Leon, who had been standing against Colt, suddenly collapsed to the ground. The sword coated with some strange energy flickered and faded away...
The battlefield situation seemed to resolve rapidly after the thunderous explosion died down. Patrol members from other Witherborn units who had heard the fierce fighting began arriving at the scene. They rushed in to help the wounded immediately.
"Unbelievable... that this entire battle... took only three minutes," one officer muttered among the chaos, looking around at the wreckage with disbelief.
"That's... one of the kids from Special Operations Unit Four!" another officer shouted when he spotted Leon's motionless form. He rushed over to carefully lift Leon from the ground. When he looked toward where Leon had faced his enemy, he saw only a massive pool of blood that reeked throughout the area. Colt's body... was it gone? Or had Leon managed to finish him? No one knew the answer...
Cut to Xiao Yan and Ling Tian's battle...
The clash between the two former disciples grew more vicious by the moment! Ling Tian began using his ability to detach parts of his own body to create confusion and disorient Xiao Yan's senses. His arms and legs separated from his torso and launched attacks from unexpected angles! Creating tremendous difficulty for Xiao Yan!
But with dozens of weapons floating around Xiao Yan like extensions of his own body, Ling Tian found it nearly impossible to reach him directly. Those weapons moved freely according to Xiao Yan's will, constantly intercepting attacks and striking back!
However... Ling Tian showed no signs of panic or fear whatsoever! His eyes remained filled with fierce determination and unwavering conviction! He continued seeking openings to attack, deflecting incoming weapons, and moving with shadow-like speed! Sometimes he would leap onto the floating weapons themselves, using them as platforms to dive at Xiao Yan from above!
Xiao Yan himself tried to control his swords and spears to attack Ling Tian relentlessly! He attempted to capture this junior disciple's movements, but the body-separation ability was incredibly difficult to counter!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal continued echoing throughout the area without cease! This life-and-death battle between opposing ideologies showed no signs of ending easily!
In Kim Min-sae's office...
The woman who held supreme power in the Witherborn organization gazed out the window. Her narrow eyes gleamed with an unfathomable light. A thin smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Mm... it's finally begun," she murmured softly to herself. "Ling Tian... should be able to eliminate that 'problem' by now..."
She rose slowly from her desk chair before speaking into a hidden communicator. "Everyone... return to base. Our mission this time... is nearly complete..."
As her orders ended, Kim Min-sae walked out of her office, heading down to the underground laboratory... where the psychotic Dr. Irin was waiting for her...
Cut back to Leon's group...
After the situation began to settle, officers from other units came to help clear the area and transport the wounded back to Witherborn base.
Among Special Operations Unit Four, only Shion and Cyrus remained conscious and in the best physical condition. Though Shion herself bore burn scars from overusing her fire powers along her arms and parts of her face. She looked at herself in a shattered mirror fragment, sighing softly. "Still... still can't control my power properly..."
"What the hell was all that about..." Shion muttered to herself, her amber eyes sweeping around the former battlefield. "Why didn't any other units come to help or make any moves from the beginning... really damn worrying..."
As Shion was about to check on her other teammates' conditions, Raven's hoarse voice called out from where he lay unconscious on a stretcher.
"Shion..."
Shion quickly turned back. "Raven! You're awake! How are you feeling!"
"I think... something's weird, Shion..." Raven spoke in a weak voice, but his eyes were filled with confusion. "Suddenly... I remembered something..."
Shion frowned, waiting for Raven to continue.
"When I... went to tell Master Xiao Yan that Chief Kim wanted to see him urgently..." Raven gritted his teeth, trying to endure the pain shooting through his body. "Damn, this hurts..." He swallowed before continuing. "I... I have no memory whatsoever of Chief Kim ordering me to tell Master Xiao Yan that... but... but I told Master Xiao Yan exactly that... that Chief Kim was calling for him..."
Shion looked even more confused. "What do you mean, Raven? Did you remember wrong?"
"No... I'm certain," Raven insisted firmly. "If I had to guess... I was probably brainwashed... or mind-controlled by some kind of energy..."
Raven's words left Shion speechless! Brainwashing?! Who would do something like that?!
"After everyone's treated... I'll call another unit meeting," Raven tried to gather his wits and told Shion before losing consciousness again.
"Mm... understood," Shion acknowledged.
Shion stood still for a moment... Raven's words still echoed in her head... Brainwashing? Chief Kim? Why would the district chief do something like that? Nothing but things to puzzle over! Dammit! She shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the confused turmoil in her mind.
Finally... they managed to return to Unit 4's base successfully. They brought all the wounded to the large infirmary that had been prepared immediately.
Cyrus, who had followed along, spoke to Shion with a tense expression. "Better get yourself ready, Shion... I don't think we'll have much time to rest..."
"Ah... mm... understood," Shion nodded heavily.
After that, Shion went to bathe and cleanse herself. The blood stains and smoke from battle washed away, but the confused thoughts swirling in her head remained... Even after finishing her bath, she continued sitting on her bed with furrowed brows, deep in thought.
"This is hopeless..." She shook her head vigorously again. "No matter how I think about it, I can't figure it out... Guess I'll have to wait for Raven and the others to wake up before we discuss it further..."
And in that very infirmary... on the bed in the corner of the room... Leon's eyelids began to flutter... He was about to wake up...
"Where... where am I..." Leon's hoarse voice whispered softly as he slowly opened his eyes. The scene before him remained slightly blurred... "Did I... lose... then..." The final memory of his fight with Colt remained vivid in his mind... defeat... and the feeling of powerlessness... it was utterly humiliating...