Chapter 95

Chapter 32. The Arena of Cosmos (6)

'Four, no. Five.'

Seeing their clumsy attempts to hide their presence, it was clear they hadn't received assassination training. Their breathing, faintly audible, was also rough, indicating they were highly tense.

Unless Dante was so exhausted he could barely stand.

These people were far from capable of handling him.

'There's no need to lure them into a narrow space to fight. It would be distasteful to turn the room where I'll be staying for a few more days into a bloodbath.'

Step!

As Jin moved towards the iron bars, the assassins momentarily froze in their spots. And before they could even exchange glances, Jin said,

"This isn't Paul Mix's room."

Swish!

He swiftly cut down one of the assassins who had been pressed against the corridor wall. This time, he had no intention of just cutting off fingers or an arm.

Jin had already given a clear warning on the first day.

Anyone who came to his room would lose not just a limb, but their life.

"Ah!"

Instead of the decapitated assassin, a man behind him instinctively screamed.

As Jin had guessed, there were five assassins in total. One had just died, leaving four, but none of them had seen the precise moment the first assassin's head was cut off.

After achieving a breakthrough in his duel with Alisa, Jin's sword had become even sharper.

"Attack, attack!"

Thud!

The second strike, a thrust, pierced the heart. The remaining three rushed forward, but their swords, stiff with fear, were no match.

The poison on their blades would be useless if they couldn't even land a hit. Jin easily dodged the gleaming, poisoned blades and continued his assault.

"We, we didn't come to attack you!"

"Yeah, we came to kill Paul Mix. But since you're here, this is the end."

With each graceful swing of Bradamante's blade, blood splattered. A few participants in other rooms peeked out, but quickly hid, fearing they might get caught in the crossfire.

Just as Jin was about to finish off the remaining assassins, something flashed in the corridor.

It was the tip of an arrow, glinting as the bowstring was drawn.

'Was a sniper prepared as well? Or... were these just a decoy, and they planned to shoot Dante when he came out?'

Clang!

He narrowly deflected the arrow. If he hadn't caught the glint of the arrowhead, he would have been injured.

Swoosh!

More arrows flew in rapid succession, at least ten or more being released simultaneously.

But Jin had anticipated this and was already using a corpse as a shield. Thud, thud, thud! The arrowheads, coated with a sickly green poison, protruded from the corpse's back.

'These bastards...'

By now, anger was boiling within him.

Despite not being mortal enemies, he wondered what kind of minds these people had to target children so ruthlessly.

'This is the nature of the tournament, but this is going too far. And these guys are too organized to be ordinary participants.'

So, he discarded the corpse and leaped between the walls, charging towards the snipers.

He planned to leave one alive to interrogate. He wanted to know why they had gone to such lengths and who was behind them.

The archers, like the assassins, were not particularly skilled. With Jin's erratic movements, their arrows couldn't find their mark.

'I need to finish this quickly. Someone might try to attack Dante while I'm away.'

As the distance closed and the sword flashes began,

He let the fleeing ones go.

He wanted to chase them down, but Dante's safety came first. These guys could be dealt with anytime, but creating a debt with the next head of Hyran was a rare opportunity.

Swish! Swish!

He calmly cut off heads. It took only a few seconds to kill three of the four who couldn't escape.

"Please, spare me."

"Shut up."

Smack!

He punched the remaining assassin, knocking him out, and dragged him back to the room.

The other participants, who had watched from their rooms, dared not even breathe.

"Huh. Hey, wake up."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Jin mercilessly slapped the assassin's face. Dante was still sound asleep.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

"Now, I have three questions for you. If your answers satisfy me, I'll let you go. If not, you'll join them. If you don't answer within three seconds, you'll also join them. Understand?"

Nod, nod.

"First, who are you?"

"We... we're enemies. I, I'll explain! We're under the command of the one-eyed Joe, last year's champion... Please put down your sword."

"Second, why did you target Paul Mix? So organized?"

"Joe... Joe said Paul Mix was from a great family and suggested we capture him for ransom."

"Which family?"

"Joe said it was likely the Runcandel... family."

A chuckle escaped him.

'To think they'd still try this, even suspecting Runcandel. Ignorance is truly terrifying.'

"But why did you poison the arrows? You needed a hostage, not a corpse."

"We have an antidote."

"Then, third. Where is Joe now? Is he also a participant?"

"No, he came as a spectator this year and just ordered us to capture Paul Mix."

Dante had participated in this tournament in Jin's previous life.

Back then, he had been captured by these guys, and Hyran had to pay an enormous ransom and even swear not to retaliate to get Dante back.

This had led to internal strife and significant losses for Hyran.

Jin, unaware of this, had just changed Hyran's history by saving Dante.

'Hmm... If what this guy says is true, Dante was easily kidnapped in my previous life. And these pirates must have extorted a lot from Hyran.'

Even a globally recognized great family...

When an important figure is taken hostage, they have no choice but to comply. Especially if the hostage is the next head of the family.

'Of course, if it were Runcandel, they would just order the hostage to be killed and then annihilate the pirates, their families, and anyone even remotely related to them...'

That was the Runcandel way, different from other great families.

"Good, excellent. I like it. I'll spare you."

"Thank you!"

"But you'll leave two fingers behind."

"Huh?"

"Exactly. If you don't like it, you can leave your head instead."

Fingers were better than a head.

"Kyaah!"

In the end, the pirate who provided the information limped back to his room, having cut off his own two fingers.

Jin sat back down and waited for Dante to wake up.

* * *

Dante woke up seventeen hours later, as evening approached again.

Jin immediately told him everything that had happened.

How he had gone to great lengths to protect him and had discovered that a one-eyed pirate named Joe was behind the attack.

"Trying to capture me, thinking I was from Runcandel... That one-eyed Joe must be completely insane. It's so ridiculous, I can't help but laugh. Runcandel? Unbelievable!"

Dante burst into a rough laugh, shaking his head. Feeling Jin's intense gaze, he continued,

"Ah, I owe you a debt. I am a noble, as they said. Not from Runcandel, but... I'm hesitant to reveal my exact family name. Just know that I'm a noble from Biment. I hope you understand."

Dante was worried that revealing his true identity as 'Hyran' might change Jin's attitude.

He had often seen people, who were friends just moments ago, suddenly become overly deferential when his true identity was revealed.

Jin, observing this, had to suppress a laugh and even a cough.

'Well, I don't need to tell him I'm Jin Runcandel. He'll find out soon enough. Veradin doesn't seem like someone who can keep a secret.'

Jin nodded.

"Hmm! I understand. Everyone has moments when they need to hide their identity."

"Thank you. Anyway, I'm glad I found you. If I had to deal with those guys alone, I would have been in serious trouble... I don't know how I can repay this debt."

Dante's eyes were filled with deep gratitude.

"You don't know what a great deed you've done... I don't think a true warrior like you would want money. A fine sword, no... No material thing could ever express my gratitude!"

"Really, it's nothing."

Internally, Jin was pleased. He was confident he had instilled a strong sense of debt in Dante.

'Yes, yes. I don't need a sword or money. What matters is the debt, the feeling that you owe me.'

Dante, looking determined, stared directly at Jin.

"Here's what I'll do. A life for a life. Whenever, if you ever find yourself in danger, in any situation, if you need me, I will fight to the death to protect you. I swear this on my honor."

"Hmm, you do what you think is right. Anyway, I'm going to sleep now, so watch over me. Wake me up when the 13th match starts."

"Understood! Oh, and I'm watching over you now, regardless of the oath I just made."

"Sure, sure."

Rumble.

Jin, like Dante in the early morning, fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

Dante, watching over Jin, thought to himself,

'Come to think of it, I don't even know this guy's name. This tournament's final will likely be between you and me... No matter the outcome, I have a lot to tell my grandfather when I return.'