C622
Bang!
Upon receiving the blow, blood surged to Jin's chest.
Jin had fought against all the other Battle Kings except Boras.
Except for the battle with Teto, all the fights had been chaotic.
Often, Jin had attacked his opponents even after the fight was over.
In the second round, against Teto, Nata, and Garmund, he showcased relentless swordsmanship as if facing arch-enemies, despite having won the matches.
He had even brandished his sword against Rinpa, who had expressed the desire to surrender.
As the other Legends said, if only he had tried to maintain a conversation or simply asked to be acknowledged as a successor, his brothers would have easily granted his wish.
But that is not enough."So, brother, control yourself and approach the battles with more reflection. Regardless of the outcome and the process of the Great Battle Kings Tournament, the brothers will undoubtedly appreciate you as before... But let’s not forget that brothers are also living beings. If even a small resentment persists, it will eventually fester."
Children who receive the favoritism of an absolute ruler will inevitably leave poisonous resentment among their siblings.
Jin learned this truth through the relationship between Rosa and Joshua.
Of course, the tribe is different from Runcandel, but after all, they are also living beings.
Jin had always thought that the privileges and favoritism he received from the tribe might become a problem someday.
Today, Jin would destroy any potential threats without a trace.
Like the mystical technique of Kaio's Battle King, Baba's sword also resembled that of the God of Battle. 'Punishment' had many similarities with the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends.
It also showed a much stronger impulse than the first form of the true Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends.
Despite Baba's energy surpassing his, Jin was not being pressured like he was against Kaio.
He was wielding his sword at will.
Looking back, Baba was at the center of the Battle Kings when Jin fought the initial battle through the God of Battle Fusion.
At that time, the rest of the Battle Kings were helping Baba so she could attack properly, and Kaio played a crucial role in that support.
"The senses of the God of Battle. If you hadn’t learned that, if you hadn’t shared the senses of the Elder Sister Goddess of Battle through fusion, you wouldn’t have been able to clash swords with me in this way."
"Even if I received some benefits, can it compare to being born as a true Legend? You’re talking nonsense."
Those watching the combat were left stunned, not by the conversations Jin and Baba had or by any inner thoughts revealed.
The Legends were amazed that Jin fought against Baba on equal footing.
Baba had foreseen this situation from the moment she saw Jin in the main hall.
Still, her mentality did not change, regardless of the outcome.
Sigmund and Light clashed fiercely.
The aura and luminous energy corroded in all directions, but as time passed, their battle approached the fundamental form of a "sword fight."
Loud noise and explosive sound.
The colossal sound of their swords clashing reverberated through the sky, almost incredibly loud, as if it could drown out any other noise.
As their swords constantly clashed, there was an eerie silence, as if no sound could be heard.
Both were increasingly wounded.
Surprisingly, the number of wounds they had was exactly the same.
When Jin struck once, Baba did too. Furthermore, the position of the wounds was perfectly symmetrical.
The intense battle continued.
Finally, the two distanced themselves simultaneously.
Jin expanded his space by executing the Erosion Sword Technique and the Reign of the King of Legends, and Baba, she, amplified her energy accordingly.
Baba's power was slightly more dominant.
Although Jin's ultimate technique, executed by changing swords, compensated for that difference.
"What will you do with a sword you don't fully master, Jin Runcandel?"
Unlike during the time with Kaio, the Shadow Energy was clearly blocking Baba's senses successfully.
It wasn't that Baba had failed to block it.
It didn’t matter.
Before her senses completely faded, she closed her eyes first.
Even in that state, she countered all of Jin's attacks just as before.
If anything, she became even more formidable.
To penetrate the ultimate technique like this...
The ability to display superior swordsmanship even with senses shut off.
For Jin, who hadn’t experienced the Fusion before, it was a realm of monsters he couldn’t even imagine.
Crack...!
A massive crack spread from the center of the main hall where both fought.
The main hall, which had withstood so many battles without losing its robust appearance, was collapsing.
Once the crack started, it absorbed the blows like a vortex. Just like the relationship between Jin and the Legends.
At this rate, it would soon collapse.
Jin decided to end the fight at that moment.
It was clear that Baba was stronger than him.
'I will entrench myself at the moment she falls.'
Suddenly, if the ground they stood on disappeared, no matter how skilled Jin and Baba were, they would inevitably lose balance for a moment.
"I know what you’re thinking."
"If you know, counter it accordingly. Have you already forgotten my advice?"
The Hall of the Gods of Battle had never collapsed in the history of the Great Tournament. Moreover, the rules of the Great Tournament included disqualification for fights outside the arena, meaning both were violating the rules.
It was an exceptional case, but Vahn did not stop the battle.
In fact, the fight between the two could no longer even be considered a fight of the Great Battle Kings Tournament. It resembled more the struggle between Jin and the Tribe of Legends.
If it were within Vahn's power, she could forcibly contain the shockwaves to prevent the hall from collapsing.
However, she chose to let it crumble.
The main hall, known as the battlefield for the encounters of the Great Battle Kings Tournament, was situated in the center of what is now known as the Great Mitra Desert and had become a dead world after losing the war against the Gods.
Vahn allowed the hall to collapse, knowing it would destroy the heart of their homeland.
Boom, crack..!
As the main hall split in half, all the Legends tightly closed their eyes.
They couldn't bear to see how the fight that had started as a small disagreement was destroying the heart of their homeland.
"Everyone, open your eyes and watch closely."
They followed Vahn's solemn voice.
All the tribe members watched the collapse of the hall and the two fighters battling like demons amidst the debris.
Just as planned, Jin had launched his attack when the hall was about to fall, stepping on the debris to shorten the distance between him and Baba.
The Ultimate Shadow Sword Technique had already been released.
Baba also stood firm and faced him head-on, and both suffered the same injuries again.
Both had cut their left arm.
Their arms mixed with the debris of the falling main hall, disappearing from sight.
Then, both landed simultaneously.
Thanks to the force of their mutual blows, Jin and Baba inevitably ended up back-to-back.
Next, as if they had made a promise, they turned and stabbed their swords.
Ha...!
The fight was over.
Jin's sword stopped short of reaching Baba's chest, and Baba's sword pierced through the Shadow Energy armor and Jin's chest.
When Baba twisted her sword once, Jin doubled over, spitting blood.
It wasn't that Jin didn't 'stab' Baba.
It was just that Baba's sword was faster.
"If you have something to say, say it now."
"Lightning Energy..."
"What?"
"Explode your Lightning Energy... like I did to Kaio."
"Do you think I can't?"
"Prove it. You said you would kill me, right?"
Blood dripped from Baba's lips.
Jin tried to lift his right arm, which held the sword.
His body, still pierced by the light, did not respond as he wanted, but his senses slowly returned to him.
Everyone watched as Jin struggled like a wounded beast to lift his arm and stab Baba again, but if given enough time, he could gather enough strength to do so.
"Let me ask you one thing, Jin. Why go this far? What is the reason?"
The conversations they had before crossing 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 for Baba and the Legends.
"You can't explode it, can you?"
"I can. I can explode it whenever I want. But first, tell me one thing. Why have you taken this so far?"
Bradamante slowly rose to Baba's neck.
It rose to within a hand's breadth of the neck, then fell due to fatigue, rising again, repeating the process and getting closer each time.
Sister Baba, end this!
Not a single member of the tribe, so angry at Jin's actions until now, screamed this way.
They simply watched the two with trembling red eyes.
"Please, please... tell me the whole story. It's not all as you said before, is it? Isn't it?"
"Are you going to keep talking loudly... and shouting?"
Squeaky...!
Finally, the tip of Bradamante reached Baba's neck. Although it barely grazed, the sharp blade easily penetrated Baba's neck.
It only entered a little, but now, with just a little more strength from Jin, Baba would meet her death.
Even so, Baba could not explode the energy of the sword that pierced Jin's chest.
"...Jin."
Through her clouded and darkened pupils, she saw the blade at her neck, and then she saw Jin again.
After looking like that, Baba closed her eyes.
Tears mixed with blood slipped from her closed eyelids.
"It's okay, Brother Jin. Even I can't understand it, but if this is what my brother wants, I'll accept it."
Resolution.
She had a resolution before this fight.
That even if it came to the end and Jin did not stop, and even if it meant he would kill her.
She would never let him go.
As his sister, as his dearest family.
"But before you stab me... know one thing. None of us, including myself, abandoned you while you went astray. Even if we got angry, spoke words full of resentment, even if we said you were no longer a brother, in the end, they were just words. It was just what we spat out in anger."
Baba released the grip on her sword, lightly.
Then, after opening her eyes again, she looked at Jin's wound and grasped Bradamante's sword with her right hand.
"If you truly hated us, you would have shattered 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 the sword again, I will not avoid it. If this is truly what you want, then please come back after I die. We are siblings after all..."
Even then, the Legends watching did not shout. No one told Baba to stop or asked why Baba was dying instead of Jin.
No one said they had Lingling.
They were the ones who would not abandon Jin, even if he killed them all this way.
"Why am I doing this? you asked. Sister Baba."
Sister. Hearing that common title before her own name, Baba lowered the hand holding the sword and caressed Jin's face. Bradamante fell to the ground.
"Yes, tell me, Brother Jin."
"Even if I do this... my siblings always forgive me. That's why I did it."
They should hate me at least once. We should have a real fight once. Even if we hurt each other so much, I was sure that in the end, we wouldn't let each other go.
Jin finally confessed why he was playing the villain and collapsed into Baba's arms.
And all the siblings ran towards them.
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