."
He took a moment to reflect on the dark space he had walked through. Nothing but pitch-black darkness, and it even took him an hour by walking to reach this place.
When Jin thought that this was all Chaos was allowed, he felt even more sorry.
'The reason why the sister battle god kept looking at the door with such lonely eyes was probably because she keenly felt his loneliness.'
Jin, too, could read Chaos's inner thoughts when it was outside. Back then, it was a time when he felt pity for Chaos, despite the overwhelming anger directed towards him.
Somehow, it reminded Jin about Shuri. For almost a thousand years, she was abandoned and alone in the desolate forest of thorns in the corner of the Black Sea.
Let's spare him.
That's the conclusion Jin came to.
"You don't seem to be able to read my thoughts right now, do you?"
[You're thinking about how to kill me.]
"It is the opposite. However, I have some concerns."
[What?]
"First of all, I heard that you are the first chaos that originated from the witch Helluram. And the first chaos has unpredictable characteristics."
[Who is Witch Helluram?]
"What?"
[I don't know about that. I just woke up inside you.]
Chaos was in a state where it had no awareness that it was the 'first chaos that originated from the witch'. This was the reason he had consistently perceived Jin's strength as 'its own.'
Chaos believes that it is not born from a witch but rather originated from Jin.
"Then why did you react so sensitively to the shadow force?"
[It's instinctual fear. It's like not knowing how I could exist from someone like you with that kind of thing.]
In other words, chaos was a kind of 'seed'. Helluram's power just settled inside Jin like a seed sprouting.
To Chaos, it doesn't matter who sowed the seeds, and it didn't even care. Originally, trying to devour Jin and become one was merely an instinctual growth process from Chaos's perspective.
When Chaos explained these things, Jin couldn't help but laugh.
"These are unbelievable stories."
[Whether it's a lie or not will be revealed as soon as we go outside. Your monster sister can read my inner thoughts.]
"Aren't you using tricks to get out?"
[You really don't trust me until the end. I ran away to this place because I was scared of your monster sister, and you kept getting stronger by resonating with her. Now, I've even lost my power. What can I do if I go outside? I have nothing left, thanks to you!]
It didn't sound like a lie.
'Well, he was terribly afraid of my siblings even when he had power.'
Jin nodded.
"Okay, I'll take you outside. What should I do?"
[If you just open a crack...… Really?]
"Since I have regained all my strength, there's really no reason to kill you. Personal resentment has also been resolved to some extent. There is one last remaining problem, but for the sake of sister battle god, I'm willing to take that much."
[... For the monster sister?]
Swoosh-!
Jin unleashed his shadow sword and opened a crack.
"Let's go."
Chaos followed Jin and stood in front of the rift, then hesitated for a while.
[If I leave, won't your monster sister hate me?]
"Well, if you want to stay here, feel free to do so."
[No, no. I will go, go.]
Eventually, when Jin and Chaos came out in the training ground, the Plutonians opened their eyes wide as if they were curious.
"Is that the first chaos?"
"It's gotten really small, isn't it?"
"Brother Jin, you said you wanted to give him a chance, but it seems you decided to let it live."
"Now that it's come to this, let's welcome it warmly. It even looks a bit cute."
"Oh, Brother Jin. Well done! I was actually worried about what would happen if you killed that guy. Nice to meet you, I am Boras, the 5th battle King! Since we need to proceed with some research with your help, it would be good for us to get closer quickly, right?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected welcome, Chaos looked bewildered and hid behind Jin. Also, Jin saw Vahn's eyebrows narrowing.
She could now read Chaos's inner thoughts as soon as they came out in Laprarosa.
On the other hand, Jin did not hear the inner thoughts of chaos.
"Come closer."
Vahn reached out to Chaos. Chaos looked at her and cautiously climbed onto her hand.
'Even though he kept saying she's a monster, it seems like he's very docile to sister Vahn.'
One last remaining problem. When Jin said that just before coming out, he meant the black spots left on his body.
He had an intuition that they might disappear if he killed Chaos, but Jin spared Chaos for Vahn's sake.
It was because he had seen Vahn being sad. Vahn had felt the chaos solitude as if it were her own, and felt a kind of camaraderie with chaos. A sense of being trapped in a dead world, unable to escape alone.
That is why she had been looking at the door of Chaos with such a lonely expression.
Chaos seemed to be continuously speaking with an inner voice while sitting on Vahn's hand. Vahn occasionally nodded her head in response.
"... So, does that mean you can get rid of Brother Jin's spots? I get it. Brother Jin."
"Yes, sister battle god."
"Now, I will take care of this child."
Jin didn't question Vahn.
Her choice meant that she had confidence that Chaos could never threaten herself and the brethren.
Black energy, like shadow force, flowed from the body of Chaos.
The energy hovered near Vahn and was absorbed into her illuminating heart.
As the energy of chaos seeped into Vahn's illuminating heart, the tumor-like black spots on Jin's body faded and disappeared.
It seemed like some kind of contract, and from Chaos's perspective, it was a 'relocation.'
'But how could you be so cruel? You've been reading my inner thoughts all along.'
'That's because you tried to harm Brother Jin.'
'In the end, the reason you agreed to accept me is that I might be of help to that damn guy.'
At that, Vahn responded by patting Chaos's head and said:
'It's not just because of that.'
And Chaos was reading Vahn's inner thoughts. The truth is that I have felt so sorry for you since the first time your inner thoughts were transmitted through the crack.
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