"You lost because of your arrogance, you great warrior."
Orphin pulled the sword out of the Heaven Sunderer's body, leaving deep wounds and a lot of blood flowing out. The Heaven Sunderer's transformation ended. The layer that formed his body slowly cracked and fell to the ground, as his original form, Vallhim, returned.
His face began to turn pale and he spat blood from his mouth. Darius looked at him, his own face showing no expression. He still hadn't processed what had happened, or he was so injured from the battle that he had no energy left to show what he felt.
Orphin left Vallhim bleeding and went to his uncle, Darius. He gave him a regeneration potion he had, but the Storm couldn't move his hands to take it.
"This is annoying. Do I have to take care of you now?"
Orphin opened the capsule and helped the Storm drink it. After a few moments, the wings began to disappear, followed by the rest of the Storm's body, until Darius's face was completely visible.
Darius's face didn't show any signs of being tired or thankful. Instead, he looked very, very angry, as if Orphin had failed.
"You idiot! Do you know what you've done!" Darius shouted at Orphin with force.
"Our mission was clear: to bring Vallhim alive to the base," Darius continued.
Orphin shouted back as if he didn't understand the reason for this anger.
"The orders were to conquer the First Kingdom at any cost, and also... he was going to kill you. You should be thanking me, not shouting at me."
"What's the use of saving me if it means we failed the mission? Besides losing more soldiers than expected, losing Vallhim makes things worse. Do you think he will go easy on something like this? I'm alive now, but I have no place to return to," Darius shouted back.
Orphin stopped and looked at his uncle for a few moments before speaking, as if he had realized something but couldn't accept it.
"I... I will talk to him."
Darius hit the side of his own head with his finger repeatedly, violently, showing more sarcasm than anger.
Then he said in a low voice,but sharper than shouting:
"Think,Orphin! Do you think just because he's your father, you will be spared from punishment? He's my brother too, you know, and you know what your father is like."
A muffled sound came from behind. It was Vallhim's weak voice.
"So you are his son. No wonder you are like this. You are your father's son, after all."
Orphin turned around, surprised, and asked,
"What do you mean?"
Vallhim looked at the sky and then spoke.
"In all my life,I've fought many strong people, but I have only lost once. It was against your father. It wasn't because he was the strongest or the smartest, but because he had no honor, just like you."
Orphin laughed and then looked at Vallhim mockingly.
"This is a battle.Winning is what matters. Don't try to justify your loss with silly reasons."
Vallhim laughed weakly, then spoke his last words.
"You really are a family of disgusting people."
Then Vallhim fell to the ground. The great warrior, the Heaven Sunderer, had died. And with him, the legacy he left for the people of the First Kingdom died too. He didn't say anything because he knew his people would take it back, no matter the cost.
Koran, after seeing Vallhim's death, knew he had nothing left to do but escape to the boat. He picked himself up and hurried down the other side of the hill.
After a few steps, he reached the other side and rushed towards the harbor. On his way, he heard the sound of a woman screaming. Koran tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. He remembered the day when he was hitting some children who had been mean to Timo. Ana came and told him that even after he trained in combat arts and became stronger, it didn't mean he should hit others weaker than him. It meant he should help them.
He remembered those words better than any others.
"Koran, never turn your back on someone who needs help. By helping them, you help yourself. You help yourself to be better."
Koran turned and headed towards the source of the sound. He found a woman in her twenties. She had fair skin and messy brown hair. Her gray eyes were shaking with clear fear as she looked at the soldier. A soldier from the Fifth Kingdom was holding her by her hair, and she was screaming for help, but there was no one around to help her.
When Koran saw that scene, he remembered exactly the scene of the soldier and his mother. Many of those memories quickly flooded back into his head. Many voices started swirling in his mind, all repeating the same thing.
"Kill him!"
Koran wasn't thinking clearly anymore. The voices in his head were too loud to bear. The trauma of his mother's death returned to him and made him lose control of his mind.
He looked at a piece of broken glass on the ground and quickly picked it up. He squeezed it tightly until blood ran from his hands, but he felt no pain. All he felt was anger.
The soldier was so busy with the woman that he didn't notice Koran behind him at all. The voices in Koran's head grew crazily, to the point where Koran held his head in pain.
"Kill him... Come on... You have to do it... Kill him!"
Koran lifted his head towards the man and said in a barely audible voice.
"I will kill you."
Not because he wanted to do it—he had never thought about killing before—but because he wanted the voices to stop and be quiet.