Chapter 60 - Battlefield
A massive bloom of fire erupted above Mute Town.
The heat could be felt from a distance.
Countless eyes watching the spectacle were dyed red.
The surviving resistance fighters, who had been catching their breath amid the slackened pursuit, and the TB troops, who had gathered in response to the support request.
Even the city government agents observing the situation from afar.
All of them saw the explosion.
And in the next moment—
They all moved, each to fulfill their role.
***
Nothing could be seen.
Nothing could be heard.
But something could still be felt.
A dry, gritty sensation filling his mouth.
The acrid stench of burnt flesh.
And the excruciating pain slicing through his entire body.
In a world where all senses had vanished, leaving only suffering behind, Jin regretted his decision.
Shit, I shouldn't have taken that hit.
Of course, regret always comes too late.
As expected, he had survived.
But ironically, because he had survived, he now had to endure this unbearable agony.
It was all because of that incomprehensible regenerative ability, which had revived his dead nerves.
And the first thing those nerves did upon reawakening was enthusiastically transmit waves of pain straight to his brain.
So now—ugh! Agh! Argh!
He was in a state where not dying was the worst possible outcome.
Get... up... I... have... to...
How many times had he blacked out and come to again, just to complete that one short sentence in his mind?
At some point, the pitch-black darkness before his eyes began to take shape.
His retinas, warped by the intense heat, were now reconstructing themselves.
The old, ruined ones had melted into a gooey mess, streaming down his cheeks like tears.
It was fortunate that he couldn't see.
If Jin had witnessed the grotesque process of his recovery, he would have been horrified beyond words.
Something like flesh transmutation?
Fullmetal Alchemist?...He would have muttered to himself.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
Though his vision remained blurry, he managed to plant his hands on the ground.
But something felt off.
The lack of strength was one thing, but his balance also seemed... unstable.
Wondering what was wrong, Jin raised his hand close to his face.
And then he saw the horrifying truth.
What the hell—why do I only have four fingers?!
Among the faint outlines of his elongated, flesh-colored digits, one was missing—completely severed.
Flexing them one by one from thumb to pinky, he realized—shit, his middle finger was gone.
Will this regenerate too?
Even while enduring unbearable pain, Jin's first thought was concern.
His face was still smeared with what had once been his eyeballs, but since he couldn't see himself, he focused on more practical worries.
Like whether he'd ever be able to flip someone off again.
At the same time, he felt certain of something.
If he was in this bad a shape, then Taha was definitely dead.
A warhead capable of piercing 1,000mm of armor had lodged itself in Taha's abdomen before detonating.
The sheer pressure and heat would have turned his insides into a shredded mess.
No matter how tough the bastard was, there was no way he survived that.
Muttering to himself, Jin forced his body upright.
Dead flesh that his regeneration had abandoned crumbled away in clumps.
Scattering the discarded remnants of his body, he pressed a hand to his knee, ran his tongue around his dry, gritty mouth, and spat.
Then he sniffed the air.
Amid the now-familiar scent of burning, he caught a stronger whiff of blood.
Instinctively lifting his head, he saw the blood-soaked ground.
And on it, something slumped over.
Jin narrowed his eyes, trying to focus.
But his vision was still too blurry.
His unfocused eyes couldn't clearly define the object before him.
All he could make out in his ruined sight was a vaguely pale mass.
Still, he was sure—that was Taha.
There was no other entity around here that could be such a stark white heap.
Well, whatever.
Right now, Jin was the one standing on two feet.
Taha was the one lying in the dirt.
The insane plan he had executed, knowing he had no chance of winning in a direct fight, had succeeded.
And just as relief swept over him—
Jin staggered back, instinctively retreating.
He had just checked his internal status out of habit, only to realize—he hadn't gained any experience points.
The next moment, blood spurted from his shoulder.
A chilling sensation that made his hair stand on end.
But there was no time to check his wound.
Jin instantly hurled himself backward.
With his eyes and ears still failing him, his only reliable sense was touch.
Reading the attack's trajectory through the air pressure brushing against his skin, he bent backward.
Something barely grazed past his face before snapping back like a recoiling measuring tape.
And at the end of it—
Taha, rising unnaturally from the pool of blood.
"---!!!!"
He was screaming something, but Jin couldn't hear it.
Not that it mattered.
What mattered was how Taha looked.
Dark crimson blood, stretched into long, thread-like strands, barely held his torn-apart body together.
He looked like a grotesquely stitched-up ragdoll.
Even with Jin's hazy vision, it was obvious—this was not normal.
A third phase?
Are you kidding me?!
Jin furrowed his brows in frustration.
Then, Taha's unnaturally elongated arms finally touched the ground.
And at last, he completed his transformation into a massive, four-legged beast—roaring furiously.
As if in response, bright lights flickered on all around them, illuminating Jin and Taha.
What the hell is this now?
Startled, Jin turned—only to be greeted by a sea of TB soldiers surrounding them.
They must have been drawn by the explosion.
Their numbers easily reached the hundreds.
And among them were many high-ranking officers who had already undergone beastification.
This was at least a battalion.
If that unit had been deployed inside the building, the entire party would have been wiped out without question.
Thinking about it that way, it was actually a relief that they had come for him instead...
But still, why the hell weren't these bastards moving?
Jin narrowed his eyes at the eerie standoff that was dragging on for too long.
He had expected them to pull the trigger at any moment, but instead, what filled the air was a murmur of unrest.
…No way!
A thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly turned to check on Taha.
Sure enough.
A massive beast was growling and scanning its surroundings.
This wasn't a normal reaction.
Especially considering he was supposed to be the leader of TB.
And so, Jin came to a conclusion.
The subordinates were frozen in shock, unable to process the sight of their boss—transformed into a monstrous, mindless beast?
Life sure had its twists.
Jin grabbed a chunk of concrete from the ground and hurled it with all his might.
The rock sliced through the air and shattered against the lion's head.
The beast's snout twisted in fury, its head snapping up.
"GRRRROOOOAAAARRR!!"
As the deafening roar filled the air, Jin turned and bolted without a second thought.
And of course, he ran straight toward TB's forces.
"Sh-Shit!!"
"What do we do?!"
The sight of Jin sprinting toward them, with the monstrous beast in pursuit, sent the TB soldiers into a frenzy.
Even the higher-ups were in a panic.
"B-Boss! What the hell is going—?!"
Hesitating instead of giving orders, their nerves finally snapped.
Someone pulled the trigger.
BANG!
That gunshot was the spark.
RATATATATAT!!
The muzzles of their rifles erupted in fire, and bullets rained down—half at Jin, half at Taha.
Jin screamed internally.
Even in this situation, they were shooting at him?!
Cursing their twisted loyalty, he instinctively shielded his head.
His arms were shredded in an instant, but he didn't stop.
He had no choice.
This was the best option he had.
He didn't have enough time to completely regenerate his ruined body.
And as if things weren't bad enough, that damn boss had the nerve to come back from the dead.
A proper fight was impossible.
So, he had to throw everything into chaos instead.
Now was the moment.
Screw it.
He charged straight into the enemy lines, throwing himself into the thick of them.
The absurdly reckless move sent everything spiraling into madness.
"The glorious era! Of the Beastfolk! Has come!"
Completely unhinged, Taha swung his claws and fists without distinguishing friend from foe.
Blood fountains erupted from all sides.
"Boss! Snap ou—!"
The desperate plea was cut short.
The soldier's head flew off, severed in an instant.
It was the same guy who had just been shooting at Jin with fanatical loyalty.
And his death made the others, who shared that loyalty, shift their aim.
"FIRE!"
A voice rang out, and a storm of bullets tore into Taha.
And so, the slaughter began.
"Ugh…!"
One soldier shuddered and collapsed, his heart pierced.
Taha grabbed the corpse and hurled it aside, then howled to the heavens.
"Blood of Carthdrubael! Reclaim your lost glory!!"
Jin, who had been looting equipment from the fallen TB soldiers, paused and turned his head.
Carth what?
"The blood spilled in battle! Shall build a new dynasty!"
The lunatic kept ranting.
"In the rivers of blood, the king shall rise!"
"You shall rightfully welcome the Beast King!"
It was a massacre accompanied by deranged proclamations.
And all the while, Taha himself was being ripped apart by bullets, grenades, and heavy artillery fire.
"Son of a bitch!"
As their lives came under direct threat, even the TB officers abandoned all pretense of loyalty.
They sank their teeth and claws into Taha.
They were enhanced humans as well.
And their all-out attacks finally tore into the weakened beastfolk's hide, leaving deep wounds.
They paid with their lives, but the damage was done.
"GRRRROOOAAAARRR!!"
Taha howled as he rampaged, single-handedly tearing through an entire battalion.
The sheer destruction he was causing, even as the terrain itself was being reshaped by the relentless bombardment, was terrifying to behold.
If this had been a normal battle, defeat would have been inevitable.
Jin swallowed hard as he watched Taha.
"The era! Of the Beastfolk! Has come!"
What the hell was this madness?
It was too coherent to be dismissed as simple schizophrenia.
Or maybe he really was just possessed by some crazy spirit.
Who knew?
And more importantly, who cared?
Jin gave up trying to understand.
Instead, he moved his battered body and started firing in every direction.
This was supposed to be a reinforcement unit.
Which meant there was no reason to leave a single one of them alive.
BANG!
He blew out the back of a fleeing soldier's head.
He ignored the ones fighting Taha and focused only on picking off those trying to escape.
And, of course, he added to the confusion.
"Anyone who runs is executed on the spot!!"
His mindset was simple—everyone except him was an enemy.
Jin moved recklessly, acting entirely on impulse.
But no one was in any position to stop him.
Their boss had gone completely berserk, indiscriminately spreading death to both allies and enemies.
And so, they missed their chance.
Their one and only opportunity to kill Jin.
CRACKLE!
A surge of extreme energy flared near his heart, making Jin's eyes widen.
It was back!
His body had finally recovered enough to use mana again.
In the blurry haze of his vision, focus returned just as quickly.
Taha, drenched in the chaos of massacre, stood out clearly, his form etched into Jin's sight.
The remaining TB troops were few now.
"Kehek!"
As the last soldier collapsed, Jin immediately triggered the Polar Radiance, his energy roaring to life without hesitation.
Without a moment's doubt, he propelled himself forward, tearing through the darkness, and in the blink of an eye, the searing lightning reached Taha.
When the flash of lightning reached its peak, Jin found himself behind Taha, his arm securely wrapped around the beast's neck.
It was the one move that humans could use to overpower a beast: the rear naked choke.
Of course, Jin wasn't just trying to choke out a carotid artery.
It was an unspoken resolve, a pledge that he wouldn't let go.
In the next instant, Jin clenched his teeth and, with all his might, activated his mana circuit.
Crackling!
With explosive force, the spinning energy wrapped around Taha, the destructive power of one of the Seven Clans' abilities unleashing.
Taha, consumed by the torrent of raw energy, let out a tremendous roar.
"Keheheh!"
The beast's frantic struggle caused it to slam against a nearby wall, and the impact forced blood from Jin's mouth.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Taha's thrashing was enough to destroy everything in its path.
Jin couldn't understand where this monstrous strength was coming from in a body so torn apart.
Naturally, Jin, who was clinging to the beast's back, was also being crushed in real-time.
But he tightened his grip even more desperately.
He knew that if he fell now, he would die.
With a final gnashing of his teeth, cracks spread across them.
Taha exhaled harshly.
"Great! Beast... Age! Kasdu, Rubael!"
Even amidst this chaos, Taha continued to mutter incomprehensible words.
Jin frowned, as the man's frenzied state reminded him of his own.
To protect the memories of a past long gone, Jin would continue to overlay everything he encountered with the memories of his homeland.
It was his desperate resistance as an outsider in this world, one that had been irrevocably changed.
No matter what, he vowed he would keep fighting.
Even if swallowed by the black waves time and time again.
Then, it happened.
From deep within his chest, a flame began to rise silently.
The transparent flame, having ignited, began to radiate outward with the swirling energy.
The previously balanced struggle started to shift in Jin's favor.
The monstrous beast, which had seemed invincible just moments ago, finally began to show signs of weakness.
The creature began to crumble in the chaos of battle.
A scream, strangled and ragged, filled the air.
It was no longer the mighty roar of a lion.
It was a pitiful cry of a broken man, consumed by his own ruin.
Time passed, though how long, Jin could not tell.
After what seemed like an eternity, the beast collapsed to the ground, a heap of blackened flesh and bone.
Amidst the ashes, Jin rose.
"Hoo"
He staggered to his feet, feeling the surge of experience fill him.
His chest puffed with pride, and he let out a roar to the heavens.
"Yes! I can still be myself!"
"Victory!! We defeated them!!"