...
Jason’s eyes slowly fluttered open.
His back felt stiff, like he was lying on sothing hard for a long ti. And it was strange because he normally slept on the ground, his back had grown accustod to hard surfaces.
He tried moving his limbs, only to realize that they seed heavier than they were ant to be.
Jason decided to move his head instead.
He blinked several tis in quick succession, realizing that he was on the snowy ground anymore.
’Who the hell moved my body?’
After finally killing the creature with Instinctual Movents he decided to take a quick rest. The fatigue that ca from using techniques in quick succession finally ca.
But instead of the blood-soaked ground that he had taken a nap on, he found himself on the branch of a tree.
He tried to get up.
"Easy there."
Jason frowned.
He recognized that voice.
’Kira.’
"You’re on the branch of a tree, even if they’re wide you might fall off."
He ignored him and raised his head to look at the person.
Kira was sitting next to him, though in a relaxed posture.
He tried to get up, however, both his arms and legs seed to refuse his command.
"What am I doing here?"
He still continued his fruitless struggle of trying to get up.
"You overworked yourself fighting Grey, you need rest before you’ll be able to move."
Jason had to agree with him.
He had used 30 Blade Movents two tis, the breathing technique, Blade Strike, Quick Evasive Steps one after the other.
It made sense that his body needed rest.
He stopped his fruitless efforts.
"Why did you co back to help ?" He questioned, lying flat on the branch.
"I wasn’t planning on leaving you."
Jason didn’t buy it, it was an obvious lie.
’From the way the creature, "Grey", spoke about him, I can tell that he normally wouldn’t do such a thing for an ally.
And it can’t be because of familial bonds, both he and his brother were hostile when I ntioned the Hachiman clan.’
He mused.
’So there has to be another reason why he ca back to save .’
Even though he knew it was an obvious lie, he chose not to pursue it.
"I wanted to get her and Sean to safety while you bought ti, but when I ca back, you had already killed Grey." Kira explained.
Jason did not believe him.
’I doubt she would need to get to safety.’
He nodded instead, pretending to understand the situation.
"What do you an by I had already killed him?"
Even though he had just woken up, yet he was feeling quite talkative.
Kira frowned deeply, as if he could sense that sothing was left undone.
"Before he got corrupted, Grey was the heir of the Honnou clan, he was the last survivor."
’Still literally makes no sense to .’
Jason’s face showed his confusion.
Kira sighed, taking a mont to explain.
Impatience crept into his voice.
"The Honnou clan was among the upper echelons of most clans with the Hachiman clan ranking a bit below it. Their clan head was among the strongest awakeneds because of their clan’s innate technique.
But so years ago several rank 0 dungeons spawned and destabilized over all their clan residences, almost ending the bloodline of the entire clan."
His impatience grew as he narrated
"But Honnou Grey was the last survivor of the clan as he had entered a rank 4 dungeon with a team of awakeneds during the ti the rank 0 dungeons destabilized.
However, he died against the pack of bear monsters we fought so days ago.
He died using the Instinctual Movents of his clan and beca corrupted."
Kira sighed again before continuing.
"Instinctual Movents was the Innate technique of the Honnou clan – though, ordinary mbers of their clan only had the partial Instinctual Movents – when it is active, the body is guided by the instincts of the user.
Even when the user is knocked out the body will still continue moving and it is only after death or complete loss of mana that the technique can be deactivated."
"So what does this have to do with killing him too soon?"
According to Jason’s mories, that was the most ti he had taken to end a fight.
And it was his strongest opponent yet.
"During corruption, the body is enhanced.
That includes the techniques, and skills of the one being corrupted.
So Grey’s instinctual Movents had increased several tis over after he beca corrupted." Kira explained.
Jason mulled over his words.
’If what he’s saying is true, that ans he really did intend to co after .’
But there was sothing that made no sense.
’Why would Kira leave Grey to die, even draining him of all his mana, but chooses to save ?’
Jason didn’t understand.
"By the way, here’s your dagger."
Jason recognized it as the weapon that had flown away from his grasps during his first clash with Grey when he attempted to slash its stomach open.
"Thanks."
He attempted to grab it.
But he was unable to move his body to take it.
"Just hold onto it until I’m able to move my body."
Kira kept it back.
Jason let out a sigh, basking in the cold.
He was wearing a brown coat torn by claw marks, a shirt also torn by claw marks, and his clothing for his lower body looked like they had been worn for several years without being washed.
"Jason..."
"What?"
"...How did Grey die?"
Jason stopped the words that were about the to co out of his mouth.
"I killed him."
He chose to play dumb.
"No... I’m asking about how you killed him. Since he was corrupted, his body had already dissipated before I ca back."
That was a piece of information Jason would make sure to rember.
’Incredibly honest or mix with a bit of a lie?’
Though he knew which one he would say.
"I overwheld his Instinctual movents using short bursts of speeds that surpassed him before going for the kill."
"No, how did you kill him? Where did you stab to kill him?"
’I couldn’t avoid it.’
"First, I sliced his arm off, then I slashed his stomach open with my dagger." Jason answered.
"...That shouldn’t have been enough to kill a corrupted."
"When he fell to the ground he was crying in pain, I walked towards him with my weapon, and then stabbed into his head so tis."
"Crying in pain, huh?"
Kira let out a dry chuckle.
"Even when he was a human, he was never the type to take an attack head-long. Even without his Instinctual Movents technique, his body was able to move on its own to dodge attacks.
And if he was ever hit, he would whine about it."
His tone was sorrowful.
"Even though his pain resistance grew when he beca corrupted, I guess he was still the sa old Grey."
His eyes moistened as he spoke.
A lone tear flowed down his right eye, going down to his cheeks before Kira wiped it away.
"And he was always the type to talk, even when he was in battle."
"Did he tell you about what happened with the bear monsters?"
"Yes."
"He told you that I allowed him to face on the pack of bear monsters by himself and when he was getting wounded I didn’t even co to rescue him?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
Kira stopped talking before continuing.
"I forgot that I was there when he said that..."
As he spoke, Jason thought about himself.
’When Emily died, I barely cried for her.’
Even now, he remained passive.
"...Everything he said wasn’t true." Kira continued.
"How would he know, he was using Instinctual Movents the whole ti.
I had my own bear monsters to deal with, we all did. It was just that he was overwheld by them before I could save him.
And then he died."
Another lone tear ca out, but this ti from his left eye.
It flowed down freely to his cheeks.
"If I could save him, I would have." He murmured.
Jason couldn’t relate to how Kira felt.
But he understood that it would be best to let Kira let it all out.
After all, he was letting out his sorrows.
He was mourning for the loss of his dead friend.
"But do you know sothing, Jason?"
"Do you know why he beca corrupted?"
However, he didn’t let Jason answer.
He answered himself.
"I didn’t take out all the mana from his body"
Jason stared at the boy with blue hair and deep blue eyes.
His expression was pained, as if he was reliving so of the worst yet happiest mories of his life.
Snowflakes graced the land, falling from the sky.
"It was because he wanted to protect us.
His body at least."
Another tear graced his eyes, this ti it flowed down freely from his cheek without being wiped off.
It fell onto the branch.
"Even after death, his body still kept on fighting..."
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