The two champions that were standing by Shinto's side, they couldn't quite believe his proposal. It wasn't like them to be selfless in the first place. They were champions because even they had fought their own kind rising to the top.
Although they didn't cause any trouble at the same time, they had cared enough about their own lives to work with him in one way or another. At least, that's what they thought of Shinto.
Pultra and Calva had refused to join Immortui, while Shinto had agreed to join, so they always thought that he was the one that cared more about his life than others, and yet here he was sacrificing himself.
"How could you ask me to do that?" Chris asked in a weak voice. "I can't, I promised myself."
Chris thought back to when he had been using the Qi drain skill, when he had been taking the lives of others. After what happened then he didn't want to do anything like that again.
Even as a werewolf, even when he knew the key to getting stronger was by consuming those that were already powerful, Chris was reluctant to do it, but he had managed to convince himself that he was eating demons, he was eating the enemy, and it was for a greater cause, but the Champions weren't his enemy, it would be going against his beliefs.
"Are you really going to be stubborn now?" Shinto asked. "If you don't eat me then we all will die. Chris you have to understand, it has been hard for me to continue on in the first place.
"This whole time, I've been feeling guilty. While I was a guard working at the pit, I had killed so many innocent Chrono, so many of my own kind, that I just wanted to escape. The reason I agreed to help was because I thought I could relieve some of that guilt.
"If we managed to get rid of them now, then it would mean I would have done something, but how could I carry on living while all of those that I killed are dead. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that my brother was out there somewhere alive, but now I know that's not true as well."
Hearing Shinto speak, the other two understood how he must have felt. In a way, him deciding to help Immortui, had made him do the most cruel things. While the two of them knew what was going on in the Red Space, they hadn't taken action with their own hands.
Calva could have perhaps made a deal to save the Skullys by helping out the others, and Pultra knew that her powers were making something that Immortui would use to just kill more.
Being involved though, and directly killing with your own two hands, were two completely different things.
"He's right." Calva said, as he turned his head. For some reason Unzoku seemed to be in some type of trance. He was looking at his own hand just smiling at it in and out. It was unsettling to say the least.
"But if you eat Shinto it won't be enough for you to take on Unzoku. You will need to eat all of us to stand a chance."
"Excuse me!" Pultra said. Hearing that Calva was just offering her up like that.
"Come on Pultra, you must also see that this is the only way." Calva explained. "Even with our strength, if we were to attempt to fight by his side we would be no help. The only way we can help is this way."
Pultra didn't like it, she could see that this was the only way for them to get out of the situation they were in, but that would mean ending her own life. She had already spent a good section of her life trapped away and not experiencing everything she wanted to experience.
The reason she had decided to fight back was for freedom, but if she lost her life then freedom wouldn't even matter. She did care for her life which was why it was hard for her to do as Calva suggested.
"You don't have to give that look." Chris said pushing himself off the floor, the wound was finally closing. It had taken some time but his Werewolf body was recovering.
Some of the blood had yet to dry up and as he stood it was dripping down his chest.
"I don't plan to eat any of you. The goal is the goal, before I was still thinking about beating him. I know after taking that hit it's impossible, so I won't have to eat anyone."
Before Chris could move forward, Shinto stood in front of him, and drew out both of his axes.
"I'm sorry, I just don't see it that way. I will at least make this easier for you." Shinto lifted up his axe. He didn't activate the black flames but he pressed it against his neck deeply and sliced it, making a large cut. His body fell to the floor, and it was now laying there, lifeless on the ground.
The two champions stared at the body, they were waiting for it to move, waiting for the image that they saw in front of them to change. They had seen a lot of unbelievable things in their lifetime, but they had never seen anything like what had just occurred.
"He… he really killed himself, he actually went through with it?" Calva said.
Calva was serious when he had offered up his body as well, but he wasn't so sure if he could do what Shinto did, doing the deed like so, and so easily.
"Chris, you have to eat his body." Pultra said. "I know it might not be right of me, because I didn't want to give up mine, but he took his life, to pass it onto you, so you could defeat Immortui, you can't waste that."
Chris knew Pultra was right. He quickly went down to the body of Shinto.
"I will never forget your sacrifice, and I will carry your body inside of me, so you stay alive inside, and I'll make sure to complete the task."
Knowing that they were in a rush for time, Chris picked up the body, and started to chomp down as he transformed his mouth. His powerful jaws crushed through it. He swelled bit by bit, and had eaten the body in seconds.
It was an amazing sight to see as one wouldn't know where the body went, but it was something the champions never thought they would see, a champion being eaten right in front of their very eyes.
After finishing consuming the champion, just like when Chris had eaten the demon king, he felt a surge of energy go through his whole body. The cells in his body were on fire, they were supercharged with strength and something else seemed to be happening.
When Chris went to look down at the palm of his red furred hand, he could see black flames covering it.
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