Chapter 605: Purifying Chaos (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 605: Purifying Chaos (9)
Jin and the Pluto Tribe gathered before the Chaos, which had transformed into a door. Ban unleashed her fury, but Chaos remained unresponsive, as if it had truly become an inanimate object.
“It looked like Brother Jin was about to win… Did it run away?”
“It doesn’t feel like it ran away. It’s more like Chaos became the door itself. What a strange entity. Truly living up to its name, ‘First Chaos.’”
Even Jin couldn't bring himself to enter so easily this time.
Its thoughts are blocked. It’s not just silent; the connection was completely severed the moment it turned into a door.
The last thing he had sensed from Chaos’s mind was that this door was its trump card.
“Brothers, I was able to read Chaos’s thoughts until just a moment ago. That’s why I could handle its attacks so easily.”
As Jin explained the situation, a wave of sighs rippled through the Pluto Tribe.
“I thought the Fighting God Union would make this simple, but it’s just one obstacle after another.”
“Still, Brother Jin regained his strength much faster than expected, so there must be a way. The Fighting God Union hasn’t deactivated yet, either.”
Indeed, the Fighting God Union remained active even after the entity had transformed.
However, this was a serious problem for Jin and Ban. Jin didn't know when he might lose consciousness, and Ban was being forced to continuously pour her energy into him.
“Brothers, it seems we need some time to deliberate. Let’s talk somewhere else.”
Jin and the Pluto Tribe left two warriors behind as sentries and departed the training ground. Fortunately, once they were about half a mile away, the Fighting God Union between Jin and Ban deactivated.
She isn’t showing it, but Brother Ban seems exhausted, too…
As a Fighting God, Ban’s energy should have been virtually limitless.
However, as she herself had admitted, she was long past her prime. She had lost a portion of her power during the destruction of the Pluto Tribe five thousand years ago and had grown weaker after transferring her true energy to Jin several times.
Therefore, the Fighting God Union was a forced amplification for the current Ban—an act that put a significant strain on her. Her energy couldn't be controlled as she wished, and Jin’s efficiency in accepting that power was poor.
The other members of the Pluto Tribe couldn't even imagine that Ban could be exhausted by what seemed like a ‘mere’ exertion of that level.
Naturally, all eyes turned toward Boras.
“Brother 5th Fighting King, do you have any hunches this time?”
“Yeah, the 5th Fighting King is a genius. You’ve thought of something, haven’t you?”
Boras scratched the back of his head and gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Well, I don’t have anything specific in mind, either. The Fighting God Union, Brother Jin reading Chaos’s thoughts, Chaos turning into a door… these are all unprecedented. Let’s keep an eye on it for a few days and figure out our next move together.”
*
A week passed, and Chaos maintained its door-like form.
During that time, Jin spent his days training or participating in various experiments with his brothers to understand how the door functioned. They had only confirmed two things for certain.
First, Jin was the only one who could enter the door of Chaos. Second, the door could not be cut, even with the Spirit Sword.
Anyone other than Jin who tried to step through the door was met with violent repulsion.
Most of the power Jin had lost was still bound to Chaos. Though he could no longer see it as he had when Chaos was in its dragon form, he could still feel its presence.
Even when he unleashed the Spirit Sword, the door would only ripple like water for a moment before reforming.
They didn't dare strike it with the Pluto Tribe’s lightning, fearing it might damage Chaos.
Tess, the phoenix who was often the solution in such moments, could not be summoned. Laprarosa was a dead world.
“In the end, Brother Jin is the only one who can go through that door.”
“It seems so, Brother Fighting God. Besides, the last thought I read from it was that I wouldn't be able to get help from my brothers once I was inside.”
Stepping into an unknown trap wasn't difficult, so long as one steeled their heart.
The problem was that once he was through the door, his brothers would likely be unable to help him, even in an emergency.
Regardless, the Pluto Tribe decided to wait in front of the door. Jin packed a large amount of Kakto and water in his backpack, as if he were setting off on a long journey.
“Ah, can we really let Brother Jin go in like this?”
“Brother Jin, I know it’s hard to accept… but what if you went with the other brothers, even if it means losing some of that power?”
“I can’t do that, brothers.”
“Sigh, I misspoke. I didn't mean to disregard the sense of loss you must feel, Brother Jin.”
“There’s no need to explain; I understand. Things might go better than expected inside, so don’t worry too much. I’ll be back.”
“May fortune be with you, brother.”
“I hope the Fighting God’s power stays with you even after you enter…”
The Pluto Tribe felt as if they were sending a young child out to sea alone. Jin waved to them as if to say he was fine, but he was just as anxious.
Swoosh!
The moment he stepped through the door, the scenery changed abruptly.
I expected this, to some extent. It's similar to when I entered Gliek's subspace.
Amidst a landscape of grotesque darkness, only Jin’s silhouette remained distinct. Such subspaces were no longer new to him.
Do I have to just keep moving forward blindly again…
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard a low, gloomy breathing sound from somewhere.
[Welcome…]
It hadn't even been ten seconds since Jin entered the subspace.
He instinctively raised his head toward the voice and recoiled in horror.
This is insane!
He had locked eyes with Chaos.
The entity had been massive back at the training ground, but this was on another level entirely. A single one of its eyeballs was large enough to overwhelm him.
Every hair on his body stood on end, but Jin quickly swung Bradamante, slashing at the eye of Chaos as it stared down, seeming to swallow him whole.
Clang!
It didn't feel like cutting an eye, but like striking Ancient Ten-Thousand-Year Steel. The shock of the impact coursed through Jin.
That one strike was enough to tell him.
As he was now, he could never defeat this thing.
Even with the Fighting God Union active, I couldn't even leave a scratch!?
He wasn't sure he could win even at full strength. The best course of action was to retreat. Far from going well, this was even more grueling than when he had first extracted the entity.
[Fighting God Union… that’s what you called it, right? I had a hell of a time with that monster's power resonating with the piece of me still inside you.]
This was even more despairing.
In the training ground, Jin had been the one reading Chaos's thoughts. Here, the roles were reversed—Chaos was looking right into his mind.
He hurriedly turned, but the door was nowhere to be seen. He felt an absurd urge to laugh when he realized he hadn't even moved five steps from where he'd entered.
This is the worst. Of all the scenarios my brothers and I discussed, nothing is worse than this.
Boom!
Jin’s mind went momentarily blank from an impact that felt like it would erase his very existence. It was the entity's invisible, massive forepaw swatting him aside.
[That’s a powerful forepaw swing you didn't get to taste last time! Kehehehe!]
That single blow rattled every bone and organ in his body. Blood burst from every orifice on his face. Had he not been protected by his Spirit Energy Armor, he would have died instantly.
He didn't feel rage, nor did he feel pain.
He was simply dumbfounded.
This is the ultimate cheat.
[Exactly! That’s how I felt! It was fun ganging up on me with those monsters, wasn't it? How does it feel now that you’re the one being hunted?]
“I don’t think I need to hear that from someone who stole all my power,” Jin spoke calmly, but his mind was racing.
[Are you wondering why the door disappeared and how to get out?]
Another powerful forepaw swing followed. The attack's area of effect was too large to dodge. Even if it were smaller, its speed was impossible to evade.
Sent flying, Jin barely clung to consciousness.
To think he would feel such helplessness even after regaining nearly thirty percent of his strength and with the Fighting God Union active!
The door was gone. If so, he had to create one. Fortunately, Jin had experienced something similar a few times in the past.
Whirrr!
Spirit energy swirled around Bradamante.
[That power isn't much of a threat to me here.]
“Is that so?”
Jin swung Bradamante not at the entity, but at the empty air a step ahead of him.
As if by magic, the space tore open, forming an exit. Through the gap, he could see the training ground of Laprarosa and his waiting brothers.
Did it fail to read that I’ve escaped such spaces using the Spirit Sword before?
Whether it had failed to read his mind or had intentionally left an opening wasn't a problem he could afford to ponder now. He had to escape first and think later.
As Jin threw himself toward the rift, his desperation fueled a fighting spirit more intense than ever.
I'll get stronger and end you. I swear it.
Skreeeech!
Just before Jin could pass through the rift, hundreds of black spikes materialized in the air and shot toward him like arrows. The spikes, formed by Chaos, hammered relentlessly against Jin, but they couldn't pierce his Spirit Energy Armor.
“Gasp, gasp!”
“B-Brother Jin!?”
“You’re back alrea—no! Brother Jin, the blood!”
“Brother Boras! Treat Brother Jin immediately…!”
Thud!
The moment Jin collapsed onto the training ground floor, the Pluto Tribe rushed over, shouting in alarm.
Jin could barely hear their voices.
Instead, as his consciousness faded, his eyes remained fixed on the rift from which he had just escaped.
His gaze burned with obsession, vowing retribution.
I’ll kill you… no matter what it takes.
Through the rapidly closing rift, Chaos watched Jin escape. Its expression was hard, a stark contrast to the persona it had shown until now.
When the rift closed, plunging its space back into empty darkness, Chaos muttered to itself.
[Hmph. Come back again, you stupid brat!]