Chapter 36: Next Time

Chapter 36:

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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Everything hurt. 

His head, his torso, his arms, his legs, every last bit of flesh, bone and muscle that covered his body brimmed with an excruciating sense of agony as he could hardly even muster up the strength to twitch. 

Cracks and gaping holes flowing with red blood were ever present all over his body, roughly only 30% of his scale mail still remained intact and the parts that were still visible resembled torn rags rather than an actual set of armor. 

Jin continued to cough up lumps of blood as his eyes lifelessly faced the ground, filled with all sorts of emotions he couldn't even begin to make sense of. 

Disappointment. 

Pain. 

Fear. 

Excitement. 

Pride. 

But it didn't matter, none of these could overcome the one, singular thought racing through his mind at the moment. 

(I'm still alive.) 

Bikou simply observed his bleeding figure in silence, holding up his now stained Bo Staff to his face. 

"You're still breathing." His tone oozed with indifference, looking at Jin with a strange sense of boredom. 

"I am." Jin responded weakly. 

"Well, I'm a man of my word." He walked towards Kuroka, signaling for her to open up a teleportation circle as he prepared to take his leave. 

CRACKLE! 

The Monkey stopped in his tracks, slowly craning his head behind him as the sound of a current charging up assaulted his eardrums. 

"Don't bother, Raon. You're not strong enough." 

"BUT!-" 

"Leave it, we're heading back now." 

Though Jin's voice still remained low and raspy, it somehow managed to withhold its undeniable sense of authority. 

"Jin." Bikou spoke up. 

"Yeah?" 

"Next time we meet, I expect you to give me a real fight. I'd rather not let Vali hog all the good opponents." 

Jin remained silent, continuing to stare at the ground as he showed little interest in facing the Youkai, or Youkais for that matter. 

"You could've just killed me at any point if you wanted to, so why didn't you?" Bikou rose a single brow as he spared only a moment to ponder the question. 

"It would've been a waste. The number of people who can compete on my level are limited, why on earth would I pluck a fruit before it fully ripens?" 

Again, Jin continued his silence, deactivating his [Balance Breaker] completely as he conjured what was left of his Holy Power in order to help him move again. 

Likewise, Bikou didn't see the need for further conversation, motioning for the admittedly reluctant Kuroka to take the both of them away. 

"I'm…" Koneko had been practically mute throughout the entire ordeal, so overwhelmed with emotion to the point where she couldn't even begin to find the words to describe how she felt. 

"If your next word is sorry, then I'd advise you not to speak at all. I didn't do this for you, I simply did it because it's my job." 

Most would assume this was merely an attempt to calm the Nekoshou down, but right now Jin was simply too exhausted for coddling. 

He had meant what he said, in his eyes the rebels were just rebels, if they happened to be anything else than that was just a coincidence. 

Nothing more, nothing less. 

Koneko, or supposedly Shirone could only respond with a nod as she followed Jin at a distance. 

All the while enduring the constant barrage of angry stares from Raon as he hovered around Jin, refusing to land on his shoulders as usual as a result of his fragile state. 

"Why didn't you let me help!" 

"Did you not hear me? He was *cough* too strong, there would have been no point to it." 

The hatchling clearly still wanted to argue, but after noticing the extra effort it took just for Jin to talk he wisely decided to cast it aside for another day. 

(This probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't let her leave in the first place, in that regard I suppose this whole ordeal is pretty much my fault.) 

(There's no point in blaming yourself, simply use this as both a lesson and motivation to grow stronger. Anything else is a waste of energy.) 

(You have a point, as always, hah.) 

Jin couldn't be more thankful to his past self for allowing Adaloth to share his mind, if it weren't for her acting as his second pair of eyes he had no doubt that he would have perished by now. 

Hell, even Bikou's fifth strike would've put him 6 feet under. 

(But that strange movement technique, any chance you could teach it to me?) 

Though Adaloth's help was undeniably useful beyond belief, being overly reliant on her assistance would undoubtedly hold the both of them back. 

Strangely enough, the less she had to do, the more helpful she could be. 

(I made that on the go, you could take inspiration from it if you wish, but I expect you to make a much more refined version of it.) 

(Cool.) 

If one thing was for certain, it was that a whole lot of training was in order once the gathering had come to a close. 

Thanks to Bikou, Jin's resolve had never been firmer. 

— 

So far, the gathering has continued relatively smoothly. 

Sirzechs had given his speech about the Norse factions intent to join the alliance, and Odin had given a brief summary of what they planned to contribute in terms of combating the rebel threat. 

Obviously, neither of the powerhouses cared much for speeches but for people in their position it was a necessary evil. 

"— and with that, we are proud to welcome Odin-sama and the Norse Pantheon to our alliance!" Sirzechs concluded, shaking hands with Odin as they both approached the front of the stage. 

Claps quickly resounded throughout the venue as the photographers made quick work of snapping pictures of the two figureheads. 

"Azazel-sama." Oron motioned, slowly approaching the Governor as he softly clapped at the back of the stage. 

"Yes?" 

"Are you sure you don't want me to go check on him? It's been quite some time already." Naturally the worry was evident on his face, but Azazel himself didn't appear to be all that worried. 

"No need, actually he's coming up the elevator as we spea—" Without even allowing him to finish his sentence, Oron offered him a stiff nod before rushing straight towards the elevator. 

"Yare yare." Azazel sighed. 

DING! 

Oron's expression rapidly darkened as the elevator doors opened, his worst fears had all but come true. 

The awful sound of blood dripping onto the marble flooring accompanied by the stench of filth and grime shook him to his core. 

But he wouldn't allow himself to simply stand there staring like some idiot. 

"I–" 

"Don't speak." Oron ordered, rushing towards Jin as he instantly started using his Holy Power to mend his wounds. 

"Thanks." Jin muttered. 

"I said don't speak, you'll tell me everything later." Ignoring both Raon and Koneko's pressences, he wrapped Jin's arm around his neck in order to help him walk easier. 

"JIN!" A feminine voice cried out, alerting practically everyone present as the figure rushed towards Jin. 

Naturally, this was Kyouko. 

Her mouth gaped and her eyes widened in horror as she observed the condition her brother was in. 

Battered, bloody and bruised. Well, that was putting it lightly. 

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" She roared, causing Jin to wince ever so slightly as a result of her abrupt shout. 

"Keep your voice down." Oron reprimanded, continuing to support Jin as he found a place to sit. "Rest first, answers later." He continued. 

Right as Jin was about to close his eyes, he noticed Koneko slowly approaching him with a strange look on her face. 

"Uhm, thanks." She half-whispered. 

"You should go to your [King], she's probably worried." He replied, pretty much ignoring her appreciation. 

Koneko simply offered a slight bow before doing as he suggested. 

It was only after the initial shock had died down that those surrounding Jin started to notice something clearly off about him, other than the fact that he looked as if he had just been put through a meat grinder. 

"What's with the look- Oh." His right arm was no longer masked, laid bare for everyone to gawk at. 

"Uh, go ask Sairaorg for answers. I'm going to go ahead and sleep now." He quickly closed his eyes, evading any further questioning as no one dared pester him in the state he was in. 

Unsurprisingly, an onslaught of stares were being shot his way including the Faction Leader's stood on the podium. 

After all, Jin's condition made it pretty obvious that an attack of some sort had gone down. 

And right as the venue was about to enter lockdown, a strange set of blue luminant gates had appeared right above where Jin was seated.