Before the dust had fully settled, the canyon shook beneath the weight of two overwhelming powers.
Lee Kung and Lee Kang stood barely ten meters apart.
The air itself seemed afraid to move.
Lee Kung's twin crimson dagers dripped with scarlet lightning while Lee Kang's white dragon sword radiated an eerie pale aura wrapped in black corruption. Red sparks danced across the canyon floor while white lightning tore through the clouds overhead.
Neither brother smiled.
Neither blinked.
Then—
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath them.
Both vanished.
A deafening metallic shriek echoed throughout the canyon as dagger met sword in thousands of collisions within a single heartbeat.
CLANG!
CLANG!!
CLANG!!!
Shockwaves burst outward, splitting nearby cliffs.
Mia could barely follow them.
"They're... disappearing..."
"No," Sio Jun whispered, her silver eyes widening.
"They're moving."
Every impact produced another explosion of red and white dragon energy.
Lee Kung slashed.
Lee Kang blocked.
Lee Kang spun and kicked.
Lee Kung crossed his daggers just in time.
The impact sent him crashing through three stone pillars before he flipped back onto his feet.
"You're slower than before."
Lee Kang appeared above him.
His sword descended.
Lee Kung crossed both dagers.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The canyon floor shattered.
Lee Kung was driven nearly twenty feet underground before forcing himself upward.
The moment he emerged—
Lee Kang was already waiting.
A knee struck Lee Kung's ribs.
CRACK!
A punch followed immediately.
Then a spinning elbow.
Another kick.
Before Lee Kung could regain his footing—
The hilt of Lee Kang's sword smashed across his face.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Lee Kung staggered backward.
Then—
BAM!!
Lee Kang planted another punch directly into his chest.
Lee Kung flew across the canyon like a cannonball.
He skipped across the ground several times before finally crashing into a mountain wall.
The cliff behind him collapsed.
Dust covered everything.
Silence.
Then Lee Kang slowly lowered his sword.
"You've become weak."
Inside the cloud of dust...
Lee Kung slowly stood.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
His breathing had become heavier.
Even Gear Shift Forty wasn't enough.
Inside his mind, the Dragon King's Sword spoke once again.
"He is using fifty percent of his strength."
Lee Kung wiped the blood away.
"I figured."
"You cannot defeat him like this."
"I know."
"Then listen carefully."
The sword became strangely quiet.
"Your next Gear Shift... is different."
Lee Kung frowned.
"Gear Shift Fifty was never designed for ordinary warriors."
"Once activated... your body becomes the weapon itself."
"Strength..."
"Speed..."
"Accuracy..."
"Durability..."
"Invulnerability..."
"All will increase dramatically."
Lee Kung smiled.
"Sounds perfect."
The sword's voice grew serious.
"But there is a price."
Lee Kung remained silent.
"The Dragon Core inside you is still immature."
"If your spirit is stronger than the Dragon Core..."
"You will control the transformation."
"If not..."
"The Dragon Core will control you."
Lee Kung slowly tightened his grip.
"And if that happens?"
The sword answered without emotion.
"You will either lose yourself..."
"Or lose your life."
For several seconds...
Everything became quiet.
Lee Kang watched from across the canyon.
"What's taking so long?"
Lee Kung lowered his head.
"I don't care."
His voice was calm.
"My brother..."
"...is standing in front of me."
"If risking my life is what it takes..."
"So be it."
He slowly raised the sword.
Red lightning exploded around him.
"GEAR SHIFT..."
The canyon trembled.
"FIFTY PERCENT!!"
The Dragon King's Sword screamed.
Its shape twisted violently.
The twin daggers fused together.
Metal folded over itself.
The blade lengthened.
Golden engravings spread across its surface.
Dragon scales appeared along the guard.
The weapon now resembled Lee Kang's White Dragon Sword...
Yet it radiated blazing crimson instead of pale white.
At the same moment...
Lee Kung's clothing began changing.
His school uniform dissolved into streams of scarlet energy.
Ancient dragon armor materialized piece by piece across his body.
Crimson shoulder guards.
Black dragon-scale chest armor.
Golden trims.
Heavy gauntlets.
A flowing red battle cloak.
His red hair fluttered violently beneath the storm.
His eyes ignited like burning rubies.
Red lightning circled around him.
The entire canyon shook.
Miles away...
Animals fled.
Clouds rotated above the battlefield.
Even Dehaska, watching through a shadow portal, narrowed his eyes.
"So..."
"The Dragon Armor."
Lee Kang slowly smiled.
"Now we're talking."
Lee Kung lifted his new blade.
The pressure alone cracked the earth beneath him.
Dust cleared around his feet without the wind touching it.
He smiled.
"Hey, bro."
Lee Kang laughed.
"I've been waiting."
Lee Kung pointed the sword toward him.
"I defeated you once."
"I'll do it again."
"And this time..."
"I'm bringing you home."
Lee Kang's smile disappeared.
"You still don't understand."
He slowly rested his sword upon his shoulder.
"This isn't your brother talking."
He tapped his own chest.
"I'm merely Dehaska's puppet."
His corrupted eye glowed.
"So..."
"If you want him back..."
"You'll have to beat the puppet out of him."
Lee Kung's smile widened.
"That was exactly my plan."
They disappeared.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Their collision shook the canyon harder than before.
This time...
Lee Kung wasn't the one being pushed back.
He met Lee Kang head-on.
Sword against sword.
Dragon against dragon.
Every swing shattered the air.
Lee Kang attacked first.
Horizontal slash.
Vertical slash.
Spinning strike.
Lee Kung blocked everything.
Without moving an inch.
Lee Kang's eyes narrowed.
"You've improved."
Lee Kung answered with one punch.
Not the sword.
His fist.
It landed directly against Lee Kang's chest.
BOOOOOM!!
Lee Kang shot across the canyon.
He smashed through six enormous boulders before stopping himself.
"...Impossible."
He looked down.
A crack had appeared across his armor.
Lee Kung was already there.
Another punch.
Another explosion.
Lee Kang blocked this one.
The force still launched him skyward.
Lee Kung chased him instantly.
His speed had become terrifying.
A slash.
Lee Kang blocked.
Another slash.
Blocked again.
Third slash—
The White Dragon Sword barely caught it.
The impact shattered pieces of Lee Kang's shoulder armor.
"What?!"
Lee Kung vanished.
Appearing behind him.
A spinning kick.
CRAAAAAASH!!
Lee Kang plummeted into the canyon.
The ground exploded.
Before he could recover—
Lee Kung descended like a meteor.
Sword raised.
Lee Kang barely rolled away.
The crimson blade split the earth in half.
A gigantic canyon extended another kilometer.
Lee Kang stared.
"...You're serious."
Lee Kung looked down.
"I always was."
They charged again.
Punches.
Kicks.
Sword strikes.
Lightning.
Shockwaves.
Neither warrior slowed.
Each impact created earthquakes.
Finally—
Lee Kung caught Lee Kang's sword.
With one hand.
Lee Kang froze.
"...Impossible."
Lee Kung smiled.
"I told you."
"I'm stronger."
He headbutted Lee Kang.
Blood sprayed.
Then—
A devastating uppercut.
Lee Kang flew hundreds of feet into the sky.
His white armor cracked everywhere.
His breathing became uneven.
He wiped blood from his mouth.
"...Interesting."
His smile slowly returned.
"I suppose..."
"...I should stop holding back too."
White lightning mixed with black corruption.
The heavens trembled.
Lee Kung's smile faded.
"No..."
Mia whispered from below.
"He's changing."
Lee Kang spread both arms.
His aura erupted.
Darkness swallowed the white dragon.
"GEAR SHIFT..."
The sky cracked.
"SIXTY PERCENT."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A pillar of white and black energy shot into the heavens.
The clouds disappeared completely.
Even the sun vanished behind the violent storm.
Lee Kang stepped out of the light.
His armor had evolved.
Jagged white dragon scales now covered almost his entire body.
Black corruption flowed like living smoke beneath the armor.
His wings doubled in size.
His crimson and blue eyes now glowed simultaneously.
The pressure alone forced Mia and Sio Jun to their knees.
Lee Kung's confident smile disappeared.
The sword trembled in his hand.
"Be careful..."
"He has crossed another threshold."
Lee Kang slowly floated downward.
He looked at his younger brother.
Then smiled.
"You've finally become entertaining."
Lee Kung gripped his crimson sword tighter.
His heart pounded.
His Dragon Core burned painfully inside his chest.
Yet...
He refused to step back.
The two Dragon Warriors raised their swords once more.
The real battle...
...was only just beginning.