The Strongest Man
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CRACK.
Silence fell.
Then...
The seal shattered.
The gray color covering Thalen's body slowly began to fade.
A finger moved.
Then a hand.
And then...
Thalen opened his eyes.
For the first time in ten minutes...
The strongest man in the world had returned.
But...
No one was looking at him.
Because everyone...
Was looking at Jinsu.
Thalen stood in silence and slowly scanned his surroundings.
The walls were in ruins.
Blood covered the ground.
Tsukiro sat in the distance, clutching his severed arm.
Levi had lost consciousness.
Akuro, Kaya, and Takeshi could barely remain standing.
And the capital...
Was burning.
At the center of it all...
A single figure stood in Yuna's arms.
Long white hair.
A body covered in scars.
And eyes...
Eyes he no longer recognized.
For Thalen, time came to a halt.
"...Jinsu?"
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Jinsu slowly raised his head.
For a brief moment, his eyes glimmered.
"Master."
Thalen's breath caught in his throat.
But...
In the next instant—
He vanished.
And reappeared directly before Jinsu.
A terrifying spiritual pressure erupted from his body, shaking the entire hall.
BOOOOOOM!!
Everyone's eyes widened.
Thalen seized Jinsu by the throat.
"You're not Jinsu."
Silence.
Yuna trembled.
"Thalen! Stop!"
But he couldn't hear her.
His eyes were fixed on that face.
Kaizen's face.
"Give me back my disciple."
Jinsu said nothing.
"Where is he?"
Thalen's grip tightened.
"Is he still alive?!"
Jinsu closed his eyes for a moment.
Then, in a calm voice, he said—
"You were late, Master."
...
Thalen froze.
That voice.
It wasn't Kaizen's.
And those words...
No one but Jinsu could have spoken them.
"Impossible..."
Thalen's hand began to tremble.
Jinsu gave a faint smile.
"I came back."
Slowly, Thalen released him.
He took a step backward.
He looked at him as though he were staring at a ghost.
"Jinsu...?"
Jinsu slowly raised his hand and pointed to the scars covering his body.
"I grew up a little."
For the first time...
Since anyone had ever known him...
Thalen's expression broke.
He took one step forward.
Then another.
Before pulling Jinsu into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry."
Silence filled the hall.
Even Tsukiro...
Couldn't hide the shock in his eyes.
Thalen's hand trembled.
"I'm sorry I was late."
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
"I'm sorry..."
His voice faltered.
"I was a terrible master."
Jinsu closed his eyes.
Then...
He smiled.
"No, Master."
Silence.
"I was the weak disciple."
Yuna's eyes trembled.
Levi couldn't say a word.
Because the person who had returned...
Wasn't the Jinsu they remembered.
It was someone who had lived an entire lifetime in hell.
Thalen slowly stepped away.
Then he turned toward everyone.
"Do not be afraid."
His gaze shifted toward the burning capital.
"I will save it."
And in the next moment—
He disappeared.
---
High above the Imperial Capital, Thalen appeared in the sky.
Beneath his feet...
The city burned.
Tens of thousands of Yami no Inma members spread throughout the streets.
And in the distance...
The air itself began to vanish.
The members of Yami no Inma felt a chill run down their spines.
"T-That pressure..."
"Impossible..."
Thalen raised his hand to his eyes.
Then...
He removed the covering he had not taken off in many years.
And for the first time...
The world beheld the eyes of the strongest man alive.
His right eye...
Carried the symbol of a golden dragon.
His left...
The symbol of a black sword.
Tsukiro's eyes widened.
"So..."
"You're really going to use them."
Thalen looked down.
Toward the army of Yami no Inma.
Then, in a calm voice, he spoke—
"Kyoketsu no Hikari."
Silence descended.
All sound disappeared.
"Absolute Void."
In a single instant...
The world vanished.
No light.
No sound.
No sky.
No earth.
Gerudo opened his eyes.
Only to find himself standing within an endless black void.
"What is this place?!"
He tried to use his power.
But...
Nothing happened.
"My power?!"
He looked at his hands.
They were slowly disappearing.
"No..."
He began to run.
But there was nowhere to go.
Then...
He felt something dragging him downward.
He looked beneath his feet.
And the darkness...
Was swallowing him whole.
"M-My Lord Kaizen!"
He began to sink.
"My Lord!!"
Around him...
Tens of thousands of Yami no Inma members sank into the abyss alongside him.
Screams.
Crying.
Desperate pleas.
But...
There was no one left to hear them.
"I'm sorry..."
"I should never have challenged the strongest man in the world..."
And Gerudo disappeared into the darkness.
---
In the real world...
Thousands of Yami no Inma members vanished from the streets of the capital.
One.
Then ten.
Then a thousand.
Until the city stood empty once more.
Tsukiro continued staring into the sky.
Then...
He smiled.
"You're still the same, Thalen."
He closed his eyes.
"But can you truly bear it after all these years?"
Thalen slowly lowered his hand.
He gazed upon the capital as peace gradually returned.
But then...
He descended before Jinsu.
Before he could say a word—
He suddenly coughed up blood.
Everyone turned toward him.
"THALEN!"
His skin turned pale, almost blue.
Tsukiro immediately approached and gripped his shoulder.
He knew.
This wasn't the end.
And in the final lines of the chapter...
Thalen looked toward the place where Jinsu stood.
For the first time since his return...
He smiled.
Slowly, he raised his hand toward him.
"I... I'm... s-sorry... J-Jinsu..."
And then—
Thalen collapsed unconscious.