Chapter 42 - Fuck It
Jin blinked.
One has to know what's going on to be surprised together.
But what even was that?
Black flames?
Dark fire?
A black flame dragon?
Jin treated even secret magic like mere color play.
He didn't judge good or evil based on color.
He didn't measure value by it either.
That's why he couldn't understand why Anna had frozen in place.
More importantly, he heard a buzzing sound—ziing—followed by the door clicking shut behind him.
Then, a sly voice echoed from a speaker attached to the ceiling corner.
"Heh… So, you made it all the way—"
Bang!
Before the sentence was even half-finished, Jin shot the speaker down.
He then snapped his fingers right in front of Anna's face.
"Hey, hey, snap out of it."
Just then—
Chhzzzzzt—a crackling noise came as another voice started broadcasting.
"At last, you've taken the bait—"
Bang!
With a roar from Gravis, a radio-like device was utterly destroyed.
It fell from the shelf and hit the floor, lying there miserably.
Several more attempts followed.
Through monitors, through wide, flat wireless devices.
Of course, Jin didn't listen.
"The White Flame has—" Bang!
"In the end, you were swayed by—" Bang!
"Wait, just let me—" Bang!
Few things make people angrier than being interrupted mid-sentence.
Once?
It stings a little.
Twice?
It starts to get on your nerves.
But five times?
At this point, even a villain's side should be heard out.
And sure enough—
The unidentified voice lost its patience.
Somewhere, a thud-thud-thud-thud!!—loud footsteps came running.
Then, beyond a glass chamber—
In the midst of countless mechanical devices—
A man in a white coat came dashing forward, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Just listen to me, you goddamn son of a—!"
Bang—!
Jin answered with Gravis.
That made it six times.
The man, still mid-sprint, was sent flying backward at the same speed.
He crashed down, arms and legs spread wide, blood gushing from the bullet hole in his forehead.
"The hell was he yapping on about?"
Jin lowered his gun, mumbling.
Beside him, Eric clapped his hands.
Like an audience member moved by a great film, he made LED fireworks explode across his visor, nodding in admiration.
At least there wasn't a seventh.
Now that things had quieted down, Jin turned back to Anna.
"That's Walter, right? Looks like the guy in the photo Khalifa showed us."
"…Yeah."
Hearing her small confirmation, Jin nodded.
"Then we should hurry up and either break that thing or shut it down to get him out. Why are you just standing there?"
At those words, Anna, still staring straight ahead, slowly opened her mouth.
"…Because that's not Walter."
"Huh?"
Jin's brow furrowed.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Walter, but not Walter?
Schrödinger's Walter or something?
Would they need a reunion kiss to confirm it?
And then—
"…Sharp eyes. I guess a real one is different."
The response came from an entirely unexpected place.
The corpse, bullet hole in its forehead, placed its hands on the floor and pushed itself upright.
The word 'hole' didn't quite do it justice—it was big enough to fit a fist through.
Naturally, blood gushed out, drenching the face in red.
Yet, in stark contrast, gleaming white teeth showed in a wide grin.
"How do you like my masterpiece?"
This time, Jin didn't pull the trigger.
By now, he figured he should at least hear what this guy had to say.
More importantly—Anna's gaze was locked onto him.
"…What did you do to him?"
Her voice was ice-cold.
The walking corpse's lips curled up further.
Its eyes, however, remained unfocused and lifeless.
As if two different faces had been stitched together at the cheekbones, the sight was grotesque beyond words.
"What do you mean, what did we do? We did our best. Spared no expense to grant him the power he'd always dreamed of. And that bastard couldn't even take it. In the end, a lowborn fool who couldn't awaken the White Flame! Trash! Useless idiot!"
The hell is this guy ranting about?
Jin's brows furrowed deeply.
His trigger finger twitched.
He wanted to pull the trigger right away, but since Anna was holding back,
it felt awkward to jump in first.
Wait—why was she just standing there, taking this?
He glanced at her, puzzled.
And then—he understood.
Anna wasn't holding back.
She had already exploded.
"I can't feel his flame."
She slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes burned with a pure white glow.
"…Walter is dead, isn't he?"
"I've given him a better life. Death isn't the end, but the beginning of everything."
The half-dead being, who muttered words that sounded familiar, grinned with a deep red smile.
At the same time, Jin vaguely realized.
The reason the status window only asked to find Walter.
Was it because he was in a state where he couldn't be saved in the first place?
Then it happened.
Screeeech—!
With the sound of air escaping, the pale green liquid in the glass tank rapidly lowered in level, and from within, Walter's blood-red eyes suddenly shot open.
Boom!!!
A roar filled with rage erupted from the shattered glass pieces.
"A'rrrrrrrrr!!"
Jin, seeing Walter with his arms outstretched, howling toward the ceiling, grabbed Anna's shoulder and pulled her away.
"Get out of the way."
Isn't this a cliché?
The tragic character who loses themselves to the corruption of their beloved.
The other doesn't recognize them and attacks wildly.
No!
Come to your senses!
It's me!
Please!
Unable to even land a decent counterattack, getting beaten until they're nothing but rags, only to have the other realize too late and gently caress their cheek before collapsing.
If this is the kind of ridiculous ending that leads to Anna's death, Jin had no intention of watching it, even if he had to look foolish.
So, he clenched his fist and was ready to charge out—
But then Anna's next action broke Jin's expectations.
Whoosh!
She created a ball of pure white flame in her palm and hurled it directly at Walter.
Bang!!
With the sound of a violent explosion and a gust of heat hitting his face,
Anna turned her head to Jin, who was staring at her with a blank expression.
"I'll handle this empty shell. So don't get in the way."
Jin couldn't help but admire her unexpected response.
You've got a surprisingly bold style.
The former head must be proud of you.
But that was only for a moment.
A question slowly began to rise in his mind.
Wait, if that's the case, what danger is she even in?
Jin swiftly turned his head.
And what he saw in his eyes were chunks of flesh squirming on the floor.
The figure was the man in the gown, right next to the exploded glass tank.
Somehow alive in a form that shouldn't be, he slowly moved his lips.
"The White Flame... came willingly, so the contract is fulfilled... Keep your promise, Styx..."
What?
Jin's eyes widened.
It wasn't just because of the word "Styx."
He felt an intense presence above his head.
It was like the sky itself was splitting open, a dangerous feeling.
His head involuntarily tilted back.
In the next moment.
A black meteor crashed through the ceiling and slammed into the floor.
It was as if a massive bomb exploded, flipping the floor entirely and releasing a tremendous shockwave.
──!
Without even a moment to react, Jin was slammed into the wall.
It felt like all the air in his lungs had evaporated, and his vision spun.
But in an instant, his eyes focused and aimed forward—
Through the blurry blood, he saw a massive figure emerging from the smoky haze.
A figure at least a head taller than Jin, who stood at around 180 cm.
The limbs, resembling tree trunks, looked as if they would remain untouched even if stabbed with a knife.
But what was most overwhelming was the black flames enveloping the giant's body.
The intensity and clarity of those flames were a different level from Walter's, and from the center of the inferno he had created, the master of the black flame spoke.
"Good. The deal is done."
At that moment, from behind the giant, an afterimage quickly closed the distance.
It was called an afterimage because it was so fast.
A signal flashed in Jin's brain, and before he knew it, Eric was there.
His dagger slashed diagonally at the giant's neck.
At the end of the path was an exposed carotid artery, unprotected.
Perfect timing, perfect speed.
And yet, the giant reacted in a way that disregarded everything.
Thud!
The giant's hand reached back and grabbed the blade.
Erik didn't hesitate to abandon the weapon.
He immediately let go of the hilt and swiftly distanced himself.
That cold decision saved him.
The back of the giant's clenched fist swept through the space Eric had just vacated.
"Boom!!!"
The sound of the air splitting rang through the air.
At the same time, Jin pulled the trigger of Gravis.
One shot, two shots, three shots.
At the moment when the consecutive gunshots reached the giant's ears and his gaze turned toward this side.
Blink.
Jin shot the fourth bullet into the back of the giant's head.
Without even checking the result, Blink again.
This time, Jin appeared from the right diagonal and slammed the Gravis, now gripped differently, into the giant's side.
Then, with a powerful swing of his opposite fist, he Blinked again.
Just as he appeared directly in front, his punch buried itself in the giant's abdomen.
And again, Blink…
Jin staggered.
A sudden dizziness hit him.
The sensation of seeing the world in 3D cubes felt as if it had shattered.
The coordinates that had been clear until just a moment ago twisted and wobbled.
He couldn't even tell where he was standing now.
Front?
Back?
Left?
Right?
In the midst of the nausea rising in him, Jin instinctively pressed his right arm against his ear and thrust his left hand forward.
Though whether it was truly forward, he didn't know.
Puuuurrrgh!!!
Moments later, as if he had collided with a massive metal block, the ground beneath his feet formed a trench, and Jin slipped with a loud crash.
Someone caught him with their body, keeping him upright.
Through the dizziness, he turned his head to see Eric.
There wasn't even time to thank him.
Jin quickly twisted his broken right arm, turning it into position with a crack, and glared at the giant with bloodshot eyes.
The black flame wrapping the giant's body created dark wisps of smoke that rose around him.
And in the area affected by the smoke, Blink couldn't be used.
The mere thought of trying would cause his head to split.
"Using tricks, huh? Rookie."
The giant said, spreading his palm toward the ground.
From it, deformed Magnum rounds dropped with a clink.
He caught all of those?
Jin gritted his teeth.
"Who are you?"
At some point, Anna, standing opposite him, asked.
The giant grinned.
"Killgit."
"...Why is a specter of Styx here?"
"Because we made a deal."
"A deal?"
"I lent them the black flame, in exchange for being promissed the white flame."
"For what?"
"For the perfect flame."
The dry exchange of words passed quickly, but it contained much.
Then, Anna turned her head.
"You all need to leave. I'll handle this."
With those words, she began walking forward.
White light erupted from her body like a wildfire.
"The white flame isn't for someone like you."
"Interesting."
In the next instant, the two flames clashed.
In the center, a destructive heat surged, sweeping through the underground.
Eric shook Jin's shoulder.
Jin thought that, naturally, Eric would mention the escape, but to his surprise, the visor displayed a different message.
[I will hold off Walter]
Before Jin could respond, Eric dashed off.
He headed toward Walter, who was crying out in the ruins.
Jin smirked.
His prediction had been wrong again.
Do they enjoy breaking clichés?
At the same time, a status window appeared before his eyes.
Get lost!
Jin swatted away the square interruption without even reading it.
The mere thought of it trying to direct his actions in this moment was sickening.
Well, damn.
In this situation, should I run away alone?
The ceiling's already full of holes.
Sorry, guys....
But even so, it's styx
Should I leave?
Want me to wave goodbye?
Fuck it.
Either we all survive, or we all die.
One of those two, so...
With that, Jin activated the mana circuit to its fullest.
Crackling!!!
The lightning reacted to the master's violent will, beginning to rampage.
At the same time, a lightning bolt struck Jin's mind.
It was the roar of evolution, leading to the next step.