After a successful escape, the Casoltins sailed safely away from the blazing forest.
The entire ordeal had lasted little more than an hour.
Although they had escaped with their lives, their greatest trial was only just beginning.
Onboard the ship...
Dendelon collapsed onto the deck with a heavy sigh.
"Thank goodness that plan worked..."
"I honestly didn't expect everything to go so smoothly." He scratched the back of his head.
Mika stepped forward.
"Yeah... we were really lucky back there."
She turned toward Juzio.
"Juzio... there are a lot of things I want to ask you."
She hesitated.
"But first..."
"...Where's the Captain?"
Silence swept across the deck.
Every pair of eyes settled on Juzio.
Unable to face them, he lowered his gaze.
"...I..."
His voice caught in his throat.
"The Captain..."
"...is dead."
The crew froze.
Suddenly—
Djong burst into laughter.
"Hah... good one."
His smile slowly disappeared.
"...Now stop joking around."
"What's the meaning of this, Juzio?!" Mika demanded.
"Come on, Juzio," Dendelon said.
"This isn't funny."
Juzio remained silent for a moment.
Then he finally spoke.
"...It's the truth."
Another uneasy silence followed.
His next words struck even harder.
"...Tuziku killed him."
No one spoke.
The only sound was the ocean crashing against the hull.
SPLASH!!
SPLOOSH!!
"What..."
Djong stared blankly.
"...What did you just say?"
Felo's body trembled.
"What happened out there...?"
Juzio slowly walked over and sat on an old wooden crate.
"I was trying to regroup with all of you when I found Tuziku fighting one of the Generals on the shore."
"Tuziku defeated him using his Abyssal Ability..."
"...but then he suddenly lost control."
"...and accidentally killed Captain Sailou."
Silence consumed the ship once more.
Dark clouds gathered overhead.
The sea grew rougher.
SPLASH!!
SPLOOSH!!
Mika suddenly broke down.
"T-That..."
"...That can't be true!"
"Tell me you're lying!"
"Tell me the Captain is somewhere waiting for us!"
She grabbed Juzio by his shirt.
"TELL ME!!"
...
Juzio lowered his head.
"...I'm sorry."
Mika collapsed onto the deck, sobbing uncontrollably.
Felo stood frozen.
His mouth hung open.
Impossible...
THOOOOOOM!!
Thunder roared across the dark sky as lightning illuminated the sea.
Djong clenched his fists.
"This doesn't make any sense!"
"If Tuziku went berserk..."
"...why is he the one who's injured?"
"The Captain should've been able to defend himself!"
"Djong's right," Dendelon said.
"You need to explain everything."
Juzio looked away once again.
"...I don't know why."
"When I found them..."
"...the Captain was lying in a pool of blood."
"He was barely alive."
Juzio clenched his fists.
"He looked like he'd been beaten nearly to death before Tuziku ever lost control."
The memory filled him with rage.
Rain suddenly poured from the heavens.
It soaked the crew within seconds.
"After Tuziku realized what he'd done..."
"...his Abyssal Ability disappeared."
"He tried to throw himself into the burning forest."
"I stopped him..."
"...and brought him back."
Dendelon turned away.
"So that's what happened..."
Tears streamed down his face.
The rain continued falling.
No one moved.
"DAMN IT!!"
Djong slammed his fist into the deck.
"I never even got the chance to prove myself to him!"
Mika remained curled up on the floor, unable to stop crying.
...
Felo finally broke the silence.
"Juzio..."
"The Captain stayed behind so you could regroup with us."
"But you never came."
"We thought you were dead."
"...Where were you?"
Juzio slowly looked toward the burning forest.
"It all happened so fast..."
A few moments earlier...
After staying behind to buy time against General Ishimī, Juzio was struck by an overwhelming blow that launched him nearly fifty meters through the forest.
Tree after tree shattered his momentum before he finally crashed into the trunk of a massive tree.
Everything went black.
...
His eyelids slowly opened.
The blurred image of burning trees greeted him.
"...Huh?"
His vision slowly focused.
"W-Where am I?"
A sharp pain shot through his head.
"Augh!"
Then everything came rushing back.
"The General...!"
He looked around.
"...No."
"...This is bad."
He realized where he had landed.
"That attack sent me even farther away from the others..."
He glanced around once more.
The flames had nearly surrounded him.
"And now I'm trapped..."
He immediately stood.
"I have to get out of here!"
He placed a hand against his chest.
"REFLECTIVE..."
"...IMPACT!!"
BOOOOM!!
A powerful burst of compressed force erupted beneath his feet.
His body shot through the air toward the shoreline.
He landed only a short distance from the coast.
Unfortunately...
He had landed even farther from his crew than before.
He had no choice but to continue the rest of the way on foot.
Back aboard the ship...
"So... that's what happened..."
Felo lowered his head.
"I had no idea..."
Mika wiped away her tears.
"I need to treat Tuziku's injuries..."
No one else spoke.
The crew silently tried to process everything Juzio had told them.
Meanwhile...
Tuziku...
Kutcher...
and Priora...
remained unconscious below deck.
Completely unaware of the tragedy that had unfolded.
Back at the shoreline...
The heavy rain finally extinguished the inferno that had consumed the forest.
General Ishimī emerged from the ocean and stepped onto the shore.
Water dripped from his clothes as he searched frantically.
"Where are you?!"
"HINOMO!!"
"HINOMO!!"
Suddenly—
The seemingly lifeless body lying in a pool of blood twitched.
"What the hell happened to you?" Ishimī questioned him.
The massive hole through Hinomo's chest slowly began closing.
His wounds regenerated before Ishimī's eyes.
Little by little...
His monstrous body shrank back to its normal size.
"...Haaaaah!"
Hinomo suddenly inhaled sharply.
His eyes slowly opened.
Then...
He laughed.
"Hahaha..."
He lay on his back, staring at the stormy sky.
"...That kid..."
"...his acid..."
"...is unbelievably powerful."
A wide grin stretched across his face.
"I want to..."
"...fight him again."
CHAPTER 28 END