The Marshal remained silent, a cruel, mocking laugh curling at the edge of his mouth, while his sickly green eyes drilled into Sifu.
His crimson cape billowed behind him like a smear of blood across the air.
Sifu planted both feet firmly on the ground, tightening his grip around his staff.
Beside him, Las stared up at the towering figure of the Marshal, clutching the papyrus tightly against his chest as if it were the last light left in the world.
The Marshal stared at Sifu with those diseased green eyes of his. Slowly, he raised his sharp blade. Then his gaze shifted toward it. He looked at the steel with twisted affection before licking its edge with his long, pointed red tongue.
Suddenly, he stepped forward.
Then he charged.
Like a living demon of hatred, he rushed toward Sifu with explosive speed, tearing through the air and smoke around him as a piercing, shrill scream ripped from his throat.
Marshal: "You will die, turtle."
He lunged with savage force, bringing the sharp blade down toward Sifu and cutting through the smoky air.
But suddenly, the Marshal found himself striking nothing.
His eyes widened.
He looked around, confused, seeing no one in front of him. Then he turned his gaze behind him and saw Sifu standing there, calm and composed.
The Marshal's confidence and pride vanished in an instant, replaced by a startled voice.
Marshal: "What the hell is going on with this damn old man?"
Sifu's eyes narrowed. He looked at the Marshal with disgust and contempt.
Sifu: "Blindness. Pride. Arrogance."
Then, with a sudden burst of movement, Sifu rushed forward, lifting his staff with calm precision.
But the Marshal reacted in time, raising his knife and blocking the strike.
Marshal: "Seriously, old man? You think that piece of wood can stop steel?"
The Marshal held his ground and laughed mockingly, even as his hand trembled beneath the pressure of Sifu's staff.
Then Sifu pushed forward.
With one swift, decisive motion, he drove his staff ahead with explosive force, shattering the resistance of the Marshal's blade and sending him flying backward.
The Marshal crashed into the wall with brutal impact, breaking through the stone and destroying it beneath the force of his body.
Sifu: "These… are your weaknesses."
From within the smoke and dust, the Marshal slowly rose to his feet.
He brushed the dust from his bloodstained suit with a careless flick of his hand. Then his sickly green eyes lifted toward Sifu as he began to laugh hysterically.
Marshal: "Is that all you've got, old turtle?"
Suddenly, with a roar, he charged again and threw a violent spinning kick with his shin.
Sifu lowered his body, letting the kick pass over his shell.
Then, turning his body slightly, he spun into a sweeping motion and struck the Marshal's supporting leg.
The Marshal lost his balance.
His body dropped like a hollow log, crashing hard against the ground.
Sifu stepped closer and pressed the end of his staff against the Marshal's face.
The Marshal glared at him with hatred, rage twisting inside his green eyes.
Then, with a sudden movement, he drove the sole of his boot into Sifu's chest.
Sifu closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and was thrown backward.
Las watched in terror and screamed.
Las: "Master—!"
Sifu opened his eyes.
He took a deep breath.
Then he leapt into the air.
Before the Marshal could react or raise his knife, Sifu's staff came crashing down onto his head with tremendous force.
The Marshal spat blood from his mouth.
The blow was so brutal that, for a moment, he lost his balance and nearly collapsed unconscious to the ground.
But at the last second, with animal ferocity, he twisted his body and seized Sifu by the throat, lifting him like a trophy.
Then, with one raw and violent motion, he drove his blade into Sifu's stomach.
Sifu coughed up blood.
His eyes clouded over and froze, as if they were ready to leave the world behind.
Marshal: "Sleep, old man. It's time for you to rest in peace."
Las: "Master Sifu!!!"
Sifu looked at Las.
Then he looked back at the Marshal.
A crooked, ironic smile formed on his face as the light returned to his eyes.
Sifu: "Same to you."
Suddenly, he raised his staff like a spear and drove it with all his strength into the Marshal's right eye.
The Marshal howled like a beast as blood poured from the wound, staining the ground red beneath him.
Then, with his remaining eye, he glared at Sifu.
With a violent scream, he smashed Sifu into the ground with terrifying force, breaking the stone beneath him from the impact.
The staff flew loose into the air.
And landed in Las's hands.
Las grabbed it, burning with rage.
Las: "I'll crush you, monster!"
The Marshal began walking toward him.
His gaze was fixed on the papyrus in the boy's hands.
Eli grabbed Las from behind and dragged him away, running.
Las: "Let me go!"
Eli: "He'll kill you! You can't fight him like this!"
The Marshal, his wounded eye burning with rage, roared at the Black Wolves.
Marshal: "Catch the monkey! He has the papyrus!"
The Black Wolves charged like rabid beasts.
Gunfire erupted from every side.
Bullets tore through the streets, sparks flying from stone and rubble.
Suddenly—
Grov dropped from the sky.
His massive arms seized Las and Eli at the same time.
With one powerful leap, he launched himself into the air, carrying them away from danger.
Grov: "Where is Sifu?!"
Las remained silent.
His head was bowed low.
Grov's expression changed.
Sorrow carved itself across his face.
Grov: "…I understand. Rest in peace, old friend. I'll see you soon."
Grov flew above the burning ruins of the Stone City.
Thick waves of smoke rose upward, hiding the sunlight that poured through the three massive holes torn open above the city.
Below them, the city drowned in screams, howls, and explosions.
Grov headed toward the far edge of the city.
Toward the old town hall built beside the wall, where the Stone City came to an end.
He landed before the gate.
Thousands of terrified animals were crowded there, desperately trying to get inside.
At the entrance stood two Bloodied Fists.
Giant as statues.
They crushed anyone who tried to pass.
They stomped them into the ground.
Or tore them apart with their bare hands.
Las: "What do we do now? How do we get in?"
Eli stared ahead, frozen with terror.
Suddenly, a grenade arced through the smoke and landed in front of the Bloodied Fists.
The explosion ripped through the air.
The front of the town hall collapsed, burying the monsters beneath the rubble.
A massive opening appeared where the wall had once stood.
In an instant, thousands of animals surged toward the gap.
Grov's eyes widened.
He turned his head toward the direction the grenade had come from.
Through the mist, a figure dressed in black lifted its gaze and looked at him.
Then it vanished into the smoke like a phantom.
Grov: "Who was that…?"
Voices from the crowd: "Hurry! The Black Wolves are coming!"
Behind them, a wave of howls and heavy footsteps shook the earth.
The Black Wolves were getting closer.
Grov rushed forward with Las and Eli.
They slipped through the opening alongside the other survivors.
The moment the last of them passed inside—
A deafening crash thundered behind them.
The gate of the old town hall collapsed.
The entrance was sealed.
Las collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Eli threw him over her shoulder and forced herself onward through the dark tunnel.
At the far end, faint sunlight began to glow.
With every step, it grew stronger.
Brighter.
Until it swallowed everything in its radiance.
Eli squeezed her eyes shut, holding the unconscious Las tightly against her.
Eli: "Not yet… banana-head."