Chapter 8: Divine Punishment

Bang!!!

Hidan's face bloomed as his feet left the ground, his head snapping back.

However, it didn't end there. Deciding to make Hidan realize the gap in their strength, Shinsuke stepped forward and delivered a heavy elbow strike to Hidan's chest.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bones echoed.

Then, as Hidan flew backward, Shinsuke grabbed one of his arms and flung him upwards.

With a stomp, Shinsuke leapt into the air!

He gently placed his hands on Hidan's body, and his right knee was already pressing against Hidan's spinal column...

If he applied pressure upon landing, Hidan would be snapped in half like a twig!

Boom!

The ground beneath Shinsuke's feet cracked like a spider web from the impact.

Unexpectedly, Hidan was not folded like a piece of paper.

At the last moment, Shinsuke had held back his strength, sparing Hidan from being broken in half.

Thud...

Shinsuke dropped the heavily injured Hidan, exhaling a slightly heated breath, the blood-red scar on his forehead disappearing.

Defeated!

Defeated again!

And this time, it was a crushing defeat!

Lying on the ground, Hidan felt an overwhelming sense of unwillingness in his chest!

Especially when Shinsuke didn't land the final blow, instead showing mercy, which deeply irritated Hidan's sensitive nerves!

"Hahaha... I can't die, even if I'm reduced to just a head, I'll crawl back from hell to bite your throat!"

"If you can do that, then go ahead and try. But right now... you're too weak. So weak that I didn't want to waste my strength to finish you off!"

After speaking, Shinsuke turned to leave.

"What do you mean by that, mocking me?"

"Listen, next time, no matter what, I'll kill you!"

"Hey, Akagi Shinsuke! Bastard, come back here!"

Hidan's unwilling roar echoed through the base, but he was quickly taken to the infirmary for treatment by the other cult members.

The next day, after receiving treatment, Hidan emerged.

He expected severe punishment this time, as it was he who defied the leader's orders and sought out Akagi Shinsuke, only to be humiliatingly beaten...

To his surprise, he saw no sign of the leader.

But being who he was, Hidan didn't dwell on it and quickly put it out of his mind.

Until mealtime, the conversations around him made his fists clench!

"Hey, did you see it?"

"Of course! The leader's execution method is pure art! It gets your blood pumping!"

"You're a pervert! But Akagi is really tough, didn't utter a word the whole time."

"Tch, only because he has the immortal body from the Evil God. Otherwise, he would've wet his pants! That kind of punishment is unbearable for normal people!"

"Maybe, this is the punishment for defying the leader. No exceptions."

Bang!

Hidan stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair, and grabbed the speaker by the collar, lifting him off the ground.

"Hey, Hidan! What are you doing!" the man's companion shouted, trying to sound intimidating.

"What punishment? Is Akagi Shinsuke the one you're talking about? What happened to him?"

The man, face turning red, was about to curse but saw Hidan's cold, deadly eyes and stammered:

"It's Akagi Shinsuke. I don't know the details, but it seems to be because of the fight with you yesterday. The leader was very angry and punished him publicly."

"Yesterday?"

Hidan was puzzled. Wasn't it his fault?

Shouldn't he be the one punished, not Shinsuke?

Confused, Hidan decided to find out.

"Where is he?"

"What?"

"I asked, where is he?!"

"In... in the main hall... ah!"

Bang!

Hidan threw the man aside, muttering, "Next time, find a quiet place to gossip. Even if Shinsuke is a bastard, he's not someone weaklings like you can mock. Understand?"

"Un... understood."

The man nodded, unable to comprehend why Hidan defended his rival.

But if he didn't want to die, he had to avoid provoking Hidan further.

Hidan strode off, heading for the main hall.

The hall, usually a place of worship for the Evil God, had undergone some changes.

In front of a faceless statue of the Evil God, a figure was suspended in mid-air, pierced by eighteen black spears, blood continuously dripping and filling the grooves in the floor.

This was the 'Divine Punishment,' where eighteen spears pierced the victim's limbs and body, avoiding fatal points to keep them alive. Only when the blood filled the grooves was redemption achieved, meaning the sin was washed away under the Evil God's gaze!

In reality, no one had ever survived this punishment.

Hidan approached, recognizing the suspended figure as Akagi Shinsuke!

Noticing someone nearby, the blood-covered Shinsuke lifted his head and, seeing Hidan, grinned.

"Enjoying the view? Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it's great. But I'm more curious about what you did."

"Why ask?"

"Someone told me it's because of our fight yesterday..."

"Don't think I took the fall for you! I'm waiting to kick you when you're down. Maybe you'll end up like me, so if I were you, I'd go back to sleep."

"You still have the strength to insult me, so this 'Divine Punishment' isn't that bad."

With a taunt, Hidan left.

Behind him, Shinsuke was once again engulfed in darkness, the sound of dripping blood echoing in the hall.

On his way back to his room, Hidan's expression kept changing.

Finally, he stopped and headed towards the leader's quarters.

As Shinsuke had said, he wouldn't take the fall for Hidan.

But if he didn't find out, Hidan knew he wouldn't sleep well for a month.