Chapter 57: The Plan All Along
The heavens had long forgotten peace.
Clouds twisted into monstrous spirals above the canyon as crimson lightning collided with blinding white flashes over and over again. Every collision between the Dragon Brothers shook the mountains for miles.
The battlefield no longer resembled a canyon.
It had become a wasteland.
Entire cliffs had vanished.
Forests had been uprooted.
The river that once flowed peacefully through the valley had evaporated from the sheer heat produced by their battle.
Far below, Mia struggled to remain standing.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
Her healing magic had nearly been exhausted after protecting everyone from Lee Kung's earlier shockwave, yet she continued to watch.
Sio Jun stood beside her, breathing heavily.
Her silver hair danced wildly beneath the storm.
Her wolf instincts screamed one thing.
Run.
Yet she couldn't.
Lee Kung was still fighting.
...
High above them...
Two dragons clashed again.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Red met white.
Sword against sword.
Dragon aura against Dragon aura.
Lee Kung's crimson armor had begun losing its glow.
Tiny cracks spread across his gauntlets.
His breathing had become uneven.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
Every heartbeat sent unbearable pain through his chest.
Inside him...
The Dragon Core was burning.
Not with fire.
With overload.
Every Gear Shift demanded more from his body than it was meant to endure.
The Dragon King's Sword spoke softly.
"Your Core is overheating..."
Lee Kung gritted his teeth.
"I know..."
"If this continues..."
"I know."
"You will die."
Lee Kung smiled faintly.
"I know."
Across from him...
Lee Kang looked untouched.
Not because he hadn't taken damage.
His white armor had been shattered countless times.
Blood stained his face.
His breathing had grown rough.
But unlike Lee Kung...
Darkness continued restoring him.
Every second.
Every injury.
Every wound.
The corruption fed him.
Lee Kang slowly lifted his sword.
"I'll admit it."
"You've become stronger."
Lee Kung smiled.
"So have you."
Lee Kang laughed.
"But strength alone isn't enough."
The corrupted side of his face spread into a sinister grin.
"You're running out of time."
Lee Kung said nothing.
He already knew.
His heartbeat was becoming slower.
His vision blurred every few seconds.
His Dragon Core felt like molten lava inside his chest.
Yet...
He remained standing.
...
Without warning...
Lee Kang's aura erupted once more.
The white lightning surrounding him suddenly deepened into an overwhelming storm.
Black corruption wrapped around his armor.
His wings expanded again.
The ground beneath him collapsed under the pressure.
Mia gasped.
"No..."
Sio Jun's ears flattened.
"He's shifting again..."
Lee Kang smiled proudly.
"GEAR SHIFT..."
The clouds exploded.
"SIXTY PERCENT."
The canyon shook violently.
White Dragon energy flooded the battlefield.
His speed doubled instantly.
Before Lee Kung could react—
Lee Kang disappeared.
A punch landed.
BOOOOM!!
Lee Kung flew backward.
Before he stopped—
Another kick.
Another slash.
Another elbow.
The attacks never stopped.
He was being overwhelmed.
Lee Kung swung his sword desperately.
Nothing.
Lee Kang was already somewhere else.
A fist crashed into his ribs.
His armor cracked.
Then—
A spinning kick.
His helmet shattered.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Lee Kung crashed into the mountainside once more.
His vision darkened.
The sword spoke again.
"Stand."
He slowly rose.
His legs shook violently.
...
Lee Kang landed several meters away.
"I expected more."
Lee Kung smiled weakly.
"I've still got plenty left."
Lee Kang sighed.
"No..."
"You've got pride left."
"But not strength."
He slowly raised his blade again.
Darkness spread further across his body.
"Let's finish this."
Once more...
His aura expanded.
Even stronger.
Even heavier.
Even darker.
The Dragon King's Sword suddenly trembled.
"Impossible..."
Lee Kung frowned.
"What?"
"He's forcing another shift..."
"That body shouldn't survive it..."
Lee Kang looked toward the heavens.
"GEAR SHIFT..."
The earth cracked.
"SEVENTY PERCENT."
The world became silent.
Everything stopped.
The wind disappeared.
Birds fell from the sky.
Even time itself seemed reluctant to move.
Then...
The explosion came.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
A pillar of white and black Dragon energy pierced the heavens.
Mountains hundreds of meters away split apart.
The pressure alone forced Mia and Sio Jun flat onto the ground.
Lee Kung struggled to breathe.
His body refused to move.
Lee Kang floated within the light.
His armor had evolved once again.
Massive white dragon scales covered nearly every part of his body.
His corrupted arm had completely transformed into the claw of a dragon.
Two enormous wings stretched behind him.
His eyes...
No longer looked human.
One burned white.
The other burned black.
He slowly descended.
Each step through the air cracked reality itself.
Lee Kung watched quietly.
"So..."
"You've reached seventy."
Lee Kang smiled.
"And you're still at fifty."
"I've already won."
Lee Kung slowly lifted his sword.
"Come prove it."
Lee Kang vanished.
Their final exchange began.
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
Thousands of strikes echoed across the canyon.
This time...
Lee Kung couldn't keep up.
Every block felt heavier.
Every movement slower.
His arms trembled.
His Core screamed.
His armor continued breaking apart.
Still...
He fought.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Until—
Lee Kang suddenly changed rhythm.
One powerful horizontal slash.
Lee Kung instinctively saw an opening.
His eyes widened.
"There!"
He leaped upward.
Trying to fly over the strike.
Lee Kang smiled.
Exactly as planned.
"You took the bait."
Everything slowed.
Lee Kung looked down.
Too late.
Lee Kang had already changed direction.
Instead of completing the slash...
He thrust.
Straight upward.
The White Dragon Sword pierced through Lee Kung's chest.
Silence.
The crimson blade slipped from Lee Kung's fingers.
Blood drifted gently through the air.
The Dragon Armor began disappearing.
Red lightning faded.
His crimson eyes slowly returned to their natural color.
Below...
Mia screamed.
"LEE KUNG!!"
Sio Jun's eyes widened.
"No..."
Even Gin stood frozen.
For the first time since becoming corrupted...
His expression broke.
High above the canyon...
Lee Kang remained motionless.
His sword was buried completely through his brother's chest.
Blood slowly dripped from the blade.
Then...
Something impossible happened.
Lee Kung smiled.
Not a painful smile.
Not a forced smile.
A genuine one.
Lee Kang blinked.
"...What?"
The human half of Lee Kang's face...
Began crying.
A single tear rolled down his cheek.
The corrupted half looked confused.
Both personalities spoke at once.
"I..."
"I stabbed your heart..."
The human side trembled.
"No..."
The corrupted side snarled.
"Why..."
Lee Kang stared into his brother's eyes.
"You know you're dying."
"So..."
"...why are you laughing?"
Lee Kung coughed blood.
His breathing had become shallow.
Yet his smile only grew wider.
He looked directly into his brother's eyes.
For the first time during the battle...
Not at the corruption.
Not at the monster.
At his brother.
"It..."
He struggled to breathe.
"...has been..."
"...a long fight."
Another cough.
Blood stained his lips.
"But..."
He smiled once more.
"This..."
"...was the plan..."
"...all along."
Lee Kang's eyes widened.
"What...?"
The tears on his human face fell faster.
The corrupted half suddenly sensed something was terribly wrong.
Far below...
The Dragon King's Sword, lying on the broken ground where Lee Kung had dropped it, suddenly began glowing with an intense crimson light.
The ancient runes engraved along its blade ignited one after another.
The entire canyon started to tremble once more.
Mia looked toward the sword in horror.
Sio Jun whispered,
"Lee Kung..."
"...what have you done?"
To be continued...