* * *
The blessing of the felinoids tribe. When Jin visited Laprarosa in the past, Jin received their protection for the first time and was able to safely pass through the land of the beastmen.
That protection was still in effect. Jin went to the land of the beastmen again with only a simple disguise, but this time, the red tiger tribe and the white wolf tribe patrolling did not inspect Jin even once.
'Or is Kinzelo's main defense network not as robust as I thought? It doesn't really matter if my entry in the Great Desert Mitra is known to the outside world, but I was wondering if Kinzelo might be a little annoying.'
It was a closed-door training on which Rosa sent Jin directly. Reporters in Runcandel were already distributing articles related to Jin's close door training.
The fact that Jin was on the final path to the throne of the sword masters has become a major theme for the newspapers.
By the time Jin arrived at the road leading to the Great Desert of Mitra after passing through the Yuka Yuka Market, Jin smiled when he unexpectedly met a familiar face.
[It's been a while, Jin Runcandel.]
A face like a cat with pure white fur and mysterious purple eyes.
It was the 'Neru' of the felinoids tribe. A person who gave Jin the protection and led him to the third tomb of Temar.
The reason Jin went unnoticed by Kinzelo in the land of beastmen was thanks to his help.
"I heard from Lulu and Miru in Wantaramo Forest that you escaped safely from the Spectres that day. The day has finally come when we can meet in person and say thank you."
[We are grateful to each other, so there's no need to make a big deal out of it. It seems you have come to the Great Desert; shall we walk together for a while?]
Neru might not know exactly about Laprarosa, but he guessed that there was an arrangement that Solderet left for Jin in the Great Desert.
After entering the Great Desert, Jin summoned Shuri.
Neru and Shuri exchanged greetings as if they were happy when they first met.
[It's a great blessing that Shuri escaped from that witch and met someone like you.]
[Mya!]
[Jin.]
"Yes, Lord Neru."
[I've come to find you because there's a problem we need to discuss together.]
The area is contaminated by chaos.
Neru talked about it for a while.
Glyek's chaos permeated not only human society, but also the world of small beastmen.
[We, the felinoids tribe, are trying to participate in the cleanup of the contaminated area, at least to protect the small beastmen. And among humans, the only people we can trust are you and Hister's survivors.]
According to Neru's explanation, the felinoids were able to deal with the chaos in the contaminated area through their unique barrier ability.
However, their power is weak due to the absence of the current and previous cat gods, so they wanted to strengthen their abilities by finding their 'forgotten temple' through Valeria's record magic.
Jin readily accepted Neru's offer and took out a pen and paper.
"Go to Tikan and show them this letter. Perhaps Valeria will not refuse."
[Yes, Lulu and Miru express that she was born with a destiny for the world, just like you.]
"It's an exaggeration that makes my face heat up every time I hear it."
Thanks to the events in Wantaramo Forest, Valeria had a favorable attitude towards the felinoids tribe including Lulu and Miru.
[If we can borrow the power of our gods thanks to her, I won't use it just for the sake of small beastmen.]
Afterwards, Neru rode Shuri and escorted Jin to near the entrance of Laprarosa.
[I'll leave now.]
"It was really nice to meet you, please say hello to Miru and Lulu."
As always, when Neru left, Tantel, a member of the Plutonian tribe, greeted Jin.
"Brother Jin! Oh, and Shuri! It's been a long time!"
[Mya, mya!]
"Brother Tantel. How are you?"
"There's nothing more for us to do than wait for you, right? Oh, there's also some concern. In case you die outside, we won't even hear the news. If you were strong enough, there wouldn't be any need to worry, brother."
Jin chuckled.
Tantel recognized at once that Jin had become stronger, but Jin was not yet a transcendent warrior by the standards of the Plutonian tribe.
The Plutonian tribe is the only group in the world that could treat Jin as a 'promising warrior'.
"So, this time I plan to stay and train for a while."
"That's a good idea!"
As Tantel's sword cut through the air, the portal to Laprarosa opened.
Buildings decorated with all kinds of jewels on the golden road, and the illuminating hearts of the dead brethren hung in front of the gates of every house.
This dazzling dead world was now Jin's second home. The thought that he might be able to bring this scenery out into the world made his heart flutter.
Passing through the Golden Road, neat stone paths, and a giant monument honoring deceased Plutonians, they arrived at the Hall of battle gods.
Before opening the main gate, Jin touched the hearts of the warriors of the Plutonian tribe a few times embedded in the outer wall of the Hall of the battle gods.
Kugug...…!
Boom-! Boom!
At the same time as the gate opened, the Plutonian brethren who had been waiting in advance fired a salute.
"Brother Jin!"
"Shuri!"
Jin couldn't help but smile at the boisterous welcome from his brethren.
Excluding Tantel, 63 ordinary warriors, as well as 12 battle kings and battle god, were waiting for Jin beyond the gate.
Jin first shows the courtesy to Vahn.
Vahn still exuded immeasurable dignity, but Jin noticed that she had become somewhat gaunt compared to when they last met.
'Is it the effect of the blood given to me during the last training….'
Every time Jin transfused with Vahn's blood, it was like passing on true energy to Jin. Just as Ron handed over his true energy to Dante at the last minute.
"I have a lot to tell you, sister Vahn."
As soon as Shuri saw Vahn, she made a purring sound and snuggled into her arms. Although it didn't look very graceful due to the significant size difference, Shuri had missed Vahn's touch immensely since their last meeting.
Shuri had a tendency to enjoy the touch of transcendent beings like Tess and Vahn.
"I suppose so. Since you'll be here for a while, we can take it easy today and have a drink while catching up."
"Oh, sister battle god. How did you know that Brother Jin would stay for a long time? I was the only one who heard it, so I tried to surprise the brethren."
"Because he has to, Brother Tantel. Brother Jin is in a state where he has already accepted the day he will die."
At Vahn's answer, the eyes of the other members of the Plutonian tribe widened as if they would pop out.
"Huh! Sister battle god, what do you mean by that!"
"Brother Jin is dying...!"
"Brother Jin, earlier you just said you would stay for training, is there actually something wrong with your body?"
It wasn't just the Plutonian tribe that was surprised.
'I thought sister Vahn would recognize at once that there was chaos in my body, but... A time limit?'
Jin did not feel that his condition was exactly the same as that of Rosa, Kelliark, and others who were tainted by chaos.
Jin felt that the demon heart was putting pressure on his inner self, but it was nothing compared to what he experienced in Glyek's subspace.
Of course, it could become more severe in the future, which was why he sought Laprarosa. Using the fact that battle god's blood resisted chaos as a clue.
Jin was worried but he didn't expect it to be this much.
If only Vahn had a chance to compare Rosa, Kelliark, and Jin. Without thinking, she would have judged that Jin was in the most serious condition.
"One month at the shortest, two months at the longest. If brother Jin had not come to Laprarosa, he would have become a monster and died."
"... Was I in such a serious condition?"
Heavenly luck.
It was really lucky that Jin found Laprarosa at this point without knowing his own condition.
If the search for Qwaul was even a bit delayed or if Rosa changed her mind and interfered with Jin leaving for the closed-door training, it would have taken at least a month for the external affairs to be settled.
The other Plutonian brethren also realized what was wrong with Jin. Beliz, 7th battle king, grabbed Jin's wrist and looked frightened.
"Ah, these are traces of chaos!"
"A trace of chaos? Aren't we immune to chaos?"
"Brother Jin is different from us, brother 12th battle king."
"That's true, but since he was transfused with the blood of the sister battle god and even has an illuminating heart, he must be immune!?"
"The shape of the stigma... this is the trace left by the first chaos!"
"Damn it, that's right, we are not immune to that! The first chaos all of a sudden? Is it still in the outside world?"
"What the hell did you go through out there!? Have you met the witch? Huh?"
The Plutonians screamed frantically with serious expressions.
The king of chaos and the witch Helluram existed even in the era of the Plutonian tribe. At that time, Helluram had no name and was just called the witch.
"Calm down, brethren."
As Vahn quietly raised her hand, the Plutonians lowered their heads and closed their mouths.
"Such things only make Brother Jin more anxious. It's not too late, so we just have to prepare and start purification."
It's a calm voice, as if it's not such a big deal.
But Jin couldn't feel reassured even after seeing Vahn's attitude. It was because all the other brethren, who surely knew the method of 'purification', were constantly showing signs of worry.
Fortunately, the reason they were worried about Jin was not death.
"Shit... Let's cheer up, Brother Jin."
"It's painful, but what can we do? Just like you always did, you have to endure it well...."
"We'll help with anything, okay?"
"Yes, yes. No matter what state or appearance you're in, we'll always consider you a brother."
"Even if you forget us, we don't forget you, Brother Jin. Yes, no way."
Jin had already endured the extreme training of the Plutonian tribe twice.
Even so, the Plutonians were convinced that it would be difficult for Jin to endure, so even Jin couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
"What? What do you mean by any state or appearance? Moreover, that I might forget you?"
"Hey, enjoy today. It might be difficult to have a good time for a while."
Instead of answering Jin's question, the Plutonians lifted him up and walked to the banquet hall.
Vahn laughed at Jin who kept asking questions with a bewildered expression and the brethren who comforted him.
Naturally, Vahn was also concerned about Jin. However, she believed that Jin would be able to handle it this time as well.
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