CHAPTER 622

[T.L: punisher87]

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Bang-!

As he took the blow, blood rose in Jin's chest.

Jin had fought against all the other battle kings except for Boras. 

Except for the battle with Teto, every fight was messy. Jin had often attacked his opponents even after the match ended. In the second round against Teto, Nata, and Garmund, he displayed ruthless killing swordsmanship as if dealing with archenemies despite winning the matches outright.

He had even swung his sword at Linpa, who had expressed a desire to surrender.

As the other Plutonians said, if only he had attempted to have a conversation or simply asked to be recognized as the successor, his brethren would have easily granted his wish.

'But that is not enough.'

-So, brother, get a grip and approach the battles with more thought. Regardless of the outcome and process of the Great Tournament of Battle kings, the brethren will undoubtedly cherish you as they did before... But let's not forget that brethren are also living beings. If even a small resentment lingers, it will eventually fester.

Children who receive the favoritism of an absolute ruler will inevitably leave a poisonous resentment among their siblings.

Jin learned this truth through the relationship between Rosa and Joshua.

Of course, the Plutonian tribe is different from the Runcandel, but they are also living beings after all.

Jin had always thought that the privileges and favoritism he received from the Plutonian tribe could become a problem someday.

Today, Jin would destroy any potential threat without leaving a trace.

Like Kaio's battle king mystic technique, Baba's sword also resembled the battle god's. 'Punishment' had many similarities to the Plutonian Reign Sword.

It also showed much stronger momentum than the first form of the real Plutonian reign sword.

Despite Baba's energy surpassing him, Jin was not being pressured like he was against Kaio. He was swinging his sword as he pleased.

Looking back, Baba was at the center of the battle kings when Jin fought the opening battle through the battle god fusion.

At that time, the rest of the battle kings were assisting Baba so that she could attack properly, and Kaio played a crucial role in that support.

"The battle god senses. If you hadn't learned that, if you hadn't shared the senses of sister battle god through the battle god fusion, you wouldn't have been able to clash swords with me like this."

"Even if I received some benefits, can it compare to being born a true Plutonian? You're talking nonsense."

Those watching the fight were shocked, not because of the conversations Jin and Baba had or any revealed inner thoughts.

The Plutonians were surprised that Jin was fighting Baba on an equal footing.

Baba had anticipated this situation from the moment she first saw Jin in the main hall today.

Still, her mindset remained unchanged, regardless of the outcome.

Sigmund and Light clashed fiercely. The aura and lighting energy were corroding in all directions, but as time went on, their battle became closer to the fundamental form of a 'swordfight'.

Loud noise and explosive sound.

The colossal sound of their swords clashing reverberated through the entire sky, almost unbelievably loud as if it could drown out any other noise.

Because their swords were constantly engaged, there was an eerie silence, as if no sound could be heard.

Both of them were getting more and more wounded.

Surprisingly, the number of wounds they had was exactly the same. When Jin struck once, Baba also struck once. Moreover, the position of wounds were perfectly symmetrical.

The intense battle continued.

Eventually, the two simultaneously distanced themselves.

Jin expanded his space by executing Erosion and Plutonian Reign swords, and Baba amplified her energy accordingly.

Baba's power was slightly more dominant. Although Jin's shadow sword ultimate technique, which he executed by changing sword, compensated for that difference.

"What are you going to do with a sword that you haven't fully mastered, Jin Runcandel?"

Unlike the time of Kaio, the shadow force was clearly blocking Baba's senses successfully. It wasn't that Baba had failed to block it.

It doesn't matter.

Before her senses completely faded, she closed her eyes first. Even in that state, she countered all of Jin's attacks just like before.

If anything, she became even more formidable.

'To break through the ultimate technique like this...'

The ability to display superior swordsmanship even when senses were shut down. It For Jin, who had not experienced the Battle God Fusion before, it was a realm of monsters that he couldn't even imagine.

Crack...…!

A massive crack was spreading from the center of the main hall where the two were fighting.

The main hall, which had withstood so many battles without losing its sturdy appearance, was now collapsing.

Once the crack started, it absorbed the shocks like a whirlpool. Just like the relationship between Jin and the Plutonian tribe.

At this rate, it would collapse soon.

Jin decided to end the fight at that moment. Clearly, Baba was stronger than him.

'I will dig in the moment she falls.'

Suddenly, if the ground they were standing on disappeared, no matter how skilled Jin and Baba were, they would inevitably lose their balance for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking."

"If you know, then counterattack accordingly. Have you already forgotten my advice?"

The hall of battle gods never collapsed before in the history of the Great Tournament of Battle kings. In addition, the rules of the Great Tournament of Battle kings include disqualification over fights outside the arena, which meant both of them were violating the rules.

It was an exceptional case, but Vahn did not stop the battle.

In fact, the fight between the two couldn't even be seen as a match of the Great Tournament of Battle kings anymore. It was closer to the fight between Jin and the Plutonian tribe.

If it's Vahn strength, could forcibly restrain the shockwaves to prevent the hall from collapsing. However, she chose to let it crumble.

The main hall known as the battlefield for the matches of the Great Tournament of the Battle kings was located in the center of what was now known as the Great Desert of Mitra, and had become a dead world after losing the war against the gods. Vahn allowed the hall to collapse, knowing that it would destroy the heart of their homeland.

Boom, crack...…!

As the main hall split in half, all Plutonians closed their eyes tightly.

They couldn't bear to watch as the fight that had started as a small disagreement destroyed the heart of their homeland.

"Everyone, open your eyes and look straight."

But they followed Vahn's solemn voice. All the members of the Plutonian tribe stared at the sight of the hall collapsing, and the two combatants fighting like demons amidst the wreckage.

As planned, Jin had launched his attack when the hall was about to fall, stepping on debris to close the distance between him and Baba.

The Ultimate technique had already been released. Baba also stood her ground and faced him head-on, and the two of them once again suffered the same injuries.

They had both severed each other's left arms. The arms of the two were mixed in with the debris of the fallen main hall, disappearing from sight.

Then, they both landed at the same time.

Thanks to the force of their mutual strikes, Jin and Baba inevitably ended up with their backs facing each other.

Subsequently, as if they had made a promise, they turned and thrust their swords at each other.

Ha...…!

The match was over.

Jin's sword stopped without reaching Baba's chest, and Baba's sword pierced Jin's shadow force armor and chest.

When Baba turned her sword once, Jin bent forward, spouting blood.

It's not that Jin didn't 'stab' Baba. It was just that Baba's sword was faster.

"If you have anything to say, say it now."

"Lightning energy...."

"What?"

"Explode your lightning energy... like I did to Kaio."

"You think I can't?"

"Try me. You said you'd kill me, didn't you?"

Blood was dribbling from Baba's lips.

Jin tried to lift his right arm, which held the sword, up in the air. His body, still pierced by light, wasn't quite responding as he wanted it to, but his senses were slowly returning to him.

Everyone watched as Jin struggled like a wounded beast to lift his arm and stab Baba again, but given enough time, he could summon enough strength to do so.

"Let me ask you one thing, Jin. Why are you going this far? What's the reason?"

The conversations they had before clashing their swords, the discrimination and anxiety Jin claimed to have felt, and the reasons that led him to cross the line—none of it served as sufficient justification for the current situation, both to Baba and the Plutonians.

"You can't explode it, can you...?"

"I can. I can explode it anytime I want. But tell me one thing first. Why did you push the situation this far?"

Bradamante was slowly raised up to Baba's neck.

It raised to the point where it was a span away from the neck, then fell due to fatigue, only to rise again, repeating the process and getting closer.

Sister Baba, just put an end to it!

Not a single Plutonian tribesman, who were so angry at Jin's actions so far, was screaming like that.

They simply stared at the two with trembling red eyes.

"Please, please... just tell me the whole story. It's not all as you said earlier, right? Isn't that so?"

"Are you going to keep talking loudly…. and shouting?"

Squeaky...…!

Eventually, the tip of Bradamante reached Baba's neck. Although it barely touched, the sharp blade easily penetrated Baba's neck.

It only went in a bit, but now, with just a bit more force from Jin, Baba would meet her death.

Even so, Baba was still unable to explode the energy in the sword that pierced Jin's chest.

"... Jin."

Through her cloudy and darkened pupils, she saw the blade on her neck, and then she saw Jin again.

After gazing like that, Baba closed her eyes. Tears mixed with blood trickled down through the closed eyelids.

"Okay, Brother Jin. I can't understand it myself, but if this is what my brother wants, I'll accept it."

Resolution. She had one resolution before this fight.

That even if it came to the very end and Jin didn't stop, and even if it meant she would be killed by him.

She would never let him go.

As his sister, as his most cherished family.

"But before you stab me... know one thing. None of us, including me, has ever given up on you while you were going astray. Even if we were angry, spoke words full of resentment, even if we said you were no longer a brethren, it was ultimately just words. It was just something we spat out in anger."

Baba released her grip on her sword, light.

Then, after opening her eyes again, she looked at Jin's wound and grabbed Bradamante's sword with her right hand.

"If you really hated us, you would have destroyed brother Kaio's heart when you stabbed him, brother Jin. You still have the strength to stab me, but you stopped the sword. But even if you move your sword again, I won't avoid it. If this is really what you want, then please come back after I die. We are brethren after all…."

Even then, the Plutonians, who were watching, didn't shout. There was no one to tell Baba to stop or question why Baba was dying instead of Jin. No one said that they had Lingling.

They were the ones who would not abandon Jin, even if he killed them all like this.

"Why am I doing this, you asked. Sister Baba."

Sister. At that common title before her own name, Baba lowered her hand holding the blade and caressed Jin's face. Bradamante fell to the floor.

"Yes, tell me, brother Jin."

"Even though I'm doing this...… My brethren always forgive me. That's why I did it."

You should hate me at least once. We should have a real fight once. Even if we hurts each other this much, I was sure that we wouldn't let go of each other in the end.

Jin finally confessed why he played being a villain and collapsed into Baba's arms.

And all the brethren run towards them.

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