Jin and the other fighters, still reeling from the thrashing, watched the divine spectacle unfolding before them as they struggled to rise from the ground.
With a mixture of awe and surprise etched on his face, Jin managed to push aside the unconscious fighters weighing him down, with the help of his mother, Jun Kazama, who exuded a radiant aura of divinity.
Rising to his feet, Jin enveloped his mother in a tight embrace, tears streaming down his face in a torrent of emotion. Jun's eyes welled up too with tears as she beheld her son in such a vulnerable state.
Their moment was interrupted by a propelling noise that drew their attention to Alan, now encased in a new exoskeleton, and Kazuya, latched on to Alan, covered in bandages but determined, flying towards them.
As they landed, Kazuya's eyes locked with Jun's, and he rushed forward to envelop her in a tight embrace. Jun struggled to breathe under Kazuya's intense embrace and eventually asked him to release her.
Reluctantly, Kazuya released her, and Alan glanced at the divine being, exchanging a silent acknowledgment with them, as if they knew each other well.
As Kazuya and Jun shared a silent moment of love, their gaze filled with unspoken emotions, they were abruptly interrupted by an awkward cough from Jin and Alan. Just then, an explosion erupted in the direction where Satanus had been thrown.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, the Deity addressed Jun in a hurried voice, breaking the tender moment.
"Jun, I hate to interrupt, but I can't keep you here for long. Here, catch this," the Deity said, passing Jun a golden orb.
"I will distract him, and it will be your job to stab this orb into his chest. It will separate the stone and consume the devil gene, trapping Satanus and sending him back to hell. But be warned, the energy inside this orb will be highly pressurised. If you don't act quickly, you will die. So choose your responsibility wisely."
Amidst the rising chaos, a cry echoed from Satanus's direction, accompanied by flying boulders.
"Why?!!! Why?!!! Why?!! Michael?!!! Why are you doing this?!!!" Satanus roared as he lunged towards the Deity.
"Decide quickly, you have less than two minutes," the Deity urged, leaving the group facing a dilemma. With determination, they flew towards Satanus and fired a divine laser beam from the ornament on their temple, aiming directly at him.
"Sorry, Samael, just keeping a promise!!!" They shouted as the beam struck Satanus, illuminating the battlefield with its divine power.
The tension in the air became palpable as Jun, Jin, Alan, and Kazuya argued over who would undertake the task.
"I'll do it," Jin declared, his eyes brimming with a sense of responsibility as he reached out towards Jun, hoping she would hand him the orb.
"No!" Kazuya interjected, yelling as he stepped between Jin and Jun, snatching the orb from her hand. "I'll do it!"
"No, give me that!" Jin retorted, attempting to wrestle the orb back from Kazuya.
As the two grappled, Alan cast a quick glance over at the ongoing battle in the distance. The Deity continued to fire laser blasts at Satanus, and though he tried to defend himself, each step he took forward was met with an amplified intensity of the laser, pushing him back further.
Gradually, Satanus's dark form began to be enveloped in the light of the deflecting laser blast.
"Get back, old man!" Alan's attention snapped back to the argument as Jin shouted at Kazuya with intensity. "For the first time in your life, fucking listen to someone!"
Hearing Jin's words, Kazuya's eyes widened in surprise, and he speechlessly let go of the orb in Jin’s hand.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
*Thwack!*
Alan was shocked as suddenly Jun slapped Jin hard across the face.
"Jin, language! You may have used such foul words against your father in my absence, but you are not going to disrespect him any further. At least listen to him!"
Jin, stunned, looked at his mother with teary, surprised eyes.
Observing the exchange, Kazuya turned his back to Jin and Jun, assuming his trademark pose, and proceeded to speak with a loud yet firm voice directed at Jin.
"Listen, Ji... son," Jin's eyes widened as he heard the word every son longs to hear from his father with love for the first time.
"I may not have been present for the moments every father dreams of sharing with his son. I didn't witness your childhood, your teenage years... I might as well admit that I robbed you of your childhood. But after coming to my senses, I promise you, as long as I am alive, I will not allow you to sacrifice your life any further. Believe me when I say this... I regret my actions, every last one of them. My father was never the ideal one; he deprived me of my childhood, and I did the same to you, blinded by power and the curse of this bloodline. But I ask you to give me this one chance...!"
As Kazuya spoke, Alan could see the tears in his eyes and hear the emotion in his voice. Witnessing such vulnerability in a man he once despised so intensely that he prayed for his demise with every breath, Alan couldn't help but weep for the lost father who only realised the existence of his son when it was too late.
Jun also teared up, her voice filled with sadness as she quietly uttered Kazuya's name.
"Allow me this one chance to make up for my sins and give you and this world a life of peace," Kazuya continued. With that, he swiftly turned away, snatching the orb from Jin's hand and sprinting, gaining some distance from the group as he called out, "Come on, Jun, we have destiny awaiting...!"
Jun looked at Kazuya with teary eyes and smiled. She quickly moved to her son, hugged him tightly, and whispered in his ear,
"Son, after all this ends, I want you to live the life you want. Stay with and love the people you care about. Never raise your hand again unless it's to save the weak. And also... I like the girl. You two have our blessing."
With a chuckle, she gave Jin a peck on the cheek, leaving him frozen, his face flushed with a red tint, still wondering if it was all a dream.
Jun then bowed to Alan and thanked him, saying,
"Thanks, Alan, for taking care of my son. Please look after him." Then with a final smile she ran toward Kazuya as they charged towards the Deity and Satanus fighting in the distance.
Jin watched his father and mother running toward imminent danger, a look of longing and sadness in his eyes. He quickly wiped away his tears with a determined smile and turned to Alan.
"Alan, quickly gather everyone and take them to safety—" Jin's words were interrupted as suddenly Raven and Dragunov landed down from the air in two choppers, yelling from the pilot seats,
"We don't have long, Jin! Act fast!"
With renewed determination and a sense of hope, Jin smiled at Alan and asked,
"Alan, will you help me one last time?"
Alan's eyes glimmered with newfound hope as he replied,
"Yes, Jin!"
And with that, they began putting survivors and bruised fighters from the battlefield into the choppers.
Kazuya dashed toward the battle of Gods, exchanging a nod and a smile with Jun. She nodded back and, seeing them, the deity yelled out,
"Any day now!"
With that, Kazuya slid forward, becoming a jumping platform for Jun. She quickly jumped onto Kazuya's hand, and he launched her into the air before making a massive leap of his own.
Airborne, they exchanged smiles one last time before landing on the hands of the deity. After shooting an amped-up blast at Satanus, causing him to lose his balance, the deity threw both of them at Satanus with lightning speed.
Closing the distance within an instant they struck Satanus with full force and holding on to it together they stabbed the orb deep into his chest.
As they smiled at each other before looking happily at the world they were about to leave behind, Satanus let out an immense deafening cry:
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Alan and Jin watched as they, after putting the last of the survivors on the chopper, signalled Raven and Dragunov to fly. The light started emanating from Satanus as a huge sphere of black mist and light emerged from him, quickly turning into a massive storm of malevolent energy.
"Jin, come!" Alan yelled, asking him to jump on him.
Jin followed, and Alan used the full force of his exoskeleton thrusters to fly them away.
Jin watched with one eye as the distance between them and the storm grew larger and larger, remembering his parents who gave their lives to save their home.
The storm grew and grew until, suddenly, with a blink of an eye, it dissipated as if it had never existed. Jin and everyone watched as after the disintegration of the light and mist, a golden orb fell to the earth with force.
Soon, the deity flew down and picked up the orb. She murmured something to it, and before giving them a momentary glance, she flew away at lightning speed into the clouds.
Everyone witnessed the end of a long-fought battle, which had demanded many sacrifices before reaching an unexpected conclusion.
As they flew higher and higher toward safety, the panoramic view of Kyoto came into sight.
Just a day ago, it had been filled with valleys, mountains, and lush greenery. Now, only one mountain of dirt and destruction remained, riddled with craters and rugged ground.