"....Jun..."
Jun stared off into seemingly nothing as his mind was racing.
How could I be so foolish?! Jun thought. Everything was just happening so fast...if that God hadn't showed up at that moment! The core...the people trapped in the shelters...
"Jun!"
No, I can't just place blame elsewhere. Jun's thoughts continued. I should've known better. I'm supposed to be the leader here! Has anyone ever seen what happens to a core after being left around for too long? How do we know it actually gets corrupted??
*SMACK*
Jun's glasses flew off his face and bounced on the ground after Iris smacked him back to reality. Jun looked at her and saw not fury, but something even worse.
Disappointment.
"Jun...did you really consume a core?"
Jun didn't know how to answer. Should he lie and say he did? But that would betray everything he preached to them about being a contracted slayer. But to tell the truth would be much worse..
"I...I..." Jun started to utter.
"I mean, what's the big deal?" Axel stated plainly. "You guys should be happy that he's trying to finally be what he was brought here to be. Cut the guy some slack."
"Stay out of this, Axel!" Iris demanded of him. Axel took a step back in shock at her sudden outburst. She then looked back to Jun, "A freelancer wouldn't understand the commitment and oath of a contractor. We give up the allure of this ultimate power in order to be what we should all be - servants of the people. They need to feel safe! Remember why we even bought into this all to begin with? We all felt regrets for what we did prior to our deaths. All of us! We should be using this second chance at life to repent for our prior misdeeds by ending this war the RIGHT way. Not creating more power hungry assholes with fragile complexes."
Axel looked disgusted at Iris's words. "Who would come up with something so....stupid? Like seriously. Talk about a wet blanket."
Jun sighed as he picked up his glasses from the ground. He could still feel the sting on his cheek but more so the feelings behind it. "I did."
Axel dropped his arms in disbelief. "You're kidding me right now. YOU came up with this contracted crap?"
"Well, sort of. The government was already trying to figure out a way to regulate the influx of slayers. I mean in the beginning so many of us were appearing. So I decided to sit at the table with these law makers and come up with a way for them to keep checks on us while also making it worthwhile for us to work for the government."
"Well, apparently not anymore." said Jayden.
"No, I didn't Jayden. I would never do that to you guys."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. While we stay weak you secretly start pumping yourself up!"
"Enough Jayden! I...I didn't consume the core." Jun admitted.
"So...you drained it?" Jayden asked.
Another option for slayers is to drain the core instead of consuming it. The difference here is that draining the core acts like an over-shield - it temporarily boosts your powers but not too long after the energy will cycle out of your body and vanish. This comes in handy when there's multiple big baddies and you need a way to turn the tables quickly. It's faster than consuming.
"...No." Jun said in a low tone.
A grave silence set in after Jun's answer. For there was only one obvious option left if he didn't drain or consume the core.
"Jun...," Iris whispered, "what have you done?"
An uncomfortable silence had broken out between them as they were all riddled with thoughts about Crimson City and Jun's mistake. Jun more so than anyone else. He could feel the guilt weighing down his very soul as instead of making right by the people he had wronged in his past life, he had once again caused more chaos.
Jun stopped walking as the others kept moving. "Guys....listen, I'm-"
"How?" Axel quickly cut him off.
"How, what?"
"Honestly, HOW did you beat that archangel? You're quick with a sword but your energy isn't anything super impressive."
"Oh, that." said Jun. "That's actually thanks to a new ability I learned during my fight against Athos. I wasn't fast enough to counteract his speed, but then...," he looked over to Admin, "The God Core System offered me an upgrade. It's called Flow."
"So it just gave you a new ability. Without consuming a core. Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"That's bullshit, you know that right?"
"I assumed you would think something of the like." Jun said as he walked past Axel. Jun approached Admin, "Admin. I need to know. Is it true that cores will corrupt if left out too long."
"That is correct." Admin gravely confirmed.
Jun felt his heart sank at her words. "Can I ask...why?"
"It's simple. Divine energy is not meant to exist in this realm. When left out in such a pure form such as a core, it conflicts with what should exist within this reality. So it becomes distorted."
"Like a glitch." Jayden commented.
"Yes, like a glitch."
"Ok, so what happens? We've heard tales here and there since the war started but nothing concrete." Jun questioned.
Admin took a moment before answering. "It's not pretty. Corrupt divine energy...it becomes something the likes you have never seen before. The stronger the energy the sooner it can corrupt and the stronger the backlash will be."
"I...see." said Jun.
< Divine energy? Cores? What the hell is going on here?? >
"Ugh, obviously you know what all that means Admin! You literally came from the system." Axel bellowed out.
Admin looked confused. "Yes...I know. What are you talking about?"
"Don't act stupid. You guys heard it too, right?" Axel asked of the others.
"I didn't hear anything." Iris stated. The others shook their heads as well.
"Huh. Well, that's weird then." Axel muttered.
Admin turned her attention back to Jun. "At the risk of sounding like Axel, I wouldn't worry too much about it, Jun. When we left, Crimson City was 92% demolished. The amount of life detected in the city was only a small portion of what existed prior to the last attack. Even if the core corrupted, the loss of life would be minuscule."
"Minuscule? We're talking about human lives here! Each one counts. Does it explode or something??" asked Jun.
"I'm...actually not sure." Admin admitted. "I've never seen the end result personally. However...there are stories told throughout the Heavens of such happenings. No matter which one is actually true, none of them end well."
Following that cheerful bit of news, Jun decided to not pursue the subject any further. He would have to live with this regret among all the others until he could repay it with the end of this apocalyptic war.
Meanwhile, Axel scratched at his head with a puzzled look on his face. "I mean...I did hear something, right?"