"If only I had something that could recover my stamina— wait, I think I have one…"
Jin's eyes sparkled as he thought of one of the Solar Sacraments recorded in the Book of the Sun.
Specifically, the fifth and final Solar Sacrament.
He looked ahead at the sky and saw the pearly white moon hanging on it.
"All the requirements are met. But, there's still something I'm not quite sure about…"
The last Solar Sacrament designed to recover rapidly from the damage brought upon by the other Solar Sacraments was a holy art.
However, the energy in his body as of the moment was cursed energy.
Although there were no specific records of cursed energy, it didn't take him long before he realized that the two opposed each other.
After all, he could see the particles of energy and thereby analyze if at an atomic level.
"Well anyways, I think it won't hurt to try—"
However, before he could speak any further, something happened.
Boom!!!
Jin widened his eyes at the sudden explosion.
"What's happening outside?"
He asked out loud as like Tanya, he didn't have a clue that the large demon beast wave had already arrived at the fortress.
ROARRRRRRR!!!
"Argh! What's that!?" Jin covered his ears as he looked in a certain direction.
He could feel the danger present there.
The particles of mana in the surroundings were also in turmoil.
"I need to get out of here…"
It didn't take long for him to decide, but his depleted stamina impeded him from doing so.
'Tsk, it's now or never!'
He thought as his focus reached its peak, he looked at the moon in the sky.
As he remembered the contents recorded in the Book of the Sun, he softly muttered to himself, "Respect the moon as you would the sun, huh?"
"Huuuuuu—" Jin closed his eyes as he whispered a chant, "Twilight's Embrace."
Seeing that it did not work, he tried again.
"Twilight's Embrace."
And again.
"Twilight's Embrace."
And again.
"Twilight's Embrace."
And again.
"Twilight's Embra— Ackkkk!!!"
Jin clutched his chest at the sudden pain that wreaked havoc in his heart.
'W-What the…'
"Haaaa! Haaa! Haaa!" He gasped for breath as tremendous pain also assaulted his mind.
A grating feeling spread throughout his body as he suddenly coughed out black blood, "Wha..t's
..this!?"
Upon sensing his body and seeing the particles of cursed energy inside him, he saw it clearly as it ravaged the insides of his body.
"T-This energy…" Upon a few seconds of analysis, Jin came to a conclusion.
Cursed energy was not meant for humans.
It was not something that should be wielded by humans like him.
Therefore, his body and the energy fought as they both rejected each other.
If it was other people, then they would not even be able to know how they died. But Jin was special due to his supernatural power.
"Painful…" He gritted his teeth as he clutched both his head and chest.
ROARRRRRR!!!!
At this moment, another deafening roar resounded in the surrounding area.
This time, however, it was nearer.
"Argh!"
Jin groaned in pain as he placed his elbow on the ground and turned his body around.
Then, as his eyes became bloodshot in pain, he crawled towards the house.
"I must at least stay in the house so I can stay safe until help arrives…" He muttered to himself in order to prevent himself from passing out.
"Huhp…!" Jin sucked in a cold breath as he could see the turbulence.in the surrounding mana increased in intensity.
He crawled desperately as he thought, 'There are a few possible reasons as to why the mana is reacting strangely…'
First was if a storm was coming.
Mana was omnipresent in the surroundings, so a change in mana could also mean a change in weather.
Second was if someone strong was nearby.
Whether it be a warrior or a mage, their innate energy would cause some reaction to the surrounding mana.
Lastly, if there was a large number of individuals with energy.
'But individuals don't only mean people and based on the roars…' Jin felt nervous at the conclusion he ended up with.
'...it could only mean that a large number of beasts are nearby. Maybe a demon beast wave? But there are people to defend the fortress so how can it be…'
'Unless… a high ranked demon beast led the demon beast wave, causing it to break through the defenses of the fortress…!'
As he thought of this, Jin arrived inside the house.
'For now, there's nothing I can do but wait for help.' He said as he closed his eyes and tried to recover his stamina.
The pain in his whole being was still prevalent, but he did not have the liberty to fuss about it.
It could also attract the attention of the beasts.
Therefore, he only gritted his teeth as he suppressed the pain he was feeling.
This continued on for about half an hour.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Boom— Bang!!!
The sounds of roar and destruction became more common as time passed by.
"Help!"
"Where are the guards!?"
"Hide!!!"
…
Shouts of despair could also be vaguely heard from inside the house.
Jin had a calm look on his face.
'What's happening? Why is there still no one to rescue and help the people…?'
He asked inwardly.
'Could it be that… even the rescuers cannot handle the beasts?' He thought as his eyes suddenly widened.
'But Tanya is still outside!!! No, let's calmly think this through. The interval between Tanya's departure earlier and the first roar that I heard was quite large…'
Jin thought for a while again before coming to a conclusion, '...so the chance of her being rescued and not being let out again is far higher than anything else…'
He heaved a sigh of relief. It was not that he was completely confident with his deductions.
It was that he must be confident.
Because if the thought of his sister dying crosses his mind, he will become insane.
Thus, he calmed himself and silently waited for help, unaware that all of it was useless.
Or was it…?
Knock!!! Knock!!! Knock!!!
Jin raised his head and looked towards the door at the sudden sounds of knocking.
'Is that…'
He wondered if that was the rescuers.
Therefore, mustering all his strength despite the severe pain he was feeling, he uttered with all his remaining voice, "H-Help!"
The sounds of knocks suddenly stopped…
Crack— Tink!!!!
'Is that our window?' Jin thought just as he was about to lose hope.
The sound of glass shattering to pieces echoed as he could hear hurried footsteps approaching the room where he was.
"Help please!" Jin shouted in a hoarse voice as he almost collapsed from the pain.
"Jin! Are you there!?"
"Ye- Huh!?" His eyes widened as he heard the familiar voice.
"Wait. Is that-"
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Creak!!!
The door to the room he was in suddenly opened as a figure entered.
The figure looked around the room and saw Jin on the floor, "Jin! What happened to you? Are you alright!?"
However, Jin's face froze at the sight of the figure. He couldn't even utter a word.
It was not a guard, a rescuer, nor was it an instructor.
It was…
Jin once again mustered all his strength as he shouted with shock apparent on his face.
"Marco!?"