Chapter 49: The Final Piece Revealed
The excitement from the tournament lasted for days.
Students filled the hallways talking about nothing except the championship fight between Lee Kung and Gin Morino. Videos of the battle spread across the school network. Teachers discussed it. Clubs discussed it. Even people who had never attended a single tournament match suddenly became experts on combat.
Yet while everyone else celebrated, Lee Kung's mind remained elsewhere.
Harris was still missing.
Every night before sleeping, he remembered the bridge.
Lee Kang's face.
The shadows.
The feeling of helplessness.
The moment Harris disappeared into the darkness.
Three weeks had passed since then.
No clues.
No traces.
Nothing.
Lee sat alone on the roof of the school one afternoon while staring at the city below.
The wind pushed through his red hair.
Something wasn't right.
He could feel it.
The Dragon King's Sword resting beside him suddenly vibrated.
"Hm?"
Lee looked down.
The blade glowed faintly red.
A warning.
Again.
The sword was warning him again.
The same feeling he experienced before meeting Sio Jun.
The same feeling he experienced before confronting Lee Kang.
Danger.
Nearby.
Watching.
Waiting.
But where?
His thoughts immediately landed on one person.
Gin Morino.
For weeks he had tried convincing himself he was imagining things.
But the evidence kept piling up.
The first thing he noticed was Gin's attendance.
The guy missed class constantly.
At first it seemed normal.
Teenagers skipped school all the time.
But Gin disappeared too often.
Sometimes for entire days.
Sometimes for multiple days.
Yet every time he returned, he acted as though nothing happened.
No explanations.
No excuses.
No concern.
Just smiles.
Then there was the second problem.
The smell.
The scent.
Lee couldn't explain it.
Every time Gin walked past him, he sensed something.
Something dark.
Something familiar.
Not enough to identify.
Not enough to prove.
But enough to notice.
It smelled similar to the Shadow Realm.
Not identical.
But close.
Very close.
And Lee hated it.
The more he observed Gin, the more questions appeared.
One afternoon during lunch, Mia sat beside him.
"You've been staring at him for ten minutes."
Lee blinked.
"What?"
Mia pointed.
Across the cafeteria, Gin sat alone.
Eating.
Laughing.
Looking completely normal.
"You keep watching him."
Lee sighed.
"I know."
"Still suspicious?"
"Very."
Mia frowned.
"Maybe you're wrong."
"Maybe."
But Lee didn't believe that.
Not anymore.
Sio Jun appeared carrying food.
The werewolf immediately sat down.
"You two are talking about the creepy one again?"
Mia nodded.
Sio Jun glanced toward Gin.
Her silver eyes narrowed.
"I don't like him."
Lee looked surprised.
"You noticed too?"
"Of course."
She stabbed her fork into a piece of meat.
"He smells wrong."
Mia looked between them.
"You both keep saying that."
"You can't smell it?"
"No."
Sio Jun shook her head.
"Wolf senses."
Lee nodded.
"It isn't normal."
The conversation ended there.
But the suspicion remained.
Growing.
Day after day.
Until finally everything changed.
Three nights later.
The Heroes Lair.
Everyone was asleep.
Except Lee Kung.
He stood inside a hidden laboratory beneath the facility.
The room stretched hundreds of feet underground.
Machines filled every corner.
Energy reactors hummed.
Ancient runes glowed across metal walls.
Commander Pius had allowed Lee access after learning about Azura's technology and magical sciences.
Since then Lee had been working.
Building.
Designing.
Preparing.
Because if Harris was alive—
Then eventually Lee Kang would come back.
And next time Lee wanted answers.
Not excuses.
At the center of the laboratory stood his newest creation.
The Dragon Reactor.
A massive cylindrical machine covered in red energy channels.
Dragon runes glowed across its surface.
Electricity crackled through transparent containment chambers.
Mia entered moments later.
Her eyes widened.
"It's bigger."
Lee smiled slightly.
"I upgraded it."
"Again?"
"Again."
Mia walked around the machine.
She could feel the power radiating from it.
"What exactly does it do now?"
Lee crossed his arms.
"If I activate it at full power..."
He paused.
"...the resulting shockwave could erase an entire army of shadow soldiers."
Mia froze.
"An entire army?"
Lee nodded.
"The reactor converts dragon energy into pure realm-cleansing force."
The blonde girl stared at him.
"You built this?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"The sword helped."
The blade glowed proudly.
Mia laughed.
"Of course it did."
Lee looked back toward the machine.
His expression darkened.
"If Harris is alive..."
His fist tightened.
"...then I need to be ready."
Mia quietly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll find him."
Lee wanted to believe her.
But every day that passed made hope harder.
Unknown to both of them—
They were being watched.
Far away.
Inside a ruined industrial complex hidden beneath the city.
Harris sat chained inside a massive circular chamber.
Purple energy flowed through countless machines surrounding him.
His blue hair hung over his eyes.
He looked exhausted.
Weeks of captivity had drained him.
Nearby stood Lee Kang.
Watching.
Waiting.
And standing beside him...
Was Gin Morino.
The college student smiled casually while staring at a floating projection.
A projection showing Lee Kung.
Showing everything.
The school.
The tournament.
The Heroes Lair.
Everything.
Harris looked up weakly.
"You..."
Gin glanced toward him.
"What?"
"You've been spying on them."
Gin smiled.
"Correct."
Harris clenched his fists.
"Why?"
"Because it's my job."
Lee Kang stepped forward.
"The Final Piece serves me willingly."
Harris stared.
"The Final Piece?"
Gin laughed.
"Surprised?"
The blue-haired prisoner said nothing.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The disappearances.
The strange behavior.
The coincidences.
Gin wasn't ordinary.
He never had been.
Gin approached Harris.
His black eyes glowed faintly purple.
"Lee Kung keeps searching for me."
He smiled.
"But he doesn't realize I've been searching for him too."
Meanwhile—
Back at school.
The next day.
Everything finally clicked.
Lee entered an empty classroom during lunch.
He wasn't looking for anything.
At least not intentionally.
But then he noticed something strange.
A notebook.
Gin's notebook.
Left behind.
Normally Lee would ignore it.
But a single page had fallen open.
And on that page—
Was a drawing.
A perfect drawing.
Of the Dragon King's Sword.
Lee froze.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He turned another page.
Then another.
And another.
His eyes widened.
Every page contained notes.
Observations.
Records.
Descriptions.
Lee Kung.
Mia.
Sio Jun.
Commander Pius.
The Heroes Lair.
Everything.
Every detail.
Every movement.
Every mission.
Every habit.
The notebook slipped from Lee's hand.
No.
No.
No.
The classroom door suddenly opened.
Lee looked up.
Gin stood there.
Silence filled the room.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Then Gin smiled.
A smile completely different from the one he always wore.
This one was cold.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
The Dragon King's Sword instantly appeared in Lee's hand.
Red lightning exploded around him.
The windows shattered.
The classroom trembled.
Students screamed outside.
Gin sighed.
"Well."
His eyes turned purple.
"I suppose the secret is out."
Lee's voice dropped.
"You're the Final Piece."
Gin smiled.
"Congratulations."
The room shook.
Dark energy erupted around him.
For the first time—
Lee felt it fully.
The darkness.
The corruption.
The connection to Lee Kang.
Every instinct he possessed screamed at once.
Gin stepped backward.
Still smiling.
"You're smarter than I expected."
Lee raised his sword.
"Where is Harris?"
Gin laughed.
"Alive."
Red lightning exploded from Lee's body.
"WHERE?!"
The entire building shook.
Gin's smile widened.
"You'll find him."
Then darkness swallowed his body.
Teleportation.
Lee lunged forward.
Too late.
The classroom became empty.
Gin was gone.
The Final Piece had revealed himself.
And now the war for the Realms had officially entered a new stage.
Far below the Heroes Lair, the Dragon Reactor suddenly activated by itself.
Red energy surged through its core.
Warning lights flashed.
The sword vibrated violently.
And for the first time in centuries, a forgotten voice echoed from within the machine:
"The Final Piece has awakened."
"Prepare for the Balance War."
To Be Continued...