"'Mind tampering?" What's... that?"
Zanphia couldn't help be curious about a new term that came out of Jogrin's mouth. While Kapel disclosed all that took place ever since Jogrin'd arrived at Zuta, all the Maladins other than Proxer weren't aware of what "mind tampering" was.
The reason for that was because Kapel didn't believe in its existence, despite having no other explanation for the soldiers' maniac-like behavior back then.
Jogrin had also kept it a secret from them, and awaited further instructions from Kapel regarding this matter, but he readily spoke of it without considering the possibility of divulging this sensitive information.
This wasn't the time to care about something like that, because Jogrin was facing a potentially huge threat, standing right before him. He ignored Zanphia and continued to glare at Kron.
"You're not Kron, or should I say, Kron never existed to begin with?"
Kron, who was introduced as Fron's twin brother, didn't make another noise. He was like a statue, with his body stuck in the stagnant air. The bullies behind Kron were no different. They looked as if they'd lost their lives, and became walking corpses, but Jogrin knew that it was "mind tampering" at play here, and they were very much alive.
Kron's silence was basically acquiescence to Jogrin's claims. Now the problem was, how he should tackle this dilemma at hand.
The strength of his opponent, what he was going to do with the people he'd tampered with, why he was aggressive to Jogrin. All these were unknown factors to Jogrin. Therefore, Jogrin couldn't afford to act rashly, especially with Zanphia and the others on his side.
Still, there was one thing he was able to glean from the current exchange with Kron: "mind tampering" wasn't the correct term to describe the actual ability this person possessed. It was more than just amplifying emotions to the point that they forwent every kind of discipline training they had received, and initiated the bombardment.
He could even do the opposite, which was dwindling emotions. In this case, he suppressed not only fear, but also every other emotions, making those bullies appear as zombie-like states. Despite the glaring difference between that and the states of the soldiers back then, Jogrin knew that they were caused by the same ability.
And now, he figured out who the culprit was.
"This 'emotional perception' of yours is such a pain in the ass."
After a long silence, Kron finally started to speak up. After his complaint, he slowly took off his helmet, and everyone who was still conscious, even Jogrin, was surprised to see what had been hidden under it this entire time.
A pale face, white long hair that were slightly curled at the end, tall nose, pointy ears. The most eye-catching feature of his appearance was indisputably those eyes of his. Red glow shimmering from them, making those who look directly at those eyes unable to look away, because of how mesmerizing, yet terrifying they were.
"Red?"
Jogrin's mind was empty upon seeing the pair of eyes Kron had.
"Red...?"
This red glow reminded him of an incident he was familiar with, yet not have a full memory of. But one thing was certain, this redness was the same as the portal, same as the pair of hands that abducted the girl who exuded an angelic aura around her.
"That's a nice face you're making. It's rare to get an expression out of you, Jogrin."
The red-eyed Kron was gloating smugly at Jogrin. The corners of his lips slowly crawling up his face.
"Where is Venrya?"
"Venrya? I couldn't possibly let someone as precious as her get wrapped up in that destruction, can I?"
"So you're not denying being the one to have abducted her."
"Admitting to what I've done is one of my virtues... Really? Showing aggression towards me? Ha! How predictable!!"
Jogrin scowled at Kron as he put his right hand in front of his chest, poised to strike. Kron, on the other hand, was completely unfazed as he kept mocking Jogrin. He was looking down on Jogrin.
"Answer me, Kron."
"Oh~ That's right, I've calling myself that. Then let's stick with 'Kron,' shall we?"
"Answer me."
"Are you a broken record or something? Repeating yourself like that."
"I assume I can interpret it as your unwillingness to answer me."
"That's right... Or that's what I'd have said, but I like a little fun, you know? Defend those four lowlifes against these other lowlifes, and you'll get your answer. Sounds good eh? Hahaha!!!"
"Your arrogance will lead you down a path of self-destruction."
"Only the strong gets to be arrogant, Jogrin. And I, am even stronger than you... is what I'd like to say, but right now I'm just a tee~ny bit too weak to contend with you, so you'd better be happy that you have the chance of winning against yours truly!!"
As soon as he was done talking, Kron levitated to a level that Jogrin wouldn't be able to touch him unless he levitated too, but of course, Jogrin couldn't afford to go after Kron currently, because one second after Kron flew backwards, the group of bullies began slowly moving toward Jogrin.
According to "emotional perception," their emotions, especially consternation, had returned, and all the negative emotions were all directed at Jogrin.
Jogrin analyzed the current circumstance. Zanphia, Zenover, Garty, and Suzannia were behind him. They were nothing but speechless, because everything was going on too quickly for them to comprehend, and all they knew was that they were under a threat that was much, much worse than getting bullied. Jogrin couldn't leave their side, lest they got swarmed. And who knew what those bullies would actually do.
Meanwhile, the bullies weren't able to think straight, and they were all acting based on their emotions, or instincts. They were marching forward, like actual zombies. Kron was floating above the group of "zombies" as he reveled in the moment.
While Jogrin didn't care about the well-being of those who were approaching him, he also didn't intend to take their lives, as it might lead to unwanted complications down the line... and he could tell that they weren't actually malicious individuals. Because of that, it'd mean that they'd incessantly try to attack them until Kron decided to turn off his "mind tampering."
Jogrin could effectively evade the attack of one person, but just as Drakob had mentioned, he couldn't possibly do so against so many of them, unless he levitated, but that'd mean leaving an opening for them to attack those four.
To summarize, he was at a complete disadvantage.
While the odds were stacked against him, he came to a realization, which he could take advantage of.
That "advantage" was simple. The bullies' target was solely Jogrin, so it might mean that there was a chance they wouldn't attack Zanphia and the others. It was reasonable to think so, as "mind tampering" was tampering with their fear towards only Jogrin.
But at then end of the day, this was just an assumption. And it was a risk not worth taking... unless he created an opportunity for himself.
He came up with a strategy: Kron would get close to him, and once close enough, Jogrin would dash at him with his flying ability and strike him with his right hand, drain however much life force he could to weaken him. The strike would also deal massive damage to Kron. After that, he'd swiftly return to Zanphia and the others.
Speaking of the massive damage, it was a property of the arm that Jogrin'd never mentioned to anyone before, not even when he elaborately explained the Darkian's abilities, nor when Kapel suspected that there was more about his right arm. It was something unique to him and extremely deadly, and he despised it.
But unlike with the bullies, he had very intention to kill Kron, because he hurt Proxer, and wanted to hurt the four people behind him, while using innocent people to achieve that. It was nothing but malicious, so Jogrin'd even make use of something he despised to rid this malice.
Carrying out the strategy should take less than a second. Even if the "zombies" would target those four when Jogrin was out of their sight, they wouldn't be fast enough to approach those four before he returned.
However, that'd heavily rely on Kron letting his guard down and getting close. Despite Kron's demeanor, Jogrin could tell that he was still wary of him, as his eyes never left Jogrin even once.
Jogrin glared back and forth at Kron and the group that was approaching with hostility, waiting for his chance.
"Follow behind me so we can keep enough distance from them, when we get to the alleyway, make a run for it. Move now."
Albeit not understanding what was happening anymore, the four of them heeded Jogrin's words since they knew, deep down, that he was the only one they could rely on currently.
'I need to do something to make Kron come closer. I can make use of his arrogance...'