The Founder's POV

Chapter 34: Puppet's Master

Jin groaned in pain, barely conscious. These were his final moments, and unfortunately, they were not as heroic as he had hoped... He did not achieve freedom together with those he loved; things did not go as he wanted at all.

This was their end, the end of all their foolish dreams...

A happy ending? What nonsense! They were just a handful of rank A kids, daring to face an enemy far above their rank.

He hadn't realized that before... No, he did, but he continued deceiving himself with that false conviction. He placed all his trust in someone else, and this was the result.

If he had gathered some courage and gotten rid of his cursed pride and arrogance, he might have used that skill, and the outcome would have been very different.

"If only..."

There's no use in regretting now... Jin opened his eyes for what he thought was the last time.

He saw Gilbert sacrificing himself and Cassian about to have all his bones broken.

Although he was strong, his opponent was resistant to all mental effects and had terrifying experience. Vantos and Sebastian were at least a hundred years old, maybe more.

Seeing everyone continuing to fight despite their terrible situations made Jin feel ashamed.

Gilbert sacrificed himself for their cause, sacrificed his legend, his goals, his values... He threw everything away for this cause, things far more valuable than anything Jin had.

"I'm pathetically miserable!" Jin gritted his teeth as he crawled towards the puppet.

There was only one meter between them, and he was about to reach it when his body was suddenly crushed.

He anticipated an attack and used all his defensive abilities and mana, but he was still crushed...

Blood flowed from Killian's face, and his eyes turned terrifyingly red, with blood coming out of his ear.

Cassian might become crippled after this fight, but he kept fighting... Despite his young age, he bore the pain!

These thoughts overwhelmed Jin's mind. He summoned unknown strength and managed to stand on his feet; it was a miracle!

He grabbed the cylinder he took from Gilbert earlier and drove it with all his might into the back of the puppet's neck.

The strength he gathered now was weaker than that of an ordinary old man, and mana no longer entered his body. he was now crippled. If he lived, it would be a miracle. If he returned to rank F, it would be an even bigger miracle.

But despite that, he kept hugging the puppet. Even though it electrocuted his body repeatedly. Tears of pain flowed from his eyes, but he was determined to keep holding on and not let go.

Jin opened his eyes suddenly and noticed that the puppet, which had previously been asleep, had awakened.

Two eyes, red as blood, glowed in his face, exuding unimaginable terror.

An ancient and wise presence looked at Jin with awareness for a second, enough to carve fear into his mind. His white hair floated up due to the overflowing mana around him, creating a majestic scene.

He looked like an enhanced version of Sebastian and Vantos but appeared young despite his white hair.

"Huh?!"

Jin's perspective changed strangely, and he could see the entire hall as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He even felt unparalleled strength in his body, feeling much stronger than before.