Boom!!!
Hidan's face exploded with blood as the blow landed, his feet lifting off the ground while his head snapped backward.
But it wasn't over yet.
Having already decided to make Hidan fully realize the gap between their strength, Shinji Akagi immediately stepped in half a stride closer. His body slid into striking distance, and a brutal iron elbow smashed straight into Hidan's chest.
Crack!
The sharp sound of bone fracturing rang out instantly.
Then, just as Hidan's body began flying backward, Shinji accurately grabbed one of his arms and hurled it upward with force.
Next, he stomped hard against the ground and launched himself into the air!
His hands pressed lightly against Hidan's body, while his right knee had already locked onto the spine at Hidan's lower back.
If Shinji applied pressure at the moment they landed, he could easily snap Hidan in half.
Not just break him—
But fold him completely backward until the back of his head and his heels touched.
Boom!
The crushing force of the landing caused the ground beneath Shinji's feet to fracture into spiderweb cracks.
Yet surprisingly, the horrific outcome that seemed inevitable did not occur.
Because at the final moment, Shinji suddenly pulled back his strength, refusing to snap Hidan in half like a pair of chopsticks.
Thud…
Casually tossing the heavily injured Hidan aside, Shinji exhaled a slightly scorching breath. The blood-red mark on his forehead slowly faded away.
Defeat.
Defeated again.
And this time, it was a crushing defeat unlike anything before.
Lying on the ground, Hidan felt an overwhelming surge of unwillingness filling his chest.
Especially when Shinji had held back at the final moment instead of finishing him off. That mercy stabbed directly into Hidan's sensitive pride.
"Hahaha… I can't die! Even if I'm reduced to nothing but a head, I'll crawl out of hell and bite your throat out!"
"If you can manage that, then give it a try. But right now, you're far too weak. So weak that in the end, I didn't even feel like wasting the energy to finish you off."
After saying that, Shinji turned and left.
"What the hell do you mean by that?! Are you mocking me?!"
"Listen! Next time, no matter what happens, I will kill you!"
"Hey, Shinji Akagi! Bastard, get back here!"
Hidan's furious roar echoed throughout the base.
Soon afterward, cult members who rushed over carried him straight to the medical room for treatment.
The next day, Hidan emerged after receiving treatment.
He had expected an extremely severe punishment this time. After all, he had disobeyed the High Priest Takihata's orders, gone looking for Shinji Akagi on his own, and even been embarrassingly beaten down.
Yet to his great surprise, he never saw High Priest Takihata appear even once before he was released.
With Hidan's personality, he didn't bother dwelling on it. Before long, he pushed the matter out of his mind.
But when lunchtime came, the conversations around him made his fists tighten instantly.
"Hey, did you go see it?"
"Of course! The High Priest's execution method was practically art! Absolutely thrilling!"
"Damn, you're a freak. But that Akagi guy really is tough—didn't make a single sound the whole time."
"Tch. I say he's only that brave because Lord Jashin granted him immortality. Otherwise he'd have pissed himself long ago. No normal person could endure that kind of punishment!"
"Maybe. But that's the price for going against the High Priest's will. No one is exempt."
Bang!
Hidan suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair. In one swift motion, he grabbed the man who had been speaking and lifted him into the air by the collar.
"Hey, Hidan! What are you doing?!" the man's companion shouted nervously.
"What punishment? When you say Akagi, do you mean Shinji Akagi? What happened to him?"
The man hanging in the air flushed red, about to spit out a threat—but when he saw the cold, corpse-like look in Hidan's eyes, he shuddered.
"Y-Yeah! Shinji Akagi! I don't know the details… but it seems to have something to do with your fight yesterday. The High Priest got angry and publicly punished him."
Yesterday?
Hidan froze for a moment.
But that fight had started because of him, hadn't it?
If anyone deserved punishment, it should have been him—not Shinji.
Unable to make sense of it, Hidan decided to see for himself.
"Where?"
"Huh?"
"I asked you where he is!"
"I-In the great hall—ah!"
Bang!
Hidan threw the man aside.
"Next time you want to talk trash about someone behind their back, pick a place where no one's listening. Even if that bastard Shinji didn't have immortality, trash like you still wouldn't have the right to insult him. Got it?"
"Y-Yes… I understand."
The man lowered his head with resentment burning in his eyes, unable to understand why Hidan would defend his own rival.
But if he didn't want to die, he knew better than to provoke Hidan further.
Hidan strode away and soon entered the Great Hall.
This place was normally used by the Jashin Cult to worship their god.
Now, however, it looked different.
Before a massive faceless statue of the evil god, a figure was suspended in midair—pierced by eighteen black spears.
Blood dripped constantly from the wounds, flowing into grooves carved into the floor.
This was the Jashin Cult's "Divine Punishment."
Eighteen spears pierced through the prisoner's limbs and torso, carefully avoiding vital points to keep the victim alive.
Only when the flowing blood filled the carved ritual pattern on the ground would the punishment end.
At that moment, redemption was said to be granted under the gaze of Lord Jashin—the sinner's crimes washed away in blood.
But in truth…
Before this, no one had ever survived it.
As Hidan approached and looked closer, the person undergoing the Divine Punishment was exactly who he had expected.
Shinji Akagi.
Sensing someone nearby, Shinji slowly lifted his head through the blood covering his face.
When he saw Hidan, he grinned.
"Seeing me like this… must feel pretty good, huh?"
"Yeah. Feels amazing—like I'm about to ascend to heaven. But I'm more curious about what you actually did."
"Why ask that?"
"Because someone told me you're being punished because of yesterday's fight."
"Hey, hey. Don't tell me you think I took the blame for you. Keep dreaming. I'd be lucky just to kick you while you're down."
He chuckled weakly.
"Maybe in a little while you'll end up hanging here just like me. If I were you, I'd go back and get some sleep while you still can."
"Still have the energy to talk trash, huh? Seems this so-called Divine Punishment isn't that impressive after all."
After delivering that mocking remark, Hidan turned and left.
Behind him, Shinji was gradually swallowed once more by darkness.
Only the sound of dripping blood echoed endlessly throughout the hall.
Yet on the way back to his room, Hidan's expression kept shifting.
Finally, he stopped walking.
Turning around, he headed toward High Priest Takihata's quarters.
Just as Shinji had said, that bastard would never take the blame for him.
But if Hidan didn't figure out the truth…
He felt like he wouldn't sleep well for an entire month.