Shin rushed forward and slammed his sword down at Bjorn. Bjorn snapped back to reality, blocked the attack, and pushed Shin back.
Bjorn responded by copying Shin but stopped just before the great sword could cut through Shin.
He had a look of guilt on his face, refusing to look Shin directly in the eyes and staring down instead.
Shin felt more rage and fury grow within him. He shouted, "What is this!? Are you too much of a coward to cut me down, Bjorn!?"
Bjorn remained silent, still looking down in guilt. Shin swung his sword at Bjorn, who finally moved and dodged the attack.
"BJORN!! What are you doing!? That's just a corpse with an implanted soul, not the actual thing!" the hero who had blocked off Satel yelled.
Bjorn looked up, still with guilt written across his face.
"If you think I'm just a corpse, then I hope you still remember this!" Shin yelled as he charged at Bjorn, sword forward.
Bjorn readied himself.
"Destructive Art: Form 2: Relentless Destruction."
In the blink of an eye, Bjorn was being pushed back by a flurry of sword stabs from Shin.
Bjorn kept his great sword in front of him, using its massive size to his advantage, and blocked almost every attack. Some of the strikes managed to pierce his armor, leaving circular holes through it.
"Why wear armor that's too large for you? Never thought I'd say that, considering how much you used to tower over me," Shin said, pure rage clinging to every word.
Bjorn was shocked, trying to comprehend how this implanted soul knew Shin's sword technique—until it dawned on him that the person in front of him was the Shin he once knew.
"Shin'en… Look, man, I didn't want to do it," Bjorn said in a pleading voice.
"Shut up, you lapdog," Shin responded, continuing the attack and intensifying it.
Just as the great sword was at its limits and about to shatter, a voice yelled,
"Flame Magic: Tier 3: Fire Blast!"
A blast of flame hit Shin on his side and sent him flying. Bjorn fell to his knees, disbelief etched on his face as he turned his head to take a proper look at Shin.
Shin stood up from the smoke and walked out without a scratch.
"Still weak as ever, Kai," Shin said, dusting off his shoulders.
Kai, the flame hero, scoffed at Shin.
"We both know I held back," Kai responded, looking pissed off.
"Hey Shin, as much as this little reunion of yours is funny as hell, we have to go before that bitch gets here," Satel called out as she stood over four heroes tied up in green magical ropes.
"Before which bitch arrives?" a voice called out behind Satel.
Satel paused, looked back, and her eyes grew wide in shock at who stood behind her.
"Mmm. Bjorn, you disappoint me. You couldn't even make sure Shin was dead," the goddess spoke, her voice shaking the room.
Satel stood motionless as the goddess pointed her hand at her.
"Light Magic: Tier 7: Judgement."
A blinding flash of light shot straight at Satel, but Shin managed to reach her and shield her with his body.
"Oh? You've gotten faster," the goddess said, almost in admiration.
Shin stood up, fuming, as his back healed from the burns of the goddess's light attack. Just as the goddess was about to strike again, Satel wrapped her arms around Shin and responded with her own spell.
"Dark Magic: Tier 6: Grieving Soul."
A large skull made of mana engulfed Shin and Satel as it withstood the goddess's attack.
"Huh!?" both Satel and the goddess blurted out in shock.
Satel noticed something strange about her body in that moment—her power and mana pool had risen exponentially, putting her near the goddess's level.
"Well, this is interesting," Satel said as she grinned at the goddess.
"Dark Magic: Tier 5: Last Act."
The facility glowed bright green as it exploded.
"That bitch…" the goddess whispered under her breath as she stood within a bubble of golden mana, the heroes protected alongside her in the ruins of the facility.
She looked around and realized Shin and Satel were missing. Enraged, the goddess grabbed Bjorn by the neck.
Bjorn didn't look fazed at all. He simply looked down in shame, preparing for the worst.
The goddess scoffed and let go of Bjorn, who collapsed to the ground. He stood up, holding his throat, while the goddess turned her back on the party and vanished without a trace.
Bjorn looked around at the ruins of the facility and saw Shin was gone as well. He sighed in regret and summoned a magic circle beneath the hero party.
"Teleport."
In a flash of golden light, they disappeared.