Chapter 34

{Author Here, Uploads are probably be reduced from 3 a day to 1 or 2. Reason? because money is quite nice to have. Enough about me, here's the chapter and have an awesome October!}

Tumbling my way to the operation room, my body felt like it was on the verge of collapse. The damage was extensive. Part of my left shoulder was gone, my right ribs were shattered, and my liver had taken a hit. My right arm was partially broken from wrist to elbow, and my leg had a fracture that made every step feel like a thousand needles digging in. And my head… my eyes and brain felt like they were going to explode.

All in all? It sucked.

I leaned against a wall, coughing up a thick glob of blood, trying to steady myself. The sound of approaching footsteps reached me, voices echoing in the hall.

"Ryou! You fucking amazing man!" Brunhilde's voice was full of energy as she rushed over, excitement buzzing in the air. "You beat Zeus!"

I managed a weak smile, though I could barely keep it on my face. Then I noticed a stretcher being wheeled over. "That for me or the other guy?" I muttered.

A brief laugh cut through the tension, it was Kojiro Sasaki. "For you, kid. Good work, by the way. I had a feeling you'd pull through."

I eased myself onto the stretcher, my body finally giving into the pain. Brunhilde and Kojiro walked beside me as I was wheeled to the operation room. I could feel my body screaming for rest, but my mind kept drifting to the fight. 'I beat a God.'

I must have passed out at some point, because when I woke up, I found myself wrapped in bandages. Göll was sitting beside me and, excitedly, filled me in on what I had missed. Kojiro Sasaki had fought Poseidon and won. Apparently, it was a close battle.

"I guess winning for once... feels pretty good" Göll said, imitating Kojiro. I laughed as I sat up.

"Is that so, Göll? Seems like I missed out on a lot."

Göll panicked and rushed over to me. "You can't get up! You... you're not healed... yet?" Her confusion mirrored my own. As I unwrapped the bandages, I realized most of my wounds had healed, leaving giant scars. My broken arm and leg were completely restored. My eyes and head still felt sore, my right side had a jagged, deep scar that runs diagonally across my right side, starting from my lower ribs and trailing toward my waist, it still hurt but it was easy to ignore.

'That's new... I don't think I've ever healed this fast before.'

"Seems like I'm all good to go, Doctor Göll" I said, walking past her toward where I figured Brunhilde might be.

"W-wait up!" Göll called, running after me. She walked by my side, quiet for a moment, but I could tell she wanted to say something. After a few moments of hesitation, she finally spoke.

"What was it like? Beating the Zeus?"

I thought about it for a moment before answering. "It hasn't really settled in yet, Göll. I mean, I went from almost helplessly dying to fighting a god in such a short time. It's unbelievable how much I've grown."

'I really need to come up with a name for channeling cursed magic through my body... and I need more attack combinations other than just "Cursed Slash" maybe "Cursed Pierce" would work? Another thing is that I started out at Middle-Ultimate Class before the fight, but I bet now I'm at the low end of High-Ultimate Class' I mused, clenching my fist.

We arrived at a room where Göll said Brunhilde was. As soon as I entered, I immediately wanted to turn around and leave. Brunhilde looked like she was losing it.

"You okay, Brunhilde?" I cautiously asked.

She locked eyes with me, her smile widening to the point I thought it might split her face.

"Am I okay? I'm fucking fantastic, Ryou! Two! We've won against the gods twice now! HAHAHA!"

Göll and I instinctively backed away when she started laughing. I turned toward Göll.

"She do this often?" I asked.

Göll nodded. "When she gets really excited."

Brunhilde walked up and grasped my hands, her eyes practically sparkling. "Things are starting to look good, Ryou! We might really win this, and it all started with you getting the first victory!"

I nervously chuckled. After a while, once she had calmed down, I asked, "Who are you having fight next? If you need me to, I can step in again. I'm almost back to perfect condition."

At the mention of the next fight, Brunhilde's expression darkened. She looked at me nervously. 'Odd,' I thought, 'Why would she-Oh, right. The fourth round was Jack the Ripper vs. Heracles.' Her next words confirmed my suspicions.

"We've confirmed the next fighter for the gods side: Heracles."

Göll was shocked and saddened, while I just frowned. "Our fighter will be the most disgusting human of all... Jack the Ripper."

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to think of him. I couldn't hate him just for killing Heracles in the manga. On the other hand, I was curious to meet him. 'In my original world, no one ever identified who Jack the Ripper was... I'll be the first, sort of.'

"Why are you upset?" I asked. "Do you think the Ripper will lose?"

Judging by her expression, that wasn't it. Her words confirmed it. "No, that's not it. Heracles is too kind. He'll try to help Jack the Ripper during the fight, and Jack will exploit that."

Göll looked like she was on the verge of tears, fully understanding what that meant.

"Like I said, I can fight again if you want me to," I offered. "It would be an honor to face someone like Heracles. He's pretty famous, after all."

And it would be an honor. Imagine fighting someone like that, so just, so honest. His ideals might be naive, but they were admirable.

Brunhilde bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, staring at me as if seeing into my soul. "Would you be able to win without killing him? And not fully recovered?"

I thought about it. 'She has a point. Even if he isn't as strong as Zeus, he's still a god. But I won't get another chance for a fight like this.'

I met her gaze, confident. "Yes, I can win without killing him."

Brunhilde still seemed unsure, but she looked relieved, like a weight had been lifted from her. The room had settled into a peaceful silence when Göll pointed something out.

"W-what about the other guy? Jack the Ripper?" I turned towards her.

"I'll kill him, not like he'll be missed?"