"My son Hidara, go and tell Rin that dinner is ready."
"Alright."
Hidara stood in front of the door, wondering: "What is this sound? Is she crying?"
Hidara heard Rin's weeping for her father and her sobbing. He whispered to himself:
"If only I were the one who died… if only I hadn't stolen the life of this innocent girl… if her father were alive now, she would be enjoying happiness by his side."
He clenched his hands: "I will protect you with my life, Rin. I will be your support until the last moment of my life… I promise you that."
He wiped his tears quickly, gathered his breath, and then whispered in an audible voice:
"Ahem... Ahem..."
"Rin… my mother is waiting for you; dinner is ready."
Rin hesitated to herself: "What? Am I crying? I don't want anyone to see me in this weakness."
She replied in a voice she tried to make sound natural:
"Alright… I will shower first… then I will come."
"Alright."
On another side of Malisura…
In the cold corridors
of the Academy, Al-Muharramoon
the hall door slid open for a girl with an overwhelming presence to step through; her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she wore clothes that highlighted the strength of her graceful body. She sat coldly, crossing one leg over the other, then directed her piercing gaze toward Kamal and said in a sharp tone:
— "It seems that Shikar and Devi have entered into a bloody conflict with the enemy.. Should we send support immediately?"
— "No.. there is no need to waste our resources. I trust their mettle, and I trust that their strength has not been exhausted yet."
We also need fighters in more than one location
Shina whispered to herself: But the opponent one of the Six Clan of Misguidance."
Meanwhile, Ghayhab's laughter was piercing the silence of the night. He raised only one finger, and with a simple movement as if drawing a death sentence in the air, the skin of Shikar's chest suddenly split open!
Blood flowed profusely, staining his clothes, while Shikar jumped backward frantically, pressing his hand against the wound, enveloping his body in an aura of "Forbidden Energy" in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
— "What is this? When did he move? I didn't even see anything!" Shikar whispered to himself while gasping for air. He wiped his eyes with forbidden energy to sharpen his perception and stood up firmly, ready for death or victory.
Ghayhab advanced with slow steps, his laughter growing sharper and more bitter. He raised his finger again and began drawing random and rapid directions in the void.
— "There they are.. I see them now!" Shikar shouted as he saw the "Deadly Ripples" approaching.
He drew his sword with lightning speed and began parrying invisible aerial strikes; the sound of metal clashing with the charged air created terrifying blue sparks.
Ghayhab stopped suddenly, leaned his body forward, and whispered in a tone dripping with evil:
— "It seems you will entertain my greed a little.. Get ready, I will move now to Manual Ashtabak!"
He raised his hands in a fighting stance.
Alright, let's begin.
On the other side, Devi was wiping the dust off his face amidst the wreckage of cars, looking right and left searching for his opponent.
— "Where did that monster disappear to? He was in front of me just a moment ago!"
Suddenly, the blood froze in his veins… the sound of cold breath directly behind his ear. Jin was standing there, silent as a ghost that had just emerged from the grave.
Jin did not give him a chance to turn around; with explosive power, he directed a punch with his left wrist toward Devi's ribs. The sound of bones snapping was clearly heard, launching him meters away to collide with iron trash bins that buckled under his weight.
Devi coughed up blood, whispering in pain:
— "Damn it.."
Jin did not let him breathe; he pounced on him like a thunderbolt and launched a brutal attack enveloped in black forbidden energy, delivering a punch under Devi's jaw that sent him flying high into the sky like a feather in a violent wind.
Jin jumped after him with amazing speed, and in the air, he grabbed Devi's feet and began spinning him like a destructive hurricane, then hurled him with immense force toward the roof of one of the buildings.
Devi's body pierced through one "Kanizak" ceiling after another, crushing pillars and concrete, until he settled in a deep hole in the middle of a deserted floor, blood flowing from every inch of his body.
Jin descended with a terrifying calmness, stood before the hole, then stepped toward him with eyes completely empty of life and a distorted smile. He lifted him by the neck with one hand, saying in a hollow voice:
— "Do not mock me.. Is this all you have? We are still in the warm-up phase.. You are just weak scum."
In that moment of despair, Devi's eyes gleamed with a mad brilliance. With suicidal speed, he directed a powerful kick toward Jin's groin, forcing the latter to loosen his grip on his neck. Devi did not waste a second; he twisted his steel-like body and directed an "elbow kick" toward Jin's face with all his remaining concentrated forbidden energy.
The explosion roared, and the surrounding pillars shattered from the intensity of the pressure. Jin flew back, smashing through walls, but Devi did not stop; he appeared in front of Jin while he was still in the air and delivered a crushing punch to the center of his chest.
Jin's body pierced through a "Kanizak" roof, moving from building to building, destroying everything in its path.
Devi landed on his feet, excitement shining in his eyes, and took a fighting stance with sharp focus. From the midst of the rubble and dust, Jin rose, brushed the dust off his shoulder coldly, and said, his eyes burning with madness:
— "I admit.. I underestimated your mettle. You truly are strong."
The two stood face to face and took their fighting stances.
In a single second, the laws of physics vanished; Devi disappeared from existence, leaving behind a vacuum in the air. Jin's eyes rolled frantically in their sockets, searching in the pitch darkness for that rapid ghost.
Suddenly, the void split in front of his face.. Devi's fist emerged, launching at the speed of light!
Jin smiled a distorted smile and moved his head by millimeters, dodging the punch that tore through the air behind him. But Devi did not give him a fraction of a second to catch his breath. Devi spun like a hurricane of rage, directing a swift, grazing back-kick.
Jin realized at that moment that his opponent's speed had exceeded the limits of his perception; his thoughts didn't even have time to help him, and the kick settled in his chest like a thunderbolt. Jin's entire body shook, and atoms of his forbidden energy scattered like debris before his body was flung back, smashing through a solid concrete wall to land inside in a terrifying silence.
Devi's hysterical laughter rang out as he wiped the blood from his face:
— "Akhhh.. tell me now.. who is the weak one here?!"
From the midst of the wreckage and the total darkness, a faint laugh emerged.. then it began to increase in intensity until it turned into a demonic cackle that made the skin crawl. Jin rose slowly, and his body, which had been trembling moments ago, began to stiffen unnaturally. His eyes were directed toward the ground, covered by his flowing hair, and he whispered in a voice coming from the depths of hell:
— "Activation of the Forbidden Technique.. Death Prison."
In that moment, the sound of the wind cut off, and time stopped. The screams of thousands of tormented souls rose on the horizon, the sounds of demons from a "Third World" tearing the fabric of reality. Suddenly, walls of human bones and rusted black chains erupted from the ground, completely sealing the place in a closed circle with no exit.
The place changed; it vanished, and was replaced by an infinite space of blackness and bloody fog. In the center of this prison, an ancient chair of burnt wood appeared, on which Jin sat with a chilling coldness, crossing one leg over the other as if he were a king ruling over his graveyard.
Devi took a step back, cold sweat dripping from his forehead like rain, his chest heaving from the horror of the shock:
— "My God.. what is this?! Where am I? How did the place change so quickly?!"
Jin looked at him from atop his chair, his eyes glowing with a dark red brilliance, and whispered in a tone that froze the blood in the veins:
— "You are now in my private world.. you are in the Death Prison."