Chương 9: Chapter 9 - Finishing Off the Dark Guild
Author Note (You can skip this one if you want): Hey everyone. I'm posting a bonus chapter today because I saw this story reach #2 on both the Collection and Popular rankings (temporarily). Thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed this crappy fanfiction enough to add it to their library or give power stones. You guys are true kings. You too ladies. I see the handful of you out there. You are also kings. Everyone a king.
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Holding back laughter, Jellal tried to ignore the haphazard bandaging that made Jin look like a mummy and asked, "What did you find out about your Geass power, Jin?"
Squinting with his left eye, Jin replied, "I did learn a bit, but how much time passed after I used it?"
"Not even a second."
"Seriously?"
Jellal simply nodded.
Rubbing his chin that had at least three layers of bandages covering it, Jin said, "That surprises me since I ended up seeing some of the man's memories alongside him. Felt like I spent a few hours within the dude's mind."
Brows raised, Jellal asked, "What kind of memories?"
"Mostly him committing a massive number of crimes over the years, but I also learned some of this base's layout and that they seem to have been selling children to someone who looked like a noble, though I didn't recognize the man's face."
The others grimaced when Jin mentioned the children, but then Jellal pointed at the comatose Dark Guild member and asked, "I understand all that, but then how did he end up like that?"
"I'm not sure why yet, but unlike when I saw my own memories, he got lost in his. By the end, I gained some control over it and forced him into a looping memory of him being tortured by his boss."
""...""
"That's actually kinda terrifying," Meredy remarked.
"Yeah, but I think it might have limitations to it that I'll need to figure out, not to mention it seems to have overexerted my eye," Jin replied while pointing at the right side of his face. "That's a drawback I don't recall seeing from other Geass powers, though it's better than my heart stopping while using it like another one I've seen."
Despite not knowing Jin for long, all three Crime Sorcière members showed concerned expressions until Ultear said, "I guess a bit of pain is better than your heart stopping."
"Hopefully it doesn't make you blind," Meredy added.
Jin waved his hand as though dismissing such a thing while thinking, 'Doubt it. This isn't a Mangekyo Sharingan.'
"Do you still want to do more tests before we start plowing through the base?" Jellal asked.
"I'd like to do more tests, but I'll wait 'til the pain fades, which it's already starting to."
"Alright, then. Can you explain the layout of the base you saw before Ultear and I head in first? Should make things easier."
"No problem."
* * *
Jin and Meredy ambled side-by-side through the poorly designed base. Several torches attached to the tunnel walls illuminated their path. Occasionally, they encountered signs of battle or unconscious people with thornlike tattoos on their bodies imprisoned by earth magic. However, there were always two paths for them to take, causing them to occasionally meet wizards from the Dark Guild, though almost every encounter ended the same way.
"Maguilty Rays."
Yellow magical blades appeared in a circle around Meredy before firing toward the opponent like oversized bullets. Most of the victims suffered numerous lacerations and fell unconscious after a single barrage. Rarely did the opponent stay conscious for more than a single casting of the spell.
Along one path closer to the main hall based on what Jin saw in the Dark Guild member's memories, Meredy cast her Maguilty Rays spell to fend off two opponents, but another wizard jumped out from a small corridor behind them and casted a small fire spell at them.
"Behind us," Jin warned. Experience from his past life taught him to never let down his guard in enemy territory, and it finally paid off for the first time in this life.
"Got it."
Both dodged the stream of flames. Since Meredy was still mid-cast toward the other opponents, Jin dashed toward the man and whipped out his bokken. He jabbed into the inner elbow, then the armpit, and finally swung into the man's neck, all before he could cast a second spell. A sharp pop echoed out.
'Whoops. Think his neck broke. Thought wizards in this world were durable enough to take a hit like that,' he thought. Glancing down at the man, he noticed that he was still breathing, but his neck curved at an awkward angle. 'He's definitely paralyzed, at the very least."
"Good job," Meredy said from behind him while patting his shoulder. "Didn't expect you to be able to move so quickly even with those bandages over your eye."
"Muscle memory does a lot of the work."
"Makes sense, I guess."
Shortly after they resumed their trek through the dim halls, Meredy awkwardly twirled a few strands of her pink hair with her finger and asked, "So… you're from a different world or something, right?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious~. What's it like?"
"Hmm. It's complicated. Lots of big cities all over the world. Lots of technology, but no magic like there is here."
Tilting her head, she asked, "No magic? Didn't you say you found out your world is dangerous when you first arrived here?"
"It's something different from magic, yet similar and potentially more dangerous. It's not really something I could explain in a single sitting."
"I see… Do you think I'd be able to visit your world to check it out sometime?"
"Honestly, I have no idea."
"Oh," Meredy quietly replied.
With the conversation stopping there, Jin scratched at the bandaging on his face and said, "I'm taking this off since my eye hasn't been hurting for a few minutes now."
"Maybe leave it on a bit longer?"
"It's uncomfortable, so no."
Meredy's lips pouted. Jin noticed her expression out of the corner of his eye but ignored it. He quickly tore the bandage off. Once finished, he put it in his inventory for future disposal. Meredy raised her eyebrows out of curiosity when the bandage disappeared, but she refrained from asking about it.
With both eyes free again, Jin blinked a few times. He closed his left eye to test his right eye's vision, but he could still see fine without any pain.
'I guess it just got a bit strained after using the geass. The backlash doesn't seem too bad overall.'
"How does your eye feel? Can you see okay?"
"Yeah. It's fine now," Jin answered. Glancing over at the girl, he noticed a small relieved smile on her face, which prompted him to say, "I don't think I needed a bandage in the first place, but your concern was appreciated."
Smile widening, Meredy replied, "No problem."
Before long, the two arrived at the shoddy main hall of the Dark Guild base thanks to the memories he obtained from the Dark Guild member earlier. Traces of earth, water, and fire damage marked the floor, walls, and ceiling alongside sword marks, likely from the shards of a broken blade scattered around a makeshift throne at the back of the room. In the center of the room, Jellal and Ultear stood over a circle of Dark Guild members tied up by eerie dark magic chains. Most of them looked heavily beaten, and all were unconscious.
Noticing their companions arriving, Jellal smiled and said, "Welcome to the main hall. You're a bit late for any action, though."
Jin shrugged while Meredy sighed.
"How's your eye feeling, Jin?" Ultear asked.
"Better."
"Do you want to use it again before I bring these guys to the nearest town?" Jellal asked.
"I'll try one more time."
"Are you sure?" Meredy asked, her voice laden with concern.
"Yeah. I'll just avoid forcing the person into a loop this time."
Lifting the head of the closest Dark Guild member with the least damage, Jin slapped him awake and immediately used his geass when the man woke up. Within the strange mental world created by his geass, he watched the man's memories. Luckily, this guy came across as a dude down on his luck who turned to a life of crime in order to survive. While there, Jin even struck up a brief conversation with the man since he didn't fall into as deep of a trance compared to the previous person.
"Why'd you choose this kind of life?"
"Was starving and didn't have any other options," The man sadly answered.
"Unfortunate, but it doesn't mean there aren't consequences. So, you wouldn't mind rotting in prison after trafficking all those people?"
"...No. I worried this day might come eventually."
Slightly surprised, Jin nodded and let the man watch his memories for a while until he felt he could control everything again. However, he left the memories to loop normally in order to hopefully avoid straining his eyes. With a single thought, his consciousness returned to the Dark Guild's main hall. A relieved sigh slipped from his lips when he realized his eye didn't hurt this time, though he felt a bit mentally drained as though he had just taken a college entrance exam.
"Are you already done?" Jellal asked.
"Yeah."
"Seems like it didn't hurt you as much this time."
Nodding, Jin replied, "Seems like it only strains me to force somebody into a specific loop."
Looking at the man he used his geass on, he noticed that the guy's eyes were still glazed over. Over the next few seconds, the man slowly came to, and he started looking around the room with a confused look on his face.
"Where am I?" The man tiredly asked. Then, seeing Jin, his eyes widened, and tears spilled from his eyes. "I know I deserve punishment for my actions, but why did you leave me there for so long?"
Jin wasn't the only one to raise a brow.
"It's only been a few seconds, you know?"
The man blinked, and his face paled. Then, in a weak voice, he said, "I swear it must've been a few centuries…"
"Huh."
"Wow."
Ignoring the peanut gallery, Jin tried using his geass on the man again. To his surprise, it worked. When the man saw the pure white environment, he broke down with a panic attack. However, the only memory to appear was him waking up and seeing Jin in front of him. It then looped that short interaction over and over.
'I see. So it only shows memories from the last time I used a geass on him. Good to know.'
After that, he wondered if he could prevent the man from experiencing this single memory for a few more centuries. He mentally removed himself from the effects of his geass while also keeping in mind the other man's consciousness. This time, both of them woke up at the same time.
"Alright. I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on the ability now," Jin remarked.
"In that case, I'll take these guys over for the bounty and then meet you guys at the boulder where Jin first arrived. If you could set up camp for the night, that would be great."
The other three nodded in response. With that, Jellal wrapped the end of the dark magic chain around his wrist. At the same time, a golden magic circle appeared beneath his feet before exploding around his body like the aura of some sort of Super Saiyan. He then blasted into the air through the tunnels with all of the Dark Guild members tumbling and twisting in the air behind him. A single man's terrified scream echoed from the halls, steadily distancing itself from them.
"We forgot to knock the guy out again," Ultear said.
"Whoops. My bad."
After that, they collected whatever useful loot they could find before leaving to set up camp for the night.
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