The forest had gone silent again.
Not peaceful silence.
The kind that came after violence.
Ash drifted slowly through the air where Sio Jun had destroyed the shadow creature moments earlier. The trees around them stood scarred from the battle, bark torn apart by blades and claws, branches shattered across the ground.
But none of them focused on the destruction.
Because Harris was still gone.
Lee Kung's chest rose heavily as he scanned the darkness ahead. His sword still glowed faintly in his hand, blue energy pulsing softly along the blade like restrained lightning.
Mia stepped carefully toward him.
"They couldn't have gotten far," she said.
Lee Kung didn't answer immediately.
His instincts were screaming now.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Urgency.
Then—
Movement.
A shadow darted behind a nearby tree.
Sio Jun reacted instantly.
"There!"
Before the creature could teleport again, Lee Kung moved.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched forward with explosive speed. The shadow barely had time to turn before Lee Kung slammed into it, driving it violently into the base of a massive tree.
BOOM.
Wood splintered from the impact.
The shadow hissed wildly, trying to escape, but Lee Kung pinned it down instantly with one arm against its throat.
"MOVE AGAIN," Lee Kung growled, "and I'll cut you apart before you teleport."
For the first time—
The shadow hesitated.
It was scared.
Not pretending.
Not laughing like the others.
Actually scared.
Its dark body trembled beneath Lee Kung's grip.
Mia noticed immediately.
"This one knows something."
Lee Kung tightened his hold.
"Where did they take Harris?"
The creature remained silent.
Lee Kung's eyes darkened slightly.
"Wrong answer."
Blue energy flickered sharply along his sword.
The shadow flinched instantly.
Sio Jun stepped closer, golden eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"You should answer him," she said coldly.
"Because he's losing patience."
The creature looked between them desperately.
Still silent.
Lee Kung slammed it harder against the tree.
The bark behind it cracked violently.
"WHERE."
The shadow twitched fearfully.
Its voice finally came out broken and uneven.
"I-I can't—"
Lee Kung pressed the glowing blade against its chest.
"You can."
The shadow let out a distorted gasp.
Then—
Slowly—
It raised one trembling hand and pointed deeper into the forest.
Toward the east.
Toward the mountains hidden beyond the trees.
"There…" it whispered.
Lee Kung stared in that direction for several seconds.
Then—
He smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
It was the kind of smile that carried no peace inside it.
A smile born from exhaustion.
From rage.
From finally reaching the edge of restraint.
Mia immediately noticed the difference.
So did Sio Jun.
Even the shadow froze.
Because something about that expression was deeply wrong.
It was the smile of someone who had finally decided—
Enough was enough.
Lee Kung looked back down slowly at the creature pinned beneath him.
"You should've never touched him."
The shadow began shaking violently.
"P-please—"
Lee Kung grabbed it by the throat and lifted it effortlessly off the ground.
The creature struggled wildly now.
Terrified.
And for the first time since they met him—
Lee Kung looked genuinely angry.
Not frustrated.
Not determined.
Angry.
"You hide behind darkness," he said quietly.
"You attack people while they sleep."
Blue energy began surging harder through the sword.
The air itself started vibrating faintly.
"But tonight…"
His eyes sharpened dangerously.
"…I'm done chasing shadows."
The creature screamed suddenly.
Lee Kung threw it violently across the clearing.
The shadow crashed against the ground and tried desperately to crawl away.
It didn't get far.
Lee Kung raised his sword.
The blade erupted with brilliant blue light.
Ancient symbols ignited across the steel.
Wind exploded outward from him violently, shaking the trees around them.
Even Mia stepped back instinctively.
Sio Jun narrowed her eyes slightly.
The power radiating from the sword felt different now.
Heavier.
Ancient.
Like something waking up.
The shadow looked up in terror.
"No—WAIT—"
Lee Kung swung the sword downward.
"Dragon Severance."
The attack erupted instantly.
A massive arc of blue energy tore through the forest like lightning unleashed from the heavens.
The ground split apart.
Trees shattered.
And the shadow—
Disappeared completely.
Not ash.
Not fragments.
Nothing.
Erased.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
The glowing energy slowly faded from the sword as Lee Kung lowered it again.
Smoke drifted through the air.
Mia stared at the destruction ahead in disbelief.
"…That was new."
Lee Kung didn't respond.
His eyes remained fixed toward the eastern mountains.
Toward where Harris had been taken.
Sio Jun stepped beside him quietly.
"You're angry."
Lee Kung's grip tightened around the sword.
"They took someone under my protection."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"And now Dehaska thinks he can keep doing it."
The wind moved through the forest softly.
But something had changed.
Mia could feel it.
Sio Jun could too.
Lee Kung wasn't just trying to rescue Harris anymore.
Now—
This had become personal.
Lee Kung stepped forward slowly.
"We move now."
Mia blinked.
"Right now?"
"They'll keep moving until they reach their destination," Lee Kung said.
"If we stop, we lose them."
Sio Jun nodded immediately.
"I can track their scent."
Lee Kung looked at her.
"How far?"
She closed her eyes briefly.
The wolf instincts inside her sharpened instantly.
Then her eyes opened again.
"…Not far enough."
Lee Kung adjusted his grip on the sword.
"Then we keep moving until they are."
Without another word—
He started walking toward the mountains.
Toward the darkness waiting ahead.
And somewhere far beyond the forest—
Harris was struggling with his life in Lee Kangs hands
He was so frightened that he passed out again almost immediately.
While this was going on Lee kung Mia and Sio Jun kept looking for him
The looked everywhere and anywhere they could