Ligi relaxed his body and his demonic form disappeared. His strength and vitality that flowed through his veins were gone like the wind. He lost power yet he gained something back. His emotions hit him like a tsunami after an intense earthquake.
The emotions that were repressed when choosing who gets to live and who gets to die splashed him with cold water. He could not believe that he was able to keep a cool head when he effectively killed Gotang by saving Resi instead of him.
He felt anger and sadness that he was stone cold when he faced Gotang in his last seconds. There were so many things he wanted to say before his mentor was gone forever yet he wasn't given a chance. He didn't give himself a chance.
As he remembered the words given to him by Gotang, his blood boiled and his eyes watered. He never knew he could get so emotionally attached to someone he had only met a few days ago. He felt more connected to Gotang than his own father which made it even worse knowing that he had a hand in Gotang's death.
His fists curled up into a ball as it trembled in anger. The foggy weather gave his face a mysterious feel as his eyes were hidden from everyone. Without any warning, his fists whizzed through the air and punched Resi's face. His knuckles hurt as it hit Resi's cheekbones but he treasured that feeling. That feeling of pain was his only way of venting the guilt in his heart. He knew that Resi was feeling that too as he hit him again with his left hand.
With tears running down his face, Resi looked directly at Ligi's eyes and spat out blood from his mouth. His cheeks had a cut from the blow which bled and dripped down to his clothes. On the edge of his mouth, a self-deprecating smile formed as he reared up his right fist and retaliated with a punch.
Ligi got hit by the punch as his head started spinning. He felt disoriented as his knees buckled and he almost lost his balance. He focused on recovering and was able to stand with his two feet and look at Resi. He could tell that Resi was not pulling his punches and putting everything he got into the punch. He accepted it wholeheartedly and reciprocated the punch.
They were not using any tricks as they punched each other with just brute force. It wasn't a spar as blood was splattered all over the ground from the injuries they sustained fighting each other. They didn't speak as they exchanged punches. They knew that they were both feeling guilty and this was the only way they could express their frustrations.
They took each other's punches without dodging as they used physicality and injury as a way of communicating. Resi punched Ligi's left rib and somehow, Ligi knew what he was conveying.
'You should have saved him.'
Ligi looked at Resi and punched his right chest and Resi knew what he was expressing.
'He told me to save you.'
Resi punched Ligi's face.
'You should have let me die!'
Ligi retaliated and punched Resi's stomach.
'He didn't want you to die!'
Both of them panted heavy breaths as they separated from each other. They were at a stalemate as they bled from their injuries and shed tears from their anguish.
Most of the Defending Tip were at their knees bawling their eyes out and cursing the heavens. They grabbed a handful of dirt and crushed it with their hands as they beat the ground with all their fury.
After wallowing in self-pity, Lobo had to resolve himself and gather up the courage to lead his men. It was now his responsibility to keep them in check and provide them with aid. He tried to gather whatever he had left of his dignity and stood up, only to fall back down on the ground. His knees buckled as the weight of the responsibility was too much for him to bear. He had gotten the burden too fast without any warning.
'You can do it. You're a man now. I believe in you.'
Gotang's words echoed in his mind and strength seemed to come out of nowhere. He was able to stand up due to the encouraging words of his leader. Even from the grave, his leader was still able to influence him and give him strength. He saw the heaven and earth difference between him and Gotang but it was not discouraging. He knew that Gotang was watching him from the other side, guiding him to be a better leader. He stood up and went towards his group members.
"Stand up."
His voice echoed to the ears of the Defending Tip members as they looked up at him with tear-stained faces. They stared at him, astonished at the confident and reliable voice coming from him. His back was straightened and his face was resolute as they briefly saw the figure of their deceased figure but quickly went away. They stood up with their knees trembling and faced Lobo, ready to accept his orders.
Lobo knew that the brave face he was putting on was merely a facade to soothe his members' sorrowful emotions. Truthfully, he was scared to his wits and afraid of the commitment but he will never show a weak face in front of them. This was his burden to bear like his predecessor.
Lobo's heart was placated once he saw his members standing up and wiping their eyes. He knew that they were on their way to recovering from this tragedy. There was one more thing he needed to settle as he looked towards Resi and Ligi who exchanged blows.
He walked towards them with the full intention of stopping them. He took a step forward yet there was a hand on his stomach that prevented him from advancing. He looked to his left and saw that Bang impeded him from advancing. Bang looked into his eyes and spoke.
"Don't interfere. They need this."
After hearing the words of Gotang, Bang contemplated on himself. Gotang had told him to be mindful of his crew's emotions so he judged that Ligi and Resi needed to vent to each other. He knew that both of them would feel guilty about Gotang's death one way or the other. It might have looked like they blamed each other but in truth, they blamed themselves. They wanted to get beat up. He knew this because if he was in the same situation, he would have done the same.
Lobo was surprised at Bang's insightful words. If he were to think what Gotang would have done, he would have guessed that Gotang would not have interfered. Gotang was the one who paired them together in the first place that led to their rivalry.
Ligi and Resi sat on the ground as blood flowed down their mouths. Cuts and bruises painted their faces yet they felt relief. Their frustrations on themselves were alleviated by the pain they felt stinging on their faces.
Then as they felt the lull in this dangerous place, the ground started to tremble and their hearts stopped. They all looked around warily in anticipation of the disaster that was coming towards them.
Out of nowhere, a pedestal started to rise from the ground and show itself to everyone present. The top of the pedestal had a golden luster as the sense of familiarity came over them. They looked closely and saw that the holy grail had come back from the ground.
Everyone went wide-eyed as they felt astonished at the coincidence. They did not know what to do, even Lobo. He knew the importance of the holy grail but there may be some kind of trick and trap that would activate once they got close enough. That was what happened to Gotang and he would never want to repeat that. He had to choose. He was the only one capable of choice since it was his decision that will either lead them to victory or lead them to death.
Resi looked at the holy grail and all sorts of emotions came over him. It was the same object that led to Gotang's death and it had now reappeared into his sights.
Before Resi could do anything, Bang came over next to Resi and touched his chest.
Bang felt power stemming from his heart and traveled from his veins towards Resi's heart. Bang had done this from the system's orders and he remembered that this was the same thing that happened to Ligi.
Bang knew that once he transferred his power to Resi, he would become his crewmember and he would gain some kind of power so he anticipated that but nothing happened.
Resi felt power come into his body and reach deep inside his heart. He felt a power that ignited his innate talent as the part where Bang touched him started to heat up.
Underneath Resi's shirt, a black sludge started to form and spread through his heart. Its size was only smaller than his fist yet it grew little by little.
"We finally got it!!!"
They heard a shout that broke them out of their stupor. This voice was unfamiliar to them which meant that there was a different person that came inside the Dreaded Valley. Before they could assess this situation, they saw the stranger pluck out the holy grail and grasp it in his hands.