I don't need this...My entire life has been filled with betrayal.

But things have changed! I can trust in Hisa and Colt...right?

Hisa may be an idiot, but she's a freak of nature when it comes to fighting.

Colt's an idiot too, but he's smart enough to handle things...

Jax rolled over onto his stomach, pushing through the searing pain of the poison setting in.

Charmy drew his blade once again, "A-Are you resistant to toxins? It doesn't matter, those scales of yours are starting to vanish!"

I've been far too self contained....

I let myself get messed up by worrying over nonsense. Those two trusted my plan without a second thought.

Charmy lunged towards Jax, slashing away at his chest.

They placed their trust into me...So I won't give them a reason to doubt me!

The blade shattered into small fragments as it clashed with his body, forcing Charmy to retreat.

Stage 2!

Erupting from a field of his own core energy, Jax emerged with a new set of darker scales. A horn erected from his head, with two wings sprouting from his back. The turbulent force heightened his senses, freeing him to draw in a sharp inhale

"A..are those wings? And where did that armor come from?" Charmy pulled on his own hair, "Just what in the hell are you?"

"Come find out."

Charmy disappeared from Jax's vision again.

I can see him now. He isn't teleporting! He's shooting between the reflections of the furniture in this room as a ball of light. It's so fast, no wonder we thought he was teleporting earlier!

Gaining an understanding over his opponent's core power was actually more relieving than harrowing. A smirk formed on his face as he took a defensive stance.

I can handle this...

Jax sent Charmy crashing through the room as he snatched him from the ball of light, "Your little charade is over, I'm killing you."

Charmy rose from the pavement, clutching his misfigured nose, "H-How can you see me? Forget it!" He charged after Jax, swinging his blade with reckless abandon, "He who strikes first win-"

A violent current of wind tore through the room as Jax's fist smashes straight through Charmy's skull, bringing his corpse crashing into the floor.

"Damn-" With no time to revel in his victory, Jax fell to the ground as well. His condition returned back to normal, leaving him to struggle to even breath.

I used up all of my core energy...

I feel like I'm about to pass out...I guess the poison is starting to kick in. At least it isn't lethal.

A smile crossed his face as he gazed towards the staircase.

I should have used that from the start...I was just too worried about not being able to keep an eye on the others if I ran out of energy too fast...

I was wrong though, I can trust them.

I think I understand it now...they're both insane. That's the only explanation for why they just keep moving ahead without doubting anything. Maybe being normal is a bad thing in this world?