Mess
In a cave, a group of people fight furiously against wild wolves.
Swinging their swords without any technique, most of the group just suffered attacks from the wolves without being able to counterattack.
"Come on, kill those bastards !!" One of them shouted.
After a bloody battle and losing a third of the group, they finally manage to kill all the wolves.
While breathing heavily, they checked that all the wolves were dead and that there were no more beasts around.
After checking and seeing that they finally had time to rest, everyone sat on the cave floor and looked through the holes in the ceiling that let the daylight through.
"Sir, are you sure we should continue? We have already lost half of our men, and there must be other dangerous beasts ahead." A man got up and went towards the only one in the group who seemed to have mastery with the sword.
The "Sir", which the man was referring to, seemed to be entering middle age, had black hair and blue eyes, besides, he was the only one who was not injured in the previous combat and was the one who led the group.
"I think we should go back, this is just the beginning and further on there must be other dangerous beasts. We haven't even raised swords before, look how many men we've already lost." Another man spoke
The leader was silent for a moment, getting up, he then said:
"Did you forget what we came here to do? The one you swore allegiance to is at the end of this tunnel, trapped by bad men and pregnant with my successor!"
"All of you have sworn loyalty to my family! And even though we are just a small family among many, we have always done our best to defend those who serve us!"
"Have you forgotten who offered each of you shelter, food and work?"
The men were then silent, not knowing what to say.
Until a old gentleman suddenly stood up, he had several wounds but he still looked fierce than the wolves.
"My lord, I have sworn allegiance to your family and plan to keep my oath even if it costs me my life. But ..." The old man then looked at the wounded men around him.
"A dead man cannot defend his family, the death of these men can mean great suffering and even death for their families."
"So please, let those who want to run away, and, those who want to fight, fight!" The old man said as he slammed his sword down hard.
"But I Julio, I will fight until the end!"
The men around the old man seemed to be moved by the old man's speech and then looked at their master.
He was silent and hesitated.
The one at the end of the cave is none other than his beloved, he simply had no choice but to bring the farmers to the rescue.
But nobody could blame him, since his beloved is expected to give birth at any time.
What if she suddenly gave birth to the bandits?
"I ... I'm sorry, I know that my haste has cost the lives of many loyal men, and that none of you have ever fought before."
"Still, I ..." He then knelt down.
"I simply beg you to help my family! Even if it costs my life or my entire fortune, I promise to reward those who follow me!"
Everyone was then astonished to see their leader kneel.
"My lord ..." The old man named Julio, taken by surprise, tried to lift the leader, but was amazed that the man seemed to have his knees stuck to the floor.
The men, watching their master beg and remembering how he helped their families, stood up one by one.
"I will fight until the end, if you had not helped my family, most likely we would have starved to death, I am just paying my debt."
"I will also fight until the end ..."
"Me too..."
Most of the men decided to move on, with only two men left who still looked scared because of the wolves.
Seeing the two of them trembling, the leader of the group shook his head and said:
"Leave them alone, we better move on until it's late ..."
Everyone nodded and started moving, despite the injuries from the previous battle.
But, after going on for a few minutes, the cave started to shake and everyone, startled, started to hide in the rocks scattered around the cave.
The vibration then began to cease, but at the same time, something started to appear on the roof of the cave, something with a portal.
Suddenly several inscriptions emerged from the portal and spread across the walls to the floor.
And it was at that very moment that the inscriptions began to shine that a young man left the portal, falling to the ground.
The inscriptions then began to move towards the young man, entering his body quickly, while the young man screamed in pain.
After a few seconds, after the inscriptions had completely entered the young man's body, the portal disappeared and the young man stopped screaming.
A silence then reigned in the cave.
The men, hidden in the rocks, just prayed in panic when they witnessed something so strange with their own eyes.
And they panicked even more when they discovered that the Young Man appeared to be a little transparent and to have strange robes.
-A ghost!?
Everyone thought of terror
The young man, unaware of the people around him, slowly stood up.
-It was faster than I imagined, even so, what's with those inscriptions? Why did they suddenly enter my soul? That pain ...
-Right! Karth said that the consciousness of this universe would help me when I got here. If she's as omniscient as Karth, she should be able to read my mind, right Consciousness-sama?
Jin looked around curiously as he realized he was in a cave while waiting for "divine" help
However, after a few minutes Jin began to wonder at the fact that his conscience had not communicated with him.
-... Couldn't the consciousness of this universe read my mind or is it not even omniscient?
Doubtfully, Jin decided to say:
"Hello, is anyone on the phone? I wonder if the consciousness of this universe is available to talk."
Still unanswered, Jin began to worry about his future.
-Who is that ghost talking to ??
The men, in hiding, thought and ignored the fact that they had never heard that language before.
Jin started walking towards some rock and kicked it.
-But what the fuck, did something go wrong and I was sent to the wrong universe?
Little did Jin know the man behind the rock was having a panic attack.
-The ghost discovered me?
Jin then decided to sit and think for a while.
Seeing this, the group leader was worried that the ghost would decide to stay in this place for a long time, he has to save his own wife!
The leader then decided to bet all the chips and, with a determined expression, started walking towards the ghost.
Jin didn't take long to notice the movement, but he didn't worry too much, as long as he didn't have a mortal body, it is extremely complicated for someone to kill him. That according to Corin.
"Cough Cough ... Eh, sir?" The leader spoke a little nervous
Looking curiously at the man, Jin smiled and thought:
-Then there are humans in this universe ...
-In addition ... My assumption seems to be correct. As a soul, I can communicate with other beings without problems, even without understanding their languages. And the same goes for them.
Seeing Jin's distracted look, the leader then raised his voice and said:
"Ghost!"
Jin then looked at the man in amazement and asked:
"Where?"
The leader looked a little surprised, and, swallowing his own saliva, pointed at Jin.
"Me?" Jin then looked at himself and realized that he was a little transparent.
After a short silence, Jin then said:
"I am not a ghost."
"But then why--"
"I already said I am not a ghost" Jin cut off the question from the leader
"You don't need to understand why I'm transparent, but I can tell you that I'm not a ghost or that I'm going to torment you!"
The leader did not seem to believe it, yet he nodded and called the men.
Seeing a man come out from behind the rock he had kicked, Jin realized that the man had wet pants.
Holding back laughter, Jin said:
"Just continue with what you were doing before I got here, I am not interested in interfering with your life."
The men just nodded in panic.
The leader then said:
"We just plan to move on, I hope you fantas--, that you keep your word."
Jin just ignored him.
The men then started to move.
When Jin realized that the men were gone, he got up and followed them.
-But not even hard.
-I have no information about this world, and although I am difficult to be killed, it does not mean that I cannot die before I get a mortal body.
-How could I miss this chance to get information about this world?
After a few minutes, Jin then started to hear noises ahead.
As he got closer, Jin saw the men battling wild wolves.
Twelve men against four wolves. Even so, at the end of the battle, two men died.
"No magic?" Jin murmured
In the grand libraries of the grand building, Jin learned about several things about the nature of the universes, and one of the interesting things, is that almost always after a Great transition, living beings gain in one way or another powers that can be considered 'magical', although they vary from universe to universe as to their nature.
Not seeing magic in that battle can mean two things.
This universe did not pass through GT, or these men in particular do not have magical abilities but the universe currently passes through GT.
Sneaking in, Jin approached the group a little to hear what they were talking about.
"We lost two men, can we really make it to the bandits' lair?" One man murmured softly to the other
"Even if we arrive, the bad guys might not have to work hard to kill us." The other man replied.
-Lair?
Jin frowned.
"Come on men, if we stand still, maybe that ghost will change his mind and come to torment us." The leader shouted.
Everyone nodded and went back through the cave.
While trying to gather information, Jin witnessed the men die one by one in the following battles.
Until finally, only the leader, the old man named Julio and another man remained.
The leader remained without a single scratch, since Julio and the other wretch were barely able to brandish a sword.
-This leader is very cunning. He probably brought these men just so that he could get to the lair without much injury to fight the bandits.
Gradually, the three advanced through the cave. Until finally some wooden buildings were sighted.
The three then decided to rest for a while before advancing against the bandits' lair.
Jin watched curiously as the leader of what was left of the group applied an ointment to Julio's and the other man's wounds.
"This ointment will help to stop the bleeding and prevent the wound from igniting." The leader said
The two men just remained silent with a look of resignation.
Seeing that they were going to spend some time standing still, Jin decided to simply move forward without them.
As Jin approached what appeared to be a small fortress, he spotted several lookouts on patrols.
-Time to apply some of my knowledge in action.
Jin thought as he closed his eyes and concentrated.
Suddenly Jin's body started to become more and more transparent until it was almost invisible.
-Unless someone is very close it must be impossible to see me
This was a technique learned when going up the elevator. In a book that talked about mortal souls.
Although Jin wasn't sure if it would work on solid souls, it didn't hurt to try.
After walking carefully towards the entrance to the fortress, Jin realized that there was a guard in front of the main gate.
After thinking about it, Jin decided to use a trick.
-Will the boss be able to get that woman to open her mouth today?
The guard thought as he looked distractedly through the holes in the cave ceiling.
- It's been a year since I surfaced. If this woman opens her mouth, I may have the opportunity to go with the chief on some mission.
Suddenly, the guard began to hear a whisper in his ear.
"Hmm?" The guard then started looking around, unable to find the source of the whisper.
After a while, the whisper returned and it seemed a little louder.
The guard then looked around carefully, still finding nothing out of place.
Again the whisper came back, louder than before, and now the guard could hear vaguely:
"Come ... Come to me ... Let's be together ..."
Suddenly a transparent figure began to appear a few feet away.
The figure appeared to have no arms as the sleeves of his robes wang in a strange way, and he appeared to have no head, since he saw nothing above his neck.
"Gho-- Ghost !!" The guard screamed in panic and started running towards the main building while shouting.
"What? Did you say ghost?" The fellow guards looked at their colleague with suspicion.
"What are you doing standing there? Go back on patrol, we'll have guests soon!" Suddenly a woman with black hair and dressed in light armor appeared and shouted.
"Fan--" Before the guard could speak, another one covered his mouth and said:
"Right now, captain!"
The Hmphed woman and left.
The guard then looked at his companion and said:
"Do you think we're kidding down here? If you don't want to be beheaded by the captain, you better go back on patrol!"
"But what about the fantas--"
"Stop paranoia, that must have been just the effect of staying in this cave for a long time"
The guard then nodded without choice and went back to the gate.
Little did he know that the ghost had already entered the fortress, without anyone noticing, thanks to him.
After entering the main building, Jin returned to the state of almost invisibility and put his arms around his sleeves again, as for the trick of the head, he just needed to raise the collar of his jacket further.
-Well ... I think this was an interesting experience.
Jin thought with a smirk
Walking through the halls and halls of the building, Jin soon found the head of the bandits. But he has not yet found the wife of the leader of the rescue group.
Jin is not obliged to save the kidnapped woman, but he never liked people who hurt others out of sheer selfishness, so he decided to lend a hand to what was left of the rescue group.
First Jin focused on finding those who seemed to be the best warriors and silently eliminating them. For this he used a tactic that he learned earlier.
Spiritual disturbance.
This focuses on disturbing the spirit of a being using superior soul power.
Although Jin does not have a strong soul compared to the other more common astral beings, it is certainly at least twenty times stronger than the soul of an ordinary human because of previous training and the prolonged period of tempering his own spirit in the libraries.
Disturbing the spirit of a human being without any magic should be easy for him.
Despite this, Jin's first attempt almost ended in total failure because of the lack of practice. Jin being lucky that the warrior was away from the others.
After the warrior's spirit became unstable, Jin simply pierced his neck with a blade he picked.
Killing someone for the first time, Jin was a little surprised by his own calm.
Seeing the blood drain, Jin thought of the ten thousand years of preparation. If he was shocked by just that ...
Jin then realized that even with knowledge, lack of practice can be fatal.
On the second attempt Jin waited for the guard to move away from the others, this time with just a little difficulty.
In the third attempt onwards Jin managed to improve his proficiency to the point that he did not have much difficulty in disturbing the spirit in a few seconds.
Despite ending with the first part of the plan, Jin then started looking for the kidnapped woman before the others noticed the bodies.
After a few minutes, Jin finally found the woman tied to a chair and she didn't seem to be in a good condition. Even though she was pregnant, the bandit chief did not seem to care when he beat her up.
After sighing slightly, Jin checked to see if anyone else was nearby, soon discovering a black-haired woman hiding in a corner, as if he was waiting for something.
Jin smiled slightly and used the same technique as before. However, to his surprise, this woman proved to be much more difficult to 'disturb' than the others.
"Did you… did you kill Garand !?" The woman murmured in a tone of pain as she glowered at Jin's almost invisible figure.
Jin didn't answer and just approached the woman, shoving a blade through her heart.
"It was ..." Jin murmured in the woman's ear.
After killing the woman, Jin was once again surprised by his own behavior.
-What is wrong with me?
"Help ... Someone ..." Suddenly, the woman who was tied to the chair started to murmur.
Hearing this, Jin approached the woman and tried to wake her up.
"Who are you?" The woman asked but was surprised to see a transparent figure in front of her
"Ghos--" Before the woman screamed, Jin covered her mouth.
"I'm not a ghost! Be quiet and listen to me, I came to help you. You have no choice but to trust me!" Jin spoke seriously while looking the woman in the eye.
The woman, seeing Jin's ghostly green eyes, just went into shock.
Jin blew out a breath and cut the strings that tied the woman.
"Intruder !! Garand and Cobs are dead !!" Jin suddenly heard screams outside the main building.
Jin then took the woman to a place he had found before. He plans to hide her in the place that the bad guys least expect and let the rescue group do their best now that he has cleared the biggest obstacles.
Jin believes that the group's leader must be skilled enough to survive the battle and emerge victorious now that most of the warriors have been killed.
Even so, Jin plans to observe the battle from afar. Not that Jin really cares who wins, but, as stated earlier, he doesn't like people who mistreat others out of sheer selfishness.
In addition, Jin feels that this could be a good opportunity to learn something new as he felt that the bandit boss is not very normal.
After searching all over the fortress and not finding the intruders, and also discovering that the hostage woman has disappeared, the head of the bandits was furious and ordered the bandits to search nearby.
This should make it easier for the rescue group to invade and conquer the fortress.
The leader of the rescue group realized that something had happened at the fortress, and decided to move forward with the other two immediately.
"Jack !!! You bastard, face your death!" Upon reaching the gate, the group leader shouted loudly.
Julio and the other man were hiding in other parts of the fortress preparing for any situation.
"BlackGold !! You dare show your face !!" The bandit chief named Jack shouted back as he left the main building.
"I thought you were just a coward and would run after rescuing your lady, but I think I was wrong." Jack said as he drew his sword.
Doubt floated in BlackGold's mind, but he just drew his sword and went after Jack.
"Archers !!" Jack suddenly screamed
Suddenly, two arrows flew towards BlackGold, with him managing to avoid one while the other hit him in the left arm.
Enduring the pain, BlackGold broke the arrowhead and removed it.
"I'll give you one last chance, tell me where you hid your lady and maybe kill you quickly."
"Go to hell!" BlackGold, ignoring Jack's words, took off.
"Archers !!" Jack shouted, but to his surprise, arrows did not fly.
"Tsk, these useless guys." Jack considered that they were killed by BlackGold's helpers and prepared for battle.
The two then began a duel of swords.
Jin was surprised by the first sword duel he saw with his own eyes.
Swords conflicts ... He never imagined that seeing with his own eyes this could be so beautiful. It is a totally different experience than watch on television.
While the two aimed their swords at each other's hearts, Julio and the other man searched for BlackGold's wife, finding her after some effort.
After a few minutes of intense combat, Jack seemed to gain the advantage a little, but, by carelessness, was hit in the leg by the BlackGold sword.
BlackGold then kicked Jack's sword and started to punch his face.
At that moment, the duel gave way to a pure beating.
Julio and the other man swallowed, watching the pool of blood forming below Jack.
Even Jin was a little shocked by BlackGold's brutality.
When BlackGold seemed to get tired, he stood up and looked at his wife who seemed to be in shock.
"My love ..." He then went towards the woman, but the woman backed away in panic.
BlackGold then realized that his hands were covered in blood.
"Sorry-" Before he could say anything, a blade went through BlackGold's throat.
The three at the scene and Jin were shocked.
Jack, who appeared to be dead, suddenly stood up with a strange aura around him.
"Even if I die, I will take you all with me." Jack said in a dark voice
Jack then went towards the man next to Julio, killing him effortlessly.
Julio, recovering a little from the shock, shouted:
"My lady, run--" Before he could complete the sentence, he was sent flying a few feet by a kick from Jack
The woman, desperate, fell without strength in her legs.
"You little bitch, if you had just opened your mouth earlier all this could have been avoided." Jack spoke as he approached the woman slowly.
Jack aimed the sword to the woman's belly, but before he could, he was stabbed in the back by Julio, who somehow managed to stand.
Jack's sword however still managed to penetrate the woman's heart to Julio's distress.
Jin, who was watching the scene unfold, was simply astonished.
What a mess!
In the end the only one who survived was the one most likely to have been killed by the wolves, as he was considerably old to wield a sword.
"My lord..." The Old Man murmured in sadness as tears streamed down his face.
Falling in the ground, Julio breathed deeply.
After being silent for a while, Julio seemed to have noticed something, as he suddenly looked fiercely at the dead woman's belly.
"...How?" He then put his hand on the corpse's belly and began to feel some vibrations.
After a few moments, Julio's eyes widened in shock and he made a decision he never imagined he would make before.
Picking up the sword from the woman's chest, Julio wiped the sword with Jack's clothes.
After taking a deep breath, with a shaking hand, he then started making a cut on the woman's belly.
Seeing this, Jin understood what was happening and swallowed his own saliva as he approached.
Suddenly, in the silence of the cave, a baby cry started to resound.
"gods ..." Julio murmured
Soon, however, Julio realized that the baby was rapidly losing vitality, as he started to look extremely pale and stopped crying.
Thinking it was the weather, Julio wrapped the baby in some clothes. Even so, the baby did not seem to improve.
Watching the baby, Jin noticed a black aura in his small eyes.
-That aura, I saw it in Jack earlier.
Jin thought and created a conjecture of what had happened
That aura around Jack was clearly not normal, and Jin is almost certain that it is related to the unique magic of this universe.
When killing the woman, this black aura must have spread through her body, reaching the baby.
Julio suddenly started looking at the sky and shouting:
"Please! Let this boy live, he is the last descendant of the BlackGold family, to which I have sworn allegiance. Take my life, but let the baby live!"
Jin suddenly started to feel a strange feeling of attraction coming from the baby's body.
-But what--
Before he could reason what was going on, Jin suddenly heard a voice speak in his mind.
"Boy, this is your chance. I can't communicate with you for long, fast. That child, it's your ... opportunity ... to ..."
Jin's mind worked at a thousand an hour and he quickly understood that this voice must come from the consciousness of this universe.
-What did she mean by "opportunity"?
It didn't take long for him to understand.
Looking at the baby who was on the verge of death. Jin swallowed his pride and appeared to the old man.
"Gho--" The old man, before he could scream, was interrupted by Jin, who said:
"Listen old man, I am an envoy of your gods, and your prayers have been answered."
After saying this, Jin put his hand on the baby's head, and some small inscriptions quickly spread across his small body.
Seeing this, the old man became enraged, thinking that Jin was playing tricks on him.
But suddenly, Jin said:
"Only death can pay for life. Old man, I will sacrifice myself in the name of the gods to save this child, in return, you must take care of this child until she can defend herself. Do you understand?" Jin then pressed the old man spiritually.
Julio, seeing the intensity of Jin's gaze, as well as his ghostly green eyes and feeling a pressure he never experienced, nodded.
Jin then sighed deeply and started to think about what he was doing, he just has no idea how to possess this baby and whether he would be able to live long even if he did because of Jack's aura.
Although he has a great deal of knowledge, Jin has no experience at all, so it is normal for him to feel a little insecure.
While Jin just saw the inscriptions continue to spread over the baby's body, the voice from before said again in his mind:
"What are you waiting for? Activate ... subscriptions ... with ... baby ..."
With minimal information gained, Jin's mind ran a marathon and he thought of something.
-Corin said that a soul's energy is its source of power. If I must activate these subscriptions ... Using my own energy must be necessary.
Closing his eyes, Jin began to focus on his soul completely, briefly forgetting the outside world, seeking his own energy and channeling it into the inscriptions.
The inscriptions then started to shine, and a. Jin's soul began to slowly become more transparent.
Julio, who was watching the whole process, kept praying.
Meanwhile, Jin was suffering a great deal of exhaustion from using the little of his available energy.
Jin's soul after all is not a true astral body, and, even though it is stronger than that of an ordinary human, it was still at very low levels compared to the more mediocre beings of the astral dimension.
Until, at a certain point, Jin's soul disappeared completely, and Jin partially lost consciousness.
After seeing the young man disappear, Julio then looked closely at the baby, and realized that the black aura in his eyes still remained.
Jin's fight is not over yet.