C623
The final winner of the Great Battle Kings Tournament was Baltirok, not Jin nor Baba.
Kaio couldn't participate in the remaining battles due to the injuries he sustained in the 22nd match, and Jin and Baba couldn't continue either, as they had to recover their buried arms.
And Jin and the Legends became uncomfortable for a while.
Jin felt guilty for having pushed his brothers so aggressively for any reason, and the Legends were ashamed that, regardless of the sincerity of the cause, they seemed to have "let go" of Jin too quickly.
'Although at that moment we were only speaking out of anger... in reality, everyone seemed to have considered Brother Jin less close than the other brothers. The fact that we even questioned his eligibility for succession was something that should never have happened.'
'We should have acted more generously. If we had shown the actions that Ninth Battle King Sister did at the end from the beginning, we wouldn't be so embarrassed.'
'At that time, I was really mad to the point of insanity, but everyone easily said we should expel Brother Jin.'
'Even if we didn't say it out loud, we couldn't resist Brother Jin's game.'
'We're rotten to the core if any of the brothers actually tried to kill Jin. Even if Jin betrays us, we should have shown that we would never abandon our brothers.''Looking back, we could have realized sooner that Brother Jin was only acting. Brother Jin injured Brother Kaio by avoiding the Light Heart, and even when he attacked Fourth Battle King Sister who turned around, he could have cut even deeper.'
'I have no face to see Brother Jin... how foolish we must seem.'
What if Kaio had prioritized Jin's honor instead of criticizing Garmund before the shocking 22nd match?
What if, after the chaos of the 22nd match, Kaio had screamed while grabbing Jin's head or punched him, and the rest of the brothers didn't take it too seriously, thinking, 'It's enough'?
Even after that, if everyone had acted like Baba from the beginning to the end, instead of fighting among themselves and then joining forces to defeat Jin...
If they had done that, they might now seem more admirable to Jin.
Such suppositions tormented the Legends.
They no longer cared if Jin acted well or badly.
Even if they said they would kill Jin, the final decision of the entire tribe was the same as what Baba showed at the end.
Unlike the countless malicious words they uttered out of spite, it was the only sincerity that didn't need verbal confirmation from others.
The proposition that brothers should never be abandoned no matter how terrible the situation was always absolute and unbreakable.
If the remaining members of the tribe were thousands or tens of thousands and were being ruled by another god of battle instead of Vahn, things might have been different.
At least a few might have harbored different feelings.
However, the 77 members of the Legends in Lafrarosa were not like that. Their unity had not changed a single moment, and it was not going to change in the future.
"... Is your arm okay?"
Kaio sat next to Jin with a dull thud.
He had been wandering aimlessly around Jin's room for an hour, and five minutes ago he had asked him the same question.
"Uh... Brother Fifth Battle King did a good job patching it up."
Jin's response was the same as five minutes ago.
"What about Ninth Battle King Sister's injuries?"
"It's not comparable to what I did to you, Brother Tenth Battle King . By the way, didn't you say you could walk a bit already?"
"Yes..."
"Well. I was a bit too aggressive, Brother Tenth King Battle. I'm sorry."
Kaio was the only one who suffered an injury from which it would take more than a year to recover.
Jin and Baba's arms were immediately treated with Boras' special bonding technique, so they were healed.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Brother Jin. It was I who went crazy. I felt like I was losing my mind for a moment during the anticipated return of the Great Battle Kings Tournament."
"My method was too extreme. So it should be me who apologizes."
"No, Brother Jin, your method wasn't bad."
"Looking back, it doesn't seem like it was the best choice."
-Brother Jin! What are you doing? Have you forgotten what I told you?
-I did it on purpose.
-What?
-I needed to stimulate the brothers' competitive spirit. Seeing that Brother Eighth Battle King lost to me, I think something like that was necessary sooner or later.
The conversation that Jin had with Tantel after his first conflict with Kaio, which led to this latest animosity.
When Tantel heard Jin talk about becoming a villain and pushing his brothers, he responded thus.
-I broadly understand the reason. But Brother Jin, one thing is certain. No matter how badly you behave, the outcome is fixed. Nobody really hates you no matter what happens. At least now, all 77 brothers remaining in Lafrarosa are like this. Like Brother Jin.
-I also know that. I'm just curious how that can happen.
-If you're going to do it, be wicked to the end no matter how tense the atmosphere gets. Even if it's revealed they were jealous and envious of you, in reality, nobody wants to abandon you. They might treat you as if they were your archenemies, but nothing more.
Tantel’s words were accurate.
However, the reason Jin acted so maliciously until the end was not solely due to Tantel’s response.
He also had the conviction that his brothers would never abandon him, and that saddened him even more.
Kaio placed his hand on Jin’s shoulder.
Seeing the large, stiff hand that was trembling slightly, Jin felt even more remorse.
“That may be true. But the same goes for the other brothers. We’ve shown the worst instead of the best. It may sound foolish coming from me, but we can’t always show our best.”
Jin didn’t respond, and Kaio readjusted his bandages to make him more comfortable.
“Well, as you can see, the other brothers are quite simple. They often can’t even think of simple things. So, this time, everyone acted like villains. The Sister Goddess of Battle probably guessed everything from the start, so she remained silent. Although it seemed that way, I didn’t intend to shoot you, Brother Jin. I only tried to threaten you.”
“Well, given the situation, it’s understandable.”
“No, even after your Shadow Energy exploded in my chest, I didn’t carefully consider the fact that my Light Heart was still intact. Most of us thought you might call us out as hostages and that we had to leave like that.”
“That’s also a situation where one might easily think that way.”
“But it also revealed that we were treating you a bit differently in the process.”
“I don’t think so, Brother Tenth Battle King. It was because I provoked the brothers. And even when I pretended to try to kill Sister Baba, the brothers were still willing to treat me like a brother. In a way, I lost.”
“Brother Jin.”
“Yes.”
“Ah,
wait a moment. I can’t stand anymore. Please let me sit down. Stop wearing that worried expression; I’ll get better within a year. Anyway, we will keep losing to you in the future. That hasn’t changed.”
Kaio sat down in the chair with difficulty and let out a sigh.
“However, its meaning has changed a bit with this incident.”
“How?”
“We lose to you not because you are Brother Jin, but because you are a brother. Or you can say it’s not that we’ve lost, but that we can’t win. Brother Jin, you are not weaker than us. I’m not just talking about strength, but because among the rest of the brothers, no one can endure the hate and channel their willpower like you, Brother Jin.”
“Is that so?”
“Then forgive us.”
“Forgive you?”
“Indeed, we didn’t treat you like a brother, but as Brother Jin.”
“What are you talking about?”
[They are in a pitiful state.]
Suddenly, Vahn and Lingling entered the room. Vahn lightly squeezed Lingling’s head, who was sticking his tongue out.
[Ouch!]
“That’s why I hit you, Lingling. And I don’t think that’s what you should say. Aren’t you in a position where you couldn’t kill Brother Jin?”
[Vahn only hates me! Oh, hehe, hehe.]
Lingling tried to be mean to Vahn, but when she gently stroked his neck, he burst out laughing.
“Have you come, Sister Goddess of Battle?”
“No need to be polite, Brother Tenth Battle King.”
Vahn’s gaze settled on Jin. It had been 15 days since the Great Battle Kings Tournament ended, but today was the first time Vahn spoke directly.
Outside the door, all the remaining members of the tribe were waiting with their heads bowed.
“This time you fought like children.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It felt somewhat cute to watch. In the future, there will surely be more fights, so make sure to fight like children. Even if I don’t say it, you’ll probably do so anyway.”
Vahn handed Jin the Sigmund he had brought.
Jin looked at the Sword Sigmund in silence for a while.
“Brother Jin. Whatever you did, and no matter how much the other brothers coveted it, the owner would not have changed.”
“...I know.”
“If that meaning has become even heavier for everyone, that’s enough.”
Jin accepted Sigmund.
Vahn added no more words to the situation.
Baltirok, the final winner of the Great Tournament, seemed regretful, not because he wanted the sword, but because he couldn’t hand it over personally.
“Then, what do you think the brothers should do now?”
Upon Vahn’s words, the Legends exchanged looks in silence.
They weren’t sure what response Vahn expected.
Naturally, all the Legends’ gazes turned to Jin.
“We should rebuild the broken Main Hall of the Gods of Battle.”
At Jin’s response, Vahn nodded.
“Brother Thirteenth Battle King knows well. From now on, all the brothers follow Brother Thirteenth Battle King and start rebuilding the main hall.”
Vahn thought this as he watched the 77 brothers jumping into the ruins of the hall with enthusiasm.
Perhaps, from the moment Jin arrived, they were already escaping the dead world.
What Vahn saw was not the vision of those trapped in the forgotten dead world, but of living beings.
As she walked slowly behind the brothers, Lafrarosa also became part of the group of 78 people. Along with her companion, Chaos.
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KO-FI
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