Episode 604
Chapter 156: Purification of Chaos (8)
Boras was burning with enthusiasm over the continuous new discoveries.
“If the fusion of the Twin Spirits occurs through chaos as a medium, then the ancestral brothers—myself and Kaka—might also be connected to the original chaos. This is a truly historic revelation!”
The moment Ban shifted his gaze to Boras, Chaos looked at Jin and suddenly burst out laughing.
Jin couldn’t help but feel irritated.
‘Wow… this is infuriating.’
His frustration simmered beneath the surface. As Jin strode forward, Chaos bared his fangs and took a step back.
“Hey, you can understand me, right?”
[Kingking?]
“You understand perfectly and you’re cunning. There’s no way you can’t use language. Explain right now why you’re influencing the Twin Spirit fusion.”
Chaos shook his head as if he didn’t understand what Jin meant.
“That’s probably because of the Twin Spirit Blood, brother Jin.”
“Boras, brother.”
“As I said earlier, the Twin Spirit Blood of the brothers underwent a kind of transformation or evolution when resisting chaos during the battle with Gliek. And it wasn’t just the Twin Spirit Blood that changed… that chaos itself must have been affected by the Twin Spirit Blood.”
Twin Spirit Blood and chaos.
Boras concluded that as these two forces intertwined within Jin’s body, they altered each other’s nature.
Just as the Twin Spirit Blood resisted chaos, chaos clashed with the Twin Spirit Blood, creating a kind of connection between them.
“Originally, these two powers tried to merge within the brothers’ inner selves but failed. Neither side completely consumed the other, so it ended in a stalemate.”
However, the battle had tipped in chaos’s favor. If Jin hadn’t come to Laprarosa, the hidden chaos would have destroyed them within a month.
“In other words, the Twin Spirit Blood and chaos were both transformed by partially absorbing each other’s nature. But now, because there’s a being nearby that can simultaneously respond to both energies, the Twin Spirit fusion is naturally forming!”
Ban’s energy possessed properties compatible with both the damaged chaos and the Twin Spirit Blood…
Boras was deducing the current situation this way.
“I really am a genius. To come up with all this in an instant.”
“The Otu brothers are smart, that’s for sure.”
“…According to the Otu brothers’ theory, it does explain why the Twin Spirit fusion only manifests when the brothers and chaos are close.”
The only related cases were Nana and Kaka, but there were no detailed records, so the Twin Spirit fusion remained a legendary martial art without even a theory.
Therefore, they had no choice but to infer and experiment.
“Brothers, take Chaos away from here again.”
At Boras’s command, Baltrock and Rumora once more led Chaos outside the training ground.
As expected, Jin and Ban immediately felt the resonance break as soon as Chaos moved away. When Chaos was brought back, the resonance resumed.
This phenomenon wasn’t limited to the central training ground. They repeated the same experiment all over Laprarosa, and the results were always the same.
“This proves it…”
Boras opened a notebook summarizing the experiments and results.
“At about one ri distance, regardless of location, if the brothers and Chaos are farther apart than that, the Twin Spirit fusion does not occur. For the fusion to happen, all three must be within one ri.”
During the experiment, Ban raised a question: ‘What if distance doesn’t matter and Chaos can control the fusion at will?’
They tested this by blindfolding Chaos and blocking his other senses as much as possible, then Jin and Ban adjusted their distance over a long period.
The conclusion was that Chaos had no ability to control the fusion. The key factor was distance alone.
Regarding why the fusion didn’t occur during their first battle with Chaos, Boras concluded it was because it took time for Chaos, the Twin Spirit Blood, and Ban’s energy to synchronize.
As the experiments progressed, Chaos grew increasingly smug, as if to say, “Without me, you can’t fuse your Twin Spirits…”
“Brother Jin.”
“Yes, Twin Spirit brother.”
“Come to think of it, our goal was to purify the brother’s chaos and restore his power—not to acquire some unexpected legendary martial art.”
“That’s right.”
“Then let’s end the experiments on the Twin Spirit fusion here. It’s better to focus on finishing that guy off.”
“I agree, Twin Spirit brother.”
Though Boras regretted that such a legendary discovery was ending like this, he didn’t oppose Ban and Jin’s decision.
“Tch, as a blacksmith and researcher, it’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped. Still, just in case, even after dealing with Chaos, the changes in Jin’s Twin Spirit Blood are a given. We might still find a way to the fusion.”
“It was a mysterious matter in its own right, so at least the time wasn’t wasted. What will you do, brother Jin? Fight him again starting today, or do you need rest?”
At that moment, Chaos’s face turned pale. The situation was unfolding completely differently from what he had hoped.
“I’ll start right away.”
After all, the Twin Spirit fusion would continue as long as they didn’t finish Chaos. Since the fusion automatically activated when all three were within one ri.
Fzuzuzuk!
Ban’s energy began flowing into Jin’s radiant heart. Having already regained 10% of his power, Jin was now far stronger than in previous battles.
As the fight was about to begin, Chaos looked troubled, turning his head this way and that.
But there was no one to stop the fight, and nowhere to run. Chaos’s only choice was to stand and fight.
Ban maintained a five-step distance, ready to protect Jin. Even if Jin fainted from the overload of the fusion, it wouldn’t be a problem.
For Chaos, this was a fight he simply couldn’t win.
Kakak—!
Naturally, Jin was the first to charge.
Bradamante, soaked in lightning and spiritual energy, now wielded power reminiscent of old times. The regained 10% aura combined with Ban’s energy made it formidable.
Chaos, overwhelmed by Ban’s momentum, couldn’t counterattack recklessly. He only formed shields and retreated.
‘Somehow, I feel like a villain.’
Fortunately, that uneasy feeling didn’t last long.
Between Jin and Chaos, there was a link connecting their inner selves. Through it, Jin was certain Chaos was just pretending to be pitiful.
Chaos’s true feelings were frustration that his plan had failed.
‘Damn human, thinking you’re nothing alone but acting tough with monsters backing you up?’
The moment Jin heard Chaos’s inner voice, his eyes widened as they locked.
Others couldn’t hear it.
‘Nothing alone? The guy who stole all my power thinks that?’
Jin was baffled; Chaos was annoyed.
‘Hmph, it would have been better if we just lived our own lives peacefully! But since you’re like this, I have my own thoughts. No more mercy. Still, it’d be a shame to end it quickly, so take this! The powerful swing of my front paw!’
If Jin hadn’t heard Chaos’s thoughts, he wouldn’t have dodged the next front paw strike. Even with 10% aura and the fusion, the speed was beyond Jin’s reaction.
‘Huh? How did I dodge that!?’
‘He really attacks exactly as he thinks…’
‘Luck? No, dodged again!?’
Jin not only dodged but also slipped to Chaos’s side. Before Chaos could react, Jin reclaimed the 10% magic power lingering at his side.
‘Damn! He’s stealing my power again… ugh!’
Bradamante struck Chaos’s forehead.
Though lacking strength to cut, the dull thud was audible.
“Why do you think that’s your power, huh!?”
As Chaos clutched his head in pain, his posture faltered, and Jin plunged his sword into Chaos’s abdomen with all his might.
[Kyah!]
In that moment, Jin reclaimed the 10% aura stored in Chaos’s belly.
“Oh! Brother Jin’s energy is growing bigger and bigger!”
“Didn’t it seem like Brother Jin just answered something to that guy?”
“Did it? Anyway, at this rate, he’ll recover everything soon.”
The watching Meiwang tribe spoke as expected. Jin had already regained 20% aura and 10% magic power today.
‘I understand Murakan’s feelings now. Losing power feels like the world’s vanished, but regaining it is so refreshing. And it seems he can’t read my thoughts like I can read his.’
Why that difference existed was unclear and unimportant.
‘What matters is what moves Chaos still has left.’
Just minutes ago, Chaos thought he had a secret trump card.
He planned to vent his anger on Jin for as long as possible before using it, but the situation forced him to reveal it immediately.
‘Hmph, now you won’t be able to rely on those monsters anymore.’
Chaos spread his wings.
Jin leapt to attack, but suddenly stopped as Chaos’s body began to scatter into particles.
His form was changing.
‘Transformation?’
Ban’s anger flared at Chaos’s sudden move, but she had no way to stop it. She couldn’t directly harm Chaos.
Instead, as Chaos’s form dispersed, Jin instantly absorbed additional energy left in the air.
It seemed Chaos was willing to endure that much damage, as it no longer revealed any thoughts.
More precisely, Jin could no longer sense Chaos’s inner feelings. The mental connection that had naturally flowed the moment Chaos changed shape was now completely severed.
It didn’t take long for Chaos’s transformation to finish. After about ten seconds, Jin and the Pluto clan couldn’t help but tilt their heads in confusion as they took in the new form.
“That’s…”
“A door? Is that a door?”
A door.
The form Chaos had taken closely resembled the door Dante had seen back when he was trapped inside the white stone long ago.